tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91630902024-03-14T21:39:43.766+11:00TasmaniaA baby-boomer sitting at the edge of the world, peering near-sightedly into the future but often sneaking a look backwards into the past.Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.comBlogger384125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-57684451510339920762024-02-09T13:15:00.001+11:002024-02-09T13:15:34.941+11:00Into the new year we go<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2qveSy5V5jR4SUNUGPFUNUbAuYS2QDX1kRY7hbTZoGBQtBiH0SOfv2k5HtnwhyphenhyphendeYMq3VDDIM-2J_fod301GhsDt5ytLPrWiRmw7un5CO_DTd9Jo7kEicMGz3BzFMZ2g-eEObOWlCysdSUi_agVsoSC5qVAzJlly3ukuKzN8ogMgf1BFjEzS6Q/s518/owl%20reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2qveSy5V5jR4SUNUGPFUNUbAuYS2QDX1kRY7hbTZoGBQtBiH0SOfv2k5HtnwhyphenhyphendeYMq3VDDIM-2J_fod301GhsDt5ytLPrWiRmw7un5CO_DTd9Jo7kEicMGz3BzFMZ2g-eEObOWlCysdSUi_agVsoSC5qVAzJlly3ukuKzN8ogMgf1BFjEzS6Q/s320/owl%20reading.jpg" width="220" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Someone on a Facebook page for vintage paperbacks said to me "you seem to have read just about everything! I feel both admiration and envy!"<br /><br />My response was it just seems that way. I did some research once and found the older a book was, the more likely I was to have read it. As we approached the present day, my strike rate sank to zero. <br /><br />I was fortunate that my teenage years where I was reading almost constantly coincided with a wave of paperbacks in the 1960s that offered SF titles old and new at affordable prices. My notebooks of the time reveal I was consistently reading six paperbacks a week,month in and month out. (The average paperback in those days was seldom bigger than 192 pages, remember.) Under that set of circumstances, it was easy to cover the field fairly well !<br />*<br />Got through Christmas without any drama. I drove in for the morning service at church where we sang all the old favorite Christmas songs. Home and had time to sit down down for a while before joining my niece Anita and her son for lunch in the city.<br /><br />I had never been to the Crowne Plaza before - it was built after I moved out of the city - and it has a deceptively small frontage (a bit like Doctor Who's Tardis). We enjoyed a very pleasant meal, and I managed to stop eating just at the stage where I felt I could have eaten one more mouthful. That's the time to stop!<br />*<br />Tuesday I skipped the usual croquet morning and the evening quiz night, so I had plenty of time to meet up with Dr Ali, my new medical adviser. He had received the results from the scan I had early in the year. Good news and bad news. There was no sign of Problem A, which they had been looking for. But they had noticed some signs of Problem B, so I have to go and see a specialist. Sigh. Oh well, better to get it done than not know about it at all.<br />*<br />The television set hasn't been switched on since before Christmas. Oh, I have watched a couple of movies on You Tube (seeing THE MONOLITH MONSTERS again was a real treat, haven't seen it in fifty years). In the milder weather, I have been eating my meals out on the patio, and I have a new radio by the back door -- i was initially attracted to it because it has both a cassette deck and bluetooth, a hybrid of two different centuries. This means I can listen to old radio shows while I eat.<br /><br />Over the last couple of weeks, I've listened to HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, FRONTIER GENTLEMAN, THE HERMIT'S CAVE, THE HAUNTING HOUR, GANGBUSTERS, THE WHISTLER, ESCAPE, WILD BILL HICKOK, THE SEALED BOOK, DRAGNET, CHALLENGE OF THE YUKON, THE CISCO KID, and HOPALONG CASSIDY.<br /><br /></span><p></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-48225317112709492622023-12-11T19:46:00.001+11:002023-12-11T19:46:37.605+11:00Memories<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTh1JsE19Sf4NfP5LKaYVhNLkElM7JDdC8BryYmtdUhCW7NGuKxRH-fzgEkoHEEUoYX_nMpzhyPE71j3cPUYV2dNWQBVb6JTbMPmUq6Wit4cpRqv7xb7U19J1SSM4aoUEGSJfwLNIDDtVq7r3J81dB4qJG3HpnTOShjzduwFsTJJr5PBTNyN8IJQ/s492/tea%20time.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="492" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTh1JsE19Sf4NfP5LKaYVhNLkElM7JDdC8BryYmtdUhCW7NGuKxRH-fzgEkoHEEUoYX_nMpzhyPE71j3cPUYV2dNWQBVb6JTbMPmUq6Wit4cpRqv7xb7U19J1SSM4aoUEGSJfwLNIDDtVq7r3J81dB4qJG3HpnTOShjzduwFsTJJr5PBTNyN8IJQ/s320/tea%20time.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-large;">While I was sitting out the back having my morning serve of tea & toast, I was flipping through a magazine and looked at one of their short stories; it turned out to be about a brother and sister who didn't get on in younger years but came to love and respect each other as they grew up. The story ends with the brother proudly being part of the wedding of his younger sister.