Spring Is In The Air

The shorts have come out again the last couple of days, even the pool was up to 21 degrees yesterday. There is a feeling of warmth in the air. Yesterday was around 25 degrees and today is a cloudy 24 degrees. Some rain and thunder is expected later today.

I had a computer problem to work on yesterday with a friend from the Computer Club. He couldn't uninstall Office 2007. As it turned out the computer was unable to access a folder called "EQUATION" where some parts of Office 2007 are installed. It said we didn't have 'permission' to access that folder. A quick search via Google showed we weren't the only ones to have that problem. We downloaded a Microsoft "Fixit" file which managed to uninstall 95% of Office 2007.

I couldn't install a new version of 2007 because of the "EQUATION" folder permission problem so we put a copy of Office 2003 on. It works fine!

The Community Association is keeping me busy as well. Once the 'approval' is given by the government (ULDA - Urban Land Development Authority) for the Bellvista II development, things will begin to happen. Already some site tidy up work has been completed so the 'approval' must be just about here. Meanwhile the local MP is up in arms because the ULDA Chairperson failed to keep an appointment with him to discuss some resident concerns.

I am involved on both sides as the president of the Community Association here so my attendance is sought by the Local MP Mark McArdle as well as by Stockland, the developer! I have a media gathering at 4 pm today with the local MP and then a photo shoot tomorrow at 9:45 am with Stockland and the local Councillor.

To top it all off I also have a Community Association Newsletter to complete. I copy/paste much of the content from the bellvista.com.au website. As I write the website stuff too it needs some modifications for its presentation in the newsletter. I have to re work the bits that say "Click on this photo for a larger view." Some rewording is required to put things into context. Luckily that is all completed now and the newsletter is just about ready to be printed. That will be done sometime over the weekend!

Trish had a group of 4 sewing ladies around Monday morning for some making some Christmas decorations using beads. They chatted and enjoyed each others' company and got a few decorations completed.

Trish has Stitchers tomorrow while I have the First Test between Australia and Sri Lanka live on Pay TV tomorrow afternoon. We also have live coverage of the US Open Tennis Championship so the TV is getting a sporting workout right now.

Very Quiet Up Here!

No real news at all up here on the Sunshine Coast. After a couple of 'dry days' we have more rain forecast over the weekend. Even though we had around 3" earlier in the week, we could still do with some more rain.

Trish is up to her usual tricks, doing Census Collecting, attending Stitchers, Quilters and Trivia. She has only four Census forms to go, 3 of which people have 'said' they have mailed it in. The fourth one is a guy who is not at all co-operative. He will most likely get a "Refusal" notice lodged against his name and possible a $100 a day fine for not doing it.

I have continued to play around with my PC. I have 'connected' the old PC up so I can run it every week or so just to keep it up to date.

The lawns were mowed yesterday, the pool vacuumed this morning and it is telling me it needs more salt. That will wait till after the upcoming rain event.

I bought a new beer fermenter yesterday, a different style to the one I usually have. It is easier to firmly shut the lid and has a different sort of airlock than the previous one. Sometimes the older style air-lock wouldn't seal properly, this newer style seals much better. The beer is bubbling away in the garage now. I will do some bottle washing early next week and have a new brew stored away before the end of the week.

The old fermenter will get a good clean out with bleach just to make sure it is 'clean'. The very old fermenter has found its way to the recycling bin!

Rain is due later today extending into Saturday and early Sunday. We are off for 'Friday Drinks' shortly.

We have plenty of footy to watch on TV over the weekend.

The Rain Has Stopped

There isn't much news today, but at least the showers have stopped but we still have a strong blustery wind. All Gold Coast beaches were closed yesterday, it was just too dangerous to go into the water! Showers over the last three days has seen a total of 70mls fall (or just under 3").

In a previous life I used to get to the footy each week when we lived in Melbourne. There was a group of us who would meet regularly and enjoy the day together. We have all grown older but still try to keep in touch. One of the crew Max Lanyon and his wife Margaret are keen caravaners and enjoy coming north from Victoria to stay at the nearby Dicky Beach caravan park.

