Whitsundays Trip Looms.

The weather has warmed up during the day but not 'hot' overnight yet. This means the pool loses much of the heat it has gained during the day. Most mornings nowadays the pool is about 22.

Yesterday I 'ordered' my new computer. The guy said I seemed to be going for a bit of 'overkill' with what I had ordered. Possibly be ready for collection Thursday or Friday. 2 MB Ram, good graphics card, 500 GB Hard Drive, Quad core processor, 22" LCD monitor, and heaps of USB's at the back. It should be fun.

Trish ordered a new overlocker sewing machine too. Christmas has come a little earlier than expected.

Our Whitsundays trip is now only a week or so away. Four couples are going and I have the biggest preparation job to do, organize the beer and wine! Thank heavens for the internet and cheap VoIP phone calls!

Here is a photo of the catamaran we will be on.



Here is one of the cabins.



Here is the freezer storage area.


More info on the catamaran:

Leopard 1050 Power Catamaran

Another addition to our fleet, this very roomy twin-engine catamaran cruiser has beautiful classic lines with timeless appeal. The large open plan saloon and spacious home style galley offers comfort, excellent ventilation and is equipped with everything a gourmet chef would require to produce scrumptious meals for his or her crew.

A three burner stove, oven underneath, large bench top area and a decent-sized sink help make the galley area a breeze in which to create fabulous meals afloat.

Boasting 4 large private double cabins, this vessel is ideal for a large family or a party of 2 - 8. Relaxing in the large flybridge is made easy as it boasts a full bimini for shade and offers ample seating for a full crew, making it the perfect entertaining area.

Easy access to the warm Whitsunday waters is simple by way of a swimming platform and ladder from the rear of the cockpit, with a refreshing hot/cold deck shower waiting for you upon your return. A great cruiser for a large family or group of friends, this catamaran is always in demand.

Hot And Sunny Sunday

Not a lot of news the last couple of days. Today is quite hot, the hot back corner of the yard says current temp up there is 34 degrees. Sunny with a gusty N/W wind dragging heat down from the north. Hopefully we will get a storm tonight to dampen things down again. The hot dry winds dries everything out.

I have decided to update the computer. It is getting on towards 4 years old now and except for replacing the monitor, it has done a great job for me. When home it is used most days for 3 hours or so. This does not count downloading movies! I hope to place the order early this week. The last day or so has been spent chasing up drivers so my printer, scanner, webcam etc will work with Vista.

I bought a PVR off eBay this week. It is only a cheapie, factory 'second' so has a bruise on it or something. It is Standard Definition, single tuner with a 160GB hard drive. It means the old Panasonic VCR has gone. The only downside to the PVR is it only can record free to air TV. The connections are only RCA's (3 leads, white, red, yellow) but it looks 500% on picture quality compared to the old VCR.

My daughter has got me involved with Facebook so I am having a bit of a play with that. You can use the feed http://newsfromthesunshinecoast.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default into Facebook so you can keep up with this blog via your Facebook homepage. First though you have to download Flog Blog from the Applications area of Facebook and enter the above link in there.

Pool is slowly warming up, looking at about 24 by mid afternoon today.

Friday's Latest

Yesterday I watched Victoria defeat South Australia fairly comfortably to finish third overall in the week's series of one-day cricket matches. I had another yarn with John Wright, ex NZ Test Cricketer and he remarked on the great conditions his players had enjoyed here on the Sunshine Coast. However he wasn't too pleased when Tasmanian Travis Birt made 195 N.O. including 10 sixes and 9 fours and led his team to a comfortable win over the New Zealand 'A' side.

I had a chat with Lyall Johnson who is a sporting journalist with Melbourne's "The Age" newspaper. During our discussion he spoke about the three players he felt were competing for the Victorian wicket keeping spot. And guess what, there was an article just about that in today's 'Age'.

There was some great cricket over the week and I enjoyed every ball I watched.

Have you ever thought of adding an RSS link to this blog page? At the foot of the page is 'Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)' If you click on this you will find yourself creating an RSS link to this page. This photo shows my 'home page' which I see every time I connect to the web. I have made my own home page with Yahoo. I believe Google has a facility where you can create your own home page too. Those headlines you see are links to an RSS Feed. By clicking on the Posts (Atom) link above you can make direct links from the blog page to a home page which enlists the use of RSS feeds. Click on the photo for a larger view, then click on "Back" to return to this page.

The email program Thunderbird can also receive RSS feeds and then the headlines are always there!

An RSS Reader will also accommodate RSS Feeds.

Cricket And More Cricket!

Where did the AFL footy season go? It is now full on cricket! Yesterday it was Australia Vs India, live on TV from India. Today it was Victoria Vs South Australia live in the flesh at Caloundra!

Victoria cruised to an easy win, I was back home at about 2 pm when the game was due to finish at 5:30 pm. South Australia recovered from 5/25 to make 102. Victoria made those runs in about 20 overs for the loss of one wicket. Victorian opening batsman Aiden Blizzard made a fifty n.o. which included 2 enormous 6's, crossing the road to land in a neighbour's front yard!

During the break of innings, former Victorian wicket keeper (and captain) Darren Berry gave this young local lad a few pointers. It was great to see. The boy lapped up all the information! Later the boy helped in the South Australian warm up, returning the ball to the bowlers as they loosened up.

He had a great day!

High 20's today as the pool slowly warms up. Hopefully the pool will get to about 24 this afternoon. However it will lose a lot of heat overnight.

Another pleasant 10 k bike ride, followed by a brisk swim and breakfast got the day off to a good start. Trish drove to Brisbane to have lunch with a friend from Drouin in Victoria who is in Brisbane visiting her sister for the week. Before I got to the cricket I was pricing a new computer in Caloundra.

From Footy Season To Cricket Season

After recovering from Geelong's win in the AFL Grand Final, and the departure of friends Det and Brenda on Sunday, my thoughts then went to a cricket extravaganza happening this week on the Sunshine Coast. State cricket sides from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania along with a representative New Zealand 'A' team were participating in a season warm up one-day series here. Yesterday we saw some great cricket as well as current or near future (as well as past) international players. Tait (the Australian Test fast bowler) was there along with other 'on the fringe' Test players such as Cameron White and David Hussey.

The New Zealand 'A' team had 4 players who will depart after this week's matches to become members of the N.Z. test squad to visit South Africa.

But there keeping an eye on N.Z. preparations was the great Sir Richard Hadlee and former N.Z. test opener John Wright against whom I had played when I taught at the RAAF School in Malaysia.

Remember to 'click' on the photos for a larger view. Then click on "Back" to return to this page.

We had a good chat with Hadlee and he kindly allowed me a quick snap which I have on this page. I had a longer talk with the former N.Z. Test opener John Wright. Though not a wicket keeper, he stumped me off John Embury way back in 1978 in our match, RAAF Penang Vs the Derick Robbins XI. He remembered the tour fondly and even to playing cricket in Penang. The heat was a major memory for him though this was compensated by the icy cold Anchor Beer we drank over there.

N.Z. 'A' played Victoria and got up to win with 4 balls to spare. Victoria's Cameron White top scored for the match with 65.

It was a sensational day! Play continues tomorrow at Caloundra (Weds) with Victoria playing South Australia. This photo shows John Wright keeping an eye on things with the New Zealanders on the field.

Meeting and speaking with Sir Richard Hadlee was a great thrill.