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">After I finished reading, I closed the magazine and sat there lost in my thoughts for a while. What were the odds, I pondered. Just this morning, Facebook had reminded me that it was seven years to the day I had been best man at the wedding of my younger sister. I'll never forget how happy she looked that day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">We miss you, Julie. God bless.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Even last Sunday was busy this week. I read from the Old Testament at the communion service this morning (and got the usual two or three comments from the parishioners - maybe I should start selling my autograph for the missionary fund).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Then picked up three bags of feed from the Animal Tucker Box store. Home for a light lunch and closed my eyes for an hour. Went next door to a birthday party for my neighbor's big-seven-oh celebration. The family dogs didn't seem upset by all the visitors, though one of them brought her ball in and kept dropping it at stranger's feet and looking hopefully at them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Here's a poem I wrote back in 2014:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">A MONDAY POEM</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Somehow </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">at this time of life </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">the day seems to go out of focus</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">so easily. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Too much coffee</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">or maybe too little. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">You feel as though </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">in some way</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">you haven't quite connected</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">with reality. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">It's all -- somewhere a little removed. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">You run on tramlines of routine,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">vaguely baffled by your own steadfastness.</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The things you used to love</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">no longer give you the same pleasure. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The things which were a chore </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">are so familiar </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">they no longer</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">even bore you.</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Voices on the radio </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">talk of interesting things</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">and play new pieces of music </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">but it seems to come </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">from a space station </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">in orbit </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">around some other planet. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The calendars and diaries</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">tell of an old year ending</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">and a new year beginning, </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">but there are none </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">of the markers you were used to. </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Where are the cards </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">from those uncles and aunts, </span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">so punctual every year?</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">All gone, every one of them.</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">And you realize that now</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">you are the older generation.</span></i></p><div><br /></div>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-11894706210672049382023-10-30T15:07:00.003+11:002023-10-30T15:07:15.994+11:00Down I go again !<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU90f2LNQ6nrgKRvQiGs-XtMr4RACVz_1XHV1MMMs8u85Ljwn6t6fzrArDZn3OYe5zjtX3kIU4C3ddEwkr5SdIbxvMfhYAOPJchj243nqBAYA8gAdEa4HARz34PcPywBWhn2MfbYBiCWX_Uf84rF5VinwmQHrt_AM51mIr1-UhrBXbtFTT1kbRbg/s1088/ambulance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1088" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU90f2LNQ6nrgKRvQiGs-XtMr4RACVz_1XHV1MMMs8u85Ljwn6t6fzrArDZn3OYe5zjtX3kIU4C3ddEwkr5SdIbxvMfhYAOPJchj243nqBAYA8gAdEa4HARz34PcPywBWhn2MfbYBiCWX_Uf84rF5VinwmQHrt_AM51mIr1-UhrBXbtFTT1kbRbg/s320/ambulance.