Press the "Up" Key On The Remote!

Trish is currently in Melbourne looking after the grand children while Kate and Arj are in New Zealand. I had a call from Trish this morning saying something had happened to the TV. Kate has a large 46" LCD TV. Trish says she pushes 7 but only gets a very snowy picture and wanted to know if I knew what was wrong! Well I didn't but we worked through it eventually. It appears that when the TV was first tuned the TV stations as we know them were not necessarily tuned to the numbers as we know them. So when Trish pressed "7" she probably got the old 'analogue' channel 7, not the new digital channel. We did eventually get to channel "One" and it was working perfectly. Then I asked her to hit the "Channel Up" button rather than the numbers and lo and behold all was working perfectly again!

My presentation to the Computer Club yesterday was not successful! I eventually got the message across but the club's brand new laptop I was using did not want to co-operate. You have to sign in and create a page via GMail. Then they give you one of those funny writing codes to fill in. I reckon I tried 8 times and the damn thing wouldn't work! Eventually I gave up, said thanks and began to pack up. I decided to have one more go and "Eureka" the "bloody" thing worked.

Then I went to show a quick tutorial movie on my subject I had downloaded to show people. Laptops and computers need all the 'codecs' so be able to code and decode the many different types of video files. Being a new laptop, there weren't any codecs installed and the movies I had wouldn't play! Next time I will take our laptop because I know it works.

This morning I bottled a brew after I had completed my 14k bike ride. To complete fermentation a teaspoon of sugar has to be put in the bottle before filling it. Put too much sugar in and you run the chance of over fermentation and the bottles exploding. I use this little measure to ensure the correct amount of sugar goes in each bottle.

This brew will be ready to enjoy in 2 weeks but will be even better if it can be left for 4 to 6 weeks.

Thursday's Update

Trish flew down to Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon. I got her to the local Maroochydore Airport in plenty of time prior to takeoff. With these budget airlines it is always better to be 30 minutes earlier than advised as you never know what could happen. She arrived safely down south and a quick call on Skype showed her with a couple of the grandkids. She was well rugged up!

On the way back from the airport I collected the 1300 copies of the Community Association Newsletter and dropped them off for distribution. I grabbed my lot, folded them and then I delivered them this morning (Thursday). We now have quite a team of volunteers so we get about 100 or so each to fold and deliver.

On Wednesday afternoon I visited a friend from the Computer Club and with a little trial and error sorted out a network so his new Windows 7 PC could swap files with his Windows XP laptop. As usual the problem was the firewalls on both machines. That was sorted out and then the two computers were eventually able to swap certain files. I had an evening meal there too which was great.

We had some rain Wednesday and over night into today. I tipped 9mls out of the gauge this morning. As I had mentioned earlier there was bottle washing to do for my home brew. That is now completed and the bottles are drying out in the backyard now. I gave them a brush clean as well this time to make extra sure there was no build up of any gunk anywhere! The sun is now out so hopefully they will dry and be ready to be filled in a day or so.

An elderly neighbour bought a new PC yesterday so this afternoon will be spent setting that up for him. That will be fun!

The Shortest Day Of The Year

Friday afternoon's Bellvista Home Brew Appreciation Society meeting was very pleasant. Trish now joins us as well so there is a great two hour chat and a few beers. Three of the guys were there as well as three of the wives. We all get on pretty well so it is a very pleasant occasion.

As mentioned last Thursday we again have neighbours on our right as you face our front door. There was a hive of activity on Saturday as there must have been 8 adults there helping these people move in. It was a 'self move' job as there wasn't any sign of a regular furniture removal truck. Sunday there was nothing from next door so I guess they must have gone back to clean their previous home ready to hand it over to the agent again. They seem to be a slightly older couple (mid 30's) compared to the previous tenants. They have two children, 3 and 1 year of age I believe.

I did have a couple of beers with the other new neighbours Saturday afternoon and they seem very friendly, unlike the people who were in there before.

I mixed another brew this morning and put it on. It will be ready to bottle sometime next weekend. So I will be bottle washing one day this week. Trish flies back down to Melbourne tomorrow but this time it is only for a week. Our daughter Kate is joining her husband Arj in New Zealand for a week so Trish is heading south to baby-sit.

A lovely sunny day today with temps from about 10 up to 22. It will be glorious sitting in the sun.

