Saturday 1st July 2023
First Day Of A New Financial Year!
June was a very long and cold month. So glad it is over!
Today it is a forecasted top of 19 degrees and overcast but it looks really nice outside this morning.
Today it was really windy outside so I am not surprised that there are delayed or cancelled.
I am not venturing out today but having another do nothing day after yesterday's trying to do everything that needed to be done before the end of financial year. I managed to only complete some of the things on my list .
News headlines today include
Cricketer Alan Border has revealed that he has been and is suffering from Parkinsons disease.
Disgraced actor Kevin Spacey has represented himself in court over 4 cases of sexual bulling being accused by 4 different men of Spacey groping them inappropriately over a number of years.
US Supreme Court rulings have some bizarre outcomes such as a Christian graphic designer can refuse to make wedding websites for same sex couples getting married. Meanwhile Joe Biden lays out new student debt relief plans after supreme court ruling.
Yesterday hundreds of flights were cancelled to to wind gusts resulting in runway closures , today the same situation is happening with some passengers losing thousands of dollars missing events they were to attend, having to find and book alternative flights and forfeiting prebooked prepaid accommodation and transfer bookings. Some even missing out on running the Gold Coast Marathon on this weekend they trained so hard for or travelled specifically to participate in as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
AA pressured to do more for the raising cost of living with more relief and assistance after a budget surplus was under estimated and is much more then estimated due to revenue from company and income taxes.
There are 300 000 QLDers without housing due to it's housing crisis and any plans to build more affordable housing will not come in affect for at least another 4 years. Meanwhile the question remains over the now long vacant COVID quarantine centre which was built in 2022 and which discussion for it's possible conversion for use as affordable housing has gone quiet instead there is the time wasting debate over whether it was worth the cost or just a total waste of money. deherr ! Use your noggin QLD government it won't be a waste of money if you repurpose it ASAP and turn it into housing which will kill 2 birds with 1 stone ie ease some of the housing crisis and recoup some of the funding back through rental payments.
Actor Alan Arkin ( Little Miss Sunshine , Edward Scissorhands) dies aged 89
Prince William and Prince Harry "come together" join ih ng forces in different country for their mother Diana's charity.
It was revealed that a number of residents were able to successfully secure Taylor Swift tickets by using the old school method of camping outside a bricks and mortar ticketing office rather then waiting and trying to purchase tickets online.
Sunday 2nd July 2023
A nice sunny forecasted 17 degree C day today.
I had to venture out today as I had almost no groceries left and it was the last day and last chance to board a 30 minute Darkfields Flight before they departed Sydney forever.
I had about an hour to kill before queuing up to board my 4.45 pm Darkfields Flight so went shopping at Market City. So much has changed - quite a few empty outlet shops on level 2 . There is now quite a large TKMAX at one end of the shopping centre with more sneaker outlets then anything else. The large Cotton On outlet is still where it is and a Bonds outlet is still there as well as a smaller Supre . The Fila outlet has become larger as well. There are some other outlet stores such as Ally. Stores like Internet Clothing Valleygirl and other chain outlets have long gone not replaced or replaced with other trashy clothing outlets. I window shopped but did not buy anything.
I went downstairs to get a snack searching for Korean Fried Chicken - there was none and the closest was a single tiny cup of karage chicken for $7 which was hardly worth it.I ended up selecting a croquette and crumbed "scallops" on a skewer for $5 paying cash. I thought the croquette was potato but it was sweet potato yummy and I thought the scallops were fake but when I bit into one they were actually real! Then it was a quick trip to Tai Kee IGA a supermarket that has been at Market City for as long as I can remember for a bottle of water - I chose a bottle of Evian - it's French but cheaper then most of the other bottles if water yet nobody was buying this brand of water.
My favourite Taiwanese food concession was still there but their food selection did not look appetising today - maybe come back later for dinner.
Time for a toilet break but there was a queue- I didn't really need to go so made my way walking to where my flight was departing. There was a queue already. The hand written white departure board updated you with how many seats were left on each flight which by now was not many at all. Most fights were sold out - it is the final night of flights in Sydney.
I must have gone online dozens of times to check available seats on flights. I looked at the very last flight departing to nowhere from one of 2 shipping containers outside the Powerhouse Museum at 8.15 pm tonight and there were 4 seats left but by the time I tried to book, the flight was sold out. I also looked for the very first flight departing today at 3.15 pm (I think it was) and it was already sold out. The next flight had 1 ticket left but by the time I went online to book, that flight too was sold out. So I booked a seat on the 4.45 pm flight. It was meant to be a 30 minute flight but it was really around 25 minutes or less. You were meant to get boarding passes but today it was fill up the seats from the front to back of the plane. The flight I was on either had 1 seat left or was fully booked after I booked it online. You have to book online as there are no physical ticket offices at the site which is annoying as you can't escape the booking fee however there were a range of concessions accepted including job seeker which I actually did not use and paid the full adult fare of $ 27.19. There are very few seats left on all flights today being the very last day of flights. I really didn't want a window or middle seat and was really lucky as most people travelled in groups of even numbers so took up the window and middle seats leaving all the aisle seats. There was suppose to be boarding passes given out and passengers in groups deliberately separated from each other however today it was just fill the seats from the front of the plane to the back ( to allow quick and smooth boarding. I chose a spare asile seat next to a young couple about 2/3 from the front of the plane initially thinking I should have chosen the very last asile seat right at the back of the plane near the exit in the event I needed to disembark the flight in the first 5 minutes.
I could not take any photos or videos of my experience as any light spoils the experience for passengers however I could take photos of the interior of the shipping container fitted out to simulate a real economy class cabin of a real plane before the "flight departed". It was really squishy with very little leg room but for a short haul 30 minute flight it was not too much of a bother. We we instructed to stow our bags under the seat in front of us or in the overhead lockers above as on a normal flight.We were instructed to turn off our phones and electronic devices as on a normal flight as this will interfere with the "flight experience". We were instructed by a rather AI generated flight attendant on a screen in front of us to buckle our seat belt and read the safety instructions in the seat pocket in front of us - nothing unusual for any flight so far. We were given a briefing before boarding that when we settled into our seats the cabin lights would go out and we would be in complete darkness before the cabin lights would come on again. In this first 5 minutes anyone that wanted to disembark the plane had their last chance to do so now otherwise you had to be committed to the next 25 minutes. We were warned that if you were scared of the dark , claustrophobic, had heart or back problems or were pregnant that this experience may not be for you and to let a staff member know. Unaccompanied minors were not allowed on these flights (there weren't any on the flight I was on). So far so good.
We were advised by a staff member to grab our head sets and put them on as soon as we were seated as they tested head sets were working with beeping sounds in the left and right sides of the headsets. I was not the only passenger confused of which was the left and which was the right side of the headset as it was not labelled - the passenger next to me was unsure as well . Once on and sound tested it was time for the flight to depart. The plane's cabin which was lit just like a real plan's cabin preparing to take off goes completely dark before lighting up again - an announcement made last chance for any passengers that wished to disembark the plane - no takers on this flight.
The only unusual things I noticed about this shipping container's fitout to simulate a real economy cabin in a plane was there were only rows of 3 seats to the right side of the shipping container, to the left there was a heavy ceiling to floor curtain- in fact the containing went all the way around front to back on the left hand side of the shipping container just like a partition between business first and premium economy classes from economy class on a real plane. Next question was - where was the toilet on the plane - a cheeky announcement was an apology that there wasn't one in economy as it was out of order for the flight! Just one of several cheeky announcement you hear during this flight.
It's time to depart. Headsets on, seat belt buckled, luggage stowed, safety instructions read and window shades down ( yep there were working window shades too - the attention to detail was amazing), the cabin lights are turned off and passengers are plunged into complete darkness which lasted for the next 20 - 25 minutes. In complete darkness the noises and the movements really simulated a real and what seemed a smooth take off eventhough you knew you were not going anywhere. I decided to close my eyes and pretend I was on a real flight trying to fall asleep for the initial few minutes of the flight's take off. I am unsure if this enhanced my flight experience or hindered it as I may have missed some visuals eventhough it was meant to be mainly a sound experience. I open my eyes still in total darkness as I continue to hear and feel the sounds surrounding me - we were now airborne however within minutes the cabin simulates the plane flying through a thunderstorm with flashes of lightening and sounds of thunder so real and I see a flash of the lefthand side of the plane with rows of 3 seats projected onto the curtain - the other half of the plane which was non existant but so real in appearance but just for a flash of a moment - it was enough. Back in total darkness there were the babies crying and the cheeky anouncement of a flight attendant telling them to stop which they do. Then there were the sounds of the annoying last minute family boarding the flight - you know the ones that are usually rude have too much carry on luggage and where other passengers have to get out of their seats to allow them to get to theirs!? They aren't physically there in front or behind you but you feel as if they are. The sound of the drinks and meals trolley are very realistic even though they are not physically there - especially the passenger that was refused service possible due to being intoxicated - it happens on flights . It feels as if flight attendants are serving the passengers in front and behind you but never yourself. Then there are the strange voices that feel as if they are only addressing you personally and nobody else on the flight, I remember one voice addressing me in total darkness that I was sitting in a lucky seat - what did that mean ? - was I one of the passengers that was going to survive if the plane on this flight crashed ? Were the 2 passengers a couple seated next to me hearing th same thing through their headsets or something totally different?
After all the strange surrounding sounds noises and movement, from after 20 - 25 minutes in total darkness , the cabin lights come back on and the plane lands safely. Flight over. To be honest I think the flight should have been longer about an hour but after the short 25 minute or so flight experience I was unsure what to think. I was not scared at all. I don't think anyone was. It took 3 years for Darkfields Flight & Seance to come to Sydney and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to experience it but I did not think it warranted Christian Hull's YouTube Comment 3 years ago when he experienced it in Melbourne ",I thought I was going to die" comment - which I thought is a little extreme.
In summary I now know what it is like to lose one of our five senses ie Touch Taste Smell Sight & Hearing. In this flight experience you are losing your sight completely by being plunged into complete darkness temporarily. Eventhough it was only for a short period of time by losing your sense of sight your other senses in this case your sense of hearing and touch are enhanced therefore you begin to experience things going on around you differently - your hearing becomes more sensitive as if it is surround sound and in 3D. Sounds are close or distant and coming from every direction.
My night wasn't over yet. I walked up to George Street to catch the lightrail to Town Hall and did quite a big grocery shop at Woolworths Town Hall. There were quite a few items on my shopping list that were unavailable or that I could not carry all the way home with me so I just grabbed as many grocery items I could remember and spotted. The basics plain flour cheese bread spinach fruit water juice fish chicken olive oil 3 in 1 shower wash laundry sanitizer liquid tissues and dill.
I also got some laundry money as $20 cash out which the check out operator forgot to process..
Home on the train then bus. Home quite early this evening and sleep.
News headlines today include
French president Macron has postponed a visit to Germany after a 5th day of protests after a 17 year old waa shot dead by police who are accused of racial profiling.
NAIDOC week commences 2nd - 7th July with Melbourne's The LUME showcasing first nations story telling through art and music and Indigenous recognition and achievement awards.
An European spacecraft has launched a multi billion dollar satilite into space to map and study deep space and dark matter invisible to the naked eye and dark energy responsible for the expansion of the universe
As QLD youth crime gets out of control, there is a trial for residents in regional areas of QLD for a $500 voucher to have mv imobilisers installed with a quota of vouchers reserved for previous victims of car jacking. Thus trial is planned to take place in Townsville Cairns & Mt Isa.
There is an official relaunch of The Voice's "Yes Vote" referendum however this time round ordinary people rather then celebrities will be involved.
There has been a twist on the Supreme ruling involving a Christian graphic artist refusing to create wedding websites for same sex marriages. It was found that this graphic artist was actually fictious.
Tom Cruise has landed overnight in Sydney by private jet to promote the premiere his new Mission Impossible movie.
Prince William and Prince George have been seen watching the cricket eating pizza sipping on sparkling water and chatting with celebrities making similar facial expressions.
A humpback whale has died yesterday off Ballina near Lennox Head. The council is now figuring out
Ferries in Canada perform a choreographed boat ballet to celebrate Canada Day a tradition that has been performed for a few decades.
A Mexican mayor marries a crocodile.
Ukraine has invited Penny Wong to visit Kyiv.
Australia is attempting to broker a free trade deal with the EU. The current agreement is not good enough and Australia would like to negotiate similar free trade deals to other European countries.
John Farham turns 74 as he continues to recover from mouth cancer.
Monday 3rd July 2023
A cloudy top of 17 degrees C today.
I don't think I will be venturing out today as I have so much to do or fix.
Well apparently my enrollment to do the cert 3 in Information technology has been processed. The course is 4 months full time commencing on 17th July with a virtual class via teams.
I took all the bins out today as they were so overfilled - someone had to do it as residents were putting their rubbish into the yellow bottles and cans bin and filling the blue paper and cardboard bin up. They were putting their cardboard and paper into the red rubbish bins as well.
News headlines today include
Residents of the 78 floor Q1 building in QLD were evacuated this morning after smoke was detected in a dumpster bin. Some residents were were treated for smoke inhalation and a child was treated for a fracture due to a tumble down the fire stairs however there were no injuries from the incident.
Tom Cruise was interviewed on Channel 7 Sunrise this morning to promote his new Mission Impossible movie. It is his birthday tomorrow.
Australia has won the second Ashes test however without contraversy accused of cheating and booed by English Lords fans as they entered the dressing room.
Economists warn that if there is another interest rate rise by the RBA it will slow the economy down and Australia will go into a recession.
Most of QLD is experiencing severe wet weather which is expected to last at least the next few days with a cold spell as well. About 100 mm fell in some parts of QLD overnight.
Margot Robbie turns 33 as she promotes her Barbie movie in South Korea.
It has been confirmed that US president Joe Biden will be meeting the King Charles during his European tour. It will be the first time he will be meeting Charles since he became King. Biden had attended The late Queens funeral hou wever was unable to attend the King's coronation instead sending his wife Jill Biden to attend on his behalf instead. What they will talk about is the question .It is speculated that since Charles is interested in world affairs, the small talk will be similar to what Biden might discuss with UK's PM Rishi Sunak.
