Plenty Of Water Has Passed Under The Bridge

The headline above is true in more cases than one.  As you may have seen on the news, SE Queensland has received a heap of rain with this area approaching around 200mls over the 3 days or so.  It is still raining outside now as I type. Earlier this morning (as I type at 8:34am) I think I saw a lighter patch in the skies as the sun tried to poke its head out through the clouds.

But it is raining again right now and has been doing so for the last 30 minutes or so.

The rain has been heavy at times but generally very steady giving us a good soak which is just what we need.

Usually I could tell you to the ml as to just how much rain we have had but today I can't.  As the 'ordinary' photo shows above, the PC has had a bit of an accident.  It all began of Friday with a few minor issues.  My default file downloader began to play up just a little.  It didn't matter what I did it still only worked intermittently. Then on Saturday it stopped working altogether.

On Sunday I thought I would do a System Restore which I tried but it didn't complete fully.  Partial System Restores are not good!  Thereafter a few other things stopped working including my networking, I could no longer see some other devices on my network.  The ability to be able to move files around, especially to and from the Seagate Cloud drive is very important for me.

Next step was to 'undo' the System Restore back to how it had been originally.  Again this didn't work completely.  Even another System Restore back to an even earlier date didn't work either.

I usually reformat my PC every couple of years but as things had been going so well I didn't bother, if it's not broken, don't fix it was my motto.  Fortunately I had done an backup early on the weekend.

The latest Windows makes it quite straight forward to do a quick full restore from within itself.  So by 8pm Monday night the PC was back to pristine condition but now means setting back up again with all my programs and other utilities.  I am sure there will be bits and pieces I still need to 'acquire' to get the job done.

So back I go to continue copying files across and getting evrything setup again

So the wet weather will continue and I will press on.

I remember we had around 141 mls for Saturday and Sunday.  I tipped 34mls out last night (Mon) and there must be another 10 or so mls in the gauge as I type.  I need to reinstall Office 2013 to record these falls.

So it is back to work  ...... or is it back to play!

And I'm pleased to report the company in China has agreed to replace the TV Dongle.

WoW, Time For A Post

Currently my life seems to centre around those hum drum mow the lawn, clean the pool type activities.  There is also the daily bike ride for which I clocked up well over 100k's this week, the odd home brew story, Community Association stuff and Android TV boxes.

So what have I been up to the last week or so, most of the above!  Home Brew is off the agenda for a week or so but all the rest has kept me busy.

I have visited other people's places to help with their TV boxes, there has been the odd Community Association stuff and the general everyday maintenance stuff for the pool and the garden.

We have been here 15 years now so the once young 12 year old lass from across the road is now in her late 20's, has a family and has since broken up with several partners.  She rather likes the $50 android TV box I set up for her mum so she thought she would get one for the new boyfriend's family.  It arrived the other day so Dad promptly dropped it off at my place for me to set up for her.

It is an Xiaomi Mi Android TV, under $100 and one of best value for money boxes out there.  It is a true Android TV box, rather than a less expensive purely Android powered boxes available from China.  As such the android TV system it has is one especially designed for Android TV Boxes.  My Nvidia Shield is the same, you can't download any old app from Google Play to use.  It has to be an app especially suitable for specially designed Android TV Boxes.

The big difference is the Nvidia Shield is designed to operate without a mouse.  So if you try to download Firefox to the Nvidia Shield, the download is not available to the Shield as Firefox relies on a mouse!  The Xiaomi My Android TV box is the same.

Now of course where there is a will there is a way so there are roundabout ways to install these apps and to use a mouse.  So I have a little explaining to do later today when Rachael pops over to collect her newly set up Mi Android TV Box.

