Aussies! Check in here!

[Rollinbones]

Been a while since i've been here. You may recall our struggle with our twelve year old son and bullying. We've been navigating the process of changing schools after our discussions with the school in question went absolutely nowhere.

So my little mate is now taking a forty minute bus ride each way to a nearby private school. It's going to cost us a bit more than twenty thousand over the next five and a bit years but the change in our son is worth it already.

He's emerged in just a couple of weeks from that anxious withdrawn shell and we have our happy, creative, witty little man back. We still need to keep an eye on him as were sure he'll have hurdles at the new school now and then but at least now he has the resilience that he used to possess to deal with things.

In other news, it's pool weather again. Hot and bloody dry. I have pasture seed to plant the paddocks but it's so dry it would just be a waste.

Lots of hoo har in the news about our border (qld) remaining closed. Lots of criticism by other state leaders. But the numbers tell the story.

Stay weird.

 

[missswannie]

Good to see everyone back. Vics on the path out, QLD and WA doing alright. These Kiwis heading out willy nilly are a bit troubling. Over here they have thrown them into quarantine, but that has caused people with bookings to come in from overseas to be cancelled, which is unfair on them as airfare refunds are a bit long.
Good to see your young bloke back on track.
Definitely pool and beach weather here too. Very much enjoying the sunshine and outdoor life.

 

[darkelf9]

Afternoon all,

Been out in the garden the last two days. My power cord died. Thankfully it wasn't the equipment, as getting replacement stuff here in Melbourne is rather tricky. Had a backup power cord so no real problem. Had the power cord for many years. These days you can't just throw it in the bin. So it's either wait till next year's hard rubbish or find a place to drop it off. It's forcing people to be hoarders. You need a junk area in your backyard to keep all this stuff. Tried to recycle batteries a while ago only to be told to bugger off as they only would take bulk items. Don't see why the council can't expand the recycling items since they are the ones that have banned throwing any electric corded items in the rubbish. Give us a reasonable option. The local council has now included kitchen waste in the green bins so why not do the same for the recycling items. Lots of places where they say you can recycle items are very picky as to what they will recycle.

Expecting lots of rain here in Melbourne town towards the weekend. But will see if that actually happens. Didn't happen last time.

So this Sunday will be another "hold your breath" moment here in Melbourne. People wondering if the restrictions will be lifted even further since our numbers continue to be very low. The 25km thing is nice but still can't visit any other homes. I need to do stuff on the other side of the city but can't get there still. Waiting till next week to book in for a haircut. Has been a rush on this week. Can't go to my normal barber so will have to find one close to me. The beard is going well although the trimming is a bit annoying. Not keeping the beard long term, but it does keep people away even with a mask on.

Good to see the VIC state govt doing a back flip on the Cox Plate crowds. What were they thinking? No kidding that people would be outraged that the horse racing industry gets a free pass whilst we can still only have 10 people at a funeral and not that much more at a wedding.

So the AFL Grand Final has come at a good time. We here in Melbourne could do with some fun. Good to see the locals in Brissy supporting the match. As for a winner well I reckon the Tigers will win if the Cats don't lead by quarter time. That's the Cats only chance. The Tigers won't give up. The smaller ground will favour the Cats. Hopefully it will be a good contest. The night time Grand Final is a new one so that might be a feature for the future.

Hope the rest of the week is good for you. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we can join the rest of the country in more freedom. Has been tough but it's looking a lot better now.

 

[Rollinbones]

holy caffeination boy wonder. If you haven't already tried this coffee then you probably should. A customer was so happy with his delivery of it the other day that he gave me a packet to try.

10/10 5stars, Will shake like a leaf and buzz around the house all day.

Website here. Very well priced and free delivery

Getting some good soaking rain at the moment. Just waiting for a lull in it so i can go and seed the sheep paddocks with some rhodes grass and legumes.

Stay freaky.

 

[missswannie]

Looks interesting. Always like a bit of buzz coffee on hand for those days. Vietnamese robusta blends are the usual kick you in ovaries types to look for, especially for ice coffees.

So the Tiges got up. Killer third quarter. Brissy did a good job running the show. For the cost of the MCG grass stunt, they could have kept a couple of people employed still in Vic. Good to see the 2021 fixtures are going to feature hub style away game series for all clubs. I think that makes it interesting. I had to pick Richmond pre game, purely because I hate Old Bruce constantly saying the Little Master over and over again.

Summer weather here, a weekend of beach and pool. 36 at the end of this week. I do have to head out bush this week to look at a couple of mines but should be back in time to enjoy a hot Friday over at Rottnest.

 

[darkelf9]

Afternoon all,

Well Melbourne is free now to go to the shops without being questioned. The 25km limit is ok for some but not for those who have family outside that zone. Hopefully people don't go nuts now and cause further delays in removing those remaining restrictions. I need to get to the other side of the city to do stuff but still can't. Haven't been able to do anything on that front since the first week of Aug which seems like last year. Also holding off on getting a haircut till I can get to my normal barber. Hopefully she is still in business. Noticed a new barber has opened near my local Woollies which is going to be interesting since there is already a barber in that same street.

Will see if I can get a new video game and do a booze run where I can actually peruse a shop. Shopping on-line is just not the same.

Even though the restrictions have lifted my street has remained relatively quiet. Might be different on the weekend although that's when we are expecting more rain.

Not looking forward to wearing a mask during Summer. Seems we will be wearing masks in Melbourne till early next year. So anyone coming to Melbourne in the near future will need to be aware of that. Hopefully the mask wearing will not go too long into next year. The situation in Melbourne continues to be different so comparing states doesn't make sense. Not sure why some continue to keep their borders up. There is no virus where I live and hasn't been for most of the year. Which is the same for a vast majority of Melbourne and now the state.

