Some Monday Updates

Sunday was a busy day ... well kind of busy! The bike ride went off pretty well with a 10k ride around the estate after the sun was up for a while and things were a bit warmer. After a couple of phone calls it was nearly 10 am. I watched a footy panel show on TV before heading to the local supermarket to stock up on a few items. From there it was to the garage and bottling my latest brew. It was a bit time consuming but by 12:45 I had a bite to eat and was ready to watch footy on TV all afternoon.

After the matches were all over and I had polished off the last of the Devilled Sausages" I watched "The Cinderella Man", a Russell Crowe movie which told the true story of a boxer's ups and downs during the depression years. It was a bit soppy in places but not too bad.

This morning (Monday) I caught up with Tony again and we completed a 20k bike ride. I then gave the floors a good vacuum and steam clean and the place looked pretty good. Later today I am heading around to mate's for more PC stuff and he has invited me to stay for a meal.

Trish returns home Wednesday morning at about 10:30 am.

Days are sunny and the temp gets to the low 20's though there is talk of up to 27 on Wednesday. This is a bit better than Lou Ann's 41 she is getting on a daily basis in Texas! Now that is a bit too warm!

Home From Computer Club

It is Saturday afternoon and I have recently returned from the morning at the Computer Club. I was able to help a few people and actually received some "Thanks". One elderly guy I was speaking with had just returned from a holiday to Malaysia. He must be in his mid seventies and was telling about how much he had enjoyed things. I asked him where he stayed when in Penang and he told me about a Guest House in Chulia St he loved at about AUD$6 per night. Just incredible some of these oldies!

I managed to get John safely to the Airport at Maroochydore Friday morning well and truly in time for him to catch his flight back to Melbourne. It was great having him here and helped me spend time while Trish was in Melbourne. The photos you see here were taken while John was here.

The top photo is the wreck of the S.S. Dicky after which the beach was named.

After dropping John off with his Mum for the night, I hurried back home as I had received a phone call from a long time ago colleague of mine, Kevin Hughes and his wife Di. Kev and I taught in adjoining classrooms at RAAF School Penang in 1977-78. It was great to catch up again and check out where everyone from those days was and all the news.

Friday afternoon saw me around to Tony's place to show him how to convert movies I download into DVD format. We had a couple of drinks too. During the morning I made myself a casserole dish which will probably do me for 3 evening meals. Fortunately it was delicious.

Footy on TV should fill the rest of the weekend. On Monday I am around to a mate's place for tea. I have lawns to mow, a car to wash and floors to do as well as a load or two of washing before I collect Trish at about 10:30 on Wednesday.

Hope you like the joke below!

With Thanks Again To Jan

As a school principal, to keep staff up with the latest Educational and Management developments was a crucial role. The piece below came from a former staff member who had a major role in developing Professional Development Programs for all staff.

Five Minute Management Course

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbour.

Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?'

'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies.

'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'


Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.


Lesson 2:

A priest offered a Nun a lift.

She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.

The priest nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.

The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'


Moral of the story:

If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.


Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'

'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.'

Puff! She's gone.

'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.'

Puff! He's gone.

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'


Moral of the story:

Always let your boss have the first say.


Lesson 4:

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.

A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?'

The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.'

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.


Moral of the story:

To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.


Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull.

'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.'

'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.


Moral of the story:

Bull S*!t might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..


Lesson 6:


A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.

The dung was actually thawing him out!

He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.

Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.


Morals of the story:

(1) Not everyone who S*!ts on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of S*!t is your
friend.

(3) And when you're in deep S*!t, it's best to keep
your mouth shut!


THUS ENDS THE FIVE MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

A Busy Week

Since I last posted we have had several glorious days after a showery Monday. Lately temps have been around 23 and hardly a cloud in the sky. Monday wasn't too good and today Thursday will be about 22 with cloud building.

