An Update ... At Last!

Looking towards the south there sure has been a heap of wind and rain down there.  Everyday we heard about trees being blown down, houses damaged and even more windy weather forecast for the next day.  The Sunny Coast hasn't been left right out of the equation as that wind has reached all the way up here, albeit nowhere near as strong.  But it is from the south so has been keeping the temperature down to the low and mid 20's.  For a couple of mornings the strong gusty wind has even kept me off my bike!

Today is a little on the cooler side with a brisk breeze but there is plenty of sun.  We managed a few really nice days with the pool water getting up to around 24.  However with the cooler southerlies returning, the pool water is more like 21 or 22 now.  Warm enough for a quick swim after a bike ride, but it is was sure chilly when you got out after a swim with that southerly.

Things happen in threes don't they?  And you should check the car radiator and see what the water level is like shouldn't you?

The latter is something I am guilty of not doing!  We do keep an eye on the temp gauge in the old car and as soon as the gauge wandered above midway point the other day it was time to pull over and wait it out.

3 litres of water later the radiator was again full.  That problem had been solved but the car wasn't running well at all for the next day or so.  But then after several more days the old car hasn't skipped a beat!  Then my watch suddenly lost 20 minutes and it seemed it required a new battery.  As I buy my watches from China, and as cheap as chips, it is usually cheaper just to buy a new watch rather than pay $10 for a new battery.

So I now have a new watch and this one much dearer than I usually pay as it was $24 delivered!

That was the second thing!

I do enjoy playing with my electrical toys.  I pinched the webcam off the PC and attached it to an Android TV Box to try out Skype via the TV.  After a while I worked it out and got it to work.  Afterwards I had to crawl back under the Computer desk to put the webcam usb back into the PC.  I decided to show how it worked to Trish.  Under the Computer Desk I go again and detach the usb and set the thing up again on the android TV box and the TV.

When finished, I have to return under the computer table and so on and so on!  There has to be an easier way and I remembered the 7 port USB hub I had bought (but without an official power pack).  I connected the webcam to port 7 and no go!  The same happened with ports 4,5,and 6!  I suspected the generic type power pack I was using wasn't powerful enough so I attached a more powerful one to the hub and switched it on!

The PC instantly turned itself off and there was a burning smell!  I was a bit stupid wasn't I?

I managed to get the PC running again but the 6 USB ports at the back of the computer wouldn't work and it seemed I had blown the Ethernet connection which connects my PC to the modem router and the internet!  I had a wireless adapter dongle and plugged that into the usb port at the front of the PC which was still working and at least I could again connect to the internet via our home wireless network.

I contacted the Computer repair guy from the Computer Club and he suggested he could possibly fix the ethernet connection but wasn't at all hopeful of the 6 USB ports at the back of the PC.  However he suggested turning the PC right off, even at the power point, for 30 minutes may allow the Computer's Power Supply to reset itself and get everything working again.  This I did but only checked the ethernet connection to see if it worked .... and it didn't.

The next day I started the PC up and checked the 6 USB ports at the rear of the computer and was delighted to find the reset had worked and they were up and running again.  I had no luck with the ethernet connector though.  But $50 later and a trip down the road to Jaycar where I bought a USB3 to Ethernet adapter I am pleased to say everything is working perfectly again.

The 7 port USB power hub will go in the bin, it's the one I bought which didn't come with a power adapter.  A replacement with a proper Australian power adapter has been ordered from eBay!

The second car which Trish has had since new, will probably need to be replaced.  It has done a wonderful job but we are beginning to lose that little bit of confidence we need to have in a second vehicle.  It is getting close to the time when we need to give Kane down in Melbourne a call, possibly around Christmas time this year, when we are down in Melbourne at look at a replacement.

A few years ago when we were in Melbourne we took the old car into a dealer to see what we could get for it as a trade in.  Even back then we were only offered $200 for it!  For a car which was valued at $200 it has done a fantastic job for us since then.

The garage is beginning to look a little different too.  I have redone the shelving units in there and set up a new bank of them.  Now we can keep much of the stuff off the floor and it looks heaps better.  With new floor coverings coming for the master and second bedroom tomorrow, all the furniture is being moved into garage so the guys can do their vinyl laying!

The beds and chest of drawers etc will go in tomorrow.  The workmen will be able to help move the heavier items.

A slight leak in a the ensuite shower cost us around $150 the other day.  We can have it fixed at no labour charge via a group up here which provides free services sponsored by the Federal Government.  Instead of just replacing the tap washers we have finished up with new taps and a new shower head.  Being the ensuite, the replacements aren't always in a 'public' area of the house so the pieces we have had installed are quite functional but the new shower head is great.