Not planning on dining out in large gatherings. This second wave started with families not following the rules, hopefully parents have now learned from those mistakes and don't allow large family gatherings again. There are no excuses for anyone regardless of ethnic background not to understand the rules. This issue of a language barrier keeps coming up by reporters and frankly it's pissing off lots of people as to why this is being used as an excuse to not follow the rules. If you don't get it this late in the year and the pandemic then you're just trying to bullshit people which is just being selfish. The rules have been explained in 50 different languages here in Melbourne. Who new we had so many.

The issue with those two schools seems to of been started thru mis-communication to the respective parents not a language barrier. So someone gave them the wrong info thru a text message. They should of talked to them rather just relying on technology. The other outbreak came from a hospital which wasn't following the proper health protocols. Neither one was the fault of the community.

Speaking of technology that app has been a total failure. Yet more tax payers money misspent. Would of been better to put that money into Aged Care to keep people safe. If Smoko was in charge of the virus response in Melbourne we would of been deeper in the shit and the virus would be still raging thru the community. The attacks on Danny Boy by the Feds has been ridiculous. Even the local LNP hasn't come of out this well with their constant attacks. The recent poll on them showed only 15% of people approved of their tactics during this lockdown. So looks like Danny Boy still has a majority approval from locals. At least he fronts up everyday and stays till he answers all questions. He hasn't taken one day off since this started. Smoko couldn't and wouldn't do that. When the questions get too hot he just walks away. In fact if it gets too hot he fucks off OS.

Didn't think much of the Grand Final spectacle prior to the game starting. Not a fan of the night version. It felt more like theatre and a rehearsal for the next Comm Games than a footy match plus because it went for so late at night some of the kids would of missed the end of the match. The AFL would of made a loss just on crowd size. Totally different to the normal sellout at the MCG. The normal MCG roar wasn't there. If you haven't been to the MCG when it's full you don't know what I'm talking about. It's an atmosphere that can't be matched at any other ground in the country.

Hope the rest of the week is good for you. Feels like we can all breath again here in Melbourne.

 

[Rollinbones]

Mostly fiction.

https://www.literotica.com/s/put-a-leash-on-her

I discovered this lovely little nude beach when i was about fifteen, quite by accident while exploring. When i told my parents about it that evening back at the van Mum gave me a stern talking to and Dad started packing a beach bag for the next day.

The whole thing sort of frightened me a bit at that age.

As a younger man, late twenty's, I took my second wife there and it was the beginning of a catastrophic end. She was quite a loving woman. She just had no idea where to stop.

Sometimes things are best left in fantasies.

Very pleased my wifey these days, third and final, is a one dog one bone kind of lady. If you have some time and inclination to read a little Northern New South Wales inspired nonsense, have at it.

Otherwise, can report that a massive hail storm has mostly destroyed our solar panels and lifted sheets of tin on our roof. hello insurance battle...

Stay lit, freaky people.

 

[Rollinbones]

so, our big girl (21) bought some body scrub thing and showed it to her mum. Mum promptly gave it a go that night and discovered that when it said, 'sheen' on the bottle it meant, 'shit tonne of glitter' in it. Many laughs were had and the cheeky big kid said something smart about 'well at least i don't have to try it out'.

It's been two days and the wifey still has twinkle tits. Worse still its rubbing off on me. When i complained to her about the glitter on my arms she told me a secret.

See the big kid has a little bottle of 'fem fresh' in the bathroom that she uses for reasons known only to herself. Wifey doesn't use it and says that when she was a smartarse to her, she put a bunch of the body scrub in the bottle and shook it up.

Now we just have to sit back and wait until the boyfriend starts complaining about glitter all over his face.

Parenting can be so much fun.

 

[missswannie]

Sounds like this house. Some things you just keep a straight face. Hot warming lotion is a rather good one to leave around...

Hail storms over east don't sound too good. The ones over here have limited themselves to the north so the usual November storm that keeps fencing contractors in business before xmas has yet to come along. That said 30mm of steady rain over the weekend after 37c on friday. So long as it stays off the wheatbelt now.

We have free travel with most states bar Vic and NSW from Nov 14th. The rate that they have all been buying Perth property there should be an influx of people heading this way than us going that way. Around here, everything gets an under offer sticker within 3 days of the sign going up. QLD with only bans on Sydney area is an interesting one. The intention is good but will have to see how it works on the ground. Qantas crying at Queensland not opening is a bit rich.

The recruitment by UK companies of tech workers over here for remote office work has stepped up. Only provision is that you have to work UK hours which here means 4pm to 12am. It's rather a rather interesting move, somewhat reminiscent of pre-1997 HK when the investment market had a second shift running and the place was in overdrive 24 hours a day.

I really can't be bothered with Melbourne Cup day tomorrow. I haven't been following any races so it will be a quick read of the form and then having a crack from there. There are some big parties for tomorrow. Optus stadium has 30000 people going there for a full day of fun.

I have to say that I don't mind Bledisloe Cup and NRL state of origin matches being held at the end of the season. The usual "after Bathurst" dead month hasn't happened. I don't think it is a bad thing. It would be good if Racing Victoria could organise another special race day a bit later to reward Vics for when things relax further there.

 

[darkelf9]

Mostly fiction.

https://www.literotica.com/s/put-a-leash-on-her

I discovered this lovely little nude beach when i was about fifteen, quite by accident while exploring. When i told my parents about it that evening back at the van Mum gave me a stern talking to and Dad started packing a beach bag for the next day.

The whole thing sort of frightened me a bit at that age.

As a younger man, late twenty's, I took my second wife there and it was the beginning of a catastrophic end. She was quite a loving woman. She just had no idea where to stop.

Sometimes things are best left in fantasies.

Very pleased my wifey these days, third and final, is a one dog one bone kind of lady. If you have some time and inclination to read a little Northern New South Wales inspired nonsense, have at it.

Otherwise, can report that a massive hail storm has mostly destroyed our solar panels and lifted sheets of tin on our roof. hello insurance battle...

