Thursday, 31 August 2023

Friday 1st - Saturday 30th September 2023 First Day Of Spring , Role Plays, Fine Food Australia @ ICC Darling Harbour, Sydney Marathon Event Expo & Family Fun Run

Apologies to my readers again the photos uploaded to my blog are no longer appearing on my blog therefore go to my YouTube channel  as I may have uploaded videos of events onto it. Note not every event I attend  or places of interest I visit  are video suitable . 

Also note :  whoever is reading my blog from back in 2016, my old blogs on Simplesite are no longer available to view. Yes I do keep an eye from time to time of analytics - after all I am an ICT student!

Friday 1st September 2023

Happy first day of Spring although it doesn't feel like it! A top of 18 degrees C today and an overcast day today with possible  showers The poor ski season this year has seen the cancellation of  Australian Interschools Snowsports  Championships in Mt Buller which was to run on 27th August 2023.

I did not venture out today instead caught up on things like sorting folding and putting my laundry away, making a Japanese chicken fish and vegetable curry as well as submitting my fortnightly income to Centrelink online, checking my bank account to ensure there has not been any criminal activity on it like unauthorised spending  and catching up on watching YouTube videos. I watched a bit of tv but most of today was catching up and relaxing. I was looking online for things I need as well.

Saturday 2nd September 2023

Well I had to venture out today as I was running out of groceries. I didn't quite get everything on my list as some items were again unavailable as it is a Saturday - There was a shortage of bottled sparkling spring water . I walked down to The Chase away from the huge crowds to shop at Kmart and I was going to the larger Coles to shop but decided to turn back to Westfield as I needed some bread from Vina Bakery and instead shopped at the green grocer,  Coles Local and purchased a mouse and mouse pad from Miniso ( I have no idea where my mouse is - can't do any assessments without it) 

Every man and his dog was out and about at the Chatswood's annual  Spring Fair which is on every year on the first Saturday of Spring. I went many years ago but haven't really been since. I just walk straight through it today. It is a huge festival for families to enjoy spanding the entire area along Victoria Ave including parts of side streets down to  just before the main intersection before Chatswood Chase and blocked off to traffic. The regular Thursday & Friday market food stalls are mainly in the upper mall area closest to Chatswood Interchange where they normally are with a few additional ones added and a huge variety of kids activity,  nik nak , community service,  educational institutions,  sporting organisations etc stalls are  set up all along the main and side streets of Victoria Ave. There are a few main stages set up one at Chatswood Concourse and another in a sided street  off Victoria Ave.  Photos below ( oops sorry can't upload again)

Home I unpack my groceries  and sleep - The bus took forever again to arrive. 

News headlines today include

2 people a man and a 12 year old boy in a serious condition today as a stolen car crashed into a tree and caught on fire in Cranbrook. 

Another crash on Hume Freeway Victoria where a truck driver escaped unharmed taken to hospital 

On the Gold Coast 2 separate car crashes on the same road has occurred a woman and a male an hour previous both taken to hospital.

A deadly fire in Johannesburg has injured at least 52 and killed over 70.

The government new double prescription  legislation commences today. There is still debate over the whether this new legislation will actually be of benefit to patients and lessen the pressure of GPs in the healthcare industry. Having a range of 100 prescription medications available to patients  for 60 day supplies rather then 30 day supplies ie a 2 for 1 price are set to be of benefit for patients with long term or life time conditions making prescription medications cheaper for them and cutting the inconvenience of patients having to make appointments with their GPs just to refill their prescriptions which will result in less pressure on the shortage of GPs to see the number of patients. Pharmacies argue this will lead to drug supply shortages, pharmacies closing job losses and having to charge for current free services in order to survive as any government subsidies they receive will not cover any costs that will come with the new changes to perscription  legislation as well as possible drug abuse. 

There is a row over 17 Victorian cops who are claiming themselves as non binary on forms in order to get a better uniform allowance.

Neil Mitchell steps down from Melbourbe's 3AW radio morning show after 34 years.

Ford has a mv recall on thousands of cars that suddenly stop when driving below a certain speed.

Australia Post has reported a $384 million loss due to a decline in letter delivery. Now Australia Post is looking at ways to turn the loss around such as raising the cost of postage stamps 

Property prices in QLD are on the rise putting pressure on the housing crisis.

Dire Straits guitarist dies aged 68.

Sunday 3rd September 2023

Happy Fathers' Day! ( I don't actually have a father or a mother both have passed away quite a few years ago)

An overcast morning today but it will clear up hopefully  with  a top of   19 degrees C today.

My Kitchen Rules new season starts tomorrow on channel 7. 

I do not plan to venture out today as I have a lot to catch up on still.

I have a face to face class to attend on Monday mornings so have to prepare for it 

News headlines today include

Harry & Meghan were spotted at a Beyonce Concert with Harry a little bored and on his phone. Meanwhile the Royals attended the annual highland games.

Laid back beach lifestyle singer sing writer Jimmy BUFFETT dies aged 76

John Farham lends his voice of " Your The Voice " to "The Voice" for the Vote Yes campaign .

A 20 year old man driving on a disqualified licence has been charged for killing a female in her 20s and her teenage brother she had just picked up from work and just a few hundred meters from home when the car slammed into them in their car.

More local news stories on gunfire shots in outer Sydney , a boat fire with nobody being injured in the lower Northshore in Sydney,   more youth violence and crime in SA , more shops  set on fire in outer Northern Melbourne suspecred as deliberately being lit etc  

India is now on a solar mission after their successful lunar mission. 

The first day of the Adelaide show falls inline with Fathers Day this year and all fathers will be able to go on rides for free.

NYE vantage points will no longer be paid ticketed entry  instead the NSW premier has introduced a ticketed ballot where the first 6000 people will go into to this ballot which opens on Tuesday. 

New laws will see employers found to be practicsng wage theft jailed.

Oscar Piastri qualifies 7th place in the Italian Grand Prix.

Monday 4th September 2023

Today was a top of around 21 degrees C again but  it was a little cooler and windy at times in the afternoon. Otherwise a nice day.

A face to face Network Build class in the morning from 9.30 am - 12.30 pm followed by a non compulsory programming support session of 2 hours. I could not attend again as I had an appointment at 2.15pm at APM which did not say phone appointment so I walked home straight after class had a bathroom break a snack and dumped my stuff before catching a bus to Chatswood to attend my appointment at APM but before I did went to Westfield to get a quick snack of octapus balls and a scallop sushi. I don't know what the problem is but my consultant at APM had not received  my confirmation of enrollment for my Tafe course I am currently studying and I had to find it and and resend it to her today. It is all good on the Workforce Australia side as I am now able to see my course show up week to week to record against the monthly mutual obligation point system. I actually did not have to see my consultant face to face today but can text her if I can't make it in due to my study commitments ( I don't want to be accused of missing appointments therefore not meeting mutual obligations leading to having my payments put on hold again and again and having to lodge a complaint to Centrelink again and again wasting my time) 

After my appointment I went to Target to get a few things ( none if which were on my list but I do need some clothing ) Priceline to get some more over the counter cortisone ointment and cream ( I am testing out 2 different newer types of cortisone in  ointment and crean which I have been told are more effective for long term eczema sufferers then the current cortisone I have been using ).Onto Coles Local- again I could not get quite a few things on my shopping list as they were out of stock. Final stop was Woolworths Metro - nope can't find stuff here as well but I did recharge my Opal card with $20  and bought another snack a vegetable pastie along with more blueberries and a few other groceries.

Home I am feeling so tired, it is after 6 pm I was going to do my laundry but both machines were occupied and so I left it dragging my huge bag of laundry down and back upstairs again. I boiled a kettle of water took my rubbish out as well as take the bins out for rubbish collection day tomorrow ( yes I am being nice because nobody else is going to do it unless they have to and they don't take out the blue or yellow bins - the yellow bin is overflowing this week!)

I am so tired that I go to sleep quite early after watching The Cookup and the first episode of MKR where I actually fell asleep half way through.  


News headlines today include

AA flies off the the ASEAN  summit just as the No Vote is at 53% . There will be no side meeting with the Chinese President who will not be present at the meeting and US Joe Biden will not be present sending his deputy in his place.

There is a class action over Roundup weed killer which has been known to cause cancer , the company has been denying it

William Tyrrell 's foster mother has been charged for abuse of another child under her care. This has always been known but video evidence has now shown proof of this. 

A 14 year old car in a life threatening condition after falling out of a car in Victoria. He was stabbed and a witness saw him vomiting blood. Police are unsure if the 14 year old was pushed out of the car or if he tried to escape out of the car. He was forced into the car near the school he was studying at outside of Melbourne near Glen Iris.

The mother of the 2 children killed when a car crashed into them cries out for justice

A boy on a scooter has been struck by a drunk driver.

Patria Thomas sold her Olympic medal for charity but the buyer had no intention of keeping it giving it straight back to her.  

Kiss has been confirmed as being the  AFL grand final  pre entertainment after Crowded House pulled out. Kiss were already coming to Australia. Other celebrities such as Kylie Minogue had said no to performing ( probably due to their other commitments)

There is speculation that the RBA will hold the interest rate again for this month's interest rate announcement which will be govenor's Philip Lowe's final before his contract as the governor of the RBA ends and the new governor takes over his position. 

Tomorrow's forecast will be 23 degrees C but cloudy before temperatures are set to rise as high as 30 degrees C this week. Queenlands bushfires season has already started with residents of regions told to evacuate and Australians have been warned that it will be a hotter drier and worse bushfires season to  come .

It maybe only September but Christmas stock is already in stores ( I bought my annual Hallmark Santa series keepsake #20 in the series costing $45 this year - talk about inflation! from Target today) as Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" is already playing overseas - even the singer herself thinks it's too early to be playing the song!. Meanwhile there has been an increase in the number of jobs this month - Gee I wonder why - because companies are hiring casuals for Christmas now. 

Trump may not be in the news today fore once  but Qantas is again still in the news over  it's dodgey sale of tickets to customers  scandal and the block of more Qtar flights into Australia to increase competition which will lead to a decrease in international airline tickets . 

As the anniversary of the the death of the  late Queen approaches the cities are out but don't expect an olive branch meeting between Harry & Meghan and the other Royals to occur soon. Harry and Meghan will be heading to almost strsight to Germany for the Invictus Games after a very brief stopover in the UK ( now that they no longer have anywhere to stay and have to rely on hotels air bnbs or friends for their accommodation whilst they are in the UK). Meanwhile our Aussie team of  30 or so Athletes have departed  by an RAAF flight for the Invictus Games in Germany via a night stop over in Perth.

Tuesday 5th September 2023

A top of 23 degrees C today but partly cloudy.

QLD is giving rebates $1000 to replace old appliances with new more energy efficient appliances - it is a first in best dressed scheme. Conditions are you can't be a residemt moving into a new home to apply and for residents to keep their receipts 

Prince Andrew has been spotted riding a horse at Balmoral does that mean he is back with the Royals? 

The board by as vern urged to hold bonuses to Alan Joyce and senior executives Outgoing CEO Joyce has already received a $10 million from shares  . His other bonuses upon depatrure for h oi s 16 years at Qantas of another multi million dollars is still yet to be approved by the board. Breaking news Alan Joyce just announced his " retirement" and not his "resignation" 2 months early. He was due to leave Qantas in November but his departure is effective immediately and he has made a statement upon his departure citing the reason for his early departure. CFO now CEO Vanessa Hudson will step into the position as of tomorrow. There is question however of the CFO - surely she had knowledge of all the scandals that were going on at Qantas and whether she is actually a suitable candidate to be the CEO of Qantas.  Whatever is happening,  Qantas needs to fix its problems of now being known as "Conair" immediately as too much damage has been done to the company's reputation.

