Wednesday 1st March 2023
First day of Autumn ( Fall)
A top of 28 degrees C but with possible showers, it is another catch up day for me today.
I do not plan to venture out except to purchase some snacks or water.
More late batches of laundry done again however they did not dry at all after 60 minutes in the dryer which meant I had to hang all the sheets and towels up in my apartment somewhere overnight to dry.
News headlines today include
Bunnings is expanding from hardware into pet ware.
Kate & Wills with their competitive streaks have participated in a virtual spin race. Kate won despite wearing a full length skirt. ( I am surprised it didn't get caught in the gears)
Meghan has visited a wellness coffee brand . The first time she has been seen since Harry released his Spare book. She was wearing her Burberry coat ( good on you for recycling your fashion)
Olivia has been remembered in a interview with her husband John and daughter Chloe after the state memorial service.
Rajwinder Singh is due to land back at Melbourne airport around noon today after being extradited after 4 years in hidding in India arrested and charged for the murder of QLDer Toyah Cordingley in 2018. He was arrested and jailed in a New Deli jail before being handed over to Australian police.
After a handful of major celebrities declined to perform at the King's coronation, Kylie & Danni have signed up to perform at the coronation concert.
The retro flip phone is back with Oppo releasing a new flip phone in competitions to Samsung's flip phones a few years ago ( they are not cheap by the way!) . Meanwhile Motorola is developing a roll phone ( the actual phone does actually roll up, the screen and images on the screen roll out)
A teenager has stabbed another a teenager with a pair of scissors at school . The stabbed teenager was taken to hospital however the other teenager was not arrested or charged fir the stabbing by police.
An boy has been run over by a train whilst running across the tracks. He was the lk ast to make it across. An off duty nurse stayed with him for an hour until ambulance arrived to transport him to hospital. Students teachers parents present at the accident will receive counseling.
Harry Styles has touched down in Sydney at Bankstown Airport ahead of his packed tours on Friday and Saturday out at Olympic Park
Ed Shereen is in Melbourne and yesterday visited Royal Childrens Hospital and paid a surprise visit to AFL team St Kilda.
Thursday 2nd March 2023
A rather gloomy day today with temps reaching mid 20s again. Overcast it actually rained this morning. Possibly another day not venturing out. Maybe later as it is late night shopping tonight.
I paid most of my bills in advance after washing my dishes. My income pro for 2 months May & Jun , my mobile bill for May & June & my storage due mid march. My rent is paid up until end of Mar. I also paid my storage unit monthly rental bill in advance.
In the afternoon I ventured out but just to Aldi Coles Local Priceline and Woolworths Metro at Chatswood. It was another grocery shop. I needed more change for the laundry.
Home and it was more catching up as well as putting my semi dry laundry back for a second 40 minute cycle in the dryer. This time all dry except for one cotton throw which refused to dry completely. The next day it was fine.
News headlines today include
Bushfires rage in Bonnie Doon and residents have been advised to evacuate.
The government has done a backflip on changes to capital gains taxes on family homes - actually AA had not agreed on any changes to the above as Jim Charmers announces them.
Tick Tok has imposed time limit locks on how long teenagers under 18 can spend on it ie under 1 hour per day but they can still extend their usage time by entering a password and setting user daily limit. Meanwhile Canada has banned Tik Tok being installed on any government device due to cyber security concerns as Tik Tok is a Chinese app and collects and stores personal data.
Footy season has officially begun today in NSW.
Harry and Meghan have been evicted from Frogmore Cottagewhich they spent millions renovating by King Charles . It was their gift from the Queen however there are questions on whether Harry & Meghan were gifted the cottage or just the Queen's tenants and whether they actually did repay the multi million dollar loan to renovate it or whether King Charles funded it and it was never repaid eventhough it was advised that they had. Frogmore Cottage will be the new home to Prince Andrew ( is this information actually correct?) "Frogxit".
NAB & CBA have both passed on interest rates to new borrowers ahead of next Tuesday's RBA's interest rate announcement. Inflation has fallen slightly however mortgage holders are on the edge of their seats anticipating next week's interest rate announcement and whether the NAB & CBA's rate rises will affect them.
Ed Shereen has released a new album Subtract with 14 songs on it. Produced during the darker days of his life when he was dealing with legal action on copyright and his wife's tumour during her pregnancy. Extra public transport has been put on in Melbourne as 250 000 people are expected to attend his concert.
Australia Post's letter service is being reviewed by the government in order to try and save the mail organisation. The 200 year old institution has been ensuring that there is a 5 day letter delivery service but it is being questioned where this is still required as letter deliveries has decreased by 60%. Should Australia Post be reducing their daily letter service to concentrate on their increasing parcel service due to the increase in e commerce services? ( My question is - Why is Australia Post still making a loss - surely the loss made from their decreasing letter services is offset against the gain or profit made from their increase in parcel delivery services?! That's just poor financial management - you can't just eliminate the country's only postal service! )
Friday 3rd March 2023
It rained most if the morning but the sun came out around lunch time and it remained slightly overcast but dry for the rest of the day. The temperature remained in the 20s today.
Another stay at home day today. More catching up and planning future events I might like to attend. I made an Italian chicken mince meat loaf with egg plant. This will come in handy when I attend my course which I start next week on Monday.
I was sent 2 modules in advance of starting my course next week. Am I suppose to complete them prior to commencing my course as they are unrelated ?
I packed my laundry away from last night.
I also submitted my fortnightly income reporting to Centrelink. I am still confused as it seems every fortnight I am sent a reminder to log into Centrelink separately to submit my fornightly income however there are still no tasks to complete ie I don't have to report my job searches interviews etc and have not had to since returning to Australia .I have been lodging into the Mygov website to check just in case. I don't even have my next appointment date yet for APM to attend. I have no idea of what is happening to this point system job plan mutual agreement requirements anymore. I just ensure that I attend all appointments and participate in any activities I have to and am still looking for employment but only on a part time basis. Everything is recorded in my diary.
News headlines today include
Convicted drug lord Tony Mokbel has been rushed to hospital from prison suspected of a blood clot. He has been in cardiac arrest previously when he was bashed by prison inmates .
A man dropping his 12 year old son off to a martial arts class to a well known gym in the Western Sydney suburbs was shot dead. The gym has a large number of clients from grand and bikie criminal underwold groups. It is thought that the shooting may have been a case of mistaken identity which has happened before. It has been 6 months since the last shooting due to a cease fire. The victim was not involved or related to as any gang members however he did have friends that were. As he was shit his 12 year old son screamed for help in the car.
Australia is sending cardboard drones to Ukraine in an effort to aid them with their war against Russia.
Record numbers attended Ed Shereen last night 105 000 and tonight 107 000 however due to anotherr Ticketek glitch several electronic holders were locked out of the show and had to join a queue when their online tickets refused to scan.
Fans are already camping out at Olympic Park in Sydney in the rain for Harry Styles concert tonight with 80 000 people expected to attend.
QLD daylight savings debate has been raised again as the 2032 Olympics approaches. The suggestion is maybe the state should be split in 2 as it would not suit far North Queensland as they sleep through more daylight hours however would suit SE QLDers which will bring them in line with other states around Australia. More daylight hours - looks like SE QLDers are all for it.
There seems to be a lot of broken fingers in sport at the moment - cricket football what sport next?
One lucky winner is the sole division 1 winner of last night's Powerball draw from WA.
2017 Manchester bombing attack report has showed MI5 missed a signific as nt opportunity to prevent the bombing.
Will Prince Harry and Meghan retaliate against Prince Charles for their eviction from Frogmore Cottage? Is Prince Andrew moving into the cottage . When or have the removalists arrived to pack and sent their belongings to the US.
A trial in some selected QLD schools will see students attending schools for shorter hours which may result in higher productivity. Students in years 10 - 12 will attend school between 7am - 1 pm and students from years 7 - 9 will start later from 10 am - 4 pm .
A highrise building in HK has caught on fire injuring at least 2 people and c as using damage to surrounding highrise .
The AUS$ is still sitting around the $0.67 mark against the US$.
A horror 24 hours in the sky where passenges on 3 different flights experiences incidences that delayed or cancelled their flights . One flight hit severe turbulence and injured passengers scattering plates of food everywhere. Another flight was grounded due to a passenger smuggling a bomb onto the plane and a third plane had an explosion on board caused by a battery.
Singh has now faced court in Cairns and charged for the murder of Cordingley providing some closure for her parents.
Saturday 4th March 2023
Another do nothing day today. I really cleaned the apartment and did my laundry - one normal load and the other bags mats and shoes. Yes shoes mainly sneakers - I had quite a few pairs that were so dirty I had not worn them for almost a year. Most of my day was cleaning and laundry. I did a quite a thorough vacuum of the apartment and changed my bedding.
It was a dry day today but only reached the mid 20s today. In the evening it dropped to around 19 degrees C. Apparently there is a heatwave coming.