Stay lit, freaky people.

Hey Rollin,

Sorry to hear about the storm damage. I know what that's like. A bit more severe in my case in that my entire roof came off. It was a test of the insurance and they were not forthcoming until I got pissed off at them. So I changed insurance companies after they paid for the repairs. Hope your journey is a lot more positive and the repairs are timely.

 

[darkelf9]

Afternoon all,

Well has been a hot then cool week here weatherwise. Had shorts on in the morning one day then by mid afternoon was back to wearing the Winter stuff. Still a little warm yesterday although cool breezes were out there. More of the warm stuff happening early next week so more garden time for me.

Not happy about the local supermarket rebuild which just keeps throwing up new challenges in getting a car park. Was so pissed off yesterday having to drive around the block several times trying to find a car park because the existing car parking has reduced to a small number. Won't be doing that again. Won't be wasting time driving around, I'll just drive further to another shopping area. No point having a supermarket if you can't actually park there to do your shopping. Not sure what next week will bring.

The virus numbers here in Melbourne remain at zero which is excellent. Even better numbers than NSW so not sure why the border is still up. I find it funny that NSW is complaining about the border still being up with QLD considering NSW pulled the trigger first on border closures on the east coast. Gladys called all of a VIC as a hotspot when in fact that was not true at the time. So now she can't whinge when another Premier does the same thing to her.

The next big news day here in Melbourne will be Sunday when hopefully the travel restrictions are lifted and we can move around without restrictions. Can see the value in mask wearing on PT but generally walking around it seems not necessary given the nil cases we've had for nearly a week. Had about 5 single use masks break on me so far so have to carry spares. The cost of the larger packs has drastically come down, but hopefully we don't have to keep wearing them into the hotter months. The only issue with the cloth ones is that you have to keep washing them each day. Plus they were going for $25 in the early stages of this lockdown and you had to be careful of cheaper versions being sold on the internet. I don't see the mask as a fashion statement, it's there for a medical reason. Face shields and scarfs are banned, but have seen people without masks and still people walking around with the mask pulled down so they can smoke and eat while walking around the streets. Just goes to show the fuckwits are still out there.

Have been watching the circus of the US elections. Rump had a meltdown on the night. Even his Republican buddies are stepping away from him after him claiming the count should stop since he was ahead. Just saw his latest news conference and he looks like a beaten man. His daddy didn't like losers which must be haunting him now. Looks like the bully is on the way out and don't expect a peaceful transition. It will be interesting. People are looking at the US elections like other people in Australia were looking at Melbourne thinking.."thank goodness that isn't us." They need to look at the electoral college voting system as it doesn't work now. Was OK when the only people who could vote were white landowners so it's out of date by 200 yrs. There is not another system in any democracy that can elect someone who doesn't get the majority of votes. The question is will the Republicans allow a fairer system since they now hold the US Senate and as they did with Obama they won't allow anything thru that wasn't a Republican idea. It will be another polarizing govt process for the next 4 yrs so not much is going to get done.

Now that the warmer weather is on the way time to look at those jobs around the house that need attention. A couple of small painting tasks to do plus a couple of repair jobs. Also work to do my mum's place but that's for next year. Will have a busy end to the year doing paperwork on the estate.

Hope the weekend is good for you.

 

[darkelf9]

Afternoon all,

Well had my first trip across the city yesterday since the first week in August and whilst the city centre was quiet in regard to traffic and people, the normal late afternoon traffic and local traffic was back to nearly normal density. Had that storm chasing me across the city but didn't see any of the predicted lightning. The humidity had dropped of but wearing that mask was still rather suffocating. The previous day was worse. If we have to wear masks into Jan it is going to become rather difficult to breath just walking from the car to the shops. Hopefully we don't have to wear masks here in Melbourne for too much longer given our rather excellent run of zero virus cases for 11 days and zero deaths. So finally decided that was worth buying some donuts.

Was also able to go to my regular barber. Feels good to get rid of the long hair. Was rather interesting that I had to take off the mask so she could cut my hair. Not what I've seen on TV. Much more aerodynamic now not counting the beard. which kinda catches the wind for the bits sticking out of the mask. The barber wanted to have a long chat and even did a beard trim free of charge.

So Rump still hasn't confronted the reality of his situation. Now sounds like Gramdpa off his meds. He already believes dead people voted against him. Given the apathy that exists in the US for voting. That is the last country in the world that dead people would be bothered voting considering the ones still alive can't be bothered getting off the couch unless it's to go shoot something.

The white coats are being ready to be deployed. Not sure they have a jacket in his size though. Need one that's larger in the arse. He is very much yesterday's news which would be really messing with his tiny mind. Would be so funny to see him forcibly removed from the White House. Now that is some reality TV worth watching. Imagine the ratings.

4 Corners was rather interesting. Next time they use the phrase.."Canberra Bubble" can't help but think of ...Sexual Harrasment Bubble where no young woman is safe. It's outrageous that some media LNP friendly commentators are implying that Porter is somehow the victim in all this. Typical boys club. They should both be sacked for their past conduct given they were holding up their respective marriages as some holy institute. Hypocrisy on a grand scale. Another example of why people don't trust nor respect pollies.

Had to go to Officeworks earlier in the week to get a hardcopy photo. Took me nearly 45 mins to get one photo worth 10c. They seriously need a better system. I was told that since they have now extended their business hours they can't get the staff to fill the positions. It seems incredible with so many people out of work that any business can be short staffed.

Hope the rest of the week is good for you. More of the wet stuff on the way for the weekend here in Melbourne town.

 

[darkelf9]

Afternoon all,

Just spent a couple of hours in the front garden hacking stuff. Had to use a mask to hack at the street side of the hedge which was annoying and even though the temp is only in the low 20's and a lot cooler than yesterday it was still hot work. Looking forward to the time we can get rid of mandatory mask wearing here in Melbourne town. Seems a bit silly out in the open given we haven't had any cases for 19 days. Can understand why you would need them on PT and where you can't keep your distance from others.

