Beanie Guy: Take Three

The Saga of the Cheap DVD Player, Part Three

Beanie Guy had a quizzical look on his face when I walked into his shop this arvo.
I explained that I had tried 7 different DVDs of all sorts and nothing worked.
He plugged it in, put a disk in the tray and ....... it worked!!
I was not impressed!
We discussed disk types, other possible causes etc.
He tried another disk, it was with ironic pleasure that I saw the display come up "Bad Disk"
Partial vindication at least.
He tried another one, it pretended to load but really didn't.
He was beginning to believe I had a legitimate complaint and wasn't just some techno dumbo.

He offered to exchange it with one that he assured me worked cause they'd been using it in the shop.
OK.

I brought it home, plugged it in and tried it out in the Bermuda Triangle of electronic devices that occupies the corner of our living room.

Boldly I inserted a dubbed disk of some footy recorded on TV.
"loading....loading.....loading.....Bad Disk"!!
Not entirely unexpected but disappointing none-the-less!
A 2nd and 3rd disk were treated with the same disdain.

I switched tack and tried a pre-recorded disk, an episode of House.
Success! It loaded and played!

What about Carl Barron? More success.

There followed a succession of test cases, pre-recorded mainly but a few burnt by my Dad, all of which worked.

So, I have a DVD player that will play things it thinks come from a reliable or reputable source and dismisses things that it considers unworthy.

Do I cut my losses and accept I've got a half useful machine, or do I take it back and get a refund, all $48 of it!!

I don't know.



Inspiring Umpiring
It was an umpiring day today. At lunchtime I umpired a footy game between Busselton and Clontarf. To everyone's surprise Busso thrashed the Clontarf boys, the result has been reversed every other time we've played them, and a few of their boys didn't like it much and started having a go at me and blaming the umpiring! I thought I did a very good job and was pleased with my efforts. I dismissed their complaints as sour grapes.

Tonight I umpired two volleyball games. My team had a bye which always feels very unsatisfactory so I had make do with whistle blowing. Tonight was pay night so I was very popular with all the other refs as I distributed their wages for the last 6 weeks.

Internet Problems
There was a major dilemma in the Holt Press House today: the internet wouldn't work! The wireless router refused to deliver and nothing seemed to fix it despite repeated attempts by The Hair. I'm pleased to report (the obvious) fact that it is working again. I tried all sorts of diagnostics without success until I read in one of the help pages that old favourite, turn evrything off, disconnect the modem and router, wait 10 seconds and try again! For whatever unknown and inexplicable reason, this had the desired effect and Holt Press is back on line! And a good thing too, there were some rumbling withdrawal symptons brewing!

Myth Busted

Ha!

So much for the cheap DVD player myth!

I took it back today and said "It doesn't work!"

The guy in the shop (picture long hair, knitted beanie, pierced lip) said "Did you try it in more than one power point?"

"No" (as if?!!) (power's power as far as I know)

Beanie guy plugs it in, hey presto, it works! The tray slides in and out, it responds to the remote, it works!!!

Beanie guy is gracious in victory. "I had something similar happen to me, too many things plugged into the one power board, not enough amps...more techno babble"

OK I accept I'm wrong! No need to rub it in.

Chastened, I take it home and plug it in a different socket. Sure enough it works, the tray opens and closes, the remote turns it on and off.

OK.

Let's put a disk in and see what this baby can do!

Disk inserted, a footy game I'd dubbed from the hard drive, "loading....loading....loading....

bad disk" says the display as if disciplining a mischievous puppy.

I'll try another one. "loading....loading....loading....bad disk"

Hmmm!

Let's try a pre-recorded disk, the Geelong preliminary final, I know that works.

"loading....loading....loading....bad disk"

HMMMM!

What about this one, The Treble-Manchester United, Sport Boy has watched it a dozen times.

"loading....loading....loading....bad disk"

Not impressed!

One more, what about a rental, something Mrs Holt Press got out the other day.

Signs of life, different noises, no bad disk message, a series of zeroes appear.

I press play. Nothing happens.

I press menu. Nothing happens.

I press all the buttons I can think of. Nothing happens.

"Bad machine".

Not only does the cheap DVD player not play burnt disks, copied disks or rented disks, it won't even play brand new disks. It won't play any disks!

I'll be paying another visit to Beanie Guy tomorrow! I don't think he'll be pulling a rabbit out of his knitted hat this time! I hope not anyway!

Digital Update

I'm home from another victorious night at the Scrabble Club, 3 from 3, the last by over 200 points! The ladies are starting to comment about playing me and not winning. I suggested I could stop coming but they said no, they enjoyed the challenge.

They are a nice group of ladies but they do tend to whinge about their letters a lot. "I've only got one vowel" "I've got four E's" "I've picked up another V" etc. My attitude to Scrabble is you do the best you can with what you get, getting difficult sets of letters is part of the challenge. In other words, "Toughen up Princess"!

And of course, there's always a nice supper in between the second and third games!



I bought a new digital set top box this afternoon. The old one packed up a few weeks ago and our picture on the ABC is just snow and static without it. I tried Dick Smith, Retravision and Harvey Norman and couldn't get anything under $120 so I tried that other well known electrical goods retailer, Action Supermarkets, and sure enough I found one there for $49. I brought it home, plugged it in and Bob's your uncle, a beautiful pictuire once more, plus ABC 2 and SBS. At present there's no GWN (7) or WIN (9 & 10) but everyone says they will start digital transmission in April next year. Our GWN picture is only marginally better than the ABC without the STB so that will be a big step forward. Of course, the Olympics start this weekend and are on GWN so that will be a source of frustration. I've thought about getting a sattelite antenna but they seem to be a bit expensive. I also looked with a certain amount of longing at a 42" plasma with built in digital tuner for just under $1300 but restrained my cunsumer urge, we are on the verge of a recession after all (apparently).

Funny how the price of oil has dropped but the price of petrol hasn't!

While I was at it I bought a cheap DVD player, A. because ours isn't working properly, the hard drive records OK but it won't play or accept any disks, and is filling up with recorded Geelong games that I haven't been able to dub onto DVD, and B. because I've heard that the cheaper the DVD player the more likely it is to play a wide range of DVDs, hired, recorded, burnt etc. The guy in the shop agreed that that was the case so I bought one. Only problem was, when I got it home and plugged it in it wouldn't work! The power would come on but no other function responded, not even opening and closing! So, it will be going back to where it came from tomorrow.








