Ok, that was strange

For some odd reason, my computer decided not to hard lock (the mouse was still active) but become unresponsive. I could move my mouse from monitor to monitor, right click, do everything you typically do with it, but nothing I selected would launch, or change (ie scrolling)

I rebooted, did a CHKDSK just to be sure, and all was well.  Rebooted again, and just for shits and giggles, put in the wireless keyboard that came with new computer. The passing strange is that all is working fine now.  I'm confused.

On a different note, I managed to pick up a helluva great bargain. I noticed my 3 yr old Intuos3 has a crack in the acrylic cover. Now, anyone who has a graphics tablet knows that the styluses (art pen, air brush) can total to more than the tablet cost. So, I went on a hunt, and managed to find an Intuos3, Large, for $99. Why so cheap? No stylus!  The down side is this, though, I thought just the drawing area would be larger. Uhhh, the tablet is almost twice as large. I think I'm gonna need a bigger boat...err desk.

Alternative health screening?

Better not tell this one to the Tea-Nuts or the GOP. They would either bitch it was 'gov't funded socialism' or actually consider it a viable option!

Zee Great Wall of Kardinya, she is finished!

Mark did one helluva great job.

Putting the extra limestone blocks to good use, raising my herb pots/planters to an easier to manage level. Also gives a place to sit down outside.





Finished section of the wall, and the pergola.  The back yard is so much brighter with the old dark wood removed, replaced by limestone. Plan to get a small outdoor table and chairs set.




The stairs are much easier to go up and down than those 3 inch (10cms) high, 20 inch (51cms) wide steps. With a slight down angle, water won't puddle, but flow down and out through the soakwell drain.



Trees were thinned and trimmed. makes it easier to use the walkway down the side of the house.



Mark admiring his handiwork.

I finally pinned down why the current GOP and Tea-Nut mindset scares me

Set the Wayback Machine to the times of Stalin, Mao, and every other country that started going after scientists, artists, musicians, any and all intellectuals. Rick Perry bragging about his lousy grades, and the even dumber ones applauding his underwhelming intellect is frightening.

Oy vey

Usually any and all package deliveries arrive at my home during the early part of the day. I have been waiting for a clothing delivery. I knew that I would want to launder it prior to wearing, and also wanted to wear it tonight at a dinner party with Meegan and Daggles.

So, what happens today? Delivery guy, for some reason I can't fathom, decided to do his route backwards. I managed to get articles unpacked, washed. Put one on heated indoor drying rack, one on wooden indoor drying rack and placed it just outside the side door, and then hung one up on the clothesline. Will wear which ever dries first. Hopefully one of them will be dry in time.

Might not be rolling in the big bucks

But I make another sale on Redbubble. A framed print of this:



It's a good feeling to see your planned out work become 'artwork'.

Yes, <a href="http://shadoutcarver.livejournal.com/"><b>ShadoutCarver</b></a>

I do believe they think they are Vulcans.

I submitted a photo to a panorama group. It was rejected for not being too big. For being less than .08 too big to be exact. Instead of being 3:1, its 2.92856 to 1.

I refuse to crop a photo because it’s point .08 ‘too big’. That is smaller than what the selection outlines would be in Photoshop, not even sure if it’s possible. Also, not going to distort by altering the size.

So yes, they are either more anal than IRS auditors, or they think they are Vulcans.

The Great Wall of Kardinya cont'd yet again!

Mark brought a helper today, and work progressed exponentially!



It's not finished yet. Cement has to be put between some of them, and the stairs have to be done, but they had been here since 7:30, working almost non-stop. Time to call it a day for now.

Palin supporter.. bragging about her ignorance behind the keyboard

This is a tweet I got from TeaTard Palin supporter. "@shellymic "@pagandancer Absolutely. NO NONSENSE ALLOWED IN MY WORLD. I'd rather be a "denier" than a useful idiot."

Aside from her being a useful idiot to Climate Change deniers, reality and proven data equals nonsense in her world. Reality equaling nonsense.. yeah, that sums up a Tea-Tard perfectly.

Now that is a big difference

We had reverse cycle (aka Central Heat/Air) installed. We were hoping for at least same amount of heating bill, but with more rooms being warmed instead of using those small portable electric heaters.