Over the weekend we bought a small 'oil filled heater', 5 fins and 1000 watts. But it is just enough for where we live during the coldest time of the year. This is right now when we have it 'cold overnight' for about 6 weeks. Come August we no longer need anything in the way of heating.

Computer club on Saturday was great and I have been asked to do a presentation for next Saturday. I am going to do an introductory session on Google websites. Just Google "Google websites" and have a quick look. You could have your own website online in a matter of minutes using this great free Google tool.

I look after the Bellvista Community Association Newsletter and it needed to be finished by Friday to be printed off. It crept up on me a little this time so I was a little rushed to have it finished in time. But I got there OK .... but there is one 'typo' in this issue. I will collect them from the 'printer' on Tuesday so they should be delivered to all local households in our estate sometime next weekend.

All Is Well ... At Last

I was just thinking about my computer. The problem I have had with my monitor not coming on at startup has been going on for at least 18 months if not longer. I had my first failure quite some time ago and I have had 'issues' with the PC ever since. I have reformatted it a couple of times to try to overcome these hassles. Reformatting is quite a big job to do.

It is very pleasant to now know the PC problem which has been lurking in the background has now gone! All is now fixed.

Each year we have a pre season cricket tournament here involving interstate one day cricket teams. This year we are having Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia coming up. There is a possibility a team from New Zealand may also attend. This year the tournament will be late in September rather than early in October

All Now Running 100%

The PC went back to the shop today to have the "Power" light reconnected. Evidently there are a couple of ways this connection can happen, the guy who put it back together recently after replacing the powerpack chose the wrong one. A quick 10 minute trip to the PC Repair shop had the right connection again and everything is now working 100%. You can see the blue power on indicator in this photo.

Last night we had friends Linda and Paul around to watch the State Of Origin Rugby League match with us. Queensland won comfortably and now have been champions for the last 5 years, a new record.

Today has been a little hazy for some of us. Trish made a sensational lamb curry last night and we may have had a little too much home brew or red wine to wash it down with. All in all it was a great night enjoyed by all!

Pleasant days with lows around 12 or so and highs getting to 22.

It looks like we will have new neighbours moving in in the vacant house next door sometime over the next few days.

"Cold" and Overnight Showers

The weather has been cool and I have the "cold". When Trish returned from Melbourne she was getting over a cold she picked up down there. She was coughing but otherwise she was feeling OK. As colds go, it wasn't too bad. She had one day in Melbourne when she spent much of the time with handkerchief in hand! I have been struggling a little with the beginnings of a cold for a few days until yesterday when I nosedived and had the 'runny nose' day. It was a shocker! However this morning things are much improved!

We have had a few overnight showers the last couple of days but generally sunny days. The nasty cold southerly wind has gone and temps are back to normal. Last night it was down to low teens and it gets to the low 20's most days. It is beautiful sitting in the backyard in the sunshine though!

We had several very heavy showers last night and there were 14mls in the rain gauge this morning. The garden has had a water and the pool is again full. We went three weeks without a drop of rain so this rain is welcome. The photo was taken this morning and shows the overnight showers have just about dried up already.

Our other neighbours moved out late last week. We did not see much of them and they to us they seemed a bit 'different'. I was about to mow the front lawn last week when they both came out to the front yard. I asked if their baby was asleep and did they want me to delay my mowing. Unbeknown to me, the 10 month old baby was asleep in the back of their car which was parked in their driveway. They had left it asleep there with the car motor running and the air conditioner on!

So the house on our right as you face the front lawn from the street is empty. The 'new' people on the other side are great at this stage. We haven't hardly heard them at all.

Not a lot of other news to relay. My watch battery 'died' on Saturday so I popped in to town yesterday to have it replaced. I have a 'spare' watch to wear in emergencies so I put it on and promptly broke the plastic watch band. I had the battery replaced in one watch and a velcro watch band (as used by surfers) put on the other one, all for about $25!

Trish volunteered at the Tourist Information Centre yesterday and is at Stitchers this morning. We have friends around for tea tonight and we are going to watch the second Rugby League "State Of Origin" match on TV tonight. Trish is making a curry!

Our youngest daughter is in Germany right now and having a ball from what we hear. We get a text message every now and again. She travels to Italy next week.

A Chilly Weekend

As we were returning from the Gold Coast recently we noted the outside temperature fall as we drove along. By the time we arrived home it was a cold 17 degrees and a lazy chilly breeze was blowing. We have had that cool wind now for the last few days and the top temperature has struggled to get above 20 degrees. One day it was a mere 17. It doesn't get much cooler than a max of 17 here! It wasn't quite cold enough for snow though as this piece of clip art seems to suggest!