Trish caught up with Kathryn, our mid 30's single and just delightful Chiropractor last night to head off into Brisbane for a Show.  Kinky Boots I think she said it was.  She just loved it and had a great time.  On Tuesday night she headed off to her first "View Club" dinner, I had Community Association business Wednesday night, Trish went to a show Thursday night while I spent several hours Thursday afternoon helping a mate out with his TV box.  He is a happy chappy now after I finished.

Pool was up to 27° the other day and is consistently around 25° for my morning swim.  The weather has been warm and sultry.  Today is a little cooler with the promise of thunderstorms possibly later today but we can expect plenty of rain over the weekend.  The screenshot above seems to indicate there are thunderstorms around.

I have just finished watching a 10 episode TV series called "The Vietnam War".  The show totaled over 18 hours and I was glued to the screen.  Needless to say the background music for the series was wonderful with Bob Dylan stuff getting a good airing.  It is predicted to be one of the top TV series for 2017.  Needless to say it won't be on Channels 7, 9, or 10 here as it is too good for those stations.  So keep your eye open on the ABC or SBS.

I continue to communicate with GearBest over the dead TV dongle.  Their last email to me was to check I had it plugged into the right HDMI port on the TV.  This is despite it working fine for 6 days and then on day 7 when I turned it there was nothing!  But you play the game and go along with them.  Needless to say this is the down side to buying cheap electronics online.  But it's fun!

Speaking of which, I bought an FM transmitter which plugs into the car's cigarette lighter.  Both cars are pre Bluetooth connection technology so any music I wish to play has to be off the 6 stacker CD player.  The new FM transmitter is also Bluetooth enabled so my music options when travelling down to Melbourne have just been expanded enormously!  I can also listen to Melbourne Sports Radio as we drive along!  Nifty eh!

Headlines Spot On!

The sun is back out, the front lawn is beginning to green up perfectly, the pool is full and the garden is well watered.  Over the recent few days we have amassed 120mls of rain, the first really decent rain we have had since summer. And exactly what the weekend's headlines had said!

In this part of the world summer is the wettest time of the year where thunderstorms can give you a quick 20mls just like that.  A stormy day can provide as much as 150mls and we have had well over 200mls in a day on rare occasions.  So to get 120mls over a couple of days was exactly what the garden needed.

On Monday it was down to around 18 degrees mid afternoon.  The trakkie dacks and slippers were back out along with a warm cup of soup.

Today it is around 27°, I am sitting in shorts and singlet busily typing away.  This morning was first time on the bike for a few days and I managed over 19k's.  Then I mowed the lawn which was the first time since before we flew to Melbourne in August.  Prior to being mowed it was strewn with gum leaves from the recent numerous windy days and trees in the street.

Now they have all gone, all cleaned up by the mower and into the green waste bin.  I have re mixed some two-stroke fuel for the line snipper and sorted things out ready for the mowing season.

The pool is around 24° later in the afternoon so a bit cooler than that in the morning.  But it is so refreshing after a long ride or mowing the lawn and cleaning up in the sub tropical spring.

Some bad news regarding the new TV Dongle, today it won't fire up.  It worked OK yesterday but this morning I unsuccessfully tried a new HDMI coupler I had bought so I could connect it to my Tuner amplifier but after connecting it the thing didn't want to load.  I manged to get something on the screen at one stage and it worked using the coupler, thus removing a possibly bodgy coupler causing it to crash.

There isn't a reset switch or anything on the box so letting it totally shut down for 24 hours and a restart then might do the trick but I seriously doubt it.  And having bought it online from China means little or no recourse for a refund or a replacement unit.

Ah well, we will see.

Floods, highway chaos: 120mm downpour threatens for Coast

That's the headline in this morning's local paper, The Sunshine Coast Daily.  As in Melbourne, it is a long weekend up here, the only difference is the holiday is on Monday rather than Melbourne's Friday.  And the forecast for the next few days has been upgraded with a heap of much wanted rain due to hit us this afternoon and over the next few days.