There are plans to introduce levies for Seniors with larger superannuation funds and More wealth to pay more for aged care to make it fairer for younger retirees? Levies to be introduced ? How popular will this proposal be?
As Melbourne faces a continued healthcare crisis with Victorian lgovernment funding cuts to ambulance services, NSW has their own healthcare crisis with pressure from staff at Concord Hospital for their CEO who also oversees other hospitals and healthcare organisations to resign m. Staff are unhappy at how she is running the hospital and it's culture with pressures resulting in staff fatique resulting in medical mistakes happening
Youth crime continues as teens in Victoria outside of Melbourne are arrested over car theft by police and a triple stabbing plus the stabbing of a dog in QLD 's Fortitude Valley by 4 men starting at Forest Lake.
The town of Appin in Southern NSW has been approves for rezoning to build approximately 13000 new homes to assist the NSW housing crisis. Koala protection in the region has also been taken into consideration.
Sydney Airport's school holiday chaos continues with a 4th day of delayed and cancelled flights.
Tuesday 4th July 2023
A very foggy overcast slightly wet day this morning with a top of just 15 degrees C. It rained overnight.
I got up before 5 an this morning had dome breakfast was watching the early news before falling asleep and waking up again at 9 am.
It is still really overcast and wet outside but has stopped raining. More chaos at the airport today as the fog in Sydney is forecasted not to lift this morning.
Someone has taken the 3 red bins back in - gee thanks you don't bother to put them out for 2 weeks when all 3 were overflowing - so much so one resident has dumped their rubbish into the yellow bottle and can bin. The blue bin and yellow bin are still on the kerb - don't know if it is pick day for these bins today - I just put all the bins out as they were all full. I noticed that there aren't any alcoholics in the building currently as the yellow bin is empty of bottles and cans but that could be due to the elderly Asians bin diving in the dead of the night for their earn and return schemes.
Another stay at home day today. I did a lot of filing today and have started to gather information to complete my tax return.
I still have my 2 full bags of laundry to do but am putting it off again.
I am catching up on my blog and watching YouTube channels.
Meanwhile 2 different residents have taken the now empty yellow and blue bins back into the carpark. That's nice of them as I wasn't going to do it - why didn't they put the bins out? I am unsure what is going on with my neighbour - he is either not living here and house sitting most of the time or he never leaves his apartment. I have not seen him for ages but I am constantly hearing banging and things falling which seems to be coming from his apartment but they could be coming from the apartments downstairs.
I was up quite late again past 10 pm doing my laundry again. My laundry just won't dry and when it does it smells like dry cleaning chemicals . I csn't work out why this happens but not every dry cycle. I BBC also did not do a second full cycle wash and when I checked my underwear , the detergent was still clumped all over it so I have to rewash and dry all my clothes and towels again. My sheets were OK and I separated these from the rest of my towels and clothes. What a waste of my laundry money and time.
I can't believe all 2 red bins are full again when I went to take my rubbish out to them tonight!
News headlines today include
400 medications are in short supply at the moment 50 of which are antibiotics. This is due to a global shortage pharmacies maybe able to substitute medications safely without returning patients back to their doctor for another prescription. Shortages will around for months.
A concerning video of 4 year old has been seen vaping. Social services is aware of the video considered poor parenting. The little girl was given a puff of the vape from her older brother.
The Ashes contraversey has turned into a diplomatic row as Rishi Sunak weighs in snd says it is not in the spirit of cricket.
A video of a huge crack in a support beam that moved everytime the roller coaster went over it was taken by a father whose kids had ridden the roller coaster 8 times at theme park and given to the stuff at that theme park in Carolina. The roller coaster has been shut down . Meanwhile at another theme park in the US a malfunction has left riders hanging upside down for 3 hours as rescuers got them down safely.
Australians are waiting anxiously today for the RBA's decision as to whether they will raise the interest rate a 13th time or hold it. 4.1% is the figure to watch for. The RBA has decided to hold interest rates today however a few more interest rates are garanteed to come .
There have been 2 separate burnt out mv found with human remains in them. One in The Royal National Park snd the other in Parramatta. Police are investigated if they are related.
Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to 12 accounts of being inappropriately touched in court.
Margot Robbie 's Barbie movie has been banned in Vietnam as it is deemed offensive due to a mistake on a map in a scene where China claims include Vietnam in South China Seas.
Child crime ie 13 and under rather then youth crime is growing in Melbourne as the state raises the criminal responsibility age to 14 years old.
The Indonesia president has landed overnight in Australia for meetings with AA on a 3 day visit. It may be his last visit to Australia as his president term is ending.
There has been Israeli attacks on Palestinians in West Bank.
Concern continues as childcare centers increase their fees to get more of the government subsidies introduced. The government had promised to be on the watch for childcare centre centre that price gouge as the subsidy is introduced. With staff shortages and low wages, many childcare centers are already sufferring.
Retired tennis champion Roger Federer was a surprise guest shaking it up with Cold Play at one of their concerts. Meanwhile
Health workers have rejected a 4% wage increase and could strike next Monday. They want a 5% increase .
King Charles visits Scotland snd given the keys to the city . He will be in Scotland on a 5 day tour.
Wednesday 5th July 2023
Another foggy morning in Sydney with s top of 21 degrees C. The fog is expected to clear thos morning with no flight cancellations so far.Motorists are cautioned to drive with care.
I don't think I will be venturing out again as I still have a lot to do.
News headlines today include
Australian tennis champion Ash Barty has given birth to a baby boy named Hayden. She gave birth 18 months after retiring from tennis and marrying her longtime boyfr iu end Garry.
Melbourne has experienced another earthquake in Pakenham measuring 2.4on the richter scale.
The police officer that tassered the grandmother in a nursing home in Cooma faces court today.
King Charles is in Scotland where he will have a second coronation and also be presented with the honor of Scotland with a new sword named the Elizabeth sword in honor of his late mother the Queen.
In the NSW dar North coast a snake has hitchhiked on a diver's windscreen before coming eye to eye with the passenger videoing it . The windows were up so there was no chance the snake could slither it's way into the car.
Roger Federer may have broken royal protocol by touching Princess Kates shoulder at a match at Wimbledon. Kate has been friends with Federer for quite a few years.
Police oppose the decision of bailt granted to the 17 year old teen that went on a stabbing spree in Fortitude Valley stabbibg 3 random men leaving nightclubs last weekend.
The Beckhams celebrated their 24th anniversary.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton celebrated their 2nd anniversary.
The Whitehouse was evacuated and security swept the site finding white powder which turned out to be cocaine sent off for further testing It was not a threat when found in the West Wing .Biden was not at the Whitehouse at the time.
Beach goers in the US celebrating 4th July public holiday were intercepted by a shark . Most "evacuated" 4th he water but some curious swimmers wanted to hang around to get a closer look at the shark.
QLD is now the only state that does not ban mobile devices at schools leaving it up to individual schools as to whether they ban mobile devices or not but there is now growing pressure from parents to ban mobile devices st schools. Too much screen time is leading to the increase in antisocial behaviour particularly in teens and young adults.
Costco plans big expansion over the next 5 years which means jobs and good news for cost of living.
Melbourne is facing one of the tightest rental markets in Australia - a rental housing crisis where an average weekly rental price of a property has risen from $420 a week to $470 a week in a relatively short period of time. These price range rental properties would only be found on the very outskirts of Melbourne and nowhere near Melbourne CBD.
There have been multiple shootings at 4th of July celebrations around the US.
Thursday 6th July 2023
Today is forecasted for a top of 18 degrees C again. It is meant to be a sunny day but this morning it is a little overcast.
HAPPY WORLD FRIED CHICKEN DAY!
I was tempted to venture out to get some fried chicken but didn't.
Today I did almost all my filing after opening a heap of mail from a few years ago. I filed all my receipts into my diary and started to collect information to prepare my tax return.
I also requested to consolidate my super today -
My groceries and toiletries are getting very low again. My fridge is almost empty. I think I have enough food for only 3 more meals. I do have a container containing shelf stable pantry items so could survive a few more days without a grocery shop - I just hate grocery shopping!
I watched the cook up which I have been watching all week as it is a special NIADOC week special and the very interesting The First Inventors which was a collaboration interesting enough with channel 10 and NITV screened on SBS .
After that I tried to watch Warrick Thornton's Firebite but abandoned it about 20 minutes in as I don't like watching zombie movies.
Sleep after watching a few YouTube videos.
Oh yeh I nearly forgot I tried to install the app Treads on my phone but wasn't quite successful so uninstalled it- may try again later.
News headlines today include
Donald Trump Jr's speaking tour has been delayed over a visa row where it is claimed the AA government did not issue a visa until the last minute. Rumours are the speaking tour was delayed due to poor ticket sales particularly in Sydney.
King Charles has had his second coronation in Scotland where he was handed the crown and a new sword named Elizabeth after his late mother. His Scottish visit and coronation has been met with mixed response those in favour of having a king and protestors who think "Not My King!"
An RBA short list has been revealed with a list of candidates to replace Philip Lowe as governor.
29 cars of a freight train in Wisconsin has derailed causing a closure of the rail line and road.
An investigation is under way of an AFL leak of unauthorised files of private photos videos texts etc of past and present AFL players onto the internet.
Police are raiding homes of gangland members in a crackdown of organized crime.
There is an El Nino warning with a 70% chance of it occurring where this summer could be in for hotter and dryer then normal weather even droughts resulting in bush fires
Education ministers are meeting to discuss issues such as vaping phones and cheating by using AI.
NRL media boycotts means all payers will refuse media in round 19.
Wimbledon was briefly interrupted by a climate protestor with Just Stop Oil throwing orange confetti and jigsaw pieces onto the court. Australian Daria Saville's match was interrupted as she helped clean the mess up however lost her match when it resumed.
Australia is suffering a baby drought where immigration is the solution to population growth at the moment to fill the taxation and lo labour shortage issues.
There are safety concerns of team members after the last Ashes accusation of cheating by English fans. Meanwhile clever marketing by beer brand Victoria Bitter swiftly releasing a batch of their bottled beer with "VB England Bitter" on the labels!
The prosecutors have been slammed for allowing the constable who tasered the Cooma aged care resident grandmother to appear in court via video instead of in person .
Fire breaks out as t Villawood detention centre with detainees having to jump to safety. It is unsure what caused the fire.
Nothing running West of Parramatta causes train chaos due to a shortage of drivers ( all because one person called in sick) - passengers stranded.
The cost of child care continues to rise . Meanwhile the increase costs of running a childcare centre causes a popular childcare centre in Adelaide to shut down and parent scrambling to find alternative childcare.
Sneaky secret mps' wage increase as frontline workers struggle with their pay increase requests.
Robodebt royal commission report will be available tomorrow at 9.30 am with former prime minister who helped launched this scheme in 2015 and MP Christian Porter. Family members are still grieving over those who took their own lives over this automated welfare repayment - debts they never owed and constantly being hounded by.
An Australian has won the yellow Jersey in stage 5 of the Tour De France.
Threads is a rival to Twitter - Zuckerberg verses Musk!!!! and is proving to be catching on!
Friday 7th July 2023
A beautiful day this morning with a top of 17 degrees C today.
HAPPY WORLD CHOCOLATE DAY!
Wait - Didn't we just have World Fried Chicken Day yesterday? Great combination. If I venture out today I will have to have both! A special Lune ( wasn't that where I purchased my canelle from during the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Festival? Just checked - nope it wasn't Lune was on the other side of the rows of stalls) chocolate croissants on collaboration with Koko Black ( my favourite chocolates) is on sale to celebrate World Chocolate Day. Nice to see something is happening in Sydney for Wi rg ld Chocolate Day after a d iu disappointing last year where nothing was on!
Today I start with my fortnightly reporting to Centrelink. No income no change.
I made myself venture out in the late afternoon early evening today. It was a very long wait for a bus to Chatswood even during peak hours. There were people waiting at the bus stop ths th looked as if they had been waiting for the bus to Chatswood for quite a while.
First thing I did when I arrived at Chatswood was to return my full bag of bottles and cans for recycling. So glad I finally got rid of them!
Next stop was to withdraw some cash from the ATM so when I went grocery shopping I could get some change for doing my laundry .
I now had to make it to Priceline to get some cortesone oilnament and at least 1 tube of moisturiser before the pharmacy closed - unfortunately because it was so close to closing they only accepted card not cash - annoying!
Then it was a dash upstairs at Westfield to find the Telstra store to pick up my Fitbit Versa 4 ordered and delivered to the Telstra store for me to pick up. I saw most of the stores around had already shut but luckily when I arrived at the Telstra store it was still open. I signed for the delivery- it was taken out of the delivery cardboard box ' yes please check it was the right product after my last order was cancelled by Telstra! Done.
Back out onto the main street to the closest Chemist Warehouse for all the toiletries I had run out of and on my shopping list to repurchase. I paid by cash I asked for change in coins . I always like to leave my bag at the entrance near the security guard. After leaving the store I checked my shopping list and forgot the mouthwash which is always nearly half the price of Coles or Woolworths. Bag left bear the entrance again I rush and get the bottle of mouthwash paying in cash again however the cashier could not give me any change in coins as she said she didn't gave any - annoying!
Next stop was Coles where I think I spent too much time at doing most of my shopping and where I was able to get $25 worth of change in coins. The 1 and only manuacheckout was cv losing I had to go to the express checkout at the other end. I had so much in my trolley- luckily there was no one behind me as I was paying a split cash and card transactionand needed change but no cash out - the checkout operator was not paying attention and my receipt got stuck in his printer crumpled up jamming it. Did I get my receipt- No of course I didn't !
My final stop was Woolworths but I was hungry so I made a detour v.It a the Friday night markets in the mall. I was looking for fried chicken - $7 for a tiny cup of Japanese style fried chicken - no thanks.
Into my final stop Woolworths Metro for anything on shopping list unavailable at Coles. Eggs at room temperature was one of them. I decided to select a hot takeaway meal as well - one Japanese chicken curry with rice left - I grabbed it although by the time I eat it it will be cold. Purchases paid for by card at the manual checkout I exit the store - only to find In picked up a carton of cracked eggs leaking through the cardboard as I lifted it to pack it in my backpack - annoying! I waited for the exit door to o po en and made my way to the same manual cashier I just visited running to get s replacement - finally after packing this safely into my backpack it was time to head home.
