Tuesday, July 31, 2007

My weekend


Driving along the gorgeous Maleny roads with the wind in my hair, glorious!

Jamming at home, woot!


Andrew having a late-night jam at home, it doesn't get any better than this.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

JOHNNOS FRIDAY WHATISIT

Ok, what are these used for and you must be precise

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Friday Funny

Two Irishmen were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up.

A blonde walks by and asked what they were doing.

Mick: "We're supposed to find the height of this flagpole, but we don't
have a ladder."

The blonde took a spanner from her handbag, loosened a few bolts, and
laid the flagpole down on the ground.

She pulled a tape measure from her pocket, took a few measurements and
announced that it was 2 metres and 24 centimetres, give or take.

She then walked off, proudly.

Paddy: "Now, to be sure, isn't that just like a blonde! We need the
height and she gives us the length."

John Winston Howard

Happy Birthday Howie : Okay I'm not a fan but give him his due,he is a surviver.
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Say hello to Oscar


Ronald McDonald House Charity night

This was in todays Townsville Bulletin...my wife is the one on the left

Sirocco - full blast!

Your computer - use

A quick survey on how you use your computer.

1. How long have you had a computer for?

2. How long have you been on the Internet?

3. Thinking about your own computer, how has your usage changed over the years? More, or less?

4. Thinking about the way you now use your computer, how has it changed?

5. Would you be more likely now to ring, email, fax or sms someone?

6. Are you a confident user of Word?

7. Can you resize and/or crop an image?

8. Can you send attachments by email?

9. Can you download, save and play music?

10. What other things do your do with your computer?

11. What are your favourite things to do on your computer?

12. Can you see yourself learning new things to do in the near future?

13. Have you ever taken a course to learn something for your computer?

14. What's the hardest thing you find to do/create/finish/accomplish on your computer?

15. Do you ever send, or receive personal letters in the mail (postal)?

16. Do you understand all the terms and technologies for your computer, eg. Ram, pixels, rom, dpi, cpu. (No go ogling!)

17. Thinking about your computer, will you upgrade to a larger/bigger, faster computer, or downsize to a smaller, compact computer? Will you buy a second computer?

18. What is your connection speed?

19. Are you able to fix any minor problems that arise? Give an example.

20. How often do you scandisk/defrag/update virus checks?

21. How many email addresses do you have?

Copy this text and paste into the Comments section, and answer your questions there. Good luck Groovers!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Qantas New Logo


Accents

"Who in the world cares about the'upper class' accent!! Who is Ms Harrison producing the programme for?- are they really going to know the difference-While Ms Harrison holds a very impressive record of productions-( Google her?)
Ms Harrison is trying to blame the 'Antipodeans'- surely she wants to have a look closer to home before she starts criticising! Watch 'Coronation St', and 'the Bill'- can you always understand the actors and those using their regional dialects?- then to see/hear a Jamaican or Pakistani talking with a broad cockney or even a Scottish accent- I don't know who her target audience is but if the production is good enough people will watch it without really getting upset about the fact that the speech is not quite so precise.
Language is ever changing right around world- undoubtedly a lot of the cause for change is through watching Television- have a look at the English words creeping into various foreign languages.In spite of this- time is not going to stand still just for Ms Harrison"


(blogged on behalf of Kenny)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Many whales 'pregnant' when slaughtered

More than half the whales killed by Japanese whalers in the Antarctic last summer were pregnant females, the Humane Society International (HSI) said.

The group said that of the 505 Antarctic minke whales killed, 262 of them were pregnant females, while one of the three giant fin whales killed was also pregnant.

The findings came from a review of Japanese reports from their most recent 2006-07 whale hunt in Antarctic waters and were released ahead of the resumption of a Federal Court case the HSI is taking against Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd.

Japanese whalers take hundreds of whales each year in Antarctic waters for so-called scientific study purposes.

"These are gruesome statistics that the Japanese government dresses up as science", HSI spokeswoman Nicola Beynon said in a statement.

She said the HSI was hoping the court would set a date for a full hearing during Tuesday's directions hearing.

"The full hearing will be to determine whether Japanese whalers are in breach of Australian law when they hunt whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in Antarctica and whether the court will issue an injunction for the hunt to be stopped," Ms Beynon said.

"HSI will ask for the final hearing to be held as soon as possible before the hunt starts up again this summer.

"It has been three years since HSI launched the case and many hurdles have been overcome to get to this point.

