New computers

I'm setting up a new computer, what a pain in the arse this is.

Water

Really the lack of water is what concerns all of us here in the south east of Australia. We have been told that the prolonged drought is not a normal cycle of wet and dry spells, but probably the result of climate change.

It probably means some places in the world will get more rain than usual while others will get less. We are a lesser region. What we don't have is a large natural water supply. We don't have the winter snows that you get in the USA or N.Z. we don't have massive rivers flowing down from the wet tropics like the Nile or the Amazon. We have pretty average size rivers that used to flood on a regular basis but don't any more. And probably never will again what with the way the water is sold to farmers. The amount sold is greater than the flow.

So to cut a long story short, we must start reusing water on a big scale. With no ifs or buts no options re choices of which water we recycle. We just have to get onto it and now. All the signs are there no exceptional circumstances just a known situation. That is the population is getting bigger the water usage [per head of population] is getting bigger, and the rainfall is getting smaller. A bit like 2 plus 2 = 5.
Here in Victoria we have a massive State government surplus, lets use some of it to turn around the water we send to the sea from our home usage and house run off.

I see it like the Snowy river scheme of the 1950/60s a major project that will help secure the water requirements for the next century.

Lets not forget that when they built the Thompson dam the then premier proudly announced that the construction of the Thompson meant that Melbourne wouldn't experience water shortages again. Now we have stage 1 water restrictions and we are looking at much higher water restrictions by the end of this Summer season.
We need water every day of our lives lets get the politicians to make it an election issue. Reuse, Recycle.

Woof.

When Old Computers Die

Well they are not always that old. I am writing this on an IBM that is running windows 98 and office 97. It has been given a new lease of life with a lovingly administered re-format and a bit of Irish luck that managed to defy the Internet modem and get it's self on line, with Broadband no less.

The reason I'm using this oldie is that the newer 2 1/2 year old computer has gone into hyper-drive and is blowing its AC adapter and running like an Ethiopian on a marathon the only trouble is it don't like it as much as the Ethiopian does. So at the moment it is in the sick bay and very soon it will be sent to a hospice for elderly computers and only let out again if it really makes an effort to run properly.

The main problem we are all facing with these machines that rule our lives is that they become slaves to the busy internet and whiz bang soft-ware that is cluttering up the works. No matter what you do they quickly take on a life of their own and then it is terminal before you can say gigabyte.

Woof.

Memories

We all have very unreliable memories. We may think we have a good memory and on some subjects we do, but if you were ever asked to swear your life on a memory then don't.
Here are a couple of examples:

1] A psychologist interviewed a group of children who attended a school that had undergone a trauma, like a shooting where kids had died or a fire. She then went back and re-interviewed the students a year later. What she found was that the kids who hadn't been at school when the incident happened had a more vivid and detailed memory of the event than did those who were there. This is despite the fact that they couldn't have experienced the events they claimed to of seen.

2] Someone I know was a young man when his Dad died. It was a very emotional time for the family which is quite large. The death took place in a hospital bed. The memory of my friend was of holding his Dad's hand as he died. He felt the life blood leave his father's hand.

My friends younger brother who was only 12 at the time was not in the hospital at the time of his Dad's death. However he too has a memory of holding his Dad's hand and sitting at the bedside as his Dad died. These conflicting memories have created disagreements between these brothers. As if one wants to steal his brothers memory.

I don't believe this is the case. I think the younger brother has relived the death of his father so many times he has transferred bits of his brothers experience onto his memory. He has done it so convincingly that he truly believes he was there.

Try remembering what you saw, did yesterday and if someone you know was there what they think happened. You could be surprised.

Woof.

Global Warming

Now I'm starting to believe the scientists. 30 C day in early October is not heard of. 80 bush fires, a day of total fire ban, and all hell is let loose.

But wait a minute aren't we being selfish? Think of all the plants that just love the extra carbon dioxide. Are we thinking this planet should and will be as we want it so our species and others like us can survive? If anyone has any ideas on this drop a comment.
Woof.

Fix it yourself

Yesterday we had a problem with the car. Crushed wing and a broken tail gate catch. All up it was looking very bleak. What with insurance premiums, excess payments and no claims penalty rates. It was going to cost at least $500.00 for the dent in the wing.

So this morning we pulled a bit of paneling off and thumped and punched the panel until it looked pretty straight. As for the tail gate catch. That had fallen off in my partners hand as she opened the boot to get the fruits of her hunting trip down at the local supermarket.

