nomadpete

Hooray! Good news! The mobile phone and internet are working again!

Gripe of the day.... On monday, I missed some phone calls - the phone hadn't rung but some silent texts informed me of missed calls. I got onto the telco website and discovered they had a PLANNED outage for 3 days, but a unplanned fault as well. Then all service cut out. Two days later, the Tas Fire Service sent us an advice that there is 'degraded' internet in our area, and not to trust their internet warning system, only trust our pager for callouts. But they sent this out on 'BART', their proprietary internet advice system! What were they thinking?

Oooh you poor buggah!

No need to be a ostrich, just come home Jerry!

I wish I have time to watch a movie. These days I find my eyes drooping by the time the movie starts. Then it's all over, red rover.

My potatos, beans and tomatoes are affordable whilst they are growing in the veggie patch. My neighbour's lamb is affordable, too. Thae Colesworth's food has been getting a bit over the top so we don't buy much of that.

Having mulled over the issue I have this to say.... (Please do not be offended by my bluntness, I am a bit aspie) Although I highly value the site, I also value the work Ian has put in over a very long time. Ian, over and above my likes, what matters most to me is, 'Do you really want to continue the AS site?' If you are not (for any reason) getting satisfaction from your efforts, it's time to stop. From my knowledge of the core forumites, gathered over the years, I am sure we all have come far enough in life to know and accept that any project is only worthy of your effort whilst it is personally rewarding. BTW, the security (and mods) of your platforms would be one of the reasons that we have been able to so openly debate and sometimes reveal very personal things on AS. Thank you.

I'm in both camps. I still have the CD's, and recently went down to the tip shop and bought a couple of spare players for a few bucks, to make sure I can still play them when I want. The sound quality is better than streaming. And my CD's are all copied onto my old mobile phone which I use to play my music through the sound system in the shed (or caravan, or boat). Sometimes, for variety, I play Radio Australia (not actually our own Auntie) which offers digital streaming of radio stations around the planet.

Like OME I don't do Farcebook. I deleted my account long ago. Ian, if you do ddcide to shut it down please give me time to exchange phone numbers with the mob so I can stay in touch. Thanks.

Stop it stop it! You make me jealous. And jealousy is a curse. Will I ever pluck up the courage to cross the strait and hop my way up the coast?

I thought it was just the Russians who had this problem...

I once put a simple A frame on a box trailer, slightly foreward of the axle. The A frame when laid down reached about a metre aft of the trailer. I put a little chain block on the peak of the frame, and an old hand winch on the trailer coupling, linked back to the A frame. With the A frame about 30 degrees up, the chain block lifted a engine and transmission up, then the winch pulled the A frame up to almost vertical. The chain block then lowered the load onto the middle of the trailer. The only issue was the uplift on the ball coupling but that could have been fixed with a simple leg on the back of the trailer. All made from scrap, it lifted maybe 1/3 of a ton. How heavy is one end of your log?

Firsty, I thank Ian for all the work and money he has put into both forums. I acknowledge that there is not a really big following on Socialaustralia. For a long time I have wondered about the viability of providing the forum when there are not a lot of users. However, I also think that our group has really reaped a lot of personal benefit. Most of us have had substantial trying times in our lives, and the forum has been a valued place for us, on several levels, as already noted by OME. Ian, if it is possible, let us know a ballpark figure to keep the forum active. I'm happy to subscribe. Otherwise, should you decide to close it, I'm sure the active forumites will understand. We respect your right to reclaim your time and energy.

Then I read to the end of the gov't article. The USO was originally all about 'fixed line voice services'. This was primarily to ensure everyone with a phone can always call triple oh. It has not been updated to allow for the discontinuation of fixed line services. These days, fixed lines to houses are replaced by NBN. Bloody typical government slackos. Anyway, everyone who is suffering from intermittent NBN should keep a log of times, durations, etc. And send regular letters of complaint to the telecommunications ombudsman. That is the only way to get action.