News headlines today include
A Perth family on a bridging visa in Australia is face deportation back to India due to the government stating that their Downe Syndrome son will be a burden on the Australian tax payer system. They insist that they pay their taxes that are more then the carer/ support and special education services cost quoted and that their son won't be a burden on the Australian tax payer system as they will not be using any of the services that will cost $664 000 over 10 years ie special education and support /carer services.
Alex Murdaugh the prominent lawyer ( whose grandfather and father were also lawyers ) who lied about killing his wife and son has been charged to life in jail in a South Carolina court.
Alan Dare the 58 who got shot when he went to assist an incident where he saw smoke and heard gunshots on his neighbour's property and where 2 police officers were shot dead has been honoured and remembered today with a police bravery award posthumously.
Ed Shereen plays his last concert in Melbourne tonight before travelling to Adelaide and finally Perth.
An estimated 100 000 people will be at Olympic Park tonight as Harry Styles, The Back Street Boys & Jay Chou perform packed out concerts. Plan ahead to get out there use public transport and leave the car at home is advised. On Sunday 50 000 people will march in the World Pride parade across The Sydney Harbour Bridge before attending an after party in The Domain.
Charles & Camila will travel to France and Germany as part of their first royal tour as King and Queen. An invitation has been extended for them to visit Australia next year but whether or not they will visit is uncertain at this stage.
Sunday 5th March 2023
A beautiful day today but again I am staying home.
Tomorrow I start my computer skills course.
News headlines today include
7 am and PM AA, his partner Jody and Penny Wong marched along the Sydney Harbour Bridge closed to traffic until around 11 30 am today as an estimated 50 000 people marched from North to South across the bridge to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Sydney Gay LGBTQIA+ Mardi Gras coinciding with the last day of the World Pride Festival. The closing day will end later this afternoon with a closing ceremony celebrations.
Scientists are studying dogs abandoned during the 1980s Chernobyl nuclear disaster that stated with the city compared to in surrounding suburbs in order to understand how humans could survive a diaster given current world circumstances. They will study how they survived, changes to their genes, how it affected their reproductive system and why they are thriving. They will study the 3 generations of dogs. It will also help scientists understand cancer cause and cure.
Twin storms pummel Vanuatu as a Cyclone state of emergency is advised.
Jim Charmers still insists that only 0.5% of super funds over $3 million will be affected by new tax laws - declaring this is a better solution then the previous robo debt scandal the government used reclaim money.
The war in Ukraine continues in the Eastern city of Bukhnut. Residents there are living without gas power or water.
Trump has failed to raise campaign funding but still has a strong group of supporters since he announced he will be running for the presidency. What Donald Trump thinks we are going to have WWIII ?
The NSW state election campaigning continues.
Floods in the NT are beginning to ease although catchment areas are still of concern.
China has announced plans for economic growth for the first time since the pandemic. 5% target for GDP growth has been announcement of opening of parliament. Meanwhile China is declaring "Taiwan is part of China" and there is opposition to it's independence. ( I see another war errupting)
A man gas been shot dead by police after a domestic violence inccident and being tassered in the South Western Sydney suburb of Yagoona.
The body of the missing teenager in the Northern Beaches who went for a swim, has been found
Monday 6th March 2023
Week 1 Day 1 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
Today I started my 3 month computer skills course at Macquarie Community College in Chatswood. It is Monday Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 9.30 am - 2.30 pm each day.
I did not realise how expensive the course I was doing was. I thought I read it was about $1000 - $2000 unsubsidized by the government on a brochure ie full fee paying student but apparently it is more like $4000 according to a classmate when we were talking about other courses available and how most of the students in classes are senior citizens probably with nothing else to do who come to these classes to socialise and when I asked if the courses for them were subsidized - I don't think anyone would do these courses if they weren't.
It was very hot today but I don't think it was 38 degrees C. In the classroom I was actually freezing from the air conditioning in the computer room.
Lunch break was only 30 minutes therefore I had a wrap from KFC as it was quick and close to the training college. I was a little unprepared as I did not know if we had a lunch break or any break at all. I did bring my flask with hot water in it which was the perfect temperature to drink by lunch and the lunchroom had tea bags so I took one. They had hot water but it was too hot and the tap a little tricky to use .
Today we covered a compulsory work health and safety module which doubled up as our first intermediate computer skills training module. Kill 2 birds with one stone why not. This is looking to be a great course as there is so much I learnt today that could have made my last job working from home more efficient . I only wish we could have cut and pasted answers in the assessment as it took too long to type all the answers some of which were split questions.
I was the first person in my class to finish the module and assessment tasks . One of my classmates asked how I finished it so quickly - easy I have done so many of these work health and safety training courses before I have lost count! Don't worry I will struggle and slow down with the later modules particularly with Assess data bases which I haven't used for decades and Powerpoint which I have never used before.
After the course finished for the day it was another trip to Chemist Warehouse for moisturiser and cortesone followed by another grocery shop at Woolworths Metro then straight home.
It was quite hot but bearable. Definitely not 38 degrees C however by late afternoon it could have cooled down a bit.
Just as well I didn't recycle my bag of bottles today. The corner store was closed.
News headlines today include
Sydney is heading for it's hottest day today in 2 years , a heatwave of 38 degrees C + with a total fire ban in some 6 regions. More then 30 schools will be closed. This will stick around until Thursday.
Polls show more then 50% ( 64% actually) of Australians support the government's change of a double tax on super funds over $3 million . Polls also show AA is preferred PM way ahead over PD.
Harry & Meghan have received an invitation to coronation but what was their response - will they go? Their son Archie's birthday happens to co incide with the King's coronation in May.
Pensioners and allowance payments will get a raise from March 20th. Increases will be $37 50 for single pensioners and Jobseeker & Aubstudy $24.70 as well as increase in rent supplements. Meanwhile Origin
There will be a planned 24 hour strike on Wednesday at Melbourne Airport as refuelling staff strike . This will affect domestic and international Qantas flights from Melbourne Airport.
600 troops on HMAS Canbera will be dispatched to aid Vanuatu which was hit by 2 earth quakes and 2 cyclones Judy and Kevin within a week leaving residents with no power.
Tomorrow's RBA interest rate rise ( 10th in 10 months) announcement could see the cash rate at an all time high of 3.6 %.
30% of endangered seas will be saved
Rookie Mcleran driver Piastri who started in 18th position has had to withdraw from the race on lap 15 due to mechanical issues which started with steering problems.
Debutant NRL team the Dolphins played their first football game and suprisingly won against the Roosters.
The 2023 Logies awards will return to Sydney in July.
SA police have seized $60 million worth of assets eg gold cash jewellery cars etc from criminal activity.
Almost a year since th ed last Academy Awards ( Oscars) where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, Rock has commented in a comedy skit about it.
Ed Sheeran and Snoop Dog hang out in Melbourne?!
Tuesday 7th March 2023
Week 1 Day 2 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
Today I packed my lunch a thermos of hot water, a banana, 2 mini turkish delights and a mayo turkey and slaw wholemeal sandwich .
I am ahead of most of the other students in my class. So continue onto the next modules a directed by the instructor. We complete our first performance tasks today as the final section of our first modules assessments. Finally we can submit our completed assessments after completing our performance task.I am not the first to finish in my class now but the 3rd however I am quite ahead in the next modules assessment questions.
I wore warmer clothes today but am still freezing in the computer room.
The last half hour of the course today we are shown extensions and apps that are useful. I have heard of a few of them but never actually downloaded or used them.
After the course today it was another grocery shop before going home. I paid one more bill ( my private health insurance paid last as I don't like any if the private health insurance com po anlives I join) and got some laundry money as well as recharge my Opal card.
End of another day. I get a text for the refrigerator to be delivered tomorrow between 10 and 11 am - because I am studying Mon - Wed every week for the next 3 months or so, I negotiated a Thursday morning delivery. This was oked and I was asked to empty my fridge and have a clear pathway for the replacement fridge.
News headlines today include
33 fires burn today as the heatwaves continue without a cool change until Thursday .
War in China is possible within the next 3 years instead of the 10 forecasted. Meanwhile at Australian universities there is concern that students studying cyber security courses may be unwittingly training Chinese hackers through joint Australian Chinese training affliations
The RBA is to announce another interest rate hike today and one in April with quite a few more to come. That is the 10th interest rate increase in 10 months however mortgage holders are waiting to see if banks pass on this increase in interest rates. Interest rates are now 3.5% an 11 year high. Meanwhile larger companies like Microsoft Alassian have already reduced their staff - Alassian reducing their staff by 500.
Brisbane is facing a rental crisis greater then Melbourne where rental properties $400 and under are extremely difficult to find.
A national protest outside Aldi supermarkets as transport workers union have a list of demands. The protest is in relation to how Aldi's tight pressures to get goods into supermarkets with very thin margins has caused the collapse of the Scotts refrigerate transport freight company. Demands include improving conditions for workers.
Harry Styles was spotted having a dip at Bronte Pool. ( good choice Harry my favourite pkace for a dip)
Coles has launched a furniture war?!
Wednesday 8th March 2023
International Womens Day
Week 1 Day 3 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
I completed the second modules'assessment and performance task today before lunch therefore had time to load the Opera browsee app onto my phone and look at Chrome extensions whilst my other classmates complete their assessment and performance tasks.