Max and Margaret popped in yesterday afternoon (as the photo here shows). It was great to catch up, share stories and update each other on recent happenings. We will catch them again for a meal this evening at our nearby Thai Restaurant.

Cool With Showers

This is the weather forecast for the rest of this week. However it is expected to improve as the week continues. Yesterday and overnight has seen us experience the second wettest day since mid April. It has been very dry and this rain is a godsend for gardens everywhere. As the photo shows, the showery weather is to continue today.

I have updated the rainfall sheet with the latest recordings which you can see here. Make sure you click on Q3 (bottom left of your screen) for the third quarter records.

Needless to say with yesterday being my first full day at home for a few days, the PC had a bit of a workout. However this was not without some drama. The powerboard you can see in the photo left WAS the one I used to use. I turned a switch on and there was a flash and a burning smell. The bad switch is the one third from the right.

I made a quick trip to our local "Bunnings" and bought a safer new replacement. I like the idea of individual switches for devices on powerboards as I really like to turn devices 'off' and not have them in standby. This is especially true for the PC. By turning the power right off via a switch means the PC totally shuts down and when it restarts it fully 'resets' and has a clean startup.

All is a little safer now.

My Movie Collection have been updated and the latest episodes of weekly programs have been completed. I have also downloaded the new "Underbelly" and we will watch that at our leisure.

Last night we watched "Fast & Furious 5". There was plenty of action and it was a bit of fun to watch. It was a great copy as well.

There's No Place Like Home!

I am back at home on the Sunshine Coast and it seems the grey skies have followed me. I managed my 12k bike ride today under threatening skies. Since then the skies have opened as the photo shows. It is very cool as well!

It has been so dry recently. Trish even had to 'top up' the pool while I was down in Melbourne. However after around 8mls so far today the pool is back to full again. The water diverter is excellent in getting the best for the pool from a relatively minor fall of rain.

The funeral on Friday morning went as expected and it was great to meet some of Phil's friends as well as his relatives from the the other side of his family. It was a no frills no holds barred affair. It spoke openly about his flirts with the law and how he had become heroin dependent. But he was best known as a happy guy and a good hardworking mate who loved to make people laugh.

I spent my final night in Melbourne with Chris Wendy and family. Chris enjoys his footy so there was plenty to do and talk about.

Trish was waiting at Brisbane Airport to pick me up and it was well before 6 pm when we drove into our Caloundra garage.

I have just had a phone call from Max Lanyon who is caravaning in this neck of the woods. He may be dropping in this afternoon to watch some footy. Max was one of the mates who I would meet each Saturday at Waverley (AFL Park) to watch the football quite some time ago now.

Max's lovely wife Margaret really enjoys my "Black Ale" so I must check I have plenty in the fridge!

It Isn't too Grey Outside

Thursday morning in Melbourne and it is a little overcast. Temp would be in the low teens I guess. Kate and Arj are off to school along with Charli. James is at Kinder this morning and I am about to head off and catch up with friends Pat and Graeme.

My flight down was delayed by about 20 minutes so it wasn't too bad. There wasn't an empty seat on the Qantas flight out of Brisbane. I was picked up by Kim and we found our way to my brother's home where I was to stay the night. We had a lovely Italian meal and enjoyed a few drinks. On Wednesday morning Geoff's wife Jeannette dropped me near the Dandenong Club where Kate picked me up on her way to swimming with young James.

During the afternoon I caught up with friends Gordon and Anne and enjoyed a chat, some computer stuff and a couple of beers. Wednesday evening was spent at the HoaTran Restaurant in Springvale. I was joined by Kim, Geoff and Jeannette as well as Eddie and Patsy Reardon. We had too much to eat but a wonderful feast. It is one of my favorite restaurants when in Melbourne.

I had a little sleep in this morning before the two grand kids wanted to join me in bed! Tonight it is Malaysia Garden Restaurant with Kate and family and Kim will be there as well.

The funeral of my cousin is at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Afterwards we will have a small get together before I head over to Chris' place to watch the footy on TV and stay the night.

I fly home just after lunch Saturday.

Our little car we have here in Melbourne has cost us so much recently with repairs. This trip it is running perfectly. The tyres are now pumped up, the fuel tank is full and the radiator has been topped up. It will stay at Chris' place for Trish to have when she flies down in October for a couple of weeks.