The photo is a screenshot taken from the BOM weather forecast for this area off my Kodi.  It seems the long and hot dry spell is coming to an end and for many people it just couldn't come soon enough.

On Friday as I tried to drive towards Caloundra the traffic was stopped on Caloundra Rd as holiday makers made their way into Caloundra for the long weekend.

For those of you in Melbourne Caloundra is a little like Rosebud's poorer cousin and is the choice of families with kids.  The Gold Coast is for the younger ones who want a great time and to spend money, while Noosa, well the only ones who go to Noosa are the local snobs and people from Melbourne who measure the success of a good holiday by how much it costs!

Don't get me wrong, Noosa is quite nice but it isn't the top choice as a holiday destination for the locals.

To top it all off there is a large Music Festival on here this weekend with top line acts performing over the three days of the long weekend.

The newspaper article referred to above suggests that those families who can head home today (Sunday) instead of waiting till tomorrow should consider to do so.

Well the footy has now come and gone with Richmond the 2017 premiers.  And the last team to beat them was my team about 4 or 5 weeks ago!  But then they belted us in an earlier final.  The Richmond faithful will be all very happy and many with sore heads this morning.

Daylight Saving has again started in the southern states putting oursleves one hour out of kilter with those down there.

I managed a 24k bike ride this morning as the wind has all gone with the weather change on the horizon.  Then I did a 'bottle washing' this morning as well because with the forecast rain, there wasn't another suitable day popping up early next week.  But it is all done and the bottles now have a few days to dry.

Hot But Not So Windy!

It is difficult to remember that this is still September because of the recent hot weather.  Under the pergola in the backyard, (especially during the morning as the photo left shows) the sun beats in, heats up the concrete and the thermometer out there goes crazy. But thank heavens the strong northerly winds have now abated.  And I even managed a bike ride this morning after several days of strong wind warnings.

Despite all the recent hot weather, the pool still was around 23° this morning, delightful for a swim after a 17k bike ride, but a wee bit chilly when you first hop in   Yesterday just before lunch it was reading over 38° under the pergola when probably the 'actual temperature was more likely a couple of degrees cooler than that.

This photo left was taken this morning and as you can see the time was 10:17 am. But that is the outside temperature and under the pergola with the hot sun beating on the concrete underneath.

An hour or so later the thermometre is telling me it is 39° out there as I type right now.  Here in the office it is a delightful 29° but the house is all locked up to keep it cooler.  The afternoon sea breeze will rock in soon dropping the under the pergola temperature by around 5° or so.

Next week we can look forward to tops around 25° which is a lot more like what it should be.

The new toy  (an android TV dongle) arrived yesterday and this photo shows it is all set up.  It gets its power from one of the TV's USB ports and the dongle itself can plug directly into one of the TV's HDMI connections.  I had to buy an ' HDMI swivel extender' as the bulkiness of the dongle means it can be difficult to fit when you have other HDMI cables plugged in to your TV.

The thing did not come with a remote either but a little $12 controller I had previously used was pressed back into action.  I had a 32GB Mini SD card which I have fitted and I also have a 32GB USB stick which then makes this unit ideal for travelling.  You can fill the SD card with TV series and the USB stick with movies meaning you can take around 16 TV series, each with 10 or so episodes, and over 30 movies with you when you hit the road.

The bit you can see poking out of the dongle is the wireless receiver for the mini keyboard.

Speaking of travelling, yesterday Trish booked accommodation for our upcoming trip to KL late in November.  I got incredibly cheap airfares late last year with Air Asia.  Now we have booked all other connecting flights and the associated accommodation.  It looks like we will have 5 nights in Kuala Lumpur staying Air BNB, then 5 nights in Sri Lanka staying in Galle (at a place Kate recommended) and finally 5 nights at the wonderful Golden Sands Resort in Penang before flying home.

We managed some good deals by booking accommodation alongside our Air Asia flights.  All of our flights are with Air Asia.  It looks like a great time away.