It seems everyone has forgotten this :- "The Universal Service Obligation (USO) is a long-standing consumer protection that supports access to phone services and payphones. Telstra is responsible for delivering the USO, and must provide standard telephone services (STS) on request to premises in Australia within reasonable timeframes, " I am a long time supporter of Telstra, but they can be held to accout when necessary. Every time the USO is not occurring - that is, failure to provide basic telephone service, a letter tothe telecommunications ombudsman should be sent with details of the problem. Dont quote me, but these days, I would expect that the USO should cover basic internet access as well as voice.

Gee, I wish we got more than 1Mb/s on our mobile hotspotting. I agree, the NBN has become an albatross around Australia's neck. It could have been a real asset to the public. Nah

Last time I looked, a flue kit (to meet the standards) was $500 at the hardware monopoly shop. And it isn't much more than a bunch of low grade thin walled stainless pipes.

Careful what you wish for. For the past week we have had one front after the other coming through with gusts to 40kts, driving constant drizzle and tree branches horizontally. We'd love to have some (merely) brisk wind for a change. Normally a 5 degree day is ok but with this wind sending it right through four layers, it feels quite cold.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. Where do I start? My major motive is to tease out the thorny problem of "So, what can we do to improve things all round?" Taking your above quote, it seems that there are only two options: 1:- Integration to bring harmony via compromise. (Didn't work in the past). 2:- Provision of a time warp bubble to preserve old ways. (Didn't work in the past). I am looking for the all new item 3. I'll make one last observation before I move away from the whole redress for old injustices arguments. There have been a few notable such international compensations carried out in recent history, but there must be many thousands that were left to fade as nations merged and shifted through the ages. It would do little to resolve the resentment that rises when one culture gets swamped by another. I can only see it being a divisive approach to our conundrum.

Car names.... Who can forget the Mitzi Starrion? Did some asian sales team ask around for a strong virile name that challenges the fame of Ford's Mustang?

In my view, the culture of any place will trend toward whatever the majority of the population does. This is not a result of of governmental agreements. It has already been acknowledged that, for instance, our more recent multicultural society has benefited from the arrival of many different nationalities of migrants. As such the culture has adopted many changing attitudes, religions, foods, etc. The culture is directed by the majority. Just as early British influences grew to override the indigenous culture, the British has benn totally changed due to large numbers of arrivals of other cultures. My grandparents would not recognise todays culture. People adopt the changes that suit them. The indigenous have done this, just as the rest of us have. We bleat about the good old days, but they are gone. So, regardless of a relatively recent judgement about early settlers, the culture of the country will always bend to the culture of the majority. The early european settlers would have died if they tried to adopt the indigenous life. I do not see the point you are making about that. The indigenous only survived for tens of thousands of years by adapting to a changing world. Otherwise they would have died out long ago. All cultures evolve and adapt to changing conditions. Just as the life and culture that the early settlers knew, is gone forever, so the life and original culture of the original indigenous is mostly gone. The reality is, todays people are adapting to the new culture as it evolves. Which brings me back to my earlier question... "What kind of sovereignty do some indigenous desire, and what are the implications of it?" How will it improve the lives of the most disadvantaged members of their demographic group?

In an attempt to clarify my point, I am asserting that I was not part of that early settlement of people that the high court made a judgement about. The judgement really refers to the bureaucracy behind the activity a bunch of people who are long dead. That is all about historic issues. We now have current issues that deserve being addressed. The whole terra nullius issue is unlikely to change the standard of living of ANYONE in this country. Had there been no statement that it was terra nullius, would the outcome today be any different? I think not. And the peoples - that is all the people of today's Australia should be working toward harmonious coexistence.

The high court, of which you speak, can only rule about the acts of the first fleet. The recent indigenous people born in this country (ie the rest of us) are not of the group that may have had a leader who, hundreds of yearss ago, claimed ' terra nullius'. please stop burdening the rest of us recent indigenous australians with this historic aggreivance.

Recumbents rule!

Hey does this exclusive offer include a set of steak knives for the first 75 buyers?