What I found is our electric bill is 25% lower than during the same billing time last year. And this is with keeping comfortable.

On a totally different tack, I just saw the new "Charlie's Angels" TV ad.. and it looks like a commercial for ummm "Feminine Products" than a tv show.

I can almost hear "Dueling Harps" instead of banjos.

Two churches located across the street from each other. At least the Catholics have a sense of humor

The Great Wall of Kardinya... con't

Work in progress: As you can see, the wall is coming along quickly.



The furtherst section next to the gate will only be two blocks high, rather than three. It will still come above the current level of the soil, so can back fill if necessary.



It's looking good!

Ok, who's making the big bucks here?

I purchased an external Blu-Ray/DVD player for my new desktop. It has paid for itself by virtue of Amazon dot Com.

Now, I like supporting Australian businesses, as it keeps people working, and is a good thing to do. But when I see a boxed set of a series for sale here for $60 and I can't get it, including shipping, for $36 from Amazon. Another was $63 from Amazon, and $149 AUD average price from local stores. Entire order, would have been over $200 AUD. Via Amazon, less than half that, including shipping.

Sorry, but as much as I like to support local businesses, when the bottom line is that much of a difference, I have to shop with a budget in mind.

All in all it's just another block in the wall..

Limestone Retaining Wall, Day One.

Mark removed the old sleepers, removed some bricks , and dug a trench where they were. Today, he has been mixing cement and laying limestone blocks. He has been very careful about making sure the blocks are level. Just the slightest bit off and it can end off plumb. Not quite as bad as Tower of Pisa, but you get the idea.

Work In Progress:

This is the longest section of the wall along the back of the house. There will be another row added tomorrow, then some back filling.

Some sort of cosmic numerology?

Just renewed my 'Deadjournal' on 09-10-11 (US dating system)

I'm sure there is some sort of cosmic event about it...maybe not.

Three miffed kittehs

Trip to the vet was a symphony of feline disharmony. Yowl, meow, YOWL! Longest 10 minute drive ever.

Examination results:

Loki; he has lost some weight, about a 1.5 kilos (from 8.9 to 7.5) , which is good, as he was getting a bit round. Ears, eyes, teeth, heart, lungs all clear. Normal temperature, vaccinations given. He didn't snarl and growl this time, but did make his displeasure known by meowing and not cooperating.

Keito; also lost some weight, about a kilo ( from 7.6 to 6.8. yes, both were put on a sneaky diet of lower calorie food mixed in with their usual) Everything ok, except he does need some dental cleaning, and one or possibly two teeth extracted. He is 9 yrs old, so this isn't something unusual. Scheduled it for October, as it's "Pet Senior" month, and discounted.

Ziggy: a wriggly examination, as she just doesn't sit still. Vet and assistant were amazing how how loud and strong such a small cat was. She still weighs in at 4.5 kilos, everything is good, but she also needs dental cleaning and possibly one tooth in the back extracted. Being 6 going on 7, and can't get her to nosh on dental cleaning items, not overly surprised she needs to have them cleaned.

Went pillaging. Now tired. Cats are a bit miffed at us, but that was to be expected.A bit of bribery and catnip should earn their forgiveness. :D

Saturday or dare I say Cat-turday?

In about an hour, Keito, Loki and Ziggy aren't going to peeved at us. They are due for check up at the Vee Eee Tee. Have all three pet carriers prepped and waiting to go. Of course the fun starts when we have to box them up. The first one is easy, but after the ruckus, trying to find the 2nd and 3d cat is amusing.. to them.

Then off to pillage.

The not so fun part is Wing has a bit of a sniffly cold. It's accompanied by a fever. He says he is feeling yuck because of it, but refuses to take anything to cut the fever or get rid of the sniffles. So, after listening to his whining (last night and again this morning0, I finally told him to either take something for the cold, or suffer in silence. I'm not heartless, or unfeeling, just tired of the whining.

I guess they forgot it was live video

But whenever President Obama mentioned anything that even intimated that the tax breaks/loopholes/breaks for the wealthy and corporations were going to go away, there was suddenly a sea of GOP "cat asses".. aka pucked with disapproval GOP mouths. They aren't worried about jobs, because they have one already, their health care is on the taxpayers dime.

