manah manah
• Thursday 9 April 2009 - An Update... of sorts.
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I've been meaning to do this for a while... but I never seem to have the words. However, I know that there are some people out there in internet land who are wondering what's been happening to us... how we are... why don't we keep in touch? Valid questions, reasonable concerns.
I'm sorry guys, that I haven't been feeling very social lately. I find it hard to get motivated, but I will try to update every now and then. All future entries will be 'friends only' though, so if you're not on my list you won't see them. If I've forgotten anyone, drop me a PM. And don't forget that you can also check out Gryph's blog too... he's being doing the odd entry over the last couple of years... and he'll probably update a bit more frequently than me.
Well, the last couple of years have been pretty tough on us, really. We've had some bad luck, we've lost a lot and we're still homeless (well, we have do have a place to go to, but my ex is being an asshole in relation to custody of one of the kids). We've been lied to, cheated, and used by everyone from real estate agents, to people we had considered friends, to exes. It's not all bad though... we have had some good times and we've spent time with some wonderful people. But all this stress HAS had a toll on the old depression meter, let us say... for both of us.
But on the positive side, we all still have the deepest love for each other (at least until the custody case) and that makes us all very rich. |
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• Thursday 9 April 2009 - Shame...
Posted by chica
...that the shit has continued for this long. It takes a while to bounce, as you get older. And that meter takes its toll. Hope life settles soon - nice to see you around here again. Take care
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• Wednesday 21 February 2007 - This is me...
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This is the pile of stuff that I got together, supposedly to represent me. I was just going to show you my phone (with the cutest little baby pen phone danglies), but then I got carried away. So... I guess this just about sums me up.
What about you guys? I'd love to see how you would all define yourselves. Any takers?
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• Wednesday 21 February 2007 - Maybe or maybe not
Posted by cherylgraham2
I will think about it and let you know.
Yours is very interesting though, a wide variety of bits and pieces :-)
Apparently I come across as an outdoor dunny :-P
Hang on where's the camera? Oh that's right it is attached to your face - I remember now :-P
Smiles Tina,
Chezza <:-)
Edited by cherylgraham2 on Tuesday 20 February 2007 at 7:39 PM
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• Monday 12 February 2007 - Good morning, everybody...
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• Thursday 25 January 2007 - Everything I do reminds me of you...
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Well, I think I'm officially a WhitePage (Bugger... BlogNow) addict. Just lately I've been seeing lots of things that remind me of you guys. It makes me feel all soppy inside, so I thought I'd share...
For Aries67...
We saw this little guy on a tree at Blackdown Tablelands. He's a leaf-tailed gekko, one of our native species, I believe... and that's about all I know about them. Please feel free to correct me and/or expand on my knowledge.
... and just because I was so unthinking towards your occupational feelings the other day, Gabby, you get two pics. How about another goanna shot? I think this one is one of the best. You tell me that these guys aren't descended from dinosaurs. Is that a velociraptor??...
For Rinny...
I couldn't resist taking this shot for you. It's a street sign in Comet (I think, I may have to correct that), which is a tiny town in CQ... so small that you don't yawn on the way through or you'll miss it. I'm still searching for Cleatus St.
For Blackrose...
I don't know why I thought of you Carole. I've wanted to stop and take a photo of this driveway for some time now. I have a question that you may be able to answer for me... what's the significance of the cactus sculptures out the front? I didn't think there'd be too many of those in Canada... I tend to picture them in the desert, not cold and snow.
For Heather...
Bloody tree-hugging hippies...
For Tracy...
That's not a cactus... this is a cactus. Prickly Pear, in fact. Did you know that they flower red, then produce an edible purple fruit, which Gryph assures me is quite tasty?
For Plonka...
It was nice of them to show God this piece of marble, wasn't it? I mean, it's not as if he ever saw it before...
And just to show that I'm not prejudiced...
For AngelaJames...
A pretty little church for you. I like taking photos of churches because the architecture can be pretty cool. I don't like the big, pretentious ones (I'll show you some doozies one day), but this one's cute.
For Snowy...
Now, the quality is not great on this one (I tried for a better one, but alas...)
"Look, it's John Howard and George Bush!"
For Chica...