There is a shortage of mangos this summer due to an unseasonably warm Winter  this year which will make mangos more expensive whereas there was an oversupply last year. The quality will still remain good  but the season will be later towards Christmas.

Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth passes away aged 56

Australiams have been asked to assist in the naming  of Australia's first lunar ( moon) rover. Suggestions so far have bern Matilda and Drover.

It has been revealed that the woman behind the mushroom poisoning lunch that killed 3 and put a 4th in a critical condition awaiting a liver transplant in hospital where he remains was a a little strange and had an obsession with Lego.

Australians are awaiting the governor of the RBA's last interest rate announcement before contract ends. There is speculation that the interest rates will remain on hold - if not Philip  Lowe will be leaving with a sour note hanging over him.

Help find Sir Paul Macartney 's missing 1961 guitar missing from a 1969 tour and wirth millions of dollars.

Wednesday 6th September 2023

Another full day of face to face classes today but half the class is absent with some attending classes via teams. A top of 23 degrees C today with mainly sunny skies. Down in SA it is another story though with a cold snap.

News headlines today include

First day as Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has a big job ahead of her trying to salvage the reputation of Qantas and dealing with it's legal woes.

Another 3 of our childhood Allens lollies treats we grew up with and found in our goodie bags at birthday parties milk bottles ( milkies), sorbets and red rattlers have disappeared off the shelves however it is rumoured to be only temporary until the production moves to another site.

Tax payers will have to  fund a coal power station due to shut down to stay open longer to avoid power shortages due to lack if alternative energy resources. No guarantees of power blackouts during this summer. 

A barber shop has been set alight by arsen attackers just days after it opened. There has been a string of  shops suspiciously set on fire and these are being investigated as to whether they are related or linked to each other.

The police officer who was stood down from duties after he tassered a great grandmother with dementia in a nursing home where she was ell hit her head and died in hospital a week later has faced court in person however did not confront the victims family.

More child abuse videos have been revealed of  William Tyrell foster mother hitting another foster child and not washing their clothes for a week. 

The driver of a fire truck that crashed into a Sydney tram in the CBD in September last year has faced court and not charged due to the emergency rescue vehicles having right of way.

Part of the crown land at Balmoral Beach has been returned to the first nations without public consultation by Mosman council. 

Thursday 8th September 2023

A top of 25 degrees C today with possible thunder storms tonight - Spring is here. Meanwhile a cold wet snap with storms has hit SA . It reached 22 degrees C with rain tomorrow.

Extreme back burning caused a thick blanket of smoke to cover the region around Lane Cove towards Chatswood however the region towards St Leonard's down towards the city was unaffected and clear.

This morning my allergies were really bad so I emailed my teacher and asked if I can join the class via teams but join the systems admin class in the afternoon face to face. 

What a waste of time these 2 classes are. Again the teacher spent most of the time out of the classroom and the was the emphasis on the role play assessments which keep getting pushed back more and more.  

When the teacher was out of the room I could hear my classmates chat and chat and chat. I am surprised that more then half the class decided to show up this morning.  Teacher caught me out when she came back and said she was here and not leaving the class. As soon as I log into teams the teacher had to leave to get tissues.  I asked a classmate if the teacher was coughing again - a little but not much - maybe she is allergic to me? 

I don't know what's going on but I asked EllaLee if she wanted to do the role play with me if everyone else agreed to doing the role play in class and they decided no in the end they wanted to record it. I didn't particularly want to make a recording and attach it so it was agreed by the teacher  to do with my classmate EllaLee (not her real name by the way). 

Because they only watched a few videos in the morning , I worked on my role play script which gas to be a minimum of 10 minutes long with a role swap half time between the train and supervisor roles. Almost done but it was 22.30 pm and end of the 3 hour morning  class so I need to leave for Tafe. as it took forever for a bus to arrive and I only had 30 minutes to get to class so I walked. By the time I arrived on campus the one one only bus arrived at the same time.

The afternoon was spend preparing our script for the role play - after much trouble trying to share a file I gave up modified the script before asking my classmate to take photos of his role in the script that I wrote. 

Someone had to go first with their role play assessment and I wasn't quite ready but almost so my other classmates went first. They actually did really well and I was worried that my role play assessment did not contain enough technical information as I listened to their roleplay script being played out.  

Our turn and my classmate wanted to do a practise run first but I just went for it and it worked out almost perfectly ( slight issue with the 18 year old classmate I was working with a little lazy and not very good at reading just as well I decided that he would be the supervisor first before swapping roles as the lines he had to read were much longer!!) At one stage in the role play script he stopped and he still had more lines to read just as well the lines in my role play script at this stage could be read by either the supervisor or trainee. 

So glad that was over however there were still 3 other pairs if students that haven't done their role plays yet for this systems admin subject in the afternoon. Next week I need to be prepared for the morning subject's role play assessment with EllaLee. I have prepared a script already.

I walked home after class again and I think we finished a little earlier then 4 pm. ( we start out class at 1 pm instead of 1.30 pm having 30 minutes for lunch rather then 1 hr and finish at 4 pm rather then 4.30 pm arranged from week one as our teacher wanted to start and finish earlier).

So tired I watched the last half of The Chaser then the news then The Cook Up followed by MKR before going to sleep earlier.

News headlines today include

The QLD premier currently on leave overseas is due to return to work on Monday. An independent organisation has been set up to deal with QLD increasing youth crime and has taken into consideration voices of the victims of youth crimes . There were health concerns and questions have risen over whether the QLD premier will return to work and contest the next election.

At the age of 73 ABBA member Agnetha has launched her solo career releasing new music and a video clip to go with it.

A range of career barbies has been revealed.

New Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson and former CEO Alan Joyce face a  Senate inquiry over the company's recent range of fiascos especially the blocking of more QATAR flights into Australua to increase competition and lower ticket prices .

The Rolling Stones release new music in 18 years. Not bad for a group of old rockers with Mick Jagger 80 now???? !!!!

More mv crashes and more stabbings around Australia.

Prince Harry heads home for a cause close to his heart.

AA will not be meeting the Chinese president at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta ahead of his visit to Bejing but instead will meet with the Chinese Premier.

3 sailors rescued from shark infested waters off the coast of QLD .

Police ramp up their presence around schools in Melbourne after the 14 year's abduction and stabbing and others coming forward and reported.

A truck carrying glass panes has crashed into the notorious Montague Bridge .

Sydney is the 2nd most unaffordable housing country behind HK in the world. Melbourne came in at # 9.

Australia's first Krispy Kreme donuts store in Australia celebrates it  20th birthday.

Job seekers &  pensioners are expected to get an increase in payments to keep up with the cost of living . There is also an increase in rent assistance and job seekers over 55 will benefit the  most.

Cooler temps and wet whether are forecasted.

For the last few days the AUS$ against the US$ has remained at $0.63 .

Sydney was covered in a blanket of smoke this morning due to a catch up in back burning. A very dry hot Summer is forecasted although not as bad as Black Friday.

Friday 8th September 2023

A very grey wet morning with a top of 23 degrees C only starting to dry up by 9 am this morning after a wild overnight.

Another catch up day today.

I did absolutely nothing today just cooked, watched tv and YouTube channels caught up on my blog changed my sheets made up a shopping list applied to companies to do an internship after I complete this course - boring stuff.

It hardly reached the 23 degree C today and a cold snap is on it's way . It is 4 degrees in Katoomba  at the moment.

News headlines today include

Dozens of flights have been cancelled today due to strong winds overnight falling trees in Frenchs Forest and causing power outages.There were over 40 thunder stikes.

Harry has made a flying visit solo back to the UK to pay tribute to his grandmother who passed away last year and where he didn't make it before she passed away. Meghan is disappointed she can't be there with him. He is in the UK to support one of his few charities left in the UK the annual Wellchild awards which he has been a patron of for 15 years No chance of a reunion with his father or brother William who has been out and about supporting his own charities.

NZ has set up a pop up mystery Warriors tent where you stick your arm leg whatever in and afterwards end up with a random tattoo  - and yes it's permanent.

Phillip Lowe delivers his last speech before his departure from the RBA on  Sept 18th 2023. was there an interest rate hike for Sept? I have not been paying attention. Looks as if there wasn't. 

The transport minister has been under attack for favouring Qantas over the blocked extra QATAR flights into Australia to stop competition resulting in cheaper ticket prices. The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is now also being investigated.

King Charles has made an audio file in relation to the one year anniversary of his mother's death and reflecting on his first year as King. Flat and short and like a monarch's WW2 broadcast is what it has been described as.

What Meghan Markle won't be with Harry at the Invictus Games?!

Kylie Minogue is the cover girl on Rolling Stones magazine.

Staff have come forward with allegations of a toxic workplace complete with a " crying" room. Not another US talk show! He has since apologized to his staff.

A 14 year old teen who is known to police to be part of  gangland has been arrested for abducting and stabbing the 14 year old school boy who is in an induced coma . Police are investigating and searching for others involved.

There are 17 rookies for Wallabies in the  World Cup.

Protesters hold up the French Open by gluing themselves  down.

That 70s Show  star Danby Masterson has been charged and jailed for 30 years - life  in  jail for 2 accounts of rape 2 decades or so ago.

A couple in NSW is lucky to have escaped when the roof of their garage came crushing down burying all their wedding memorabilia.

Greece is suffering severe flooding after they are just recovering from severe fires.

The first loads of sugar and other Australian exports have arrived in the UK since import tariffs were lifted after the UK 's exit from the EU. 

A scientist mapping a trail of caves deep beneath the surface trapped has sufferred a medical emergency and almost died from severe gastrointestinal bleeding . Medication and a blood transfusion send down to where he was saved him. Now a rescue is on it's way down to bring him back out however it is unsure if he will be able to walk out or be stretchered out.

Saturday 9th September 2023

I venture out later in the afternoon today to Macquarie Shopping Centre but did not return my bottles for recycling as the convenient store was closed on Saturdays at Chatswood.

First stop Priceline but I forgot to get an extra tube of cortesone oilnment  of the brand that works better. I did buy some conditioner and a bottle of Antipodes face oil.

I also visited Diaso to purchase some "closet camels" ( dehumidifiers) and refills.

A snack on the way of Korean fried chicken from Ken's Bento. 

Next stop Kmart where I purchased  a nice white shirt for spring/summer to wear with my Jean's or linen pants and 2 backpacks one a converter bag/backpack and the other a backpack with a laptop sleeve so I don't have to carry my extra bag. I had been meaning to replace my laptop backpack using my $50 voucher from JB HI Fi but could not be bothered and let it expire. These 2 backpacks were free anyway as I used my $50 fly buy dollars. 

