Unheard Of!

Yesterday it was 33 degrees and an hour or so was spent idly in the pool with cool drinks in hand.  Right now it is around 19 degrees, the track suit trousers and 'hoodies' have come out again to keep warm.  On top of that we have had almost an 'inch' of rain.  It really does make us think we are back in Melbourne.  Temperature fluctuations like this just don't occur here in SE Queensland.

When I recently purchased my new modem/router there was a special offer going as well.  If you applied you would also receive a free 'wireless adapter' valued at around $40.  My free wireless adapter arrived yesterday. 

A wireless adapter when plugged into a USB port on my PC then makes it 'wireless'.  That is I don't have to have the blue ethernet cable attached to get on the internet.

It works very well.

Drinks were great yesterday afternoon, but not so great today.  Not moving at quite 100% right now but I have been heaps worse.  Just feeling slightly 'off'.

With the rain today Computer Club was a lot quieter with many not attempting the bad weather.

It's Bubbling Again!

The weather over the next day or so will remind us of our time in Melbourne.  We expect a hot 33 today with a blustery northerly.  And then there is to be a southerly change overnight with rain and a much cooler 24 tomorrow.  This is a mammoth fluctuation in max temperatures for this part of the world.

Along with the southerly change we have been told to get ready for rain as well!

I just couldn't help myself with this photo I took this morning on my bike ride.  I get out a little earlier nowadays and it is just magnificent riding along pathways such as the one in the photo.  I managed my 12.5 bike ride and my swim all over by around 8:15 this morning.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

As the title suggests, the brew I put on yesterday is bubbling away perfectly.  I was a little apprehensive as the brew was a "Black Ale" and I was using "Dark Brown Sugar", a combination which usually commences the brewing process a lot more slowly than a standard ale and white sugar.  The standard recipe can be bubbling in a matter of hours while a black can be 6 or 8 hours before any action commences in the air-lock.

Friday Drinks will be here again because of the hot weather.  The pool is a good spot to sit and enjoy a convivial or two.  Ian and Kerrie are popping over.  John has a former colleague's retirement function to get to.

The pavers in the backyard weren't a good buy as a pool surround.  We weren't given the full information on how to look after them.  The salt water and sun's UV will try most surfaces in this part of Australia.  The 'top' is wearing off many of the pavers exposing the aggregate in the concrete.  This is something we notice but is something we need to point out to visitors if ever a comment is made.

Ideally we should have been sealing them every couple of years. When they were first laid we were advised that sealing them was up to us and not a prerequisite for their ongoing maintenance.

Around the corner a guy is having a couple of his concrete areas treated with "covercrete'.  This adds a new surface and coloring to the concrete.

It does require being sealed every couple of years but this is straight forward with the right product and equipment and can be done in under an hour.

The guy doing the covercrete job popped around and had a look at our job.  He suggested not re-doing the paver area under the patio where everything is fine. He said that if I really wanted the job done he recommended to do all the areas around the pool.

Except for the pool edging, we would lose the 'paver' look.  This photo may give an idea of the outcome.  He would 'mark out' the paver outlines around the pool with a stencil to retain that paver look.  He quoted around $1500 to do the job.

We aren't in a hurry to do anything just now so we will think about it as a possible task for 2014.

Busy Times

We have both been quite busy the last few days.  I enjoyed the cricket right up to the final ball on Sunday night.  It seems so long since last Australia won a test match.

On Monday I bottled my beer.  The lid had failed to seal properly but that shouldn't make any difference to the brew itself.  You add a decanting apparatus to the tap and usually remove the air lock so air can take the place as the newly brewed beer pours out into the bottle.  I decided to leave the air lock in place while I filled the first bottle.  Usually you would expect to see a mass of bubbles in the air lock as air is forced in to take the place of the poured out beer.

The water in the air lock did not budge.  The leak was so bad air rushed in where the lid had failed to seal.  When you looked closely at the lid it could be seen as on a bit of a tilt.  It appears the neck of the barrel would warp as you tightened the screw on lid and therefore not seal.

Trish is bringing home a new barrel this afternoon and the old one has found its way to the recycling bin!  The tap, pourer and airlock are all new so will go with the new barrel.  The home brew guy is throwing in a 'strip thermometre' for me.

