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I always like (need) to have positive things to look forward to. Next week, Mrs Octave and I are headed off to NZ. This is nothing new, every year we do some kind of tour through and end up staying with our son, or we go on a road trip with our son. We are planning to do this later in the year or early next year; however, we have justified to ourselves an extra trip. My son and partner are having a new house built for them. They are painting the place themselves, and the builder has a quite detailed build schedule that they are adhering to strictly. My son and partner have 2 weeks to fully paint the interior, so we have (generously) offered to go over and help paint. We are really looking forward to inspecting the house because it is a little more high-tech than anything we have built or lived in. This house is a SIP build (structural insulated panel). The insulation rating is amazingly good. Another feature is that the house is amazingly airtight. The average Australian home is rated at 15.4; my son's house is 0.38. My initial question was, "Would not this mean that the air quickly became stale?" There is actually a ventilation system called an HRV (heat recovery ventilator), sometimes referred to as an ERV (energy recovery ventilator) Air is constantly pumped in. The air pumped out goes through a heat exchanger and scavenges the heat in the air going out. This place is so thermally efficient that they did calculations for the heat produced by their 2 desktop PCs (a plus in winter and a negative in summer). This house is being built on a jointly owned block that my son owns with is business partner and wife. They have lived in a huge house that is actually 2 houses in one for many years. The business partner couple already have a large house on this block. They are going to tie together their solar batteries and solar panels, which will equal an enormous 45Kw system. From this, they are planning to be at least partially energy independent. Charging 3 EVs has been factored in. Here is the site. The big house in the background has a bottom floor full of workshops for their joint projects. The engineering gear they have is mind- blowing. My son's partner Amazing double-glazed window facing the winter sun ( expensive, I imagine) Ventilation heat exchanger bits and pieces. This was the day they pressure-tested the house.

Can't work my wife out. First she says "Sure! Get yourself a tattoo." Now she's whining about the bagpipers in the garden.

I was on my way to work this morning and thought stuff it, I'm getting a coffee and going to have it at the beach before I start. My daughter told me on the phone it was -4c in tamworth, and here I get to wake up to 9c and this view. It was 14c by the time I got to the beach. I'm starting to catch on life is too short to let this stuff pass us by and work is not everything.

We have a fat white goldfish with a red cap which we've named Trump. Bit insulting to the fish, but they share the same hairstyle, IQ, and belly to height ratio. Also, they both open their mouth constantly but nothing intelligible comes out.

Just pointing out something many may not have known.

Have been visiting the extended family. Well at least those around SEQ. Really enjoying catching up with all. Especially the younger ones. Last night we booked in to a Gold Coast hotel for a rest. In spite of my general dislike for this part of the world, it is nice to wake up to the sound of surf on a beach.

Well, a week has passed since I arrived on these fair shores.. I decided to travel up to Tocumwal today to look at some land that may feature in my retirement. But, a nice surprise - I reconnected with my ab initio flight instructor of over 30 years ago! It was fantastic to meet up We flapped the gums chatted about old times and of course our different journeys; and I happen to be in town of the evening of the local aero club meet. So, will do the three S's and trundle off shortly to meet the local aviation fraternity, Doesn't get much better than that!

We messaged our son in NZ to remind him of our flight details. My wife referred to us as FIFO workers. My son's message back was "f***ing Australians, coming here and taking all the jobs"😆

In similar news, because I was born with brown eyes I've never had a period.

From the Guardian...

My Dad had one also, it was his first rangefinder camera after trying to use an old clapped out bakelite camera that someone must have given him. He took lots of family photos with the Neoca during the 1950s. In his latter years he gave me all the negatives which I still have, stored safely. He developed them himself and they look pretty good. Unfortunately Dad's Neoca was stolen, so, for nostalgia, I bought one as part of my collection, and also as a bit of family memorabilia.

