Saturday 1st October 22
The start of storm season & Labour Day Monday long weekend
NRL Grand Final Eve ( Parramatta Eels verses Penrith Panthers)
Daylight savings begin midnight NSW ( 2nd October 22 - 6th April 23)
So what did I do today? Well I just had to take the opportunity when there was a break in the rain to travel out to the newly renovated and reopened Bondi Pavillion which only opened on 21st Sept 22. It's partially sunny but it is rather gusty at the moment in the courtyard. Oh no everybody on the beach has just left or sort refuge inside Bondi Pavillion as it pours with rain. Outside the surf is wild. It is around 4.30 pm.
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Let me back track a little. This morning I was paying bills like rent. Because I am a little behind this week paying in advance, I decided to pay a month in advance rather then a fortnight like I usually do.
I then stapled all my receipts into my diary.
I had breakfast - A whole punnet of the largest blueberries, some juice, some water, some wholemeal ciabatta with some smoked trout mouse and some probiotic drinking yoghart
Yesterday I attempted to submit my fortnightly income to Centrelink via the new mygov website but I still can't get it to work. I can log in and get a security code to put in but once in I can't access or see any of my linked accounts. So I tried to log in via the Centrelink website but same thing happened which did not happen last fortnight and wasn't able to submit my fortnightly income. I don't want to ring them as it will cut me off again so I wrote them a letter and posted it which included my fortnightly income. The whole new system is a sham. I looked online for help and there were all these posts about the Centrelink app not working ( yes I tried to use the app by downloading it as well and it does not work).
I am a little concerned that since yesterday I have not been able to connect to the wifi system in the building which is meant to be free and included in my rent. If I am unable to connect to wifi then I will no longer be able to work from home. I have to look into that.
I really need a new phone and a new laptop but I don't like any of the current phones and they are way too expensive.
So back to where I went today. It said it would take me an hour and a half to get from where I reside to Bondi Pavillion. I thought well if I go via Town Hall then it won't matter as I can go shopping instead if it starts to pour with rain or if it gets too late in the afternoon. On my way I had a fall unfortunately and hit both knees and my nose on concrete. It was filthy where I fell so I limped my way to the closest bathrooms at Townhall station, as I don't think Woolworths has any bathrooms anymore since they renovated and converted one floor to a big W, to inspect the damage. My nose is ok but my knees are a little grazed and my jean well luckily I always carry a spare set of clothes. The knees were filthy. I don't know what I tripped on but it was probably a raised tile that had come up at an angle on the footpath which is common in Sydney. It took me a while to change and clean and bandage my knees and clean my nose. All good I carried on and caught a train then a bus out to Bondi Pavillion. There were quite a few visitors to the beach and inside the Pavillion especially in the Art Gallery. My first stop was a walk around the ground floor of the pavillion visiting the shop and the visitor interactive gallery. The Bowie Wong exhibition was still on so I had a look in there and asked if I could take some photos for my blog or YouTube channel but I had wished that I could have been there last night for the final year SDC dancers in his costumes performing. There was no one in the gallery so I had it all to myself. Next stop was the visitor gallery which was difficult to read information about by touching it as it was not designed for multi visitor usage. If someone else touched it the information you were just trying to read would disappear off the screen. Onto the top floor upstairs where a bar theatre and smaller function/ display rooms were . The bar was closed. The balcony was not the best place to go out onto today and the theater was closed for a private function therefore I could not view the refurbishment or hidden murals which is what I went to the pavillion to see. The new ceiling was amazing held up by 4 tall concrete wishbone structures with a wooden and glass slatted skyline it really lifted the pavillion up and lightened it up. The terracotta tiles, some coloured, roof was very nice and the new court yard downstairs with the building extensions really opened up the previous poky arena with bandstand seating. Deck chairs palm trees and lots of open space really modernised the pavillion. Who knew there was so much open space inside the pavillion's court yard. The disgusting sand clogged shower and toilet ccubicles and rows of lockers have all been replaced with a new toilet/shower block relocated to one end of the pavillion. I only spent a brief amount of time in the art gallery where the art was fantastic and there were heaps of people present but the smell of fresh paint was making me feel sick so I had to leave - yes it was that newly painted! The shop Between The Flags is open but there is still some construction to go as the dining area is not complete yet. No ice creams from the kiosk that has been there for decades is available yet. You can see there is work starting on what looks like the Bondi Beach Surf Life Guard Control Tower. Only photos can describe what the new Bondi Pavillion looks like. I didn't know there was a sand clogging Turkish bath that used to be at Bondi Beach that apparently only lasted 3 years before closing due to this problem.
A 333 bus back to Town Hall and another grocery shop at Woolworths Town Hall before a train back to St Leonards Station and a stop off at the IGA where the roast chicken was on special so I purchased half for dinner and breakfast the next day. Why are products on my shopping list still unavailable. I forgot to get more change for my laundry at Woolworths ( because 2 customers were standing at the register I was at and still being served at and I had to tell them that the checkout person hasn't even finished serving me yet the groceries were still being put through and not even packed in my bag or paid for yet - it is so rude when Asians do this why there are plenty of other registers open - it is not as if the registers were busy tonight I just don't understand and it's not the first time I have experienced this) but was able to do so at the IGA.
Home on the bus dinner tv and bed. I am debating about where to go and see the tulips in Bowral or Canberra. Decided neither. The sun may be out for tomorrow but what if it downpours again. Maybe go in the last weekend ie 15th and 16th October closing weekend.
Ok new products I purchased from Woolworths Townhall
News headlines today include
China's national day celebrations and the leader of China expected to lead for a 3rd term.
Tens of thousands of condolence letters for the death of the Queen are being opened at the palace
The Australian Opals ( female basket ball team) lose to China by 2 points just like in the Olympics. Now Australia plays Canada for the bronze medal.
The Opera House sails will be lit up during October as part of their year long 50th birthday celebration.
The first international cruise ship arrived in Sydney yesterday after over 2 years absence due to COVID. All staff are fully vaccinate however passenger vaccinations and testing regulations depends of where the passengers are coming from.
Sunday 2nd October 2022
Daylight Savings begin in NSW
NRL Grand Final Day
It's actually sunny today in Sydney although a bit cold. Just as well as the football grand final is on tonight at 6.30 pm.
First stop was a stop at Chemist Warehouse for more vitamin E.
Ok today I travelled to Macquarie Shopping Centre to try and sort out my bridging mobile phone/ no wifi dilemma. I think I finally sorted it. Do I get a new phone and if so which one? or do I get a dongle if so what kind? I don't want to spend too much either because I'm waiting on the release of the next proper Samsung Note. I wish Samsung would ditch their over priced super expensive gimmicky fold phones and just concentrate on their Galaxy/Note series. I mean how many fold phones has Samsung actually sold - I get the impression not many! Why would you buy a $2000 plus non water resistant fixed memory bulging battery plagued and still asks the question where do I put my stylus? (as it still isn't built into the phone despite the phones becoming more chunky and Samsung removing all the original space hogging features of phones eg headphone jack removable SD card slot sim card slot etc) Why is it all about the best phone and longest battery life? How about all the other features like the operating system software support calendar down and upload speeds connectivity and compatibility notes etc etc. I would rather buy the latest Iphone 14 and it's smart watch then buy the latest Samsung fold phones because their features are unique practical and the phone for under $2000 is much better value for money. Enough of my ranting.
It was a 1 hour wait to talk to someone at Telstra about a dongle or phone so I put my name down in their queue and they send you a text when it's your turn. 10 minutes before my turn I received a text message from Telstra - I had already purchased my phone at JB HiFi and when I showed up at Telstra was told my name was not even on the list. Telstra must hate me as this is the second time they have wronged me so I am going to lodge a second complaint. Never buy a phone from Telstra their phones are old and always attached to a plan. The best Motorola they could offer was a G 62 which you can buy at Big W probably cheaper ( yes I did have a look at what phones were available at big W)! I managed to get the Motorola G 82 for $450 from JB HiFi.
After I purchased my phone I felt happy about my choice but I still had to get a Testra prepaid sim for it. I spent probably over an hour at JB HiFi looking at all the non samsung phones.
I was standing around looking at the motorola phones and there was quite a selection. Behind them were the Nokias nobody wanted. The first JB HiFi staff member I asked about the Motorola phones really discouraged me from purchasingone and advised me to stick to a Samsung or Iphone. I was still set on a Motorola as I was a fan of the Motorola when they first came out. I owned one of the first compact Motorola digital phones back in the 1990s. It was black and I kept it in a bright red phone case. After this I did own a few Sony Ericssons a digital Nokia borrowed an analogue Nokia ( for primative international global roaming - no more standing in the snow with an international callingcard at a public phone booth snd having to ensure it was topped up enough prior to travelling overseas or risk getting cut off mid conversation) , a dopod ( what you say? don't ask it was one of the very first very expensive Windows based phones and it crashed severely !) then there was a few very primative Samsung phones which look very similar to mini versions of what they look like now except they failed severely as well - so bad I purchased one outright which was also very expensive and sent it back to I think Telstra within a few weeks and said I never want to see this phone again and I never did! I also had a BlackBerry- remember them? secure solid and one of my favourite phones which I used until it was discontinued - the version I had was one of the first 2 versions so no camerabut I loved that phone to death literally! It just went on and on and one but Motorola phones that were released were my favourite. I took a break between some Motorola phones released because I knew they were duds. Too similar or just too buggy. What's new? There were only 2 other standout Motorola phones I purchased outright after my very first compact digital one . It's all about their point of difference in their technology which makes them stand out from all the other mobile phones one the market. Motorola digital phone # 1 the introduction of dual bandwidth in the digital 2 G phone era. Ok so it was very primative but back in the analogue global roaming days as I previously mentioned - there was no digital roaming and different countries had different phones that only worked on different frequencies so you needed to have 2 or more types of mobile phones when globe trotting. So I could not use my Australian digital Nokia phone in Canada for example but what I could do was swap my digital Nokia with my classmate's analogue Nokia and arranged with Telstra to global roam with that . When I say global roam here's how it worked. In Canada they still used analogue mobile phones because the government wanted to track everyone and you complain about cyber security and privacy breaches now! So you have to know where and when you are travelling to whilst you are overseas. Yep handover your entire GPS co ordinates to Telstra as exact as possible and they will set you up with a special number and you just dialed this number whilst you were global roaming - not as simple as this but think of it as a bounce back call trunk call or operator assisted call etc but now with my new Motorola digital phone I can global roam with a flick of a switch introducing the first manual dual band phone which allowed me to use my phone in Australia normally and as soonas I reached Canada fick it over to their frequency. However don't forgetto toggleback when you arrive back in Australia otherwise your phone won't work! It wasn't as simple as that but the conceptis there.