A new "breed" of super heroes.

Old Friends New in Town

When we moved to Busselton four years ago we left our church at Joondalup and the many friends we had made there, including the pastor, Lee and his wife Cathy. As chairperson of the management committee of the church I had played a key role in approaching, interviewing and appointing Lee as pastor, and felt a tinge of guilt when we announced we were moving not long after.

Sadly things did not go smoothly at the church and subsequently not only did Lee leave but the church disbanded within a couple of years.

Fast forward to the present and the Church of Christ in Busselton have just appointed their new pastor: Lee! I called him today to welcome him to town and wish him as good a time in moving here as we've experienced. It will be good to catch up and renew our friendship. I've invited them over for a BBQ in a couple of weeks.

I'm contemplating a significant decision at the moment. I can't say anything about it just yet as you never know who reads this blog, I've gotten in trouble more than once from things I've written on Holt Press! I'll let my loyal readers know as soon as I can, my disloyal readers will just have to wait.

I finished a painting tonight, the first one for a while, and made a start on another. It felt good to get the paints and brushes out again.



I found a site with lots of funny pictures on it recently, this is one of them.

If I'm this old I should be smarter than this...

I played my first game of footy for two seasons this afternoon and based on how knackered I was during the game, and how sore I am after the game, it may be another two years until I play my next one.


I love footy and when I was young had some reasonable ability.


I'm not young any more and don't have much ability left either.


Because Collie only had 7 players I, and 10 other Busso players, were traded to the visitors.


In the first quarter I couldn't get near the ball and when I did I thought I was going to cark it from the exertion required!


Thankfully things improved after that in that I got the ball a few times, and no longer felt I was about to expire. Most of my disposals found a team mate and I ran the ball out of the back line Matthew Scarlett style 3-4 times.


My ankle held up OK. Breaking it two years ago was the reason I haven't played since.


My calf on the other hand is sore from a knock in a marking contest.


No more than I deserve!



I went to see The Dark Knight tonight and I enjoyed it. I was a huge Batman fan as a kid but the modern interpretations of the Caped Crusader are a long way removed from the old Kapow/Zap/Smash TV show. It was dark, courtesy of Heath Ledger's starring performance as the Joker and Batman's own inner turmoil as a loved but feared vigilante operating outside the law. It was heavy on the violence too, no way is it a kid's movie. I will not be surprised if Ledger wins a posthumous Oscar for his performance, it is quite something.

Sport Boy Update. He's getting a little better each day and this afternoon ventured out to come and watch me try to play football. He'll be off school all week which may drive both him and his mother mad.

Favourite Daughter Update. FD and some friends went away for the weekend and went 4 wheel driving but unfortunately one of the vehicles rolled over and a girl was seriously injured. She is in a critical condition in hospital. Favourite Daughter is Ok but obviously shaken.

Two Good Wins, One Bad Loss

The Cornerstone 11s had a 3-2 win against Margaret River Tigers this morning in a close and exciting game. The team overcame the handicap of Sport Boy's absence, though Jacob did say at half time that he was missing him. At that stage the score was 1-0 but we'd been kicking against the wind in the first half. By the end Harry had scored twice and Ben C converted a penalty and we had held on despite conceding two goals ourselves.
Sport Boy is brighter today but still having a lot of pain and walking very slowly if he has to go anywhere.

I hung out in Margaret River for a little while before heading home, adding a couple of badges to my collection, and some rocky road from the Ye Olde Lolly Shoppe!

I joined The Heir at Noel's place to watch the Bledisloe Cup game. Sadly the Wallabies could not repeat last week's performance and went down to the All Blacks by 29 points! Noel was so happy I thought he was going to do the Haka in his living room.

I made it to church for the first time in several weeks tonight and gave a bit of a spiel about the YouthCARE committee and the church's need to support it. The service went for a long time so I didn't stay till the end.
I had a football game to watch!!

The Cats v the Tigers at Docklands. Despite a sluggish and inaccurate start Geelong went on to record a 10 goal victory, their 36th win from their last 38 games, an AFL record.
They are in great form and unless the wheels fall off in very dramatic fashion they are looking good to win back-to-back premierships. The only thing better than winning the Grand Final is winning two Grand Finals! I have to confess that I had a bad dream the other night, in which not only didn't the Cats win the premiership, they didn't even make the Grand Final! I was mightily relieved when I woke up !

Good News X 2

Good news.

Sport Boy is home.

While he is still in pain and discomfort, he is also much better and brighter than he was yesterday and as a result the Dr. said he could come home.
The Heir visited him at the hospital this morning and that lifted his spirit significantly, and three of his mates from school, Ben Jacob and Joel, visited him at home this afternoon too.

He moves slowly and gingerly, grimaces often and has some very sensitive areas, but he's definitely improving.
I sat with him for half an hour while he soaked in the bath before I headed off to my taxi shift.
When I dropped into home at about 11.30 he was still awake, propped up on the sofa, watching a soccer DVD!
I'm glad to say that now, 3.00am, he is asleep, though still on the sofa.


Footy Talk Back
I listened to the footy on the radio while I was driving tonight and enjoyed hearing the ABC call of Hawthorn thumping Collingwood. We all know there are certain irrefutable truths in life and one of them is that there is no middle ground with Collingwood, you either love em or you hate em. They have more fans than any other team so more love them than any other team, but conversely, 15 other sets of fans loathe them so more hate them than any other team.
Thus, Collingwood losing sits just below your own team winning on the ladder of football enjoyment.
With this in mind, I rang the ABC team in the post-match talk-back and was eventually put through to Gerard Whately. A previous caller had celebrated the fact that Collingwood had lost.

Our conversation went like this:

Me" How much did Collingwood lose by?"

ABC: "54 points"

Me: "And how many games have they lost in a row?"

ABC: "Three"

Me: "That's all, I just wanted to hear you say it again, thanks".

ABC: amidst sounds of laughter "There are some sick listeners out there!"

And loving it!!


Even though Sport Boy is out of action for a few weeks, my coaching responsibilities continue. The team are playing down at Margaret River at noon tomorrow against the MR Tigers, so I'd better go to bed and at least try and get some sleep. At this point I feel quite wide awake so I'm not sure how successful I'll be. Undoubtedly I'll feel it in the morning.

