onetrack

Jerry, a random orbital sander is totally inadequate for floor sanding - you need a commercial/industrial floor sander, a real sanding beast that has the ability to cover a big area relatively rapidly, and which can deal with hardwood floors. https://www.lagler.co.uk/lagler-machines/ https://www.hss.com/hire/p/floor-sander-240v In our family business, we developed a "project policy" long ago, that seemed to be appropriate. It was "double the number, and go to the next highest unit", when commencing projects. So ... a simple repair job, that looks like ten minutes work, usually develops into twenty hours of hard slog as the previously unseen problems develop. A job that should take two hours, often runs in to four days, when the snafus are allowed for. You get my drift? I'm helping a fencing associate at present. He gets a job installing handrails, on three sets of steps, at a new school. He says to me on Thursday, "I've got this job installing these handrails and posts at a school. They want it done pronto, and finished tomorrow (that was last Friday). Do you want to give me a hand for a quick grand? We can knock this over in a day, no worries!" So, like a mug, I agree - mostly because the school is only about 30kms from home, and an easy drive. I get to the school site early Friday morning - then spend three-quarters of an hour figuring out what goes where, in a complex assortment of pipes, posts, brackets, screws and rivets. Then we have to study the plans (marked Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 - but no information on how the step numbering was done. All the steps and railings are slightly different in dimensions, so we have to measure the steps to figure out the numbering system. Then we have to find water and power. But the power points are locked, and then we have to find who has the keys to the power points. Then, more work dragging in tools, hoses, power cables, and all the posts and railings. They're also, all bloody heavy! Then my mate pulls out his big core drill - and promptly realises, the diamond core drill he's got fitted to the drill is too big for the post holes, at 150mm diameter. He needs an 80mm core drill, so he races off to buy one. I go on with handrail assembly, plan reading and measuring and marking, until he gets back. We get fired up with the new core drill, and within minutes (he's drilling into terrazzo concrete!), he finds that this stuff is HARD as the hobs of Hell!! (we're using constant water feed, too). He's a solid build, my associate, but he takes over 45 minutes to drill just ONE post hole! - not helped by the fact that there's 6mm reinforcing bar in the concrete! We get 3 holes done by midday (there's 12 to be done in total), and next thing, the new core drill fractures, and two big chunks break off the teeth!! It's buggered!! He has to go back to the drill store, and buy another one - a higher cost, better quality core drill! - which he should've done in the first place! He gets back with a new drill after another hour, and on we go with drilling. Of course, by knock off time (3:30PM), we've only done 6 holes (half the total) and only got 4 posts grouted in!! It means we have to go back tomorrow to finish the job - and I reckon it will take all of Monday to finish the job - provided no other snafus raise their ugly heads!! So, gain some comfort from the fact you're not alone in the accumulating problems of construction and building jobs! (NOTE: - Re sanding sawdust - be aware that you should be wearing a good quality mask when sanding, as the fine sawdust from numerous wood types can be toxic, and potentially cause breathing and lung problems if ingested).

From my memories of talking to a lot of WW2 Veterans (a lot of my farmer clients in the 1960's and 1970's were Veterans, and many were front-line Middle East soldiers), they all told me the Italians never had a great deal of enthusiasm when it came to fighting. A few did, but the majority were pretty ambivalent about supporting Hitler and Il Duce - and when it came to deadly battle, many were quite prepared to raise the white flag, knowing full well they would be well treated by the Allies. Quite a few farmers told me how it wasn't unusual to see half a dozen Aussie soldiers in charge of a few hundred Italian POW's, they were easily controlled and posed little risk of launching an attack to get away from capture. Once captured, the farmers always mentioned how the "Eye-ties" were willing workers at even menial tasks, and numbers were happy to become cooks and labourers, thus making life easier for the Australians. However, feeding huge numbers of POW's in North Africa was a major problem for the Allies, and all the POW's were underfed. As a result, the decision was made to ship suitable POW's to Australia to assist with labour shortages. Sizeable numbers of Italian POW's were sent to W.A. to provide labour for farming and timber milling industries, and many enjoyed life in Western Australia - to the point that they returned after WW2 and settled here, with numbers of them becoming very wealthy in farming, and other business ventures. Nearly all the Italian POW's said they enjoyed often being treated as family members when working on farms - and they all said they couldn't believe the ready availability of food in Australia. Even in Italy, most of the Italian population starved during WW2. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-10/pietro-verazzi-was-sent-to-mount-barker-as-a-prisoner-of-war/104220964