Motorola digital phone # 2 - long before iphones and android phones there were a few pieces of technology that existed way before it was integrated into current mobile phones. Even before Motorola integrated them. Here are just a few of them .
A. the stylus pen and handwriting recognition been around since compact clam shell PDAs ( no not that meaning - personal digital assistants) . I owned a Sharp PDA with a stylus that could do this way before my Motorola phone could and I loved my Motorola stylus so beat that Samsung and even LG at one stage ( brief epic fail).
B portrait to landscape toggle screen yep again that same the Motorola phone with the stylus could do this way before any Iphone or android phone could do it - copycat technology.
C NFC yep my Sharp PDA had a very primative form of NFC it can't be called bluetooth because it was actually infrared - great way to cheat with a fellow classmate in exams if they had the same device or send notes to each other in meetings. Limitation - distance. But there was one feature which was 100% perfect on my Motorola phone with the stylus and toggle screen and that was find a fax to fax using my mobile phone yep this was a special very short lived piece of technology which was a very primative form of bluetooth but not to be called wifi conectivity . I could not get this to work by the way.
D. push technology Blackberries may have been the leader in this but I was so happy when my Motorola could do this effortlessly - I used to create my tax invoices on my Motorola and email them out to my client on the spot - there are plenty of apps to do this now and you can even use office on phones now but this was a primative form of office on a phone or more like Samsung notes.
E hotspot thethering believe it or not this was why I wanted to purchase a second phone it was not to replace my Samsung but a bridging phone and hotspot thethering phone for work . I am still waiting for the next Samsung galaxy note phone to be released. Hotspot thethering has been bv around for a while and I accidently discoveredthis whilst I was overseas one year quite a few years ago and also accidently "zapped" my laptop once . When it worked back then it really worked but now with wifi it works very well.
F. Dual sim, e sim and interchangeable sim/sd expandable memory slots. Back in the bad old days when the amount of radiation produce from mobilephone usage was a concern ( probably still is) primative Samsungs and a few other phones had dual sim slots. This was short lived technology due to the 2 sim cards double radiation production concern. Great concept - think about global trotting . For years I was carrying 2 phones everywhere I went and thought I was the only one but all the travellers I knew were doing the same . One with a local simcard and the other with the simcard from where you reside. Both phones from where you reside since most major brand phones are now universal. The e sim is a new concept to save even more space in a phone's "body" - are we going back to the analogue type phone system where there was no expandable memory slot or simcard!? I love how some phones now have either 2 simcard slots - either 1 dedicated one shared ( 1 sim card slot and one interchangeable sim or sd card slot) or 3 dedicated ( 2 sims card slots and 1 sd card slot). I am not a fanof how phones are becomingthinner but all phones are now fixed memory storage and not expandable.
G. Bluetooth head sets - the primative form of ear buds have been around for years - think of those people who use to walk around with those chunky headsets that had an obvious red green or blue light you could spot close up. These were marketed to reduce exposure to the harmful radiation from the mobile phones from holding your phone up directly to your ear and so close to your head. Remember thinking why there were all these weird people talking to themselves only to find out they actually weren't when these bluetooth headsets first came out? So again Samsung and iPhone you were not the first.
H. Folding phones
As you can see new technology is actually not new technology and sometimes old technology is good technology. So that is why I abandoned the latest ssmsung.
So no Telstra appointment no sim card.
Loads of shopping to do. I went to Aldi then to Coles. I had already been to Big W and purchased a pair of jeggings after Uniqlo didn't have the jeggings I usually purchase.
Woolworths was my next stop but did not have the green juice so I went to Coles. Whilst standing in the queue an elderly woman pushed in declaring that she was before me. Ignored her and joined the other queue where the lady in front of me offered me to go in front of her. I declined the offer as I was in no hurry then the conversation turned to how everyone will be making their way to the footy soon and we had something in common we both support Parramatta!
After Coles it was a Metro to Chatswood snd a bus home. I wanted to try and catch the 291 bus directly home but found it only comes once every hour.
Still dry as soon as I arrive home I watch the news followed by the NRL grand final. I had to switch to another channel at half time ( what no half time entertainment !?) it was 22 to 0. There was no way the Eels could win against the Panthers - I just could not continue to watch. I don't even like football that much ( I used to follow Parramatta in the 1980s when they were a winning team when Peter Sterling and Ray Price played things were very different back then we could run onto the field afterwards and actually congratulate the players personally).
I recharge my new phone but too tired to do anything else with it.
Postscript :
News headlines today include
Evacuation orders were too late for some during hurricane Ian as the death toll reaches 77 . With 30 deaths in one region. Some residents are still being rescued 3 days after the hurricane hit and isolated them.
Just a day or so after Putin signed over 4 regions to Russia annexing them from the Uktaine, Russian troops have had withdraw due to the strength of the Ukrainian armed forces returning these regions back to the Ukraine. The referendum was considered a farce - You can't just declare land that's not yours.
A new royal photo has been released with King Charles & The Queen Consort Camilla and The Prince & Princess of Wales William & Kate taken before the Queen's funeral.
Local residents have been warned that Warragamba Dam has been forced to spill as it is at 100% capacity and will continue to spill as more rain falls.
A riot at a football match in East Java has killed over 200 people and deaths increase as people are trampled on. The football team members had to ushered to armoured vehicles by police. Police officers used tear gas to try and break up the riots which was started by angry supporters of the losing team. Football matches have been banned temporarily until the end of investigations of the riots. Tear gas is actually banned for use at football matches by the football association deemed unsafe. Supporters rushed onto the field and attacked police officers other spectators and the police.
Artemis escaped damage during Hurricane Ian and it's relaunch date will now be some time around mid November 22. It only suffered minor water damage.
Thousands of Cuban residents have marched the streets in protest as they are still without power as a result of hurricane Ian.
A man was trapped in a house fire in Box Hill but managed to escape due to the help from some neighbours.
80 000 will attend the battle of the Western suburbs. The pre game sessions could not be any different. Penrith had a team pow wow arriving as a team together at the stadium out at Olympic Park wherr the grand final will be playing at whereas Parramatta team members were more relaxed, sleeping in their own beds and making their own way to the stadium where the grand final iui s to be played.
Optus has been accused of not co operating with the government. They were asked to provide a list of people's Medicare and Centrelink records that were affected by the cyber attack but so far have not provided this information. Optus responded that it would take them some time to gather this information requested hence were co operating with the government. ( I would not be surprised if the Opus hacker was one of the residents in the apartment block I live in possibly living in the studio next to me!)
The new UK PM has been given the cold shoulder by the # 10 Downing Street cat.
Tens of thousands pounded the pavement in the Melbourne marathon today
Sydney Harbour was full of cruise ships galore as one cruise ship departs the harbour another arrives.
Monday 3rd October 2022.
Labour Day Public Holiday ( ACT NSW & SA only )
Another nice sunny morning today however the cloudsare coming around 11 am as it becomes overcast.
I did venture out today except for a very short time to Chatswood to Telstra at The Chase to again try and sort out my phone. So disappointed again as there were no slots available to speak to a Telstra employee about using my Telstra reward points to get a prepaid sim card and credit for data. I could not go online to purchase anything off the Telstra reward store as there was a notification that popped up advising the site will be down from 4 pm to 4 pm for maintenance. This was confirmed by the Telstra employee at the store. There was nothing they could do for me as there were no appointments available all day today so I asked if I can book for Thursday night and managed to get an appointment at 7 pm on Thursday night. Hopefully it will be confirmed . I don't want to sh oui w IP and be turned away again.
News headlines today include
The debate of who will be on the lowest denomination $5 note is on again. Who will replace the Queen's head on it? Some suggest the King should others think Steve Irwin or another Australian icon should.
Bruce Springsteen ( the boss) performers on stage with the Killers and still has it.
Is Taylor Swift bringing her world tour Down Under?
Optus is still being slammed by the government for failing to provide customers details in a timely manner.
Penrith smashed Parramatta in the NRL grand final. ( I could not watch the game anymore after Panthers were 22 to Eels 0 after almost an hour into the game) The Panthers win their 4th premiership back to back for the 4th time 28 to 12 . Partying is still going just as well today is a public holiday in NSW as there will be plenty of sleeplessness and sore heads today!
The 12 year old boy that was ordered by the local council to shut down his pop store along the beach side suburb of Coogee has not given up a fight managing to get 7000 signatures from locals to keep his pop up store open which makes him some pocket money by selling drinks snacks sunscreen and even dog snacks to passers by. It was claimed that complaints were received from local residents.
A youth has crashed a car into a house destroying it and leaving a mother and child trapped in the car as he ran from the crash site in the suburbs of Logan. He was arrested by police after being tassered , bitten by a police dog and handcuffed taken to hospital. the people in the house and the women and child in the car are all ok.
The new British PM has warned King Charles to keep away from the Climate Summit which he wanted to address as it is a issue close to his heart eat before it became a public concern. King Charles has admitted that since becoming king he would not be able to get involved as much in his charities close to his heart as he could previously.
Hawthorn Hawks is being probed by work safe over racism claims and how they deal with the treatment of indigenous members. This is a separate investigation to the AFL's as it finalizes it's team together for it's racism investigations of the club.
Princess Beatrice's property development husband Edo Mozzi has his eye in a new luxury apartment block to be built on Main Beach. The couple are expected to retain one of the apartments which means local Gold Coast residents could be mixing it with royalty.
Victorian government will increase hospital security if they win next months election.
The Australian government is making plans to bring 20 women snd children to Australia from a detention centre in Syria who will be constantly monitored when they arrive.
Tuesday 4th October 2022
Work From Home ( 9.30 am - 5.30 pm no break)
What a beautiful day today so clear and sunny however we have been warned that the weather is about to turn ugly so make the most of it today and possibly tomorrow before the storms hit again. Warnings are for an 8 day storm period.
By lunch time today it becomes overcast again but still dry. Temperature wise it was meant to be in high teens today but it became cold at times and I have my heater on again.
I had purchased 2 more limited edition chocolate bars the other day and today decided to open them up and take a small bite out of each of them. So what did I think of each of them?