In a post near the beginning of this thread I mentioned that I became interested in photography when a workmate of my father gave me a 35mm camera. Neoca 35mm - my first camera I later purchased a twin lens reflex camera which took a 2+1//4" film negative. I never got into film processing, taking my negatives and transparency films to a chemist or camera shop for processing. Twin lens reflex Then I went digital so I could do post processing on the computer. I bought a Panasonic Lumix FZ20 camera which had a 12x zoom lens, great for airport photos. Unfortunately I lost it at an Avalon Air Show. It was a particularly hot day, and at the end of the show I was heading to the exit, suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion. A staff person on a golf buggy offered me a lift to the first aid room. I placed all my goods, chair, esky, camera, etc. on the back seat. When we got to the first aid room the camera was missing. I was pretty devistated. I assumed it had fallen off when we bumped over a gutter. My wife found a secondhand Lumix FZ40 which had a 24x zoom lens in the Trading Post for much less than I paid for the FZ20. It had belonged to the late father of the advertiser. That is the camera I use today in addition to my phone cameras. Lumix FZ40 I have an old iPhone 6 whichhas been decommossioned as a phone, it has no sim card. However it takes good photos, is small and light and fits in a tee shirt pocket, and is very easy to transfer images to the computer. My actual phone, a Samsung Galaxy, takes probably slightly better photos than the iPhone, but is large, heavy, like a brick to carry, and is a nightmare to transfer photos.

Nuclear puts out a lot of heat and needs water, cost heaps to build reflected in the Price Private enterprise wants to do it. Nuclear test site will remain dangerous forever, effectively.Can't be used for quick response either, like Batteries or Hydro. Todays demand fluctuates wildly. Nev

He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his Mouth. He was selected by the Party and took them to one of the Most significant wins for ages. He has Plenty of well qualified and People to select for Ministerial Positions. .He's not a One Man Band. News all over the world acknowledge we are doing a Good job here but you won't get that Impression from and Newscorpse Monopoly or SKY. They want to be Pauline's Puppet-master because SHE will do their Bidding. She's for SALE. Nev

I feel that Melbourne has a cultural feel about it, as opposed to Sydney's commercialism. One goes to Melbourne for the theatre and music. Sydney does not seem to have that vibe, despite having the architectural beauty of the Opera House. But it's just a building. As for multiculturalism, I think that the meeja consistently misreports on it. I was in a shopping centre in Dubbo yesterday. I saw people from India, Asia, Africa, Indigenous and European all carrying on with their shopping with no sign of conflict. I had the choice for my lunch of several differnt food types of food styles.

The town is noted for having one of the widest main streets in the country, at 60 metres. It was built as wide as this to accommodate turning bullock trains. In 2012, in the tradition of the Parkes Elvis Festival, Trundle launched its own tribute with the inaugural Trundle ABBA Festival. The town's annual festival, called "Bush Tucker Day", is held every September. There is also a golf course with sand-oil greens, a 25-metre swimming pool, tennis courts, horse-racing facilities and a sporting oval named Berryman Park. Who wouldn't want to include it on a grey nomad tour?

and execute on it.. Words are cheap.

Meanwhile, Poorline is sunning in Italy at a resort with her battler friend Gina.

The only permanent Nuclear waste facility I know of is Finlands Onkalo, meaning "cave" in Finnish, the facility is carved 430 meters (1,411 feet) below the surface in 1.9-billion-year-old stable bedrock near the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. It securely stores spent nuclear fuel using a unique multi-barrier system. It took over 20 years to build & can store 6500 tonnes of spent uranium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository About 400,000 tones of high level waste exists globally with about 12,000 tonnes added each year. Meanwhile there are scores of decommissioned Nuclear submarines in storage awaiting the waste from their reactors to be removed and stored. The UK has 23, The US & Russia have not disclosed numbers or where the waste is stored. Is there a plan to dispose of the waste from the Aukus nuclear subs?