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Broke my glasses again. Don't really know how it happened. Last year when I had my first bad fall, I could sort of understand it -- I was walking uphill in the dark when I lost my balance. But this time? I went out to vote on Friday, got out of my car, took two steps and down I went.<br /><br />I hit my nose when I went down, so a gratifyingly large number of people appeared from all directions when they saw me lying there bleeding profusely. At the hospital, they gave all the usual tests - scans, X-rays, blood tests, and the old "I'm going to shine this light in your eye" standard. A paramedic asked me if I knew the date and I replied less than enthusiastically "Yes, it's Friday the 13th !"<br /><br />One young nurse leaned over me and said "I want you to grasp my hands and pull me towards you..." I thought my luck had changed, but she was just testing me.<br /><br />Later, when I was beginning to feel very dry, two nurses came in and one said <br />"You might be a bit dehydrated. Could you drink these two bottles of water in thirty minutes?" I said "I'll give it a go!" I must have had a gleam in my eye because I heard the other nurse murmur "Challenge accepted."<br /><br />They finally let me go home about 7.15 - as I sat in the cab going home, I was vaguely surprised to see the sun was only just going down. it felt like I'd been in the hospital for a whole day. Needless to say I took two paracetemol and went to bed early.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> ---------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Once again I thank You Tube and the Internet Archive for uploading so many great movies.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> AGAIN THE RINGER [1965] <i>Neues vom Hexer</i><br />Another German movie based on Edgar Wallace's novels. This one features Heinz Drache as Inspector Wesby, the previous sleuth having been married off in the last movie. A rich but unlikeable man is murdered and the killer tries to blame the crime on the notorious vigilante The Ringer. Any reader of thrillers will know this is a bad idea and the Ringer is on the next plane to London to clear his name. Two notable things - firstly, two of the leading ladies are played by Barbara Rutting and Brigitte Horney (really!) and secondly how did they do that scene where a young boy is locked in a room full of tigers but he makes friends with them???<br /><br />PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES [1966]<br />Hammer Films' only zombie movie and one of their better thrillers. A visit to Cornwall in 1860 by an eminent doctor ends in the discovery that a local squire is using the reanimated dead to work in his tin mine! Good perforances by Andre Morell and Jacqueline Pearce [pictured] who madc this movie back-to-back with THE REPTILE. Michael Ripper is the village policeman.<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37sH5cmaFe7Hd2lX0E7rXeFnXo-BfjdK38UreX9Za7kkHPuxWpyYhuBKI2clIgEOLY9wyEDYcRgphPeAqJT1Cr2o_cJFkd7oOz8RI3f_cBqH32JweEru_gsDp_bgtIBnXZYxxI0iLaA8ncspuDnjaTAW7XQh5QKvPR1qrnci2oXpbB8ee7mBGOw/s1217/plague%20of%20the%20zombies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="1217" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37sH5cmaFe7Hd2lX0E7rXeFnXo-BfjdK38UreX9Za7kkHPuxWpyYhuBKI2clIgEOLY9wyEDYcRgphPeAqJT1Cr2o_cJFkd7oOz8RI3f_cBqH32JweEru_gsDp_bgtIBnXZYxxI0iLaA8ncspuDnjaTAW7XQh5QKvPR1qrnci2oXpbB8ee7mBGOw/s320/plague%20of%20the%20zombies.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">RAID ON ENTEBBE [1977]<br />TV movie based on the 1976 hijacking of an airliner. Packed with familiar faces. There have been three or four movies based on this incident -- at two and a half hours this one is a bit long and I wasn't surprised to hear that 20 minutes were cut for the theatrical and home video releases.<br /><br />LONDON BY NIGHT [1937]<br />Amiable little mystery B-movie featuring George Murphy, better known for his song and dance roles. Here he's an American newsman in foggy London who becomes involved in the hunt for a serial killer known only as The Umbrella Man. With the help of his dog, a beautiful socialite and Scotland Yard man George Zucco, he tracks down the killer. All Is Not What It Seems.<br /><br />MAN BEAST [1956]<br />Reputedly the second movie ever made about the Abominable Snowman, and debut production for director Jerry Warren. Lots of stock footage spliced into the mountain scenes make this movie look better than any ultra-low-budget film has a right to. Vexingly, the start of one vital scene seems to be lost (but you can guess what was said without much trouble).