Final stop was Coles where I did a huge grocery shop. I spent over $160 again . I am really annoyed with Coles because all the manned checkouts were closed and hardly one belted self service checkout was open . I needed cash out in change for the laundry but you can't do that at the self service checkouts. I asked for assistance but was guided to a non belted self service checkout machine . How was I going to put through all my groceries at a self service checkout? I even told the Coles employee that at least I needed another trolley to place all my groceries in which he was slow to grab before opening one of the other 2 self service belted checkouts. Because someone else also wanted to use a belted self service check out he allowed them to use the other one. This Coles employee started to put through my groceries as I unloaded them but was so slow. Meanwhile a customer stood in line after me . What was he waiting for, I was going to be a while. Then the Coles employee disappeared and another Coles staff member continued to serve me but was just as slow. What could I say? They didn't even pack my groceries into the other trolley like the previous Coles employee did so I just got all the scanned groceries and dumped them as quick as I could into my trolley where the other grocery items were. Then when it came to the cash out of $20, I had to wheel all my groceries in the trolley and my wheelie bag with me to the service desk to finalise my purchases and cash out from $20 to $10. I had to reduce my amount of cash out as they hardly had $5 in change at the service desk .Then they asked if I wanted to use my $10 fly buy dollars I still had on my flybuys card. Yes sure. How can I still have a balance of $10 on my flybuys card to spend when I only redeemed $50 worth of flybuys points and just spent the entire amount at K mart paying the excess of $24 owing by card ? By the time I completed the transaction it was way past 8.30 pm and I still had to pack my groceries into my wheelie bag, extra shopping bag and my backpack. It had stormed whilst I was at Coles shopping I could hear the thunder several times and worried about how I was going to get home if it was storming. Luckily it stopped storming by the time I left Coles. I needed a toilet stop but by the time I checked the next 291 bus straight home, I had just missed the last hourly bus service so had to catch the Metro then wait for the bus from Chatswood home. Luckily both arrive within minutes so I arrived home pretty quickly . 

I unpacked my groceries and went almost immediately to bed as it was way past 9 pm .

News headlines today include

Harry has been seen out and about paying a private visit to a church to remember the first anniversiary of his late grandmother . It is unlikely he will catch up with his brother and father although it is likely he has met up with his other cousins during his visit . He is now off to Germany for the Invictus Games . William & Kate have visited a church in Wales and  sent out a simple message "We all miss you"

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake has struck Appin south of Sydney near Woolongong where it could be felt as well as being felt in Campbelltown.

A sunny 19 degrees C today in Sydney. 

Meanwhile HK has been inundated with flooding. I did check that my pen friend and her family are ok in HK via messaging.

The 14 year old that was abducted into a car from outside a school and stabbed has now come out of a coma. It did not seem a targeted attack but youth gang crime. There seems to be an increase  in youth crime post COVID in general in QLD VIC and NSW. There is increased police around schools in Melbourne and students have been warned not to make expensive items visible like shoes phones and jewellery as  affluent suburbs seem to be targeted. Drugs also involved.

AA has made a dash from the ASEN Summit in Jajarta and meeting with China's # 2 leader the premier to the G20 Summit in New Dehli. China has snubbed the G20 Summit not attending. Putin did not attend but was not expected to attend.

Finals for AFL and NRL. AFL Carlton wins over Swans at MCG meaning the Swans season is over . Carlton now faces the Demons.  NRL Broncos wins over Storms . Broncos 26 - Storms 0! Which teams to play each other and make it to the final is still to be decided. 

A man who is mentally ill and possibly on drugs known to police  has ploughed through a team stop injuring 5 and killing 1 in Melbourne's CBD.

Tough times for the rental housing market with an average of  1.1% vacancy rate across Australia. With some states well below the 1%  rate. 

A category 10 hurricane Lee off the c oi ast if the US  headed towards Florida has been downgraded to a category 4 and not expected to hit landfall .

Which will be the new  first aid CPR song to replace Bee Gees' Staying Alive ? It is Dula Lipa's Dance The Night. Other contenders were Kylie Minogue's Padam Padam , Taylor Swift The Man and Harry Styles Late Night Talking "Next Gen Life Beats: Australian Red Cross revives the CPR track for young first aiders 

8 September 2023 

To launch World First Aid Day on Saturday 9th September, Australian Red Cross is urging young Aussies to vote for their favourite ‘chest compression track’ in a bid to encourage the next generation to undertake lifesaving first aid training."

Sunday 10th September 2023

A beautiful sunny 19 degrees C  today.

Always catching up! I slept in a little this morning - wait no I didn't I just had a good sleep because I was so exhausted last night not getting home from shopping until around after 9 pm.

Today I made another granola slab from scratch this time with a little less chocolate  & diced dates and no added manuka honey. I used a 50/50 mix of 85% dark chocolate pieces hand broken up & 50% or so dark chocolate buttons this time ( last time I made this museli slab it was too sweet). There was a blend of LSA (which I always thought was Linseed Soy & Almond but it's actually Linseed Sunflower & Almond . Oh well ),  rolled oats, dried cherries, olive oil, a combination of dried cranberries, sesame seeds and other seeds,  chopped dried coconut ( oh damn I forgot to add the coconut milk powder this time oops), dried pineapple, dried paw paw , vanilla paste, a pinch of Murray salt flakes ( I like the salty sweet combination), pistachio nuts and  some melted butterscotch hard candies just enough to stick the slab together. I have left the slab to cool and set overnight . I hope it tastes ok.

News headlines today include

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has struck Morocco  killing over 2000 people in Marrakesh. Rescue crew are frantically sifting through rubble to look for survivors.

Harry officially opens the Invictus Games solo in Germany. Will Meghan be joining him later in the games? 

The QLD premier returns from holidays to face to face party turmoil and an attack on leadership after a fortnight of chaos.

The murder and death of Gavin Preston could trigger a major  gangland  war in Melbourne 

Clive Palmer faces court to allow crosses in The Voice referendum .

Monday 11th September 2023

A top of 20 degrees C today. Slightly overcast this morning.

One face to face class this morning Network Build 9 30 am - 12.30 pm. 

After class I need to finalise my role play assessment with Ella and stay for the programming support session.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to attend the programming support session this afternoon after class as I was rushing to work with EllaLee to catch her up with IT Work Skills Assessment due ( 4 files required to be uploaded by this Wednesday) - apparently she deleted some of her files . We also had to work on our role play for first thing Thursday morning for our Security & Privacy class. This time I made her do some of the work. We only had an hour together in the library as EllaLee had to go to an interview for a casual job she got in the city. How she is going to cope with her work from 6 pm - 11 pm after full time classes I am unsure.  Both assessment exercises completed within the hour ( we even bumped into our Thursday teacher for Security & Privacy / System Administration outside the library and told her that we were there to work on our role play) . EllaLee is going back to Koreas in November she told me she has booked her ticket already ( I've been a bit slack with my plans for January 2024). Does this mean she will be missing some classes? She kept asking me if I wanted anything from Korea. Not really- why would I? I said to her " Why are you asking if I want anything from Korea? Are you a drug dealer or something?" She said that she asks everyone.  OK......

After our hour in the library I walked home again - I actually did 10 450 steps today without even realizing according to my Shitbit! ( but I  only did 7/10 levels according to my Shitbit - this can't be correct?!  - maybe it is as I did use the lift today at TAFE which I usually don't do unless I am running late and I was early today.)

After a short afternoon snack and a toilet stop, it was off to return my full bag of bottles for recycling, get laundry money a mask a pairof white uv sleeve arm protectors for the run on Sunday and groceries. Still no liquid laundry sanitiser available at both Woolworths and Coles at Chatswood. I actually went for a shop for a t shirt and light white skivvie at Uniqlo. Apparently if you buy a t shirt in the selected range that I chose 100% of the purchase price goes towards a charity. I also went to Rebel to look for a new pair of sneakers and a running t shirt but not with 100% success. I dud not want to trash my Brooks from overseas my ASICS are all peeled and come apart between the shoe and the sole.

Home on the bus I am exhausted. 

Home  tv sleep, it was around 7.30 pm again by the time I arrived home. Another snack after unpacking my groceries. I missed The Cook Up at 7 pm but did watched MKR that started at 7.30 pm. 

News headlines today include

Aston Kutcher and Mila Kunis have apologised for giving a character reference for That 70s show co star convicted of 2 accounts of rape decades ago. 

The boss of the Spanish soccer team responsible for kissing a soccer team member has quit .

Harry may be the Invictus Games hero with his opening ceremony speech but a last minute removal if his wife Meghan from her presence at the closing ceremony Invictus Games speech has some scratching their heads. Will she actually show up ? Is it a publicity stunt?

The QLD premier has returned from her holiday and will be attending a parliament sitting to party unrest and chaos. She insists she will be running in next year's elections

A postponement due to poor whether has meant that back burninghas continued today in some Northern suburbs causing heavy smoke haze again. People who are elderly have asthma or heart conditions are advised to stay indoorsand keep windows and doors shut . Use air filtration and masks.

A man has died after being bitten by a brown snake after saving a friend when the snake was on his leg. A nurse and doctor at the event tried to save him  but failed.

Fire ants pose an extreme treat  crossing from the QLD into NSW border.

Tuesday 12th September 2023

A top of hardly 21 degrees C today sunny but again the city is blanketed in a cover of unhealthy to hazardous smoke due to the continued back burning  of 5000 hectares in preparation of Summer bushfire season to continue for the rest of this week. 

Only day to attend Fine Food Australia all day today I plan to attend a few 30 minute tech talks in the hospitality industry sponsored by Square. Registered as media this year as it is for my blog and YouTube channel.

I need to get back in time for my Connected Class Cyber Basics class at 6 pm tonight. I do have my laptop with me however if I need to join the meeting via teams I will need a quiet space and good internet connection - I don't intendto have to do this but do plan to stay until the very end ie show closing time of 5 pm .

12 noon and I finally arrive at Fine Food Australia at the ICC Darling Harbour. Registration was quick as I headed straight to level 4 instead of registering at level 2 where there was a long queue.

First stop lanyard collection - no plastic sleeves used this year. I went straight to find the Talking Tech area. Too early for the tech talks I wanted to attend so I have a quick look around . Level 4 is where half of the world ( Flavours of the World that is) the other half of the world was on the lower level 1 which I did not discover until later - both levels were dominated by China but I did not see many visitors to China. ( refer my YouTube video I have uploaded - sorry I dod not video the other level of Flavours of the World) 

I  went for a tour around the world in between the 2 tech talks I attended. I spent a lot of time  in South Korea which was all about the variety of mushroom, seaweed varieties,  instant noodles ( I found a product called Tawoomba Pasta - a very heavy instant "noodle" kit which Koreans actually call pasta however although it looks like pasta is not actually directly from Toowoomba in Australia or pasta as such . It is well known and according to the story this is it's origins

 "Toowoomba Pasta was a dish on the menu of Outback Steakhouse, a chain of Australian-themed restaurants from the United States. They also opened up several locations in South Korea as well. The pasta dish had a creamy tomato sauce, with prawns, mushrooms and bacon"    )  , rice cakes , rice snacks chillies, Asian pear and fancy liquor.

Next a stop off to find if any companies take on interns.

Then a look at  the robot waiters by a company called "Bearrobotics" Wow! how these service robots have come a long way since my little encounter quite a few years ago at Fine Foods Australia where I was surprised to discover the programmer  sitting nearby still working on the robot waiter's algorithms on his laptop - no wonder the robot could not talk back to me! ( yep this is somewhere in one of my previous blogs) Unfortunately these robots don't talk either they just serve and serve and serve.... Oh how cute more service robots in various sizes  but with cute little animated monochromatic kitten faces.  

I think one of the Tech Talks was cancelled as I can't see it on any of the days of the programs. It was another Tech Talk on AI. 

I didn't have much time to spend at Fine Foods this year in between attending the tech talks. It's the first time I have actually attended any tech talks and they are quite interesting although short. Chat GPT, Dali E 2, Mid Journey, Canva etc as well as other AI appswere discussed and a case study given of a competitionto design a dream restaurant and bring it to life using AI. The winner was from Perth but the actual event was in recreated in Sydney (I think)  at one of the existing restaurants.  It attracted interest around the world as it was the first attempt using AI with graphic designers ,other designers and chefs ( AI recipe creation is not very good - if you want proof of this refer to YouTubers who have asked AI to create chocolate cake recipes which have failed  - you don't want to end up with cement in your cake for example!)