Trish even fired up the heater on the air conditioner last evening for half an hour or so just to take the chill off the air. Texas Lou isn't having problems with the cold in Texas as her last comment shows.

Trish has been involved over the weekend with a Fair for her Stitchers group. She went in early on both Saturday and Sunday to help out with things. I got to computer Club on Saturday morning 'as usual'. It has been footy on TV for much of the weekend.

I have a total of 13 powered items connected to our entertainment unit. These include TV, Satellite TV, DVD player, Tuner Amplifier, Speaker System, headphones, remote control charger, HDMI switch, Digital STB, power for the TV aerial and a couple of others as well. With most of these being in 'standby' overnight or when not in use it must have an impact on the Power Bill.

Several months ago I bought a surge protected Power Board with 8 plugs, each with an individual switch. After holding off for several months I was brave enough to unplug everything and put the new power board to use.

Some things need to stay on all the time (except when we are away). I have reduced my number of ordinary power boards connecting it all up from 5 down to 2! I am not sure it looks any neater but I now have heaps more control on what is turned on and what is turned off.

Home From The Gold Coast

We have just returned from the Gold Coast where we spent yesterday and overnight with friends Barry and Rainy who were up from Melbourne for a week's holiday.

They were staying in a small but pleasant 'resort' in Broadwater close the Jupiter's Casino on the Gold Coast. It is also a short walk to shops and restaurants as well as the beach. Wednesday was beautiful and sunny and sitting on the balcony having a chat was extremely pleasant. This little chap (photo above left) decided to join us. As we were enjoying pre lunch drinks and it was only fair that our visitor be entertained as well.

Lunch was a had at a nearby foodcourt where Trish and I had our favorite Malaysian dish, Char Kway Teow. Bazz and I had already had a couple of cleansers so Barry and I also enjoyed a couple of stubbies while the ladies had a wine. Just after 3pm we set off on a drive south of Broadbeach. After visiting Burleigh Heads where we watched the surfers catching waves, we headed directly to Kingscliff, then back to the resort via Tweed Heads and Coolangatta.

This was all thirsty work (as you could imagine) so after a few more drinks we walked to a Vietnamese restaurant we had booked earlier for our evening meal. The food was wonderful and we all enjoyed ourselves. We eventually made our way back to the resort where we again enjoyed a late night tipple.

As it turned out we needed a few drinks as Trish and I were to sleep on the fold out sofa bed. I won't say it was the worst night's sleep I have had but I can't remember any other night off the top of my head which was as uncomfortable as this. The bed was like a saucer with a low spot in the middle. I had another anti-inflammatory tablet when I got up this morning as I guess my back muscles would be suffering!

But the company was wonderful and we had a great time. We arrived back at home after a 2 hour drive early in the afternoon. Bed will be pretty welcome tonight.

A Glorious Monday

If yesterday wasn't pleasant enough as far as the weather is concerned, then today is ideal. We have just sat in the sun and enjoyed a toasted sandwich for lunch. Out of the wind it is up to 25 degrees in our small backyard and there is hardly a cloud in the sky.

Trish has developed a bit of a cough and isn't feeling 100%. She says she caught the cold here when she came home ... but I am not so sure.

A cool start to the day but once the sun was up the chill was taken from the air. I did almost 13k's of bike ride this morning then I did some bottle washing! Here the bottle tops are drying after they have been sprayed with a sanitizer. However it looks like I will bottle later in the week as the brew is just not ready to bottle yet. Cool nights slow the brewing process despite having a 'warmer' under the brew to maintain a warm temperature.

I have my Community Association Meeting tonight. Then Wednesday morning we are heading down to the Gold Coast (about 2 hours south of here) for a night with Barry and Rainy who are up from Melbourne.

A Delightful Sunday

My PC continues to run beautifully, starting well, closing down without any hiccups, and, so far, the monitor loads each time I start up. It is my guess that several problems I have been experiencing with this PC over the last 2 years or so may have been caused by the faulty graphics card. I used to get an error message every few days "Windows Explorer has stopped working. Please wait while Windows Explorer restarts." I haven't had this error message yet! there would be times when it took a little extra time to close down too.

The new monitor isn't too bad either!