<br /></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; 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font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br />THE SLIME PEOPLE [1963]<br />A group of refugees battle for survival after Los Angeles is invaded by a subterranean race of reptiles. Robert Hutton starred and directed, but the result is a thoroughly generic horror flick. Most of the budget seems to have gone on the fog machine and the nasty-looking creature suits.<br /><br />FROM LIFE [2018]<br />Could you make a version of THE SIXTH SENSE that only runs 8 minutes? Director Uli Meyer has done it. See it on the Omleto channel on You Tube.<br /><br />INVADERS FROM SPACE [1965]<br />One of four "movies" edited from the Japanese television show about super-hero Starman. This one is supposed to be the best of the four -- heaven help us if that is true!<br /><br />SHARKNADO 3<br />Following on from the inexplicably successful tongue-in-cheek action movie SHARKNADO, it's clear that the law of diminishing returns has set in, as it often does with movie series. Probably the stupidest film I've seen this year.<br /><br />BRIDE OF THE GORILLA [1951]<br />Jungle <i>film noir</i> ! Barney (Raymond Burr) kills his elderly employer in order to get to his beautiful wife (Barbara Payton). However, an old native witch witnesses the crime and poisons Barney, who soon after finds himself turning nightly into a rampaging gorilla. But is it real or is it all in his head? Director Curt Siodmak also wrote the screenplay, perhaps harking back to his script for the first Wolfman film. Also starring are Lon Chaney (the original WOLFMAN) and Tom Conway (who had similar problems in THE CAT PEOPLE). Tolerable B-movie stuff.<br /><br />GHIDORAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER [1964]<br />Lots happens in this one, but basically a princess prophecies the arrival of space monster Ghidorah and the possible doom of humanity. Can Mothra persuade Godzilla and Rodan to unite and save the Earth? Considered by some to be one of the best of the early Godzilla movies.<br /><br />POLICE DOG [1955]<br />Both my sisters would have loved this movie. They were big fans of the TV series INSPECTOR REX. In fact the dog in this one is also called Rex! Supporting cast includes John Le Mesurier and a young Christopher Lee.<br /><br />HOUSE OF THE DAMNED [1963]<br />Marketed as a horror movie, but actually a suspense story about a supposedly haunted house. Ron Foster and Merry Anders are pleasant as the leads, and black-and-white Cinemascope makes the movie look good. This is one of three movies director Maury Dexter made at the Greystone mansion in Los Angeles.<br /><br />MURDER IN TIMES SQUARE [1943]<br />Edmund Lowe is a struggling playwright who finally has a hit on Broadway. But an irascible old woman puts a curse on him and he's soon implicated in a string of "snakebite murders". Passable B-movie thriller with some telling dialogue about the nature of fame. Imagine if Damon Runyon and Edgar Wallace had met and decided to write a script together......<br /> <br /></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-39686776939469320392023-08-08T22:16:00.001+10:002023-08-08T22:16:44.746+10:00A lethargic end to the winter months<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I haven't been well this last few weeks. Long Covid? RSV? URTI? Who knows.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Monday morning you might have expected me to be pleased I had nothing in my diary for this week, after days of appointments and functions last week. Didn't quite work out that way. The weather was pleasant enough, but as the afternoon went on I began sneezing regularly; by the time it started raining at dusk, I couldn't lean forward to pick anything up without my nose running like a tap. Swallowing cup after cup of hot black tea, I washed down some C-G-H tablets (Vitamin C, Garlic and Horse Radish).<br />I had the radio on and when the evening presenter took over, he kicked off the show with the Rolling Stones singing "I can't get no satisfaction" -- I muttered to myself, don't tell us about your troubles, we've got problems of our own!<br />*<br /><i>We always called her "Mrs Harris" -- my sister Julie and I often visited when Madeleine was in town, and she always told us to call her by her Christian name, but we usually slipped back after a few minutes. The big house always impressed us and once I mentioned I'd been to Government House and that it had reminded me of the Harris home; "Yes, I think they were designed by the same architect" she said in a matter-of-fact voice." Ah. Yes. (Oops) We always enjoyed our visits there, and she always made us welcome at Sunnyside whether for small gatherings or large parties. (Mr Harris was the only person I knew who had a portrait of himself on the wall of the pool room.) It was a long time before our two families discovered we were related through our mothers. I can't say it made a lot of difference - Julie and Madeleine had been at school together, so discovering they were cousins changed their relationship little.