I think this might be a little optimistic. Global stockpiles of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel exceed 320,000 tonnes currently in storage, with another 120,000+ tonnes having been reprocessed. The vast majority of this material sits in temporary wet pools or dry casks near power plants, awaiting permanent deep geological disposal. [1, 2] he International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) tracks the global spent nuclear fuel inventory across power reactors worldwide. When including all classifications (Low-Level and Intermediate-Level Waste), the global inventory totals tens of millions of cubic meters, although the highest-level, most radioactive materials make up a very small percentage of that total volume. [1, 2, 3] Here is a video about how waste disposal works. This is not hysterical scare mongering, but I believe an accurate description of the process. The thing that strikes me is it is quite complex and thus far not much has been actually permanently disposed of.

Siso...You don't mention quick response considerations or storage. That's the game changer. You can easily research the real cost of these things IF you want to . Australia has a relatively small Population over a large area. A grid for any system here will be costly and damage Prone. Long distance equals transmission losses and higher power costs. Tidal and battery could be stand alone for some areas like Broome.. Really, what's Planting trees got to do with nuclear?? Some Countries are almost standing room only, and there's plenty of places where a big tree is a big problem. Nuclear Needs cooling and LOTS of water. Australia is one of the driest continents in the world but we have Wind and sunlight in abundance. Horses for Courses they say. Look at the condition of some test sites like the Marshal Islands. Nev

Very true, and this applies to all forms of power generation. I am not philosophically opposed to nuclear; however, I have not seen convincing economic modelling. If we were to go down the nuclear road, we would be looking at significant costs. Recent projects in Europe, the UK and the US have experienced substantial cost overruns and delays A question I would have is: Who would build them? Australia has world-class engineering and construction capability, but it currently lacks experience in several areas unique to commercial nuclear power, including: nuclear-qualified pressure vessel manufacturing reactor vessel forging steam generator manufacturing nuclear fuel fabrication a nuclear regulatory workforce for commercial power reactors Those capabilities would need to be developed over time or sourced internationally. Whilst transmission upgrades required may be less than for renewables, they are still substantial. Nuclear does have an enormous upfront cost and is only viable over many decades. In the meantime, storage technology gets cheaper and better. Storage technology continues to improve and fall in cost, whether lithium-ion, sodium-ion or other emerging technologies. Given the long lead time between deciding to build a nuclear power station and generating the first power, storage technology will continue to advance. I think some time ago you mentioned that you have a historically fantasic feed in tariff from your retailer, so I imagine you are doing alright. My power bills have gone up; however, the solar keeps it cheap compared to other bills I have. For my household, investing further in rooftop solar and storage is likely to reduce my electricity costs far sooner than waiting for a fleet of nuclear stations to be built. Ultimately, I'm less interested in whether a technology is labelled "renewable" or "nuclear" than whether it can deliver reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible electricity for Australians. At this stage, I haven't seen convincing evidence that a nuclear pathway would provide a better overall outcome, particularly given the costs and construction timeframes involved.

Sam was a great actor and an all round fine human being. A genuine nice guy. I loved his book "Did I ever tell you this" a series of his memoirs he put together after finding out about his cancer diagnosis. Sir Sam Neill I will miss you

How much BLOOD does Trump Have on his Hands, NOW? Nev

Finally had my Cochlear Assessment testing done today. The residual hearing in my left ear is so degraded, I would benefit from an implant in that ear. My right ear has more residual hearing than the implant would replace,so they would only implant one. Many people pair an implant with a normal amplifying aid. The young lady conducting the test was amazing. She sat one side of the desk and I was on the other. She placed a page of typed notes on the desk so I could read them, and wrote comments/notes UPSIDE DOWN perfectly clearly, as if she wrote that way all the time, ie., writing right to left and inverted. The report will be forwarded to the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist who will take things from there. It was a 70km round trip.

Bonnie Tyler has died aged 75. Had some hits in the 70s and 80s, most notably "Total eclipse of the heart".

