One Week To Take-Off

The flights have been booked for months now, the accommodation is now finalized, and it is just one week to go until we set out for a couple of weeks in Bali to attend a nephew's wedding. 

But not all has been smooth sailing over the last few days.

I continue to bike ride knocking up around 28k's just the other day in a single ride.  It was down to around 15k's today and it was a few more than that on Monday.

This morning it was around 15° when I jumped on the bike ready to set off.  Needless to say the idea of a post ride swim didn't enter my mind.

I reckoned I escaped the dentist's chair for the best part of 40 years but that has sure changed the last 4 or 5 years.  I guess age has something to do with it.  But yet another tooth broke late last week and the best way (and most expensive) to fix it properly is to have a crown fitted.  Some of it will be covered by Health Insurance and to ensure we get the maximum coverage we are waiting until our 'new year' begins and all our dental benefits are reinstated.  For us the new year begins on July 1st.

So after the recent tooth mishap, I was looking for a temporary solution to see out till July 1st.  I have been given a semi permanent temporary crown.  This was the cheaper option so I am told.  The reason the solution is semi permanent is because of a 10 week time span to July 1.  So it is a temporary crown which has been glued in with permanent glue!

It is amazing to again have a 'full tooth' there.  Boy, what a difference.  And peanuts are well and truly off the menu!

So it's slowly but surely knock over tasks required for a 15 night trip away.  The pool is to be vacuumed, the pool filter to be cleaned, the lawns and edges done, home brew bottles tidied up and so on.

The footy on TV has been interesting.  My team isn't playing super well but has still escaped with three unconvincing wins.  Trish's team has been 'on top' for much of the last 7 or 8 years but after a 14 goal thrashing by one of the lower sides on Sunday, it is possible some team rebuilding is required to get back onto the winner's list.  My team plays Trish's team on Easter Monday afternoon.

The only other news I am afraid is the weather.  After being so hot for so long, the sudden onset of the cooler weather has come as a bit of a welcome shock.  If the ceiling fan ever gets turned on it is always down to "Low".  We are beginning to close doors overnight to keep the cool out.

The quilt overnight is a must!

But we will survive!

Weather is "Melbourne Like"

It has been scorchingly hot all summer up here, a record summer with hot days, hot nights and hot oceans all around us.  We have never used the air conditioner as much as we did this summer.  The pool has been warm as well though absolutely delightful for a pre bed swim around 10pm!

So what is this?  A top today of a mere 22° and over 35mls of rain overnight!  Too wet for a bike ride I can tell you!  The pool temperature will be way down too so this year's swimming season may come to an early close.  Usually the drop in temperature day by day comes down slowly by a degree or two.  It was a lovely 27 or 28 yesterday so 22° as a top today is very Melbourne like.

I can't say we are not enjoying the cool day, it is such a pleasant change to what we have experienced.

The Waeco fridge which sits just outside the back door has been dismantled, totally dried out and put away for another 6 months or so!

I spent much of yesterday at a Community Meeting followed by sorting out Android TV boxes for friends.  The major program used is Kodi and it has just updated to Kodi 17.1.  Some of the cheaper boxes don't work as well as the dearer ones so Google Play Store doesn't always work properly.

After finding a version of Kodi 17.1 that will install on these boxes I had to manually update Kodi.  They are happy now as Kodi has upgraded and will run the better addons more effectively.

Speaking of Kodi, Trish and I have just finished watching a TV Series called "Big Little Lies".  It gets a very good score (around 8.6) and stars Nicole Kidman, Reece Witherspoon and Laura Dern.  They are also listed as co-producers.  The first episode or two were a little quiet but it soon warmed up and came to a thrilling finish.  Well worth watching!

While on Kodi there is an addon called MX Australian TV.  It allows me to watch live FTA TV from all around Australia.  It was pleasant watching the Channel 9 Footy Show live from Melbourne on Sunday and created a perfect lead in for Sunday's footy watching!

Our trip to Bali is less than two weeks away so our thoughts are beginning to turn to packing and getting sorted prior to leaving!  It is a nephew's wedding and it will be fantastic to catch up with the boys along with my younger sister Judy.  I guess we will enjoy a few drinks together!

Cool Glorious Cool!

After a long, scorching, hot summer just after lunchtime. the outside temperature is around 25°. 

After a 16.5k bike ride this morning the pool temperature was a coolish 22.5°.  Needless to say this morning's swim is best described as 'bracing'.

Though not cool enough for a light quilt to be over us all night, the ceiling fan was left turned off last night.

I tend to wake up early and around 5 a.m my time (6 a.m in Melbourne) the daily sports radio show which focuses on AFL begins on Melbourne's SEN radio comes on. Today it began at 6 a.m as daylight saving in the eastern states has finished.  We are all back in sync again as far as the time goes.

I have a Community Management Committee Meeting to chair tonight, a task I really don't look forward to with so much pleasure as before.