It seems as every week goes by the pollies keep making the news. If it's not for paying too much for land, some other personal scandal or the courts finding that the govt acted illegally. Seems quite funny that the govt settled that class action so their ministers wouldn't have to give evidence in court which could of led to some pollies being sacked. The LNP loves to talk about welfare cheats and people ripping of the system but when it comes to MP's using the system to intimidate people then that's ok. Yet another MP that should of been sacked for his actions.

As for Barnaby's performance on Q+A well shows he hasn't changed. Still talking over women and playing the victim. As a pollie he makes an average comedian. If that's the best we can do in this country well no wonder people don't trust politicians nor believe anything they say.

Funny how Smoko isn't condemning the SA govt as he did the VIC govt about the virus outbreak. Could it possibly be cause it's a LNP govt. Surely not. I mean he did say it's the gold standard. So if the gold standard still allows the virus to spread then is anywhere safe? May be Smoko will be less quick to judge people who live in areas not aligned with his party. I mean he is the PM for the whole country not just those states with LNP govt's. Frankly if it was a choice to follow Danny Boy or Smoko, I'd go with Danny Boy every time. He has put VIC is a much safer position than most states. When we have to deal with another outbreak, and it will come, then I have better faith that Danny Boy will see us thru it. The LNP opposition here in Melbourne has not helped the situation and look like a limp noodle.

Even though we have removed the travel restrictions here in VIC I'm not planning any interstate travel for the very reason of what has just happened in SA. I don't want to screw up my holiday by a last minute quarantine or have to cancel my plans. I'd much rather travel within my own state for a holiday. At least I know I can always get in the car and come back home.

Hope the rest of the week goes well for you.

 

[missswannie]

Indeed a wake-up call in SA. Kudos, they slammed down on it in rapid time. I still laugh at the line "we have to live with the virus". That's fine if you went that way but remember it is a step backwards if you live without it and noone is going to vote for that. A vaccine rollout will take a while. The UK's ambitious plan is to shut down most medical and use the army, and reckons they could do up to 1 million people per week. The mRNA based vaccines have to be stored and transported at -70C. Two shots per person. So it will take them just over 1.4 years at full pace in a relatively small area. Smaller population here but more spread out so likely the same period of time if you shut down all other medical services and allocate all personnel and military to it. I'd say you want to keep it under elimination strategy in order to roll out the vaccine in the fastest and most efficient manner.
As it was, I was going to head over to SA to take a look at a new mine at the beginning of December but that's not worth 2 weeks in quarantine, so thats back off the agenda until they are back on deck again.
Wet month over here in the west. Actually the wettest November on record at the half way point. Quite amazing. Thats not great news for farmers harvesting. Fortunately, back up to 30 on the weekend so we resume, just in time to park the boat off Rottnest for a few days.
NSW putting coal mining royalties into a future fund... End of coal mining in short order. Hydrogen is definitely our card to play 2030 onwards. Some want to carry it as Liquid hydrogen, others propose it as ammonia as a fuel. It would be nice to see some manufacturing of the billions of solar panels necessary done here in Australia. RCEP will help with markets for it. At present we are stuffed with just about all exports apart from iron ore having a cloud over their heads.

Having thought of Christmas the other day I have instructed that the freezer should now be filled up with crayfish and fish, so the bloke is 'forced" to have to go fishing and diving the next few weeks. Thats about as far as I have got with any other plans but I suppose I had better get one with things.

 

[darkelf9]

Morning all,

Well the first sign of normality coming back to VIC. Masks are now not required when out in public but still needed indoors so masks on when in a shop, mask off when walking to and from the shop. Not quite the wax on wax off thing. Thankfully I don't need a mask when either mowing the nature strip or hacking my front hedge from the footpath. Given when I'm doing that I hardly see anyone, it didn't make much sense to have a mask on. So the next annoying thing will be the mask on, mask off thing especially on public transport. You can bet there will be confusion about wearing a mask on train station platforms and walking thru the larger train stations. Hoping masks will be eliminated in the next round of easing of restrictions on Dec 8.

Decided to not do the normal Christmas driving stint. Not much in the mood for large gatherings. First time in several decades that I won't need to be out and about all day driving. So had to limit what I drank and ate. Other family would have a good time my Christmas was usually on Boxing Day watching the cricket in peace. No limits this Christmas. Still going to do the normal booze run for Christmas. Need a spare single malt scotch. The recent specialist appointment went so well we ended up talking about single malts.

So Rump is still on his long dummy spit. Now reckons there is a thing called American Air, hopefully it's not like Ryanair. Pay your money and god knows where you'll end up and that includes your baggage. As every week goes by it's amazing how low the Republicans will go, now trying to get their Republican delegates in the Republican states to overturn the votes in favour of Rump. One thing is clear, the USA is not a country at the moment, it is as the name suggests a Union of States each with their own regional ruler all answerable to the King in the White House. Those loyal to the King get all the gold. Also clear that the office of the President in the wrong hands is nothing more than a dictatorship wrapped in a thin veil of democracy.

Seems some of those overpaid tennis stars want to dictate COVID rules to us in Melbourne. Typical rich people, reckon they don't need to follow any rules. Can totally understand why Danny Boy wants to protect our Christmas here in VIC. Rather have that then going back to restrictions because some tennis player decided to spread the virus thru Melbourne. The Joker has no credibility on this given his tennis event spread the virus. Fuckwit.

So yet another case of COVID showing up the casualisation of the workforce. What I find amazing given that there are lots of people out of work at the moment, that a security company would give the job to a visa holder rather than a permanent citizen. Can only be so that they don't have to pay their workers proper wages. Visa holders don't know their rights so will take any pay.