I Have Socks & Shoes On!

Most times, when I have socks and shoes on, it means I am going to Melbourne! Trish will drive me down to Brisbane to catch my plane to Melbourne just after lunchtime today.

It is really going to be a 'flying' visit with most of my time there already booked up. I have even asked my brother to grab a slab of stubbies' for me so I will have something waiting for me when I arrive.

I am not taking the laptop with me so this will most likely be my last post for some time. No I am not shaking with withdrawal ... just yet anyway!

Trish only has a remaining 30 or so Census forms to collect. She has to visit each residence at least 5 times. She believes there are a couple of places where she will need to make the full 5 visits. The houses and gates are locked so it appears there is no one there.

A lovely day again with top temp expected into the low 20's. It has been extremely dry with little or no rain for a month or so. The pool water level is getting a little low and I have the water diverter turned on and the hose is into the pool. I will only need around 10mls of rainfall to top it up again especially with the water diverter turned on. It does a remarkable job!

Showers are forecast here for later in the week. In Melbourne, cold with rain and showers are forecast for all the week!

A Quick Trip To Melbourne

My cousin who passed away on Friday night is to have his funeral on Friday August 19th late in the morning at Fawkner Cemetery in Melbourne. I have flights booked to Melbourne on Tuesday and I plan to return home on Saturday.

Direct flights to Melbourne out of Maroochydore start at $265 one way. We usually pay around $100 if we book way ahead. Return flights are similarly priced. Flying out of Brisbane with Qantas saves over $200 return!

I arrive in Melbourne from Brisbane on Tuesday around 4:30pm and will be collected by my brother and stay with him Tuesday overnight. I will get to our daughter Kate's home Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon will see me head to Hallam and visit Gordon and Anne Atkin. I will most likely catch up with our other daughter Kim for a meal in Springvale that evening. Thursday will be spent making quick visits to friends around the Berwick area and I will head out for an evening meal in Clayton with Kate and family!

I will attend the funeral Friday morning and enjoy a few 'afters' with relatives. Then it will be to Chris and Wendy's for Friday night and finally to Tullamarine Airport for a Saturday early afternoon flight back to Brisbane.

I hope you enjoy the joke in the post below.

US Recession

I hope you get a laugh out of this one! It gave me a chuckle or two.

The recession has hit everybody really hard...

My neighbour got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with rolls of pennies while she danced.

I saw a Mormon with only one wife.

If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.

McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.

Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

My cousin had an exorcism but couldn't afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her!

A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.

A picture is now only worth 200 words.

When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room.

The Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates.

And, finally....

I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Hotline. I got a call centre in Pakistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

It Was A Text Message

My cousin Phillip passed away last evening in Melbourne. I am still to book flights down at this stage but I will wait until there is some confirmed news on when arrangements will be.

Phil passed away at 7:20 pm Friday night. He did not survive an operation to remove a growth from his liver. His brother Garry along with Marie were with him. Garry lives around 160k's north of us and drove down to Melbourne to be with Phil during the operation.

I expect to possibly fly down to Melbourne on Tuesday and maybe stay with my brother Tuesday night. Then hopefully I can get to Kate's and stay there Wednesday and Thursday nights. Finally I would stay with Chris and family on Friday before flying back home on Saturday.

All these arrangements are still to be confirmed.

The loss of Tiger Airways flights into the Sunshine Coast has meant a huge increase in airfares. I guess I will paying twice the price I would have expected to pay. It also means there are no cheapish direct flights from the Sunshine Coast so I will be forced to travel to Sydney and then onto Melbourne. It appears my best bet is to fly to Brisbane on my return on Saturday.

Continue To Wait

It is rapidly approaching "Decision Time" with my cousin. He remains unconscious. He was due for a brain scan today where a decision on which way they would go would be made. Phil left instructions not to be revived is his quality of life would be too affected.

It is possible he could be left to allow nature to take its course.

Trish is busy at Quilters this morning and is out to collect more Census Forms this afternoon.

I will sit at home and wait for the phone to ring!