Cantor, not 5 minutes out of the hall started spinning the jobs plan. I listened to him. I can't understand how after all the obstructionism the GOP has been pulling, that people will actually believe what's falling out of his mouth.

So with like with the Healthcare reform, is the GOP is going to try gut it to make it next to useless. What I liked about the president's speech is it stated in quite clearly: the plans for the jobs incorporates things that the GOP were all for. Now, if they suddenly start dragging their heels, or try to gut it I just hope that republican VOTERS (not donators and bribers) finally see them for what they are. Money grubbing bought and paid for cronies who have forgotten they are supposed to be servants of the people, not there for billionaires and corporations and special interest groups, but PEOPLE. What has to happen for the GOP to clue up? Does a bridge have to collapse, killing someone wealthy before they realise that the bridges and roads need to be repaired?

Solution to Hardwired/Hardlocked Matshita BR DVD arrived

Small USB 2 Lite-On external Blu-Ray drive arrived, and I loaded up one of my USA dvds (The Color of Magic specifically) and it played without a hitch, without having to switch regions.

THPPPT to Matshita for making the drives firmware in such a way that the only way a DVD will play is if the region matches with both the drive and the DVD, and then only allow the drive to be region switched 5 times. Especially with the claim that it's to prevent piracy? Bullshit, it's forcing people to buy only over priced Aussie DVDs (example: I purchased Color of Magic for $7.99 US, but was told it was $32 AUD in local store). If anything, I believe the region locking like that encourages people to pirate Region Free DVDs. Just sayin!

Oh yeah: RPC1 has no solution to this, and even more to the fact they have told anyone with a Matshita (which comes under many different brand names, but if you have a DVD drive that says MTL, SuperMulti, or model starts with UJ- it's a Matshita) that with the exception of two earlier Matshita drives, there will be no RPC1 Firmwares made for said drives.

Well, this sucks

Wing visited the GP today. After an exam, an MRI was scheduled. Doc suspects rotator cuff damage.

We are hoping that it's not so bad he will be needing surgery, but my biggest worry is Wing's stubbornness when it comes to giving ample time for healing. The elbow he tore the ligament on a few years ago is bothering him now because he didn't give it the full 6 weeks before going back to aikido training. So, even if this doesn't need surgery, he will probably do the same thing and end up with chronic pain because of not allowing it to fully heal.

Will I ever get through them all?

Going through photos taken at The Maze (amongst others) and have been very heavy handed with the culling. Unless it's a remarkable subject, been deleting them.

Wing made an appointment to see the GP. His shoulder is still hurting, even though he is trying to pretend otherwise. His facade disappears when he is sleeping, and his moaning (dare I say whimpering) in his sleep speaks volumes.

Typing of volumes, Meegan brought over some books for me to read. Three of Stieg Larson's "Dragon Tattoo" books. Will delve into them when I am through with "All Pro".

Badk to slaying more vorpal dust bunnies... again, no quarter will be given!

Wonderful day

Spent the day with Wing , and not running around crazy trying to get dozens of things done. Had leisurely wake up.. sort of. Loki , as usual, wanted someone up to feed me, and I was the designated human.

So, lateish breakfast, and then we headed off to "The Maze". It was a lot of fun. We just did the one big wooden maze, but it took a lot longer to get out than either of us thought it would.

Lots of beautiful birds there, too. But I found this one funny. Just the right placement.

"Gandalf the Peafowl" You..shall.. not... pass!



I'm not going to argue with him!

Finally done for a while

Got new computer set up, if not 100% close enough for government business.

My biggest gripe is the Windows updating method. Instead of smart updating (F can't be installed unless A B C is installed first, the D and E installed, THEN F) all updates try to install at onces.

So, I spent the better part of the morning manually installing them. Pick 2 or 3 from the list, install, reboot, repeat as often as necessary.

Been working on photographs taken at Caversham. I don't like doing "Spray and Pray" but when you are trying to take photo of a bird about the size of your thumb, it's a necessity to get that one good shot.