Much of Tuesday was spent setting up media players for friends.  I have loaned one to a friend to see if it was what he wanted.  Another guy bought one so I set it up for him yesterday as well.  I added a new theme to it and made sure it updated OK.  Both are very happy with the outcome.

My new watch from China arrived today.  It cost me a full $16 but is perfect for around the outdoors and in the garden.  It is pretty huge in size so I won't lose it.  Like several things from overseas, the instruction book left a bit to be desired.  But 15 minutes or so of tinkering had it up and running!

You do wonder how long it will last though!  But then the watch I wear when I am bike riding was purchased in Bali 20 years ago and hasn't skipped a beat!  So you just never know.

We have been enjoying a TV Series called "The Big C", the title meaning cancer.  The lead character is in her early 40's and has been diagnosed with cancer.  You don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to work out how the series ends. We both loved the series very much but last night was sat down to watch the final 2 one hour episodes.  It was sad but extremely enjoyable.

Tonight we may start on the latest series of "Boardwalk Empire".  We shall see what Nucky Thompson is up to in this series.  I seem to recall he was getting mixed up with Al Capone at the end of Series 3!

Trish is at Stitchers today and is due home (with the new barrel) shortly.  I will most likely put a brew on either Thursday or Friday!  I think it will be Thursday as then it can be bottled next Wednesday before the 2nd Test gets underway on Thursday!

To Computer Club

It will be a shortened trip to Computer Club this morning.  The cricket on TV is just too much of an attraction to spend time away.

The weather continues OK but today is quite overcast.  High 20's is expected and the possibility of showers which is another reason to get home and enjoy the TV and the cricket in case the weather intervenes.

I rode yesterday as per usual and found the pool really great when I arrived back home.

We were one member down for drinks Friday afternoon (which we hosted at our place) with Ian's wife Kerrie grabbing a cheap ticket to Sydney for a friend's birthday party.  Retired school principal John and his wife Marg are regular drinks attenders as well.

John has just completed a week's work at a school nearby.  He is well known in this area and people know the sort of work he prefers.  His week was spent 'covering' classes while teachers caught up with paper work. Not bad at $300+ per day!

John and his wife Marg arrived closer to 4pm than 3 but made up for his late arrival with a late departure, probably around 9pm.  It was extremely pleasant sitting beneath the shelter after the sun went down in our backyard while the temp remained around the mid 20's.

The new solar light under the shelter got a good try out and proved to be 100% effective.

The home made Sambucca and Bourbon were a major hit later in the evening!

Meanwhile Ian wasn't operating all that well so he had departed early.

I will most likely enjoy a couple of ales later in the day but I seem to suspect it won't be too many.  Last night was a lot of fun though!

A mate Russ has suggested I try a little silicone around the lid of the home brew container and the air lock grommet to ensure a better seal.  I will give that a go for my next brew and see if it solves my problem.  The current brew should be ready to bottle on Monday.

Before The Cricket Gets Underway!

My brew eventually was 'put on' early Tuesday.  Again the vessel has failed to seal properly.  I have replaced the lid seal and the grommet which goes around the air lock but still the vessel won't seal totally.  I even gave the brew a stir to ensure it was 'working'.  Within a matter of seconds I had froth everywhere.

It won't make any difference to the brew itself, it just means I am unable to easily monitor how the brewing process is going.  I have to use the hydrometer.  It seems things should be ready to bottle on Monday.

I bottle washed yesterday so that part of the process is over as well.

I missed my bike ride on Wednesday.  As I was wheeling the bike out along the sideway I noticed a white patch on the tyre.  It turned out it was thread from the tyre's lining.  There was therefore very little between having a puncture or not.

Trish bought me a new tyre later that afternoon and I fitted it ready for Thursday's ride.

We were told about a spot in Caloundra which had Happy Hour from 4 pm followed by a $10 Parmigiana.

It sounded a good idea so we rang Kerrie and Ian who joined us and we headed off late Wednesday afternoon.  A schooner of beer and a glass of wine were $4 each.  It was delightful enjoying our drinks right beside Pumicestone Passage as the photo shows.

On our table was a pamphlet advertising the $10 dinner special.