I collected my mate John from the airport in drizzly rain on Monday morning. We have had a great time with plenty to drink, a great night out at the RSL followed by a much quieter evening at Dicky Beach Surf Club. We have had some walks along the foreshore. The photo above shows John catching up on the latest news on the internet.

The other shots on this page will be of our walk along Dicky Beach and then below on a pathway through to Lake Currimundi. From there it was back via the beach to where the car had been parked. One of the shots also shows how much sand has been washed away from sunshine Coast beaches with storms we have experienced in the first half of 2009.

Remember to click on the photos for a bigger view then click on "Back" to return to this page.



John heads off to stay with his Mum tonight and then I will get him to the airport so he can fly home tomorrow morning. Then it is washing bottles etc to get my supplies back up to date!

Are You A Golfer?

The joke below is a little on the risque side but should appeal to golfers.

With thanks to Jan!

Four lawyers in a law firm lived and died for their Saturday morning round of golf. It was their favorite moment of the week. Then, one of the lawyers was transferred to an office in another city. It wasn't quite the same without him.

A new lawyer, a woman, joined their law firm. One day she overheard the remaining three talking about their golf round at the coffee table. Curious, she spoke up, "You know, I used to play on my golf team in college and I was pretty good. Would you mind if I joined you next week?"

The three lawyers looked at each other. They were hesitant. Not one of them wanted to say 'yes', but she had them on the spot. Finally, one man said it would be okay, but they would be starting pretty early, at 6:30 am.

He figured the early Tee-Time would discourage her immediately. The woman said this might be a problem, and asked if she could possibly be up to 15 minutes late. They rolled their eyes, but said this would be okay.

She smiled, and said, "Good, then I'll be there either at 6:30 or 6:45..." She showed up right at 6:30, and wound up beating all three of them with an eye-opening 2-under par round. She was a fun and pleasant person the entire round. The guys were impressed! Back in the clubhouse they congratulated her and happily invited her back the next week.

She smiled, and said, "Sure, I'll be here at 6:30 or 6:45."

The next week she again showed up at 6:30 Saturday morning. Only this time, she played left-handed. The three lawyers were incredulous as she still managed to beat them with an even par round, despite playing with her off-hand. By now the guys were totally amazed, but wondered if she was just trying to make them look bad by beating them left-handed. They couldn't figure her out. She was again very pleasant and didn't seem to be trying to show them up, but each man began to harbor a burning desire to beat her!

In the third week they all had their game faces on. But this week She was 15 minutes late! This had the guys irritable because each was determined to play the best round of golf of his life, to beat her. As they waited for her, they figured her late arrival was some petty gamesmanship on her part. Finally, she showed up.

This week the lady lawyer played right-handed, which was a good thing since she narrowly beat all three of them. However, she was so gracious and so complimentary of their strong play, it was hard to hold a grudge against her. This woman was a riddle no one could figure out!

Back in the clubhouse she had all three guys shaking their heads at her ability. They had a couple of beers after their round which helped the conversation loosen up. Finally, one of the men could contain his curiosity any longer... He asked her point blank, "How do you decide if you're going to golf right-handed or left-handed?"

The lady blushed, and grinned She said, "That's easy. When my Dad taught me to play golf, I learned I was ambidextrous. I have always had fun switching back and forth. Then when I met my husband in college and got married, I discovered he always sleeps in the nude.

From then on, I developed a silly habit. Right before I left in the morning for golf practice, I would pull the covers off him. If his you-know-what was pointing to the right, I golfed right-handed; if it was pointed to the left, I golfed left-handed.

All the guys on the team thought this was hysterical. Astonished at this bizarre information, one of the guys shot back, "But what if it's pointed straight up in the air?"

She said, "Then, I'm fifteen minutes late."

A Grey Sunday

Grey skies and wet grass greeted the Sunshine Coast this morning with about 10ml (almost half an inch) in the rain gauge. It is hoped it will get to 21 today.

I did a little shopping for groceries on Friday after I had slipped in to the Bowls Club for lunch. Later in the afternoon I enjoyed a few drinks again with Tony and Paul before heading home to cook my tea. There isn't much footy on this weekend so I will have to keep myself occupied a little.