As for the hotel quarantine scheme well it's just too risking a strategy. Fine it gives hotels an income but most returned travellers in these facilities can't pay their bills. Only around 10% of return travellers have paid up thus far in NSW. The solution seems rather simple. We have sufficient military bases around the country to house returned travellers. They are away from dense populations, totally self sufficient and have tight security. It also allows those in quarantine some time outdoors since there is plenty of open space at these bases. That would also mean nobody has to pay as they are govt facilities. It would also give local businesses in regional areas the ability to provide goods and services to those military bases as currently happens anyway. All that needs to happen is the govt giving the orders.

Lots of rain in Melbourne overnight. Heard the thunder into the early hours of the morning. Still showers at the moment. Should all go away by the evening.

Have to go across the city again this week, not a pleasure drive. Thinking about where I can go for a drive outside the city in the coming weeks. At least now I don't have to wear a mask to sit on a bench overlooking the ocean.

Hope the rest of the week is good for you.

 

[Rollinbones]

Having thought of Christmas the other day I have instructed that the freezer should now be filled up with crayfish and fish, so the bloke is 'forced" to have to go fishing and diving the next few weeks. Thats about as far as I have got with any other plans but I suppose I had better get one with things.

Oh diddums... The horror. And i guess you'll be forced to accompany him and spend some time in the sun... Oh i am just so sad for you. The crowd over at ampics will likely benefit.

Decided to not do the normal Christmas driving stint. Not much in the mood for large gatherings. First time in several decades that I won't need to be out and about all day driving. So had to limit what I drank and ate. Other family would have a good time my Christmas was usually on Boxing Day watching the cricket in peace. No limits this Christmas. Still going to do the normal booze run for Christmas. Need a spare single malt scotch. The recent specialist appointment went so well we ended up talking about single malts.

As for the hotel quarantine scheme well it's just too risking a strategy. Fine it gives hotels an income but most returned travellers in these facilities can't pay their bills. Only around 10% of return travellers have paid up thus far in NSW. The solution seems rather simple. We have sufficient military bases around the country to house returned travellers. They are away from dense populations, totally self sufficient and have tight security. It also allows those in quarantine some time outdoors since there is plenty of open space at these bases. That would also mean nobody has to pay as they are govt facilities. It would also give local businesses in regional areas the ability to provide goods and services to those military bases as currently happens anyway. All that needs to happen is the govt giving the orders..

A single malt sounds lovely. I've sidelined a bottle of Jameson Ipa edition for Christmas duty. And the bloody hotel scheme. Don't get me started. It was a economic knee jerk that someone threw out as an idea in the midst of the initial trauma. Not well thought out at all. But can you imagine the bloody parades of Karen's and Bazza's if you started locking them up in military facilities? Geebus. As much as it makes sense, the anti maskers would gather their vegan mates and march in large covid sharing groups. We're the perfect plague rats. Full of our own trickery and intellimegence. Too smart for our own good.

In other happenings on our little piece of paradise, the young fella is in a new school and going great guns when his old group of 'friends' leave him alone enough on social media.

The pool is in full swing thank god. It was forty degrees today while i buzzed around in my non regulation hi-vis singlet.

Wifey is in the first stages of peri-menopause and soldiering through. We had a heap of IVF that involved artificially stimulating egg production and at forty-seven she's 'about fucking done thanks Janet', with periods. It's been a mixed basket for us.

On one hand the abating estrogen, means she's more interested than ever. On the other, her periods are fucking unpredictable and she's struggling with the same crankiness that teenage boys learn about when they first deal with testosterone.

This weekend was a fine example. One moment she's bitching about her period having lasted for ten days after a two month hiatus. The next she returns from a visit to the loo and we're fucking like teenagers on a round bale of hay in the bloody back yard.

Carpe Diem!!!!

Tell that to the neighbour who drove past and tooted though...

Stay freaky.

Every day this side of the grass is a good one.

 

[missswannie]

It's funny on the hotel quarantine. There was a great deal of backlash against using immigration facilities, mining style donga camps, giant domes, etc. More choice in getting people home in greater numbers that way, and probably more fresh air than a sealed hotel room if that was your luck. But it does remain a weak spot.
I quite like the idea of Qantas saying no vax no fly. Sensible, but also commercial reality if they are going to stand up their workforce and bring their planes out of the US desert again. You have to have them flying continually and not suddenly closed down. Side note on that, we fly our planes over to the US to be stored, Singapore Airlines puts theirs into Alice Springs. The mob in Alice Springs is making a bid to store the HK based aircraft now, so good luck to them getting some critical size happening and employing a few mechs and techs.
Now that Argyle Diamonds is closing the mine, they talk has been using the long runway there and rather luxurious accom village as an arrivals zone. The local Mirriwung people have always wanted the mine converted into a tourism venue, especially on that end of Lake Argyle. Good fishing down that end of it at the least.
As for fishing, I am quite capable of jumping off the boat and coming up with a few crays. They don't seem to be too put off if I am not wearing a wetsuit.
Victorian budget seems to have got under the collar of the fed Govt. Better to provoke a discussion with actions than just empty sound bites. Most interesting was the Lib opposition in WA ditching the leader, putting a young bloke in charge, and the first thing he says is there is unity on the health and borders policy, we don't take instructions from the Feds, we are not Gladys, and the Vic liberal chirping on lockdowns etc will never be the way they do things. And they said they will have nothing to do with Clive Palmer. Some hand wringing amongst the old boys in the dark hallways, but maybe they have woken up. Need them to, as small business is progressively getting harder.
The sun is out, nice temperatures but not the high heat. Quite the boobs out weather.
Hush now on the hormones talk, we don't want to jinx the start of the inevitable while everything is going smoothly. At least we talk about peri menopause, menopause, periods and hormone balances more openly now. Supportive is not going be a good descriptor of a person if they don't know what the hell is happening now. And don't laugh boys, the male equivalent is andropause and probably not talked about nearly enough in terms of physical, mental, and personality changes. For the love of an open conversation. OK, some of us can be too open for the sensibilities of some. I have a girlfriend who is an over sharer. Stands up in the cafe and announces what she is off to the loo for, including just off to pull the plug. Some of the old dears around get a bit sour faced.