Some more Australiana. This shot was taken from the window of the truck as it hurtled down the road at 110k, somewhere between here and Emerald. Once again... please excuse the quality.
For cc...
The light on this particular morning was pretty crappy, so only a few out of the 20-odd pics that I'd taken actually worked. This was the closest I could get to a bird on a stick.
For Kitty and Paul...
You guys get two pics too, but you have to share them. The first is more for the stoner with no muffler. I came across this drink the other day in a shop in Emerald. It's an energy drink (similar to Red Bull, etc) that contains guarana and taurine... and all that other good energy making stuff. I'm fairly addicted to energy drinks, despite the taste... but I quite like this one. Now to find a local outlet to buy it from.
And Kitty, I think you'll appreciate this one... just a thought... 
 And last, but most definately (correction: definitely... yes dear) not least...
For Gryphonn...
I've worked it out... it's ancient sign language... and it says "I Love You."
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• Thursday 25 January 2007 - But those are horse's arses, Tina.
Posted by snowy
Oh, I see....
Thanks for thinking of me. Hmmm ;o)
Edited by snowy on Wednesday 24 January 2007 at 5:04 PM
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• Tuesday 23 January 2007 - Good-bye advertisements.
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You might have noticed... or not... that the ads are now gone from my blog. I never really liked the idea in the first place, only agreeing to display them on the promise of making my fortune without having to do all the hard work. But... the whole $9 something that I've raked in since the ads first appeared on my blog just doesn't seem to make up for the mess that my blog was. (Last month's takings amounted to a whole 18c... so far this month... zilch).
So... good-bye to commercialism... good-bye to capitalism... and all hail the return of anarchy and not selling out. I hope the page looks a bit neater now, at least.
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• Wednesday 24 January 2007 - Good for you Tina...
Posted by chica
....I get sick of them all, not yours in particular. I have been getting a rash of those weird emails lately - I wonder do they have anything to do with my inadvertently opening some of the new adver-blogs? The Guru would know, for sure - but the timing is suspicious. I wish we could be rid of them - this morning all ten recently updated blogs are cons.
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• Tuesday 23 January 2007 - Who's that... in the bushes? Steve Irwin? Russell Coight? No... it's Goannaman!
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We escaped over the weekend... went to Blackdown Tablelands with the kids (well, minus one who couldn't get the time off work). It's one of those lovely lost and leafy spots that I've wanted to visit for so long... but more about the place some other post. This one is specifically to point out that some people can be rather silly... even without the aid of alcohol.
We returned from a morning hike to find our rubbish had been raided. There were bits of plastic and paper strewn around, and it didn't take us long to discover the culprits... Goannas... three of them.
"Ooh, they're cute," gushed Miss 14 (or should I say 15thisyear), "can we take one home?" (Miss 14 is a reptile freak, and has been hassling us for a snake (or lizard if we won't let her have a snake) for several years now).
"No, you can NOT!" replied the mother (such a meanie). "Apart from the fact that you can't just keep a native species... reptile or not... the bastards have big claws and sharp teeth. They'll climb up your leg if they get a fright, and rip it to shreds in the process... and besides, their mouths are disgusting. If it bites you, you'll get septicemia, or something."
This led into a long ranting (but informative) story of how I learnt to shoot at the age of around 6 or 7. At the time we lived on a cattle station in west Qld, and it was my job to look after the chooks. This meant collecting the eggs, feeding the chooks, keeping the predators out, and patching up the fence when they did get in. About the only predators we really had to worry about were foxes and goannas... neither of which are very pleasant if you come face to face with them. Hence, I learnt to shoot at a relatively young age. The foxes were easy, it was the goannas that proved a challenge. Their skin is tough and wrinkled, which would bounce the bullets off... leaving them slightly annoyed... if that happens, RUN... they know who did it... and they're quick. The trick to killing them was to get them in the soft spot just behind their ear, aiming into the skull towards the brain... and that's today's lesson.
No, it's not... today's lesson is on listening to others... and thinking carefully before acting.
SOMEONE... we won't say who... decided that he should show the kids how to feed a goanna. Hmmm... isn't that a bit silly, dear? Didn't you hear what I just said?? About the teeth and the septicemia??? It's probably not the best thing to show the kids, don't you think???? But no... Crocodile Dundee here just HAD to have a go... so despite the idea not being the best (in my books, at least) I grabbed the camera. I certainly wasn't going to miss out on this opportunity. I'll admit, it looked really cool the first time...