A Quiet Day

The phone still hasn't rung with any news, all I hear is that things are the 'same', no better but no worse. We can continue to keep our fingers crossed.

People who have visited us here know of all the electrical equipment I have around our TV setup. There is the TV itself, a set top box so the TV can have all the digital channels (these come built in to TV's nowadays), we have the Amplifier which looks after all the audio and speakers, there is a DVD player and the Austar PayTv receiver. On top of this we have a HDMI switch so I can connect everything to the TV via HDMI leads and an audio switch to send the sound from each of the components to our wireless headphones. And of course I have the WD TV Live Media Player as well to play back all the downloaded movies and TV shows!

This is eight items and each one has its own remote control!

To make things easier I bought and setup a Harmony Remote Control which takes over from all the other remotes. I bought my original one on eBay but later (pre GFC) bought an upmarket model for almost $300. I have since bought a brand new same model replacement again off eBay but only paid $85 for it.

You can get much better models nowadays but my older model does all I need it to do. A mate had a 'top of the line' Harmony One remote he wanted to sell for $50. His wife didn't like to use the Harmony One so he hardly ever used it.

Yesterday I grabbed it off him. Unfortunately he cleaned the plastic soft touch rear of the unit with Eucalyptus Oil which has had a detrimental effect on the plastic. It has become sticky so I will cover that soft touch back panel with 'contact'. To get me through until I get the new plastic contact I have used some plastic packing tape and it works fine. However the clear plastic contact will be better.

The new remote is certainly a step up from what I had been using. It has 'touch screen' controls and seems much more intuitive than the one I had. I have it all set up now and I am delighted with it.

Another glorious day today with a cloudless sky and an expected top temp of around 23 degrees. I am spending the day quietly today, no rush, do things when I want and just move along slowly!

As you can see from the photo left it was an extremely pleasant day today for a bike ride. Trish has organised a bus tour today for 25 ladies from Stitchers to Cooroy to the the old time movie theatre, a lovely lunch at the Cooroy RSL and some time in a couple of craft shops there. She was a little disappointed with the roll up but it will still be a fantastic day for those who go.

Last night Trish popped out for 30 minutes to help a non English reading Polish family fill in their Census form. As last night was Census Night she will begin in earnest to collect her area's Census Papers tomorrow.

Waiting!

The weather yesterday (Mon) was a warm 25 degrees with the wind blowing in off the sea. Today will be a little chillier with the wind around to the south-west again and an expected top temp of 22 degrees. My ride this morning was a little on the brisk side.

I have two cousins, Garry and Phillip sons of my recently departed uncle in Canberra. I only caught up with Garry 8 years ago when we were on our 8 month caravan trip. Garry and Marie live around 160k's north of us. Garry is a year or so older than me while Phil is a couple of years younger. Both have lived 'hard' lives.

For a while they worked together as roof tilers in Darwin.

Currently the younger cousin Phil is in Intensive Care at Monash hospital in Melbourne. Phil's organs have shut down following an operation he had on the weekend and he isn't doing well. Every time the phone rings I prepare for the worst and think about jumping online to grab tickets to fly down to Melbourne.

This meant yesterday was extremely busy getting a week's chores out of the way in case I have to drop everything suddenly and 'go'.

Our local Community association has been busy the last day or so and now as President I am in the thick of all of the action. Great day yesterday as we had a couple of 'wins'. All the news from BeCA is HERE.

Today saw me off to Centrelink to sort out a couple of minor issues seeing now I am a "Pensioner". Trish's work as a Street Walker (Census Collector) means I have to inform centrelink that she is doing some work.

I will continue to sit back and wait for the phone to ring!

MyP2P

Had an interesting situation Sunday afternoon here. At our place AFL footy takes over on the weekend. Most weekends we get all games on either PayTV or Free To Air (FTA). Every now and again we have a problem with the Sunday mid afternoon game shown on local Channel 7.

Here in Queensland all Brisbane and Gold Coast games are shown, usually live and on FTA TV. Sometimes this means we have the Brisbane game on PayTV as well as FTA TV as was the case today. We missed all TV coverage of the Hawthorn Vs North Melbourne game.