Both my wheelie bag snd my shopping bag were full and quite heavy . My backpacjust managed to fit my loaf of bread and doz of eggs in.
It was quite cold the up escalator was out if order yet again and I had to wait for the lift to street level. It was another 16 minutes for the next bus home - I think I just missed one - annoying!!!
Home my night is not over yet. Unpacking my groceries I ate my now cold Japanese fried chicken curry with rice with a hot mug of green tea watching Foid Unwrapped ( one of my favourite food channel programs but it's on too late each night at 9.30 pm - watch thus and it will make you rethink everything you purchase to eat) .
My night is still not over I decide to recharge and set up my new Fitbit Versa 4.
I tried to stay awake to watch the encore episode of the special NAIDOC Week The Cook Up episode I missed tonight at 7.30 pm as I was out shopping but fell asleep ( I managed to catch up on Saturday morning with another encore episode fortunately)
Exhausted. No time for laundry will have to wait until tomorrow! I'm sure there were other things I caught up on today that I have not added to this blogg.
News headlines today include
QLD state schools are banning phones and smart watches from term 1 next year which is a very quick turn around decision after a long indecision to leave it to individual schools to enforce the ban.
A huge fire has broken out in s factory in Melbourne's Southbank closing Clarendon Street near Crowne Casino . Residents were not evacuated but told to close windows and stay inside as evacuations would cause choas on the street and deemed to be more dangerous. The fire has now been passed on from the fire brigade to police to investigate. It is thought to be suspicious and squatters were thought to have been the cause.
Prince William has participated in a charity polo match and won with a kiss from Princess Kate after the win.
Premier Chris Minns has reached a deal with Healthcare workers that did not get their 6.5% wage increase as the NSW government claimed they could not afford it but they did get an extra payment including superannuation for increases cost of living . Unfortunately this deal struck does not include paramedics.
The Robodebt Royal Commission report was passed onto the Governor General at 9.30 am this morning and made public at 11.30 am. The mother of a suicide victim from the Robodebt incident has given evidence at the Royal Commission.
Rail is back to running smoothly this morning after last night's rail chaos to West of Parramatta
The Australian cricket team were booed by the English fans as they came out onto the pitch at Leeds. Steve Smith was booed by English fans as ge marked his 100 match milestone.
Ricky Martin has devorced from his partner of 6 years.
Saturday 8th July 2023
Today is another beautiful sunny day with a forecasted top of 20 degrees C but windy.
Today is another catch up day for me. I slept until 6 am today but watched some news blogging and played with my new fitbit before going back to sleep around 8.30 am and waking around 9.30 am. I am making myself a proper hot breakfast as I now have sn almost full fridge of groceries after going for a late shop last night at Chatswood.
News headlines today include
An app is being trialed in SA schools to keep kids safe from AI . A close eye is also being kept on cheating with AI.
Shocking "adverse findings" findings have been found in the Robodebt investigation in a report by the Royal Commission described as "crude & cruel". 99 recommendations have been made. Individuals have been named for criminal prosecution. There is no compensation scheme at present.
Milk prices increase due to inflation which could see milk and other fridge staples cost $10 a bottle.
To crack down on stabbing crimes in QLD police have been performing random searches using body scanning wands in areas such as entertainment districts this weekend. A male was found carrying a huge knife in his bag. He was pulled over for not wearing a helmet on his scooter snd that he had been in a robbery previously.
The Spice Girls maybe reuniting after almost 30 years for a special project.
The challenge is on to bring the Voyerager holigraphic ABBA show to Sydney or Melbourne. State funding is the problem at the moment the NSW government lacking the funding to win the bid for the event.
A rail derailment between Woolingong and Dapto has disrupted rail services with rail replacement buses now in place.
The US is sending cluster missiles to the Ukraine and claims that the Russians have been using them since the Russian Ukraine war began. These cluster missiles were banned by Australia and over 120 other countries except the US as they are unreliable and act like land mines where the missiles release numerous bombettes which can kill civilians many years later if they don't go off.
It is he 2nd day of the 3rd Ashes match.
Taylor Swift has changed the lyrics of one of her songs.
Video footage has been released of Britney Spears tapping the shoulder of Victor Wembanyama only to be slapped by his security guard. Victor Wembanyama did not see what happened and no charges have been laid so far.
Sunday 9th July 2023
Another beautiful day this morning with a top of around 19 degrees C again.
I did not venture out today. Most of my day was catching up on watching YouTube channels, laundry, updating my blog and figuring out what I can snd csn't do on my new Fitbit versa 4 - there is more it can't do then it can do and it's not the most user friendly watch to set up. Even setting alarm are much easier to do on an old dumb watch then it is on a Fitbit! I have to totally agree with with the reviews of this watch - it's just an expensive watch that looks and feels comfortable to wear nothing else that has no more features and functions then the latest version of the Fitbit Charge 5!
Oh dear the strap just fell off my Fitbit but I managed to put it back on and when I set 2 alarms for 6 am and 6.30 am for tomorrow morning ( can you actually set 2 alarms on the Fitbit versa 4?) No alarm went off at 6 am and the 6.30 am alarm went off at 6.39 am !
News headlines today include
8 million dollars funding over the next 5 years has been pledged to fund increased Lifeline services as more people have had to use it due to the increase in cost of living stresses.
Operation of illegal tanning bed cash businesses have been discovered around Melbourne. Tanning beds salons have been banned for a number of years now however it is not illegal to own a tanning bed for personal use. Now these personally owned tanning beds are being used illegally as side hustles by owners as cash only businesses. An estimated 50 tanning beds have bern found to be operating illegally .
Tina Turner has been farewelled in s funeral in Switzerland where she was cremated .
31 year old Olympic swimming champion Emily Seaborn has announced that she is expecting her first baby in September .
AA is on his way to Europe to meet leaders at a NATO summit where Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda. 2 days on a plane 3 days on land AA has a very busy schedule in Europe. Biden will also be in Europeat the NATO summit but may be met with some contraversy due to the US decision to send cluster missiles which Australia as part 220 countries banned.
A Gold Coast solo sailor who was trying to break a record of circumnavigating Australia has hit severe weather and has had to send out a distress call after losing communications.with his team. He was rescued 600 km off the coast of SA. Priority is to get him to hospital before retrieving his damaged vessel . Injured, he was winched to safety but has had to abandon his adventure.
Taylor Swift has s surprise appearance with Taylor Lautner ( her ex) on her tour.
Townsville 500 was on over the weekend.
Monday 10th July 2023
Another beautiful day today with a forecasted top of 20 degrees C.
It looked like it may have rained last night as the road was a little wet.
First thing this morning I did was make some chocolate cookies but not just plain chocolate chip cookies these have oats manuka honey cherry jam coconut powder LSA almond meal chocolate essence & dark chocolate mini chips. No eggs but unsalted cultured butter and olive oil. I forgot the vanilla essence and cocoa powder however Iam unsure if they are needed. I was going to add wattle seed but unsure if it will clash - prunes would be nice too.
News headlines today include
Dolly Parton has a new album. She has performed as a "rock star" with her friends on stage - a change in her music genre which is usually country.
AA has travelled to Berlin Germany to sign a new billion dollar deal to provide Germany with 100 boxer armered military vehicles to be manufactured in QLD which will create thousands of jobs . It will be the biggest export defence deal Australia has signed . After this AA will be attending a NATO meeting on Wednesday. Australia is not a member country of NATO due to it's geographical distance from Europe. However there is keen interest to establish a headquarters in Japan to for AsiaPacific member countries.
The men responsible for stalking and following teenager walking home with his friends before getting out of their car and stabbing him to death in June 23 have been arrested but are yet to be charged as hours of cctv footage have to be viewed before charges laid.
A man and woman have been arrested in Ringwood in an allegedly stolen vehicle in a police chase.
SA farmers have developed a tearless onion being tested in selected states in Australia.
Elton John has farewelled his world tour. He signed off in a tracksuit.
Britney Spears has new music?!
Harry Styles has been hit in the eye with something thrown by a fan and injured. This is not the first time fans have been throwing things at celebrities performing on stage last to be hit was Drake with Bebe Rexha, Kelsea Ballerini and Ava Max also being hit with objects thrown at them whilst they were on stage performing.
There is pressure for former PM Scott Morrison to leave politics over the Robodebt fiasco however his beloved Cronulla Sharks team are considering dumping him as their number 1 ticket holder.
England wins day 4 of the Ashes
A car rolls over an embankment injuring 3 teenagers including one who had serious injuries and had to be resuscitated. at Ferny Grove Brisbane.
Liverpool Westfield Shopping Centre was ecacuated today due to a fire that broke out at the back of a shoe store. The fire is not suspicious but due to an electrical fault.
Police are cracking down on defective mv finding numerous mv numerous defective mv.
As the childcare subsidy commences today, some childcare centres have already increased their fees.
The demolition of a Century plus old corner pub in Parramatta to make way for wider footpaths for the light rail system has been deemed unnecessary.
Oscar Piastri has just missed out on a podium finish at the British Formula One finishing in 4th place.
Tuesday 11th July 2023
Another beautiful day forcasted for a top of 20 degrees C.
Someone actually put the overfilled bins out last night but only the 3 red bins.
I will leave it until someone pulls them back in before I take my rubbish out.
My Fitbit alarms did not go off at all this morning at 6 am or 6.30 am. This Fitbitis now becoming a Shitbit! What next it fails to even tell me the correct time!? Google Maps doesn't even work.
I did not venture out today .
Today I received an email which made it clear it wasn't a scam but a class action from Maurice & Blackburn I believe in regards to my MLC Super account. I closed this down and consolidated this into another super account. Just as well that I did years ago. I always advised people never rely on your super to retireand i am right as I am definietely not relying on mine. Back to this class action . My very first super account was a default NAB one from my first serious job. It then somehow became an MIC one and that was when I started noticing pŕoblemswith it - I had 2 accounts and was being charged very high fees as well as being charged brokerage fees when I had no broker for my super accounts with MLC so I consolidated my accounts to one and queriedwhy I was being charged brokerage fees when I didn't use a broker. Later I actually closed my account as my super was not growing in fact I was making a loss . This is what the class action is all about but I am not pursuing it as if the class action is won, the amount of compensation I may be entitled to will be equivalent to the legal fees so not worth my time and I am opting out. Just another warning to others with super funds I had another super account from another part time job and all my employer super contributions were eaten up by fees and insurance I did not sign up for which left me in the negative so I closed the account . This was Sun Super which has now joined forces with QSuper another dodgey Super fund which was recently in the news for "locking out" their members from their super accounts I believe.
I still have another dodgey super account which was also sold off to another company which is really difficult to contact. I am trying to consolidate this as well.
News headlines today include
A bus has caught on fire in Melbourne where the driver and 2 passengers managed to escape unharmed . It is unclear why or how it burst into flames on the Westgate Bridge.
A fast tracking of phasing out caged eggs from 2042 to 2036 may lead to an egg shortage and could increase prices of free range eggs to $15 a carton which due to the current high inflation mortgage stress and rising cost of living would make eggs unaffordable.
Biden meets the British PM and the King. Oh no he broke royal protocol by putting his hand on The King's back! The King also had to nudge Biden along when he stopped and wanted to chat to one of the guards spending too much time with him. I can just read The King's mind and what he is thinking " Come on old man I am on a tight schedule today - move along!"
The Royal Australian Air Force will join the Russian Ukraine War. 100 defence personnel will operate high tech surveillance wedge tail planes based in Germany near the border of Ukraine.
The 2019 White Island Volcano Eruption trial that killed 22 people begins today in NZ . 3 survivers are to testify.
A school puffer jacket displaying the Aboriginal and pride flags divides parents at a Victorian school .
There has been a major inferno overnight in an industrial area in Brookvale on the Northen Beaches of NSW destroying an established automotive business and storage facility next door. Residents have been asked to keep their windows shut due to the toxic smoke. It is now a crime scene
The Marons have snuck back into NSW for the 3rd match of the State of Origin. ( I forecast a clean 3 match State of Origin win by them as NSW Blues just has too many injuries and substitutes)
Even with the housing crisis in QLD the cost of new builds is expected to cost an extra $20000. Meanwhile in Victoria the cost of building insurance has increased 43% due to the amount of building companies collapsing.
Modonna has rescheduled her tour in Europe for October, her US tour was suppose to commence in July but postponed as she is recovering from her infection.
First photo of Hugh Jackman reviving his Wolverine role in Deadpool have emerged.
Harry & Meghan going their separate ways ? careerwise that is - after their Spotify and Netflix venture were terminated.
A proposed petrol tax for those driving mv other then electric to curb emissions- the NSW premier is not keen on it given the current cost of living situation.
Barbie has it's Holywood premiere.
Wednesday 12th July 2023
A beautiful day with a forecasted top of 20 degrees C.
I have to venture out today as I have another appointment again with APM at 11 am.
After my appointment I was hungry so had a teryaki salmon and rice bowl from my favourite sushi place Tamon. Onto Kmart and then a very quick shop at the larger Coles. I purchased a steam mop as I am having a bit of a mould problem and mould spray has been unavailable for quite a while now.
My 2 bags if groceries were so heavy, I caught the bus back up to Chatswood Interchange where it was s long wait again for a bus home. It is suppose to be a bus every 10 minutes but I have never seen a bus every 10 minutes not even during peak hours more like every 15 - 20 minutes most times.
I needed to recharge my Opal card so used the machine as I could not be bothered going upstairs to Woolworths Metro to recharge it. Whilst I bent down to get my card out, a queue formed. There was a young boy and an elderly Asian man. I was waiting for the elderly msn to use the machine but he hesitatedso I rechargedmy Opal card. After I completed my transaction it turned out that he needed help so I assisted him with his $20 recharge and also informing him that Woolworths upstairs can do a manual recharge for him if he preferred. I also advised him the minimum recharge is $20 and to always take the receipt if paying by card.
Home I had a sleep as I don't sleep very well at night .
News headlines today include
A new prequel to the Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory movie will be out in November this year.
A new "Betstop" national gambling register for gamblers with an addiction will be introduced . It is self imposed and once a gambler registers it will block the gambler from gambling for 3 years around Australia not just in one state as previously implemented.