Medical Update

It's been another tough day for Sport Boy. I spoke to him this afternoon and asked how he was feeling? His feeble little voice replied with a one word answer that made it abundantly clear how he was: "crap"!
Mrs Holt Press suggested that it would be good if I came up to visit to boost his morale a bit, and to deliver all the things she forgot to bring yesterday! Tape measure, scissors, phone charger etc.
I bought a couple of bags of lollies and a packet of chips for him too and set off for Bunbury.

He was sitting up on the bed when I arrived, his torso stained with red antiseptic paint from the op, his wound visible beneath the plastic dressing, a look of misery on his face.
His first comment was, "Don't make me laugh".
I replied that would be difficult seeing as I'm such an exceptionally funny person but I'd try my best. The grimace that followed was enough to convince me of the need to follow his request assiduously. He was in pain, feeling nauseous and exhausted from a recent trip to the toilet. Walking etc are very uncomfortable and taxing at this stage.

I held his hand and tried to comfort him while Mrs HP took advantage of the team tag to go and buy some credit for her phone. His dinner arrived, chicken nuggets, mashed potato, peas and corn and I cut it up and fed him small mouthfuls. He only managed about 7-8 before he'd had enough. It tasted good but he was too sore and unwell to get any more down.

Mrs HP returned. I went and got the Captain Starlight console and set up a movie for him.
He was watching "Cats and Dogs" when I left. I didn't want to go but I have a volleyball game in ten minutes that I had to get back for.
His last comment broke my heart. "Do you have to go?" "I'll miss you".

I've arranged for three of his school friends to visit him tomorrow after school and I'll sneak in another quick visit before my taxi shift. Hopefully this time tomorrow he'll be feeling a bit better.

Sport Boy Goes Under the Knife

Sport Boy no longer has an appendix.

It was removed sometime between 6.30 and 7.30 this evening.

He did not enjoy the experience.

We got to the hospital in Bunbury about 1.00 this morning and they admitted him shortly after.
It took about an hour before we got settled in a ward, him in a hospital bed, me on a folding stretcher! The pain he'd been experiencing for the last three days was treated with morphine! It had a dramatic effect! It spun poor Sport Boy out and he didn't like it much, but it did reduce the pain and enable him to sleep.

We were awoken this morning by nurses and doctors checking on him, doing the obligatory poking of the belly (his not mine) to the accompanying query, "Does that hurt?"
"Appendicitis" was the unanimous diagnosis, "sign here" (me not him) giving them permission to cut open my little boy and take out the offending piece of anatomy.

I rang work to tell them where I was and I wouldn't be there this morning then called Mrs Holt Press with the news and she packed a bag and headed for Bunbury. She must have got lost or weigh-laid along the way because the 40 minute journey took her two and a half hours. By then it was nearly lunchtime (for me not him, he was fasting pre-op) and I figured as I'd already missed half the day at work I'd stay with the patient for moral support. This was when the projected time for surgery was 2.30.

2.30 came and went, the surgery didn't! I read more of my book and Sport Boy got hungrier and more uncomfortable. He at least had the benefit of Captain Starlight to cheer him up and the use of a game and TV console, also courtesy of Captain Starlight, to keep him occupied. Another little boy in the next bed had had his appendix out on Monday so they shared stories and turns on the Nintendo.

His Dad challenged me to a game of chess. I accepted but was concerned when he explained a couple of rules I'd never heard of before we started. My concern was further increased when I committed a blunder with my second move, losing one of my rooks to his bishop. But I managed to fight back and stave off his attacks, including what I realised was an imminent check-mate with a move that even impressed me with its brilliance and audacity! The tide had turned and I was now on the attack. It was parry and thrust, attack and counter attack, until another fiendishly clever move on my part was followed by a major blunder on his and I had him, check mate!
He challenged me to a rematch but visitors and interruptions conspired against his hopes for revenge and then his appendix-less son was discharged and I remained undefeated chess king of the appendectomy ward!

Meanwhile, back on the surgery front, the latest estimate of theatre time was 4.00pm. Sport Boy was becoming more distressed as the lack of food and drink bit and a headache developed but thankfully some Painstop took the edge off it and he fell asleep. Mum and Walter had called in to visit him enroute to Perth and that cheered him up a little bit.

When he awoke he was hungry, thirsty, in pain and not happy. I felt helpless and distressed myself seeing him in pain. I held his hand and fought back tears then encouraged him to breathe deeply and as he breathed out to relax all the parts of his body that were tensed up. I'm pleased to say this had a calming effect and not long after he fell back to sleep. The latest time estimate for the operation was 7.30pm!
It had been a long day and looked like being a long night.
I read my book, Mrs Holt Press knitted and did cryptic crosswords and we waited...

Finally the good news came, at about 6.15, they were ready for him in the operating theatre.
I kissed him and told him I loved him and they wheeled him off down the corridor, Mrs HP at his side to accompany him to theatre (only one parent allowed!).
I went and got some food for us both and we returned to waiting, reading, knitting, watching TV etc.

He was away a long time, longer than we'd anticipated but finally around 8.15 they said we could go down to the recovery room and bring him back to the ward, although again, only one parent was allowed. This time I went.

When I got there however, Sport Boy was not in good shape, he was distressed and in pain, sweaty and bleeding and not ready to go back to the ward. I tried to encourage him to take the oral pain medication the nurse was trying to administer but he couldn't handle the taste and in the end, despite his protests, he was given more morphine. Again it worked almost instantly, causing him to settle down and become sleepy but it was nearly another hour before they gave him the all clear to return to the ward. His pulse was up and they wanted to get it down a bit but in the end the anaethatist gave the go ahead and he was allowed out of post-op. He was semi-conscious and not in pain and when he got back to the ward fell asleep fairly quickly.
I rang Favourite Daughter and The Hair & Heir to update them on their little brother's progress and they were all relieved and sent their love and prayers.

That was my cue to depart. Mrs Holt Press has clocked on for the night shift, sleeping beside him on the fold out bed. There's another infant in the ward now who is not very happy and crying a lot so I hope for Sport Boy and Mrs HP's sake he has settled down by now and they're able to get some sleep.

SB will be in hospital at least until Friday.