But today it wasn't a problem, we visited the MyP2P website (HERE) From the home page you click on the "Live Sports" tab at the top and then on to "Other". We found the Hawthorn Vs North Melbourne match there and watched it live on Trish's laptop while we kept an eye on other games on PayTV.

We found if we watched the 750kbps links the laptop suffered a little bit of a problem with buffering or possibly problems processing the video (the laptop only has onboard graphics and not a separate Graphics Card).

However when we dropped it back to 500kbps the stream came through 100% clearly and with little problem even in 'full-screen'.

For some of the 'links' you have to download some software, usually a 'player' to handle a certain type of video stream. Sopcast and Veetle are a couple I have had to download and install on my PC. The link tells you what program you need. Some links don't require any additional software. The link page asks if you want to download and install the software. After doing so, you reload the website link and watch your sport!

MyP2P is a great link to store in your Bookmarks/Favorites!

Friday morning was supposed to be fine with a few showers late in the afternoon. Needless to say we got 4mls Friday morning as the photo shows. With the diverter from the rain spout being diverted into the pool it had a bit of a lift as far as the water level is concerned.

A few beers with friends in the afternoon set up the night to watch the footy on TV. Trish completed her Census Form deliveries on Friday so now it wait and see till Census night on Tuesday. Then the big job comes collecting them all!

Saturday morning was busy but not hectic at the Computer Club. I managed to help out a lot but was never stressed so I had a line of people waiting for help.

My footy team had another huge win on Saturday.

Sunday there is some warmth in the air. For the first time I didn't reach straight for the Track Suit trousers, a pair of shorts were comfortable enough. There is more footy to come on TV today so that should fill it all in OK. It is forecast for possible storms this afternoon but it looks excellent right now.

I have a cousin who is in hospital in Melbourne undergoing surgery. Things could be better so we will keep our fingers crossed that everything goes to plan.

A Great Day

I have been kept extra busy by the Community Association website the last day or so. There is always something to update on the site or to change. We get emails about cats using someones front yard as a toilet, or a neighbour who parks across a driveway type things sent to us. This isn't our role. I have updated the "Contact Us" page on the website to direct people to the online Service Request form at the local council who do this sort of stuff.

Click on the screenshot for a larger view

Trish did some more Census Form deliveries after Stitchers yesterday then I had a Community Meeting at 4 pm to get to. I seemed to sleep pretty well last night.

Today I was again updating the website with a report on last night's meeting. I slipped in a 13 k bike ride as well and gave the pool filter a good clean.

Trish is at the Tourist Info Centre this morning and hopes to do another two hours of Census Form deliveries later on.

Tonight she has "Trivia" and I have an AFL on TV night on my own! I will enjoy a couple of quiet 'frothy tops'. I have another brew to put on tomorrow morning!

Pres Les

Kim got away OK on Sunday, she flew out at around 7 pm and was back at her place in St Kilda before 11 pm.

Airfares have gone up a lot since Tiger stopped flying here. Tiger are due back in the air later this week and we are ready to 'pounce' on any cheap fares which may crop up when things get back to normal. If we miss out then so be it, we will just wait a bit and head down south a little later.

Trish did census deliveries all Monday. She was pretty exhausted when she arrived home. Then it was for me to head off to a Community Association Meeting where I was elected President. It was a great night with over 50 residents there, about the most ever. One guy did a presentation on the future of the Caloundra Airport. He showed slides of the flight paths helicopters are expected to take and people in the audience just laughed at him. He went on to say aircraft movements are expected to double over the next 20 years and he was in even more trouble.

Then the developers Stockland had a presentation on their new 700 household development. They had a better reception.

Overall it was a great night and the people there loved it.

Today It was time to re do the BeCA Website, swap email addresses around and update details. Most of it is now done.

Trish did another 80 or so census deliveries and she has broken the back of it now. I went to the 'new' secretary's home and helped set up the BeCA laptop with email account, connect to the internet home netwrok and get the printer running.

Then it was back home and update the BeCA website.

We had a ring from "Cardinia Waters" Retirement Villa's saying our reserved Villa would be ready mid November. Trish has said she didn't want to do that and we should reconsider the reservation and let it slide.

Sensational weather right now with days getting towards the mid 20 degree mark. Just delightful weather!