Trish has settled back in to life on "The Coast". She went to Stitchers on Friday and caught up again with everyone there. There was a little grocery shopping to do too. Friday afternoon was spent with friends at our weekly Friday afternoon 'meeting'.

I had a good morning at Computer Club yesterday and was able to help a few people out with some advice and help. There has been plenty of footy (and soccer and tennis) to watch on TV during the last day as well.

Days have been very sunny with temperatures in the low 20's. Nights have seen temperatures around 10 degrees.

Melbourne friends Rainy and Barry are currently holidaying on the Gold Coast. Trish and I will drive down there on Wednesday and stay with them that night. It should be fun.

Trish Home!

Heavy fog in Melbourne delayed Trish's take off and return home yesterday afternoon. She was an hour late getting in to Maroochydore. Two weeks seems such a long time and it is great to have her home again. However she does fly south again in less than 3 weeks to do some babysitting of Charlie and James seen in the photo left. In order going from left to right are all four grand children Charlie, Emily, Andrew and James.

Our daughter Kate is joining her husband Arj in New Zealand for a week and Trish has been pressed in to "Baby Sitting Duties". She is flying back to Melbourne in a couple of weeks but this time it is only for 7 days!

We ate at the local Thai restaurant last night. The food was quite good.

Read the post below for hopefully the conclusion to my on going PC Repair problems.

Graphics Card Replaced

The main PC is back in place in the 'office' and working again. After being pulled apart at the PC shop and giving it a close inspection small cracks were discovered in some of the solder points on the graphics card. The graphics card has been replaced. I have only started it up a couple of times since and at this stage all is running OK. During previous 2 hour severe tests at the PC shop on a previous occasion the graphics card had not shown any problems, it took a close visual inspection to sort it out.

The power supply has also been replaced as the fan was discovered to have a blade missing. My only minor hassle now is when the power supply was replaced I now no longer get the "Power On" light on the front of the tower. It will go back yet again to have this fixed but not right now.

All was done under warranty except it has cost me over $200 for a new and very large monitor. The other monitor which was deemed to be the problem now becomes my spare. I won't be sending it away for 'repair' as under normal conditions it works perfectly.

There was some excitement when I turned the PC on when I got it home as several programs did not want to work properly. The PC clock had turned itself off and had gone back to 1/1/2002! This made a huge mess of my anti-virus updates and the program showed as having a huge problem. A further anti virus update this morning has fixed all that.

I don't profess to be a computer guru but you would wonder how the everyday person in the street would get on in a situation like I have been through.

I do not question the shop as intermittent faults are the most difficult to solve. It was only when the fault occurred at the shop that the problem was overcome. I am a bit peeved that something as minor as the PC power light not coming on has still to be fixed. There should be a 'blue' power on indicator light showing all around the "Power" button in the photo above left.

Back To the PC Shop AGAIN!

Tuesday was a glorious sunny day here, a great day for me to get the towels etc washed as Trish is due home Thursday lunchtime. Wednesday we were expecting a couple of showers anyway!

Tuesday afternoon I set off to collect the 'new' monitor and then to catch up with friends for tea. The new monitor was collected and the evening meal at the Curry Bowl was exceptional and not expensive. I really enjoyed the night.

Upon returning home I set the new monitor up and everything went beautifully and I believed my PC worries were now over! It is a great large screen too being 24". Things fit everywhere just beautifully.

Wednesday morning I was up early and sorted out the new monitor registration and cashback. I checked out the warranty details on the old one believing it to be just two years. As it turns out, it is actually a three year warranty and I still have a couple of months before it runs out. I 'kept' the new monitor packing just in case it was required to send the old one off for a warranty repair.

Wednesday morning I drove to Buderim and attended the Computer Club Meeting there before returning to Caloundra and the PC shop to get an updated Tax Invoice in case it was required for the warranty. I eventually arrived home about 12:30 and switched the PC on ....... and you guessed it, the new monitor did not start up with the computer!

I packed it up and took it back to the PC repair shop (Techbench). They had never been able to replicate the fault at the shop and just took my word for what was happening. It was setup on the bench and started up, new monitor and all. It went beautifully! Then it was restarted and BINGO, the new monitor failed to start! At last the fault had been replicated at the repair shop.

"Leave it to me," I was told, "I will pull the thing apart and check each and every single piece! I will find out what is wrong with it!"

So here I am tapping away on the laptop!