I left the trade show at 5 pm when it closed. A mass exodus however there are always those visitors who try to stay as long as they can after the show closes  which was quite a few of them. I had to leave as I had to get home in time for the 6 pm Cyber Basics Connected class. I did have my laptop with me but my phone had run almost out of battery power and I was using my spare phone which only has wifi no sim in it to take photos and videos with.

I did not make it home in time for the Cyber Basics class at 6 pm . It was peak hour and I left the trade show at 5 pm when it closed and there was a mass exodus . The light rail was packed so I had to wait for the next one. There was a train waiting but I did nit get on it as I was unsure if it was about to departand it may have bern an Express train to the central coast so I waited for tge next one. It was packed as well. I got off at St Leonard's but waited forever to cross the road only to find the bus stop had moved a few hundred meters East. which direction is East? The non Express next bus took foreverto arrive.

As soon as I arrived home I dum po ed my backpack down and plugged my phone in to charge and dual into teams straight away. I was about 20  - 30 minutes late. They were not chit chatting at the beginning of this class instead straight into the class content . 

No wasting time on a roll call tonight unless I missed it at the beginning.  We had to post all our gmail addresses individually onto the teams chat- I made a comment gee now we all know all our class matesgmail addresses - let's all send each other mass or group  spam - thanks for the privacy and security tips! I had to make a sarcastic comment as the whole point of this subject is cyber security and we have all just  exposed ourselves to be bombarded with a privacy and security threats! We should have just been asked individually to email directly to the teachers Tafe email address using our Tafe email address with our gmail addresses requested. Then they can just attach the file required for the class assessment as a group email. 

This subject is actually a waste of time as it covers the ssme types of toas as security and privacy- I still don't know the difference between the 2 subjects and wasn't really given an answer to it when I asked.

The class went right to the end ie 9 pm with a 20 minute break in between. enough time to put one load of my laundry in the washing machine.

I was  up until almost midnight washing and drying my one load of laundry . Such a long day I watched an encore episode of The Cook Up which I missed at 7 pm before going straight to bed. No time to do anything else. Behind in my YouTube video uploads and blog . Apologies 

News headlines today include

The QLD premier may have returned from her overseas holiday to chaos yesterday but she announced that she suffered a medical episode back in June that lasted 5 - 6 hours and required a hospitalisation visit but is now fine as well as issuing a 7 week ultimatum of support her and her party or get out.

North Korean president is set to travel to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin to neg oi rivate the purchase of weapons to be used in the war against the Ukraine. It has been 4 years since the North Korean leader has travelled outside of his country isolating the country from the rest of the world due to COVID as the country does not have good healthcare. It is unclear how the N oi tth Korean leader will travel and to where in Russia he will travel to in order to mert Putin and it is assumed that he will train it thousands of km into Russia. Is the relationshipbetween China and Russia a little frostyat the moment? Why has Putin not approached China but approached North Korea instead for weapon supplies? Desperation is how Putin and Russia has been described and as for China well - you're on your own now! You caused it you deal with it is what the rest of the world thinks of China.

Kate Miller Heidke & Mark Seymour are confirmed to be AFL's half time entertainment .

There are delays on the Sydney Harbour Bridge with a 2 car accident

Novak Djokovic claimed his 24th grand slam tennis tournament at the US Open beating Daniil Medvedev where there was a star studded crowd including Nicole Kidman Matthew McConaughey One of the Kardashians  Leonardo DiCaprio as well as others.

Last Friday nights attack in Bourk Street St Melbourne has seen a mass exodus from the CBD as residents fear for their lives as it us unsafe.

$10 billion to pass a bill through the Senate for building affordable housing has now been supported by The Greens.

It is the 9/11 22nd anniversary .

An old black and white photo from the 1960s  of the Beatle outside the former Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne has been found in a suit case of an architect that was working there.


Wednesday 13th September 2023

A top of 23 degrees C  today for Sydney . It is a beautiful dy outside this morning.

All day face to face classes Programming 10 am - 1 pm & ICT Work Skills  1 30 pm -  4.30 pm 

News headlines today included

Another gangland shooting in  Campsie in NSW has occurred last night after 9 pm. 

More QLD youth crime reported with a  ram raid into an IGA in Logan by youth who fled the scene and on the run. A police manhunt is underway.

What Meghan Markle arrives in Germany to support Harry at the Invictus Games with the kids?!

Another 16 year old shooting has occurred in Endevour Hill in Victoria . The teenager is in hospital with injuries. 

Another building company in SA has collapsed due to labor shortages and supply chain issues. They say they did everything they could to save the company but the pressures from the above issues was too much to save the company.

QLD's hospital crisis worsens with at least 3 hospitals at full capacity.

iPhone 15 launched with new features 4 new models with titanium bodies making them lighter  and the way they charge . Not cheap though from around $1500 all the way up above $2500 .

Next gen tabacco laws are  to be introduced to decrease the amount of smoking by having warnings. on individual cigarettes. NZ has a law  banning tobacco sales to anyone born after 2009.

Collingwood Magpies star AFL player Brayden Maynard has been clear of a concussion causing high tackle and will be able to play the preliminary finals after a 4 hour AFL tribunal hearing.

The AUS$ is just above the $0.64 mark again against the US$

Footage has been taken of an oranatan evicting a possum by kicking it hard out of it's tree top treehouse home .

VIP passenger flight details by the defence department have not been provided for 2 years. Reasons due to conidentility given.

The princess of Wales has visited a male prison that supports addictions. She was sniffed by dogs and searched by guards as any other visitor would be. Eagle eyed viewers noticed she sustained a hand injury which was from a home trampoline accident with the kids.

A bright blue light was filmed crashing down across the night north of NSW near Newcastle. It was confirmed to be a meteor due to its distinctive blue colouring.

Thursday 14th September 2023

A forecasted very early hot Spring day of 26 degrees C on the coast today in Sydney but out in Western Sydney it is forecasted to hit tops of 30 degrees C +. It doesn't look the best outside at the moment.

It is still very smokey around Sydney today due to continued back burning. 

All day waste of time face to face classes - must attend as  have to do another role play assessment for the 9.30 am - 12.30 pm class today.

News headlines today include

Another drive by shooting outside of Melbourne into a Craigeburn home where 2 adults in their 50s were inside.

A 17 year old was asleep whilst he was shot in Blackett. It us thought it was a case of mistaken identity  and the target was his brother who has ties to gangland members. The second shooting in Western Sydney in 2 days with police investigating a burnt out car at Agnes Banks.

Qsntas' Alan Joyce and the chairman are fronting an inquiry in relation to yet more Qantas scandals - illegal sackingof workers during the pandemic.

Harry and Meghan looked happy and relaxedat the Invictus Games mixingit with Australian athletes.

SA Premier travels to China today to discuss trade and to attract international students back.

NSYNC  have appeared on stage at the VMA  reuniting for the first time in a decade with Tay Tay asking "Are you guys doing something new?I need to know!"

The poison mushroomcase has impacted mushroom growers and sales. 

Lightening sets a house on fire in QLD shocking residents inside who called 000. The lightening struck a tv antenna before settint the roof on fire.

Friday 15th September 2023

I prebook a timeslot online between 12 noon and 1 pm today to pick up my race bib. Luckily I have today off to attend this as there is no way I am going tomorrow it will be madness as it is the last day to pick up your race bib and it is open shorter hours and what if there is trackwork yet again or a bus strike over the weekend? The location is way out in Alexandria - the first time it is not in the city ( Lower Town Hall)  therefore not as convenient to get to  It will take me at least a full hour to get out there with no public transport the closest stop according to Google maps is Mascot Station then a 15 minute walk to the venue . I will have to force myself to wake up early to get there - does it really take an hour to just pick up a race bib? That's what it says online and it encourages everyone to attend on Thursday or Friday. 

A top of  26 degrees C today before a sweltering heat wave of 30 - 36 degrees C is forecasted ( with 36 degrees C for Monday in the West )  for the coming week before another cold snap - all within the first month of Spring!

The smoke haze is lifting finally over Sydney  from all the back burning .

No wonder you need to book 1 hour sessions to attend the "Sydney Marathon Running Show"to collect your race bib !( That's what it was called in the email but it wasn't actually a show - there was a stage and seating but nothing to watch) To get out to "The Venue" takes forever! There is no direct public transport out to "The Venue"  so ASICS organised regular shuttle buses ( these were actually coaches where the company did not make wearing seat belts compulsory and ignored the maximum passenger capacity on  coaches & allowing passengers to stand up and fill in the aisle the entire route even allowing them to sit on the step) picking up from and to  Redfern and Green Square Stations. If you got on at Gibbons St Redfern you got a seat on the shuttle coach however if you got on at Green Square you were likely not to get a seat or even get on the shuttle  coach and have to wait for the next one. The shuttle coaches were running at least every 15 minutes. I just missed one at Redfern Station however was lucky and did not have to wait long for the next one to arrive. There were quite a few people waiting for the shuttle and yes the tops were manned by either a shuttle coach marshal or a  event volunteer. It was suppose to be an 11 minute one way trip but there was a bit if drama along the way where a soecial needs volunteer who boarded the bus at Green Square delayed the departure after dropping his box of biscuits or cupcakes ( I could not actually see what was happening but could hear it loud and clear) down the narrow aisle  of the coach blocking a queue of  passengers in front and behind him as he asked a seated passenger to help him pick them all up off the floor. He made it clear thatthey were for the volunteers to share. I said to the passenger sitting next to me who was giggling with me ( as the incident was actually quite funny although some passengers got a little annoyed with this special needs volunteer as he was delaying the departure of the coach and holding up the queues of passengers boarding) - Did he just drop those biscuits or cakes on the floor and then pick them all up and is going to share them with the other volunteers?  I hope not! As soon as the coach is packed full, it makes it's way to "The Venue" somewhere in Alexandria at 75 & 86  O'Riordan Street. 

Arriving at The Venue, it was a walk but did not take long topick up my bib but to exit you were forced to walk through the entire maze of stalls of running merchandise for purchase. I needed a pair of running shoes and was insistent on only purchasing a pair of ASICS Gels. I don't wear other brands when I run.  Unfortunstely there was not much stock in my size left and I wanted to spend as little as possible on a pair of runners. I only purchase kids sizes as ladies sizes are too big for my feet.  So in the end I chose and purchaed aoairof black and white running sneakers in a kids size 36 equivalent - the sales person wasreally helpful and found as many pairs as possible in my size and budget to try on. Afew different pairs fit but comforthad tobe right as well. Donethe sneakers were kept at the counter which was just as wellas I also needed a running top. My bright pink Nike one is looking a little tired and all the Blackmore ones I own  are singlets which are not good for sun exposure. Again stockin tthtthe black and purple top was out of stock in size small so I settled on a xsmall. It fits but will be snug. Done. Igotto the counter to pay andcontinue through the mazeof stalls selling everything from gels protein bars drinks socks waist wrist and arm bands to hold stuff, running vests, hydration packs, other running apparel,  sunglasses even running holidays eg Ultra marathons and magneticvlips tohold your race bib without resorting to safety pins and grippers for your hands whilst walking and running. I needed a new pair of sunglasses and ski goggles preferably all in one and believe it or not ski goggles were actually available for sale however these were toobig for my facetherefore I settled for a pair of Goodr polarised wraparounds ( these are a great hybrid pair of sunglasses and fitted my small face well and I hope to try them whilst skiing as a alternative to Goggles). The worst part of purchasing these sunglasses was selecting the appropriate type of len as they were not interchangable. These ranged from a clear tint to full foiled. No I din't go for a full foiled as skiing in them would be a little difficult for me vision wise so I went for a middle of the range polarised tinted lens which provided enough protection from outdoor sun whilst running  and snow glare whilst skiing. Done. Time to walk to the bus stop to catch the next shutylbus back to Redfern Station via Green Square Staion via the rest of the maze and pop up stage with seating ( no idea what this was for). I took final photos butcouldnot find where the toilet were so hoped I did not need to go until I reached Redfern Sation. Once we reached Redfern Station, I spotted the new Marion Street entrance inthe park however it wasnit quite open to the public yet. It looked really nice st like the Wynyard  Station entrance at Barangaroo. 