Due to a miscarriage of justice 2 teens charged with the murder of a 15 year old QLD boy 4 years ago have had their charges dropped and there will be a retrial with the parents of the murdered 15 year old who died of a chest wound resulting from a stabbing having to sit though the agony of the retrial. If the 2 boys are successful in the retrial they could be released on bail and back on the streets reoffending.
Daniel Richardo returns to Formula One racing for the rest of the season with his first race in a weeks time in Hungary ( which he won in 2014) and hopefully he will be back in Australia racing alongside fellow Australian Oscar Piastri with possible podium wins. Richardo replaces Red Bull's rookie driver who failed to progress with his driving and observers have noted that Richardo is in great form driving really well on simulators despite his long absence from live racing with Red Bull's Formula One team.
There has been a house fire in Wetherell Park where 2 people were found unconscious. All have now been accounted for after a number of firefighters fought to put the flames out. The 2 elderly couple had died.
AA has attended the NATO summit which he will address with a speech this afternoon before flying home. He has met European leaders today to discuss Ukraine and to negotiate a free trade deal with European countries but not just any trade deal but one that will really benefit the farmers of Australia. AA will not let the Ashes test go joking with the British PM Rishi with photos of the incident 2 days ago - there certainly is a fine line between Sports and politics.
The pressure is mounting with the 3rd origin match. A whole new Blues team has been put together by Brad Fitler whose job was said to be under threat. I still think the Marons will win with a clean 3 match sweep. I was wrong overnight ( Wednesday) the Blueswon the 3rd Origin match however the Marons still won the Origin series winning 2/3 matches. Looks like Brad Fitler gets to keep his job!? It's now all up to the NSWRL's decision. His contract was to be extended for another year if The Blues won the State of Origin Series- it didn't hence the question what now?
The big four banks will be grilled this morning in Parliament in the House of Representatives . NAB Commonweath Bank and ANZ will be grilled today and Westpac will be grilled tomorrow over why the banks are not passing on all the interest rate hikes to savings accounts when all the hikes in the interest rates have been passed onto mortgage holders as the banks announce huge profits.
$50 million will be needed to repair one of the residential building in Canterbury of defects as the Top Place company goes into administration and it's owner flees the country under corruption charges.
A girl in Perth J walks runs across multiple lanes of a busy road being hit down by a bus but gets up and indicates to the bus driver that she is ok . She was taken to hospital where she escaped with minor injuries.
Another case of domestic violencehas occurred in Western Sydney . A woman has bern found dead snd a 50 year old man found with injuries taken by police to hospital.
Weather man Alan Wilke passes away aged 94.
Britney Sears writes her memoir The Woman In Me about her 13 years under conservatorship on shelves on October 24th .
A 15 year old girl from the Central Coast has died from the flu influenza B .
Brain surgeon Charlie Teo has been been found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct. This means he may only be ableto practice overseas. In Australia to operate he will have to seek the approval from a neurosurgeon . He is considering a possible appeal.
The first test has been performed by the Metro extension from Chatswood towards Bankstown. Carriages were carrying individually filled water tanks simulating the weight of 1540 passenger travelling underwater to ensure it could cope with the pressure and not crack.
Forner British PM Boris Johnson has welcomed his 8th child!
Jeff Kennett thinks employees that don't return to the office to work should be docked their pay as they save on travel expenses. Was he referring to public servants or all employees in general? Contraversal.
Optus using Elon Musk's Space X satellites to boots regional signal.
The AUS$ is now back up above the $0.67 mark against the US$
Thursday 13th July 2023
A top of 21 degrees C today.
I decided not to venture out today instead gather more information for my tax return I have to prepare.
News headlines today include
Ozempic used as a weight loss drug in pill form not injections are unavailable in Australia at present but online companies will ship it to Australia for $900.
Australian researches after 30 years research are about to trial a new stroke treatment drug which hopefully dissolve clots in the brain without causing bleeding to the brain. This will be trialled in 6 hospitals. Previously surgery was the only option or taking an alternative drug which only worked on a certain number of stroke patients.
A group of teenagers in Norwood North of Adelaide have allegedly booked a rideshare and held the driver up at knife or gun point before stealing it and taking it for a joyride. They were arrested by police but one teenager is believed to be still on the run. Meanwhile hoons have crashed a car in the same suburb allegedly having a drag race before police arrested them.
Succession and actor Sarah Snok are up for numerous Emmy awards . Meanwhile the writers strike is still on and will affect the Emmys as the ceremony will be void of any scripts written for presenters. Another surprise was Rhianna's performance at the half time 2023 Superbowl was nominated fir 5 Emmy awards.
A second child from QLD has died from the flu so soon after the Central Coast case . She presentedto the ED but sent home only to paramedics called by her parents returning her to hospital where she could not be saved after her condition worsened.
Mining billionaire couple the Forrests are separating after 31 years of marriage and is said that this won't affect their businesses and philanthropic activities.
The banks have been further grilled by parilament over interest rate hikes being passed onto mortgage holders and not saving accounts despite the big 4 banks making huge profits. The big 4 banks responded with mortgage holders are not having problems repaying mortgages an FCC everything is hunky dory. Either the stats ir wrong about mortgage stress or the banks are lying.
Gang wars and gang feuds in Melbourne are what police in Melbourne suspect are the causes of a series of fire bombings including the fire bombing of as supermarket in Collingwood.
Olympic boxer Harry Garside's ex girlfriend a personal trainer thas been arrested and charged for a series of domestic violence and stalking offences. She is out on bail and will face court at a later date.
Another 30 bush masters will be sent to Ukraine as AA as announces a deal to on the side line of the NATO summit with Ukraine's president. Ukraine is still pushing to join NATO. The 30 busmasters will cost Australia another $100 million in aid towards the Ukraine's war.
2 more aged care facilities are closing due to not being able to meet new 24/7 nurse on site regulation.
Europe is sufferring a heatwave where temperatures in Italy hit 40 plus degrees. Residents are told to stay inside.
Twitter is being sued for US$500 million for non payment of severance pay from ex employees
Commonwealth bank may face legal action for forcing employeesto return to the office to work which is 50% of the time required.The Union has gone to Fairwork.
The Matildas face France their last soccer game before the FIFA World Cup where they play Ireland in 7 days time.
After Australia's 2 wins to England's 1 win in the Ashes Cricket test to date, Their next match will be in Manchester at Old Trafford.
Temperatures in Europe hit upto 48 degrees C
A car chase where on Old Windsor Rd and has led to a police shooting at the mv and ending up in The Blue Mountains.
The wife of BBC newsreader has named her husband Hew Edwards ( known for announcing the Queens death on national tv news) as the person involved in a teenage nudie pics scandal. No charges have been laid by police however Edw zs rs is in hospital seeking help for mental issues as a result of the allegations.
Technology is being used for emergency communications where there is no mobile phone signal
Friday 14th July 2023
Happy Bastille Day! Last night the 4 day celebrations began - The French sure know how to party! It is an annual event at Circular Quay and around The Rocks.
A top of 22 degrees C today, it is absolutely beautiful outside! We are in thedead of Winter and it feels like Spring in Sydney everyday! The forecast for the weekend is actually higher with a top of 23 degrees C. That's Warner then in Vancouver BC Canada ! It actually reached 24 degrees C today!
I had to venture out today not just to grocery shop but I had a major tech problem and spent most of my time desparately trying to sort it out at JB HiFi as I start my IT course on Monday and have to complete by tax return by next Friday. There was no time for me to venture out to celebrate Bastille Day at Circular Quay orgo to the NSW Art Gallery as I had planned.
So what happened. Well I purchased my 2nd Surface Pro ( Surface To Go) the day before I went overseas in January 2023 and took it overseas with me but never used it as I had 2 phones with me, one new one that I used constantly. So when I returned to Australia in February 2023 , I decided to set it up and use it for work and study. It did not work - I could not go beyond switching it on and entering my password . I tried quite a few times and it would not allow me into the computer unless I entered a certain wifi network and it's password. It would not connect automatically to it or allow me to select an alternative wifi network. I could not continue onto the next screen or skip the step on the screen. Why do I have to connect to a secure wifi network just to access my new Surface laptop? Very strange. I think I had to force shutdown as it would not allow me to get out of the screen. I kept trying several times but the same thing happened. I gave up . I shut down and did not touch it again for months. When I tried again I still had the same problem so I booked an appointment with Microsoft at their store in the city but it took too long to get an appointment. The staff member I spoke to initially did have a quick look at it and yes there seemed to be a problem that would not let me access my surface laptop without signing into s secure wifi network. I just took it home and left it alone not touching it again until yesterday night and oh no. The problems had become worse . It would not turn on so I plugged it in to recharge thinking the battery maybe flat as I haven't used it for months. It was shut down properlyso maybe there is a battery fault as well. Pluggedin I managed to get into my Surface laptop but more problems occurred. Firstly the clock and date was out by 4 months. How can this happen. The date and time zones were correct under settings. I had to do a manual date and time zone update but this failed to update so had to sync it which worked and updated the date and time. Next I tried to access my Gmail account but was unable to because the @ key did not work when you pressed either of the 2 shift keys it would only display " Mark's. I was told this was due to an English UK setting - incorrect in settings it was on English Australian. So I packed the Surface laptop up snd found the very faded receipt in my diary snd yanked it out to return it to JB Hi Fi along with the reprint of the problematic Microsoft Office 365 receipt where the second of the 2 product keys had faded and needed to be regenerated. What a time to have technology fail on me - I have forms to return for a job application ASAP, a tax return to po repare by next Friday and my iT course starts on a Monday at 9.30 am.
Once at JB Hi Fi I had to return my Surface laptop to be sent off for repairs - no I was not returning to the Microsoft store for an alternative solution I don't have time! zi was advised that it could take days or weeks to return to me. I don't have time so in a separate attempt to solve my problem I had to quickly select a whatever laptop was available midrange which was not a lot of choice left as it is the beginning of the financial year. I manages to make a snapdecision an HP Envy 2 in 1 but they had no pens left but found one at JB Hi Fi Chatswood Chase. Great I paid for this laptop which they had trouble locating and the pen as well which they had already put asidfor me st the other JB Hi Fi. Done. Money transferred from one account to another and I even looked at Garmin smart w sd thes whilst I was waiting. My shit bit was such a purchase mistake but live and learn I did not pay for it. I just hope my selection if the HP Envywas not another tech mistake!!! I don't want to have to return to JB Hi Fi on Sunday!!! With my receipt repair documentation ( solveup) and my new product key for the second year of my Microsoft 365 in hand it was off to Chatswoid Chaseto pickup the pefor my new laptop and to Coles to do some grocery shopping but I keep forgetting to pick upmy free utensil set and Spice Tailor Dahl . Unfortunately I could not redeem either free products as both were out of stock at this large Coles.
Last stop was Chemist Warehouse before walking back up to the bus stop to wait for a bus home. It was again a very long wautand it was peak hour.
Exhausted it was too late to go out into the city so I unpackedmy groceries watched The Cook Up caught up on a few things watched Food Unwrapped and tried to sleep. I did not sleep very well as stress is not good for my allergies - not even playing calmingsleep music hel po ed me sleep.
News headlines today include ( and there is not much news today)
Philip Lowe govenor of the RBA is set to be sacked and his 7 year contract will not be renewed in September when his contract ends. AA announces at a press conference this morning that Michelle Bullock will be the new RBA Governor and thanks Phillip Lowe for his "commitment" ( but not his hard work) . No hard feelings ?! Congrats to Ms Bullock we all hope she will do a much better job the Mr Lowe did.
Eraring the oldest coal plant owned by Origin is not being shut down beyong 2025 in order to keep enough energy running for NSW.
A sold out friendly soccer game against France, the last before the first FIFA World Cup which is also a sold out match against Ireland will be played by the Maildas tonight in Melbourne. Hiwappropriate it's Bastille Day today and The Matildas are playing a send off friendly match with France! 50 000 fans will turn up to cheer pn the Matildas tonight.
Neigbours have rushed to rescue a man with a broken leg from a house fire after hearing a woman screaming.
Dami M after having a baby has released new music and hearing the new single this morning it is an absolute chart topper!
Margot Robbie has an English doppelganger!
As the writers continue to strike the actors have joined them for better pay and conditions as more streaming services appear. They are also striking for AI not replacing their jobs
The low to medium income tax offsethas been scraped for the 2022/2023 FY meaning those who earn between $37 000 - $126 000 no longer get the tax offset. AA declares that is government is not responsible for what the previous government implemented.
Vegemite has updated their logo with a vintage look which has touchesof the original vegemite logo to celebrate it's 100 birthday. I love the new vegemite commercial which is also a blend of snipets from the original black snd white commercial and snipets of the new coloured commercial featuring the kids that applied and won the national search for today's happy little vegemites competition as well as featuring one of the original happy little vegemite kids wearing a replica of the outfit she wore in the original commercial.
Saturday 15th July 2023
Another beautiful day with a top of 23 degrees C forecasted. It still feels colder but maybe that's just me.
Today I ventured out to see the new North Building of the Art Gallery of NSW & to check out what's happening on day 3 of the 4 day Bastille Day celebrations at Circular Quay.
First stop was getting to the Art Gallery of NSW. I always take the wrong turn and have to cross via The Royal Botanic Gardens to get there instead of walking along Macquarie St an At Gallery Rd. Walking through The Royal Botanic Gardens I pass the Calyx which has an indoor hothouse floral display on at the moment called Love Your Nature. I am not going to this as it looks rather boring compared to previous floral displays there. Just past the Calyx there are parts of The Lightscape light walk ( this was part of the paid light installations extended from VIVID with it's final night being tomorrow night ). I am not going to this as a lot of it has been recycledfrom previous light installationsand it costs $30 or more.
It is a bit of a walk to the Art Gallery of NSW but I make it there just after 3 pm. It closes at 5 pm but my only goal today is to see the exhibition in the old bunker called The Tank in the new North Building that opo ener bacback in December. Again tomorrow is the closing day of the exhibition down in The Tank.
I am working on uploading onto my YouTube channel all my videos from inside the new North Building of the Art Gallery of NSW.
I didn't s po end as much time down in The Tsnk as I thought I would so had more then enough time to explore the rest of each gallery on each floor in the new North Building. Most people were there to see The Archibalds in the original South Building but not me. Plenty of time to see that at a look ater date.