Even the second and third... keep those fingers tucked away now...
And then he decided to offer the beast the little bit of meat that had stuck to his thumb. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Or... as he puts it (after the fact though, mind you)... he just wanted to show the kids that goannas really do have teeth... and they're sharp. What better lesson could they get? Good idea, baby... what a brainwave!
So far so good with the septicemia thing...
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• Tuesday 23 January 2007 - For the greater good!
Posted by TheKittycatGirl06
I love the hindsight wisdom, trying frantically to save face.
I remember reading about a woman doing that sort of thing here in the States so she could get a good picture. She smeared honey on her baby's hand so that a bear would lick it off for that cutesy-poo factor. The bear, failing to understand this, ate the baby's whole hand.
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• Wednesday 17 January 2007 - Nuclear? I spit on you.
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I thought hard about posting this one today. Before I start... Snowy, I would hate you to think that I'm having a go... I hate to disagree with you, my friend. (technicallly I'm not disagreeing with all you've said, but overall...) Anyway, this IS an important issue and I'd just like to spread the word. Just the other day I was thinking that it was about time to stir up the energy debate again, given our idiot government and current social climate. Now, I think we all know how I feel about nuclear energy and the possibility that we might be saddled with reactors dotted across our country. And you also know how I feel about the impact of the mighty dollar on big business and corporate decisions. They will try and push the populace into backing nuclear reactors... it's in all their best interests to do so. Independant statements like Snowy's (god forbid), are working in their favour... and Johnny and his boys are rubbing their hands together in glee. Here is some of the best free advertising that they could ask for. (Yes, I can hear Snowy gagging in his weet-bix as I type)
Anyway, click here to read Snowy's entry. My comment on his blog is below (it's kind of a long one). Let me know what you think... then lobby the government. Lift your voices and be heard. Power to the people.
Never say never, Snowy
Once upon a time we thought it was impossible to fly... 50 years ago we thought that reaching the moon was unattainable... 25 years ago mobile phones were the size of bricks, and today it's common to see them the size of a credit card... who knows what will happen in the next 10 years? Do you think we should all be defeatest and give up on trying to find an alternative? What was it that Albert Einstein said?... "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
Wouldn't it be a shame if we spent all those millions on building nuclear reactors only to find that in another 20 years we could store a year's worth of solar power in one battery pack? And if we built all of those nuclear reactors? How much energy do you think would go into developing a safer alternative... really? What would happen to all of that research that has already been done? Would they try as hard, do you think... or would it come back to the amount of money that the govt has spent on bringing in nuclear energy. You know as well as I do that the almighty dollar rules when it comes to both governments and businesses.
Now, I also know that solar power stations (to run big businesses, etc) do not currently have the ability to work as effectively as coal-burning stations. But a station is not the only way to deliver power to the masses... if it could be augmented by personal home solar systems much of the country could manage quite well. I've seen solar power work on a home scale... a couple of solar panels and some batteries to store the excess. It does work on a single household scale... fairly well, actually... and that's without extra power being obtained from the grid. If every house had one and didn't need to drain the grid, wouldn't there be a hell of a lot more power to go around?
I don't know exactly how much power the country needs, but if that's still not enough, augment the solar power with conventional power until a better technology is born. Yes, coal is dirty but at least it's relatively safe. Safe enough, at least, to be used as a part-time thing... sort of a transition period until safe power alternatives can be developed properly.
NUCLEAR SHOULD NOT EVEN BE CONSIDERED... shame, Snowy.
Oh, by the way, I've seen generators run by solar (Ok, I don't know the size or scale that you're talking about). I've also seen things such as those big wood saws (that slice trees into planks), water pumps, pressure pumps, spotlights (and many more things) run by solar power... a home system. And yes, technology has improved majorly just in the last couple of years. Should we give up on solar power now, after all the work and effort that's been put into it? That's like giving up on a baby that's just learning to crawl... it doesn't make sense.
And one final point... you said...
"wishing isn't going to deliver. It never did, and never will."