Stay well people.

 

[Rollinbones]

As things have been opening up again we've been seeing a lot of planes rise from the north west in the afternoons and wondering where they're coming from. Obviously international flights given their high trajectory. Your mentioning Alice Springs makes perfect sense now. I bet that's where they're all coming from.

Look at the states with the tightest border controls, who listened least to the federal govt, and correlate that with their numbers... I understand economic pressure to open up and empathise with all those family's who've been separated by border closures, but our geography and our borders have made Australia's experience of this global pandemic exemplary.

My wifey has a friend whose husband has been in WA working through most of the year. She bitches constantly about border closures and just can't see through facts of things. Wifey can be a little blunt sometimes and got a bit sick of her the other day. "All it will cost you is two fucking weeks in the same house as him, and he could come home anytime he likes. It's not like he's being held hostage. There's work in Queensland for him." We're both sure he's staying over there to keep away from her.

We handle most things with humour and honesty. The peri-menopause is just another change to adapt to. I think the problem for lots of couples is that they take a snapshot of their relationship in it's early days and try to keep it like that. Without room for change and growth you get rootbound pretty quickly and stunt or die.

I'm sure those crays don't mind if you're not wearing a wetsuit. Just watch out for nippers.

I recently bought a reloading press and i'm finding the experience of making my own ammunition really zen like. It's thoroughly absorbing and involving. I started with my little .22 hornet and tested some loads with a new powder Hodgdon Lil gun. It's my firm opinion that if you can produce accurate loads in such a small case then you can load anything. So far so good. I was frustrated with some initial variance in groups but upon examining my brass, discovered that the different brands had different case capacity and therefore pressures.

It's a thing i can control when the rest of life is a little wonky.

Very excited also to watch some frangipanni cuttings that i stole last year starting to get leaves. Their flowers are blood red as opposed to the normal white and yellow and smell just as sweet.

Anyway... It's weekend. Time for beers and pool and maybe a little messing around.

Hope you are all finding scraps of happiness amid the mundane.

 

[darkelf9]

As things have been opening up again we've been seeing a lot of planes rise from the north west in the afternoons and wondering where they're coming from. Obviously international flights given their high trajectory. Your mentioning Alice Springs makes perfect sense now. I bet that's where they're all coming from.

Look at the states with the tightest border controls, who listened least to the federal govt, and correlate that with their numbers... I understand economic pressure to open up and empathise with all those family's who've been separated by border closures, but our geography and our borders have made Australia's experience of this global pandemic exemplary.

My wifey has a friend whose husband has been in WA working through most of the year. She bitches constantly about border closures and just can't see through facts of things. Wifey can be a little blunt sometimes and got a bit sick of her the other day. "All it will cost you is two fucking weeks in the same house as him, and he could come home anytime he likes. It's not like he's being held hostage. There's work in Queensland for him." We're both sure he's staying over there to keep away from her.

We handle most things with humour and honesty. The peri-menopause is just another change to adapt to. I think the problem for lots of couples is that they take a snapshot of their relationship in it's early days and try to keep it like that. Without room for change and growth you get rootbound pretty quickly and stunt or die.

I'm sure those crays don't mind if you're not wearing a wetsuit. Just watch out for nippers.

I recently bought a reloading press and i'm finding the experience of making my own ammunition really zen like. It's thoroughly absorbing and involving. I started with my little .22 hornet and tested some loads with a new powder Hodgdon Lil gun. It's my firm opinion that if you can produce accurate loads in such a small case then you can load anything. So far so good. I was frustrated with some initial variance in groups but upon examining my brass, discovered that the different brands had different case capacity and therefore pressures.

It's a thing i can control when the rest of life is a little wonky.

Very excited also to watch some frangipanni cuttings that i stole last year starting to get leaves. Their flowers are blood red as opposed to the normal white and yellow and smell just as sweet.

Anyway... It's weekend. Time for beers and pool and maybe a little messing around.

Hope you are all finding scraps of happiness amid the mundane.

Hey Rollin,

What you need is the Richie Benaud cartridge reloading press...222

Just remember not to inhale that cordite. Know a couple of guys on firing ranges that got the shakes from too much of that. Not sure if the old Gun Digest books are still available but if they are you should be able to get info on the right loads for the respective cartridges. If not the local gun club should be able to point you in the right direction. Might as well take advantage of someone else's trial and error and hard work. That's what specs are for. Either way enjoy exploring.

 

[darkelf9]

Evening all,

Well it's mid week and it's now Dec so Santa and his three Ho's are warming up but the Ho's are wearing masks so you really can't tell them apart. The reindeer are obviously COVID safe. Too fucking cold for bats.

We are getting used to the mask on, mask off thing here in Melbourne town. Sometimes it's just easier to keep the damn mask on if you're going into adjacent shops. Although some people are still confused and are just wearing their mask all the time.

Well Smoko has really upset Poo Bear. Now that image is being talked about as an artistic expression not authorised by the Chinese govt which of course is bullshit. If the aim is to intimidate Aussies well that's not going to work. OK so our primary producers will feel the pain in the short term but then again all previous govt's over the past decade have seen the warning signs from China and haven't tried to seek out alternative markets. The Chinese govt laid down the trap and our govt walked right into it. Greed once again led the way with the Chinese middle class expanding and willing to pay high prices for our goods and we fell for it to the point some of our primary industry is totally aimed at China. This muscle flexing from China is nothing new. They did it in Hawaii when they would be up most houses in a neighbourhood and leave a few thus driving up house prices to the point that the locals couldn't afford to buy them. That stuff has been happening for decades now. I actually feel sorry for the Chinese middle class in China who now can't get our wine, beef and other goods they've become accustomed to having.