I am always so exhausted after finishing work at 5 or 5.30 pm. I just have something to eat if I can be bothered watch the news the cook up and maybe some other programs before going to bed.
Dinner was a plate with seaweed crackers, small chunks of tasty cheese rocket mini roma tomatoes a small pickle dried figs and cucumber slices . Another I can't be bothered cooking night.
News headlines today include
Another shooting which was fatal outside a public school South West of Brisbane. He died whilst the shooter fled affecting the first day back at school and school drop offs.
A man has died in a house fire in Melbourne .
There are calls to ban E scooters as a rider on an e scooter crashes.
The victims and extent of the Optus cyber security attack have been revealed. More then 2 million customers gave been exposed.
A Cowboys player has been charged with domestic violence where he
Kim Kardashian has been fined $1.94 million for promoting cyrptocurrency on an instagram social media post failing to declare she received proceeds from it. She has been banned from promoting cyrpto currency for a number of years (3 years) . The reasoning behind the scandal is because she is not a financial planner and not giving advice but just a mouthpiece ie paid actor but because she is KK she is an influencer and people follow and listen to her as if she was giving financial advice.
The cash rate will increase to 2.85% today. By the Reserve Bank increasing interest rates again today for the 6th time in as many months and at a record high, they are trying to curb inflation however it has resulted in a continued rising cost of living and even sending Australia into a forced unnecessary recession . More interest rate increases are to come . Millions of Australians are under increased mortage stress and possibly unable to meet mortgage repayments however people are advised that high interest savings accounts should have a 3.6% interest rate therefore shop around for the best savings accounts as interest rates increase.
16 wives and 42 children of ISIS families may be rescued and bought back to Australia as the National Security meet to decide if it is safe to repratiate them or whether they are a security risk as it is unknown how rationised by ISIS they have been. Some were forced some were tricked and others married ISIS members willingly . If the decision is made to rescue them from detention camps they have been living they they will have to monitored and wear ankle brackets in the event of security threats.
King Charles and Camilla have made their first royal engagement since the Queens death with Charles in a kilt out and about in Scotland.
A star studded cast in Amsterdam stars Margot Robbie Rami Malek and Taylor Swift.
The film "Blonde" an over dramatized movie on Marilyn Monroe's life has been slammed as being cruel with events that did not even happen and is heavy on the film maker's agenda of abortion using Marilyn Monroe as as vessel. It is shocking and not about MM life at all.
David 'kochie'Koche has cf celebrated 20 years on Channel 7 Sunrise.
The AUS$ is still hovering above the $0.64 mark against the US$.
Midnight Oil played their final farewell tour.
The Estelle the largest cargo container ship has arrived in Sydney. Over 44% of imports are on this container ship which is larger then standard container ships.
The whole of NSW is forecasted for rain.
North Korea performs missile testing in Japanese territory without warning. Sirens send Japanese running to raid shelters.
More territory has been reclaimed by Ukrainian soldiers from Russia.
Wednesday 5th October 2022
Work from home ( until 7 pm)
It rained overnight and more rain and wild weather is to come. Chance of thunderstorms to come and up to 100mm expected to fall .
News headlines today include
The new Essendon Bombers CEO has controversially quit after just 30 hours in the role. It all had to do with his beliefs. He is the chairman of his church which does not believe in homosexuality and anti abortion even when a woman has been raped. These are the views of his church but it is not known whether these are also his beliefs and where these beliefs are not welcome in football. It was a choice of his church or his new position and he has chosen his church.
2 new portraits of Harry and Meghan have been released.One black and white and one in colour standing side by side holding hands.
Nick Kyrios is playing in the Japan Open with big ex po expectations on himself for bombing out of the US Open.
The reserve bank has lifted interest rates but not as much as expected by .25% taking the official cash rate to 2.6% with more increases to follow and big 4 banks wasted no time in passing these rates onto customers.
Ambulance ramping continues nationwide with QLD the worse hospital ramping rate where people in emergency are waiting 30 minutes at hospitals to be treated.
Telstra is the latest victim to experience a cyber security attack however only 30 000 past and present employee records have been put onto the same dark web as Optus and it is not Telstra's system that was hacked but a third party awards program used.
An explosion has rocked South Korea air base close to the North Korean border but it was unrelated to the recent missile testing over Japanese waters and a likely accident.
QLD NSW and Victoria are on flood watch meanwhile SA winds have caused damage to buildings with glass blown out of a city building, trees down and the city is without power.
Country singer Loretta Lynn dies aged 90 peacefully in her sleep in Tennessee.
Macca's are having a 14000 national hiring spree with 5000 jobs in NSW available. Who wants to go to hamburger university?
PM AA has been spotted at the Midnight Oil concert dancing . It is well known he is a MO fan as he worked with lead Peter Garrett in Parliament 10 years ago when he was an MP.
A gender reveal has gone wrong when a man ran onto the field of a football match only to be tackled down in the US.
It has been revealed that Brad Pitt gas been violent towards Angelina Jolie and her kids.
The search is on in Melbourne for an unregistered mystery $50 million Oz Lotto winner. To claim the winnings the winner has to come forward with the winning ticket.
Thursday 6th October 2022
Work from home ( 10 am - 3 pm? nothing much to do I did a lot yesterday)
It rained all day and overnight and this ring it is still grey and overcast with rains easing just a little this morning.
News headlines today include
100 mm is forcasted this weekend in NSW and it has been the wettest year on record. Sydney only needs 25 mm of rain to break the record in 1950s , 10 mm is forecasted today and 40 mm is forecasted over the weekend. NSW is on flood watch again.
Cate Blanchett walksthe blue carpet of her new film Tar in NY
SpaceX crew launches off. 3 astronauts (2 Americans and one Japanese ) and 1 cosmonauts (Russian) are making their way to the international space station.
Giselle Bunchen (model) and Tom Brady ( superbowl) call their marriage quits after months of devorce speculation.
Peter Dutton is asking for the ex coach to be reinstated and defends Essendon's ex coach that chose to resign after 30 hours in the job due to the region over job scandal.
Princess Kate wears yellow and visits a maternity unit in a hospital that assists with the mental health if new mothers whilst Prince William visits a football club in Staffordshire celebratingit's 10th anniversiary.
Stage 3 tax cuts to middle income earners are being discussed which would make millions of Australians worse off if dropped. Tax cuts aren't due for another few years
The movie Rust will recommence production in January after a settlement was reached between the husband of cinematographer Halyna Hutchinsand actor Alec Baldwin who accidentlyshot her to death on set. The cast and crew will remain. No financial sum has been disclosed and Halyna's husband will be the producer of the movie. Alec Baldwin is still to face criminal charges.
Friday 7th October 2022
Pouring with rain again. I did go out later in the afternoon to grab a pollo woodfire pizza from Chatswood Mall Markets for dinner and do grocery shopping at Aldi Coles and Woolworths Metro via a stop at Chemist Warehouse to get another bottle of Aveeno body wash and some more vitamin e cream.
Commuters were getting annoyed as the station was closed yet again. Both the metro line and northern train lines were closed due to track work again with almost no notice given and will remain closed until further notice. I always said that there seems to be track work on the metro and or northern lines every few weeks and I'm not wrong. There are rail replacement buses. This was not due to the flooding of tracks we have been having where trains from central were unable to run or diverted to run on an altered route either.
It was a wait until the next bus home tonight. Could not wait I had to eat my pollo woodfire pizza whilst it was hot.
Home on a wet Friday night I missed the cookup but watching The Living Room and the encore episode of HYBPA. A bit of YouTube a bit of catch up blogging and a bit of the food channel ( so many interesting shows ) and sleep. Still itchy all night. I want the rain to end!!!!
News headlines today include
William and Kate are out and about again challenging each other in a cocktail making contest.
Elton John Harry and other high profile people have taken legal action against The Daily Mail for using dirty tactics to gain personal information from them - tactics previously used such as phone tapping impersonating etc
A 19 year old has been arrested for obtaining contact information leaked from the Optus cyber security attack and sending out scam text messages out to 93 victims extorting them to pay $2000 each or he will release all their personal details for use in criminal activity. None of the victims have fallen for the scam and if the 19 year old is charged he could face a decade in jail.
Sydney has a new record for wettest year since 1958 and the worst is still to come. The East coast of Australia is on flood watch. Particularly Western Sydney suburbs such as those asurrounding the Neapean River Georges River Hawksbury River and Western regions of NSW as well as Victoria. All is dry at the moment but tomorrow is forecasted as danger day. Sand bagging and evacuation preparations have commenced. In Victoria there is the threat of thunderstorm asthma again due to high pollen counts.
Class action against government for age discrimination for the NDIS scheme which has an age limit of 65 may be one of the largest . Claims are everyone should be eligible for the NDIS not just limited to the under 65s leaving over 65s with disabilities in the dark.
An ex police officer has opened fired on a childcare centre in Thailand killing 37. 22 of them children. The ex police was terminated from their job last year due to drug usage. After opening fire he killed his child wife and himself.
A marijuana plantation in Bundaber has been discovered and raided by police . It was a $235 million operation where 14 people were charged.
Adelaide is now home to Australia first space weather centre.
The opposition wants the government to keep current tax cuts. The stage 3 tax cuts have been very contraversal . Should the government merge tax brackets ? Problem is the government literally can't afford to having a multi trillion dollar debt with a 14% interest rate on it's debt repayment. Costs are increasing in areas such as aged care, healthcare NDIS defence etc.The treasuer's first budget will be a grim one - inflation rising interest rates rising costs of living low increases in wages mortgage stress Medicare increasing rents etc etc.
A surfer was saved from a shark by a pilot in a helicopter before crashing. Both survived.
The Britney Higgins rape trial is in the headlines again.
Sunday 8th October 2022
Ah I see some sun today! How long will this last? Not long by the afternoon when I ventured out ............🌤⛅🌥☁️🌧🌂☂️☔💧💧💧💧💧..............
It's quite a wait for a bus to Chatswood. I can't decide should I take the bus to Chatswood and get on a rail replacement bus from there or do I cross the road and wait for a bus to St Leonard's Station and get a rail replacement bus from there into the city? Either way I will have to wait. I decide to take a bus to Chatswood as from past experience there were not as many rail replacement buses from St Leonards Station. On weekdays yes but on weekends good luck if you need to get to/from Milsons Point North Sydney Wollstoncraft Waverton Artarmon St Leonards Killara Roseville or any of the stations that are not major train/bus hubs. On my way home on the train replacement bus people that were going to Killara or Roseville were not dropped off at the station but on the main highway or wait for the next rail replacement bus that did stop off at these stations.