With my hearing problems the audiologist put me onto quality wireless headphones around 8 years ago.  It wasn't long until Trish was after a pair as well.  Time, the heat, the humidity and my oily skin took its toll on my headphones.  I received a new set valued at over $300 for my 70th birthday.  They are just great.  Meanwhile Trish was still wearing the older model and was beginning to have hassles with drop outs and interference from the ceiling fan.

I found a new pair exactly the same model as mine on eBay for a little over $200!  They are Sennheiser TR 165's.  This was a real bargain and they arrived mid last week.  I have now set them up for her.  She loves them.

From all the news reports it appears Caloundra 'dodged a bullet' with remnants of Cyclone Debbie.  There are up to 20 smaller trees down across the estate and there was a major loss of power (which we missed) for much of the estate.  The power was off for around 15 hours closing many of the local shops.

We can thank ourselves quite fortunate indeed.

My footy team has won both matches so far this season with the second match being a thriller and just a 1 point margin.  Trish's team has not fared quite so well.

Don't tell anyone and just keep it as our secret but for the first time ever I have a legal fully paid version of an anti virus on my computer.  I like Eset Nod 32 as my anti-virus and usually I have been able to scrounge a working username and password somewhere on the internet.  My little OzBargain website had a note about a three day special deal for Nod32 which I decided to purchase. 

I got a fully paid legal licence for 3 years for 2 computers for around $38.  That works out to be a little over $6 per year per computer.  Sorry but the special has finished now!

After Debbie's Remnants

The effect that the remnants of Cyclone Debbie had on our area of the Sunshine Coast has not been a problem for us or around Caloundra at all.  It saw us receive around 125mls of rain over a 24 hour period.  Though it is a lot of rain, for it to last out over 24 hours indicates the rain was steady rather than torrential.

This screenshot of the local weather radar was taken late Thursday afternoon. The arrow is Caloundra.

Rain can be localized on the Sunshine Coast especially around the hinterland areas where it can be hilly and subject to a higher rainfall.  Areas 70k's to the north of us experienced well over double the rainfall that we got here.

The wind did rise substantially for an hour or so from the north on Thursday night around 6:30pm.  The palms round about us were swaying and it would have been uncomfortable to be outside.

It is now Friday morning and the sky is crystal clear and there is a very strong wind, this time from the south.  Being from the south means it is cooler, something we have really been hanging out for.  It has blown away the terrible humidity which has been dogging this area over the last fortnight or so. For the first time in around 6 months, the back sliding door is closed to keep the cooler wind out.

A strong wind warning has been issued by the local Weather Bureau.

The main damage or clean up required is the pool which has quite a few palm spikes from next door's palms.  That won't get tidied up until the wind drops in the next day or so.

The eerie bit is that it appears the former eye of Cyclone Debbie, (now a deep low depression) passed right over us and that coincided with the strong winds from last night.

Debbie Comes To Town

The remnants of Cyclone Debbie have found their way to the Sunshine Coast.  The first of the rain arrived around 10pm on Wednesday with a huge flash of lightning and an enormous clap of thunder.  The power went off for long enough so that everything needed re setting!

The heavens opened and it rained solidly for an hour.  From then on until now (around 10am on Thursday) there have been intermittent heavy showers which are expected to go on throughout the day and into tomorrow.  There is around 65mls in the gauge as I type.

There is a little wind outside but nothing at all dangerous.  Just lots and lots of heavy showers rolling through.

We farewelled friends Janet and Mick from Newcastle yesterday after spending 4 nights with us.  It was great to catch up and compare notes on what we are involved with as far as our TV downloading and watching.  Mick has become an Apple convert and now has his Apple Computer and Apple TV.  The software available for his Apple PC and the method of sideloading on his TV box are a little different to what is available on the PC and Android Device.

We had many discussions and even more drinks.  Our evening meal at the local Miss Hoi Ann Vietnamese Restaurant was enjoyed by all as was an extremely pleasant afternoon at the Mets Club in town, it's the one which overlooks Caloundra's famous King's Beach.

We had a trip to recently updated "Mary Cairncross Reserve" which was just beautiful.

Our pool was a popular spot as well with hot and steamy weather throughout their stay.

Mick and I did a bike ride together and just had a great time enjoying each other's company.

Today we have had the window tinting replaced on our bedroom and the kitchen.  The original tinting was a cheap substitute but was done at the right price soon after we moved in.  It has served its purpose and it has now been replaced with a superior product which will hopefully reduce the heat which pours through the respective windows.

My SPMC program I have on my Nvidia Shield was playing up so I have re set it up.  It is currently working much better and slicker since re doing it.

I continue to work on my Android Box "How To" website.  A couple of pages still need finishing off but hopefully what I have done already is enough for people to get started on their own if they want to give it a go.  http://afterwdtv.blogspot.com.au/

I was looking forward to a an alcohol free day after Mick left yesterday morning but then Trish reminded me of our "Drinks" night that evening with friends.  At the time I really wasn't looking forward to it but as usual that all changed after I had had a couple.

It was so still and stinking hot and humid around at Raelene and John's place during drinks.  There wasn't a breeze and it was stifling hot.

We headed home around 9pm, and soon after Debbie rolled into town!