We also watched 3 safety videos in class today. One very interesting one on Boeing A380s crashes and causes.
Again after class it was shopping but this time just 2 bottles of water and a white plastic container for emptying my items in the refrigerator into tomorrow.
Home on the bus to sort my laundry to be washed and prepare for tomorrows delivery if a replacement refrigerator
News headlines today include
Landslides in Indonesia have kill and injured villgers on an island.
As Qantas plane refuelling staff strike for 24 hours today ( starting at 4 am) passengers have been advised by Qantas to arrive at Melbourne Airport for their flights as normal. There have been some cancellations but they were due to other issues. Qantas has flown in one of their larger double decker planes to use as a fuel mule where smaller planes can siphon fuel from the larger plane to refuel as well as requesting planes to carry extra fuel on board to minimize disruption to passengers. Airports may face disruptions around Australia.
AA to travel to US to d0iscuss the submariners deal with Biden. He will discuss the type of submarine to be chosen. Meanwhile he will travel to India for trade deals.
Ed Sheeran has performed in Adelaide overnight and visited those too sick to attend his concert at a childrens hospital.
The Jan 2nd Seaworld helicopter accident has been investigated for the first time. Initial findings from the surviving pilot and passenger supported claims that there was no call from the pilot of the other helicopter to indicate their presence . It is estimated that it could take 2 years to sift through all the evidence to find out why and how the crash occurred.
It is International Womens Day and an Australian has been selected as the first female astronaut to be trained for the international space program . Meanwhile Japan has launched a rocket but it failed to launch and self destructed.
The safe injecting room located in North Richmond is to become permanant after 5 years in operation. Located next to schools there is concerned about safety although response has been positive as over 60 lives have bern saved from it's use over the years.
Coles and Woolworths to reintroduce recycling of soft plastics?!
A major digital radio outage at 3 pm today shut down the entire rail network shut down in Sydney. It took hours for people to get home some unable to get home. Buses were available but insufficient to clear the back log of passengers. Cyber security is not ruled out and it took an hour to go back online to a backup system. Uber and other rideshare prices shot up in a very short period of time from $20 or so dollars to hundreds of dollars just to get home, some passengers from the city to the Northshore took 3 buses changes to get home , passengers were running or missed their flights at Sydney airport and there are calls for compensations for the delay. Total chaos.
The governor is under fire for taking out a 1997 half price home loan offered to RBA board members when the rest of Australia's mortgage holders are sufferring mortgage stress with the 10th interest rate hike announced today.
Bindi Irwin has taken to social media to talk about how she has been diagnosed with endodemetritis .
The NSW state election leaders debate between Minns and Perottett has occurred with both party leaders agreeing with certain issues during their debate.
Lilbet baptised in a private ceremony in the US. Who cares?! Did the palace snub them or did they never receive an invitation from Haŕry and Meghan?
Thursday 9th March 2023
News headlines today include ( see previous day)
I am up early today clearing the way for a new fridge to be delivered this morning.
Right on time at 10 am there is a knock. Inside a box was a new black fridge to replace the white one. From the outside it looked bigger and I was wondering if it would actually fit in the existing cavity. It does but it sticks out a little.
I wasn't sure when the new refrigerator would arrive and I wasn't sure if they sold bags of ice up the road at the Coles Express and I had no time to get some this morning but I was prepared and had purchased a white plastic rectangular bucket yesterday to empty all the items out of my old refrigerator into which filled the entire bucket.
When the old refrigerator was pulled out I was shocked at what was behind and underneath it. It was absolutely disgusting. Was there a rat problem.I had never moved the refrigerator as it was really heavy. The new black one is really light. I had to quickly clean what was under and behind the refrigerator out. Luckily I had gloves disinfectant spray a bin and an old pair of microfibre cleaning slippers on hand which I grabbed. I had to throw the gloves and slippers out.
Once the new black refrigerator was plugged in I could not turn it on until 11 30 am at the earliest due to the gas having been shaken around which needed to be settled. I was advised if I did not wait for the gases to settle the refrigerator could explode. So I waited until after 12 noon to be safe before switching it on. The first thing I did was place my trusty refrigerator thermometer inside the new refrigerator.
After the delivery man ( who was the maintenance man) left - he was here for a while as he struggled to move the old refrigerator down the stairs and into his van knocking the painting on the wall above the stairs to an angle.
He noticed my apartment was really hot so asked me to turn the fan on and open the window.I opened the window ( which only opens about 5 cm due to a safety screw in place) and had 2 fans on. He thought I had the heater on - no it was a second fan I advised him and I explained how last time the property manager was here the ceiling fan worked when she turned it on but not when it was in its dock but it would not work again after she left. I suspect the old refrigerator was generating a lot of that heat as it never worked properly and was always very hot to the touch on it's exterior. There has always ben a problem with the right hand side of the freezer not freezing so I could never get trays of ice cubes to freeze up completely.
After switching on the refrigerator and waiting for it to cool down as well as placing all my grocery items into it, I still had 2 full loads of laundry to wash and dry so this took up the rest of my day and I did not venture out today at all.
I did make some marinated duck breasts and a green salad to go with it which was yummy.
News headlines today include
Power prices are about to rise as Winter approaches however fresh grocery prices such as berries avocados and lettuce are falling due to a bumper crop easing the rising cost of living with more fresh produce item prices to follow.
Rhianna has sent a bunch of flowers and a note to the aged care residents that made the Tiktok of her half time Superbowl performance that went viral.
When AA signs the AUKUS submarine deal with Biden and Sunak the new subs will be manufactured in Adelaide creating hundreds of jobs. AA is currently in India meeting the PM Modi for trade and security talks however it was not all work and no play, AA also watched the cricket with the PM where Australia was playing against India.
Hospitals in Victoria have had a major IT glitch- another cyber security attack or just a technical glitch?
A man has tried to kill his mother and brother and is still on the run. His mother is in hospital and survived however his 29 year old brother died.
As the rail network returned to normal this morning, a over high truck blocked the harbour tunnel lane today causing traffic build up crossing the Harbour Bridge.
When NSW residents go to vote on 25th March for the NSW state elections they will have 290 candidates to select from on a super sized ballot paper.
A warning a COVID surge is back with 28 deaths and several hospitalizations. At the same time we have been warned that the flu is back.
After a 40 000 km trip from Europe the first tram of stage 3 upgrade to the Gold Coast Light Rail arrives and is expected to be up and operational in 6 months.
A teenager wearing a jersey has been accused of racial sluring against Latrell Mitchell.
Sydney is expected to reach a top of 27 degrees C today with possible showers. Partly cloudy - this morning it mainly clear and sunny outside.
A bus of 20+ students on a school bus in Townsville have mysteriously fallen I'll with stomach upsets and feeling light headed after they were given some lollies. 15 of then are in a stable condition in hospital with some possibly being discharged today. It is unknown what caused the illness and hopefully it is only a bad batch of lollies . The bus driver is co operating with police.
AA is about to travel to the US to officially sign an agreement for 5 submarines in one class. There is a possible purchase of another 2 classes of submarines one contract possibly with the UK for its nuclear submarines to be based manufactured and maintained in South Australia and another again with the US. No details have been disclosed or finalized yet. AA has also strengthened his relationship with the Indian PM on his recent trip with defence and trade. With a strong national security bond formed with the Indian PM and India, AA was invited to tour the Indian naval base which boasts a fully manufactured in India naval vessel. AA had his top gun opportunity in a British fighter plane however he avoided any Russian ones. China is so pissed off with the AUKUS submarine deal and possibly the strengthening of the Aystralia India relationship as well.
Friday 10th March 2023
Another do nothing day today. I had a heap of catching up and cleaning to do.
News headlines today include
More wild weather as another drenching of rain is forecasted for South East QLD after the previous floods and bush fires continue to burn although more under control and contained now in some Central areas ( Hillend) for over 100 kms in regional NSW. Meanwhile a catch up back burning is happening around Sydney from The Northern Beaches to Southern suburbs and residents have been warned of the smoke. Meanwhile after 3 years it's the end of La Nina and drier weather is forcasted.
For the past week the AUS$ has dropped and has been hovering around the $0.65 mark against the US$.
SA police are cracking down on traffic offences eg mobile phone usage, seat belts speeding illegal overtaking etc over their 3 day public holiday weekend in order to reduce and hopefully eliminate the number of road fatalities.
The 5 day day Moomba festival has started in Melbourne.
Another over high truck has blocked the Sydney Harbour Tunnel causing delays up to Lane Cove after the previous one. Both incidents were false triggers where bumps in the road caused overhigh sensors to activate.
There may be a frozen grocery shortage as tonnes of cold storage grocery items sit in warehouses wasted ( $500 million worth) that Scotts can't afford to keep. Customers are unable to just turn up and purchase them directly from the warehouse either as it is up to suppliers to organise collection which apparently Coles has done with some of the items in warehouses.