No soccer for a few weeks and no Country Week training but as Country Week itself is not until October he should be well and truly recovered in time for that.

It's been a long night and day and night but the worst of it is over now and hopefully my beautiful little boy will make a swift recovery.

Sport Boy Unwell

I'm about to take Sport Boy to the hospital in Bunbury to see a surgeon. We've just been to Busso hospital and the Dr has referred him to Bunbury with suspected appendicitis.
He's been sick since Sunday with constant tummy pain and went to the Dr and the hospital yesterday. Things haven't improved so we're taking the precaution of checking it out at Bunbury.

Sport Boy's greatest concern? The news that if he has to have his appendix out he could miss up to 6 weeks of sport (soccer)!

Let's hope it's not that serious!

Smog Effect?

The Chinese authorities keep insisting that the air in Beijing won't affect the athletes at the Olympics. I'm not so sure!

Day of Rest and Recovery

It was a tough return to taxi driving last night, my first shift since getting back from Melbourne.
I ended up with the all-nighter, not finishing until 6.00am. I slept the last hour of it in a fierce storm at a beach front car park with the car being buffeted by the wind and the waves pounding against the shore. Prior to that my last fare, at about 4.30 was hard yakka, I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open and I was crawling along at about 40km/hr.
Even after sleeping the last hour I could barely stay awake and drove back to the depot at about 30km/hr.
I didn't even stay up long enough to count my takings, I went straight to bed and slept till after 3.00 this arvo.
On the plus side, the long shift was quite profitable and I had three jobs to Dunsborough and one return which is always a bonus.

This afternoon I painted for a while while listening to the footy, watched the episodes of House I missed while I was away and then went into town and bought noodles for the family for dinner.
Seafood Mee Goreng mmmm!!

Yesterday afternoon I repaired and relocated our letter box which has been attacked by vandals a number of times. Hopefully its new location further back from the street will help protect it. Buoyed by completing one domestic task I ambitiously attempted another: replacing the washers in the kitchen! This was not as simple or successful as I'd hoped it would be, with the hot tap refusing to turn on or off after the new washer was inserted. This lead to further ambition: the complete replacement of the hot and cold tap and faucet which has been leaking and in need of attention for a while. I had previously suggested to Mrs Holt Press that perhaps we should swap it for a new post mix tap. I trekked off to Bunnings and purchased a moderately priced piece of plumbing that looked like it would do the trick and returned home, intent on installing it. Let's just say that I have renewed and profound respect for plumbers! The old tap is so inconveniently positioned/attached under the sink it would take a tradesman descended from Harry Houdini to get at it. Unable to undo it from below, I tried attacking it from above, attempting to prise the whole sink up enough to allow access with a large spanner. No good! So, the current staus is: sink in place but not secured, hot tap broken, new taps not attached, temporary replacement installed for hot tap to enable water to be turned back on, plumbers number ready to be called first thing Monday morning.
I feel humbled and chastened that I contemplated such a demanding task, one that was clearly beyond my limited capabilities, in that it required some mechanical aptitude, plumbing skill, and common sense.
Better men than I, like Phil or Birchy would no doubt have finished the job and still had time to write a book or father another child before the day was finished, but lesser mortals like myself, and Broadie, just scratch our heads and marvel at the apparent ease with which these super-men complete such tasks. I blame my genes!

Cornerstone V Vasse: A Ripper

It was back into the fray of coaching Sport Boy's soccer team this morning. After the term break the under 11's league have been divided into the Premier League (Top 5 teams) and Championship (bottom 4 teams). We'll play each team once then play off in knockout finals.
Today was the first Premier League game, against Vasse with whom we drew 6-6 early in the season. That game was a classic, today's was the equal or better of it.
Vasse scored three goals in the first half to take a 3-0 lead. Poor goal-keeping and defending on our part got us into trouble although their third goal was a ripper.
We pulled one back before half time to get back some confidence.
I made a couple of changes at half time, swapping the goalie and jiggling the midfield around a little.
We played with much greater fluidity and effectiveness in the second half and withing 10 minutes had equalised. The third goal was one of the best I've evr seen in a kids game, a high cross from Jacob and Daniel headed it in. Eilidh, who is a little timid but tries hard then got on the end of an attacking move and poked the ball in the net. The momentum was with us until another we let in another "soft" goal.
To compound matters, their goalie was on fire, making one great save after another.
But the kids didn't give up. Sport Boy was having a great game and scored one goal and set up another to put us 5-4 in front. The last 10 minutes were very intense with both teams having chances but we finally got the goal to seal the game with another good goal from Eilidh.

Final score 6-4 and both teams received a rousing reception from the parents and coaches at the end of the game.

Cats v Hawks: A Ripper

There's been a 17 week build up to tonight's game between Geelong and Hawthorn and the result lived up to the hype and expectation; it was a thriller, an arm wrestle, a packed house at the MCG, a struggle for supremacy, and the good news is the good guys won. The Cats got up by 11 points.

Late in the 3rd quarter and early in the last the momentum was with the Hawks and they briefly hit the front, but the Cats refused to surrender and fought back, led by the brilliance of Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel.

Considering Geelong were without Gary Ablett, Cameron Ling, Darren Milburn, David Wojinski, and lost Paul Chapman to a hamstring injury before half time, it was an even more impressive victory against the team in third place and who are widely tipped to be in the Grand Final.

I broke my usual rule regarding the footy when Geelong are playing. Normally I avoid the radio, the news, the net, or any other source of info that might reveal the result and ruin the game for me until I can watch it on the telly. But with so much riding on this game I just had to listen to it on the ABC, or the first quarter at least. At 1/4 time I decided to leave the radio on until 1/2 time! Similarly at the long break I couldn't bring myself to stop listening and then when it was only 4 points the diff at 3/4 time I just had to know what would happen. I had to put up with the open bias of Parkin and Schwab in the commentary, both Hawthorn men through and through, and their constant complaints and criticism. Gerard Whately is a devout Geelong fan yet his commentating was unbiased and enthusiastic and an example to the rest of how it should be done.

Sport Boy and I were greatly relieved and pleased when the final siren sounded and the Cats had won.

I then went round to Dave's and watched it all over again! It was much more relaxing and enjoyable knowing we would win!

NZ Names

I heard this gem of a news article on Triple J today and I knew you'd want me to share it with you.