I  grocery shopped again before heading home. Ineeded snacks and water to pack i to my vackpacfor the actual race on Sunday. Home to start doing that.

News headlines today include

Only 1 month until referendumvoting day and postal votes have just openebut the debate is still on about whether the constitution should be changed Yes Vote No Vote  to The Voice - undecided yep!

NSW is beefing up police Task Force Magnus set up 7 weeks ago in NSW in an effort  to crack down on the increase in gang land/drug lord/ organised crime resulting in countless shootings abandoned burnt out cars, stabbings, abductions, murders etc  that has been happening. Police have raided a number of houses mainly outside of Sydney finding  and seizing illegal weapons, stolen or luxury cars, stacks cash & cards, drugs, cigarettes, stolen or  luxury goods etc and arresting those suspected or  directly or indirectly involved in organised underworld gangland crime .A breakthrough has apparently been made in relation to the series of  recent gangland crime.

Meanwhile  Melbourne is facing a mass exodus of police due to burn out as a result of being short staffed, overworked  &  underpaid without support from senior staff in order to tackle the increase in crime. An EBA pay increase is being planned as fire fighters  staff recently received a pay increase, the police force is due for one  at the end of the year in order to retain existing highly trained and experience police 

A man has been set on fire by 2 women outside a Tawoomba bar/pub and is in hospital suffering severe burns . 2 women have been charged and police believe it was a targeted attack.

The Federal government has been asked to step in to save the Commonwealth Games in 2026. 

Another "busiest" day for Melbourne airport as school holidays begin for Victoria and QLD as well as the footy finals.

Queensland plans to recycle water for drinking to  tackle situations such as droughts.

GWS Giants to play Port Adelaide in semifinals tomorrow.

Model Miranda Kerr is expecting baby number 4 and it's a boy again an bust expanding her Kora Organics passion project she started in 2009 with an alternative retinol alternative moisturiser.

Hunter Biden ( Joe Biden's son)  has been indicted on gun charges from 2018.

The Prince & Princess of Wales have visited a forest school camping out lighting fires chopping wood etc Kate was unable to participate due to her strapped fingers. 

The late Princess Duana's black sheep sweater has sold for $2.17 million dollars .

Womens Soccer will now be aired on free to view tv instead of having to watch it on subscription services.

What a lemeur has escaped and police were called in to capture it? It is thought it was kept as someone's pet  and the owner was fine for keeping an illegal animal as a pet.

NASA doubting UFOs exist? but extra terrestrials may exist? 

A speedway being constructed in Eastern Creek has closed before it has even opened as it is not up to scratch. 

Saturday 16th September 2023

It will be 32 degrees C today - the start of a forecasted 3 day heatwave with Monday reaching 36 degrees C before the temperature dropping back down to low to mid 20s on Thursday forecasted.

Today I have to prepare for tomorrow's race eventhough I am only running in the sub event 3.5 km Family Fun Run. I  am worried about getting to the starting line tomorrow as public transport is so unreliable wherever I live and I have missed this entire race in the past because my prebooked taxi failed to arrive to take me to the nearest railway station. I may have to book &  stay overnight at the YHA across from Central Station again. Buses never show up even when road closures don't affect their route or service. 

I looked online at more then one trip planner app and one advised that there were regular scheduled buses running tomorrow morning in real time whereas the other advised that there was no real time information of the scheduled buses available for tomorrow morning. 

Before I prepare, I dialed into the scheduled non compulsory weekly  support session this morning between 9.30 am and 12 30 pm as I had some questions about using packet tracer. I just hope I haven't lost any exercises I had been working on as  I had no idea what I was doing in packet tracer. Done. A class mateof mine who I worked on a role play with  also dialed in but he wanted to ask about writing an email for ICT Work Skills.

I didn't do much in the afternoon but I did squeeze in doing one load of my laundry.  I hate it when people leavetheir laundry in the dryer when others want to use it. I took the person's laundry out ofthe dryer as it was the second time round that they did not come down to c look aim it.

I decided to risk it and not book and  stay at the Sydney Central YHA overnight instead if worsecame to worse wake up earlier and walk to St Leonards Station. Once there it was a train ride to Milsons Point. Thank goodness no track work on the Northern lines this weekend but not so lucky for those living along the Western Airport line 

News headlines today include 

Hugh Jackman and Debra Lee Furness are separating after 27 years of being happily married & raising 2 children together who are now 18 and 23 years old. They celebratedtheir 27 th anniversary just in April this year. Either of them could be returning to Australia.

Ariana Titmus  has had a health scare after a routine scan on a hip injury found benign 4 cm tumors on her right ovarywould could have led to fertility issues.  She has had surgery and is recovering and will return to training soon.

Prince Harry celebrates his 39th birthday at the Invictus Games.

A new campaign begins to promote the Yes vote for the referendum featuring an indigenous boy asking if he will receive the same treatment as everyone else gets. The ad cost $20 million.

The floods continue in Libya with a reported well over  11000 killed and 10 000 still missing. 

Biden's son may have been charged with gun crimes but Trump has to have his say again about this . 

"Trump: Hunter Biden indictment ‘only crime’ not implicating President

Former President Trump slammed Hunter Biden’s new indictment on gun charges by prosecutors in Delaware in a Truth Social post Thursday.

“This, the gun charge, is the only crime that Hunter Biden committed that does not implicate Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump said in his post. “One down, Eleven to go!”

“The Democrats, with all of their horrible, very unfair, and mostly illegal Witch Hunts, have started a process that is very dangerous for our Country,” Trump continued. “They have opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box, and it is possible that the USA will never be the same again. SO SAD!!!” "


Sunday 17th September 2023

Sydney Marathon ( formally the Blackmores Running Festival/Sydney Running Festival)  

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Sydney hit 33 degrees c today with a morning temperature of 17 degrees C. 

This year  I only registered back on May 7th 2023 to run the 3.5 km Family Fun Run . Again I didn't know what was going on with this race. It was all really vague back in May. There was pre race day event expo information to pick up your race bib. Upon registering the was no preordering  of food & drink option and nothing about the Recovery Village. So I could not pre order any food this year. The 10 km bridge run is sold out to capacity but the full & half marathons still have spaces available with very expensive late entry fees ( well over $100 for locals) and there are a few spaces left for the family fun run and again late entry fees are around $100 for adult. I read somewhere that all races have sold out capacity but am unsure if this information is actually true.

No  time for news headlines this morning I had to leave home a little after 6 am in order to get to the start of the Sydney Marathon Family Fun Run in time. A last minute email was sent  out too late last night indicating how much time you should arrive before the start of each race. 

I had to walk to St Leonard's Station as there were very few buses ( ghost buses again where the buses on apps just don't show up) .It didn't take me long . As I was arriving at St Leonard's Station a 144 bus arrived. I hoped on the next train and by 6.50 am or so was at Bradfield Park and don't even think about usingthe toilets - it was at least an hour wait for any of the portaloos. Photo willbe attached later.

News headlines today include

Another shooting has occurred in Darlinhurst today . It has been confirmed that a man has been shot 

A bushfire in the Hunter Valley has put residents on high alert tonight to to a strong wind durection change 

Penrith reached 36.5 degrees C today whilst Sydney Siders remained unaware of how hot it was getting out West. Residents flocked to beaches and 

The Yes vote marched around Australia reaching as far overseas as  NY . In Sydney the march traveled down to redfernwhere in Melbourne from Federation Square

QATAR hits out at the Australian government for favouring Qantas.

Russell Brand and rape claims come out as several women come forward with claims he raped them. He has been dumped by his agent. 4 women have come forward.

Legend Ron Barassi player and coach of Sydney Swans saving them "extinction". He was a media personality as well snd died at the age of 87.

 A man was dragged off a Jetstar flight from Sydney to the Gold coast for being abusive and disruptive to passengers  He was charged for being a danger to the safety of passengers and spend 10 years in jail.

Winx's first surviving foal a filly f is to go on sale next April.

Prince Harry delivers a speech on resilience.

A 5 year old girl died and her parents and brother burnt when a plane crashed into their car parked nearby at an air show in Italy.

The $AUS is still just above the $0.64 against the US$

Monday 18th September 2023

31 degrees C today with 33 degrees in the West but 36 degrees is still to come as temperatures peak.

So behind in my blog again.

So behind in my assessments and so concerned about a file I submitted that are blank  I missed my 2.15 pm appointment today with APM.

Today after class I walked to the Coles in St Leonards to get some more water as it was a really hot day and although I don't have to attend classes this Tuesday or Wednesday face to face with a n option to attend face to face on  Thursday , I knew I would need water as it will be a sweltering heat wave at least until Thursday before Spring break begins next week.

I also wanted to go to the new St Leonard's Library located in the same building as the new Coles I purchased the water from but found out that the library is only open Wednesdays - Sundays. Disappointed I caught the bus home to try and work on some assessments. It is so hot and I am still a bit tired from all my adventures last week.


News headlines today include

$387 billion coal to nuclear power  plan  is being debated.

Another shooting incident and another stabbing  crime  in the Western suburbs of Sydney  etc Another youth crime in Yarraville outside of Melbourne .

Australia is planning to put a man on the moon with a Elon Musk style space organisation on the Gold Coast named Gilmore Space founded by Adam Gilmore and his brother James. The plan is to be the first commercial launch.

Tom Jones iscoming to Australia with special guest Delta Goodrem.

Christy Teagan and John Legend renew their vows.

Hugh Jackman has spoken for the first time in regards to his separatiofrom Debra Lee Furness.

Only 4 more days until Kylie Minogue  releases her new album Tension. All 20 days of her Las Vagas residency have sold out. 

There has been a national outbreak of Listeria with the source still unknown.

Tuesday 19th September 2023

Sydney will reach 33 degrees c today and sunny.

A man hunt by police for a gunman is underway in Victoria . The man in hiding is believed to have crossed the border into NSW. After a 3 day manhunt he was found by police hiding at a friend's property in Shepperton but someone on the property must have alerted police to his arrival. As he faced police he was shot dead by police .

20 schools  effecting 35 000 students have closed due to heat today in Southern NSW . NSW is under a total fire ban for the first time .Meanwhile police are investigating the fires in  Beerwah as being suspicious and were deliberately lit by hoons. Residents return but are to remain on high alert .

The first labor budget will be delivered for NSW in 13 years today. There us still a deficit but a surplus is forecasted next year. 

A messy love triangle is said to have been the caused as a  bystander was atracked outside a house by a gang  of attackers in Adelaide.  

A surge in new listings of properties is up  by 24.9%  in Melbourne. Meanwhile Dan Andrews wants to implement a tax on short term stay holiday accommodation such as Air BnBs to easy the housing crisis and put more properties back onto the market for long term stays. The debate is on as to how or whether this will actually solve the shortage in housing and rental crisis. 

A dog ban in formerly dog friendly pubs isbeing enforced due tothe number of poorly behaved pets including biting attacks. Meanwhile on the Gold Coast a surfer who took his python for a surfwith him has been fined. 

The best bacon in the world has been found in Tawoomba QLD . Meat Cellar has won a charcuterie award in London.

