A Top Of 17 For The Coast!

Boy but it is cool today. There is heavy cloud outside and it is a grey day. I only managed three k's this morning before a sprinkle of rain sent me heading for home. Right now it is 13 degrees as I type while in Melbourne it is around 10 degrees.

Trish has been moving pots around in the garden. Some had been there so long that their roots had grown through the bottom of the pot and into the soil. Needless to say these plants didn't enjoy (or survive) being moved. Therefore our small back garden is looking a little bare right now. The photo was taken this morning but don't be fooled by the 'brightness' of outside today. The camera has compensated for what is a gloomy dull day.

It has been a 'computer week' for me with helping out on other people's laptops on Monday, on Tuesday and then again yesterday. Needless to say I have had a ball! Even this morning I have been over the road helping out with file downloads and passing on some movies.

Meanwhile Trish is at the Tourist Info centre this morning helping out. She has a new project on her plate as well working on a website for people we know in Melbourne. It is a small website so not overly complicated. The easiest way to do websites is to download a 'template'. However it can be hard finding the template which is best suited to the needs of the project.

So everyone around is tucked up inside with their winter woollies on. We might even need the heater going later on today!

Cooler weather On The Way

Monday was sensational and around the mid 20's. Today Tuesday is overcast and more like 20. By the weekend we can expect it to be wet and rainy!

But what a beautiful day Monday was. As my cold and middle ear infection has cleared up I am back to feeling my old self again. Just after lunch on Monday I was back to the hearing aid guy for a quick check on how the new hearing aid is going. All seems to be fine with it.

One of the Computer Club guys has 'special needs'. Though in his late 40's, he loves the chat and banter of others around him. However I have become his first port of call when he has a computer need. Yesterday morning (Monday) he visited me with his new laptop which he wanted me to help setup for him.

Michael doesn't really know his passwords and settings so it is a little hit and miss at times. By the end of the morning I had sent him on his way with everything setup for him and ready to go.

When helping people set up their email I now tend to use a service such as Yahoo or GMail for sending emails (outgoing server settings) via a program like Windows Live, Outlook or Mozilla's Thunderbird. I do this in case people travel a bit. It doesn't matter where in the world you are, you can always send via GMail. If you are a Bigpond user you usually have to be connected to Bigpond to be able to send emails. By using GMail for sending emails it doesn't matter who you are connected with.

This morning around 8 am the phone goes and it is a distressed Michael on the phone saying his TPG emails aren't working! After cooling him down and explaining stuff to him he is once again a happy chappy! And he found he can get his TPG emails after all!

And today I have been doing another laptop for an older couple here on the estate. It is now ready to go for them. All they need is their 3G wireless dongle to arrive from Bigpond and they too can connect to the internet. Their new laptop downloaded over 500MB of updates today. Their new Bigpond 3G wireless connection will only give them 1GB per month download.

And guess what, I have another laptop to do tomorrow!

The other night we watched a movie called "Sarah's Key". Certainly it is one of the best movies I have seen, a sensational story set in Paris and telling the story of a young Jewish girl who was taken by the Germans to a concentration camp. However she escaped and lived the rest of her life in misery for what had happened to the rest of her family. The movie has subtitles for about 60% of it.

Last night we watched "Unknown" another very good story!

Sensational Winter Weather

Days are in the low to mid 20's in our protected small backyard so we are enjoying gorgeous weather. Our friends who are departing the area for South Africa had a small part of their packing held up on Thursday so they left 24 hours later than expected. This meant Friday drinks was able to go ahead.

I even had a few beers myself on Friday as I begin to fully recover from my recent middle ear infection and heavy head cold.

I thought I was almost back to 100% until I went to Computer Club Saturday morning. Although I was feeling pretty good, once I got into the hustle and bustle of helping people I soon realized I am not 100%.

Weekend in winter of course means watching AFL footy on TV for me and this weekend was no different. My team had another good solid win.

It is around 8:30 am as I type this and it is still low teens outside.

When it warms up a little more I will head off on a shortened bike ride. I rode almost 10k's on Friday, my first ride for over two weeks. I took my camera with me and grabbed some photos from around the estate to give the Community Association website quite a big update.

I rang the Pay TV provider to tell them I wanted the service disconnected. Rather than see me go ahead with the disconnection, they offered my a "Loyalty Discount" of $15 per month. Over 12 months this totals almost $200 which is better in my pocket than theirs! I have the new deal for 12 months!

A Warmish But Blowy day

Awoke to cloudy skies but that has all cleared to a gorgeous day around 23 degrees. It is a little windy though. The great weather is expected to continue through next week. However into next week the weather though fine and sunny will be better described as 'crisp'. That is lovely in the sunshine but very cool in the shade.

I was out and about a little this morning catching up with neighbours. I still get a little woozy from time to time but overall feeling much better.

Made some phone calls this morning to friends down south and was distressed to learn a former Education Dept colleague I had know since teacher's college days had died. We were in the same year at college and had been principals at neighbouring schools.

I am again feeling a little better than I thought I was!

On The Road To Recovery

As I have said previously, each day I feel better. I am regaining some hearing in my right ear now. The ENT Specialist said to wear my hearing aid. He feels the more action the ear has the more likely things are to begin to clear. I repeatedly 'yawn" and stretch my jaw to try to clear the tubes. Things are progressing OK.

We had a night out at a small Thai restaurant on Kawana Island last night. It was from Paul and Linda who wanted to thank us for the help on getting their three computers sorted out for them. Everything seems ready for them now and all computers are up and running.

I especially enjoyed the Ginger Duck and the Chilli Chicken we had at the restaurant. We also had a Thai Omelette with prawns. It brought back delicious memories of the Oyster Omelettes we used to get in Penang!

I only had a single glass of wine to drink, just looking after myself with my illness.

We are expecting about 22 today, the first day of winter. Meanwhile Lou Ann in Texas is putting up with temps around 43 degrees. It is overcast outside and there is a chance of a shower or two this afternoon. While out last night we had a bit of a 'show' with lightning flashes from storms off the coast. It was quite a show!