A 4 day working week to be trialled around Australia? This is what a Senate inquiry proposes to study productivity in the workplace
A shooting killing several has occurred in a Jehovah's witness church in Germany. The motive for the shooting is being investigated. 7 people died.
Another train technical issue happened today which affected the East Hills line causing delays A train came to a standstill with 400 - 500 passengers on board unable to leave the train for upto 2 hours due to safety when overhead live wires fell from wild weather onto the tracks between Revsby and Panania. Passengers were eventually allowed to disembark the stranded train via a steep narrow set of stairs via the drivers compartment. There were pets babies elderly on the train with no air conditioning in 28 degree heat. One passenger well they needed to go so they just went urinating in one corner of a train carriage.
Harry & Meghan's kids to be called Prince and Princess - contraversal to the lier lier your pants are on fire comments made on their Oprah interview about Archie not having a title.
Saturday 11th March 2023
It was another nice day today so I had to venture out. Now that I have a new fridge which is definitely working more then efficiently now and has a lot more room especially for my multiple litre bottles of juice yoghart and water ( I still think there is a shelf or two missing), I can now fill it up with groceries.
First stop was to return my 14 bottles and cans at the convenience store in Chatswood. I had to wait so long before I could dispose of my bottles and cans as there was an elderly Mainland Chinese couple who were taking their time emptying their dirty sacks of bottles and cans. They have probably been scrounging through the bins all night for their collection. You can tell they don't rinse their bottles and cans out as they smelt. Yuk! My bottles and cans are always clean as I rinse mine out when I need to.
Today I did a massive grocery shop at Chatswood from Chemist warehouse, Coles ( the larger one at the other end of Chatswood) and Woolworths Metro. I spent almost $200 in one shop! My shop was so large I took 3 shopping bags and my whe er lie bag with me. The wheelie bag was so heavy I could hardly lift it !
There are still some items on my shopping list I just can't find therefore I may have to make them myself even if it takes hours or days to make.
Due to the major refrigerated teuck and freight company Scotts going into receivership and being a Saturday I did expect this Coles to have heaps of empty shelves but no stock was everywhere bursting off the shelves and in so many cages you could not access some of the shelves and refrigerator and freezers. I guess tge limited edition special bbq sauce , red velvet and carrot cake hot cross buns are no longer available as I could not find any of them but then again there were very few bags of hot cross buns at this Coles.
Home quite late in the afternoon evening as it was getting dark.
News headlines today include
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie have been given new titles of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. Edaard's son has taken over the title of Earl of Wessex however their daughter Lady Louise does not have a title. It was the Queen and Prince Phillio's wishes when Edward and Sophie married back in 1999 that they would one day take over the title. When Prince Philip who held the title if The Duke of Edinburgh passed away the title was given back to the crown now at King Charles' coronation Edward and Sophie can now use the well deserved titles. A great present as Prince Edaard turns 59.
A freak snow fall in Tasmania - the wild weather continues. QLD is still bracing for their drenching of rain with hail snd storms possible.
Cricketer Pat Cummings'mother has passed away after a battle with breast cancer. Cummings missed the last few cricket matches to be with his sick mother who had bern moved to palliative care. Players have worn black arm bands at cricket matches as a tribute.
Xi Jinping China's president of China is serving a third term unopposed. The previous 2 term limit was removed by him.
Fall in school attendance shows 60% of public high school students in NSW missed 4 weeks of school in 2022. This is due to digital addiction and sleep disorders but floods and home schooling also contributed.
The rental crisis continues particularly for the over 55s as rental prices increase and rental properties dry up.
After nearly a week the mystery WA lotto millionaire has been found as he came forward. The 40 year old male had the ticket in his jean pocket snd forgot about it. He celebrated with fish and chips.
Kaylee Mckeown has broken the back stroke record at the world swimming championships.
Sunday 12th March 2023
Today is another do nothing day but I have a lot of life admin to do.
I am preparing for the week ahead. Firstly putting all my laundry away.
I then made an onion turkey spinach and pea loaf for lunch which I will wrap in wholemeal Lebanese flat bread with some cucumber and taco sauce. The recipe is below. Marinated soya sauce honey garlic ginger chicken wings are also in the refrigerator ready to be cooked.
Turkey Spinach Pea Loaf
Ingredients
olive oil to grease ovenproof loaf dish
5 shallots white parts chopped
1 pkt French onion soup powder
1 teaspoon garlic granules or 2 cloves fresh garlic grated
500 g pkt of turkey mince ( feel free to use chicken lamb or beef mince , I used turkey as lamb was unavailable)
1 x 250 g pkt fresh baby spinach ( you can use chopped frozen spinach but ensure it is squeezed dry of liquid)
1 handful of frozen baby peas
140 g or 2 cups of day old breadcrumbs ( I didn't have any so used 1 large Lebanese bread toasted and crumbled up)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon mustard ( I only had English so used that)
pepper to taste
1 sprig of fresh rosemary finely chopped
1 sprig fresh sage finely chopped
1 sprig fresh basil finely chopped
Mix all the above ingredients together thoroughly and place in a ( optional parchment lined) greased ovenproof loaf tin. I used a ceramic terrine dish with lid. Cook in a 150 degree c oven for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until brown on top. To keep my loaf moist I actually left the lid on for the hour and 5 minutes then cooked for an extra 5 - 10 minutes with lid off to brown it.
News headlines today include
AA is off to view & shop for classes of submarines and have a trilateral meeting with Biden and Sunak to discuss negotiate finalise and sign off on the multi billion dollar purchase. Will Australia purchase the submarines with Outright ownership? Lease back? Hire purchase? On consignment? Trial with a 30 day money back guarantee? ( You can buy anything and everything from Global Shop Direct so why not a few submarines? Just don't do what SM did ask for his money back after 30 days because he wasn't satisfied with hos French submarines - nah he just changed his mind - since when can you get a refund for change of mind purchases and outside of the 30 day return policy? ) Let's hope he selects the right ones no details are known yet but speculation is that some will be nuclear type ones. China is still unhappy about this AUKUS deal. A question was raised if Japan could join AUKUS in the future for their technical expertise would that make the acronym JAUKUS?
Roads from Western Eastern and Cebtralstates to the Northern Territory have been cut off due to floods isolating communities who are running out of food supplies . Supplies have been flownin and barged in however there is a dispute of who is responsible for not getting supplies of fresh fruit vegetables and meat to these isolated communities who have not had any food supplies for a week and have only received supplies of dry goods with the excuse from a major supermarket chain that they could not guarantee the quality and safety of the fresh fruit vegetables and meat when it arrived.
Silicon Valley's largest bank SVB has collapsed with companies and customers withdrawing their deposits just before it's closure. Some companies are worried as to how to make their payroll with the collapse of the bank.
Monday 13th March 2023
Week 2 Day 4 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
News headlines today include
Hillsong the religious institution whose leader was accused of spending church funds on luxury travel and goods for personal usagee will be audited.
As AA arrives in San Diageo in the US to discuss submarine deals , it is forecasted that a $200 billion deal will be struck creating 20000 jobs.
A person has been struck by lightening in QLD on a golf course and another had a very close call as wild weather hits Brisbane
It's Oscar night at the Dolby Theare as celebrities prepare to walk the champagne ( and not red) carpet this year.Itis the 95th Academy Awards where for the 1st time in 60 years there is no red carpet. 12 Australians have been nominated including Cate Blanchett for her role in TAR sgainst Michelle Yeoh for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.Rhianna will perform. Goodie bags for all those who present but don't win an award are worth $200 000 to take home.
There has been a siege in suburban Townsville where part of a suburb is in lockdown as upto 10 shots were fired by a suspect gunman.
Trains are back to normal running to timetable after strikes, trackwork and delays over the weekend and the past 2 major rail incidentsthat caused stand stills on the rail network.
The premier's new pledge $400 for every young child to save for their future education or help buy a house when they turn 18 if he is re- elected. Super for kids - future kids fund I think it is being called ie parents co contributions and will not allowed to withdraw until the child turns 18 and it can only be used for housing and education .
2 top jockys Jamie Kah and Craig Williams are in hospital after being thrown off their horses over the weekend at Flemington. Kah is in a medically induced coma and Williams is having surgery on fractures.
QLDers will be hit with power price hikes up by 23% as of new financial year forecasted.
Ed Shereen finished his Australian tour in Perth and has left Australia.
All eyes are on the after the collapse of SVB. People with super funds snd shares in particular.
Tuesday 14th March 2023
Week 2 Day 5 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
I was an hour late to class this morning as I wasn't well. Yesterday I received a reminder text to attend an appointment at APM this morning at 11 am but dropped a note into them yesterdsy afternoon explaining how I could not attend due to attending classes in Mons Tues and Weds. It rained most this morning.
I did another small grocery shop and topped up my Opal card at Woolworths Metro before going home.
News headlines today include
No Oscars for Australian nominees this Academy Awards this year with Brendan Fraser winning for his role in The Whale and Michelle Yeoh winning for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once with Cate Blanchett missing out for her role in Tar.