Saturday morning was Computer Club again and I was busy helping some people out. I had burnt some movies for Tony and Paul to watch. I thought I might save myself some work and give Tony all my movies and then show him how he can burn them himself. However copying movies from one hard drive to another is a time consuming job. We got it started but not finished.

There was sport on TV Saturday evening so that was good then there is more sport again late Sunday. On Sunday morning I bottled another brew and gave the container a good clean using some bleach followed by a solid rinse out with warm water.

My mate John arrives tomorrow and is spending a couple of nights here and then possibly two nights with his mum. I pick him up from the airport Monday at 10:30 am.

My computer is operating beautifully. It recently updated to SP2 (Service Pack 2). However yesterday I noticed it no longer saves System Restore Points. I have sent an email to Microsoft Support on the problem. I wonder if SP2 has anything to do with it?

I have received email confirmation that the camera battery I ordered from Hong Kong is in stock and has already been posted. I could get it later this week.

Trish Safe And Sound In Melbourne

I drove Trish to the Maroochydore Airport (about 30 minutes away) in plenty of time for her to catch her plane down to Melbourne on Wednesday morning. There has been a highway upgrade which now makes entry to and from the airport a breeze. Trish had a baggage weight limit of 15kgs and easily got under that with 14.8kgs!

After dropping her off I popped in to see a Computer Club guy (Peter Gilks) and spent much of the day there sorting out his movie downloads and updating Security on his second laptop computer. Peter has invited me back for a meal while Trish is away. After updating his firewall I had to sort out his Firewalls to allow each computer to see the other on his home network.

Thursday morning Tony and I did a 20k bike ride (we had missed out on a ride Wednesday morning). Then it was bottle washing time which was hampered by cool overcast weather. Later that afternoon I was back to Tony's again. His new laptop came with a free Computer Security package for the first month. The month is almost over so we had to remove that package and reinstall other anti-spyware, anti-virus and good firewall software.

I caught up with Trish, Kate and Arj as well as the grandchildren on Skype Thursday evening.

Another 14 k bike ride today in fresh but sunny weather got the day off to a brisk start.

My computer continues to shutdown without a problem. The rogue startup program was one called D-Weather, a small utility designed to keep you updated with the very latest weather information from the Australian Bureau Of Meteorology. It is a very small program being only 2mb in size. However it had not been designed specifically for Vista and was an XP approved program. Since uninstalling it my shut downs have been much quicker and always perfect.

I still get the occasional startup glitch but a quick restart always gets things running perfectly. I am a relieved guy, a reformat was going to be my next plan of attack!

I have discovered a new website for buying stuff. It is called DealeXtreme and is situated in Hong Kong. The camera battery for our older Fuji camera no longer holds a charge and a genuine Fuji replacement cost is well over $40. I had previously bought a replacement battery (non-genuine) via eBay and it didn't quite fit as snugly into the camera as the original. This created a dubious contact with the camera so it would often fail. I have just ordered another replacement (non-genuine) which will cost me a total of AUD$12-20 from DealeXtream. This website allows people to give a 'review' on items they have purchased and one of the reviews says the product is better than the genuine Fuji battery. I now have to wait three weeks till it arrives by air-mail.

Beautiful Days!

It is a glorious day today with temps getting to the low 20's. There is hardly any breeze nor is there a cloud in the sky!

I may have solved my computer's failing to shut down properly problem. I had guessed it was probably a startup program which was conflicting with Vista. I have been going through each of my start up programs one by one and since turning one of the programs off today my problem may have gone away. I have shut the PC down about 5 times since and each shutdown has been perfect.

I caught up with my riding buddy Tony this morning and we did a 20k bike ride. Out beyond the Caloundra Race Course there is a new Industrial Estate. This Estate has been 'finished' for 12 months but up until now only two sites have been sold. It is a huge area of land with roads, lighting and all the infra-structure, just no Industry! Tony and I rode around it for a look. There are these structures (see below) which look like bird viewing stations. You certainly get to see a lot more when riding your bike rather than driving around!