It's pouring with rain again today but I am determined to attend this one day event. The Arts Precinct Open Day where SDC & STC on wharf 4/5 and other performing arts organizations on wharf 2/3 were open to the public today with free or ticketed performances workshops classes etc. I had again put my name down to do a free Sydney Dance Company Contemporary in studio taster class at 3.15 pm the last class of the day but was on the wait list for it. I had dressed to attend the class but wasn't sure if I would even get into the class or the free performance that also booked to see and which I was also on the wait list for. There was also track work on the metro line and Northern rail lines again today so it took me FOREVER to get into the city. Instead of waiting for the rail replacement bus I walked over to the other side of Chatswood interchange and took the first bus into the city. It was a 115 and took the scenic route not the express route I thought it took and it stopped off at Bridge St not Wynyard so I had to walk even further through Circular Qyay to The Rocks and down the set of stairs to Wharf 4/5 .Upon arrival I decided not to go to the SDC but asked about the behind the scenes tour of the STC and as I headed up the stairs made it for the 2.30 pm hourly tour which has just started and had attracted quite a group of people. This was my very first visit to the STC. I had not even visited it before the wharf's refurbishments. The tour lasted around 45 minutes - 1 hour and took you through the rehearsal rooms, the workshop and a display of theatrical costumes and props. It was a great tour of the STC. I ended up missing the STC dance class as it was past 3.15 pm when the tour of STC finished up. It was then a self guided tour of the rest of STC upstairs balcony and a look at the rather spacious bar at the end of the STC with stunning views of Sydney Harbour. Instead of walking in the rain back to Circular Quay, I made it on a waiting bus back towards Town Hall. I got off at Wynyard and walked to the other side in the catching express rail replacement bus - coach actually - the shortest coach trip I've ever taken between Wynyard and Chatswood stations. (refer my 2 videos uploaded onto my YouTube Channel).
Arriving in Chatswood it is still pouring with rain. I still had somegrocery shopping to do. The usual stops Aldi followed by Coles including picking up a free single tube of yoghart ( I had a choice at this Coles locale if mango vanilla or plain- I chose vanilla as I already had a pain and mango yoghart at home).
Finally a shop at Woolworth Metro before making my way to the bus stop tocatch the next bus home. On my way between Westfield and Woolworths I usually rake the up escalator near the Priceline which is always out of order. Today it was not however the shortcut to Woolworths which is a lane way along the former Australia Post building was closed off completely and guarded by 2 police officers not because of the construction work which has been going on in the lane for weeks now and where half of the lane has been barricaded off but because it was still pouring with rain and a huge water jet was shooting water upwards up the side of the Woolworths building due to a burst water main. This continued to spray a large continuous pressurised jet of water like a hose connected to a fire hydrant for hours today only finally being repaired and the water shuting off after 5.30 pm today. ( photo below)
News headlines today include
Next Eurovision songcontest will be hosted by Liverpool ( UK not Australia) as the winning country Ukraine is unable to host it due to current circumstances.
Vaccine mandates are about to end however the Victorian government is pushing to have it extended where it will be left to private organisations to individually decide whether they want to implement a no jab no work policy however vaccine mandates will remain for health care and aged care industries.
A 62 woman has died whilst sleeping in a house that was destroyed when a car smashed into it in St Marys in Western Sydney. The woman in the car ran from the crash site and it was alledged there was a baby in the car as well. Both taken to hospital where the uninjured woman was questioned and underwent mandatory testing.
Victoria was flooded overnight after heavy rainfall particularly in the Frankston area. Areas were waist deep in water and cars inundated with drivers needing rescuing. Sydney's second deluge of 60 mm is forcasted for today. A private dam has flooded in Victoria flooding the roads. The dam is being worked on to prevent it from collapsing.
The AUS$ has dropped slightly and is still hovering just above the $0.64 against the US$.
Yesterday it was the practice session for the Bathurst 1000 which was a pool of slush. Today is the qualifiers " the shootouts" which is in much drier territory before the race tomorrow.
Joe Biden has mentioned something no other president of the US has done in 60 years and that is mention the words nuclear armageddon.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's domestics on a flight are headlines where Pitt was accused if hitting and strangling . The events has come to light after Jolie decided to sell her share of the vineyard they co own together. She sold her share of the vineyard publically instead of the arrangement where if they divorced either one of them would sell their share to the other and not publically to a third party.
Olivier Newton John's husband has pledged $300 000 to Olivier Wellness Centre. Her walk for wellness event is on tomorrow in Melbourne.
Sony has developed an advanced sniffing machine to detect Alzheimers.
Sunday 9th october 2022
No rain today but I didn't do much after yesterday. I haven't even done my laundry.
I finally did my laundry and whilst I was doing it met the guy in apartment # 7 who was waiting for me to finish my laundry. Unfortunately I could only use one machine fixed on the longer cycle and had 2 loads of laundry to do ( whites and coloured) so had to do one at a time and dry one at a time. Usually I do 2 loads one in each machine and dry both atthe same time. What can i do? Some had clogged up the fabric softener compartment again with laundry powder over filling it. It will take me forever to scoop and crleanit out again so I left it for someone else to use that didn't mind laundry powder in their final rinse cycle.
So I asked the guy in the unit next to mine if he hadthepolice knocking at his door and if he was interviewed. He was and told me that the assault was next door and at happened at 1.30 am in the morning. I thought the policesaid 10.30 pm. Apparently the motel next door is where they house all the people that have been re lo eased from jail as there are always police cars around that he sees however one building of the motel is a motel the other 2 buildings is where the ex jail mates are housed. He also told me how the police were still around today and how there are some really strange people living in this building and to keep away from the guy in unit 1A or is it now 1B ( there was a mistake made on the new mail box block and a piece of paper with a hand written 1B on it stuck over the incorrect mail box number) - the unit with the ramp out to the carpark that the man who passed away was living in previously , as this guy had followed my neighbour all the way to the bus stop. My responses to him were yep there are some wierd people living in this building tellinghim about the guy that used to live downstairs and how there were people cleaning out room # 2 downstairs today ( who I thought were police and had something to do with the assault), and how i am too scared to do my laundry late at night and why anyone would hear orsee anything at 10 30 pm at night everyone is asleep by then and everyone has their blinds down most of the time. I told him about why I put the bins out to the right of the car oarkand how the nail box block was knockedover twice by car accidents, and about how unit 1A is jinxed and the story of the guy that lived there and the freak accident that led to his passing. He alsowarned me about how he really wanted unit # 9 that the blonde girl lives in but to avoid her aswell as shr seemed a bit skittish when he said hello to her. We also talked about howwe don't use the kitchenwhich is a little disgusting and the building inspection that is coming up on Tuesday where the owner is refinancingbut not selling up ( so the notice advises). We also discussed the rent. They lowered the rent and my neighbour is paying less then I am paying . I am ok with what I am paying as rent has not increased for 3 years so far.
News headlines today include
Mclaren racing driver Daniel Ricardo whose contract was cut short and expires soon has announced that he will not be racing next year but returning in 2024 waying up his options such as Indie car racing in the US.
Rental price increases are due to the demand outstripping supply in capital cities due party to the return of overseas students and workers.
The AUS$ has hit an all time low dropping to $0.63 against the US$ however not bad against the Euro and the UK pound. This makes imports expensive but cheaper exports , it makes holidays to the US$ expensive but holidays to Europe value for money.
Holden celebrates 5 years since the last Australian made product was rolled off the production line. After the closure of the car manufacturer - one third found alternative work one third retired snd the third is still struggling.
It is 20 years on from the Bali bombings.
It has been 10 years since former first female PM Julia Gillard made her maiden "Misogyny" speech in Parliament .
Residents have been told to evacuate Western Plains Tourist Park in Dubbo as the region becomes flooded. Other Western NSW regions are on continued flood watch.
Kenneth Brenner plays UK PM Boris Johnson in a documentary of the PM.
A massive explosion on the Crimea Bridge which is the key link to Russia killing 3 people and setting a the railway part where oil tankers caught on fire has been reopened. The victims were in a nearbycar when the lorry blew up. Part of the bridge's roadway was destroyed.
North Korea's ballistic missile testing has alarmed it's neighboring countries Japan & South Korea fearing they may be esculated.
The debate over risks and anational security threats continue over whether the Australian government should bring back radicalised women and children from refugee camps who are involved with ISIS.
The Bathurst 1000 will go ahead today on Mt Panorama after yesterday's downpour when it became too dangerous to continue the top 10 shoot out and the event cancelled.
The Olivia Newton John's 5 km Wellness Walk is on today.
Stage 3 tax cut debates continue. At this stage it looks like a watch and wait.
Australia Post suspends all sea mail coming into Australia from 1st October 22 due to the increased numbers of prohibited items coming into Australia.
In retirement winning horse Winx has had a foal.
Monday
Work from home 9.30 am - 5.30 pm (no break)
I'm really not happy with my current temporary casual work contract. Sometimes I feel like ending it now instead of mid November. I was suppose to have a training session via Zoom today but they cancelled it and did not let me know so my reminder on outlook kept popping up and kept having to dismiss it. They hired a new person and were training them or planning to tomorrow depending on who you asked to basically do the job I am currently doing. Apparently my productivity dropped. This morning continued doing what I was doing - no one had called or emailed me not to continue to do what I was doing. I have to ring them whenever I have queries. When I rang they did not call me so that was half aday worth of work that I had done which I didnot need to do for someone else before being told to do something else. I worked my butt off last Wednesday to try and finish what i was suppose to do even cc them on the dozen or more of frustrations i had to wait on responses to. Now i am at a loss of what Iwant to do
My Centrelink payment have been discontinued because back in September Iwas notified that I didn't report my earningsfrom my new job when i had and continued to even not being able to access the mygov website I found a way to at least report my fortnightly income.
My income protection has been discontinued and i have lodged a complaint on several occasions to HCF of misallocation of payments and arguements of my original policy based on wage amount coverage not age. Since 2009 Ihave always paid my monthly premiums and gave not made any claims yet they claim I owe approx $150 and can't continue my policy unless I paid the amount in arrears.
I amnot going back to Myer warringah because I neverheard back about my transfer to the chatswood store to work in the online department.
So now I am unsure what to do. I don't want tor work in accounts snd I don't want to work in retail. Being good at what you do does not mean you enjoy doing it.