The AUKUS trilateral submarine agreement was anounced this morning between AA JB and RS. The deal is likely to see 3 second hand US Virginia class nuclear submarines delivered in earky 2030 followed by a UK submarine delivered in late 2030 and finally several submarines delivered to be manudactured in SA in 2040. These submarines are nuclear powered only with no nuclear weapons eventhough China is accusing Australia of building up a nuclear arms war. This will cost $260 billion and run over budget by another $100 billion . It will create 20 000 direct jobs over 40 years. It is the biggest defense spend by the Australian government but will strengthen the relationshop and presence of the US and UK in the Asia Pacific region with Australia. There is already a discussion as to where on the East Coast of Australia the submarine base should be located - Newcastle or somewhere on the South Coast of NSW. The current base in WA has been a recruitment nightmare therefore having a submarine bases on the East Coast of Australia will solve the recruitment and workforce problem and give better access to the Pacific Ocean.
A 3rd US bank Signature Bank in the US has collapsed after the SVB collapse questioning the bankingsystem in the US however this could mean a silver lining for hiking interest rates to slow down as although it is unlikely the RBA will sit on interest rates in April but continue to raise it.
King Charles attended a Commonwealth day Service with Edward and Sophie and William and Kate close by . The King's speech was not without disruptions with hecklers protesting "Not Our King". Proestors did not protest whilst the Queen was alive as there was too much respect for her. Now that there is a new King the question of republic has been raised again.
Thus year's VIVID program has been released and will include food for the first time.
Polair to be replaced by contractors who are not police?!
The NSW government plans to implement prison system like phone blockers across all NSW schools . All students will not be able to use their phones except if the student has s medical condition. The question is now whether this is an invasion of privacy but I question who will be liable if a life or death emergency situation happens and the student is unable to make contact with their parents guardian friend or other close contact or vica versa due yto the implementation of this phone blocker system.
Wednesday 15th March 2023
Week 2 Day 6 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
No hanging around Chatswood after my course today. It was quite a wait for the next bus straight home.
A slightly warmer sunny day today.
News headlines today include
Bali wants to ban tourists from riding scooters to minimize the amount of fatalities and accidents. Fines and losing tourist visas may be possible.
A rubbish bin collection tax is proposed for the Melbourne suburb of Yarra.
Rod Steward supported by Cyndi Lauper performed in Melbourne overnight.
A Russian fighter jet has crashed into an American servalience drone crashing it into the sea in international waters. For 30 minutes the Americans accused the Russians of shadowing the drone dumping fuel onto it before clipping one of the drone's wings over the Black Sea causing it to crash into the sea. The drone contains classified information which the Americans would not want in the wrong hands.
China has accused the AUKUS deal of dragging the Asia Pacific into a cold war . Violating a treaty to prevent nuclear weapons from being accumulated and used. China along with all countries in the Asia Pacific regions were notified of the AUKUS plans however China did not respond to a briefing . China has accused the AUKUS announcement of an arms race ?! The submarines are nuclear powered not nuclear armed unlike the Chinese submarines!
It's Naplan testing for students again. Parent and students are stressed as it is not measuring how a child is performing but more how a school is performing.
A class action against the AFL for negligence dues to concussions has occurred due to long term effects.
Another heatwave in NSW is on its way with Autumn temperatures above 40 degrees C after La Nina is officially over and El Nino is coming..
The first stamps with King Charles on them have been released however it's not just the King's head on these stamps which is not the main featureof the stamps but a series of flowers including the late Queen's favourite. Meanwhile the King has knighted the band Quern's drummer.
Thursday 16th March 2023
This morning I had another appointment with APM at 10.30 am .I didn't receive much notice just a last minute text message yesterday whilst I was doing my course.
What a waste of my time. They forgot to get me to sign some consent forms that I did not really want to sign so after I left my appointment, I got a phone call and had to go back to sign them I was filling in my job searches and was already having problems. Luckily I had not left Chatswood yet.
I have so much to do today but have to change my plans again. I was going to check my mail box for my postal vote but now that has to wait.
After I finally finished with APM I went to Coles Local to purchase some more bottles of water as it is really hot and some garbage bags. I also purchased some garbage bags and gave a $2 donation.
Another long wait for the next 144 bus home. I think I just missed one.
Once home it was put my 2 full loads of laundry into the washing machine and take my rubbish out to the bins.
Laundry for me takes up my entire day. I watch the Food Channel as I wait for my laundry to wash and dry.
News headlines today include
A heatwave will hit QLD & NSW today with temperatures in the western suburbs to reach high 30s degrees C. 100 % humidityat Bondi Beach this morning remaining. Energy consumption will reach almost 12000 Mega Watts today.
Energy prices will rise by more then 31% in VIC, over 23% in NSW and over 19% in QLD for examplewith gas shortages across the Eastern states due to exporter problem.
Former PM Paul Keating from the 1990s lets loose at the Press Club as to what he thinks of Labour PM AA and Penny Wong and the AUKUS submarine deal call the " ning nongs" and how the 8 submarine was the the best deal negotiated as well as commentingit was the worsdecision made by a government since WWI conscription.
A baby girl whose patents susoected had swallowed something was taken to a regional hospital in QLD only to be sent home . The baby kept vomittingso her parents to her to the GP who referred them to go back to the hospital for further medical investigationand atreatment. A button battery was found burning in her esophagus and was removed 24 hours later. She is in a medically induced coma.
Tonight is the start of the AFL footy season. Meanwhile the NRL concussion policies will be implemented in line with super rugby and AFL concussion policies. Any NRL player with a knock to their head and concussionwill be stood down from playing for 11 days to prevent future legal action from players. 60 or so former football players in a class action are seeking legal action from head inuries resulting in the shortening of their foodball careers.
Will Harry & Meghan attend the King's coronation?
Friday 17th March 2023
Happy St Patricks Day!
It is stinking hot today! The sun outside is searing hot.
This morning I began my day with washing my pile of dishes.
So much to still catch up on. I start with my blog.
Cooking cleanig etc .
I went online and completed my Workforce Australia job search and participation requirements. A minimumof 4 job searches and study with a lot of difficulties as there is something wrong with my MyGov accounts which looks as if all my linkedaccounts are unlinked. I used my diary to help me complete details however I didn't taken down enough details as the amount of information required has chsnged and increased. I also r er ported my fortnightly income to Centrelink which is zero again.
News headlines today include
The season opening AFL match at the MCG where 80 000 people attended to a sold out opening match between Carlton and Richmond ended in an 11th hour draw last night . ( I wonder if it had anything to do with the replacement of turf destroyed after the 2 sold out Ed Shereen concerts the weeks before!?) A second sold out AFL game tonight with Geelong verses Collingwood will see 90 000 people attend the MCG.( which ended up being only 88 000)
A man in hus 60s was bashed in broad daylight in Adelaide and is fighting for life in hospital. Police believe it was a targeted and not random attack.
40 second footage has been released of the Russian fighter plane attacking the US drone moments before the drone crashed into the sea near Ukraine in international waters. The location of the drone is believed to be quite deep down and the Russians are planning it's exact location and retrieval. Any confidential information collected and stored on board the drone has been erased remotely in the event the drone comes into ownership of the wrong hands. It is unlikely the drone will be retrieved by the US as it is far too deep in the Black Sea for them to retrieve however the Russians are planning it's retrieval.
Although the AUKUS submarine deal does not come into operation for at least another decade, discussions are already underway as to where and who will be responsible for the disposal of nuclear waste generated by these nuclear powered submarines. Meanwhile the proposed purchase of 220 tomahawk cruise missiles costing AUS$1.3 billion has been approved to be purchases by the US state government so soon after the announcement of the AUKUS deal. It is unclear if this was part of the AUKUS deal and whether all 220 will be purchased. Meanwhile the SA premier is visiting the ship yards in England where appentice are being trained and where future Australians could be training to build these nuclear submarines. ( I wonder what would have happened if AA had renegotiated the French submarine contract that SM had cancelled previously. It could have not only saved the Australian government a few billion dollars but also restored relationships with France. The UK and US still could have been involved. It would have made a stronger alliance and presence in the Asia Pacific but it still would have pissed China off. I do think though that if Trump ever becomes US president again or if there is a change in the US government there is a huge risk of this AUKUS deal being scrapped mid way or not even getting off the ground leaving Australia in the same position as when SM cancelled the French submarine deal ie back to square one bringing much delight to China. Same would could apply if Australia has a change in government again - 10 years is s long time and there will be at least 1 Federal election in between. People will question why the Australian government is not spending and paying more attention to Australia's domestic problems eg rising inflation, raising cost of living, shortage of housing and high rental, soaring interest rates and increasing mortgage stress even our energy crisis. )
Myer is closing it's Brisbane flagship store after 35 years in July. Are they moving or closing down permanently?
300 000 shoppers have been caught up in a cyber attack with their personal information stolen . Latitude Financial Services a 3rd party lender which is used for personal loans, credit cards insurances and online/instore buy now pay later laybuy type puchasest is the latest victim of a cyber security attack . Retailers like JB HiFi Harvey Norman etc are able to protect their direct purchased customers from cyber attacks however when their customers make purchases using third party financial services such as Latitude's buy now pay later services , protecting their personal data is out of their control.