"It horrifies Australians to know that pregnant humpback whales breeding in the warm waters off Australia this winter will be targeted by the Japanese hunters in Antarctic waters this Christmas."
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Better learn here than there I think
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The Great Ocean road

LATEST NEWS A FITTING MEMORIALThe new sculpture at Eastern View is a perpetual memorial to the men who built the Great Ocean Road in honour of their fallen comrades.“The 3000 returned sailors and soldiers built the Great Ocean Road, the world’s biggest war memorial, as a monument to their fellow Australians killed at Gallipoli, at the Somme and the many other places where Australians served in that conflict,” said Roger Grant, head of Great Ocean Road marketing.“Now they have their own monument, this wonderfully evocative work by sculptor Julie Squires called ‘The Diggers’.“I want to congratulate Julie for the magnificent job she has done capturing the spirit of the men who, often in extraordinarily harsh conditions and using only minimal equipment like picks and shovels, etched this road into the coastline.”As a Tiger Moth buzzed overhead, cars from the construction era ferried special guests including descendants of the workers and a memorial service was held, the sculpture was unveiled today by The Federal Minister for Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Bruce Billson.The Victorian Branch of the RSL, which has supported the creation of the sculpture from the outset, was also represented at the unveiling by its president, Major-General David McLachlan.Another distinguished guest was Mr Barry Fagg from the Geelong Community Foundation, the organisation that along with the Federal Government, helped finance the sculpture.“The involvement of the Geelong Community Foundation in this project is very appropriate and I am extremely grateful to Barry and his fellow board members,” Mr Grant said.“The moneys used on this project come from the funds left to the foundation by Howard Hitchcock, the former Mayor of Geelong who is known as The Father Of The Road.“When times got tough financially during the constructions process, he delved into his own pockets to see that the work went on and the men were paid.“Now, 75 years after the official opening of the road in 1932, he is still working for the good of those workers, creating this permanent monument to them.“It is a wonderful occasion for us, for the RSL and for the families of the people who worked to build this road.”

Woopsie! Sorry 'bout that mate.....

THE traditional refined English accent is in danger of disappearing, and the hit Australian TV soap Neighbours could be partly to blame.

Casting directors for a range of plays, TV shows and films in Britain are struggling to find actors who can speak proper English.

The problem appears to stem from a drop in the number of young people brought up to speak with a clipped English accent known as received pronunciation (RP), The Times newspaper reported.

Known as "the accent of educated south-eastern England" and famously used by BBC announcers, RP is gradually being replaced by the classless estuary English, which is based on non-regional and southeastern English pronunciation and intonation.

And it seems parts of Australian accents could be filtering into the mix.

TV producer Suzan Harrison said she had found casting children in British dramas difficult because many had picked up "an Antipodean lilt from watching Neighbours".

The BBC is also finding it difficult to find two girls to star in a feature-length adaptation of the children's novel Ballet Shoes, which is set in London during the 1930s.

The show's producers claim they are unable to find girls who can dance, act and speak in middle-class accents.

"We've been to drama schools, ordinary schools and children's agents but we still haven't found the right girls," casting director Susie Parriss told the newspaper.

"It doesn't matter whether you got to public schools or comprehensives, children just speak common estuary now.

"That is the trend. But our story requires our leads to speak with a clear middle-class accent."

Cold kills huge barramundi


IT'S enough to make any barramundi fanatic reach for a hanky.

Thousands of dead tropical fish – some more than a metre long – floating to the surface of Lake Moondarra, Mount Isa's main water supply.
Authorities are blaming Queensland's big chill on the mass fish deaths, which have local anglers fearing the worst.

George Fortune, president of the Mount Isa Fish Stocking Group, said about 2000 fish had died in July.

"It's been unusually cold for unusually long, and they just can't tolerate the low temperatures for any length of time," Mr Fortune said. "The barramundi come into the shallow parts of the dam to try to get warm, but they get caught up in the shallows, dying of the cold weather."

The cold snap affecting the whole state has seen the mercury drop to as low as 3.2C in Mount Isa this month. And the fish deaths have forced authorities to grapple with another unwanted problem: disposing of the carcasses.

Big pits have been dug to bury the barramundi, along with large numbers of sleepy cod and catfish. Mr Fortune said barramundi stocks in Lake Moondarra were down by as much as 40 per cent.

I've lost the urge....

Monday, July 23, 2007

Computers!

We bought a new computer base unit on Friday, with Vista, got it home, plugged it in and away I went. Borrowed my sons monitor, (he is away till later today, (Monday)), as I won't get a new one till tomorrow, (Tuesday). Everything was going fine, put some software on which I wanted, Logitech Quickcam (I have used the same webcam for nearly 6 years). Then, last evening, Explorer just would not load up, also a message was coming up with the webcam which I have never seen before. Went to bed really worried, but had my suspicions that it could be the Logitech software.