Katy Perry Sells Catalog Rights to Litmus Music for $225 Million.


Prince William on his first solo royal tour to the US is in Prince Harry's territory in NY meeting with the UN's secretary general but also supporting his sustainability causes whilst he is there. He waded the Hudson River to inspect oysters...and he didn't trip over. No chance though of William and Harry meeting up now that they are in the same country.
 
A new drone delivery hub has opened in SE QLD.

2 female students assaulted on  

Henry  Winkler ( The Fonz) is coming to Australia.

There will be Increases in welfare payments for job seeker older Australians pensioners carers parents etc and there will also be a 15% increase in rent assistance

Wednesday 20th September 2023

The heat wave continues with a top of 35 - 36 degrees C today and a total fire ban in NSW across the Greater Sydney regions  as it is the hottest day since 1965 . Fire fighters are  trying to contain 63 fires burning in NSW mainly West and SouthWest of Sydney particularly in The Hunter with gusty winds in some regions.

Today I don't need to attend class as we are having our programming and Working in IT Skills classes today via Connected Classes as per teacher's request last week.( I think he prefers it that way) Classes start from 10 am - 1 pm and from 1.30 pm - 4.30 pm . It's going to be a long hot day today.


News headlines today include

As Prince William continues his  brief solo tour of the US and meets the UN's secretary general. ,King Charles and Queen Camila visit France on a 3 day tour  where he will meet the president and speak in French just as he previously met the German Chancellor and spoke in German. They will arrive in France tomorrow to pomp and ceremony and dine with not just the French president Emanuel Macron and his wife but other celebrities.
 
The new Paw Patrol movie is set to hit movie theaters in time for the school holidays.

There is a threat of a national poultry shortage as Ingham workers walk off the job for better pay and conditions in SA. Some workers are being paid $25 an hour.

A young woman has drowned off a beach near Ocean Road and 3 others had to be rescued. It is believe the group was a family and there were no suspicious circumstances causing the death.

The price of fruit and veg in supermarkets is set to fall . Aldi followed by Coles and IGA are the supermarkets with best customer satisfaction respectively.

2 men have been arrested over the previous murder of  gangland member shot dead at Bondi Junction . 

Another house  fire  outside of Brisbane ruled as suspicious with a resident missing 

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck on NZ South Island 

800 000 houses planned to be built in Victoria over next 10 years to ease the housing crisis as there are changes to planning laws 

Dream World theme park is planning to upgrade and expand taking on the example of overseas theme parks to include zoning of regions into different themes and adding retirement villages , childcare centers, hotels etc for local residents.

Gold for women's kayaking team led by Jess Fox.

Australia's Sea Forest is a finalist in Prince Williams Earshot Awards for environmental sustainability.

Princess Kate is back in London supporting another charity of victims of domestic violence and abuse.


Thursday 21st September 2023

A much cooler 23 degrees C in Sydney today. Last day of face to face classes before a 2 week Spring break.Meanwhile there is a heatwave happening in Brisbane with temperatures reaching 33 degrees C with temperatures in Ipswich reaching 35 - 36 degrees C and dozens of fires burning. 

Today was another day of face to face classes and I didn't expect many classmates to turn up. There was actually 6 of us in total that did. We were told last week by the teacher that she wasn't going to teach any new material given we are on our last week of term and we were just doing role plays ( I had already completed mine for both subjects Security and Privacy  & Systems Administration previously with 2 different classmates). I was only present to copy all my Assessment files onto one drive ( back ups) and to resit the Netacad Linux exam as I got one question wrong and didn't really take note of which one it was. You need to get 100% for the exam to get a certificate. I attempted it another 4 times and the second time I did far worse then my first attempt so I redid it again a 3rd time and still got one question wrong so I redid it a 4 time and got the same result as my second attempt. So now I am attempting it a 5th time. By now I can't concentrate anymore so will continue with my 5th attempt at a later date. 

I leave around 3 pm after my 2  classmates finish their role plays. another 2 classmates still had not done theirs - both sets of classmates were trying to hold off from doing their role plays for as long as possible ( for 3 weeks actually!) We have a role play for every bloody subject! I want to get mine out of the way as soon as possible because they take quite a bit of time to prepare for. 

I have aced all 3 of mine so far. I should really have been exempt from these 3 waste of time subjects but due to the teachers not keeping to their weekly subject schedules in their face to face  classes, you never know which one of the 4 subjects they are going to teach each week and when. It started off as scheduled with programming on Wed morning 9.30 as m - 12.30 pm with an hour break for lunch followed by IT Work Skills in the afternoon from 1.30 pm - 4.30 pm then it changed to Wednesdays Programming 10 am - 1 pm (because the teacher was unimpressed with students constantly showing up late)  followed by 30 minute lunch break and IT Work Skills from  1.30 pm - 4.30 pm . Some classmates decided not to show up altogether for face to face classes on Wednesday instead attending both classes via Teams as if it was a Connected Class like on Tuesday nights for Cyber Aware classes - our Wednesday teacher would actually prefer to teach via a Connected Class instead of a face to face class ( and I thought that he just didn't want to teach us!) . Anyway the importance of teaching the programming class became less important and more and more of the It Work Skills class started being taught until almost all Wednesday was an IT Work Skills class as it had been neglected until recently as we were so  behind in the programming class that the entire Wednesdays were programming classes. Now it was catch up time and I am completely up to date with my IT Work Skills subject for term 1 and can go back to working on my programming assessment which I have started. Then there was the twist for this Wednesday's face to face programming and IT Work skills class - Last week our teacher decided to teach both classes on Wednesday as a Connected Class telling us not to turn up to Tafe as he would not be there. Just as well all went well yesterday and he only taught IT Work Skills yesterday all day and I finished everything and submitted it after several attempts therefore was able to leave class early. No programming class today however we could ask questions about our programming assessment. 

As for Thursday face to face  classes, well it all started off well in the first week with the scheduled Security & Privacy class  from 9.30 as m - 12.30 pm  with an hour lunch break and Systems Administration class in the afternoon from 1.30 pm - 4.30 pm until in week 2 the Thursday teacher wanted to change the starting time of the afternoon class to 1 pm - 4 pm because she wanted to start and  finish earlier by having a shorter 30 minute lunch break. So all was good until the subject became a waste of time and classmates decided either not to show up to class and instead attend as if both subjects were regular Connected Classed via Teams or drop out altogether because the teacher was not teaching us anything each week and left us to do our assessments and was more interested in us getting our micro credentials and as many of them as possible then teaching us the course material. She spent most of her time with coughing or out of the classroom. Again if you don't attend face to face you won't know what is being done when and for which of the 2 subjects. even those attending online as Connected Classes were not sure what was being taught for each class each Thursday. An example of this is we haven't submitted anything to her formally even though the sections of the assessments for each of the 2 subjects have been completed in class. We spent 3 weeks just preparing for and completing the Role play parts of both subjects' assessments. I should be at least 75% completed for each of the Thursday classes but for one I am barely 67% complete and only just over 10% complete because nothing has been submitted except the assessment quizzes which the teachers do not even need to mark and send feedback to students. Our Thursday teacher told us when I asked her for a list of files to be submitted for each subject for each assessment and she just responded with don't worry about it this term we will do them next term - I am worried. I want to get them all out of the way ASAP so I can concentrate on more serious subject assessments like Programming and Network build . 

3 pm and I finally leave after giving up on my Linux Netacad  exam failure attempts and after asking my classmate when they were doing their role play. They finally completed it after a proper lunch break of 30 minutes to 1.30 pm.I actually sat outside in the canteen's courtyard to eat a toasted lettuce cheese tomato and crumbed chicken Turkish bread sandwich with my 2 overseas student class mates ( EllaLee. &  her role play partner who attend today's face to face class just to complete it) .

Sometimes I wonder what  EllaLee  is on, Today she showed me her iPhone and  her 5 year old metallic pink Apple laptop and it was covered inside and outside with stickers she purchased online from Shein. Then she asked me where and how to get into Netacad. I had asked her last Thursday andagain  today if she had finished the Linux course in Netacad and she told me she had and I asked her if she got 100% and she said yes - only to find out that she had not even sat the exam and didn't know where to actually go to sit it let alone know how to download the certificate. ( the same exam another class mate finished and only managed to get 100% by using Google before down loading his certificate and which I have attempted 4 or is that 5 times now and keep getting 1 question incorrect !)


It rained overnight

News headlines today include

A magpie attacks a snake at the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. the snake survives and slivers off into the bushland.

Pizza hut is the latest company to experience a cyber security attack.earluer this month . Customer details have been stolen and possibly sold on the dark web however apparently their payment details remain safe .

Petrol prices have risen again to well above the national average $2 per liter mark .

Sam Newman has gone on a rant encouraging people to start booing or slow clapping at the "Welcome to Country" acknowledgement at the AFL and public events accusing it is being used for  political  purposes. Have some respect for goodness sake!!! 

Ex Qantas CEO Alan Joyce's $21.4 million payout upon leaving the company has been clawed back as the company faces a series of inquiries and lawsuits.

Victoria will be the first state to impose a short stay accomodations levy 

Eating cheese is good for your brain research has showed. I love cheese so why isn't my brain working better? The only affect I get from eating cheese is having nightmares (cheese dreams)  if I eat cheese before going to bed which is a known side affect of eating cheese. Shows that cheese does affect the brain but not in a good way .

The PM's announcement of the COVID response inquiry in SA has been slammed and accused of not going far enough without having a royal commission examination and taking evidence from victims.

There was a massive explosion at a petrol station in Fairfield West of Sydney when gas tanks caught on fire.

At just 22 years old Formulary Zone driver Oscar Piastri has signed an extended contract for another 2. years with MaLaren taking his contract to the end of 2026

The Melbourne Show starts today and ends on 1dt October 23. ( I had a look at what's on and their show bags - their range show bags are ok but what's on except may the Jurassic Park look pretty boring compared to Sydney's Royal Easter Show) 

Police have teasered a band conductor after he failed to stop the band playing at a game to allow fans out of the stadium in the US.

QLD premier urged to allocate more funding to support victims of youth crime.

China is suffering tornados

Police have located and seized 20 kill cars conataining taken off the road preventing them from being used in gangland crimes and underworld violence such as shootings bombings and arson attacks . Burning these kill vehicles involved  destroys DNA finger prints  and any evidence used in these crimes 

4 teams are playing in the AFL preliminary grand finals this weekend. 

Actors in Hollywood are auctioning off completely bonkers services services in order to raise money to help colleagues ( screen writers lesser known talents crew members etc)  that have lost their health insurance due to the strikes.

A gas explosion on an apartment in Moscow kills 4 people.

The WA Catholic Church is under investigation in an inquiry over not forwarding a report that  a former Broome Bishop was sexually abusing 4 children as well as grooming others.

Seniors  can now earn a little over $24000 without it affecting their pension by working between now and end of December .

It was the last day of school for year 12 students but a muck up day stunt has resulted in a 17 year old from the Hills district in hospital with critical injuries. The driver in a car was driving swerving to avoid popping balloons and ran out of control hitting the teenager.

Friday 22nd September 2023

It continues to rain this morning after raining over night. a very grey wet foggy overcast day today. Hope it clears up ok after this morning. A top of 18 degrees C today in Sydney - burrr chilly. The news actually says a top of 20 degrees C for today.

I didn't  end up venturing out today. I had planned to go to the Cake Bake and Sweet Show today but just could not be bothered. There is trackwork again over this weekend,  this time on the Western lines. I should really go today but  every time I go to the Cake Bake & Sweet Show it's a bomb. There is a new Jurassic Park exhibition that just opened a few days ago out at Olympic Park as well but not in the same venue (The showgrounds) as the Cake Bake & Sweet Show. It's just getting out to Olympic Park that is a hassle - 2 hours using public transport no matter which form of transport you take is just too much of an effort. Once out there you just don't want to leave because it will take you 2 hours to get home .