After some time Ian and I headed up to order our $10 Parmagianas.  There was another menu which had the meal at $15 with a glass of cider.  We ordered 4 meals and were told that will be $60!  We were told the adverts on our table were out of date (despite having Nov written across them) and the meal was now $15.  We cancelled our order and told the 'manager' that what he had done was illegal as the meal was openly advertised at $10 and that we would be leaving and not coming back.

The manager re-considered his position and eventually came over to our table.  He apologized and we were given our meals at no charge!  It was a sizable serve so we enjoyed our free meal.

After a couple of drinks back at Ian's we eventually headed home around 9pm.  We sat outside for half an hour or so and enjoyed our backyard and the warm night air.  We have a fair few Christmas lights around the place so it was just delightful sitting outside.

My bike ride this morning was completed despite me not moving at 100%.  The swim afterwards was sensational. 

We should get to 30 or so today so I should slip another swim in later on during a break in the cricket.

And Then There Was Rain!

At long last we have experienced a good long fall of steady rain.  It began slowly around 5pm last night and continued on and off overnight.  This morning there were 35mls in the gauge following on from 6mls the night before.  We expect things to rapidly green up, especially our bare front lawn. 

We only got the edge of the severe storms Maroochydore had late Saturday afternoon.  They had hail the size of oranges smashing car windows and causing both damage to property and injury to people.  Reports of a major traffic jam around the major Maroochydore shopping centre appeared as motorists sought refuge in the underground carpark!

As the photo shows the pool is now at its upper limit.  I even turned the water harvesting off around 6pm last night.  After such a prolonged dry spell the roof and atmosphere were both full of dust and this dust ends up in my pool.  I gave the pool a good vacuum after my bike ride on Sunday morning and followed up with needing to flush out the filter.

The water from the flushing out was red with dust.  You would almost call it 'top dressing the front lawn' there was so much to be cleaned out.

The pool needed yet another vacuum this morning after the lengthy overnight rain.  The dust is a red color indicating it has been 'up there' for quite a while and blown in from areas in the west of Queensland.  I gave the filter a second clean in two days this morning.  With so much rain, many of the pathways I ride along most mornings would be covered with seepage so I didn't bother this morning.

However I still jumped in the pool for a swim with the water temp between 23 and 24. 

The rain and dark clouds have now cleared and we have clear blue skies with a very hot sun beating down.  But with this lovely warm weather and after 35mls of rain you can only guess what the humidity level is like.

I went to put a brew on Saturday afternoon but found the package of hops was missing.  Usually it is fixed under the plastic lid of the home brew can.  I removed the lid and discovered the pack was missing.  Trish is into Caloundra this afternoon so I will head in with her and make my way to the brew shop and see what he says.  This means I will most likely put the brew on tomorrow and probably bottle it either Sunday or next Monday.

I will bottle wash on Wednesday, before the Test match begins live on TV on Thursday!

Last night we finished watching Series 2 of "The Newsroom".  As with the first series, the first two or three episodes are confusing and require some patience to persevere with.  But after that it improves greatly.  We were into the final half hour of the last episode when the credits suddenly appeared on the screen.  Despite scrolling through the credits, the audio still played.  There had been a fault in the video!

Onto the laptop I went, into one of my preferred websites and I saw another copy of the final episode, this time with "Repacked" in the title.  This usually indicates there was a problem with the original file but it has been done again and the fault has been fixed.  I downloaded the repacked file and we eventually watched it and the end of the series.

While it was downloading we watched an episode of a TV series caused "Breathless".  It isn't in the same class as The Newsroom but is set in a London hospital for women during the early 60's.  This was a time of illegal abortions and the introduction of The Pill".  We have another 4 episodes to go and will most likely watch those tonight.

Using Google

I jumped on the internet to Google "water falling from sky".  Turns out it is called "rain".  It is as black as outside and it is trying very very hard to rain with a little success.  We have had rain on and off for almost an hour now and have around 6mls in the gauge.

Despite being a small amount in total, it has been enough to give the pool a bit of a top up.  We could do with some more but even 6 or so mls is enough to give the pool a good drink.

But the lawns and gardens will appreciate it the most.

I was doing a presentation at Computer Club this morning on cheaper android phones and Telechoice phone plans.  I mentioned it in the post for Monday.  Our regular computer 'Guru' would be away and I was asked to do something.  I decided to do it as a website which I threw together out of Google Sites.