So the first thing I d iu d was cloak my backpack- - cloaking is outside of the North Building which is a little different to most museums and galleries.
Onto the lift that will take me down to Level -4 - it's dark down there and reminds me of The Reservoir in Paddington with all the column in a large hollow space with very high ceilings deep underground.
The exhibition I specifically came to see before it also closes tomorrow was :
Adrián Villar RojasThe End of Imagination
I had been wanting to see this since it opened but life hot a little busy. I am so glad I managed to finally make it to it. I loved it You are eel a senseof calm down there you could hear a pin drop. The tank is an old bunker. It us a very large space with so many columns and it's dark so you need to pay attention where you are walking. The lights that turn on and off highlighting the space and the large sculpturesis amazing. Even a video and photos cannot truely portray what your eyes see. No flash photography is allow which is not unusual. There is no echo down in The Tank. There are several waysof getting up and down from The Tank a soiral staircase or glass lift without views or from where you entered.My original video is over 5 minutes long and there is some information and people I did not want to make public in it so for the first time I am trying the shorts editing tool on YouTube to try and eliminate the unnecessary beginning of the video. I hope it works - yep but not so good.
I had plenty of time to see the rest of the North Buildings galleries and there is so much to see. I had my favourites ( refer YouTube videos uploaded).
Onto my next event but due to Lightscapes had to take the long way to Circular Quay.
I have uploaded s what your eyes see.ome short videos of the Bastille Day celebrations. This 4 day festival is getting to big for it's boots. It has grown so much since it's early days when I used to attend. It probably needs a bigger venue. There is something for everyone.
I was so tempted to get a non alcoholic mulled wine but did not end up getting one as it is very difficult to find somewhere to sit down and eat let alone sit down and drink and the chances of spilling slightly hot red over yourself because some accidently bumps you is quite high as there is hardly any room to move - most of the time I was shuffling through the crowds everywhere I went except above waiting for a train at Circular Quay Station where the view of the crowds below is just crazy!
I ended up getting from a French food stall a spicy lamb sausage on the crunchiest baguette I have ever had with some hidden pickles at the bottom of it which I added some Harrsa mayo. Absolutley yummy for $16 it was worth it. Truffles and cheese were at an additional cost which I would have added but being allergic to stinky cheeses and truffle which I can't even stand the taste and smell of let alone being allergic to did not purchase for my sausage on a baguette. I must have walked the entire precincts of the Bastille Day celebrations festivals from East Circular Quay to Customs House Forecourt up the side street and around to First Fleet Park and along the front of the MCA at West Circular Quay right up to just before the Overseas Passenger Terminal before deciding on what to eat. So much yummy food and drink ( not all alcoholic) - I could not decide between the stall selling casuet whoch no one seemed to want to saltand pepper calamari served in a paper cone which looked like a tiny serving not worth $17 . Then there were the flavoured lemonade which looked great but probably too sugaryand artificial or mangoade which looked amazing but very heavy to drink like the consistency of a thick smooth as well as passionate stawberryade etc with loadsof sugar in them as well. Did they actually contaireal fruit? who knows but not too popular with no queues. Then there were macarons heaps of stores selling them with Asians buying them by the box. Loadsof stalls selling French grilled ham and cheese with a bechamel sauce toastie and lobster crab or prawn rolls mussels and chips or oystersand champagne were on offer to purchase as well. No thanks Where was the steak and fries? or confit or orange duck MIA. I was going to get a confit duck baguette until I saw how tiny they were. I was temptedby a madeline and canelle but there was a long queue. I have never had a madeline and I love candles especially chocolate ones. Not today though.
A final stop on a very long wait for a train from Circular Quay to Town Hall just 2 stops. My day is not over yet I need water juice and most importantly more change for laundry which I don't even have tome to do.
Home on a train snd a bus - so I thought but a last minute train announcement at Milson Point advised due to thus train being late it will terminate at North Sydney which was the next stop. What now, Change platforms and get on the next already half full train. How was I going to get out at St Leonard'Station it was now packed!!! Luckily at St Leonards it was not long until the next bus arrived to take me home.
I started uploading some videos onto YouTube but so exhausted I fell asleep.
One thing I had to do before going to bed was take my full rubbish out to the bins before they become overfilled again. Done.
News headlines today include
Tasmania wins best city award. Region top city beating Auckland NZ Sydney Melbourne & Brisbane QLD.
Almost every single movie production studio in Hollywood is now shut down due to actors joining the writers strike which is now indefinite with a forecasted no new content is being created and no promotions of new matrial - streaming series currently airing will dry out beyond September and the threatened cancellation of the Emmy Awards. 160 000 sag members are on strike. The problem is AI - not machines taken over the jobs of actors and writers but all actors from the top actors to the lesser known actors being taken advantage of for life by production studios where an actor will be called in once for a job and paid then producers using the footage from this job and using AI to complete their filming projects hence not having to pay actors for as long as needed - ie greed by production studios.Writerswant better pay and conditions with more contract negotiating power.
A unidentifed flying object has been seen in the skys off the Eastern Coast of Australia - UFO or the Indian Ricket that was just launched a few hours prior travelling to the moon?
The Matilda's won the friendly match against France last night on Badtille Day to a sellout 50 000 plus crowd .
There is a Fadden by election in QLD due to the sudden resignation of a liberal member over the robodebt scandal. The By election was won by an LNP member and it was known 2 hours before the close of voting. Labor did not have a chance of winning the seat of Fadden but had a candidate to give voters a choice. AA did send a congratulatory message to Mr Cameron Caldwell
There are calls to make flu vaccines free after 55 residents have died from the flu this year.
SA has intercepted a VAP haul.
The Spice Girls will become 5 into 1 again in a reunion for their 30th snniversiary where Victoria Beckham will join the other 4 Spice Girls. The last time they United was at the London Olympics.
Will the new governor of the RBA make s difference to inflation, the rising cost of living and mortgages? It has been forecasted that interest rates will have risen enough to warrant a possible interest rate cut by the time the new RBA govenor commenced her job in September 23 as inflation returns to a more normal rate on the other hand it is also arguedthat interest rates may continue to rise well into next year. Meanwhile according to statistics even top wage earners of $270 000 have been pushed out of the housing market due to the current housing crisis. Housing purchases for those earning $250 000 per annum is out of reach in 2/3 of Sydney suburbs.
Sunday 16th July 2023
It was forecasted for 19 degrees C today and dry all morning but by noon the weather took a turn and it poured with rain and is extremely grey outside. I am so glad I went to the Bastille Day and the Art Gallery of NSW yesterday.
I am not very well today and have so much to do including preparing to start my Cert 3 in ICT tomorrow at TAFE St Leonards.
I did not venture out and was up until midnight trying to catch up on stuff I do online including finding a work around for a job application form I had to return.
I think I had a good 6 hour sleep
News headlines today include
Mostly local news - another fire, another crash and another charge for a previous murder shooting or stabbing there seems to be a lot of fires mv crashes police pursuits and homicides around Australia lately.
4 days to go until the FIFA Womens World Cup and all eyes are on perfecting the grass pitch for it. I didn't know that the lawn was half artifical and half natural!?!
As actors and writercontinue their strike and no promotions of new series have been allowed, the reliance of movie revenue has been focusedon 3 new movie premieres Mission Impossible, Barbie & Ophenmier.
As tourists flock to Europe for holidays temperatures continue to soar but Europe is not the only continent to suffer , Death Calleyin the US is firecastedto hit 55 degrees C plus with an overnight temperature around 40 degrees C.
Monday 17th July 2023
First day of Certificate 3 Information Technology ( TAFE St Leonards Campus) 10 am - 12 pm
I had to wake up a little early this morning and have a shower watch the news and prepare for my very first class of the Certificate 3 In Information Technology ( full time @ TAFE St Leonards Campus). Almost no turning back now eventhough I am unsure if I have chosen the right fee free course to attend. What if it is too easy for me or the wrong IT course. Cyber Security and Business Analyst course seem to be the most popular. I was aiming to do the business or data analyst course but in order to do them you need to do the Cert 3 and 4 General IT courses first.
So my entire morning was spent doing an orientation online. I don't have my first face to face classes until Wednesday morning but tomorrow night and every Tuesday night I have an online Cyber Basics class that I have to attend ( unless I can get a prior learning exemption - which we have been advised is quite difficult to get) . How TAFE has changed since I attended - the courses are not very flexible at all. Another example is if you can't make it due to work or other commitments to one of the face to face full time classes - you can't do an online or alternative face to face part time alternative class for the same subject if available at TAFE now. Back when I attended TAFE Ultimo I could reorganise my own timetable or schedule of subjects to fit in 2 full time classes including classes of exams from both course. Applying for exemption was also very easy. At onestage another classmate and I would travel from Tafe Ultimo to Tafe Dover Heights one weekday a week every week for an entire semester in order to complete a subject in a course that was not offered at Tafe Ultimo. We would no have time to have any lunch just complete the morning class hop in his car and drivestraight to Tafe Dover Heights to do the other class. I think I was very lucky to have a classmatthat actually drove as I didn't drive and still don't and there was no way I would have made my classes in time by public transport . I was also luckythat I stilllived at home back then in the Eastern suburbs so could take a bus home even walk if I had to ( although it would have taken me a while about 30 minutes).
Lots of students had lots of questions today and we all had to do a comprehension and numeracy test that was 45 minutes long regardless of which IT course we were doing even continuing students had to redo the test. I only had to do one in my last course because I could not find my grad cert . There was no pass or fail for this test it was just to see who needed extra support. I could hear quite a few students run into valid problems whilst others just had general problems. I went over the 45 minutes allocated to complete the test and the majority of students had left the teams meeting but I sped up after the comprehension questions to complete and submit my test ( could not copy and paste some answers and link didn't actually open) . I wasn't sure if the host of this test was still available to answer student questions. There were a few still doing the comprehension questions when I finished. Quite a few students asked if they had to complete the test now or if they could do it later - we had to all complete and submit the test during the time allocated. Some students had just started the test as I finished mine.
After the 2 hours or so orientation and with a thank you and bye message sent, it was time to have something to eat and drink and wash my dishes and clean the bathroom floor.
I still have 2 full loads of laundry to do as well as complete my tax return.
Today it is overcast and it rained overnight snd into the morning . It is a forecasted high of 19 degrees C today a little cooler then over the weekend.
I managed to do one load of laundry tonight and will try and do the other load tomorrow.
Sleep around 11 pm.
News headlines today include
All states have knife sale restrictions except in QLD and there is a pushto introducethis law however there is an arguement that education rather then the restrictionof the sale of knife sales is more important as there is a rapid increase in youth knife crimes in QLD.
A major security scare where a passenger's luggage managed to pass airport security unchecked has caused Melbourne Aiport security at the Qantas check in to close leaving long queues of passengers at check in counters.
A new school in Sydney's South West will ease the growing populationin this region with an initial 800 enrolments the school'senrolments could grow to an intake of 1000 students.
QLD schools plan to overhaul their tuck shop menu from junkfoodlike hot chips & pies to more healthy offerings such as rice pasta and curries.
Carlos Alvarez has beaten Novak Djokovic at the Wimbolden final. He is the 3rd youngest winner unce 17 year old Boris Beckerwon in the 1980s
Polls ( which are never right) show popularity for both parties Labor and Liberal has dropped however Labor still way ahead of Liberals. There is always the arguement that the current government is not doing enough to ease the cost of living pressures. Greens and Independents are increasing in popularity and there is even support for Pauline Hanson.
A mysterious object washed up onto a WA beach is being investigated but it has been an ouncthat it is not from the Malaysian airline flight that went missing but possibly part of space junk.
200 bus services to and from the Northern Beaches have been cancelled due to staff shortages.
D day for Commonwealth Bank staff return to the office where they must work 50% of the time. Workers are not happy and the enforcementis being negotiated.
Jane Birkin actress singer and fashion icon passes away aged 76. She is remembered for the Birkin bag. I remember hearing the story of the Birkinbag which is an investment in itself and has a wait list and where you have to be invited to have one made up for you . Jane was on a plane where she used to carry a wicker basket ( I thought it was a carpet type bag) with her things in it and said to the man sitting g next to her that she wish they would make a better bag for carrying things in whilst travelling and the man next to her happened to be in the fashion industry and made her a special bag which became known as the Birkin Bag.
Tuesday 8th July 2023
A rather grey day today. I still have so much to do. I think it is a top of 21 degrees C today.
Tonight I have a connected class online using teams for my first Cyber Basics class. If I find that I have already covered this subject I will have to request an exemption .
Bumped into my neighbour and had a good chat to him. Found out that the huge crash I heard was the tv in his apartment that fell off it's bracket and smashed his $3000 computer screen. Was it insured? no but the landlord has to pay for the damage as it was their tv that broke off their bracket that caused the personal property damage. My neighbour does not think the landlord was very happy about the amount of damage it's tv caused.
I ventured out today to get some basic groceries so I can make a packed lunch for the next 2 days of classes. I didn't go overboard and only got enough extra groceries to last me until the end of this week. I did my shop at Priceline in Westfield and Woolworths Metro.
I treated myself to a small serving of KFC hot chips with no salt. They are made fresh if you ask for no salt chips. I also purchased a MacFeast without the cheese. I asked if the MacFeast was a limited edition or permanent menu item as it was permanently deleted a while ago. Staff were unsure and when I mentioned no cheese, a staff member advised me that they could substitute the orange American cheese with Aussie Jack cheese - what's that I asked?" It's less plasticicky!" was her response - umm no thanks!
Next stop recharge my Opal card at the Seven Eleven .It was just too difficult from Woolworths Metro with cash.
It was a long wait again for a bus home 7 minutes wait according to the schedule - it was more like a 20 minute wait!
The sun was still out but the dark grey clouds were present waiting to burst into a storm. I was hoping that I would make it home in time and not get caught in it.
I put my junk food rubbish into one of the red bins. Did anyone even put thebins out last night?Who knows!?
I unpack my groceries catch up on my blog and watch The Chase Australian version wsiting for my Connected Class in Cyber Basics to begin at 6 pm. I hope my Teams connection works tonight. I make myself a cup of tea.
Oh my goodness! This is so confusing and complicated- I think half the students are having trouble trying to navigate the amount of technology and swimming through the enormous amount of information to get to what you are required to do!