So this morning I decided to remove the Logitech software, and hey presto, Explorer worked a treat. How relieved I was too. Which means that I must buy a new webcam that will run, without complication, with Vista.

Update on baby chick.

Mum's there feeding her chick at the moment. Here's a picture of him from yesterday, slightly higher up than his flimsy nest. You can only just see him.


Its just so right


Cold up here

Dunns Hill at 16:30 EST Mt Dandenong
Temperature 8.0 C Feels like 0.5 C

No wonder my toes are cold.

must be a dud :-)

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So you think your sexy?


Hmmmm, this is my readout, try it for yourself.

Pigeon chick

I found the pigeon chick up in the trees. Just a little way from his nest. I don't think he is far off testing his wings. Bless him.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

The disappearance of the chick.

I know it's silly to be upset over a chick, but he isn't in his nest and I can't see him anywhere. I can hear little tweetering noises, but can't see the chick anywhere. I will get Rob to have a look when he gets home. He doesn't look old enough to be trying his wings yet. Oh dear, letting go of ones fledgling is hard isn't it. (I keep looking at the nest, as though the chick is going to miraculously appear again).

What a difference a day makes.

An update of the chick just outside my window. Taken three days ago, getting some feathers now, but still looking quite fluffy. How the nest is holding him is beyond me.


The next day 20th July, it poured down, all day. Poor little chick looking cold and wet, and the nest looks like it is getting even more flimsy. Kept my eye on him all day, poor little thing.

Today, 22nd July, nice sunny day, so the chick can dry out, and looking more like a pigeon now. You can see how flimsy they make their nests, a few bits of twigs, good thing there is only one chick there, although he must be lonely. I do go out and say hello to him, and ask him how he is, he never answers though.




Special Pauls Birthday WHATISIT

Saturday, July 21, 2007

If I had a Time Machine

Having thought about the famous People I would like to meet. It made me think, "if only I had a Time Machine", what famous person would I like to meet, and what historical event would I want to witness?

1. I would like to meet Leonardo Da Vinci, to tell him to make a glider instead of the man powered Ornithoper.
2. Next The Wright Brothers flight at Kittyhawk.
3. Check out the claim that Clemet Adler flew his steam powered airplane the Eole in 1890.
4. The beginning of the Universe.
5. Maybe try to stop Hitler and Al-Qaida from gaining power.

This is why I would like to meet Theroretical Physics like Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein, to ask them if we could travel into the future. This would be important because, if you couldn't travel into the future (because it hasn't happen yet) you would be stuck in the time you had traveled too.

What are your thoughts on time travel, and what historical event would you want to witness?

Friday, July 20, 2007

tech stuff

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - She is a latecomer to the information superhighway, but 75-year-old Sigbritt Lothberg is now cruising the Internet with a dizzying speed. Lothberg's 40 gigabits-per-second fiber-optic connection in Karlstad is believed to be the fastest residential uplink in the world, Karlstad city officials said.
In less than 2 seconds, Lothberg can download a full-length movie on her home computer — many thousand times faster than most residential connections, said Hafsteinn Jonsson, head of the Karlstad city network unit.
Jonsson and Lothberg's son, Peter, worked together to install the connection.
The speed is reached using a new modulation technique that allows the sending of data between two routers placed up to 1,240 miles apart, without any transponders in between, Jonsson said.
"We wanted to show that that there are no limitations to Internet speed," he said.
Peter Lothberg, who is a networking expert, said he wanted to demonstrate the new technology while providing a computer link for his mother.
"She's a brand-new Internet user," Lothberg said by phone from California, where he lives. "She didn't even have a computer before."
His mother isn't exactly making the most of her high-speed connection. S Technology News

Time just races on


Happy Birthday Paul.


Many happy returns.

First birthday card 2007


Just in case you cant read the card The message inside the card reads.
" To Paul, From Dad, thankyou for all your help during the past year"

Not only a birthday, but famous too!


Paul's letter to the editor in today's Courier Mail. woot!

Happy Birthday (again) Paul

Thursday, July 19, 2007

USS Kitty Hawk


The Kitty Hawk has arrived in Brisbane on its farewell tour. Its the last time we'll see it before its decommissioned

Don't try this at home


Nobody told me that if you leave the microwave on with nothing in it except an empty glass plate for a continual long period of time it blows up.
Why turn a microwave on with nothing i hear you ask. I was just using it as a timer to something cooking in the big oven.
Why didn't i just use the timer on the cooker instead of the microwave i again hear you ask.
Well the answer to that one was that I couldn't be bothered trying to figure out how to set the thing the microwave timer seemed the easier option

BBRRRRRR!!! Baby it's c-c-cold outside!