Trump was sitting with Zelensky during the NATO meeting and talking with the press. Someone asked Trump about whether he thought Putin and Zelensky could resolve the war. After waffling a bit he turned to Zelensky and asked if he would travel to Moscow to talk with Putin. Zelensky didn’t take the bait but just said, “Well, that’s a bit difficult. There are lots of Ukrainian drones over there.” The press laughed but Trump wasn’t amused.

Welcome back Jerry!

Well,, for this first post, it is the good, the bad, and the ugly about Melbourne ad surrounds that I have seen so far.. And the meh? (in other words, makes no real difference). Since 2005, I have been back about 6 times; all mercy dashes or admin (estate). But this is the first time I decided to take some time to reacquaint myself a bit and not just run around like a chicken with my head cut off. So, I have taken some time out to jot down some notes.. ans keeping it apolitical, here is what I have observed or has stuck out in my mind: The Vic Market food hall.. It is so good and should be a national institution. I know the Adelaide Market is excellent, too.. maybe better. But there is something about that building which has changed little since I can remember it; my earliest memory is when I was 5; which is 55 years ago. The selection/variety of produce; the quality, and the prices are not that much more than supermarket from what I could see. Speaking of food - the bad.. It is expensive - more so than in the UK and by a way. Also on food, the supermarket quality - at least where we are and where I have visited has improved markedly. When I first moved to the UK, unbelievably, the UK supermarket food was better than Colesworth... But, the tables have turned again. The consumer chocolate bars - are the ugly. I should get quite trim after moving back as I can't see myself eating many at all. I know when I left Australia and the first visits, they were very similar to the UK, but somewhere along the line, the majors here changed the recipe to US style 0 mire sugars, palm oils I guess and the rest... it tastes like US chocolate now... Which was a real shame as I finally got my hands on a Chokito... which was my childhood favourite. Probably never again. Multiculturalism: For some peoples complaints on here, it doesn't seem to be particularly different to when I left, nor when I was a kid. The nature of the multiculturalism has changed, and I have noticed in Melbourne in particular, there is a proliferation of Asian eateries, but to be honest, while I think it is quite OK, on the scale, it is a bit meh? I know someone will point out that I can go to areas which are quite different.. It seems in Victoria, wherever they can put a shop, they will. I think it is over-developed commercially, and that it is bland, US style mass shopping architecture. Definitely a bad. I think Melbourne has become more Bohemian.. It has a vibe that shouts emerge from the conservative past and embrace different. I really like its vibe. Although, with the development of all those high rises around the market area, it did feel a little claustrophobic. Not great. The roads, despite some potholes and crumbling are fantastic. Getting around during the day with the traffic levels was a breeze... but Having to watch the speedo to ensure I wasn't a few licks over the limit was a pain.. I could easily have done 120kph on the Hume and it would have not been one iota less safe in reality.. I am sure there is more of the good bad and ugly, and no doubt as I recall or come across them, I will add the to here.. But it really has whet the appetite to get moving.

She's losing favor as fast as she gained it - a real flash in the pan.

You must believe in witchcraft, GON. They HAVE one Person in the House of Reps. Her idol, Nigel Farage is not looking good and Hanson's over in the UK Associating with completely undesirable characters causing concern with any thinking Australian Voter.. You picked Trump as a good thing too. Hanson Worships him.. Neither are Nice people. To believe EITHER of them care about the Ordinary Person makes you look NAIVE. Nev

Sams parents were NZers & his father was in the military & stayed on in the UK after WW2. They eventually decided to return to NZ.

Great actor. He was great in Jurassic Park, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Apparently a Sir too, and his real first name is Nigel.

The other thing that is becoming a pain is having to do everything on your phone. So many aps drain the battery quickly, and if you are stuck with a flat battery, or the network fails as has haapened with Telstra and Optus, you are stuffed.