The young neighbour next door finished raising the fence between our two places. To the left is the "before' picture and below is the 'after' photo. We both agree it will make quite a difference to each house holder's privacy. We were always wary of turning on lights at night in the rooms near this area in case the light shone through into their bedroom. This will now overcome that concern. The raising of the fence will also protect the bedroom/office window from the weather. The cover is great but in stormy conditions, rain water would still get through. Now this will be less likely. Trish is still deciding what will cover the fence to make it more attractive.

Click on the pics for a larger view, then hit 'Back' to return to this page.

Trish is now fully packed and ready to head south to Melbourne tomorrow. The camera has had its batteries charged up and we are primed for me to take her to the airport tomorrow morning at about 9:15 am. It is a 2 hour flight to Melbourne and is almost 1900 kilometres. (Well over 1000 miles Lou-Ann). Trish is really looking forward to the trip and being able to catch up with our kids and their families. She will return home on July 1st.

It Is Monday!

It is a bit quick for another post but here goes anyway. I continue to have a few problems with the computer not shutting down properly. I have no idea what it is but I am slowly working my way through the alternatives. If a computer won't shut down properly it can mean there is a conflict between programs, usually start up programs. I am slowly working my way though the startup programs by shutting each one down for a day or so to see if that stops the problems.

The shutdown problem is intermittent and seems to be a problem the longer the computer has been left turned on. I get quite a few "Windows Explorer has stopped working. Please wait while Windows Explorer restarts." The screen flickers couple of times then everything runs OK .

I updated the video card drivers this morning to see if that is the problem.

It seems I may be up to reformat again. The computer runs perfectly, it just doesn't always shut down or start up properly!

A glorious day yesterday with a top of 23. Today it is expected to cloud over a bit and possibly a bit wet this afternoon. This morning it was a pleasant 12 or so, great for the bike ride. The photo above left was taken at the top of a particularly nasty hill and shows the Glasshouse Mountains in the distance.

This photo was taken as I was riding along and shows one of the paths we like to ride on. Tony was with me again today so we had a good chat about things as we rode along. Being Monday, today's chat seemed to focus on footy results from over the weekend.

Trish continues to get ready for her flight down to Melbourne on Wednesday. That state is where the current Swine Flu outbreak is easily the worst so hopefully she will be OK.

Great Days

The weather continues to be sunny and much warmer than we had on Thursday. Today we are expecting about 24 and overnight was high single figures.

Just a quick reminder, if you want to see a larger view of these (or any other pictures) click on them. To return to this blog page, click on "Back" in the top left hand corner of your browser.

It was so cold on Thursday night that after cooking a "Tuna bake" dish, we left the oven door open to warm the place up. The Reverse Cycle Air- Con then ran for a couple of hours. The Air-Con was on again for an hour or so on Friday night too. But we were plenty warm enough and watch movies or sport on TV.

I had Computer Club on Saturday and I had a presentation on Help sites on the internet. It seemed to go pretty well. Then I had to race back home and down to the main Lake Park here for the end of a BeCA Public Meeting and BBQ. I got there in time for he BBQ! Several of us now are into Home Brew so we enjoyed a couple of drinks before heading home again.

Trish is getting ready to head south to Melbourne for 2 weeks on Wednesday. Needless to say she is looking forward to it.

I am hoping to catch up with a colleague I taught with 30 years ago when I worked at the RAAF School Penang in Malaysia. Kevin taught in the classroom next to mine. He is visiting from Canberra to see an elderly relative who lives about 5 minutes from our place. Kevin and his wife Dianne are due here late next week.

A Very Chilly Thursday

Though the sun is shining brightly, there is a piercing south westerly wind blowing in from over central Australia. This wind is very low in humidity so any heat gained during the day is lost overnight. Expected top today is around 19 degrees. This morning was around 8 or so.