Weather records continue to tumble in Queensland with parts of the state shivering in the coldest morning of the year.

Temperatures well below freezing are being reported at many centres in the south-east including the Darling Downs, the granite belt, Amberley and Brisbane.

At 6am, the temperature at Applethorpe on the granite belt was -7.3, Warwick recorded -5 and Dalby and Oakey -4.

This morning, Townsville recorded its longest cold snap in 66 years, with continuous minimums below 12 degrees.

The weather bureau's Greg Connors is predicting there is more to come.

"Not since 1941 have we had such a long cold spell and we think as Friday and Saturday approaches it's going to get even colder," he said.

"There's another burst of cold air coming up so we're getting back down to single figures again."

Cute eh.




This little baby pigeon, (well, not so little), in a nest, in the trees by my house, just the otherside of the fence. As you can see from the first picture to the second that he has grown slightly. I keep an eye on the chick, and the other day I found him on the floor, a dangerous place for any chick to be, and his mum was nowhere to be seen. So we had to put him back in the nest, he wasn't that appreciative, and kept trying to have a go at us, he has a big beak. His mum puts in an appearance during each day. He sits in his nest watching us about our daily routine in the garden and I watch him from my window.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Three People

Ok groovers, which three, living, famous people that you simply adore, would you like to meet. Then which three famous people, who are no longer living, would you have liked to meet.

My annual golf day




..we dressed up as "The Beagle Boys"

Me 12 years ago with Bill from Sirocco



This is the last show I ever did with Peter Dick, on ABC radio, it was his farewell gig and then I worked for another 5 months with Spencer Howson, but out of all the famous people I have interviewed, and let's face it, there were a lot, this is the ONLY person to ever make my hands shake with adrenilin.

I asked for a photo of us together, and asked would it be possible if he could sign my album covers, as I was a big fan.

Sure Bill said, and with that I dragged out all 6 albums. I don't know who was more shocked, lol.

After I went to air interviewing him, I promptly burst into tears, as you do.

It was a very special day.

Bill O'Toole

Bill O'Toole -plays wooden flutes , bagpipes and a variety of unusual woodwind. He went from organising bush dances and concerts in Australia to Europe to study music and music instrument making at the London Guild Hall University. On returning Bill started making a variety of instruments from Australian timbers and at the same time performing on them around Australia. With Andrew de Telign he formed Sirocco in 1980 and is responsible for their innovative projects, such as the Macquarie marshes. He also manages the group.

Meet Sirocco continued



TOP PICTURE: Peter Jacob is one brilliant musician. What this man can do with percussion would make anyone cry. Take one simple drum, add his magic, VOILA!


Peter Jacob studied teaching at Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education. After teaching for three year in primary schools, he studied for a Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium. On graduation Peter has worked extensively with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra. In 1984 Peter toured with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta. He has been involved with many contemporary music ensembles such as Synergy and the Seymour Group. Peter has put together a unique percussion rig for Sirocco including : tupan, darrabukka, water drum, Irish Bodhran and Indonesian gongs.

ABOVE: Chia is a guest musician, and one very talented master flautist.

Chai Chang Ning has been with Sirocco on many tours around Australia and overseas including Taiwan and Hong Kong. He is a master on the Chinese bamboo flute.

Meet Sirocco



TOP PICTURE: This is Paul, talented bastard, but ain't they all? Paul does the wind and keyboards, synthisers etc.

Paul Jarman began performing at the age of four, inheriting a keen interest in music from two generations of his family, on one side, classical and jazz, and the other, country folk musicians. Now accomplished on over twenty instruments from Asia, Australia, The Middle East and Europe, Paul works as a composer and producer as well as performances with many arts groups including Sydney Dance Company, Colin Offord, The Renaissance Players, Sydney Children’s Choir and Rainbow Circus. His latest choral works have been performed in Singapore by combined international choirs.

His instruments in Sirocco include : saxillo, synthesiser/sampler, punji, didgeridu


ABOVE: Andrew is one versatile musician! Guitar, chinese harp thingy, you name it, it's brilliant under his hands.

Andrew de Teliga is the main composer for Sirocco. His background is in rhythm and blues guitar. As well as performing in a wide variety of rock bands, Andrew learned the classical violin. From a classical repertoire Andrew turned to the Irish fiddle and to the music of the different ethnic groups in Australia His inspired compositions have been used around the world. In particular dance groups from Singapore, Korea and Australia have choreographed to his music.