News headlines today include

Australian born controversial media mogul Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of News Corp and Fox with his son Lachlan now taking the reins. He will however still be popping in to the organisations now and then to keep an eye on them. Aged 92 he has been in the business for around 70 years . From November he will become chairman emeritus - still  sounds good . He assures everyone that he is still in good health.

Another 18 year old teen is in hospital after  being shot in Melbourne's West.

Sydney Airport is forecasted to be the busiest fortnight  before the pandemic as holiday makers get a head start as NSW school holidays begin.

The PM has been accused of going soft over the COVID 19 inquiry and shielding state politicians putting political interests first. The inquiry will only examine the federal government's pandemic response. State governments will be left out and not investigated at the inquiry. It is essential to examine the pandemic response at all government levels as how vaccines border closures the number of lives lost job losses etc will assist to improve how the next pandemic could be improved and handled more efficiently. 

A chicken shortage may result at Coles Woolworths Aldi and KFC  as  1200 Ingham factory workers in WA and SA  go on strike at its facilites.Net profits at Ingham lifted 72%. Workers are seeking an 18 % pay rise over 3 years when they were only offered a 10% increase. The strike may continue over the weekend which means there may mean no chicken over the weekend . I'll have to go shopping over the weekend to find out if there really is a shortage - chicken is on my shopping list for this week!

The MCG turns 170 years old on Saturday 23rd September.

Kylie releases her new album Tension.

Delta Goodrem gets engaged.

War torn Ukraine meets the US with high level talks by between Zelensky and Biden at the White House in the US. 

Gold Coast hospital extension has been delayed due to a design issue. 70 extra beds were to be added.


Saturday 23rd September

It"s a really yucky day this morning - the sun is trying hard to pop out but the clouds are trying to cover it. It's overcast and is like a sun shower has just ended or maybe about to happen. There is no wind as nd the forecasted temperature today is a top of 21 degrees C

Today I had to venture out and do a weekly grocery shop as I was running out of groceries again.

No trackwork on the Metro or Northern lines for once so I traveled to Macquarie Shopping Centre as I had a bag full of bottles to recycle and the convenience store in Chatswood is not open on Saturdays. I used the Return & Earn automatic machines which issue vouchers that can only be redeemed for cash at Woolworths supermarkets or Woolworths Metros. 



News headlines today include

Another attack where an 18 year old has been killed by a stabbing in Wyndham Vale. Meanwhile another hit and run on another senior a 72 year old. every day there seems to be multiple reports of youth crime and gangland crime - stabbings shootings hit and runs, collisions, fire bombing, break and enters, domestic violence etc What is happening around Australia? Is there a surge in international copycat crimes?

The Sydney Harbour Bridge has raised its tolls for the first time in 14 years by 6.8% .The increase has been said to make tolls fairer for all residents of NSW and to raise funds to keep other tolls capped and stop them from increasing to unaffordable amounts.

The royals are enjoying the final day of their 3 day state tour in France and have been seen having a bit of a tipple after the previous day's activities which included participating in games of table tennis ( ping pong). King Charles and Queen Camila aren't as sporty as Prince William and Princess Kate due to their age but they had a go. 

After yesterday's talks with Biden,  Zelensky has also secured Canadian support . Meanwhile there has been a ban by Canada on visas for Indians.

Comedian Russell Brand breaks his silence and denies allegations against him of sexually abusing a 16 year old in a new video. Blah blah blah .....

Sunday 24th September 2023

Another rather yucky overcast grey day today. it actually felt a little cold overnight. A top of 21 degrees C today .

Well it's the last day of  the Cake Bake & Sweet Show and I am still considering whether I should go. I decided not to go instead saving the general admission fee I would have paid to go for something else which I just spent most of today planning and  booking  for Tuesday night returning on Saturday morning. (Hint :  It's not in Sydney)

Another do nothing day today where I didn't venture out. I oven roasted some barramundi and vegetables for dinner and am still catching up on my blog - still so behind.


News headlines today include

New figures show Mt Druitt and the Central Coast are the only suburbs a couple on an average salary can afford a home and singles are unable to afford a home anywhere without going into mortgage stress due to the housing crisis. With only 5  suburbs in greater NSW having affordable units and only 5 suburbs in Greater NSW he having affordable houses ( from ~$700 000+ for  houses & ~$400 000 + for units ) and most are in the Western and South Western suburbs .

Also figures show only 38% will vote Yes in the referendum on 14th October for The Voice indicating the No Vote preference is rapidly increasing

The Perth Show is also on in time for school holidays.

After cancelling her podcast , Meghan and Harry have showed up for a surprise visit at a charity in Santa Barbara in the US rubbing shoulders with celebrities such as Oprah.

What is Sam Newman's legacy now that he has made a fool of himself encouraging fans to boo or slow clap during the Welcome To Country acknowledgement at the AFL? It only made the bond between First Nations and Australians closer at the recent AFL game with fans applauding loudly instead. Rude?Disrespectful?  No -  the only rude and disrespectful person was Sam Newman - embarrassment yes.

There is a rapid increase in electric car owners and interest in purchasing and owning one. Both hybrid petrol and electric vehicles  for those not quite ready to go fully electric and full EVs have been both increasing in popularity over petrol cars as the first EV car show is on in Melbourne.

QLD figures show how bad the healthcare crisis is with staff shortages of doctors in rural towns.

Former NSW premier Gladys B  is facing court over corruption charges ( yep it's been a while - a very long while). Do we really care anymore?  - I mean she stepped down from her position as NSW Premier ages ago and moved into a senior position at - was it Optus? Anyway some large corporation disappearing from our lives now she has popped up in the news again. 

Government's s plans to Introduce new employment skills IDs? And working with tertiary institutions  - good luck with this one - how is this going to be help the current skills shortage?

It's been about 170 days of the Writers then Writers and Actors strike and rumours have it that a pay and conditions negotiation is close to agreement

The Pope lead a mass for the first time in Marseille France. It has been 500 years since a Pope has lead a mass in Marseille 

In AFL Brisbane Lions beat Carlton .The Brisbane Lions play Collingwood in the AFL grand final . Die hard fans have already been camping outside ticket offices in Melbourne for grand final tickets in fear of an online ticketing system meltdown and therefore missing out on tickets . Some due hard fans have been camped outside ticket offices since Thursday - that's what I call dedication ( they do know it's not for Tay Tay Australian tour tickets don't they? Remember those online ticket fiasco? ! - I'm sure they do and have learnt from those past experiences by not taking any risks and buying tickets in person not online - smart ( if you have the patience and time to do so!)

Meanwhile in NRL the Broncos beat the Warriors.

The mushroom poisoning investigation  gets another step closer to being solved where the sole surviver of the mushroom poisoning incident has recovered enough to be discharged from hospital for home. He will be extensively questioned by police as to where  how when why and what actually happened at the lunch where he was served the poisonous mushrooms .
Jess Fox claims her 3rd medal in an international  kayaking championship in London.

Lakemba has been declared a purple zone a safe place for nightlife.

Oscar Piastiri is the first Australian Formula One rookie to podium ( 3rd) at the Japanese Grand Prix.


Forecast 25 degrees C for tomorrow. 

Monday  25th September 2023

Today was another do nothing day - well I watched a lot of the food channel and YouTube videos whilst I packed for tomorrow. I took my rubbish out and did my laundry (only had 1 batch to do) . 

I made myself a really nice lamb burger and did not go to sleep until after midnight because I lost track of time organizing stuff.

My fridge keeps making cracking noises and I hope it is not leaking gas like my neighbour downstairs fridge did. It's meant to be a new fridge but ever since I got it it has had problems like the bottom shelf is too narrow to fit in the slot and there is no other slot it can fit into and there is only 2 other shelves but n more slots that are empty. Is there a shelf missing? 

News headlines today include

Private health insurance increases again in less then a week.

There has been a crackdown on guns called gel blasters which look like real guns used on streets by criminals to strike fear . These toy guns are available all around Australia except QLD and are so realistic looking it is difficult to tell the difference between a real gun and a gel blaster.

Residents had to be rescued from a fire at a residential care facility in Balwyn where panic and multiple triple zero calls were made. Residents were stuck on balconies on the 2nd floor. 6 fire and rescue were there to contain the fire. There were resident in wheelchairs, residents coughing and choking from smoke inhalation and residents just trapped on upper floors.No one was injured and the fire is being investigated as being suspicious.

There was a ticket meltdown ( I was 100% correct about my comment in my blog yesterday in reference to the previous Tay Tay ticket meltdown fiasco - it actually did happened with the footy ticket sales online !) Collingwood ticket ballot fiasco - Collingwood fans either missed out in a ticket ballot altogether or members in a ticket ballot were disappointingly allocated a standing room ticket at the back of the stadium only .  problems. Priority ticket holders missing out on tickets and money seen taken out of their account but no tickets issued .Ticket holders were asked to contact the appropriate organisation to rectify their ticketing problems.

A couple were assaulted in a home invasion in Panania in Western Sydney. The burglars got away with some jewellery and the husband who went to confront the burglars was injured and taken to hospital .  Police are now hunting down 4 men , 2 who were armed.

Fresh flu warnings in QLD as hundreds of people have been hospitalized from influenza B possible due to a drop in vaccination and COVID hygiene practices.

There have been calls for more protection of politicians as the NT chief minister copped a pancake with whipped cream in her face by a member of the public - disgraceful ! 

A NASA capsule on a 7 year mission has finally returned to earth with a 250 g cup of astroid dust ( dirt basically)  to be taken to a lab opened and examined. Protective clothing and equipment was worn and used in retrieving and transporting the capsule in the event it was contaminated with hazardous substances.

Melbourne University ( 7 academics ) has invited Taylor Swift to visit for a 3 day academic conference to study the global impact of her success and achievements in such a short period of time ie 10 years and how it covers such broad themes  dubbed "Swiftposium".

A new robot has been paired with a police officer to patrol the NY subways. The robot can only travel at 5 km an hour and is not used to fight crime but to record crim using it's cameras for recording purposes. The question was asked why another human police officer was just paired and body cameras or normal cameras used to record footage instead of a robot - invasion of  privacy was the possible reason .

Tuesday 26th September 2023

A top of 23 degrees C today in Sydney but it's a little overcast this morning. It is a bit cooler in Melbourne today under 20 degrees C .

Tonight I depart on the overnight XPT from Sydney Central Station for  Melbourne Southern Cross Station. There were no first class seats or sleepers left in both directions for the days I wanted  to go down so return Economy concession it is . Yes milk that full time student concession card whilst I can. I did however ensure that I had an aisle seat with my right leg out by phoning them.

I am staying for 2 nights at the Melbourne Central YHA again ( after the last fiasco) . Too early to check in I asked in advance to have a shower, drop my bag into a pay locker and straight off to the Melbourne Show for almost the entire time it is open.

Back really late I just go straight to sleep. 

I have uploaded a series of  YouTube videos  already.

No news headlines for Wednesday  Thursday Friday & possibly Saturday as there is no TV where I am staying or I'm on the no charging station no wifi XPT 1980s train .

what a co incoincidence I arrive on Wednesday - the last day Dan Andrews is the premier of Victoria as he decided to announce that it was time for him to step down - so who is the new premier of Victoria? Without news I will just have to Goggle it. I think Victorian's are more interested in the AFL grand finals and pre grand final public holiday then anything else.