A New Zealand magistrate has criticised parents who give their children stupid names and ordered that a young girl's name be changed to prevent her being ridiculed.

Apparently, naming your child "Talulah does the hula from Hawaii" is not cool with the NZ judiciary.

Nor were they impressed with "Midnight Chardonnay", "Violence" or my personal favourite, "No. 16 Bus Shelter".

It's a shame the Kiwi's imaginations aren't matched by their Court's sense of humour.

Close Encounter with the Pope-Mobile

Pope Benedict XVI leaving the welcoming mass at Barangaroo (Bar-n-Guru?) on Thursday last week. Just after he passed me the pope-mobile took off and disappeared out of sight. Despite this swift exit the police saw fit to hold the crowd back for a further 15 minutes to let him get clear as a security precaution. It seemed somewhat unnecessary, we were on foot, he was in a bullet proof car and well on his way.

Today was my first day back at work and I eased into it with some unpacking and decorating, I always collect a bundle of souvenirs when I travel, tickets, badges, maps, cards etc, mementos more than souvenirs. I've taken to collecting metal and enamel pins and badges and came home with a bundle of them from Melbourne and Sydney. I found a stack of them at a second hand store in Brunswick the day before I left.

I bought several hoodie jackets for the family in Melbourne, they are all the rage over there. Favourite Daughter, Sport Boy, The Heir and Mrs Holt Press all like theirs, but to my surprise The Hair wasn't so impressed, "they're gangsta" being his assessment!! The irony is I thought he'd be the most into them!! Sport Boy doesn't mind, he says he'll have them! They're too big for him at the moment so it looks like he'll have a steady supply of jackets for the next few years!

Footy Trip Blog Link

For the next couple of weeks you can keep up with my adventures by going to the Melbourne Footy Trip blog.

Bon Voyage

Leaving for Perth now.

Flying to Melbourne tomorrow.

Yeehaa!!!!!

It's Going to 5

The Wimbledon Men's Singles Final has just entered a 5th set after some breath-taking tennis from both players.
Nadal won the first two sets 6-4 6-4 and looked like he was going to depose the king but Fderer fought back, taking the next two sets in tie-breakers 7-6 7-6 saving match points in the process.
It is edge of the seat stuff!
Thank goodness I live in WA where it's only quarter to three in the morning and not in the eastern states where it's approaching 5am!!
And thank goodness I'm on holiday and can sleep in in the morning!

I'm barracking for Federer though I don't really mind who wins. I do wish Nadal would stop pulling his undies out of his bum! If you don't like playing with a wedgie Rafa, don't wear such tight shorts!!

The Final

Tonight's the night. The BIG finale. The Final. Only the best are left and now they slug it out to see who is the champion. There's nothing better than seeing supremely fit and super skilled athletes fighting it out for victory. And if you can't be there in person, the next best thing is watching it on the TV from the comfort of your lounge room, Vanilla Diet Coke in one hand and remote in the other! That's where I am right now, enjoying the contest and the spectacle.
Sport Boy is with me, barracking for his favourite.
We've watched their progress through the rounds, their victories in the semi-finals, and now they face off in the biggest final of all!





The big question is, can they overcome Amazon, Viper, Tank and Thunder in the race to The Eliminator?





Yes, it's Grand Final night on Gladiators!!!!



























Oh, and later tonight Roger Federer plays Rafael Nadal in the men's singles final in his attempt to win an unprecedented 6th successive Wimbledon title!!

Cam Comes Through

I knew I could rely on Holt Press readers, who are, it goes without saying, a class above the average blog reader! I set a challenge and within 24 hours Cam had texted me with another word that fits the requirements, ie. a word with the same vowel pronounced three different ways. And the word he suggested is: yesteryear. Nice work Cam.
You've won a year's free subscription to Holt Press.

I slept in today, not because I had to, but just because I could! Oh the joy of weekends and holidays!

I spent the afternoon tidying up papers on my desk while watching episodes of The West Wing on the computer, then delivering The Hair and two friends to Dunsborough for Zac W's birthday party/sleepover. They are sleeping in a shed. It's very cold in this region at the moment. Draw your own conclusions.

The rest of the night was spent driving the taxi, my last shift before going to Melbourne on Tuesday.
We had very sad news tonight that one of our regular drivers, Leggy, died suddenly yesterday, at the age of just 52! We are all a bit stunned at the news.
His funeral is on Friday but I won't be able to attend because of the Melbourne trip.

Cats Crush Crows

The Cats rolled on in their quest for consecutive premierships tonight with a 68 point win against the Crows at AAMI Stadium. Sport Boy and I went round to watch it at Dave's, even though Dave wasn't home. He went to Mandurah for the night but gave me a key this arvo so we could get in. "You and Mr S____ must be good friends for him to give you the keys to his house" said Sport Boy! True enough.

Geelong have won their last 8 interstate games and 32 of their last 34 games. They are starting to peak as we move toward the business end of the season.

I look forward to going to their next two games, in Geelong, especially the round 16 clash with the Western Bulldogs who are second on the ladder.

The school term is over, the holidays have begun!

The countdown to Tuesday is well and truly on now.

I rang Mum with a tempting offer this arvo. Virgin are offering return airfares from Perth to Los Angeles for $1234, the best price I've heard of in a long time! She was tempted but said it was unlikely given Walter's health at the moment.

I'm sorely tempted myself!! The fares are for travel in April-May next year. I've wanted to go back and visit some good friends in California for a long time. But, we've got financial commitments to deal with that mean we can't afford it at the moment.

Not unless we win Lotto, and considering I don't buy Lotto tickets, that's fairly unlikely.

Friday on my Mind

Fridays
Fridays always feel good, the end of the working week, the start of the weekend.

And the last Friday of the term feels even better! Two weeks of "freedom" coming up.

And the last Friday of term when you're about to go on a trip to Melbourne for a feast of football?
It doesn't get much better than that!!

Throw in Friday night football when your team is playing and you don't have to work, woohoo!
The Cats play the Crows tomorrow night and I'm going round to Dave's to watch it.

You may have noticed I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Tomorrow
Talking of tomorrow, as I was walking back from Priceys with my two bread rolls for lunch today I was thinking about the word "tomorrow" and realised it is unusual. Maybe even unique?
That's what I'm about to ask you readers to establish, or refute.