Instruments include : Ch'ng, violin, Greek bouzouki, electric guitar, slide guitar, Uigher Tar

My groupie pic with Sirocco *swoons


This is my favorite group of all time. They have been on my family holidays to Uluru, Tasmania, New Zealand.

They have been with me in my darkest hours, they have celebrated happy family times, they have been in my heart, my car, my soul for the past 20 years.

I adore them.

The soundscapes their music evokes makes me cry.

To meet them all today, and to see and hear 'in the flesh' the music that I have carried with me for years, is like being kissed on the mouth by an angel.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Yes its cold up here .........

Dunns Hill at 15:00 EST
Temperature 1.7c Feels like -3.9c Rel. Humidity 99%
Wind Direction
Wind Speed
Gusts
NNW
20km/h11knots
28km/h15knots

Are you still comming to Melbourne ? Patty lol

Frodocam Location



I blogged this last year, and Johnno re-found it for me (see, he DOES take notice!) lol. Thanks mate, I owe ya.

Monday, July 16, 2007

He achieved his goal


Now he looks a little like robin williams

Gosport

Me walking along the Esplanade in Gosport.

My Week in Review

Monday: Got up about 7am only because I had to, ohhhhh it was cold. I spent the day online refreshing for an upcoming exam I don't like studying something over and over I much prefer to read and study things at the last minute that way you can remember it. Trust me theres method to my madness.

Tuesday: I took the morning off cleaned the house mopped the floors. In the afternoon i went to the local courthouse to do some research that side of the course i'm doing at uni i really love.

Wednesday: We are staging a mock trial so as to gain an understanding how the legal process works and today I found out I am to play the role of a person who has been accused of stealing a car and destroying public property. The trial itself starts in about 2 weeks so its anyones guess if i'm found guilty or not. I went and saw Dad this afternoon although I phone him 3 times a week I try and see him at least once a week, his breathing is getting worse by the day and theres nothing they say that can be done except rest.

Thursday: The mornings are bloody cold still, heater goes on first thing like it has done for the last week and half. I went food shopping at Coles this morning, i hate shopping I only do it when I really have to. I went to the library that afternoon just to borrow a particular book of which i ended up spending 2 hours looking for of which i didn't find in the end so i came home and found the transcript i was looking for on the net. I think librarys have lost their purpose with this the day of the internet now.

Friday: The phone rings first thing this morning its my Father to ask would I go to Red Hill today and collect a video game that he had bought on ebay, so I went and did that in the morning. Finished an assignment i have been working on that afternoon as I had planned to have a lazy weekend.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Pickup Line

Having already downed a few power drinks, she turned around, faced him, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Listen up, Buddy. I screw anybody, any time, anywhere, your place, my place, in the car, front door, back door, on the ground, standing up, sitting down, naked or with clothes on, dirty, clean . . . it doesn't matter to me. I've been doing it ever since I got out of college and I just love it."

Eyes now wide with interest, he responded, "'No kidding. I'm a lawyer, too. What firm are you with?"

Sensitive man

A woman meets a man in a bar. They talk; they connect; they end up leaving together. They get back to his place, and as he shows her around his apartment, she notices that one wall of his bedroom is completely filled with soft, sweet, cuddly teddy bears. There are three shelves in the bedroom with hundreds and hundreds of cute, cuddly teddy bears, carefully placed in rows covering the entire wall! It was obvious that he had taken quite some time to lovingly arrange them and she was immediately touched by the amount of thought he had put into organizing the display.

There were small bears all along the bottom shelf, medium-sized bears covering the length of the middle shelf, and huge, enormous bears running all the way along the top shelf. She found it strange for anobviously masculine guy to have such a large a collection of Teddy Bears, but doesn't mention this to him, and actually is quite impressed by his sensitive side.

They share a bottle of wine and continue talking and, after a while, she finds herself thinking, "Oh my God! Maybe, this guy could be the one Maybe he could be the future father my children?" She turns to him and kisses him lightly on the lips. He responds warmly. They continue to kiss, the passion builds, and he romantically lifts her in his arms andmake hot, steamy love.

She is so over whelmed that she responds with more passion, more creativity, more heat than she has ever known, and even did a few things she had never done with any other man. After an intense, explosive night of raw passion with this sensitive guy, they are lying there together in the afterglow. The woman rolls over, gently strokes his chest and asks coyly, "Well, how was it?" The guy gently smiles at her, strokes her cheek, looks deeply into her eyes,and says.....................

Help yourself to any prize from the middle shelf!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Foto Friday




Now you can upload any fun/freaky foto on Fridays.

JOHNNOS WHATISIT