A giant blob of seaweed is headed for the US coast . It is unknown what causes this stinky rotten egg gas smelling 8 kms of seaweed growth which contains sealife. Meanwhile in Australia the Darling River is full of washed up dead fish of multiple species as a result of the prolonged floods and which last occurred in 2019 during the droughts.There us nothing that can be done to fix this natural extremely stinky fishy smelling phenomenon - they can either be used as fertilizer or just let nature. take it's course. However there is concern for the water quality in the regiondue to the lack of oxygen in the water which caused this to happen.
The unemployment rate has dropped to 3.5 % a 50 year low as 65000 jobs were created and many people found jobs in February eventhough there are signs the economy has slowed. There will be another interest rate hike in April predicted. The question has arised as to whether raising interest rates is the only way to decrease the rate of inflation. The RBA seems to think so . ( I don't and believe in other old school ways used previously such as fiddling with the monetary supply - remember when the government would step in to artificially prop up or devalue the AUS$?)
Since yesterday the AUS$ hff as managed to stay above the $0.66 mark against the US$. Rising back up to $0.67 today.
Toughnew laws have been passed in QLD where re offenders of youth crime fron age 10 and 17 can be jailed for upto a year. Some think this these laws have not gone far enough whereas others think they are far too strict. The Greenswere against these laws .
Saturday 18th March 2023
Another do nothing day. My allergies are really bad so I didn't do anything today.
News headlines today include
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russia's predident Putin for war crimes. He has been accused of separating children from Ukraine from their parents and resettling them in Russia claiming humanitarian aid work. It is unlikely Putin will be seen in handcuffs and placed into jail as Russia does not recognize the ICC. It is more important that the ICC makes it known to the world Putin's war crimes.
Early voting has started today for the NSW state elections ahead of next Saturday's ( 25th March) election day .
It is another stinking hot day today with Melbourne reaching 37 degrees C but Sydney only reaching a max in the West of 35 degrees C and where I am around 30 degrees C .
Debutant football team The Dolphins continues their winning streak and wins their 3rd match .
French residents are still protesting as Marcon proposed to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. Meanwhile in South Korea the increase in working hours to increase oroductivityhas increased from 52 to 69 hours a week has been met with backlash from millenials and gen Z claiming the plan is unrealistic and worried about the work life balance and a health risk.
Sunday 19th March 2023
Another stinking hot day with a top of 32 degrees C but it feels more like 35 degrees C this morning.
News headlines today include
Donald Trump thinks he will be arrested for hush money paid for an affair he had and urges people to protest. ( who cares - Trump is such an attention seeker!)
There is less then 1 week until the NSW election day and both Labor and Liberal parties are hitting the campaign trail hard. Apart from Perottett 's kiddies super plans if he gets re elected, he promises to lower public transport costs by capping them - my question is what's the point if public transport is so unreliable with track work strikes cancellations delays and malfunctions week after week? Wouldn't it be better to spend the money on fixing the public transport system? Cutting the cost of public transport when there isn't one won't encourage more people to use it!?
A car crash into a truck in Brisbane has seriously injured 3 people outside of Ipswich. All 4 people were freed from the trapped car. An investigation is underway as to what caused the crash. The car was apparently seen hooning around before the accident.
A last minute Rod Stewart concert in Melbourne due to Stewart coming down with a viral infection making it difficult for him to sing has angered ticket holders. Ticket holders have been asked to hold onto their tickets as more shows will be added and to await further show information.
Sam Neil is alive and well after his battle with blood cancer and has been after treatmentfor the past 8 months. He us returning to work and releasing h iy s memoir.
Monday 20th March 2023
Week 3 Day 7 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
Happy Harmony Day ( which is now Harmony Week)
Is it really Harmony Day today? There wasn't anything on the SBS to promote it.
Anyway this morning we had a sing along and morning tea in between creating an Excel spreadsheet.
Our instructor took out his guitar and he played and sung the " I Am You Are We Are Australian" ( the entire) song - I knew the song well but I don't think any of my class mates knew the song at all Our instructoralso asked us if they wsntedhim to sing a song in Chinese Japanese or Spanish. We were originally going to ask him to sing a Chinese song since the majority of the class are Chinese but we decided Japanese in the end as it was more interesting and challenging for him. He even admitted it would too easy for him to sing a Chinese song as he is actually Chinese.
I looked up Harmony Day /week snd it's not until 21st March 2023 ie tomorrow! So why are we celebrating it today? As for being a whole week - I am unsure if that is actually offical when I actually Googled it.
Before class I went to Woolworths Metro and purchased a 12 pack of caramello koalas for the class morning tea. I thought the lunch room was going to be full so did not make anything for morning tea - it turned out to be empty today with only one or two other classes and they were definitely not celebrating Harmony Day today! So the lunch room was empty. One class mate bought in some Asian prawn chips and another student bought in home made rice cakes covered in coconut- very similar to mochi.
After morning tea it was back into the class room. Some of my class mates had finished their spreadsheets and insertedthem into their word documents created and I had almost finished my spreadsheet and should have finished my word document and inserted my soeeadsheetinto it by now and saved both however I was stuck on entering the dates on my spreadsheet.I tried everything to enter the sequence of dates onto the spreadsheet and I knew I was doing it correctly however it just would not enter the dates correctly no matter what or how I did it. It just copied the same date all the way down the first column. Surely it can't be that difficult to do!!! I asked my classmate next to me and what I was doing was correct so I asked the instructor and he he noticed that my computer had the date format in the right bottom corner of my computer set to American format He had several attempts at ebterinthe dates on my spreadsheet and it failed to display properly so it was not me. Finally there was a long work around to solve the problem. Set the format to Australian date format and then type in the date in I think it was US format and it will display in Australian format. Anyway it seemed to work and my exercise was finally uploaded. Done onto the next and final PowerPoint exercise . Done. Still slightly ahead. Onto the next module - embedded data data from manipulation types of data files - The US date formaton my computer- embedded data or some other type of data?
The classroom is freezing and even the instructor felt it today. I am always cold anyway in the classroom. I suppose it has to be due to all the computers in there. I did not pack my lunch todsyso had to go outside to purchase it. It was a was a quick fillet o fish no cheese and with tomato and lettuce instead. It was wet and cold outside. I waited forever to get my order and we only get 30 minutes for lunch. I spotted the staff making a mistake leaving the plastic cheese in the bun and they had to remake it so that is why it took so long.. Finally after what must have been 20 minutes I finally get my order and scoff it down. Back to class to continue the next module after submitting my last one. Another 2 mistakes I had to fix and re submit.
After class I went to do a prevoteat Chatswood Concourse. Votingis such a hassle and there was only one declaration voting officer who actually wrote down the incorrect division i was enrolled to vote in hence ballot papers could not be found - Vaucluse not Waverley.
After voting it was a stop off at Chemist warehouse the coles local where the shelves were empty and then onto Woolworths Mn etrofor some sushi before heading home with my groceries.
Due to the unavailability of things on my shopping list I will have to go to Macquarie after class tomorrow for another shop.
News headlines today include
It is a much cooler day today a top of 26 degrees C with showers forecasted. A strange mist formed over a very hot Bondi Beach yesterday fogging it over with poor visibility.
Kate and Wills celebrated Mothers Day in the UK releasing new photos of them snd the kids in a tree.
An estimated 4.7 million pensioners and welfare recipients will receive an increase in their payments today to keep up with the increase in the costs of living. The increases are routinely indexed in line with inflation although some think job seeker payments are not enough which is still 57% below the minimum wage.
300 000 people in QLD are in housing insecurity as the state faces a housing crisis.
There is a crackdown on Victoria's neo nazi laws. A new female MP faces expulsion from the Liberal Party room for her participation in the neo nazi rally. Neo nazi protestors crashed pro and anti trans gender protests. The debate is whether the ban on using the swastika should be made national and not just banned in Victoria at a state level.
A 12 year old girl has escaped a crocodile attack with minor injuries at Humpty Dooin the NT. The croc has since been caught in one of the croc traps.
Taylor Swift has started her Eras tour after a 5 year break from touring. After releasing 4 new tracks, her concerts are 3 hours long, have 44 songs and 12 costume changes with a extra surprise each concert which changes from concert to concert. Australia is still waiting to see if she will come down under.
UBS has rescued Credit Swisse with a takeover making it the biggest bank in Switzerland.
A 39 year old man is missing in the Blue Mountains that went canyoning yesterday afternoon. A search is continuing today.
The AUS$ is still sitting around the $0.67 mark against the US$.
Tuesday 21st March 2023
Week 3 Day 8 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
It was a cooler day today and lunch was just cheese and dome seaweed rice crackers
After class today I travelled to Macquarie Shopping Centre to do a shop at K mart for a replacement slow cooker ( I purchased the same one as previous) and another grocery shop at Woolworths.