On first inspection it looked dire, a hole in the floor of the boot where the stud for the door catch had sat. a 50mm hole with jagged edges and no way to get to it from beneath. With two heads and a bit of brainstorm this morning, a metal plate sandwich was constructed and within an hour the door was closing and locking. Perrrrrrrrrrrrfect.

We are not out of pocket and all is well with the world again. So I can get back to grumbling about the things that annoy me. Like try outs for kids basket ball, or the herd mentality when it comes to sporting events. And many more.
Woof.

Cars and Panels

Someone across the road from where I live reversed into the front wing of our car last night. Well I think it was last night, I hadn't looked since Saturday. Saturday was Grand final night over here in Melbourne and a fair amount of reveling was going on. I suspect a late night partier from across the road. I wasn’t home myself until after one so had no chance of hearing the crunch of steel. The better half was asleep in the bedroom and may of been stirred by a muffled party goer leaving, but couldn't be sure.

The up shot of it all, is that I find we are insured but will loose our no claims bonus and will have to pay the first $400.00 so we are stomped aren't we. The car just isn't worth spending that amount on. So I am now on a hunt for a friendly panel beater, with the necessary skills to 'punch out' a medium size dent, in the front wing.

What pisses me off is that who ever did it didn't leave a contact number. So next time you have the unfortunate fortune of hitting someone else’s car, and they are not there to tell, leave a note to let them know. It will make you all warm inside.

Woof,

Set top Boxes

Well the spring school holidays are almost over. The electricity grid will get back to normal supply when all the computers are turned off, and the kiddy winks are sent back to school. Having the puppies [kids] home for this two weeks has yet again been an eye opener. The lack of outdoor activity, the sit around watching DVDs and playing computer games takes up soooooooooo much time. In true grumpy old dog style, I find myself in the role of authoritarian dad. Kicking arse and making them go around picking up their dirty bowls, glasses, plates, fruit peel, etc. etc. This is usually met with sullen silence or hysterical shouting. So if the computer can survive the next 72 hours of WOW we can get back to normal programming. Which means for 6 hours a day the family computer sits in serene silence. Bliss.

To the set top box, for those who do not know, the name 'Digital set top box' has been given to a piece of technology that can convert an analogue tv signal to digital signal. The end result being you get clearer pictures and a better reception. Here in Australia our national broadcaster is called the ABC unfortunately the signal it sends out is consistently the worst of the free to air channels. It has become so bad here in Melbourne that it looks like you are watching tv through a snow storm with a driving wind blowing across the screen. Not so if you have the set top box. Or so I am told, perfect picture and even additional programming is available. So when the kiddy winks get out of the way and I get a spare few dollars I will go and get me one.
Glad to be back Hi to everyone who dibs and dabs into this blog.
Woof.

Spring Cleaning

Very busy at the moment spring cleaning and getting ready to go away.

I was cleaning a fax/phone today and remembered how my family back in the UK used to have a woman come around about once a year to clean the telephone. The rationale behind having a professional cleaning service for a big black phone is beyond me. She was very serious about her job and would set herself up with cleaning cloths and a bottle of something like methylated spirits and give the phone a 20 minute work over. She had a pretend hand piece that was of a similar weight to the real one, and she would rest this on the cradle while she cleaned the hand piece every which way. I must of watched her cause I can see her as clear today in her dark outfit, a bit like a uniform, that she wore. I think the thought was that something you spoke into at such a close range was going to spread germs.

If this was the case I think you might of cleaned it weekly or even daily. But at least we had a clean phone for a couple of days a year, even if it was black and you couldn't tell, we knew.

The most common residues found on escalator hand rails, include snot and saliva. I think there may also be a fluid you wouldn't expect to be outside your pants on there too.
So onward and upward with the spring cleaning clean away the winter residues what ever they may be.

Woof.

Recycle Water

Today there is an article in The Age [News paper] about using recycled water to cool a coal fired power station and then use the clean water that was being used as drinking water for Melbourne. There appears to be two main areas of concern.

1] The farmers from the area don't want their water, currently held in a dam to go to Melbourne.

2] The power station owners say the recycled water isn't clean enough.

These two statements alone give credence to my thoughts that you don't give the public a choice when it comes to water and recycling or other ways of treatment. Every one has a issue with water and most of us are wrong most of the time.

So here is the article that outlines the proposal and opposition.

Woof.