I was all prepared and ready to go when we discovered we were having problems with the club's internet connection.  As the website was on the net I was doomed for my presentation.  That was until we set up a temporary internet connection via the "tethering' facility on my android phone.  It was a great practical demonstration of how a 'cheap' phone can still be used to get a laptop onto the net in an emergency.

You can check the presentation out HERE.

The whole thing seemed to go down pretty well.  Especially when a 2 yr plan and phone on Optus was around 1440 over 2 years where a cheaper phone and $480 over two years (Total $580) on the Telstra network was available as well. That is a good saving in anyone's language.

The guy who makes his own alcohol which then can become whisky, rum or whatever presented me with another 1.125 litres this morning.  My supply of "bourbon" is now filled up again!  I am copying some TV series over for him as I type.

Yesterday I was a member of a delegation which had a meeting with our local MP.  It was over issues affecting the Community association.  He is going to do some investigations for us on concerns we have with overhead helicopter circuits.  It seemed to go well.

The number of empty home brew bottles I had this morning was good evidence that Friday drinks last night was extremely pleasant!

Trying To Rain!

For all of this week we have had a forecast for possible storms.  These storms are occurring inland and then making their way to the coast, but they never make it this far.  We are being told that we have a better chance of getting some rain later today but we should be well and truly in for some wet weather tomorrow.

Up until this stage we have only enjoyed 1ml overnight Sunday because the storms just can't reach the coast before petering out!

Today is steamy again with some ominous looking clouds.  In our little backyard it is in the low 30's but extremely pleasant under the new shelter.  As the shelter is so high we are able to enjoy plenty of circulating breezes underneath.

The pool was a gorgeous 25 degrees this morning when I had my swim after a my morning 12.5k bike ride.

So what have we been up to?

Very little really.  Trish has been a little busy around the home after a weekend involved with the Arts Centre Fair.  She got the sewing machine out yesterday and made this cover for the Waeco out of a soft vinyl.

It will give some protection to the portable refrigerator if and when there is a storm and we can't get the Waeco inside.

The new modem/router has a facility where you can add a hard disk drive to it which can be accessed for other computers on our wireless network.

As the modem/router stays on 24/7 it means this drive can be accessed at any time from any computer on the network.  It is a 350GB drive I resurrected from my cupboard full of old bits and pieces.

I have set the hard disk drive up so when I back up my computer's major files (documents, photos, settings, profiles etc) they can be backed up onto this drive.  I have done the same thing with Trish's laptop backups, everything from either computer's major files can now be backed up onto this drive.

It isn't the quickest backup but it does get the job done and everything is backed up to the one place.  As you can see from the sticker it is nominated as T Drive.  I have other backup drives where I keep all my movies and TV Shows.  I have other drives which store all my 'programs' I have downloaded 'just in case'.

All in all I have 5 drives with back ups on them.  I actually have 2 backups of everything.  Some backups are on portable drives so the can be taken away easily.  This is especially handy when we visit friends and want to swap movies or for when we travel to Melbourne.

On top of this we another two portable hard drives attached to either media player as well!

I was sorely tempted to buy another 1.5TB portable drive recently advertised on special at Dick Smith's for $102.  I managed to resist!

1 Severe Thunderstorm = 1ml of Rain!

It was all puff and whistle when we were told of an upcoming storm last night.  Here we were sitting watching the golfers go off 160k's south of us because of approaching thunderstorms.

The skies above us were getting blacker and blacker, there was some distant thunder and then down it comes, a trickle at first then turning into another trickle!  And that was it.

We must have received another overnight sprinkle as there was 1ml in gauge this morning and dirt in the pool's skimmer box where the hose from the water harvesting connector empties!

I have been on the bike the last couple of days doing my 12 or so k's and Trish spent all yesterday at the Craft Association Fair.  Though there are no concrete totals just yet the feeling is the Fair was a very successful fund raiser!

Computer Club was all busy again on Saturday and I think I was able to help a few out.

I am doing a presentation next week at Computer Club as the key speaker and President may not be able to attend.  I am first cab off the rank and I am doing a bit on Mobile phones, Phone Plans and Google accounts.