I have to use 2 phones in order to see hear and post everything for this online class. Telling us we should be using a laptop not a phone. Seriously? We were told that we don't have to have a laptop because we use the computers at TAFE and it was all good and working on one phone for the online orientation we had yesterday so why are we all having so many technical issues tonight????
"Oh my ears!" - we heard and saw this alot tonight on the chat with memes everywhere - mute your mic on teams unless you are asking a question!
Did I actually learn anything in tonight's Cyber Basics connected class? No it wasbasically a 3 hour chat room talking about what we are up to and trying to deal with technical issues mainly why is mychat not working ????
I left the class a little early frustrated .
9 pm time to go straight to bed after preparing for my first face to face class tomorrow at Tafe St Leonard's- must get there a little earlier as I have no idea where to go for my first class.
News headlines today include
Police are investigating a string of bombings around Victoria as another store has been fire bombed . After s supermarket and gym were fire bombed a store in Deer Park All Thingz Kiwi which sells products from NZ has also been fire bombed overnight. police are investigating if they are waring gang related.
Pamphlets will be available for arguing the yes and no vote of the voice referendum. Essays have been written capaigning the yes and no vote with information available from the AEC website today on .
As breakthrough has been made after years of failed trials of as new Alzheimer's drug. The drug is not a cure but has shown to slow the the cognative decline rate of dementia in patients by 30%.
Victorian premier Dan Andrews is about to announce major changes to the Commonwath Games in Victoria which was originally going to be held in regional towns around Victiribut no plans for infrastructure accomodation has been announced and it was not in the last state budget. So how is the state government going to pay for it and will it be all run in Melbourne city only? He has just announced that the Commonwealth Games in Victoria in 2026 will not go ahead and the Commonweath Games Organisation have been up all night in London in discussions of what now as they only found out at the last minute. The decision by Dan Andrews not to go ahead with the Commonwealth Games was due to the original budget of $2.6 billion will now cost $6 billion even as much as $7 billion which is not value for money for holding a 12 day event. He advised that he could not pull funding needed for the priority of housing healthcare and education to fund the games. The $2.6 billion legacy funds that was to be used for the games will still go towards the sporting facilities and housing that would have been built for the games in these regional areas in a package towards more affordable housing for example. Younger athletes will be disappointed as this would have been a stepping stone towards the Brisbane Olympics and international competition on home tuff.
2 celebrity couples have devorced Ariana Grande has been seen without her wedding ring and Sofia Vergara has also devorced from her partner.
A woman who was bitten up to 30 times by a pack of 3 dingos that chased her whilst she was jogging alonalong a beach on K'gari Island (the former Fraser Island ) has been airlifted to hospital after the dingos chased her into the water and a person driving pass spotted her and rescued her by wiming outto her and tdragging her. One of the dingo has attacked previously and had a tracking tag on it.
Police have announced that they are closing in on a gang of organized crime where there has been a string of burglaries.
Adelaide has increased it's number of officers to crack down on it's increase in fare evasion.
MacDonalds is opening it's first fries only store at Darling Harbour with sauces from around the world.
Cost of living indicates half of Australians would not have the money to pay an unexpected bill if it came along.
Westpac and NAB both expect 2 more interest rate rises to 4.75% CBA expects 1 more interest rise to 4.35% and ANZ does not expect any more interest rate rises with the current interest rate to remain at 4.1%. Meanwhile NAB has banned cyrptocurrency cracking down on intangible assets.
The USS Canberra arrives in Australia for celebrations over the weekend.
Another siege has happened in in Western Sydney
Wednesday 19th July 2023
My first full day of face to face classes at TAFE St Leonards.
It is a forecasted top of just 16 degrees C today.
I pre packed my lunch last night for today. I did not sleep until around 11 pm lol ast night after watching Food Unwraped and catching up on an encore episode of The Cook Up as I could not watch the original episode at 7 pm due to the cyber basic connected class which was awkward a waste of time as it was just a 3 hour chit chat session full of confusing information and technical glitches that really did not outline what the subject was about. My internet connection cut out so I left the class about 10 minutes early.
Today's classes again were full of technical difficulties with Teams again. We had our first Programming class and Working in IT classes.
Again most of the time was using Teams . We were supposed to install Python and Pycharm and run our very first program print "Hello World" but ran into difficulties when the teacher discovered after he installed Pycharm that the computers did not have Python preinstalled on them. The path was there but the exe was not. Python has to be installed before Pycharm i order for the "coding interpreter" to work. Due to policies and procedures to minimize cyber security risks , the teacher would have to fill out a form and lodge it for Python to be installed on all computers and this would take too long to do so he had to find a work around using Anaconda . The only problem was it was complex and every student had to do it themselves on their computer they were using in the classroom except me as the teacher used my computer I was using as the guinea pig computer. I bet next week I will be the one with problems putting me behind in the subject!!So what is Anaconda? Our teacher described it best as similar to when you get a new laptop and a free version of office is included with it.
It was 4 pm by the time we were actually installing and we finished class at 4.30 pm so there was a very last minute rush to get what we were suppose to do in our programming class in the morning but didn't do by the end of our afternoon class which was suppose to be a working in IT more theory and activity based class.
Something went wrong with the lesson plan for this class. There are actually 2 groups for this cert 3 full time class A & B ( I was put in group B) - the other class group A is probably the better class with the better classroom and better computers in building J ( we are in the older building B and the classroom is really causing my allergies to flare up badly - watery eyes, and even an asthma like cough. There is a bad glare from the windows and constant noise from the music coming up from the canteen below) .
The teachers decide to combine the classes using Teams in the afternoon caling it a "United Class" . The class was anything but United. our teacher left to join the other teacher and our class was left alone to listen to the other teacher conduct a "connected class" using Teams.
This did not work - we could not hear anything and there was the constant background noise which prompted students to post " oh my ears" memes . I used my old school headset and plugged it into the computer headset port which made the audio clearer and had to post a comment " Hey we are not in a submarine!" ( I think people liked my comment as there were a few different reactions) as the audio on Teams just became worse. We get a message on the teams chat that our teacher is returning. It is so unprofessional to be discussing the lesson plan over Teams during a connected class and being undecided as to what should be taught. It should have been already organised. So both classes were on different wavelengths and out teacher returns and we ended up installing Python and Pycharm.
4.30 pm time to go home. I walk instead of busing it.
The student office was closed so I took a photo of my completed exemption form and sent it by email back to IT department. It was rejected in that form. Now I have to figure out how I can resend it without a computer as my photo emailed was my work around.
News headlines today included
A childcare worker in QLD has been stood down for allegedly hitting a child. Snacking has been banned for a while now. The mother noticedher child had a sore back and lodged a complaint.
Dan Andrew's decision to cancel the Commonwealth games in regional areas of Victoria has been labelled an embarrassment with disappointment from athletes and businesses.
The mystery object that washed up on the beach in WA that was guarded by police officers has now been removed to be investigated.
Another person has been attacked by the same dingos on K'gari . It is unsure if the dingo responsible will be put down. Dingo sticks have been issued to tourist to deter dingos
He looks like castaway Tom Hanks but a real Australian castaway was stranded at sea. After leaving the mainland for an island his communications malfunctioned leaving him in his catamaran drifting at sea for 3 months with no one except his dog Bella to keep him company. He survived on raw fish and storm water losing a lot of weight greatful that a helicopter watching over a fishing boat spotted him and rescued him.
Britney Spears has new music- a collaboration which is very like her collaboration scream & shout previously
Supermodel Gigi Hadid has bern arrested for drug posession at an airport
Unemployment could go up to 3.7% snd growth is slowing down therefore 2 more interest rate rises I is forcasted.
A growing number of people think that our immigration is out of control. Only a little over 20% think immigration numbers are adequate.
The USS Canberra woll be the first warship to be commissioned outside of the US and will be commissioned in Sydney showing how close the US /Australia ties are.
Thursday 20th July 2023
FIFA WOMENS WORLD CUP OPENING CEREMONY AUCKLAND NZ & OPENING GAME NZ verses NORWAY & in SYDNEY AUSTRALIA verses IRELAND
A forecasted top of 19 degrees C today it sure felt much colder.
Today is my 2nd full day of face to face classes . Our morning class was security and privacy and in the afternoon we had a networking class.
We didn't use Teams as much today so there was no more memes on "Oh my esrs!" posted on the team chats.
First thing we did today was introduce ourselves to the teacher and other class mates today. Being the oldest member of the class morethen double the age of almost every other classmate I put my hand up and volunteered to introduce myself first unlike my class bluddy who is the youngest classmate who tried to escape introducinherself and almost succeeded until we sobbed her in to the teacher advising her that she missed someone.......yep the teacher actually started her subject for this morning without realizing this.
I describe myself as a Commodore 64 ( probably incorrect more like a Motorola as I am nowhere near 60 + yet) with most of my classmates Iphones ( 17 - 25 year olds) with a spattering of Samsungs ( 26 - 30 +). A cheeky classmate asked the teacher how old she was - now that's a bit rude 40 + and we left it at that as she kept repeating her processor doesn't work very well.
My class buddy who is the youngest student in the class ( I am the oldest) during a break asks other classmates if they are on " insta" and they started a "let's follow each other" - how ironic the subject we are studying today is security and privacy and shortly after the break she discovered she had been catfished on her insta account and had to ask the guys in the class what she could do to stop it.
The teacher was keen to amend our timetable to a half hour lunch break only instead of a 1 hour lunch break and finish earlier so instead of a lunch break from 12.30 pm - 1 30 pm only have a lunch break from 12.30 pm - 1 pm and finish classes earlier at 4 pm instead of 4 30 pm but with normal 15 minute tea breaks for the morning and afternoon classes.
I think most classmates agreed but except the game in the corner of our class who seems to be eating lunch at his computer and playing with games throughout the class ( a no no according to a sign on the wall).
We had to complete our first quizz for networking this afternoon. Everyone was tired. We had to keep doing the quiz untill we got 100% correct. I failed and panicked on mysecond attempt as my score was getting worse and everyone had left at 4 pm except me. I did not raise that some students did not completely do the quiz until they got 100%. I actually had to tell my little class buddy who only got one wrong I wasn't actually getting the questions wrong just selecting too many o po tirns and getting partially correct answerbut the music in the background and class mates leaving was distracting me andwe don't even have to do the quizzes - the assessments are more important to our grades.
I walked home and just went straight to bed. I was so tired and stressed - I didn't even go to Chatswood to see if my laptop was ready topick up from repairs. I got a text message but it could be a scam as it was from JB HiFi Chase not JB HiFi Westfield.
Yes I woke up to watched the World Cup ! Way to go Australia!
News headlines today include
Sam Kerr has been benched and out of the FIFA World Cup at the last minute for the first 2 matches due to a calf injury during Wednesday's practice. Australia 1 Ireland 0 - Australia won the opening match of The FIFA Womens World Cup. Australia now plays Nigeria next Thursday night.
The Gold Coast is viing for The Commonwealth Games after Dan Andrew's pulled the plug on Victoria to host it. There was talk to have a permanant host country to host the games but only if the government transfers its funding to the Gold Coast that would have been used to fund The Commonwealth Games had Victoria gone ahead and hosted the event.The mayor of the Gold Coast wants the event as most sporting facilities from the 2018 games are already in place with only the athletes village now converted into private residences but the QLD premier does not want the 2026 Commonwealth Games in QLD citing the state wants to just concentrate on preparations for the 2032 Olympics.
A shooting rampage has occurred in an office building in Auckland host city of the FIFA Womens World Cup with 3 dead including the gun man and 6 injured . It was unclear at the time if the shooting was relatedto the event.
The AUS$ has dropped back down again from $0.68 to $0.67 against the US$ today.
Friday 21st July 2023
Happy National Lamington Day!
A forecasted a mostly 18 degrees C today.
So much to do today again!
First lodge my Centrelink fortnightly income reporting.. Done.
I had to venture out today as I had almost no grocery supplies left. No bread cheese water juice chicken fish vegetables fruit even low on toilet paper and tissues.
I had a bag of bottles to return for recycling and a heap of laundry I had not done. I only did half the other day.
So first stop was take any rubbish out to the bins which were almost full again especially the bottles and cardboard bins then take the bus to Chatswood to return my bottles for recycling - a long wait if you miss the last bus.
Next Chemist Warehouse to get some toiletries conditioner moisturiser cotton buds .
Onto Coles Local where I did my huge grocery shop so I can save money and pack my lunches for college. Canteen food is good but I am not working so any cost mimalising or freebies is good these days with the rising cost of living due to high inflation. Gee I just spent over $160 on groceries alone just at Coles local. The toiletries at Chemist warehouse cost me another $50 so.
I decided totreatmyself to a spicy chicken burrito with coriander for dinner takeaway in between my shopping trip. It was a long wait for a bus home.
I unpack my groceries and do my laundry which did not all fit into 2 loads so I guess ove the weekend I will have a 3rd load to do.
I am up late again as it took so long to domy laundry so I watch a catch up episode again of the Cook Up as I missed it as I was out shopping.
Bed around 11 pm again.
News headlinestoday include
An Argentinian woman was lucky to escape crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing when 2 cars collided and almost hit her. No one was seriously injured
85% of QLD youth crime reoffend within 12 months.
The Treasurer is to announce a new landmark framework in regards to measure our well being Data used unfortunately is outdated dating back to pre COVID times when for example there was no mortgage stress.
Solar power panel technology installed in Australian homes have been found to be a potential security threat due to satilite surveillance hidden within it's technology.
Australis has the highest alcohol tax in the world and the " booze" tax is about to increase again - so if you arethinking of having that gin and tonic for example it could cost you up $100 per litre.
An US soldier who cross the North Korean border has disappeared . It is unsure of his location - was he arrested by North Korean soldiers and taken away to an undisclosed location. The mystery is why he crosse the border of a country where people are desperate to escape from.
2 people a man and a woman have been arrested and charged in a 90 minute police car pursuit which started in Preston's hitting a mv and ending in North Rocks in the Western Sydney suburbs.
Victorian urgent care centres opened to reduce the pressure in ED at hospitals has been found to have reduce opening hours. They are suppose to open from 8 am - 10 pm but are not open those hours due to staff shortages.