I picked up a 4 pack of Remedy Gauva Sodaly - there was only one rasberry and one guava left so I chose the guava. It was a rare freebie from Woolworths and the last day to redeem it. When Woolworths does freebies they are rare but they give away full sized products . I suspect there is some AI algorithms working vehindthe scenes selecting specific free products that they think I mightlike. Last time it was a 1 L of lactose free milk. Maybe the AI noticedthat I purchase a lot of hard cheese yoghart and yakault but never purchase milk leading it to believe that I may be lactose intolerant and therefore suggesting the Zymil milk. Same with this whole 4 pack of cans of Soda. AI probably notices that zi drink a lot of bottled sparkling water both plain and flavoured without any sugar and also Kombucha but never purchase soft drinks or any drinks containing sugar so it is suggesting I try this sparking flavoured soda with sweeteners natural ingredients and plant based sweeteners. I am yet to try it but photo below of product.
It was a quicker shop then the day before. Armed with my slow cookerfrom Kmart and groceries in 2 full bags ( I had to purchase an extra large reusable bag from Kmart to fit the slow cooker in) , I decided to wait for the next 291 bus back home instead of trying to get the metro and 144 bus home especially with both escalators out at the Macquarie Uni Metro Station.
Home it was unpack groceries watch the news The Cook Up and I fell aslerpduring 8 out of 10 does countdown.
End of another day.
News headlines today include
The 39 year old man missing in the Blue Mt has been found dead. He died from becoming stuck whilst canyoning for the first time with friends when be became separated from them. It took a while to get help due to poor weather conditions which hampered the retrieval of his body and due to no mobile signal.
Trump insists he is about to be arrested and urged supporters to protest. Who cares again!
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is in his 90s and is about to get married for the 5th time to another media mogul. He may be a billionaire but she in her own right is a millionaire. They met 6 months ago.
There are indicators that point towards the RBA not raising interest rates again next week but may sit on the current interest rate instead.
Labor and Liberal continue to agressively campaign just days before the NSW State Election.
Residents are wondering why it has taken 5 days to clean up the Murray River filled with stinking dead fish as a result of the lack of oxygen due to droughts and floods. This has affected the water quality which may affect the residential water supply.
Today the temperatures will drop to around 25 degrees C with a chance of rain.
The short supply of the diabetic drug Ozempic used for weight loss has continued and patients have been warned not to purchase supplies from the black market.
Wednesday 222nd March 2023
Week 3 Day 9 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
A bit of a more fun class today as we had a chance to create our first freestyle simple Powerpoint presentation using some of the functions such as text colour fill stock design photos video and sound from Pixabay. I went a bit further and used stock icons and tried to use a different theme to others in the class titled Vintage Technology.
After class I took a class mate to pre vote at Chatswood Concourse as she usually has hospital assessments on the weekends therefore won't be able to vote. I had to be patient with her as she was slower due to her domestic violence situation and she did not want me to leaave her during her pre voting therefore I stayed with her.
I had planned to do my huge loads of laundry when I arrived home but it can wait until tomorrow as I have nothing planned.
News headlines today include
Trump is expected to be arrested any time now ( who cares! I'm still waiting for the announcement - talk about US election candidate 2024 propaganda!)
Violent LGBT protesters have ambushed One Nations Mark Latham's presence for a church speech in Sydney's South Western suburbs.
A retired man in his 70s is suing Gwyneth Paltrow for a hit and run ski accident back in 2016 ( 7 years ago) he says caused him injuries including brain damage) . He claims she was out of control whereas Paltrow is counter suing the man saying that he was the cause of the accident.
Signs still indicating that the next interest rate rise maybrput on hold.
The Japanese PM visits the Ukrainian president and lays a wreath. Meanwhile the Russian president rolls out the red carpet and treats his invitation to the Chinese president like royalty dispited. However China needs to remain diplomatic with no weapon sales involved. They may look chummy together but there is a Ukraine peace deal to be signed.
Australia Post is to receive a makeover where it will become mini department stores with change rooms where you can try after you buy before returning or keeping online purchases with the increase of online shopping.
What the electric state election campaign bus has been ditched for a diesel one or was that vice versa?
There was a recent earthquake in Ecuador with another one in Afganistan felt in Pakistan that killed 13.
Thursday 23rd March 2023
Melbourne has just had a freak storm and a drenching is expected in Sydney city although it isn't very wet here on the North Shore , it's just very overcast.
I don't have anything planned again this week on my days off as I have already prevoted and was going to Orange for their Food Week ( actually on for 2 weeks) but decided it was not worth going as most of the sold out events I wanted to go to are on in the second weekend.
10.30 am and the sun is out. Forecasted temps for Sydney today is 28 degrees C.
Today I spent most of my time doing laundry and other chores.
News headlines today include
Well what do you know Tuesday has passed in the US and Trump has not been arrested - at least not yet. Was it all a csmpaign stunt? Apparently not, it was decided that the grand jury should have a day off and security sort out in NY city pending his "arest".
Former Australian Victoria Secret model and skincare brand Kora business woman Miranda Kerr is to give a speech at the Forbes Business Summit for women in the US.
10 defense personnel have escaped uninjured ( only 2 had minor i juries) when their helicopter crashed just near Jervis Bay. Witnesses in the isolated area went to inquire if they needed any assistance and were advised it was not required as several emergency rescue officers rushedto the accident scene. The cause of the crash which was a routine counter terrorism training exercise is being investigated
2 school students have been run over whilst waiting to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing. one is in a stable condition in hospital whilst the other us in a critical condition in hospital.
Denver High School Colarado has experienced another US school shooting. A 17 year old open fired killing 2 admin staff at the school. He is armed on the run and people have been warned if they see him not to approach him.
Prince William has made s secret trip to Poland to honour and thank UK soldiers for their service towards the Ukraine war.
Meanwhile the question has arisen - should Australia have a public holiday for the Kings coronation? Victoria and WA are not having one but the rest of Australia is undecided. Canada is having celebrations as the coronation is on Saturday 6th May and in the UK it is a bank holiday on the Monday.
Friday 24th March 2023
Another hot muggy day today although overcast.
So what did I do all day today.
I started off doing most of my next topic assessment questions on databases. It is such a long module I thought I would get a head start by trying to complete the module questions in advance. Thanks to ChatGPT an open source AI website, I managed to complete 80% of my assessment questions using it without having to read a lot. I had not heard about ChatHPT before and when I asked my instructor if this was used by uni students to complete their assignments he went silent. Well I've decided to put into practice what I am learning - this course is all open book so I'm actually not cheating but putting theory into practice.
Then there is the never ending story of laundry. I didn't quite finish doing it the night before as it was really late and one batch did not rinse the laundry detergent out properly even in hot water so I need to sort it rewash it all when I get a chance.
I made a delicious vegetable stack in the oven with slices of potato egg plant zucchinicovered in tomato paste olive oil snd mixed herbs. I ate this with vintage cheese. Yum! No need for pasta.
I also paid some bills in advance.
The rest of the time was research and watching the Good channel and YouTube as well as catching up on my blog.
News headlines today include
It's the final countdown before the NSW state election day tomorrow. Intensive campaigning out inthe Western suburbs of sydney is occurring to secure seats. More then 1 million people have already made up their minds with prevoting.
The push is on again to ban trans gender women ftom competing against biological women in sports. Transwomen were allowed to compete if they have lower testosterone levels.
King Charles planed visit to France may have to be delayed due to the continuing riots in Paris as aresult of Macron increasing the age of retirementto to 64.
The discussion of whether TikTok should be banned on all government phones in Australia and even a total ban continues following the bans in other countries. Countries like India have totally banned the app whereas Canada and the US have banned the app on government phones with a total ban in the US possible after the CEO of TikTok being grilled by the US . It's all about the huge amount of data collected and data sharing and whether the Chinese government could demand the Chinese creator of TikTok to hand over all this sensitive private information collected posing a global cyber security risk.
Saturday 25th March 2023
Tonight Australia will be one of the first countries to switch off their lights for Earth Hour tonight.
NSW State Elections Polling Places opened at 8 am this morning
A pretty grey day today. I was trying to work out where the closest democracy sausage sizzle was. Nothing anywhere near Chatswood - In fact the entire lower North Shore according to the democracy sausage locator website was pretty scarce of democracy sausages. Plenty in the Eastern suburbs though.
I am running out of groceries again so need to venture out after lunch.
I return my 14 bottles and cans for recycling first before heading to Central on the train to try and fix a problem which I have lodged a complaint about already this morning. It is not the first time it has happened so it is important I lodge a complaint and fix it again or try to at least.
Only when I try and deal with this will I be able to go grocery shopping.
I think I have been overcharged on my Op a
News headlines today include
Gwyneth Paltrow finally takes the bins stands in court over a skiing accidents back in 2016 in Deer Valley which injured a retired optometrist. Broken ribs and a brain injury was the result of her running into him. He is suing her for $300 000, she is counter suing him for $1 million?! Gwyneth has been criticized for being disrespectful in court with her dress code using it as an advertisement for a clothing brand inappropriate to a court hearing has and not standing up like everyone else when the judge entered the court room. She also had the disadvantage of appearing in court first before the victim appeared. She denied hitting him and that he actually ran into her.