My teaching experience is that you must be solidly prepared to do anything in front of an audience.  So I use the free website facility available through Google Accounts to create a quick website.  I have put the key points of what I want to say onto the website so all I need to do next Saturday is visit the website and there is my presentation all ready to go!

You can check it out HERE.

Another freebie available through your Google Account is online documents.  I have copy/pasted the whole presentation into a Google online document.

Afterwards people who wish to revisit what I have said need only follow the link to the document and then easily print it off!

You automatically get a Google Account when you create a GMail address.  Go to Google, in the search type Google Account, and login when asked.  Go to "Dashboard" and then you will find everything you need.

You also need to associate your phone with your Google account.  When this is done you can then save all your phone contacts into your Google contacts. Even "Blogger" where I do this blog is now a part of my Google account.

It is cloudy outside right now (mid afternoon) and again we are being told to prepare for rain.  If only ....

End Of The Week

Here we are at the end of the week and the sun has returned to the skies.  The weather has been mild and a breezy 28 or so each day with a little hotter expected today.

After Trish returned home from Stitchers on Wednesday I hopped in the car and headed off to collect the repaired Waeco and the new modem router.

I had ordered the modem/router online from a large Brisbane based Computer Store called Umart.  They have a kind of 'sub-branch' here around 15k's away from Caloundra near Maroochydore.  So you purchase online one day and usually your item is available to collect from their nearby store the next day.

I awoke very early on Thursday wondering how setting up the new modem/router up would go.  I want different devices to be able to 'speak' with each other so I had to ensure all the settings were spot on.

There were a couple of hiccups but after an hour or so my PC, Trish's laptop, our two mobile phones, the printer, our TV and my internet radio were all connected and online again.

Each time any device connects to the network it is given a number by the modem/router.  Sometimes this can be a hassle because, depending on when a device is turned on and subsequently connects to the network, has an effect on what number it may be given.  So if I wish to transfer a movie from my PC to the hard disk drive (HDD) attached to the media player it is handy if the particular HDD always has the same number.

I can just press a button on the keyboard and the HDD attached to the media player 'opens' on my screen.  Then it is just a matter of drag and drop and the movie gets copied across.  Setting a permanent number took a little bit of figuring but all is perfect now. The biggest difference I have noticed is just how much quicker it is to transfer movie files wirelessly across the house.  The new modem/router has Wireless 'n' which is quicker than 'b' or 'g'.

The Waeco is back and in full operation.  It took a long time for the repair to happen but all is well that ends well.  The Waeco now lives just outside the back door.  I bought a stand for it as well so it now sits well off the ground.  This is safer for it in case of wet weather and it sure makes opening and closing a lot easier as well.

I will get the stand 'for Christmas'.  Somewhere along the line I will get a Christmas Gift voucher for $50 which will I will then pass on to Trish.  Trish is going to sew up a waterproof cover for the top of the Waeco, just in case of a sudden nasty storm.

My back feels a heap better but I do need to be careful with what I do.  That is easier said than done.  And we have a new curtain in the main bedroom.  10 years of Queensland sun meant the former curtain was looking a little 'tired'.

We had our weekly drinks session last night as one of the group had a commitment Friday.  It was the first time all 6 of us had been together for quite a while so it was good.

Ian and Kerrie have a daughter in her 30's who struggles from time to time.  She finds it difficult to keep a job and at times, can be quite a handful.  She receives support from the government.  She lives with Kerrie and Ian.  So despite being retired, they always have another body around the house.  They have been looking for something bigger with pretty much an area where the daughter can live.

It appears they may have found something larger to live in which could suit their needs so they are making plans to purchase.  The say they will rent it out and stay in their current home until later 2014.  It is hoped with property again beginning to move in this area they have purchased their new home at a lower end of the cycle and they could be able to sell their current home as things further improve.

They will eventually be around 6k's away which creates a hassle for our regular Friday night's.  They are keen to keep these social nights going but we will see.

I didn't ride yesterday because I was setting up the modem/router but I did get around 13k's in on my bike this morning.  With recent cooler overnights, the pool wasn't too bad this morning at around 23º.