Victorians are not wearing seat belts and it has been found 20% of fatalities were not wearing seat belts.
Someone in the US has won the Powerball $1 billion jackpot however they will end up only seeing about half of it as unlike Australia a quarter of it will go straight to Federal government taxes then state governmentswill take their share of the winnings. It is unknownwho won the jackpot but the store that sold the winning Powerball ticket does.
The new WIll.I.AM and Britney Spears collab has been revealed. ( sounding good guys!)
A lioness has been seen on the outskirts of Berlin.
Saturday 22nd July 2023
A cooler day today around 17 degrees C with achance of a thunder storm
Today I had an appointment with my tax agent to do my 2022/2023 tax return but I had to cancel as I am still missing some documents from AHM and HCF. I also don't have a laptop at the moment so am trying to complete it on my phone. My appointment was at 1.30 pm but Isent an email requesting if I could just submit it electronically or reschedule an appointment.
In the morning and every Saturday between 9 30 am and 12 30 pm there is support for students in the ICT courses at Tafe. I asked questions about several things I was having problems with and it was not very helpful so I don"tthink I will be using support on Saturday if I can avoid it.
The rest of my day was trying to complete my tax return with as much information as Ican find. In between I made myself a nice roast of chicken and whatever vegetables I had in my fridge from my grocery shop yesterday- cauliflower pumpkin and zucchini were mychoice of vegetables along with whatever fresh herbs I which was lemon thyme dill sage and shallots. Add dried seaweed garlic chilli salt pepper and some duck salami and drizzled with olive oil and unsalted butter - low and slow in the oven it was just yum!
I continue with my tax return and watch some tv into the evening.
News headlines today include
A 37 year old man charged over alledged abduction of a child in Perth.
Crooner Tony Bennett passes away aged 96. His last performance was with Last Gaga.
Australia becomes the firstcountry to comission a US warship the USS Canberra.
Large tech companies such as Google Microsoft Meta etc have come together to agree to implement AI safeguards with Biden in the US. Watermarking was discussed as a possible solution to identify what is Ai generated and what is not.
Trump is in the news ag as in about his trial - who cares. How many timescan he be indicted? May 20th 2924 is his court date for interference with confidential documents. His lawyers are working on court as appearancedates after the election - why? If he wins the election he won't be able to be the president if he is arrested charged and jailed - an alternative president will have to be elected wasting everyon's time and money.
Splendor in the grass better weather smaller crowds.
Soccerstar Messi debuts his first game in the US in Miami.
Former commander has been arrested for the shooting down of MH17 killing all of the people on the flight.
The Barbie movie finally screens today.
Sunday 23rd July 2023
Happy National Wine & Cheese Day!
Sydney has a forecasted top of 17 degrees C today with showers.
Today I spent the afternoon at Chatswood to exchange my new HP Envy core i5 to a core i7. I originally purchased my i5 from JB HiFi Westfield but that was all they had in stock.After evaluating the minimum requirements of what I would need for my programming class and other applications, I decided that I needed a more powerful laptop then I had purchased . I already have 2 core it's both Surface laptops both out of commission.
After my trip to JB Hi Fi itwas time to do a grocery top up with things on my shopping list I had run out of from both Coles.
I also shopped around for another cheap laptop sleeveand found as nice 14" anime one from QBD Books. It's strange how most stores only stock one size laptop sleeve - either all 13.4" or all 14" or all 15.4" !
Nothing from Woolworths Metro today. Home on the next bus which was quite a wait, preparation for tomorrows class and sleep
News headlines today include
Today is the very last broadcast of 7 News from the Martin Place studio. From Monday 7 news will be broadcasted from their new studio with state of the art technology.
3 people ( 2 men one shot in back po f the head the other in the back and 1 woman shot in the chest) in 2 different cars are in a critical condition in hospital from a shooting in Greenacre. A burnt out car was found further down from the shooting scenbut unclear if related to the crime.
Victoria is planning s tourism tax ! There venue will be used for more affordable housing and hopefully convert Airbnb into more permanent accommodation.
Europe's heatwave has seen an island in Greecee vacuated due to fires from extreme weather conditions. 19000 have been evacuated from homes and hotels on the Island of Rhodes and thousands have been stranded on the island as there is not enough flights to get them off the island. Same situation on the island of Corfu where there is little accomodation hence an evacuation is in the process.
Prince George turns 10 with a professional photo taken rather then Princess Kate taking a private photo.
Dog Bella who was left behind in Mexico after his owner the Australian who survived 3 months with her and could not take her back to Australia with him due to the long journey has found a new owner.
Seals seen aound the Sydney foreshores indicates the Sydney Habour is healthy.
If you haven't bought s house by now you probably never will as it is getting more and more difficult to break into the property market unless you have " the bank of mumand dad". It will take 2 or even 3 household wages to afford a mortgage for home ownership.
More and more people with minor medical issues that should be treated by a gp or pharmacist are turning up at QLD hospitals
2 men that were missing when their fishing crashed off the coast of Sydney when the sea conditions turned wild , one body has been found and therescue of the other called off as the period of his chsnes of survival has expired. Their dingy was found smashed up against some rocks of a cliff. They were not wearing any life jackets.
Monday 24th July 2023
Today showers are easing with a top of 18 degrees C. forecasted.
This morning I attended my first face to face Network Build class. I arrived around 9.15 am thinking I was running just in time for our 9.30 am class but most of the class was at least 10 minutes late. Did they know that we had a face to face class this morning ? Lastweek we didn't have to attend class as it was a connected class orientation only session. We found out our teacher was a last minute teacher for our class and hewas confused aswell thinking we were in the J building not the B building. I had to explain that there are 2 groupsgroup A in the J buldingand group B in the B building . The teacher also had to travel to teach at another location and needed time to travel there so for today only our class ended at 12 noon rather then 12.30 pm. Next week he will have it sorted out.
Interesting but challenging class today. Networking is not an area I would like to work or specialise in nor is it something I know anything about or interested in.
I walked home today but then again I walk home most days of face to face classes at Tafe.
I almost finished my 2022/2023 tax return yesterday. I was missing 2 documents which I have chased organisations for.
I have another appointment at APM tomorrow at 11 am . Such a waste of my day as I want to play with my new laptop.
Well I managed to wash and dry my 2 full loads of laundry finally. It took until 6.30 pm to wash and dry.
Still working on my tax return watching the news and also looking for jobs.
Not s lot of news headlines today but quite a bit in sport.
Lack of fan fare as the host of the FIFa Womens World Cup? More green and gold needed as host city including lighting up the Opera House sails with green and gold? Is the Darling Harbour Festival Hunot enough ? RemebeAustralia is co host - don't forget Auckland and NZ they held the opening ceremony!!!! however are not getting the ticket sales and hype Sydney is getting n
2 of the 3 victims shot in Greenacre may have been innocent victims in a gang land shooting. The shooting may have been a targeted one but of the of the 2 cars parked in an industrial area at night, the man in the car may have been the target and the woman and man in the other car just innocent bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The man from Melbourne that fell from shipping containers could have been looking for a drug haul although his family advised he was a business man dealing in special equipment & property . Approximately $40 million was deposited into his account 48 hours before his death. Why this was deposited is being investigated.
850 000casual workers may have the same conditions as full time workers.
Europe along with Greece which continued to battle heat waves and wildfires.
Ariana Titmus has broken a 400 m freestyle record in the World swimming championship in Japan. The relay team also won gold bringing Australia 4 gold.
Formula 1 Oscar Piastri comes 5th as Daniel Richardo comes 13th in the Hungary Grand Orix
The 4th Ashes Test has been rained out with a draw but Australia still retains the Ashes over England at old Trafford ( 2 tests to 1).
70% of the flu admitted to hospital are children. Melbourne's hospital system is struggling to cope therefore vaccinations are being urged especially children . Moderna is also developing an all in 1 triple vaccine which will include COVID RSV and Influenza
.Youth crime is out of control in QLD.
New boarding system is being trialed by Qantas. Back door to be used more often and middle boarding first to improvetravel and cut boarding time. Get with it Qantas- the system has bern used by many other airlines for years!
Nicole Kidman is in a new streaming series Special Ops.
Beijing spies on Austrslia's war games.
Plans for trans tasman tweak - no passports or landing cards for Aussies and Kiwis crossing the ditch to make travel easier treating travel like a domestic flight.
Elon Musk is determined to revamp Twitter including killing off it's logo of a bird replacing it with an X. Elon Musk has wasted no time revamping & removing the blue Twiittet bird and replacing it his X Mark'sthe spot. Bankruptcy looms for Twitter.
A Central Coast driver who just got her licence has been confronted with an out of control car on it's side flipping driving towards her.
Blockbuster Barbie movie premiered along side Oppenheimer.
Tuesday 25th July 2023
A partly grey overcast morning today with a top of 21 degrees c
Nobody took the bins out again last night. The bottles and cardboard bins are almost full and so are the red bins.
Today I have an online class connected class Cyber Basics . We completed our first class assessment activity tonight
I emailed my consultant at APM to advise that I won't be able to attend my appointment at 11 am today and requested a change to appointment times to Monday afternoons so I can attend after my morning face to face classes on Mondays. I also attached a copy of my enrolmenf form.
After classes today I went to Chatswood to pick up my still under warranty sent for repairs Suface laptop which hasnot even been set up beyond naming the device at JB Hi Fi Westfield after receiving a text todayfrom them. I think I was just given a new device with my original cables.
Next stop was Chemist warehouse for some more moisturiser then onto my final stop of Woolworths for groceries. I did stop via Priceline but they are expensive and always out of stock of brands of popular moisturisers.
A snack from Woolworths Metro of octapus balls as I sit and wait and wait in the cold for the next bus home.
Crosdinthe main road home from the bus stop my backpack decides to unzipand mystuff fallout on the road - shit! I pick it up and quickly continue to cross the road.
So tired I crashed after watching The Cook Up and 8 out of 10 does countdown.
I am very allergic again and can't work out why so didn't slervery well and kept waking up and falling asleep again.
No time to set up my surface laptop.
News headlines today include
A car jacking in Dandenong has led to a toddler strapped in the back seat being dumped in a Woolworths at Fern Tree Gully before the car jacket driving away with the stolen car. The toddler was found wondering the asiles of the supermarket by a stranger who called police before being reunited with parents.
Kmart and Target owned by Westfarmers to merge but only on the back end of the businesses. The company does nnotwant to messwith K marts top performing homewares or Target's top performing fashion ranges. Jokes have already begun as to what the merger would be called such as Tmart, Tarmart even Tarjmahal
Residents in a Melbournesuburwere forced to perform a citizens arrest after a bugular broken into a series of homes taking off with passports wallets and other valuables.
The no phones in classes enforcement in SA has been advised as being successful where in an Adelaide school of 2000 students only lessthen 20 students were found to have broken the school's new no phones in classes rule.
Gina Rhinehart is in a court battle with her daughters and another family over a new mining project where theybelieve they were entitled to a portion of.
Students have created 2 marketing ads to discourage the growing addition of vaping in teenagers.
North Korea has fired 2 missiles off the coast as US subs arrive in South Korea.
Wednesday 26th July 2023
About 100 pilot whales have beached themselves in Albury WA. Rescuers are working hard to get this pod of whales back into the sea. It isinsure why this happens.
A construction worker has fallen about 12 m from scaffolding hitting concrete resulting in serious internal injuries in Cross River Rail in Brisbane.
The cost of living figures out today will determine how many more interest rate hikesthere will be for the rest of this year. Some forecastthere will be one more interest rate hike as the RBA does notwantto hike interest rates too much as it will plunge Australia into a recession and lead to job losses.
AA is travelling for a very brief but very important trip to NZ to mert NZ PM Chris Hipkins to mark the AUS NZ alliance.
Australia verses Canada in the FIFA Womens World Cup after Canada playtheir match against Ireland.
Mick Jagger turns 80 and still rocking.
A water bombing plane has crashed killing 2 whilst attempting to put out fires on the Greek Islands.
A snap strike of ambulances will occur today in NSW
Bin chickens have moved back into a site on a highway on the Gold Coast causing motorists a hazard.
Thursday 27th July 2023
A forecasted top of 20 degrees today.
This morning I was in my security and privacy class and set up my new replacement Surface laptop. This time I managed to get past device name however after installing a Microsoft product key for a new years subscription of Microsoft Office 365 , the laptop crashed again. This time I was unable to get the start icon up therefore Iwas unable to even shut the laptop diwn so had to seek help from my classmate and teacher to do a forced shut down.
I rang JB Hi Fi about how I just picked up a replacement surface laptop last might and it crashed again today. Another trip to Chstswood strsight after class today!.
I waited forever again for a bus to Chatswood across the road from the Tafe St Leonards campus. There are so many 320 and 200 buses mostly empty to Gore Hilbut very few 144 or 113 to Chatswood which is the most popular bus. So after bus afterbus passing I decided to catch whichever bus stopped next and hopped on it walking home. I did a quick reorganisation of what I was varying before heading out to catch the next bus to Chatswood.
First stop was Priceline in The Chase which I made a mistake walking to as I headed to the incorrect JB Hi Fi. I was meant to head to the JB Hi Fi at Westfield and there are 2 larger Pricelines there and I would have had a better chance of getting the cortesone oilnament I required. Anyway the pharmacist handed me a large tube of cortesone oilnament but when I went to the counter the cashier noticed it was prescription only and had to head back to the pharmacist to exchange it. Thepharmacy was out of that brand so had to offer me the smaller tube of an alternative brand which was ok as long as it worked.
I then head back to the JB HiFi in Westfueld and return my Surface laptop which when trouble shot would not even restart. Icould enter my device pin but the screen would go black assoon as i did and it would return to the device pin again and I would enter it and it would go black again. If anyone remembers the dreaded "BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH" this was the equivalent.
I signed the paperwork for the device to be returned for repairs and my next stop was a grocery topup at Coles where I also got some change for laundry ( it is getting more difficult to get change - Woolworths Metro doesnotgive changein coins asthe cash machine isautomated to give notes whenever possible with no choice in what nominations you wanted your change in).