Definitely some real black humour in that last one, Clinton! 🙂

You'll be right, Jerry - Pete's place must be about 4 hrs drive from Hobart, over Tasmanian dog-leggy roads, and in dreadful weather! He'd probably have to turn back every second attempt to meet up!! 😄

My birth certificate only lists the suburb I was born in, which is some 7kms away from where my parents lived. My parents (English and Scottish) birth certificates only list the town or village they were born in. What I found amusing was my Mum and Dads marriage certificate lists Mums birthplace as Lahore - which is in Pakistan, in the Punjab. But she was actually born in a little Scottish village named Lochore - which got its name from a nearby Lake - "Loch Ore". However, the Scottish pronunciation of Lochore is "La-hore"! Obviously, the registrar didn't clarify the birthplace information!

And Meta care not one iota about scammers, because the owner is pretty much a scammer himself, stealing peoples data without telling them, and selling their personal information as well. I've lost count of the number of scams and scammers I've reported to FB moderators, and each time the answer comes back - "We've investigated your report and see no reason to remove this item or profile". Even though the scammer clearly has stolen photos and stupid prices on sought-after items, and photos that do not even represent the location where the item is supposed to be located. I had a ripper the other day, he had a 20 foot sea container for sale, for $1900, listed in Perth, W.A. The price is around $500 less than the going rate. I noted the photos background bore no resemblance to any Australian vegetation or buildings. But I messaged him anyway and asked for the address. Surprisingly, he came back with a local address. I'll wager he stole the details off a real estate site. I checked the address with Google Maps and Google Street View and got a good handle on the house and yard area - which wasn't anything like the sellers photos - and there was little room to store a container on the property, and even less room to get one in there. So I asked him how I could get the container out. Could I get a tilt tray in there, or would I need a crane? He came back with the answer, "You'll need a crane". But I knew it was impossible to get a crane in there, due to poor access and excessive levels of heavy vegetation. Next thing, I get a message, "I have a huge amount of interest in this container, so if you want it, you need to put down a deposit urgently!" Yeah, right, I bet you want money before anyone does an actual inspection!! I told him in no uncertain terms what I thought of his scam behaviour, and reported him to FB. To my surprise, someone in FB was actually doing their job, as the ad and the scammer were promptly deleted - an all-time record for FB.

The biometric system is literally full of holes. What would stop a clever under-16 from getting the biometrics scanner to scan the face of an older friend? The legislation is flawed, it is unenforceable (how do you penalise a 15 yr old for accessing social media?), and it's bound to eventually be dropped as unworkable.

The warm Winter in W.A. has ruined our cherry harvest, we didn't get enough frost to set the fruit. I'm hoping the Tasmanian cherries make up the shortfall, we often get beaut Tassie cherries. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-25/wa-cherries-in-low-supply/104634666

ADDENDUM - I checked up on Jessica Dubroffs fatal flight, and it appears she wasn't actually in control of the aircraft at the time - her instructor was. The crash was the instructors fault for taking off overweight into an impending thunderstorm - thus showing that many adults still lack adequate flight planning skills - let alone children. Note that the U.S. tightened the aviation laws to ban child pilots after the Dubroff crash. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Dubroff

Never seen any kid that's been at the controls of an aircraft at age 12 (or less) without special aviation authority dispensation. Remember that 7 yr old American kid (Jessica Dubroff) that killed herself flying an aircraft solo? It's idiocy to let any child take charge of a high-powered machine, they lack maturity, experience and motor skills, and cannot recognise impending danger, and react incorrectly to emergency situations.

That's starting to look like the U.S. Govt finances!

Just all part of the social media marketing drive to ensure your social media experience is the best you can get! (and to bring them in mega-$$$$$'s in data value!!)

On what? Airborne dirt bikes??

Gee, I'd never have recognised him. The poor old fella has been diagnosed with dementia since 2019. If that's what driving Fords does to you, I'm never driving a Ford again!! 😄