Yours looks a little warmer than where I was last night on the Bellarine Peninsula (come to think about it, not too far from where home is for you)

Yes, it's a bloody pain. Also the sites that require you to enter the security code they send to your phone. I don't always have my phone close handy. I've had two FB accounts closed for some spurious reason. I was using my late wifes account, just to receive info, jokes and trivia, but I had to delete browser history and cookies to get Google Maps to work and lost the login.

The HRV system also removes air from moist areas such as kitchens and bathrooms through the HRV system. https://sips.premierbuildingsystems.com/blog/seal-it-tight-and-ventilate-it-right Heat Recovery Ventilators (HRVs) Also known as air-to-air heat exchangers, HRVs are used to extract air from high-humidity areas like bathrooms and kitchens. These devices pass the moisture-laden warm air through a core, pre-heating incoming cool, fresh outdoor air while expelling the remaining moisture from the building. HRVs are commonly specified by design professionals in cold climates where dry outside air is prevalent during winter, such as in the Upper Midwest. Energy Recovery Insulators (ERVs) This type of SIP ventilator operates similarly to an HRV but also reduces air moisture levels in high-humidity climates, for example, in regions like the Pacific Northwest and Gulf Coast.

The girl had a nifty little device on her desk It was a screen about half the size of an iPad and was on a stand. When I had my hearing aids out for other test equipment, I couldn't hear any instructions she was giving me. The device used the technology in smartphones which enables you to dictate SMS's, and converted her instructions into words on the screen like closed captions on the TV.

So we have a written quote which states $1500 plus $150 GST. The company is licensed. It is perfectly legal to pay in cash. So here is the source of my displeasure. When I asked when we would get the bill he said, "it is cash only" The quote says this: Materials used to conform to current AS/NZS codes. • All material used are BHP Quality steel. • This quotation is firm for Thirty days. • All work completed is guaranteed for a period of 7 years. • 50% payment on commencement. • 25% during scope of works. • Full payment on completion. No money has been paid or asked for thus far, although we are not aware of what the neighbour has done. When I asked them, they said $1500 cash My and I stress "minor" annoyance is this. If they only accept cash, then tell me up front (this may have been complicated by sharing the tradie with the neighbour.) This company earlier in the week was fixing the roof of the local Bunnings. I would bet they don't ask Bunnings to pay in cash. So they seem to be a reputable company and they have done good work but demanding cash makes them look less than professional. I suspect they do a lot of commercial work and pad it ouit with a few off the books jobs. The other issue is will they offer a receipt (I will insist). My wider annoyance is tax avoidance (as opposed to tax minimisation, which is fine) The problem is if I pay $1650 will the $150 GST ever make it to the tax office? Back when I owner built there was a scheme you had to adhere to called the Prescribed Payments System. Every payment to a contractor had to be reported to ATO and you had to deduct tax from the payment. This scheme ended in 2000, and now it seems that for private builders, there are no obligations. The onus lies fully with the tradies.

There's just two things I hate.... 1. The way things are 2. Change

My eldest son is 18 today. Couldn't be prouder of the fine young man he's become. 😊

I've figured out some positives. Life is good. We've had twenty seven inches of rain so far this year and the country is looking great. It's finally stopped raining and the beautiful clear and cool weather is here. I have a debt free roof over my head, lots of food, a motor car that works, I can walk, talk, breathe, hear and see and have plenty of fun stuff to do. The first photo is the front yard, the second is the back yard, and the third photo is my best mate outside the kitchen window trying to shame me into giving him some dog biscuits. I've known him since he was born, so he's known me his entire life. There's nowhere I'd rather be.

It is Mrs Octave's birthday so we are spending a couple of nights in this shabby place. Yes we are going to drink wine in the enormous bath.

Windows stairs toxic nerve poisons and jails. Maybe He HAS NO Military hardware operational? ( I hope I can say this) But his Buddy, Trump Might give him some. Nev

Maybe he didn't want any military hardware at the WW2 victory parade because he feared some of it could be turned on him.😍