Now as to what the govt can do about it well revoking the 99 yr lease on that port would be a start. Let Mr Potato Head revoke dual citizenship for Chinese nationals and remove their ability to own houses and apartments in our major cities. Mr Potato Head would be salivating at the thought. "Unleash the Potato". Western countries could also remove their companies from China and relocate in places like Bangladesh, India, etc where low wages are the norm. Obviously China doesn't see what could happen if western countries turned away from it as a manufacturing hub. The term Made in China could over a short time become a distant memory if countries act as one. And god forbid western countries who used to make stuff might realise that making stuff in their own countries is a necessity rather than just a triple bottom line accounting strategy which is the baseline for modern business.

The Chinese aren't doing anything different to empires of the past. They learned from the US about meddling in the business of other countries. The British Empire did the same thing by ignoring locals in various countries and just imposing their will. The French did the same thing in the pacific and Africa. The only difference is that given where we are in this modern world, those methods are nor longer considered part of being a good global citizen. We are far more outraged these days because society has grown up and is more self aware.

As for the South China Sea well just let Japan re-arm. That would make China very nervous indeed. Would certainly send a message. So if COVID has freaked out people already this year, this tension with China would seem to some people that their world is just going to hell. It will all feel better once Santa comes to visit. Some people would be hoping Santa is actually real at this stage.

Not impressed that we can't see the ODI's on the TV unless you have Foxtel. Doesn't Rupert have enough money? Does he really need to deny kids from seeing their fav cricketers on TV. It's kinda weird. You know the Indian team is here you just can't see them unless you turn onto the news or log onto the internet. Feels a bit like when I was kid when the only option to hear the Ashes Test in England was the transistor radio under the pillow whilst in bed when you should of actually been asleep. We have gone back to WWII sitting around the wireless. Rather silly.

Hope the rest of the week is good for you. I'm off the city tomorrow on the PT for more of mask on, mask off. Will see how many people have actually come back to the city centre.

 

[missswannie]

Warm weather is back over here after a weird two weeks of unusually cool. Just the southwest in an arc. If you went 500km over it was hot.
Spent part of the weekend down on the farm. They had finished picking the avocados and reckoned the buds for next years were looking very good. Interestingly, there were more hoverflies than bees hanging around this year doing the pollinating. They have different flight and selection patterns than bees, plus eat aphids along the way. In fact they choose trees with aphids and compete with the ladybirds for a feed. The dam yielded a few pots of yabbies which was a bonus.
I'll be glad to get the board meeting season past. Last few in the next day or so. Normally you are with everyone and working out what is going to happen during all the lunches and dinners beforehand so that the meeting itself goes to formula and keeps all the discussions out of the minutes. You have to do all of that online at all hours of the day now so a pain. Director's bonuses are a dirty word at the moment, but is causing some backlash as effectively it means some people have been working for free all year. A lot of discontent at that continuing so everyone is having to consider looking for new directors here and there for the coming year.
40c tomorrow so will be taking off to the beach for a bit regardless. I'm hobbling a bit as the horse tried to twat kick me and got my thigh instead. Vindictive nag. It could be a race between leg pain and hot sand to see what pain level is going to win on the journey down to the water.
We will have to see tomorrow if WA approves NSW flights for non-quarantine entry. As it stands it looks like they got lucky with the flight crew hotel worker not passing things on. The muck up with the mob getting past and flying down to Victoria was a sign of just how a crack in the system could go wrong. The rightful question being asked is whats all these exemptions when we are not supposed to have any?
Anyway, tits out in the sun all week which gets the solar powered me happy. Enjoy your week.

 

[Polarity]

Warm weather is back over here after a weird two weeks of unusually cool. Just the southwest in an arc. If you went 500km over it was hot.
Spent part of the weekend down on the farm. They had finished picking the avocados and reckoned the buds for next years were looking very good. Interestingly, there were more hoverflies than bees hanging around this year doing the pollinating. They have different flight and selection patterns than bees, plus eat aphids along the way. In fact they choose trees with aphids and compete with the ladybirds for a feed. The dam yielded a few pots of yabbies which was a bonus.
I'll be glad to get the board meeting season past. Last few in the next day or so. Normally you are with everyone and working out what is going to happen during all the lunches and dinners beforehand so that the meeting itself goes to formula and keeps all the discussions out of the minutes. You have to do all of that online at all hours of the day now so a pain. Director's bonuses are a dirty word at the moment, but is causing some backlash as effectively it means some people have been working for free all year. A lot of discontent at that continuing so everyone is having to consider looking for new directors here and there for the coming year.
40c tomorrow so will be taking off to the beach for a bit regardless. I'm hobbling a bit as the horse tried to twat kick me and got my thigh instead. Vindictive nag. It could be a race between leg pain and hot sand to see what pain level is going to win on the journey down to the water.
We will have to see tomorrow if WA approves NSW flights for non-quarantine entry. As it stands it looks like they got lucky with the flight crew hotel worker not passing things on. The muck up with the mob getting past and flying down to Victoria was a sign of just how a crack in the system could go wrong. The rightful question being asked is whats all these exemptions when we are not supposed to have any?
Anyway, tits out in the sun all week which gets the solar powered me happy. Enjoy your week.

Always like reading your posts, just a good informative and often very insightful wrap up. You keep an good eye on things and raise all the right points.
I often wonder that we may possibly have crossed paths at one point or other over the years, Perth being Perth of course.
And then popping in over on the random stuff I actually think it'd be a good thing crossing paths. Haha. Good luck with the crays, I'm looking to fill my bag soon too. And fish once the season opens.
A kindred spirit.

 

[darkelf9]

Evening all,

Another mid week and another "where is the time going" pause. We were in lockdown for so long seeing time pass slowly, now with Christmas upon us, time has seemed to of quickened up. May be cause after not being able to do much for over 3 months, now having the freedom to do stuff plus the regular health checks all happening at once.