Interesting snippets about Earl Holliman - he never married (might've been the reason he lived so long? 😄 ) - he worked as an aircraft assembler at North American Aviation - and he put his age up by a year to join the military during WW2. When his true age was discovered, he was discharged - then he signed up again, as soon as he was of legal age! His Dad was a dirt-poor Louisiana farmer named Frost, who died before he was born. His poverty-stricken mother, left with TEN kids (!!) then had to give up seven of them for adoption. Earl was adopted by an oil-field worker and his wife - Earl & Velma Holliman. Fortunately, his adopted parents provided a happy and inspirational upbringing. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0391096/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Went and saw the Wailers play a bit of reggae on Sunday 17th November, in a local pub, the Rosemount (North Perth). They weren't too bad, but not a patch on Bob Marley and the original Wailers. Then last Saturday, we went to the local Astor Theatre in Mt Lawley (built 1914, but renovated to classic Art Deco in 1939) to see Dancing in the Shadows of Motown, tribute show. Once again, not too bad, but only a shadow of the original Motown singers and bands. I was a bit disappointed that they only sang a handful of the leading classic Motown hits, and sang a lot of lesser hits. In both shows, and especially at the Motown show, I was less than impressed by a lighting controller who insisted on constantly flashing the stage lights into the faces of the crowd - and not just old-style stage lights, but pulsating, dazzling LED lights. It was extremely annoying and I don't recall any shows where this happened previously. SMWBO ended up feeling a little nauseated from all the dazzling and flashing, and had to get up and go outside to recover, about 20 mins before the show ended. But the crowd (a good mix of young and old - and some really old people!) loved the show, and a whole heap of people got up and danced - mostly women and the girls, it seemed. The blokes must have all been too arthritic, or had two left feet.

Bed and Breakfast?

It seems most Trump voters have extremely short memories. Trump promised the world last time, but failed to deliver on many of the things he said he'd do. This time around, it's simply a vengeance and retribution Govt. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/?ruling=true

I had my eyes tested on Saturday and they're fine - but I couldn't see those circles for love nor money. I had to find the image in a Reddit discussion, to see where they were. It was only when they were pointed out, that I could see them. But I have to move my face close to the screen to see them, sitting back at a normal distance, they totally disappear again.

The big problem with a lot of legislation is that they use a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. I don't believe a blanket ban is practical, is needed, nor will the legislation have the intended effect. What IS needed is intensive parenting and education of slovenly parents to ensure that children only watch and see things on social media that are positive or at least neutral for them. Easy access to hard core and deeply perverted porn is one thing that needs to be addressed for under-16's - too many youngsters are getting their sex education from this crap, and thinking that treating women simply as walking holes on two legs is normal.

Here in the West, we've always been pretty conservative about age requirements for driving. I can recall a lot of East-West operators who wouldn't employ East-West drivers until they were aged 25. It was all about maturity and responsibility when you're in charge of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of truck and trailers, and when also a long way from home, and things are going pear-shaped, and mature decisions have to be made.

I'd say a lot more than "Oh!" if I sighted a UFO.

I was driving to work on farms full time, from the farmhouse we were renting, from when I was just over 16. When I was 17, the brother took me into town, where the crusty old Sgt (Anthony Westerside) took me through three traffic knowledge questions (I got 2 of them wrong!), and he then took me for a drive around town, in the EH Holden ute - and through the only stop sign in town! I knew enough to stop completely at the stop sign. When we got back to the cop shop, he just said, "You've been driving for a while, haven't you?". I replied "Yes", not sure if he'd meant I was showing some modest driving skills for my age - or if he'd seen or heard of me driving around the Shire! Small towns generate a lot of small talk! But he said no more, and wrote out my licence. At 18 I started driving our IH R190 prime mover and low loader around, hauling our D6C dozer around the local area - and you weren't supposed to be driving a truck until you were 20! The day I turned 20, I went and got my truck endorsement.

I have no desire to share a quiet camping getaway in a caravan park, with a bunch of yapping, badly trained pooches! It's bad enough around here at home! The number of dogs that yap and howl all day in the city is atrocious. People go out all day and leave the dogs alone and they get frustrated and bored and bark their heads off at any sound. The neighbours over the road have a dachshund. They're nervous wrecks, that breed. This dachshund starts barking with his annoying gruff little bark, at any sound, the minute his owners go out. I reckon people should have to be tested and checked to be able to own dogs, just like a firearms licence.

The coldest day I can ever recall, I was working at Mt Beaumont, about 90kms E of Esperance. It was July 1984 and I was operating an open cab dozer, digging a new farm dam, and a potent Southerly wind was blowing straight off the Antarctic ice. Esperance had a maximum of 8° that day, and I swear it was -18° where I was - on a Southerly-sloping, bare patch of cleared farmland, where the wind could pick up speed. I was wearing jeans, shirt, heavy woollen jumper, overalls, and big gloves and I can still feel that cold to this day!! I can also recall a friend telling me about visiting Chicago in mid-Winter, and when he went outside it was -14°F. He said you had to be careful about taking big deep breaths, or you could develop ice particles in your lungs. They can shove that climate, I don't understand how anyone can live in it.