On my way back to the bus stop , I stopped off at the Thursday and Friday Chatswood Mall Markets for a treat. I try to treat myself once a week to take out. I have sampled nearly every food and drink stall atthese markets over the years and have my favourite but tonight really wanted a kabab as I haven't had one for ages. There are no kabab stalls at these markets and the closest stall to a kabab stall is a Greek souvlaki stall. I have not tried anthing from this stall before but their food looked so good. I ordered a lamb souvlaki . The waythese are made is in a cone shaped flatbread wrap bbq lamb cubes are placed with a tasty herbed yoghart sauce thick cut onionssliced tomatos spinach and hot chips. I don't think I have ever had a wrap with hot chips in it before. It was so yummy. But I found thecustomer service a bit lscking and the large chunksof onionoutright atthe bottom of the cone of flat bread a little hard to eat. photos below. Overall I rate it a 8/10
News headlines today includes
Singer Sinead O'Conner dies aged 56 . She had bern battling mental illness particularly after the death of her 17 year old son Shane a year ago taking his own life.
Victoria wins a $21 billion contract with South Korea to build tanks in Geelong
Another person is shot in atargeted atrack in the Western suburb of Cantabury , the 3rd shooting in a week.
Samsung releases a new series of flip phones to rival Apple's iPhones
Inflation is falling and the cost of living is slowing which if the RBA is taking note may mean a 13th interest the rate may not happen.
Melbourne'snew metro has had it's first test run
QLD is facing radiology back log .
Qantas has given regional area services a grant.
The Matildas will be going into amatch with out Fowler or Kerr.
Friday 28th July 2023
It's a top of 23 degrees C today which is unseasonably warm for Winter but it is overcast
Today I am going to do absolutely nothing. Well may just life admin stuff. I paid 1 bill today so far.
Today I sorted my laundry to bewashed then dried. I also tried to complete my first attempt at my first assessment for my Thursday afternoon Networking class. I anhaving problems with the multiple answer questions. The answers I selected look as if they are changing when I save and go back in to continue the assessment questions and one question looks as if I answered correctly but it marked it as incorrect.
News headlines today include
US prosecutors have announced new charges against Donald Trump - it is alledged he asked his aide and a maintenance worker to dismantle security cameras which resulted in charges for interference in the investigation of classified information found stored at his residence. Trump is already facing 37 Federal charges in relating to the illegal retention of these classified documents
A new taskforce has been formed to crack diwn on gangland shootings. Police do not believe the recent shootings are all related to gangland war but more to drug dealings.
The Matildas without Kerr and Fowler have lost their match last night against Nigeria. Australia 2 - Nigeria 3 goals . Disappointing they now have to win their match against Oympic winning team Canada on Monday night in order to remain in the top 16 teams in order to stay in the World Cup competition. The question is whether Kerr and Fowler will play.
It' been 40 years since Madonna burst onto the pop scene with her chart topping music . She has been spotted doing a celebratory dance which shows she is well on the mend from her serious infection that saw her endup in hospital.
2000 children vaccined between 2019 and early 2023 will have to be revaccinated due to a clinic in Richmond NSW failing to store vaccines under appropriate temperatures.. Those vaccinated will not be under any harm but the vaccinations could be rendered ineffective due to being stored under inappropriate temperatures.
Kylie Minogue has just announced a Las Vagas residency.
Emmy awards are off - delayed but not cancelled.
2 planes have collided in QLD at Caboolture Airfield .
A double disillusion may mean AA may send Australians to an early election over his $10 billion affordable social housing bill being blocked by the Greens and Coalition. Greens want s rent freeze and a $2 billion fund for social housing.
Defence officials and foreign ministers including Penny Wong from Australisand the US awill meet in Brisbane for a summit over the AUKUS ppayment and other important issues such as climate change sustainability and security in the Asia Pacific region.
The Jonas Bros are touring Australia for the first time during March next year. 2 shows in Sydney 2 shows in Melbourne and 1 in Brisbane have been planned .
Strong winds have capsized a boat in the Phillipines. People have been rescued.
Australian with Greek ties have volunteered to get fires in their villages under control to save them.
90 000 people are expected at the MCG for s match between Collingwood and Carlton.
Saturday 29th July 2023
It's the middle of winter yet today's forecasted top temperature is 23 degrees C and it 's absolutely beautiful outside.
I did not venture out today. I spent my day completing my taxreturn and emailing it to my tax agent. So glad to finally get that out of the way but unfortunately my new hP Envy I7 laptop has to be returned to JB Hi Fi as it overheated to a very dangerous temperature last night after it failed to shut down again using the proper microsoft start menu with the shut down key. The screen went black - I was right aboutthe "Blue screen of death" there the " Bkackscreen of death" .The laptop did seem quite hot near the charging cable socket on the side of the laptop from the beginning. I don't think it us a a hardware problem on it's own. Another trip to JB Hi Hi Fi!
News headlines today include
Donald Trump & classified documents case continued - who cares.
A helicopter has crashed last night around 11 pm in s military exercise off the coast of Hamilton Island in QLD. 4 are persumed dead and it is unclear whether it is an Australian or foreign helicopter. Seacand rescue last night was hampered by bad weather conditions.
Australia could be manufacturing and supplying the US with missiles within the next 2 years after suppliehave diminished due to the Ukraine war
The question has been raised as to whether the Mstilda's coach should be sacked over training injuries and whether he should be replace with a female coach.
The Emmys could be postponed until January next year due to the writers and actors strike.
Australians continue to win hold atthe world swimming championships in Japsnwith 19 year old Mollie O'callaghan winning her 4th gold medal.
The search is on for an alternative Commonweath Games host city after Victoria pull the plug at the last minute cancelling the state hosting the event giving the Commonwealth Games organising comittee very little notice. The committee has accused Victoria of over exaggerating the budget required to host the event and is approaching all state premiers with funding and amore realistic budget of how much it will actually cost tohost the event.
A Taylor Swift concert in Seattle causes seismic activity equivalent to 2.3 on the Richter scale. Quake it off!
Sunday 30th July 2023
A top of 24 degrees C today and it is again so beautiful today.
I was going to return my laptop tonight but was so stressed about everything else I had to do that I decided to just do an essential grocery shop as myfridge was al ost empty again today.
First stop Target to see if Icould get a few non grocery items that were on my shopping list unfortunately unavailable at Target.
Then off to Coles - I forgot a few essential items on my list and I grabed $5 cash worth of change for laundry.
Onto my final stop Woolworths Metro- some snacks then straight home by bus. A very long wait for the next bus home I was hoping to make it back home by 7.30 pm in time to watch the Logies. Dinner was a box of octapus balls from Woolworths Metro ( as there was not much hot food left) eaten whilst waiting for the bus.
Made it I unpack my groceries snd snack on a protein bar cheddar popcorn a punnet of blueberries grain rice crackers with cheese whilst watchingthe Logies. I made it back in time but I may have missed all the red carpet entrances. It started on channel 7 at 7.30 pm and it was so long ending at 11.30 pm! As soon as the gold logie winner was announced it was turn offthe tv and straight to bed as I have class again tomorrow morning
News headlines today include
Not much new news :
Trump continues to fight his ever increasing ongoing list of charges,
The search and rescue continues for 4 bodies of the missing assumed dead military personnel after their helicopter crashed into the sea off the coast of QLD. The remains of the helicopter has been retrieved and but it is still unclear what caused the accident. No sign of the bodies yet. It is not the first time the MRH 90 fleet of Taipan helicopters has been in trouble ( there was a rescue back in 2010) rand the failure of a software update to that helicopter could have contributed to the accident. the fleet has been suspended and firing exercises in this Talisman Sabre Operation ( where there are 13 nationstaking part in) cancelled. There were plans to retire the fleet and replace them with American Black Hawks. The extent of this military exercise and now search and rescue is huge with an estimated 800 military personnel involved. Canadian US Australian as well as local boaties were involved in the retrieval of parts of the helicopter found scattered around the tourist region of Hamilton Island. Divers and sonors are being used in the search and rescue the 4 military personnel are yet to be identified.The 4 missing military personnel all from Sydney's Holdsworthy military base have now been identified and with permission from their families their names publicaly released.
From Setpember 20th 2023 an extra $56 per fortnight will increased to the Jobseeker payment to assist with the increasing cost of living.
Mark McGowan's WA Labor seat of Rockingham has been retained in a byelection by Magenta Marshall.
A Fireworks factory in the Thailand has been accidently set on fire by welders working there.
The main news headline today is it is Logies night , the first time it is back in Sydney at The Star . Hosted solely by Sam Pang from channel 10 's " HYBPA" with Dr Chris Brown from channel 10's " The Living Room" and Channel 7's Sonia Kruger ( herself in the running for a Gold Logie with a slogan created for her of "Onya Sonia!") on the red carpet. Sonia Kruger wins the Gold Logie and Sam Pang was brilliant as a first time Logie solo host in 11 years! Amy Shark won for best new talent. Kate Miller Heike sang a beautiful rendition of Xanadu as the list of tributes rolled to honour all those who passed away during the year Olivia Newton John, Jock Zonfrillo etc
A man has died in a stabbing in Balmain.
2 men have been shot in a targeted attack Meadow Heights outside of Melbourne.
The fires on the Greek Islands that have been burning relentlessly over the past few weeks are now under control.
Monday 31st July 2023
Last day of July.
Matilda's do or die match against Canada to stay in the FIFA Womens World Cup tonight
A top of 22 degree C today. Last day of July. It actually hit 23.5 degrees C today!
I had a morning classfrom 9.30 am - 12.30 pm today with one of my least favourite subjects Network Build .
I walked home as it takes forever for a bus to arrive. A quick pickup of my newly purchased HP Envy laptop that failed to shut down resulting in a black screen of death appearing and overheating so much I could cook an egg on it before taking the next 144 bus to Chatswood - a very long wait either way straight from Tsfe ir from home.
I spent the afternoon at JBHiFi Chatswood Chase and ended up getting a replacement laptop. I am so scared that if I set it up again it will overheat.
After spending a very long time at JB HiFi I headed to Coles then to Woolworths Metro to top up some groceries . In between I stopped at K mart to get a few things underwear leggings ( the last pair I purchased just last week had a big hole in the crutch - you can'tsee it as the leggings are black - no Idid moreturn themas I only discovered the hole taking it out of the washing machine from it's first wash
Home I put 1 load of washing into thewashing machine.
I then took all the bins out for rubbish collection day tomorrow - Ilove how residents dumpall their rubbish until all bins are overflowing and put their rubbish inthe wrong bins but never bother to help put the bins out the night before rubbish collection day. The resident from unit I 10 was outside in thecarparkand saw me putting all the bins out and helped me putthe biggest red bin and some of the other bins out. I even picked up the rubbish on the carpark ground. Tuff luck aboutthe ither junk someone dumped. I left it where it was.
I went down stairs to do my laundry and everytime I went downstairs someone decides to do their laundry and occupy the dryer. It's past 8 pm and by now the dryer should be empty but it is still occupied with clothes that have finished drying so i decided to take all of the clothes out of the dryer and dump them on the kitchen bench . I don't want to have to stay up all night waiting to use the dryer just because someone is too lazy to take their clothes out of it. They have occupied the dryer for most of the afternoon and evening already.
Some residents thathave moved onto the apartment block are just awful, they don't bother to take the bins out for collection day and just keep filling them until they are overflowingand when they are too full to take anymore just dump their rubbishinto the bottlebin or cardboarbin and even just leaving it on the carpark floor. They don't bother to clean the lint out of the dryer and if they do justdump the lint on top of the other washing machine. They also keep clogging up the fabric softener compartment with laundry powder so I have to keep cleaning it out before I use it with hot water.
As for the kitchen, there seems to be dirty dishes left in the sink almost every day.
I want to know who the grots are.
U'watching or trying to watch the Australia verses Canada Womens FIFA world cup. Canada was Olympic champion so Australia has a challenge on it's hands to win this do or die match to stay in the World Cup.
Laundry done - totally dry but I forgot the scented dryer sheets so my clothes smell a bit.
Well what a night for the last night of July the Matildas lead 3 goals to zero at half time but by 10 pm with 4 goals Australia wins the match over Canada meaning Canada is out of the quarter finals and Australia lives to play another match! Way to go Mary Fowler and Hayley Raso! sam Kerr was on the bench ready to substitute but was not needed. so Australia goes on to play Group D countries on 7th August 23 which could be China Haiti England or Denmark as group D are still playing their matches.
Time to sleep almost. catching up on my blog and watching YouTube channels.
News headlines today include
It's a do or die match in the FIFA Womens World Cup tonight in Melbourne with Australia against Canada . Australia must win this match to remain in the top 16 . No host country has ever lost their matches to stay & play in the World Cup - will Australia be the first host country not to make it int othe top 16 teams to play towards the finals. Sam Kerr is available but it is still unknown whether she will actually play in this World Cup.
5 more have been injured in 3 separate targeted shootings that have occurred in Victoria and it is unsure if they are related or to previous ones.
Opposition is trying to block Jobseekers inrease in payments starting on 20th September 23 and allowing jobseekers to earn up to $300 instead before payments cut off. Rent assistance will also increase.
Trump Jr 's speaking tour will be coming to Australia in September after having topostpone his tour due to a visa bungle. After having a stoush with the government and tour organizers he will be speaking in Brisbane before travelling to Melbourne and Sydney.
Londoners got the surprise of their lives after lining up for environmentally friendly burgers from a food truck when Prince William popped out to serve them.
There is a rumour that the Beckham's have severed their friendship with Harry & Meghan - shock horror!
Workers have returned to the coal River Rail construction site after a worker fell up to 12 m on scaffolding and is in hospital in a critical condition. The site had previous concerns of safety with up to 300 safety concerns notices have been issued including asbestos.
Hugh Jackman has ticked off an item off his bucket list by watching the Aussies play at the Ashes.
Extra police have been assigned to review cases from the bungled backlog of QLD's DNA testing from cases some of which are serious crime cases.
A 5 year old has died after being run over on a road in Colloroy on the Northern Beaches.
Scott Morrison has been roasted over his involvement in the Robodebt scheme.
Tomorrow's interest rate decision by the RBA on whether to hold or raise the interest rate will be crucial to the Australian economy. Another interest rate rise will plunge Australia into a recession.
Lance Buddy Franklin has announced his retirement from The Sydney Swans due to injury.
The AUS$ falls to $0.66 against the US$.
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