Much of yesterday was spent reformatting a Dell laptop using the Recovery Section of the laptop's hard drive. I tried using the Dell Backup feature but the laptop was so sick it would 'hang' during the backup requiring a push power button restart. Eventually I gave up and copied photo, document folders etc across to an external drive, restarted and hit F8 and within 20 minutes the laptop was back to Factory Default condition.

I put on a good anti-virus, a good firewall, Office 2003, Paint Shop Pro 12 along with Firefox and any other software required. Skype went on easily, this can sometimes be a problem to install. All up about 7 hours to do, a good hour+ was spent trying to backup before the reinstall.

The owner of the laptop was happy to have her machine back and running smoothly again.

The young family next door is continuing their lease for another 12 months. A part of the lease negotiations included raising the fence in this little section to block out their bedroom seen just over the fence. I have spent some time securing two pieces of timber to hold the extra rail required. Things are so much easier when you have the right equipment and the correct knowledge. I borrowed a hammer drill from Tony and after a few goes manged to buy the correct dyna-bolts for the job. Now it is ready for the neighbour to complete the job.

Trish spent yesterday morning at Stitchers and this morning put in an hour at the local gymnasium.

Tuesday's Update

The weather has continued to be glorious. This morning it was a chilly 8 degrees but by the time I was on the bike to catch up with Tony for our bike ride at 8 am it was a pleasant 15 or so.

The Computer Club was where I spent my Saturday morning providing help where ever I could. It wasn't as busy as some Saturdays so it was good. There was an interesting Tutorial on "Passwords". One guy makes his passwords by making patterns on the keyboard. He may use an inverted V and use ZDTHM. He can then mix them up with capitals and small letters. He also uses the W shape as well. Very clever.

Trish's sewing groups all joined together for the weekend and held a Huge Craft Market. So Trish was down helping at the market for most of the weekend. She was pleased to put some items in for sale and sold a bag similar to this one. There was plenty of footy on TV over the weekend too which kept me busy. The Bellvista Community Association had a newsletter drop on the weekend so I had 300 Newsletters to deliver to people within the community. The phone would ring from time to time with a computer query too. Trish did 4 hours in the Caloundra Tourist Information Office on Monday afternoon.

The wind has turned to come from the south west with morning temps now around single figures. The days get to the low 20's after a cool start, just the sort of weather where sitting in the sun in the afternoon is a great way to spend some time.

I have a laptop computer to reformat tomorrow for a friend from the Computer Club. It is a Dell Laptop so it will be easy to do. Dell computers have backup procedures then a Return to Factory Defaults option. From there you just reload the backup information and things are as good as when you first collected your laptop.

I rather enjoyed the joke below, thanks Jan!

THE WEDDING TEST

I was a very happy man. My wonderful girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year, and so we decided to get married. There was only one little thing bothering me...It was her beautiful younger sister.

My prospective sister-in-law was twenty-two, wore very tight miniskirts, and generally was bra-less. She would regularly bend down when she was near me and I always got more than a nice view. It had to be deliberate because she never did it when she was near anyone else.

One day her 'little' sister called and asked me to come over to check the wedding invitations. She was alone when I arrived, and she whispered to me that she had feelings and desires for me that she couldn't overcome. She told me that she wanted me just once before I got married and committed my life to her sister.

Well, I was in total shock, and couldn't say a word!!!!!!

She said, 'I'm going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want one last wild fling, just come up and get me.'

I was stunned and frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs.

I stood there for a moment, then turned and made a beeline straight to the front door.

I opened the door, and headed straight towards my car.

Lord... And behold, my entire future family was standing outside, all clapping!

With tears in his eyes, my father-in-law hugged me and said "We are very happy that you have passed our little test. We couldn't ask for a better man for our daughter."Welcome to the family"............................

And the moral of this story is:

"ALWAYS KEEP YOUR CONDOMS IN THE CAR"

Who Said Blondes Are Stupid?