Well, once upon a time someone wished that they could fly... then they went out and thought of a way that it could be done. Sometimes wishing is the push that you need to make something deliver the desired results. It's a dangerous thing to tell the masses that something can't be done... especially when it comes to something as important as this. If everyone were to believe that, who would be left to do the research? Who would even want to try?
NO NUCLEAR POWER. IT IS NOT THE ANSWER.
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• Wednesday 17 January 2007 - Nobody's saying to give up on renewable energy.
Posted by snowy
Just be realistic about what it is capable of now. And it is not capable of providing for our energy needs now, no matter how much wishing is done. It MAY be possible in the distant future. In the meantime we need to look at using a combination of renewable energy and clean coal, if it is technically possible to do so. If this is not possible then we are going to have to weigh the pros and cons of using nuclear to reduce greenhouse gases. And there are a LOT of cons to be considered.
I'm no advocate of nuclear, but it could also be argued that giving up on it now is also defeatist, as future research MAY show it to be a safe energy source, and waste disposal problems MAY be overcome.
As an aside, we saw a number of nuclear power stations in France, as well as a number of wind farms throughout Europe. So what does that prove? Nothing really, except that someone has decided that both forms of energy are viable for them. Time alone will tell if they were right.
Good renewable energy blog.
http://www.blognow.com.au/renewableenergy/
Edited by snowy on Tuesday 16 January 2007 at 5:39 PM
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• Friday 12 January 2007 - Some fun...
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The weather around here has been ludicrous since christmas. We've had a number of days in the high 30's, and a couple that I was sure had creeped up over the 40 mark... although the weather men didn't agree with me. The kids were complaining, so we laid down a tarp and made them a make-shift water slide. Needless to say, everyone had a ball.
My son, being 16 and a massive big show-off probably got the best use out of the tarp... once he got the hang of it. Big boys, eh? You know the saying, don't you?  He and Miss 18 decided to race...  Then they discovered dwarf bowling. "A bit more shampoo on the tarp please." I don't think Miss 8 minded too much at all.  Look at this! How did he not snap that ankle? He's lucky the ground was so wet, I think. |
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• Friday 12 January 2007 - Oh Yeah
Posted by hjanderson
What wonderful action pics of your kids and what fun! I had a massive flash back about boozed up bbq males and a long piece of plastic (off the back of a truck) and that went so fast up the slide that his foot got stuck in a bessar brick wall and snapped his ankle... mwahahahaha.. He didnt feel much of it at the time because of the analgesic alcohol which was probably a good thing mwahahahaha happy days to you
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• Friday 12 January 2007 - Dwarf Bowling (take two)
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There's not really a lot to say, is there? Wheeeee.........  eeeeeeeeeeeeeee...............  eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!  |
• Wednesday 10 January 2007 - Everyday Stuff
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Ok guys, here it is... or they... some photos for you. I told you I'd get there, didn't I? I have so many that I wanted to show you, and I had a bit of a hard time deciding where to start (Please feel free to make suggestions as to what you'd like to see). I thought and thought until the wheels almost rusted, and then eventually I just copped out and decided to go with some of the latest lot. So... here's just a smidgeon of what we've seen of late.
This little guy has taken a shine to our tent (I think I told you that we're living in Tent City at the moment, didn't I?) and takes shelter in the narrow space between the actual tent and the fly. He's about 4 cm long... max. You can see how small he is in comparison to the weave of the tent. I tried to get a pic with an ant in it to show the size difference, but they weren't feeling very helpful that day.
This is one of K's cats. I love this shot, but don't let his peaceful appearance fool you. He's one of the biggest cats that I've ever seen and his tolerance level is pretty low. When he's had enough he can deliver an impressive bite. Young Haydn's found this out the hard way. And one day after Gryph had been patting him for a while, he bit his hand because he stopped... and drew blood. I think he's half panther.
This cheeky young fella was one of a few honeyeaters that were hanging around at Haydn's 2nd birthday party. After lunch they scavenged what they could and left. They were quite tame too... but then... we were in the BBQ area of the local pool.
I spotted this falcon at the local dump. If they weren't so grotty, the dump might make for a good place to photograph birds. I don't know how many types of birds I saw there... heaps.
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