News headlines today include

A car has lost control and ended upside down on the sand at Balmoral Beach narrowly missing beach goers sunbathing  as it crashed through a wall around the beach. Luckily there were no injuries. It is unclear how this could happen as the road around Balmoral Beach is quite a distance from the beach itself. The P plater was practising parking manovers.

AFL player Lachie Neale from Brisbane Lions has won  his second Brownlow medal now joining an exclusive club of other double Brownlow medal winners. Lachie Neal's last Brownlow medal for best and fairest player win was in 2020 .

Another huge fire in Western Sydney in Canterbury very close to a petrol station and residences. The fire was in a long established  family business . Asbestos in the roof is causing a hazard.

Screen writers strike in the US  could end soon as a deal is struck however the actors will remain on strike until they can strike a deal and it is hoped they will follow suit to the screen writers on strike.

It has been confirmed Tay Tay is dating and has been seen at a football game with Travis ' mother watching and cheering on as Travis played. She was  wearing a chiefs jersey and sen leaving with him after the game.

Plans are underway to allow pharmacists in QLD to prescribe drugs for common medical conditions asthma diabetes etc and contraception eg the pill  to reduce GP wait times and take pressure off the hospital and health system. The pilot program is hoped to be rolled out nationwide which will include training by GP to pharmacists. 

1500 fighter fighters from all around Victoria will be protesting by  marching towards state parliament for a pay increase when their EBA was ripped up.

Heat waves this Sumner bring threats to the national power grid and the government plans to work with meteorologists and energy suppliers to work out when alternative energy sources will have spikes or troughs eg solar, wind, hydro to assist with smoothing out energy supplies.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews resigns effective tomorrow 5 pm at a snap press conference he called " It's time" . He was the longest serving labor premier leading for a 3 term and about 9 years. 

Wednesday

Arrive Melbourne 30 minutes late at 8.05 am - Straight to the show after a shower and dumping my luggage in pay locker for the dayvia Metro showgrounds train . fish & chips for lunch , a chocolate bar and 4 different flavoured cheeses plus one rural aid showing

Thursday

train to South Yarra Walk to Prahan markets a king Salmon and scallop pie for lunch with an orange syrup cake for dessert. Train back to Southern Cross then tram to st kids to St  kilda Sea baths an indoor salt water pool and hydrotherapy pool . so chlorinated casual visit costs $10. Be ack to cook dinner got sick from eating something eventhough I was really strict with hygeine and fresh produce

Friday 29th September 2023

Checked out and stored my luggage for the day in the pay lockers. Caught up with Uploading YouTube videos blog and lodged my fortnightly Centrelink income form.

Simple breakfast of the free sample of Special K given out upon arrival at Southern Cross Station with plain very thick Greek yogurt and some blueberries purchased from Woolworths Metro . , still a little sick this morning so not doing much today except maybe see The Lume and visit the kids section of the NGV as there is not much that is interesting on being a public holiday pre AFL Grand Final. Everyone is out & about though - Did I miss the AFL parade that may have been on somewhere in the city? 

I ended up going to see NGV Kids Up Down & All Around by Daniel Emma. I have uploaded a video of this yet again excellent kids activity centre at the NGV.  Photos to be uuploaded.

I was heading tothe melbourne Convention & Echobition Centre to see The Lume  but wanted to do some shopping first before the shops at the DFO South Wharf closedthikingthey closed at 5 pm today but they were actually openuntil 9 pm as it was a friday and late night shopping in Melbourne ( late night shopping in Sydney is Thursdays). When I arrived evey man and his dog ( maybe not any dogs) was at the DFO as there was a massive 3 day sale on I soon found out. The line into the Nike store was very long and just as well I did not need to go into it. Idid need a travel towel and a pair of tracksuit pants or leggings.  I had run out of clothes to wear whilst in Melbourne. What if it gets cold again? 

I ended up getting a mini towel from Miniso and a pair of boys red Guess track pants - the benefits of being small - kids clothes still fit me.

I didnot end up going to see The Lume as I was running out of time I thought and still had to walk back , get my language out of the paylocker , repack, take my bag out oftge fridge  refill my thermos with hot water and refill my water bottle so I had enough water for the train without having to purchase more, go to the bathroom and recharge my electronic devices. Then I had to walk to Southern cross Station and purchase a snack of a beef and veg pastie with just enough timeto wwaifor the overnght XPT which ended up over 30 minutes late departing. 

A sms was sent out to all passengers to advise us to recommend hat we re purchase meals asthe buffet service would be limited tonight. You always have to be prepared with this return Sydney Melbourne XPT service  no wifi no charging ports toilets don't always work delays of arriving and departures from anything from 30 minutes minimum, service cancellations snd coach replacement services due to track work , limited buffet services, unavailability of first class seats and sleepers, other passenger incidences  etc etc 

I have to mention the incident i had during the night. I don't think there was suppose to be anyone sitting in the window seat E51 next to me the entire  Melbourne to Sydney tripbut in the middle of the night as I was trying to sleep I was awakenby a haggard looking woman who was looking for her seat but could not find it then decided to dump her large bag  over me after unsuccessfully trying toplaceit inthe overhead rack before jumping over me and plonking herself intheseat next to me. I didn't say anything .She had boarded at Albury but whenthetrain officercame around to checkon tickets she ignored them and pretended to be asleep. I tried togo back to sleep but she kept invading my space so I kept moving and giving her a nudge hinting for her on several occasions to stop invading my space. I couldnot even put my legs down as her bag was on the floor in  front blocking my leg space.
t
Saturday 30th September 2023

It is a forecasted top of of 25 degrees C in Sydney today but set to be a swltering heat wave of   34 degrees C tomorrow . Finally back in Sydney this morning after the XPT was over 30 minutes late again. It was meant to arrive at 6.35 am but arrived well after 7 am this morning.  A top of 28 degrees is forecasted for Melbourne as they hold their AFL grand final this afternoon at 2.30 pm at the MCG . I am so glad I departed Melbourne before all hell breaks loose.  I have no interest really in AFL or NRL and hoping to leave Sydney again before all hell breaks loose here  as well tomorrow with the NRL grand final. 

I forgot to tap on at Central Station but tapped iff at St Leonards Station before catching a bus home. I took my time getting off the XPT as my suitcase and bag were trapped behind other larger suitcases and bags.  I must have been almost the last person off the XPT and usually I am the first.  The train was full and checked luggage was being collected off the platform at Central Station also holding up people traffic. So I wait.

It's before 8 am and platforms 1 & 2 are already occupied by some vintage locomotives. There was a blue train engine I spotted which could have been one in the Thomas The Tank Engine series but there was no Chugginton series - I saw one ofthe yellow train engines tback in Victoria. 

Once home I empty my suitcase and sort it into my dirty clothes laundry bag. Place my cheeses in my cooler bag into the fridge and unpack my heavy Rural Aid show bag into products I can use .

OK I made myself marinated duck with zucchini and asparagus before taking a nsp and waking up to watch the AFL grand final Collingwood 90 wins over Brisbane Lions 86. It was an action packed close game throughout I must admit. I don't understand the game and don't have any interest really in AFL but I can see why fans are crazy over this unique Australian game of football. It's actually easy to watch and not boring. 4 quarters instead of  2 half times , plenty of goal scoring and lean high kicking players I think I prefer this over NRL which I don't really have an interest in anymore. I found te half time entertainment a bit ordinary as Kate Miller Heike  only made a very brief appearance not singing her own songs and did I miss the pre game entertainment of kiss?!

I love watching the presentation of the medals ceremony to the winning team members . Each kid stepping up to present their allocated AFL team member with their medal by placing it around their neck in exchange for a cap and a handshake  or fist pump if they are lucky except for (and it always happens) the one poor kid who tries to shake their allocated team member's hand and they just walk off leaving the poor kid with their hand out. This year there was a boy in an electric wheelchair presenting a medal to a team member which was so touching and the lucky kid who got to present the medal to the team captain was a little girl this year.  The Collingwood team captain's name is what ? Darcy Mullet - oh Darcy Moore. The chosen  kids also stole the show as Kiss performed with them at the  pre game entertainment.( I watched a replay of this) 

I am so tired I just slept after watching the game in between  uploading my videos onto my YouTube channel catching up with watching YouTube and trying to catch up with my blog.

News headlines today include

A freak accident has occurred off La Perouse when a man has died after a boat  was hit by a whale. A second man has been rescued and is in a serious condition taken to St George hospital.

Flash flooding has hit in NY after torrential rain fall. Residents trapped as subways and roads flooded. Stay at home if possible.People have beentrapped in basement apartments and needed to be rescued. 

A man has finally charged with the murder in 1996 of rapper Tupac. 

At least 57 people have been killed in Pakistan from suicide bombings of 2 mosques during Islamic celebrations .

A reminder that daylight savings starts tomorrow so clocks go forward one hour. This is the first time Australia will have 5 different time zones as a result.

There are calls for royal comission reports for disability rights act with 222 recommendations in regards to employment treatment services education segregation and housing etc.

It's AFL grand final time this afternoon where The Collingwood Magpies play against the Brisbane Lions at 2.30 pm at the MCG in Melbourne. Sweet 16 - the number of premiership wins Collingwood has had making history. Magpies coach's wife gave birth to a baby girl on grand final day and was appropriately named Maggie. Meanwhile Collingwood team member and cancer surviver who didn'tthink he would be able to play again Bobby Hall was awarded the Norm Smith medal at the game.

Tomorrow it's NRL's turn with the womens teams playing and thegrand grand final betweemThe Brisbane  Broncos and Penrith Panthers at 7.30 pm at  Accor Stadium in Sydney.

Only 2 weeks until The Voice referendum .Voting is compulsory for citizems over 18 years old.

So much on this extra long weekend which includes the overlapping NSW and VIC  school holidays, pre AFL game public holiday Friday in VIC and Labor Day public holiday Monday in NSW complicated by daylight saving. So if you are travelling between states this long weekend it could become complicated. 

France is trying to get their bed bug infestation under control in time for the Paris Olympic Games.

Trump is back in the media again knocking Joe Biden. 

Townsville and Adelaide will become Australian defence force head quarters with Townsville the headquarters for military training exercises and Adelaide the headquater for long range missiles. The challenge in townsville will be finding and house all defence personnel. 

Jacinta Allen is Victoria's  new premier after Dan Andrews resigned.

Byron Bay to put a levy on short term accommodation to assist the housing crisis following in Victorias plans to do so. The Byron shire will be the first to implementthis short term levy on unregistered short term stay accommodation and a 60 day max stay a lo so tobe imposed.

Interest rates are predicted to hold on the RBA's Tuesday announcement the first to be made by the new governor ofthe RBA however a few more interest hikes are predicted again for the next few months.

Another strike this time by Centrelink and Medicare staff who will walk off the job . They want a 20% pay rise but only a 11 % pay increase. Again the pressures of understaff and pressure fromthe workplace are part ofthe reasons for the strike. Public service has to be made more attractive to work in.

Music festival season begins with calls to stop sniffer dogs from and  strip searching after incidents of innocent females asked to strip searched by officers after sniffer dogs detected suspected drugs on them but ended up with no drugs found. Instead there is the call for increased  pill testing at music festival sites.

Taliban offical in Russia are thanking Russian for their support.

A really bad Summer is ahead as NSW is in a total fire ban. 

Kylie Minogue's 16th album tops the UK charts .
Erythritol, an ingredient in stevia, linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds. If these areknown facts , why are companies substituting everything with artifical sweeteners or alternative sugar sweeteners ? What's wrong with natural sugars? Just look at aspartame,  a known  carcinogenic yet it is still being used in food products as an artifical sweetener.









 



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