REPLACEMENT WINDOWS

Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind, and today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them.

He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them.

Hellloooo,...........just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid.

So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves!

Helllooooo? It's been a year, I told him!

There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up.

He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.


Today's other post is just below!

Sunshine Returns To The Sunshine Coast

Today is best described as spectacular! A gorgeous blue sky and about 23.

Wednesday night was fun. We had a great meal and some excellent company when around at a friend's home. The first State of Origin Rugby League match was on TV. It was a tough game though not quite my 'cup of tea'. We had a few drinks and I was able to help out with some computer software that they needed.

Then on Thursday we were on our way to the Gold coast to spend the day with friends Janet and Mick who were up from Newcastle for a week's Rn'R. We battled our way through a few showers and eventually arrived at their Gold Coast apartment before 11 a.m. We had a good chat about things and opened a beer (or two). The apartment was on the 4th floor, to the left is the view from the balcony. The pool (seen below) is heated but it was too cool for me to venture in!


The weather had cleared so we took a short walk into the local Broadbeach shopping area and had a look around. We found an Italian Restaurant where we had our lunch The Gnocchi Calabrese was delicious and almost spicy enough. We continued to sit and chat. The couple of beers and glass of white wine were very enjoyable too!

While the ladies headed back to the apartment Mick and I found a little bar he wanted to show me where we had another couple of beers. One of the beers was called "Skinny Blonde".

When the beer was icy cold the label looked like this to the left. However as the beer was consumed and the temperature of the stubby rose, the lady's bathing costume disappeared! What a great talking point for my home brew! Needless to say the two 'empties' came home with me to be added to my bottling collection!

This morning we were able to bike ride for the first time this week. We did a slow and chatty 14k's. Later Tony and I caught up to do some stuff for the Bellvista Community Association. Right now I am off to bottle my latest brew!

Overcast Wednesday

What a strange country we live in! On the Sunshine Coast we have had so much rain yet in Victoria they are still in the midst of a drought. Just one day into winter and not even half way through the year, Caloundra has now had more rain than it would hope to receive in an average year. Our annual average rainfall here is 63 inches (1574mls) and right now the tally reads 64.5 inches (1612 mls). And guess what .... more rain is expected tomorrow!

Needless to say, there hasn't been any bike riding for the last few days.

I am hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew with the Computer Club. I get about a call a day from people with their PC problems. Yesterday (Tuesday) I had two visits from people seeking software or advice and I spent about an hour via "Skype" working my way through a downloading problem with someone. It seems I was able to help everyone but come 4pm I felt like I had done a day's work!

Following the resignation of a Committee member of the Community Association (he is off on a 6 month trip) I have been elected to the Committee.

Last night we went back to the Dicky Beach Surf Club with my two bike riding buddies and their wives. The meal wasn't as good as the last time we were there but it was a pleasant night. The member's special was Thai green Curry and it was very nice indeed.

I was going to 'bottle' today but after doing a reading with the hydrometer it seems another day or so brewing won't do it any harm. Here it is rugged up against the cooler weather. This afternoon I am around to another Computer Club member's home to install more software. Graham bought a new computer in December last year and in March the hard disk drive 'died'. He had to send it to Melbourne under warranty to have it repaired. It arrived back on Monday.

Tonight we have been invited to friend's place to watch the Rugby League "State Of Origin" match. I am not a rugby league fan but the State of Origin matches can be good to watch.

Tomorrow Trish and I are heading down to the Gold Coast to catch up with friends from Newcastle. Janet and Mick have headed up for a week's RnR and we look forward to catching up with them tomorrow. Rain has been forecast for much of the day. It is about a two hour drive down there.

John L (a mate of mine from Victoria) is heading up in a couple of weeks while Trish is down in Melbourne. John has also booked to return again on Monday Sept 28th for a week. During that week Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia will be playing a series of pre-season cricket matches. It is a great week rubbing shoulders with first class and some test cricket players.