What makes it so different?

It's the only word I could think of that contains the same vowel three times with the said vowel being pronounced differently each time.
ie. to with an oo, morr with an o (for orange), ow with an O (for Oklahoma).

There may be others but I haven't thought of any.

So, there's your task dear readers, see if you can think of another word with the same characteristic, ie. the same vowel pronounced three different ways in the one word.

Volleyball
We won volleyball tonight in a one-sided game that was hard to stay motivated in, but I do applaud the name of the other team, one of the cleverest I've ever heard of, they are called "Safe Sets"!

Favourite Daughter
It's a very exciting time for Favourite Daughter as she prepares to move to Perth to study at Tabor College for the next six months. There is a lot to organise and she was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all last night so Mrs Holt Press and I prayed for her. One of the items on her list was getting a pair of glasses. She's been wearing contact lenses for a few years but they've been troubling a bit recently and they are expensive to replenish every few months. Today she went into an OPSM store just to have a look and to her delight discovered they were having a 50% sale on glasses, and combined with the benefits from our private health cover, the glasses only cost her $180 instead of the full price of $480! One less thing to be anxious about.

State of Origin

I've just watched Queensland beat NSW to win the State of Origin series for the third year in a row. It was a typically tough and bruising game, with the Cockroaches probably having the better of it but not getting the points on the board. I don't particularly like rugby league but always enjoy watching the State of Origin series, it is played at such an intense level and the quality is always well above that of a standard league game. In fact, one day I'd really like to go to a State of Origin decider. In the absence of Aussie Rules I actually played a few games of league for Rosewood, the little country town in Queensland where I lived for 3 years, which is why I barrack for the Maroons.

The Kite Runner

I've just watched a stunning film, The Kite Runner, a story of two childhood friends in Kabul and what happens to them before, during and after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban. It is both beautiful and heart-wrenching, inspiring and depressing. It is a story of loyalty, betrayal and the search for redemption, and the importance of family.

I haven't read the book so didn't know anything about the story but with close friends Phil and Julie back working in Kabul have more than a passing interest in all things Afghanistan.

It is not a film for the feint hearted but it is brilliant none-the-less.

One memorable line talks about stealing:

There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.

The Mercedes Dilemma

On Thursday I was due to take a group of 5 kids, including The Hair, to Bunbury for a World Vision Global Leadership Convention. Neither of our cars can carry more than 5 people so I needed a car with greater carrying capacity.

Stu has a Kia Carnival people mover but when I asked if I could borrow it said he didn't think it would make it to Bunbury and back!!(A distance of 50km!) He unnecessarily added, "Don't ever buy a Kia"!

He suggested I ask Ozzy who has a 7 seater Mercedes and is known to be a generous man.

(I borrowed his truck when we moved into this house.)

Ozzy was in Perth when I rang but readily agreed to let me use the Merc and rang Jo to tell her I'd be around to pick it up later.

When I arrived to collect it Jo said "Its pretty straight forward, no tricks you need to know to drive it".

OK I thought, I've driven plenty of cars in my life, this should be easy enough.

Do you sense a story of under-preparedness and over-confidence coming on?

You should.

I should have suspected things would not be straight-forward when I went to put the key in the ignition and it wasn't there! The ignition that is.

A short search turned it up on the wrong side of the steering wheel, not the right side where it should be.

Fair enough, at least I found it, and the car started when I turned the key. But only the first time. When I stalled it it wouldn't restart until I turned it off completely and tried again. A little idiosyncratic but still not a big problem. We were under way.

Then I noticed the brake light on the dashboard was on, suggesting that the handbrake was still engaged.

Then I noticed it didn't have a hand brake!!

Not on the floor.

Not on the right.

Not on the left.

Not under the dashboard.

Not anywhere!!

There was a strange looking lever jammed tight down beside the seat but no matter how hard I pulled it nothing happened. Then I noticed a strange extra little pedal on the far left, well beyond and above where a clutch pedal would be if it weren't an automatic.

With nothing left to try I pushed it and it seemed to engage in a way similar to a hand brake.

Next problem, how to disengage it? Pushing it didn't unlock it.

Hooking my foot beneath it and pulling refused to budge it. If it was the hand brake it was now stuck on.

Then I tried the little handle labelled P (which I thought was the petrol cap cover release, but more of that later!) beneath the light switch and lo and behold, the little pedal snapped back out. I repeated the process to check it hadn't been a fluke and the same thing happened.

Fancy that, a foot operated hand brake!

But! The brake light did not go off!!

Deciding to ignore the light. I headed for the school to pick up the kids, if a burning smell occurred I'd investigate further, otherwise, we needed to get going.

Kids aboard we set out for Bunbury.

Trying the radio I discovered it would not pick up FM and there was no CD playyer so the kids were condemned to listening to ABC AM, which could only be tuned in by the most unusual tuning "dial" I've ever seen. It was a little rubber "conveyor belt" you have to manipulate until you find the station you're after. The volume on the other side worked the same way!

Just after we passed the petrol station I looked at the fuel gauge and saw it was very low.

In my own car I'd have known if it would make it to Bunbury on that amount of fuel, but in a strange car, that was already causing me concern concern and knowing there was no other fuel available until Bunbury, I decided caution was called for and doubled back to the servo.

That's when things started to bet really surreal!

I began looking for a release switch for the fuel cap which as you can see has no key hole.

There wasn't one!

I was tempted to try the same P labelled handle that had released the hand (foot) brake seeing as it felt much the same as a typical fuel release catch when I pulled it.

Perhaps German engineering had given it a dual function I mused somewhat illogically!

That didn't work.

I got out and got down on my hands and knees and hunted high and low for something that wouldn't open the fuel cap cover.

No good! Nothing.

Feeling slightly awkward and self-conscious in front of a group of kids I didn't know, all my "non-mechanical self image demons " came to taunt me!

With no idea what to do, and time ticking away, I did what any sensible man would do.

No I didn't swear and kick the car.

I rang for help.

Not having Jo's number, I rang Ozzy and explained my predicament.

With admirable self-restraint and patience he explained that all I had to do was push on the fuel cap cover and it would swing open!!!!!!!

Oh!

I had been aiming way too high, expecting something mechanical, or electronic, or sensible!!

It never occurred to me to try force!!