News headlines today include
QLD amasses $500 a minute in road fines fom incidences such as illegal mobile phone usage whilst driving .
Putlin accuses Ukraine for the explosion on the Crimea Bridge. The question remains is the Ukraine winning the war against Russia,?
Novak Djokovic has expressed his interest in returning to the Australian Open in Melbourne after his vaccine scandal.
The last Holden Commodore wins the Bathurst 1000.
Verstappen wins the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix but only after finding out the driver in front off him received a 5 minute penalty for going off the track.
Prince Charles wants a trimmed down budget Coronation. With the rising costs of living a "cut price coronation" has a ring to it
To ease the healthcare crisis, the government is planning to slash red tape to allow highly skilled foreign doctors to practice in Australia. Current period of wait time for foreign doctors to come to Australia to practice medicine is a year.
Victoria has proposed a cut to public transport costs to a $2 a day transport fare with free transport for nurses.
An evacuation warning and order has been issued in the Hawksbury Napean region as rivers are still rising even though the rain has stopped. The worst is yet to come .
2 people from the Extinction Rebellion have super glued themselves to a Picasso painting on the last day of the exhibition at the Melbourne NGV. They were arrested by police but not charged. The intention was not to damage the painting which fortunately remained undamaged.
Sydney's Fox Studios has been renamed Disney Studio Australia and hopes create jobs and inject money into the Australian economy.
An Australian man with memory loss is missing overseas in the US. He visited a hospital and an Uber was booked for him but staff do not know if he actually got into the Uber.
A man holidaying in Canada has died in a rock climbing accident. He died in the arms of his partner.
Tuesday
Still grey outside but not raining
It's building inspection day today at 9.30 am
News headlines today include
Melbourne Airport in Chaos due to a security breach as passengers told to evacuate as one passenger slipped through security without being screened ( not the first time this has happened). everyone has to be rescreened.
Russia invades ukraine as bombs hit Kyiv. A bomb goes off in the background as a news journalist reports on air.
A light planehas made an emergency landing with passenger escaping without injury
Harvey Weinstein back in court as victims come forward
Harry comments on hiwhis 2 children Archieand Lilibet are gowing up fast.
Power bills around Austrslians are set to soar by 35% next year as 2 energy companies close their coal power plants in favour of transitioning to renewable energy sources which don't exist yet.
Novak Djokovic 's return to the Australian Open next year has opened a can of worms as there arenolonger any vaccine mandates he is eligible to travel to Australia howeverthecancellation ofhis visa means a 3 year ban on entering Australia. If he is allowed entry into Australia next year this will open up a debate to allow other unvaccinated visitors that also had their visas cancelled and their 3 year ban from entering Australia allowed to enter.
Weather warnings of more rain, flooding and an early cyclone season warnings are in place around Australua's East Coast. A very wet Spring Summer season is forecasted as a second.
Michael J Fox hasreunited with Christopher Lloyd at Comic Con.
Wednesday
It's a grey day again today after a few days of clear blue skies and sunshine. Rain iscoming again.
News headlines today include
Victoria is about to get a drenching and is on flood watch. Preparations are underway including sand bagging and a request to the defence force for assistance if required.
Today marks the 20 year anniversary of the Bali bombings where 88 Australisns out of 202 people were killed. The memorial service in Bali will be heavily guarded by police and a memorial service will be held in Australia where in Coogee a memorial service will be held forthe members of the Dolphins will be remembered.
Actress and Tony award winning Angela Lansbury who was famous for her character Jessica in Murder She Wrote has died at 96 days away from her 97 birthday.
The AUS$ has fallen again snd now below the $0.63 mark to just above $0.62 against the US$
Australia's first Islamic bank is granted a licence to operate as a financial institution with thousands of Islamic and even non islamic customers on a waitlist. The point of difference of this bank is that an islamic law prevents interest being charged on home loans therefore operateson a rent to own principal.
Thursday
Still a grey overcast day today. the day becomes quite windy but remains dry.
There is nothing for me to do at work today so I only worked from 9.30 am - 2 noon.
News headlines today include
Victoria is under flood watch with heavy rain 30 - 50 mm falling forecasted. Frankston and Rochester are 2 of the regions to watch with sand bagging to prepare . The Yarra River is also on watch in Melbourne.
The state government has stepped in and errected 3.5 m high fences around the main highway on the Gold Coast where there is a huge nest of Ibis ( bin chickens) to disrupt their flight paths causing damage to drivers and protect the birds from being injured or killed. The Ibis are a protected species therefore they cannot be eraticated or moved on.
A punch up on board a jetstar flight between Melbourne and Brisbane between 2 menhas rrerresulted in the flight turning back to Melbourne due to a zero tolerance by cabin staff. No charges have been made.
Hundreds of Qantas domestic cabin crew threaten to go on strike in November due to increase in shift hours from just under 10 hours to up to 14 hour shifts. Negotiations are in progess.
10 people have been ejected from the Commonwealth AGM for breaking into song in a protest against the bank not doing enough about climate change.
Victoria has lifted the COVID isolation rules, vaccination mandates except in the healthcare and mask mandates as the pandemic declaration ended at midnight. NSW joins Victoria in scraping the reporting of positive COVID RAT tests as pandemic measures end.
Friday 14th October 2022
Day off
It was a wet and windy night. It is still quite windy this morning but therain has stopped leaving it grey and overcast. The sun did try hard to make an appearance but to no avail.
I did venture outto Chatswood in the afternoon after lunch to do some essential grocery shopping but forgot a few things. I also purchased a new black backpack from Kmart which is a little different to a normal backpack which opens up like a suitcase. Great for overnight stays or the dreaded jetstar carry on only budget flights.
Am I going somewhere this weekend you may asking? It's one of those weekends where very last minute plans are made. I felt with all the rain and work stress I just had to try and get out of Sydney.
Problem was getting an early transfer - trains fully booked so first available express bus to leave tomorrow from Sydney to my destination was 11 am - all earlier buses were fully booked as I was trying to book online. The alternative Greyhound bus was a little too restricted with a once a night service only arriving at my chosen destination too late at night.
More details if and when I arrive safely at my destination tomorrow afternoon.
Another letter written and posted off to Centrelink. Cancelled JobSeeker payments still not reinstated. Claims of non reporting of fortnightly income back in early September caused the cancellation when I actually had reported my fortnightly income. Receipt numbers provided to Centrelink in my letter.
Usual tv shows watched The Cook Up and The Living Room.
News headlines today include
The king and queen consort were out and about again whilst Kate tried her hand at bocce ( hand bowls) and William at boxing promoting a sports scholarship program.
Medibank Private and AHM were hit with a cyber attack yesterday ( I recently joined AHM and am a Medibank private shareholder). They claim that the cyber attack has not managed to penetrate personal details of members and have shut down online services temporarily.
The Versace Hotel on the Gold Coast is up for sale again for $114 million after the buyer pulled out on the first sale.
Flooding along the Maribrynong River in Victoria just 15 minutes from Melbournes CBD has occurred. Other regional areas in Victoria are also affected as well Tasmania.
The Spice Girls have celebrated 25 years since the original Spice Up Your Life song was released by digitally remastering the song and adding original never seen before footage to it.
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th October 2022
It was nice and warm in Sydney today but last night I booked an overnight trip to Canberra to see Floriade at Commonwealth Park.
This trip has really pissed me off .
Firstly when I was booking my coach from Sydney to Canberra for either 8 am 9am 10 am, it came up as no seat for the 8am departure from Pitt Street which was fine so I tried to book a seat for the 9 am departure which had seats but came up with no seats as I was about to book. Ok so I tried to book the 10 am departure and there were seats but again came up with no seats as I was about to book. The 10am departure would have been ideal as it would have got me to Canberra at 1.30 pm and I could have returned on the 6 pm bus back to Sydney same day. So I booked the next available bus the 11 am for a one way ticket only which meant that I would not arrive in Canberra until 2.30 pm. Because I would only have a maximum of a few hours to spend at Floriade I decided to book a bed in an 8 female dorm at The Village ( will comeback and write about this later).
Arriving at Pitt St almost 3/4 of an hour early there was already a queue of people checking in with their QR codes and there were 2 buses heading down to Canberra at 11 am not just 1 bus. I was in seat 5B on the second bus which was half empty yet I had someone seated next to me. Everyone was told to put their backpacks below and not bring then onto the bus. Why? The bus was not full and backpacks can easily fit under seats or in overhead lockers. I had to argue my way to bring my only backpack on board with me which contained all my valuables medication chargers etc. I am not leaving my backpack unattended and out of my sight in the unsecure luggage compartment below as the bus stops to pick up at other stops and the door to the luggage compartments remain open for long periods of time. The bus driver was just horrible.
There were 2 buses and after I booked , I was a little angry discovering that there were seats still available for all services before the 11 am service I was on for a few more dollars then what I paid. Even the lady I sat next to in 5A ( window) was a bit annoyed that the bus was not full yet we had to sit next to each other and also about the seat availablity online situation I mentioned.
On time arrival at Jolimont Coach Terminal at 2.30pm. I try to save some time by not walking the 25 minutes to get to Floriade but catch an awaiting taxi ( I usually try to avoid catching a taxi and do not recommend it) . The taxi driver charged me straight out $20 and I knew I had been ripped off as soon as I got in and he drove off. He claimed the roads were closed off due to Floriade and he dumped me in the middle of nowhere and gave me directions to walk to Floriade which was another 10 - 15 minutes away across a bridge and main road to cross with caution. I arrived at Floriade at 3 pm no earlier then if I had walked there. I made the taxi driver give me a receipt. He was also horrible.
It was a beautiful day to be at the final weekend of Floriade. Besides the amazing floral displays there was live entertainment on the main stage and smaller stages - singing dancing drumming and digeridoo playing were just a few of the live entertainment performances.
Other activities included a scavenger hunt ( no maps left by Saturday but the Canadian flag was given out and I was given a mask with Manitoba on it) gnome painting ( for a fee and sold out by Saturday) and food/drink with quite a few food trucks around ( smaller food vendors mostly sold out of food by Saturday afternoon) - there is usually a beer garden and wine garden at Floriade as well. The ferris wheel, train ride, mini blowup slide and teacup ride were all back at Floriade this year. Donuts - yes there has to be a donut stall and plenty of Streets ice cream vendors were dotted around Floriade.