Charles and Camila have had to postpone their weekend visit to France, cancelling their visit to Paris and Bordeaux this weekend at the request of France's president Marcron due to the continued violent riots in both cities over the increase in pension age to 64 where the city's buildings have been set on fire.The union had called for protests on the weekend of the King's visit.
It may be Earth Hour tonight but the lights suddenly went out last night at the Gabba during an AFL game between Brisbane Lions and Melbourne Demons with 12 minutes left in 4th quarter.. The game was suspended for 30 minutes to repair the problem where the game was stopped and unpires and team players were usheredoff the field. A flickering light, the sound of an explosion and a lamp catching on fire indicated that a malfunctioning transformer may have been the cause of the blackout. The Lions won I assume.
Ed Shereen has released a new track Eyes Closed from his subtraction album.
4 people have been arrested in a cyber crime crackdown
Sunday 26th March 2023
After yesterday's public transport fiasco, today will be another catch up day. I do not intend to venture out in the event of getting stuck getting home again.
News headlines today include
Who won the the NSW State Election yesterday? I don't know as I was stuck in the public transport chaos last night and only found out after watching the late news on the ABC after midnight! It was a clear Labor Party Chris Minns win support by PM AA. 2 hours was all it took for the reds to dominate Australia with the only Blue ( Liberal) state Tasmania left. After 12 years NSW has a new 47th Labour premier and forming a majority government. what a swing ! Perottett resigns as Liberal Party Leader after his loss. This was a peaceful election with no opposition party sledging for once. Vote counting is having a day off today.
Victoria's premier Dan Andrews will be the first Australian government official to visit China for trade talks ( construction/buildings) since the AUKUS submarines deal. There was disappointment that the press were not invited.
At least 25 people have died and many injured after a tornado hit Mississippi destroying buildings and cutting off power to residents and businesses.
A brawl broken out during the tail end of an AFL game between Collingwood and Carlton at the MCG. There was a 60 000 crowd present. 4 men were removed from the venue not charged or arrested by police.
Trump is at it again. As he waits to be arrested and charged, the case is having another 2 day break wherrin the mesntime he takes his 2024 campaigning to Wayco Texas.
Russia's Putin has signed a nuclear deal with Belarus liken it to the US having warships in Europe.
The Gwyneth Paltrow ski accident trial becomes even more bizarre with question about her friendship with Taylor Swift which has absolutely no relevance to the trial to Paltrow's description of the ski accident likening it a sexual assault where the other skiier crashed into her and landed between her legs and how she felt when it happened.
Lady GaGa has been seen dressed as her character in the sequel to Harley Quinn.
Monday 27th March 2023
Week 4 Day 10 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
It's almost 8 am and it's been pouring with rain all morning. N wonder my allergies flared up yesterday night - my skin hates rain!
I was a little late for class and it was the most difficult and longest module in the course on data bases. I think the feeling about this 3 day module was mutual - nobody liked it but we all had to complete it. Maybe it will become more in interesting when we actually create one of our own databasrs but the theory was let's say frustrating . You can't do this or you can't do that so many rules using Microsoft Access yet it hasn't had an update since 2016 and has been deleted from the MS Personal version of Office Suite. Who uses it now anyway? Don't companies use Oracle? It's for thecompanies that don't want to send their employees to SQL training courses. Good old SQL I did this training course but can't remember any of it! I only did 2 days of the basics though.
News headlines today include
Former US President Barack Obama has arrived by private jet with an entouragein Sydney before heading for Melbourne for his speaking tour. Tickets to his talks ranged from $200 - $900 . He will be speaking along with Julie Bishop. He met with AA before heading to The Northern Beaches to Collins Beach ( Flats) and Balmoral Beach and dining at The Bathers Pavillion with a large security detail/ entourage.
There has been leaks that Taylor Swift will be coming to Australia. Meanwhile Harry Styles has been snapped pashing a model friend in Tokyo - is Harry Styles now off the market? And Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is expecting his first baby with decade long girlfriend he met on an indie filthey were working on - h li w cute a b as by Harry Potter!
A mother has been bruised and cut in a Western Melbourne suburb when trying to sell her car on Facebooks Marketplace . A man with his assumed wife and child showed up to look at the mother's car and asked for a test drive but when the man noticed cash fall out of her log book he attacked her. She screamed for help and was ejected from the car. No sign of the car from this carjacking incident.
SA lead the way ahead of a national referendum of Aboriginals having a voice in Parliament.
The world is doomed with more protests in Israel and German banks in financial trouble.
A 21 year old Polish woman believes she is missing kidnspped girl Madeleine McCann has come forward with sn interview with Dr Phil. I don't believe she is due to the detail of her age which dod not match up with Madeleine's age.
There are concerns that a major rail infrastructureconnectingthe Sunshine Coast to Brisbane in QLD won't be completed in timeforthe Brisbane Olympics.
Tuesday 28th March 2023
Week 4 Day 11 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
It started to rain as I was making my wsyback to the bus stop after my course ended for today so I waited for the next bus straight home. By the time I arrived home it started to rain quite heavily and continued to do so into the late afternoon so I am staying home and catching up on things again.
The news today warned us to update Google Chrome Browsers with the lastest patch as older versions pose a security risk so I did this in class today as I finished all the assessment questions in the module in advance.
News headlines today include
The AUS$ is $0.66 against the US$.
Latitude Finance may be fined $50 million for their latest cyber security breach where the original estimate of 330 000 custoners affected with their personal details stolen by hackers is actually 14 million customers - the largest cyber security attack overshadowing the Optus and Medibank Private cyber security attacks.
Harry has made a private visit back to the UK to attend court in relation to The Daily Mail phone tapping incident that may defame him. He could be in the UK for a 4 day hearing. Although he had no obligation to be at the court hearing, he turned up in person along with other celebrities and high profile personalities also there to to take legal action against tabloids of similar phone tapping accusations. Harry us not expected to reunit with the King or his brother whilst in the UK as they are "busy".
The housing crisis in QLD has resulted in tent cities popping uo as the homeless especially families many living in cars snd tents increases. The QLD premier has proposed a once a year rental increase by land lords instead of 6 monthly rental increases however residents are sceptical as the premier has not indicated the limits on rental increases which are proposed to be capped which will still put fonancial pressure on tenants when these annual increase in rents are due.
A 29 year old woman has open fired at teachers snd children at a private Christian school in the USby slipping through a side entrance killing 3 teachers and 3 children before being shot dead by police. Her motive for the shooting is still unknown.
An Adelaide woman working for the council has been accused and arrested for being a Russian spy. She worked for a Russian space agency in Irelsnbut denies ever working for the Kremlin. She will be detained until her trial in July. Sbe has had her visa cancelled and faces deportation.
Wednesday 29th March 2023
Week 4 Day 12 Intermediate Computer Skills Course @ Macquarie Community College Chatswood Computer Lab Room 5
Today was a little bit more of exciting class . Today's class was all about cyber security.
For the past 3 weeks it has been all about creating word documents excel soreadsheets powerpoint presentations and access databases, although useful, there was a lot of theory assessments and practical tasks to complete.
What I learnt in a previous 8 week cyber security course a few years ago which I actually did not complete because the theory was so heavy I learnt in one day in this course. Yes the latest Latitude finance , Optus Telstra internal loyalty orogram and medibank private cyber security attacks were used as case studies but what made the topic more interesting was we were given the toolsto improveour own cyber security
News headlines today include
A class action is underway for those affected by the Latitude cyber security breach.
All eyes are on the inflation rate and whether it has stabilised and decreased enough to hold another interest rate increase by the RBA . Sitting on the current interest rate and giving mortgage holders a break will also depend on the cpi. We won't know what the RBA's decision will be until next week. The inflation rate has fallen from above 8 % last year to 6.8% in February.
Thousands of public servant jobs will be lost as the Victorian government has been told to cut their workforce down by 10% ( 5000 jobs on the line) ( Dan Andrews disappears to China and this happens!)
Harry is in court on day 2 and has accused the royal family of witholdinginformation to him on the phone tapping incidences.
Bodycam footage has been released of the previous day's school shooting.
Peter Bol' s been cleared of drug cheating as 2 independent testing results showed there was never any illegal substances in his samples provided to the drug testing lab that produced the second indeterminable result. His legal team has blamed incompetence and lack of staff training for the false lab results.
An island in the Witsundays is for sale for $1 million.
The Obalmas broke safety protocol and were able to do the Bridge Climb without being attached to harnesses.
Another cyber attack which actually happened back on 14th January where Meriton staff and guests were affected .
NSW still does not know if there is a majority government as voting continues 5 days after the elections. The counting was paused on Sunday due to a day off. There is pressure to move to electronic voting.
Hoons on bikes were spotted on motor bikes doing wheelies across the Anzac Bridge.
Chris Minns may have just been sworn in but he has already visited the Menindee fish kill where tonnes of fish have died due to the lack of oxygen.
A populationboomis about to occur with the return of international students and migrant workers putting a strain on rental housing market.