While I had him on the phone I asked about the brake light.

"Oh yeah, that stays on, I don't know why, the hand (foot) brake doesn't work, but the light won't go off" !!!!

Great, at least I'd solved that riddle!

Finally, with petrol in the tank we were on our way. The Hair's favourite part of the car was the rear facing back seats where he and Emily sat, chuckling away as they read a Far Side book.

The rest of the journey passed without mishap!

PS. When I arrived at the school to pick up the 5 kids only four showed up!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Night

Sunday night in sleepy Busselton and we're down to one child, Sport Boy. The older two have gone to Perth; Favourite Daughter for an interview at Tabor College where she will be starting a 6 month course in July and The Heir for moral support and a chance to get out of sleepy Busselton for a couple of days.
The Hair has wangled his way to Zac's place at Dunsborough for the night, theoretically so they can work together on a an oral presentation for history. Rumour has it that Zac's mum is strict about these sort of things so we'll see.
Mrs Holt Press and I had a late dinner of noodles while watching some quality TV, where else but on ABC1, "The Girls from Belarus" followed by a fascinating episode of Compass about a young woman's search for independence and identity in the face of a controlling fundamentalist father.

Saturday Soccer
The BIG game against the MR Gladiators lived up to its billing, it was a very good game. Sadly we lost 3-0 but not before a real battle. It was a tale of two halves, they out-played us in the first half, scoring 2 goals. Our defense just couldn't get the hang of marking players and being accountable. Perhaps because they so raely have to! A rev up and re-focus at half time brought significant improvement with Cornerstone dominating the game and having many opportunities but still failing to score. Then, in the last 5 seconds of the game MR scored on a breakaway to finish 3-0 winners.
They have a much better coach than our kids!! He coaches the country week team that Sport Boy has been selected in and it showed in their discipline and organisation.
After the game he affirmed that it had been by far their toughest game of the season.
I'm not sure if our kids can beat them next time they play but we at least know we're competitive with them.

Scenes from a taxi ride.
There was an interesting vignette in the taxi last night, played out in two parts.
I took a couple to Bunkers Bay Resort, past Dunsborough, a $60 fare, where they were going to dinner, a gift bought for them by their children. We talked about football most of the way, they are long-suffering Dockers members, she a teacher, he an electrical engineer.
I gave them my number and they rang a couple of hours later for me to come and pick them up for the return journey.
This time the tone was different, the lady was on the phone some of the way and it became obvious they had received some bad news while they were at dinner.
I didn't say anything until they opened a conversation with me then remarked "It sounds like you've had some bad news".
It turned out that the lady's mother had died and they had just received the news.
Suddenly the football didn't seem that important or relevant.
They told me a bit about her, that she was quite elderly and that she had suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for many years which put a bit different perspective on the situation. They descibed her last 10 years as being trapped inside her (non-functioning) body yet still having an alert brain.
The lady was going to leave for Geraldton the following day to begin dealing with all the usual affairs that go with a bereavement.
Interestingly near the end of the journey, the conversation again turned to football, perhaps in a way grounding us and high-lighting that fine line we walk between the everyday and the eternal.
Death awaits us all. Life is made up of the myriad inter-actions, conversations and relationships that happen along the way. We never know where anyone else is on their journey, nor how close we may be to our destination ourselves.
And none of us knows when the Dockers will win another game!

Post #700 on HP2

I drove the cab tonight as well, my first double shift weekend in a while. I drew the short straw too, working right through till 6am, a 12 hour shift , the last hour of which I slept. Fortunately I didn't have any customers at the time. It was a very busy night, two trips to Bunker Bay, 1 to Cowaramup and another to Dunsborough, which sadly produced my first "Runner", that's taxi jargon for people running off without paying their fare. It wouldn't have been so bad if the fare hadn't been worth $43!! Despite this it was a profitable night, helped by the fact I got about $50 in tips, way more than normal.

The sun is up and so am I, but not for much longer, my bed and toasty electric blanket awake!

Abduction?

Just finished a 10 hour shift in the taxi which started very slowly but was busy for the last 4 hours. Busy = $, busy = good.
When I got home Mrs Holt Press' car was not here. Considering it's 4.00am that's unusual.
Either she (and the car) have been abducted by aliens (unlikely)
or
she has taken Favourite Daughter to the hospital (more likely).
FD rang earlier to ask if I had any strong pain killers as she had the beginnings of a migraine and her eyes were bothering her.
I suspect things have worsened and maternal responsibilties have taken precedence over warmth and sleep.
(It's very cold wet and wintery in Busso tonight)

Of course, if it was aliens I expect I'll read about it in the Sunday paper.

I had my monthly testosterone jab this arvo which may explain why I'm not so tired now, although I was certainly zonked earlier. I went for an hour without a fare around 9.00 o'clock and had a lot of trouble staying awake.

Before the injection we ran the final Phat Phriday for the term, indoors in the gym due to the weather. We had a big crowd but the program wasn't as tight as it should have been due to insufficient preparation and we had to wing it a couple of times. The main game worked well though, that old youth group favourite, the "eat a melted chocolate bar out of a disposable nappy" race! Theoretically a Snickers bar tastes like a Snickers bar regardless of how it's served, but, there's something about seeing a lumpy melted brown blob in a nappy that takes away your appetite, even your appetite for chocolate.

Only 7 1/2 hours to the big soccer game, which I suspect will be played in wet conditions.
Time to getr some sleep so I'm fit and ready!

Soccer Training

Sport Boy's soccer team are playing the MR Gladiators this weekend, the top team. We are 2nd, having won all our games except for one draw, the classic 6-6 game v Vasse a few weeks back.

It will be a tough game, they are well coached and well drilled, and have a couple of gun players.

In order to help prepare the kids at training this afternoon we played a scratch match against the next older team, coached by Stu the Gardener. The kids did well and gave a very good account of themselves against the bigger stronger kids. The score was 3-3 and Sport Boy scored a couple of goals. Hopefully it will be good preparation for the big game on Saturday.

Talking of soccer, I was disappointed that Russia knocked Holland out of the Euro 2008 quarter finals, the Dutch had been playing really well and looking likely winners. Gus Huddink has done it again, he was the master mind behind Australia's excellent performance in the 2006 World Cup. Of the semi-finalists I'd like to see Spain win, they have promised much and delivered nothing in their entire history. These tournaments are fairly predictable though so I expect to see Germany playing Russia in the final, with the Germans winning again!!