I took heaps of photos and videos. It was 5.15pm when I left Floriade - the event closes at 5.30 pm and an announcement was made yet there were still thousands of people either queuing up to get on the train or ferris wheel still eating or just wondering around not making any attempt to make their way to one of the exit points. I could have still made it back to Jolimont Centre for the very last bus departing at 6pm back to Sydney if there were still seats available. There were but not taking any risks it was an option in case my accomodation fell through I still had time to go back to Sydney the same evening.
I only booked a one way ticket Sydney to Canberra as I did not think 2.5 hours at Floriade would be enough time to see everything and have something to eat. So I booked one of the last 2 beds at The Village in a 8 female dorm for Saturday night through booking.com as there is no other way of booking directly except by ringing to see if there is availability.
Let's now write about my overnight accommodation at The Village. I received 12 emails for my 1 night stay. I think 4 of which were for goki. This was the former YHA where I used to stay whenever I needed to travel to Canberra. When I arrived the YHA sign had long been removed from the outside of the building but not replaced - so visitors good luck with finding it . In the kitchen though one wall still has a glimpse of the property as the former YHA. What?! Can't the new owners afford a new The Village sign or to repaint the wall? Nothing seems to have been upgraded the property looks as if it has been stripped and used as is. It looks more run down then I remember when it was a YHA but it functions. the communial fridges smelt really bad as if it had never been cleaned out. The lift made funny noises which would really freak me out when stopped. Every door had a code to get into - one for the front door one for the bathroom one for your room and I forget what the other pin numbers were for. Upon checking in there was just one receptionist. I was asked if I had or wanted to download the goki app or if I wanted to key in the security codes manually. I did not want to download another app just for a one night stay. The receptionist wrote down all the security codes for me on a tiny piece of paper on both sides. The other thing I noticed was there were signs everywhere warning "Villagers" that cctv is watching you in the kitchen where it requested guests to clean up after themself or be fined , the common areas even the bathrooms where there was a sign on the female bathroom door requesting if you feel sick ie vomit to use the toilet or be fined ( this is a bit rough the sign was right next to the security lock keypad and remembering your phone or security code or the goki app to access the bathroom is the last thing on your mind when you are feeling sick or about to upchuck!).
I make my way up to my room on the 1st floor 108 an 8 female dorm. The are 2 beds left as per bookings.com. After punching in the rather long security code I select one of the 2 top bunks which was closest to the door. I start making up the top bunk only to find no sheet and a rather dirty with what looked like blood stained matresss protector. It looked as if l will have to go downstairs and tell the receptionist. No need she was just outside and I told her about it. She had a look at the other spare to bunk telling me to take that bed. I was making the top bunk but found out the person sleeping below was trying to sleep as she was really feeling sick. Oh great now I'm going to get sick! I hope it's not COVID.
After making up my bunk ( weird how they turn the pillow cases and doona covers inside out - maybe a code for the housekeepers to indicate that they have done their job or to make it easier to put the pillow case and doona cover on ( not!)) I needed to find something to eat for dinner and breakfast so took walk to the Aldi and Coles which I knew was somewhere at the very far end of Canberra Centre. It was getting dark so I hoped I didn't get lost. By the time I found the Aldi they were about to close so I only managed to get a bottle of sparkling water before going to Coles which closed later. I purchased grain wraps, a juice, a quarter of roast chicken which was on special , a small packet of slaw, 2 slices of swiss cheese and a packet of single serve hummus. I had a few bits and pieces of food i bought with me from Sydney as well, in case I was unable to find anything to eat. I walk back to the village and make myself some wraps for dinner and for breakfast. I did not use any cutlery or crockery from the kitchen - yuk and just used what I had bought from Sydney with me. I survived quite well. No wasted stuff I did not eat - I took it back to Sydney with me. The only thing I used from the kitchen was the hot water urn to fill my thermos up for my tea the next morning.
Back up to my bed I did not get much sleep at all as everyone in the dorm did not go to sleep until at least la 10.30 pm and I slept with a mask on the entire time.
Floriade photos below & I have uploaded some videos ( not all Floriade ) onto my YouTube channel which has been stuck since yesterday uploading my 25 min video of Canberra's one and only 2019 light rail. Can anyone spot the difference between the photos taken with my old phone camera and new phone camera?
I was just starting my visit to Floriade when I saw these visitors all looking up at a number of trees. Some pointing then I looked up at the trees - and saw that possible origin of COVID. "bats" I heard someone say and not just a few hanging high upside down - a large cluster of them and someone mentioning that they had never seen so many at one time.
After repacking my backpack, having a shower ( beware the timed lights in the bathroom - don't be caught with your pants down in the dark on the toilet or naked covered in soap in the shower in the dark!) and then some breakfast whilst recharging my phones , booking my return seat online on the Murrays bus back to Sydney for 3 pm ( no seats available again for services after 12 noon for 1pm and 2 pm ) and checking out of The Village at around 10 am on Sunday morning it was time to head off to explore Canberra on the capital city's one and only lighrail but not before finding and stopping at a Maccas for a sausage and egg with no plastic cheese muffin which took forever as there was only 2 staff on and the contactless order machine did not spit out an order receipt for my order - I had to get something hot as I had a cold breakfast and it was a very cold morning and I was still hungry - I only had my thermos filled with hot water with me. The light rail that opened in April 2019 - pre COVID. I had bought with me my old TC card which is not that old and had enough funds on it to take a ride on light rail - so I thought. I tapped my card on the reader at Alinga St and it kept coming up with an error. I wantedtcheck the balance on it and asked someone where i couldrecharge my TC card. they had idea as they were not local. I found a convenience store near by that had a recharge TC card sign on it's door that was open. I had the TC card checked and not only could I not find out the balance on card, I found out the card was expired. Because could not transfer any balance on my old TC card to a new one , I had to purchase a new TC card for $5 and put another $5 onto it. My TC card had expired in 2020. Where does it say that TC cards have an expiry date? In NSW the Opal card is free with no expiry date and balances can be transferred to a new card by request to Opal. In Victoria it is $6 for a card and they do have aexpiry date but the balance on an expired Myki cardcan be transferred overto a new one although the old expired card has to be surrendered.
One way on the Canberra Metro is 14 stops and takes about 30 minutes with several driver changes - yes driver changes. I always called it the tram that doesn't go very far - just 12 km of track. This light rail opened in early 2019 pre COVID and I have wanted to go on it for ages. This morning I had the chance to and videoed the entire one way journey from the city. When I reached the end of the line Gungarhlin Place I thought I would just cross to the other platform and get on the next light rail straight back to Alinga Street but I ended up exploring the shopping precinct upon arrival there. Aldi Coles Big W Kmart Woolworths Best & Less at least 2 Priceline's Chemist Warehouse Nextra etc it was all there but no Target as far as I could see. Grilled GyG Subway Nenes Chicken ( I was surprised this was here) and possibly a KFC and McDonalds although I could not find them possibly hidden in one of the many shopping malls . There were so many places to eat ice creameries cafes restaurants patisseries coffee shops etc so much choice and Asian cafes galore. I found my favorites Dobinsons where I purchased a spinach quiche which I scoffed down and a rather heavy toasted almond croissant overfilled with rich vanilla custard which I saved for my long bus trip back to Sydney at 3 pm to have with my nice hot thermos of chai tea. Across from Dobinsons was Yiayia's Bakery full of displays of filled donuts cookies and biscuits baklava etc . A quick stop at Priceline where I purchased a new cosmetic bag to replace my badly ripped one before heading on the next light rail back to Alinga Street with an hour to spare before boarding the Murray's bus be at 3 pm back to Sydney.
Back on the light rail to Alinga St around 1.30 pm. Arriving just before 2 pm. I had checked see if there were any available seats for the 2 pm bus and there were not so I kept my 3 pm reservation however I found out I had a loyalty membership with Murrays from a search on calendar and went to the bookings counter to see if I could add my 2 one way trips Sydney/Canberra. Done.
About an hour until boarding time at 3 pm spent the time transferring all my toiletries from my rippedcosmetics bag to aflorcosmeticsbag ihadhbimeafloe
News headlines today include :
The Wivenhoe Dam in QLD will be open to release 116 000 mega litres of water in preparation for summer.
Floods continue in Victoria Tasmania & parts of NSW.
6 more weeks of parental leave to be announced which was flagged at thejobs summit - 27 weeks to be shared between new parents.
The new UK PM is in line of fire after she sacked her chanellor.
Freddie Murcury's voice returns after almost 31 years since he died as lost lyrics havbeen found.
Actor Robbie Coltrane dies in hospital. Famous for his roles in Harry Potter and James Bond.
A man and wallaby have been very lucky in a hit & miss driving incident on a race track.
Woolworths has had a data breach with their my deal app. Messages havebeensent tothose affected ( again I got a message in regards to the cyber attack).
The Everest Cup is on.
Bruno Mars is performing in Sydney. his first concert was last night and his second tonight.
Monday 17th October 2022
I am so tired from my weekend get away and it's past 8 am. It rained throughout the night again. the swish of mvs outside is loud.
By noon the rain has stopped.
News headlines today include
The floods in Tasmania NSW and Victoria continue as Shepperton and Echuca ( with2 rivers, waters are expecting to peak upto 96.2 m) in Victoria are flooded. The clean up has started Maribrynong Victoria.
Star Casino in Sydney will be fined $100 million for alleged organised crime and money laundry. The new CEO just started today but already ha has had togetout the cheque book to pay this fine.
Doctors are making mistakes costing the medicare system. Some doctors deliberately making mistakes.
Ghislaine Maxwell feels bad for her dear friend Prince Andrew and says the photo of him with Virginia Guiffre is fake
After a 2 year absence due to COVID children's photos with Santa are back.
Tuesday
A tradie has arrived in Bondi to a hero's welcome yesterday after running from Perth to Sydney.
More rain and more floods in Victoria. 85% of Rochester is flooded, there is extensive sand bagging in Echuca and parts of Shepperton are cut off.The flood has moved to South Australia and all eyes are now on the Murray River.A warning to Australians the the cost of living may rise as a result of the floods with the cost of milk fruit and veg increasing as livestock and crops are destroyed.
Free train travel from Thursday this week between 3 pm and 7 pm as Opal cardreaders are turned off as part of the rail workers continued industrial action.
Airport fire and rescue crews threaten to go on strike over a pay rise ( they want a 3% increase plus super) causing airport chaos (again). Qantas cabin crew have also threatened strike action over a pay increase. Ifthe strike goes aheadit will impact Sydney Melbourne and Brisbane airports.