THE Bracks Government is facing a backlash from Gippsland over a $1.5 billion plan to secure Melbourne's drinking water supply for 50 years by replacing billions of litres of fresh water used by Latrobe Valley power stations with treated effluent from the city.

With Victoria in the grip of a water crisis, the Government is set to begin working out funding options for the Eastern Water Recycling proposal after a two-year feasibility study found the plan to be viable.

In what would be the biggest water recycling project in Australia, 116 billion litres of fresh water now used to cool the coal-fired Hazelwood, Yallourn and Loy Yang power stations each year would be replaced with recycled wastewater piped from outer suburban Carrum.

Fresh water from Gippsland's Blue Rock Dam would be used to secure drinking water supplies in Melbourne, Geelong and possibly Ballarat, according to Government planning documents obtained by The Age.

The project would also reduce by 85 per cent each year the controversial release of billions of litres of effluent into the ocean from the Gunnamatta outfall on the Mornington Peninsula.

With the Government having ruled out building new dams and Melbourne's population forecast to grow by 1 million by 2030, Labor MPs are anxious for a big project to provide more water security across the state. "(The Eastern Water project) is an extremely exciting project for the Government … it has enormous potential for Melbourne and the whole state if it can be done," a senior Labor MP told The Age.

"I think it will become an imperative that it will need to be done. No government can sit back and do nothing."

But an investigation by The Age has revealed that the Government faces serious political and economic challenges in bringing the project to fruition. The investigation found:

■ Strong opposition from local councils in Gippsland and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union over perceptions that the proposal amounts to a theft of the region's prime water resource to benefit Melbourne.

■ The Government is in dispute with power station owners over the quality of treated effluent. The Government has proposed to treat the water to a lower standard that what the power stations claim to require.

■ Legislation could be introduced forcing the power stations to give up their fresh water.

■ A local Labor MP, Brendan Jenkins, has criticised the Government over how Gippslanders have been consulted.

In an attempt to win support from councils in Gippsland, Water Minister John Thwaites and project director Brian Bayley have visited the Latrobe Valley in recent months. Both declined to be interviewed about the proposal, but Mr Bayley, the former chief of Melbourne Water, has previously said the project could potentially secure Melbourne's water supply for 50 years.

It appears their lobbying has been unsuccessful. Latrobe City Council Mayor Lisa Price told The Age she could not understand why Gippsland should give up one of its main economic advantages — an abundance of fresh water — for places such as Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat to be developed further.

"We understand our responsibility to the rest of the state. We have got the gas, the power and the water. But it has got to the stage where enough is enough.
WATER RESTRICTIONS

■ 192 Victorian towns have water restrictions: 84 on low level, 67 on moderate and 41 high level.

■ Melbourne: permanent restrictions from September 1.

■ Geelong: stage one.

■ Ballarat: stage two.

■ Bendigo: severe restrictions — lawn watering banned.

■ Recent $220 million Government plan to pipe irrigation water to Ballarat and Bendigo.

"We cannot go on propping up the state at our own expense," Cr Price said.

Wellington Shire Council chief executive Lyndon Webb said the Government was treating Gippsland as a "milking cow" for the rest of the state, and it had failed to consult the local community.

Victorian Nationals leader Peter Ryan, a Gippslander, said the Latrobe Valley was being viewed by the Government as a "receptacle for Melbourne's waste".

Greg Hardy, secretary of the CFMEU's mining and energy division, said the use of treated effluent could increase health risks to workers at the power stations. But of greater concern to the union was the "pillaging" of Gippsland for the benefit of Melbourne.

Before water is diverted anywhere, the Government has to get the power station owners to give up their rights to fresh water from Blue Rock Dam and accept recycled waste water.

The Age believes the companies want the Government to pay for the more expensive reverse osmosis technology to treat the waste water going to each power station. The Government has so far proposed to use reverse osmosis only at Hazelwood and the cheaper, less effective ultra-filtration technology at Yallourn and Loy Yang.

The power station owners are also disappointed with the level of consultation from the Government. "It can't work without us," a senior power company official told The Age.

Government figures have warned that legislation might be introduced to force power stations to give up their water rights.

Mr Jenkins, the Labor MP for Morwell, supports the project but agrees with the criticism of the Government over its failure to consult properly. "There's no doubt that we've got to do a better job of engaging the Gippsland community with the proposals being put forward and investigated," he said.

A spokesman for Mr Thwaites said the Government was still considering the feasibility study and would not comment on agreements with power station owners or whether the proposal would be part of Labor's election campaign.