The Footy Trippers

This is the group of 16 I'll be taking to Melbourne for the footy trip in two weeks time. We're all getting excited about it the closer it gets.
There are 8 West Coast fans, 2 Dockers, 2 Essendon, 1 Collingwood, 1 Hawthorn, 1 North Melbourne and 1 Geelong fan.
I'll give a prize to anyone who can correctly identify who barracks for whom from the picture!

Look Elsewhere

Nothing much to report tonight.

Footy fans can read my latest offerings over at the footy blog.

Staff Briefing

I wore my Geelong scarf to work this morning and at the Monday morning staff briefing I announced I was available for post traumatic stress counselling for any Eagles fans who may need it!
Predictably their feeble retort was "92 and 94".
My response was "What, last millennium?"

It's always good to start the day with a smile and a laugh!

The rest of the day was quiet, just doing work on the footy trip.

Tonight I painted for the first time in over a week. The experimental project I'm working on is still not looking very good though!

It was very sad to hear the news that Jane McGrath, wife of Aussie cricketer Glenn, died yesterday after an 11 year battle with cancer. She was only 42.
I turned 47 on Saturday.

Sunday Snapshot

We're home again after another good day. I got a few bargains at a Swap Meet this morning then Sport Boy and I watched a bit of a junior footy game before going on to Cannington. There we went to a Fusion Fundraiser Movie screening of Prince Caspian.
Then the three hour journey home with stops for fuel, food and drinks.
He slept a lot of the way, leaving me to do all the driving.

Birthday Bonanza

Mark Thompson is happy and so am I! I asked for a Cats win for my birthday but they delivered a good old-fashioned shellacking! A 135 point victory, the biggest loss West Coast have ever had at Subiaco! 28 goals to 5! Gary Ablett was on fire, Chapman and Mooney kicked 5 goals each, Tom Harley dominated the air and the Cats were rampant all over the ground!
Favourite Daughter, Sport Boy and I had a ball, especially in the last quarter. 1000's of Eagles fans left at 3/4 time, where was their loyalty? They were only trailing by 116 points! So we took the chance to move out of the confines of the sub-zero altitude seats we were in behind the goal and up to the grandstand on the forward flank where the view was a million times better and the yo-yo exercise everytime someone in the row wanted to come in or out of the ridiculously narrow aisles gave way to a panaramic view of Subiaco Oval and the Cats continuing on their merry way to a thumping percentage boosting victory.
Add to that the fact that North Melbourne unexpectedly knocked off Hawthorn today and my birthday present was complete, Geelong now a game and percentage clear on top of the AFL ladder!

We sang all the way back to the car after the game!

It's been a great day. Sure I turned 47 and am feeling suddenly older slower and sorer because of it! But, the kids won their soccer game this morning 4-0 with Sport Boy playing really well, the CFFL mid-season draft went well as I traded aggressively and managed to outfit my team almost entirely with Geelong players, Sport Boy is over the moon at being able to buy a genuine FIFA World Cup soccer ball from Jim Kidds for $100 off the original price, and we dropped in to Leederville Oval on the way to watch East Perth hold on to win against Claremont in the last quarter of the WAFL.
And now we're at the Letchy's place enjoying their friendship and hospitality!

Happy Birthday to me
I'm as pleased as can be
The Cats won you see
And my family loves me

A Very Special Day

Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday dear Marcus
Happy Birthday to me!

All I want for my birthday is to see Geelong beat the Eagles tonight at Subiaco.

Sport Boy and I are heading up there straight after soccer in the morning, which will be straight after I get whatever sleep I can between now and then.

The taxi was VERY QUIET tonight but I was rostered off at number 6 so have only just gotten home.

Pythagorswitch

I thought I'd finished, until I discovered this!
This is BRILLIANT!
Totally COOL!

Dominos

While I'm on a roll, remember those awesome domino displays people used to do years ago?
Here's a very cool one done by a father and son.
I love this stuff!

McCain Music Video

As you know, you can't stop at one You Tube video!
While checking out Bogan Josh I came across this little ripper!

Bogan Josh

A mate of mine with too much time on his hands produced this video on the band "Bogan Josh". It's destined to become an Aussie classic!

My Latest Toy

My office is something of an Aladdin's Cave of toys games and puzzles, I've been collecting them for over 15 years and keep most of them at work.

Kids often ask upon entering, "Why have you got all these toys and stuff?"

"Do you like it?" I ask in response.

"Yeah!"

"That's why I've got them!"

It's been quiet the last couple of days which gave me time to put together a new one, a marble roller coaster, technically called "Space Odyssey". In truth it's not entirely new, I've had a couple of sets for years and had them set up at Carine but when I found three sets heavily discounted recently I bought them and now I have one mega-set, which in turn enabled me to construct my most ambitious track ever! The newer sets had great new features like short straight sections and corner pieces for the track, making it easier to set up and engineer.

As you can see from the video, it works, most of the time.

My plan is to add a second stage to inter-twine with track one, this one made out of long looping track pieces rather than all the straights.

Look Out World

Busselton Scrabble Champ Strikes Again!!
I inflicted another merciless beating on the ladies at the Scrabble Group tonight. Sadly, they are so unconcerned about the score they hardly even notice whether they're winning or losing!
But I know!

There has been a bit of on-going discussion in the comments section of my "Opening Closets" post from last week. Wander back for a look and add a comment or opinion yourself if you feel like it.

Don't forget too that I'm now writing a Footy Blog. I am making good progress in preparation for the Melbourne Footy Trip, only three weeks until we go, yeah!

I think I should warn you that my "Coolness Quotient" has shot up several points today. I now have a page on Face Book! I can just feel the coolness radiating off me as I blog!
Obviously I don't have time to be a dedicated FaceBooker so I'm concentrating on one small area of interest, the Phat Phriday Group on Face Book! Favourite Daughter "invited" me to join!
Here we will discuss the intricacies and subtle nuances involved in planning and running Phat Phriday via virtual meetings, the sort of meeting you have when you don't actually want to meet with anyone! It is already working well, look how much cooler I am than I was yesterday!

Talking of Phat Phriday, I've posted a few collages of the action from last week, in reverse order just to confuse you!