Rapper Kanye West strikes a deal to buy right winged social media network Parler.
A QLD mother has claimed that she has been sacked from her job at Catercare at Rockhampton Airport after receiving news her toddler had died. She was told there were no shifts availab lo efor her and toseek alternative employment and is unable to get a reference as she breached security protocol by running with her phone through security.
A 95 year old driver is being questioned over he hit a mother and her children in QLD at a shopping centre..
The AUS$ is $0.629 againstthe US$.
The Proclaimers are coming to Australia ontheir world tour.
Garbage inspectors will be going around taking photos of what Gold Coast residents throw away intheir rubbish bins . No fines will be issued they just want to see what is bebeibebeinbebeibebeingthrown outhow much and if mixed rubbishus mixed together when thrown out.
Extinction rebellion are at it again glueing themselves to the ground in Adelaide.
Wednesday
Another nice day today where temps reached 25 degrees C in Sydney and 27 degrees c West of Sydney. Rain again tomorrow.
The Bureau of Meteorology ( BOM) is underfire for changing it's name in the middle of extreme weather conditions in Australia andwhilst Victoria NSW and Tas floods. On Tuesday they wanted to be known not as the BOM but the Bureau - Who? How do you spell that? Which Bureau? What do they do again?
James Cordon has been banned from dining at a high end restaurant in NY due to his bad behaviour being described by the owner as being rude to staff and obnoxious. He has since apologised. He is not the only celebrity who has been called out for being rude.
Flooding and sand bagging continues in Victoria and NSW. Euchuca waiting for the Murray River to burst the sand bagged bank. Entire east coast is on alert as another storm system move through. The great wall of Euchuca has been erected 3km x 3 m high. Every shop has been sand bagged. Crops have been destroyed and milk poured out. There is an evacuation order but residents are waiting and seeing.
A royal tour in 2024 to Australia has been announced however it has not been confirmed by the palace. The tour is to coincide with NSW bicentennial and it is unsure if it will bthe King & Queen Consort or the Prince & Princess of Wales
A Victorian father has died after chest pains and an ambulance did not arrive after 20 minutes. His partner was forced to drive him with their baby in the back of the car to hospital. Usually ambulances reach patients within 15 minutes.
Toyota has been accused of cheating emission tests. A classaction may result where Toyota sold thousands of customers diesel cars with emission cheating devices .
Fuel prices are beginning to soar again now that the fuel excise tax is back. Fill up now and shop around drivers are warned.
La Nina season causes severe allergies due very pollen counts. Mask & sunglasses do help but not perfect. A treatment plan such as Immunotherapy is recommended forpeople with reoccurring allergies. Thunderstorm asthma is back!
Facial recognition cameras to scan patrons in pubs and clubs to prevent problem gamblers and add them to exclusion list was trialled during COVID and planned to be implemented.
4 cars and a scooter havcrashed on NSH Rd Double Bay causing major traffic delays this afternoon.
Australia's latest tourism campaign involves an an animated unicorn and Ruby the kangaroo who escape from a souvenir shop and travel around Australia voiced by Australian actress Rose Byrne. Initially aimed towards the Japanese market hence it's cuteness plus.
Planning is already underway for Sydney Summer Festival which starts on 5th January 2023. thefestival will incluse an artifical beach in Sydney's Town Hall where thousands of litres of sand will be shipped there. Also out West there will be circus performances at Parramatta.
Angry bird have caused team members of the Womens Big Bash to duck as they are attacked during a game.
The rail union will not proceed with industrial action tomorrow by turning off Opal card readers. The government has won for now.
Thursday
COVID response reviews has been critised as being excessive with unnecessary lockdowns and leaving the government a huge debt. However early pandemic response has been praised.
Medibank Private has been held to random after their cyber security attack. Millions of members personal records are under threat of being sold to the highest bidder. Ahm members are also under threat as they are an off shoot of Medibank Private.
A wall built at Flemington Race course has been blamed for the floods at Maryirigong .
A cheeky child had King Charles in a chuckle with a question about his age and guessing he was 96 .
Parents students and teachers at East Brisbane State School are trying to save the 120 year heritage building school from being demolish to upgrade the Gabba for the Olympics.
Flooding continues as the water recedes in Shepperton and Rochester the town Euchuca and nearby towns are bracing for the worst as the waters in the 2 river system increasing rise and rain also forecasted .
Friday
It's raining again this morning.
Today I ventured out to Macquarie Shopping Centre to do a large essential grocery shop.
What no eggs again!? the entire shelves at Aldi are empty! No shallots?! The only bunches I saw were organic at Coles for $6 a bunch! I can wait wait probably much cheaper at a market stall or at a Chinese green grocer oranygreen grocer.
So much to get but i am limited what i can carry. My backpack, cloth shopping bag and wheelie bag are all jammed full.
After returning my 5 bottles for recycling, recharging my opal card, getting change for the laundry and getting more cortesone oilnment it was time to head home to eat and watch the cook up and the living room before going to sleep.
News headlines today include
No one won the division one $100 million power ball jackpot last night so the next jackpot goes upto $180 million. There were 15 division 2 winners.
Liz Truss resigns as the UK PM after just 4 days days in office. She approached the King advising him that she was not upto the job as members of parliament fractured. A bet was on as to whether a lettuce head would survive longer then the new PM - the lettuce head won. Who will be the next PM that will be the first King Charles III will see in? Will Boris Johnson return and I don't mean from his current holiday.
Wild weather continues however the threat of the Murray River rising has now been reforcasted to peak on Sunday . There areshowers all around Australia today causing a double whammy for already flooded regions
After Medibank assured customers no customer records were stolen from the cyber security attack it has been revealed that 100 customer records including physical addresses credit card details Medicare numbers and medical records have been released including the PM.
Kevin Spacey has been found not liable for alleged advance on a man where the deliberated that it did not happen. He still has 5 accounts of sexual misconduct.
A baby and 2 women have been injured and taken to hospital after a car slammed into a childcare admin office. The driver accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the break. 2 other staff members were running late for work escaping the inccident.
The Britney Higgins rape case continues as the jury could not make a gulity or innocent decision.
Luke Mangan is opening a dining venue in one of the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons in November.
Saturday
Today was a do nothing day . It didn't rain but was mainly overcast and windy. The forecasted thunderstorms did not occur but tsun did try to peep out.
Today I tried to catch up on my blog watched YouTube the food channel & the news. icooked a roast duck breast white potato & sweet potato.
I took the rubbish out to the again overfilled red bins and did my laundry which took hours.
News headlines today include
Trump is sunpeonaed by January 6 commitee over Capital riots.
Companies that don't do more to protect customer records, company information and personal data from cyber security attacks will be fined. After the Optus and Medibank cyber security attacks the government has proposed legislation to increase fines to either $50 million or 3 times the ecalueltor 30%
Flood warnings issued in NSW for low lying areas of North Moree. More rain forecasted this weekend. Flood warnings also for QLD McIntyre River. Euchuca is still waiting anxiously for the river to peak evacuation orders are still in place as there is an eerie calm and weather forecasts are updated. Residents are checking river levels daily. Flooding in East Moama expected to top 1993 level. Murray River is expected to peak tomorrow and Monday but the forecasts keeps changing causing frustration so residents keep checking water levels. As shepperton cleans up residents have been warned to look out for snakes as this is their natural habitat and they will seek refuge during the floods on drier grounds.
The debate continues as to who will be "elected" by next Tuesday.
The Japanese PM arrives in Perth today to meet with Australian PM AA for high level talks, to sign securty agreements and strengthen relationships as China increases their presence as a security threat in the Asia Pacific region.
Diwali celebrations of the lights starts today peaking on Monday ending on Wednesday.
Sculpture By The Sea official opening weekend
Energy Australia is the latest company to be hacked via the platform My account.
Sunday
Another grey day forcasted for rain today.
Today I had my hair cut. I only do it twice a year as it takes so long to grow. Even the price of a simple haircut has gone up in price. Iusually get my hair cut at Just Cuts but there was s queue so I tried another hair dresser around the corner which ihadbeentobefore and do a pretty good job although a little more expensive. there was a 20 minute wait so i went to target to look at Christmas ornamentsbefore my 2.15 pm haircut which took about 30 minutes. They did a good job bucharge a surcharge if paying card. It cost me $35.35.
Next couldn't decide where wanted to go so decided to take the train into the city. It is notthe best day to be outdoors so I will do a little window shopping.
I stopped at Town Hall at The Little Fish Shoppe for some calamari rings andto Lunburger for a seeded pesto vegetarian roll.
Next a walk to Pitt Street where joined a queue to enter the Prada Paradoxe Universe. I had no idea what it was. I just joined the queue. Oh go inside watch the ad and get a free sample of their new refillable perfume.
Onto Woolworths Town Hall grabbing whatever was available on my shopping list. Still no eggs that are unrefridgerated.
train back to chatswood it was a final shop at Woolworths metro. They have eggs that are unrefridgerated ! Then I remembered that ihad an email to pickup a free 1L carton of Zymil milk. Yes milk - I haven't purchased a carton of refrigerated milk for decades being lactose intolerant - but don't worry it's lactose free. Is Woolworths copying Coles with their free product giveaways?
Postscript Monday : I opened my free carton of milk and poured myself a small glass of it .I drank it - I had forgotten what cold milk from the fridge tasted like. It was sweet. I didn't know plain milk was sweet. It taste so different to drinking longlife non lactose milk or other milk alternatives which has been what I have been drinking for so long. I have always been able to drink yakault and drinking yoghart but never fresh milk.
Home on the bus. unpack groceries. TV . sleep Did not even bother having a shower after my hair cut.
Work again tomorrow.
News headlines today include
Residents of Morree told to evaculate. Lismore ( Northern Rivers region) faces it's 3rd flood this year and the Neapean River is under flood watch again in NSW. Meanwhile residents in Moama and Echuca are still waiting for whether their sand bagging efforts will hold the rising river levels. Heavy rain is currently lashing SE QLD moving South. A woman is missing after her car was swept away
The government has announced that more couples will be able to access parental leave which is means tested and leave length will be increased.
The Spirit of Tasmania has anew home in North Geelong after outgrowing it's home in Port Melbourne. The new base hopes to bring an increase tourism in the region.