A New Modem/Router

My internet modem/router has recently begun to shut itself down and restart again every few days.  Though not a real problem right now I see it as the beginning of the end for it.  You might be halfway through something when it all stops, there is no internet and all the lights on the modem have gone out.  A minute later all is fine again and you can complete your task.

My current modem/router has Voip which we no longer use as our phone plans are so generous.

A replacement Voip enabled modem/router will set me back around $180.  I am going for a TP-Link TD-W8980 which will cost me under $110.  From checking the internet it seems it is pretty nifty and cheaper unit.  It seems to get great reviews from all over.  It comes with all the bells and whistles and is wireless "N".

This means not only greater wireless range but much quicker wireless speeds.  So I should now be able to copy over a movie from my PC to a hard drive attached to the media player in half the time.

Increased range will be good too.  Right now the wireless reception for my Kogan Internet Radio is just one or two bars.  It should be interesting to see what it is when I pick the new modem/router up tomorrow.

I will fetch it when I get the Waeco fridge which is also ready for me to collect.

We had our final Community Association Meeting last night.  Previously attendances had been quite down but last night we had in excess of 50 people there.  It was excellent.  The speakers were high profile and interesting.  It made being involved with the group all that much better.

We have had strong winds and a few showers overnight.  With all the stuff in the air last night and with the strong wind and rain the pool is full of dust again.  It is still windy today so I will vacuum the pool tomorrow. Today we would have been lucky to get to 24 degrees.  With a shower early this morning I didn't manage a bike ride either.

Warmer sunny weather should return tomorrow and carry on for the rest of the week and into the weekend.

It's A Very Warm Sunday

We didn't even get into town for a meal on Thursday.  Instead we opted for a few home brews and a couple of serves of noodles from the Noodle Shop in Golden Beach.  It was an excellent choice!

There weren't drinks on Friday as friends Ian and Kerrie had people up from Sydney for the week.  It was to be their last night so they planned to head out for a final meal together.  It didn't make much difference to us, we sat out back and enjoyed a few drinks on our own!

Trish had a busy day with Quilters in the morning on Friday and then a big 'grocery shop' that afternoon.  I meddled around at home just doing stuff.

Computer Club was on again for me Saturday.  The photo shows a couple of the ladies I help.  Both ladies in the photo go to Trish's Stitchers Group on a Wednesday.  Ruby recently turned 90 and enjoys her PC, her laptop and her 7" tablet. 

I helped her with taking photos and then processing them on her tablet.  Ruby would be easily the youngest 90 year old I know, she is as bright as a button and has a keen sense of humour.  I also set up a home wireless network for her earlier this year.

Another lady had her Windows 8 laptop not do an update for 8 months.  She would get an error and no Windows updates would be downloaded and installed.  I got onto Google and tried a couple of things all unsuccessfully.  I deleted bits and turned off services and then turned them back on again all without luck.

We tried a "Safe Mode" startup unsuccessfully but when the computer started up as normal, a screen popped up saying there were 72 updates available to her.  I don't know what we did but it eventually downloaded and updated well over 1GB of updates.  She was pleased it all worked. Neither of us know how we fixed it!

I mowed the lawn on Saturday afternoon.  I didn't take much grass off but I managed to relocate a couple of bucket loads of dust from the front to all over the place!  It did tidy up all the leaves around the front lawn and it certainly looks a lot neater now than before.  With the dry weather, the gum trees are stressed and dropping lots of leaves.  The swim in the pool afterwards was great!  It got rid of the dust from all over me and cooled me off.

With a very warm day promised today (31º) the pool will be a popular spot later.

Two Irish Deer Hunters In NZ!

Two Irishmen flew to NZ on a hunting trip.

They chartered a small plane to take them into the bush for a week hunting deer.

They managed to bag 6. As they were loading the plane to return, the pilot said the plane could take only 4 deer.

The two lads objected strongly. “Last year we shot six. The pilot let us take them all and he had the same plane as yours.”

Reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six were loaded. The plane took off.

However, while attempting to cross some mountains even on full power the little plane couldn’t handle the load and went down.

Somehow, surrounded by the deer bodies, only Paddy and Mick survived the crash.

After climbing out of the wreckage, Paddy asked Mick, “Any idea where we are?”

Mick replied, “I think we’re pretty close to where we crashed last year.”