Was back across the city this week and not much change in regards to the level of traffic and people in the city centre here in Melbourne town. Lots of local traffic though. The after work traffic is kinda normal now. Since I couldn't get a charity pickup for clothes, had to bring it all back to my place which just about filled up the car. So yet another task for me, just add it to the long list.

A bit of confusion over mask wearing here in Melbourne. The rule was must wear a mask indoors, e.g. inside shops but not required walking to the shops. Now it only mentions public transport and larger shopping areas such as supermarkets, shopping centres but doesn't mention other shops. So when in the post office today, I was told a mask was not required, nor in the bakery, yet people were still wearing masks. So lots of confusion. And just to add to the frustration my single use mask broke. Have been carrying a spare for while. It is crazy that some countries are still resisting mask wearing.

So Rump seems to of finally realised that his reign is over. After watching his star witness at that Michigan senate inquiry, he must have thought the game was up. Even his own Republican senators reckoned she was a nut job. Even Rudy thought she was too crazy for him, which says a lot.

Will need to visit my nephew in Qld at some stage to do family stuff, but not in any hurry to jump on a plane. The fact that any state could shut their border within 24hrs doesn't fill me with much confidence right now. Totally understand families needing to reunite. You would take a chance for sure.

So it seems NSW's return traveller system is showing cracks. Now a second person has been allowed to travel to Melbourne without quarantining in Sydney. Our hotel quarantine processes all returned travellers in a separate area and they are not allowed in the general public area of the airport. OS Airlines themselves need to stop issuing domestic boarding passes at point of origin of the flight. I know it's regular practice but given the quarantine restrictions we have it shouldn't be happening. The two people from Germany had domestic boarding passes so nothing stopping them getting on a domestic flight. Seems Gladys once again doesn't see there is an issue with their quarantine process. The old "shit happens" excuse.

Looking forward to sitting down in front of the TV and watching the cricket and not having to deal with other stuff of which the list just gets longer and that's not even stuff I need to do at home. Off tomorrow to buy a couple of new video games and do my Christmas booze run. The cupboards are starting to fill up with Christmas food stuff. Haven't got the Christmas pudding yet but do have the Bundy Rum custard and the rum egg nogg. Rye whiskey and spiced rum, next on the list apart from the usual OS beers.

Weather wise after a couple of days of rain at the start of the week, we are heading for a warm sunny weekend. Hope the rest of the week is good for you.

 

[Rollinbones]

Interesting about the hoverflies MissS. We've seen a similar change in insect numbers this year around our handful of fruit trees. The native bees are still about in numbers courtesy of our hive but there are a lot more ladybugs and predatory bugs. The ants are farming scale in overtime so i'm thankful for the predators.

Wifey looked at me a little funny when i brought a big tub of Vaseline downstairs the other afternoon. Her sigh of relief when i used it to put a ring around the trunks of the trees to stop the ants climbing gave me a bit of a chuckle.

Two inches of rain the other night was very welcome. I'd sown pasture on the back of previous rain and had good germination but it burned off quickly in the heat and dry. Hoping it gets a second wind but expecting i'll have to scratch the little sheep cells up and replant.

The silly season is upon us. I'm enjoying seeing everyone in town Americanise their homes with thousands of watts of lights and inflatable santas like they're competing in an unofficial contest. The kids will insist on decorating the pine out the front with lights again this year and i'm trying to stifle my inner grinch.

We're struggling with a fox at the moment. It's killed a bunch of ducks and turkeys and evaded our almost nightly excursions with the spotlight and the rifle. I'm feeling like i a new parent with the broken sleep. I think it's learned to scoot when it hears the back door open.

This time of year is tough on our little family. My wifey works in a human services role and this is a very busy time for domestic violence and other family dramas. For me, i tighten up with remembered busyness and my ptsd flares. Families are gathering and all of the remembered patterns and grudges resurface. It's sad.

Also my birthday soon. I get to be 52. It's a new high score for me. I tell my son who was pulling piss out of me about it that it's just like his character in WOW. I'll level up and get new abilities.

Enjoy the season. Be kind to one another. Bury your dead. Stay a little freaky.

 

[missswannie]

An interesting week so far. When you bring a few kilos of blueberries back from the farm, grazing through a half kilo of them while working has consequences. Consequential giggles aside, there was quite an interesting case of a doctor giving intravenous vitamin C to a patient in danger from sepsis. 30g solution as opposed to a strong tablet's 500mg, and a follow up full day of another 30g, was enough to stop the sepsis. Maybe a freak reaction, maybe a positive overdose treatment, but maybe a whole lot better on the system than some of the hardcore treatments.
Someone stole some of my knickers off the washing line yesterday. They had to come over the fence to do so which is potentially more annoying. I haven't had anything stolen off a washing line for 25 years, and that was a different country. That was Japan, and there was a news article about a bloke just arrested there with a catalogued stolen knicker collection of over 15000 pairs, stretching back 45 years. I shall hope mine have not joined a collection.
On exactly the same day, just before I went on stage for a conference panel discussion, the stage coordinator said she highly recommended wearing knickers on the set. There were a few side looks, and in fairness, a 39C day would be just cause for staying cool. My head went straight to Basic Instinct. With that in mind I was quite diligent in my leg cross and very sure no one got an eyeful, safely knicker clad. Back in the Stone Age, in post grad at uni, there was a particularly hirsute colleague who tried to send a come-on message to a very nice but very straight fellow, a la Sharon Stone. He eventually made a comment later, apologizing for having inadvertently glimpsed her black underwear.
I have planned a Friday morning on the beach, an hour in the office, and then an afternoon on the boat. Maybe come back in late, maybe stay out overnight. Just a nice pause in between one lot of stuff finishing up for the year and the run in to Christmas. There are no real restriction on parties or events over here but people are still keeping things lower key and outdoors. Sensible.