The budget on Tuesday promises to be family friendly. Rising costs of living will be the the main focus - cheaper childcare, more paid parental leave, increased spending on aged care and NDIS and allowing the grey army to work more without affecting their pensions. Inflation and interest rates, increase in energy costs, flood support, multinational tax reform etc are just some of the issues that will be discussed and will affect the results of the first budget under the new treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Italy's first female PM has been sworn in.
Who will be the next British PM. Boris Johnson is back from a family vacation and claims he has the backing of 100 MPs however the favourite is Rishi Sunak or could it be Penny Mordaunt?
Australian Womens Netball The Diamonds has lost a $15 million dollar sponsorship deal when mining magnate Gina Rhinehart pulled out after an indigenous netball team member refused to wear the uniform over a comment made about not wanting to add to netball's disunity problem by Hancock.
Monday
It rained overnight and will continue to rain today.
News headlines today include
The budget tomorrow night maybe family friendly but has meant cuts of millions of dollars to Victorian infrastructure projects, cuts to grants , travel , expensese, marketing and outsourced staff.
Boris Johnson has announced that he has pulled out of the running as a candidate for the next British PM leaving just 2 .
Moree is completely flooded, Lismore is flooded for a 3rd time. The Murray River has peaked reaching 94.9 meters above sea level to some relief of Euchuca residents who have been frantically sand bagging and watching anixiously on daily basis the water level rise hopping the banks would hold. The search is on for a woman swept away in a car in floods in Central West NSW
The WA telethon has seen a man in mankini meet the PM who wore pjs raising thousands in donations.
A 19 year old who mudered his 18 year old partner after ending their relationship has been arested . They arranged to meet in a park but when the 18 year old failed to return home, relatives alerted police. Her body was dumped in bushland near Strathpine and the 19 year old was on the run and found kms away.
Hans The German is recovering after 2 months since falling 4 m into an orchestra pit whilst performing on a cruise ship.
A woman cooking in kitchen has suffered head injuries when a car crashed through her house via the kitchen. ( there have been quite a few cars crashing into properties recently)
King & Queen Consort send their first birthday wishes to those turning 100.
It's bee infestation season where bees have invaded and set up hives in places like chimneys and between ceiling boards as it is warm and dry in these areas.
Tuesday
It's Federal Budget # 2 tonight at 9.30 pm - an unusual year where a second Federal "fixer upper" budget is announced in the same year. A no frills budget where those who miss out are mortgage holders, renters and low income earners but those that gain are families and seniors.
Rishi Sunak will become the 3rd British PM in months elected unopposed due to the only other candidate pulling out at the last minute. He is first PM of Indian heritage and at 42 the youngest PM in more then 200 years.
A body was found on a property by a person mowing the lawn. The body has not been identified and likely to have been there for quite a while as the last time the property was mowed was back in March.
There was a jewellery robbery in Western Sydney where a shot was fired , glass broken and numerous pieces of jewellery were stolen. One man wasn't caught the other still on the run.
Storms are now heading South as flooding continues. Sydney 10 mm rain forecasted with possible thunderstorms later tonight.
More information has been revealed about the Medibank Private cyber security attack although it is still unknown how many millions of customers have affected and have had their personal details released . A senior employee had their credentials stolen which was then used to access and sell personal records. It has been revealed that the Russians were involved.
Wednesday 26th October 2022
It's a beautiful day outside and I wish I wasn't working.It's a little windy but sunny.
News headlines today include
A freak storm has flooded Lilydale in Victoria stranding mvs and causing damage to stores. Over 65 mm fell in a matter of 30 minutes or so
The jury could not reach a verdict over the Brittney Higgins rape trial. The jury were told to come back as they needed more time - tomorrow will be day 6 of deliberations. If a unanimous verdict can't be reached the jury will be dismissed and there may be a retrial.
Addidas cancels a multimillion dollar deal with Kanye West over his rants.
Last night's Federal budget dominated the news headlines today. The reaction to the budget has been mixed. Some criticized that there were broken election promises, that not enough was done to combat the rising cost of living and soaring energy prices. The majority weren't really interested whilst others thought the government did a good job with the " fixer upper" budget. It was very much a no frills and no surprises budget even described as "boring". The government has described the budget as responsible and right for the times. Families gained from more parental leave and cheaper childcare. Older Australians gained from pensioners being able to work more without being penalized by having their pensions reduced and more spending in aged care. However inflation is forecast to reach above the 7.75 per cent mark, unemployment is forecasted to rise next year to 4.5 percent from the current 3.6 or so percent, the average mortgage will rise to well above an extra $900 per month wages are still not increasing in line with inflation energy costs keep increasing etc etc - so no gains for the rest of Australians.
The new UK PM meets with the king and makes his serious address without even a smile.
Thursday 27th October 2022
Another beautiful morning. nice and warm today. The sun is out but there is rain forecasted again. Yep noon it is raining again but it stops and remains overcast for the rest of the day.
I remembered to submit my fortnightly timesheet today. Usually I log back in Fridays to do it.
News headlines today include
The full extent of the Medibank cyber security attack has now been revealed since it's announcement back on 13th Oct 22. They were unsure how many customer records were affected until now and it was only thought a few hundred including Ahm student membership records.4 million Australians details have been exposed ie the entire Medibank and AHM customers. Shareholders were also affected withshares plumetting . Medicare had not taken out insurance for cyber security attacks as it was too expensive. Current & past members details that could have been exposed include medical records medicare card numbers names addresses phone numbers and payment details.
Jetstar is having a flash sale to make up for a disastrous few years and the recent choas of cancelled and delayed flights.
A family friend of the parents of a murdered daughter have had thousands sign a petition to keep their daughter's murderer in jail for life. After 30 years in jail without bail or parole the murderer is eligible to apply for release in 6 months time next year. The serial killer murdered 3 young female victims in the 80s and one victim's relative isafraid that if the murder is released he will kill again as he had shown no remorse for his murders.
The AUS$ is up above the 63 cent mark again against the US$.
Energy prices have risen towards 40% and continues to rise with the treasurer planning to work with energy market to intervene to tcap energy prices rather then giving cash hand outs to struggling residents who have decide to pay the energy bills or not or go without other things. Handouts the government thinks would interfere with inflation which is at at an all time high of 7.3% expecting to reach 7.75 %.
The cost of fuel is about to sky rocket again as the supply of cheap fuel runs out with the average cost of a tank of petrol to cost around $130. Drivers are urged toshop around.
There are discussions in the House of Lords to extend the number of Kings Councellors with substitutes to include Princess Anne and Prince Edward in the absence of the King & Queen Consort. This usually involves royals working in pairs therefore making sense for the extension now that Harry and Andrew are no longer working royals.
Miss Universe contest turns ugly with accusations Miss Texas' win was rigged with her given preferential treatment.
Cricketer Tim Paine releases a tell all book including the lost of his captaincy due to a sexting scandal and lifts the lid on sandpapergate.
$160 million lottery jackpot will be drawn tonight since there was no winner last jackpot.
Harry's book release date will be 10th January 2023 missing out on the lucrative Christmas season whilst Meghan Markle dispels her " angry black woman" label.
Madam Tussauds removes Kanye West's wax figure due to security concernsomeone may attack it.
Friday 28th October 2022
What beautiful day again today. It is forecasted for a top of 27 degree today.
I mentioned that I would eat have Taco Bell again but when I saw this naked chicken taco for a limited time I just had to try it as I had seen years ago as a promotion but never got to try it. So what did I thnk of it? Why would anyone want to add extra things to it? If anything I should have subtracted the sauce and cheese from it! At $7.95 it was worth it and was better then a normal taco. The sauce and cheese was far too overpowering for it, the chicken itself was quite nice and I was surprised it was less manufactured meat then I thought it would be - moist soft chicken with a thin crumb coating not overfried greasy or dry . I rate it a 7/10. I tried it but would probably not buy it again. Ditch the cheese and sauce for something less creamy and salty. Does not need it, diced tomato and shredded is lettuce nice with it.
It was a bus and metro outto Macquarie Shopping Centre again for the main weekly grocery shop after returning my bottles for recycling topping up my opal card grabbing some change for doing my laundry etc. Aldi colesthebackto woolworths metro Chatswood for a final few items including some Caramello Koalas Halloween trick or treats. No new products purchased today.
Home to watch the Cook Up and The Living Room.
Sleep.
News headlines today include
The Medibank cyber security attack has been revealed to have affected thousands of SA residents who are not current or former Medibank or Ahm members but in home medical care patients which is a government program partly funded by Medibank Private.
The Brittney Higgins trial has been aborted/ abandoned and a new trial set for next February due to one of the jurors bringing in a banned document after the judge had warned jurors 17 times not to do their own research into sexual assault. The rogue juror bought in academic research documents on sexual assault which was only discovered when they fell out of a folder. No charges were laid against the rogue juror due to Canberra's laws which would be different in NSW but they were banned and the jurors dismissed. Brittney Higgins speech outside the court has also been referred to police due to contempt of court concerns.
Harry's 10th Jan 2023 book release has been revealed to be called "Spare" It is a 3 book deal with part of the going to charity.
Another climate protestor has gluedtheir head to "The Girl With The Pearl Earing" painting which thankfully was not damaged as it behind a sheet of glass.
Houseesbuyback scheme fot flood effected residents abuyouseve rise repaiir or retrofit houses or bback houses. stop building in flood plains. $800 millibuybacscheme northerivers.verhebuybac or $100 0000
1 in 2 adults had powerball tickets. 3 people in Nsw ( Penrith ) VIC ( a grand father who just wanted to buy his son a puppy for Xmas) and WA . Each jackpot winner won $53 millio each. There were also smaller prize winners.
Arsenal football player Pablo Mari was one of 5 people stabbed in a supermarket in Milian Italy. He was taken hospital andthe man was arrested.
Elon Musk has purchased Twitter and seenwith a sink at Twitter HQ. The joke was " Sink in".
An 86 year old man was trapped in his car for 24 hours when his car lost control and rolled down an enbankment on private property in SW NSW . It was a multi unit rescue and a delicate one . The man was frail dehydrated and under investigation as it is unsure how he became wedged on the car floor - was he thrown?
The PM was accused of bullying a Coalition Capricornia MP but footage showed that it was a joke aimed at Peter Dutton for not knowing the difference between Yeppoon and Yeppen.
The Supercars 500 is on again in Surfers Paradise this weekend. The 1st time since 2019. Therewill be 2 races.
Gympie was hit by wild tornado like weather last night.
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