<br />But that was many years ago, in another century. Now I am left to speak for our side of the family and say "Good night, Mrs Harris".<br /></i><br />*<br />Winter was a difficult season and by July things felt as though they were winding down. But as often happens, there was a bit of a spike the following month. In one week we had the quarterly organ concert, the monthly meeting at the church hall, the fortnightly study group in Sandy Bay and our weekly visit to the op shops. By Monday morning I felt like I'd been put through a mangle.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">*</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlmuIPPzaCIhVeFXZ2G92DHrSQkxB-XtETZK5eZjjdRG6B8LJ6GtldQmuK_ApgaXnxBcfew3obW4flHT0VQy8Q4nCRUYa4k4IOLa_UuxAV8JVK-0a-EIhWuZJu0GqQ4x038TYwXBd3SLkBBSon4SiF4EXdlWm06aY7krepdFDlGy7gg3sZxqiQA/s736/charlie%20chan%20london.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="736" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGlmuIPPzaCIhVeFXZ2G92DHrSQkxB-XtETZK5eZjjdRG6B8LJ6GtldQmuK_ApgaXnxBcfew3obW4flHT0VQy8Q4nCRUYa4k4IOLa_UuxAV8JVK-0a-EIhWuZJu0GqQ4x038TYwXBd3SLkBBSon4SiF4EXdlWm06aY7krepdFDlGy7gg3sZxqiQA/w400-h225/charlie%20chan%20london.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Once again thanks to You Tube and Internet Archive for last month's movies.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">GAPPA THE TRIPHIBIAN MONSTER [1967]<br />Explorers bring back a newly-hatched monster from a South Sea island to be exhibited in Tokyo. If you've seen the British movie GORGO you'll be ahead of the plot -- yes, the monster's parents show up looking for him and chaos ensues. In spite of the less than original script, there's a certain naive charm about this one and you'll stay watching to the heart-warming finale.<br /><br />SPARROW SONG [2021 short - 13 minutes]<br />A couple travel across a ruined world hoping to find food and water. Lyrical filming with a feel that makes up for its downbeat theme. I found it poignant that the only piece of humanity's art and culture that survives is the man's piano accordion. Available on Omletto's you tube channel.<br /><br />THE FANTASTIC FOUR (1994)<br />No, not the one with Jessica Alba. Back in '94 the conpany that owned the movie rights was contractually obliged to make a film, so they hired Roger Corman's studio to do it. The result is actually rather fun, though film buffs might be aghast at the 1990s special effects and Marvel fans will probably tut-tut at some tinkering with the plot. But overall, it's good comic-book style entertainment.<br /><br />SOMETHING EVIL [1972]<br />I've often mused on the fact that people in horror movies never seem to have watched any horror movies. Darren McGavin and Sandy Dennis (New Yorkers who buy a haunted house in the country) certainly had never seen ROSEMARY'S BABY or they wouldn't have taken advice about the supernatural from Ralph Bellamy.<br />The second TV movie directed by Steven Spielberg, who complained later that the budget was cut by CBS, who did not give him creative control of the filming. How times have changed!<br /><br />THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET [1973]<br />Back when they used to make scores of made-for-TV movies, someone obviously thought "Hey, let's make a haunted house story but set it on a Jumbo Jet!" Hence this film. A lot of familiar faces are trapped aboard an airliner when somebody decides to send a haunted altar to America by air freight. Fans of American TV will enjoy seeing Roy Thinnes (as an architect) and William Shatner (almost reprising his role from a certain Rod Serling show); the rest of us, not so much.<br /><br />THE MAN FROM PLANET X [1963]<br />Cheaply-made science fiction film about an alien visitor landing on a fog-shrouded Scottish island. First half moves along nicely but runs out of steam as it goes on. According to producer Jack Pollexfen, director Edgar G. Ulmer did rewrites, designed the spaceship and the glass paintings to expedite production and cut down on expenses. I like the Ulmer films from the fifties that I've seen but this is a sixties movie that feels like something from the fifties.<br /><br />LADY FRANKENSTEIN [1971]<br />If you came in after the credits, you could be forgiven for thinking this was one of Hammer Films' later productions, except instead of Peter Cushing we have Joseph Cotten. In this atmospheric Italian production, the lovely Rosalba Neri (billed here as Sara Bey) vows to carry on her father's work after he dies. The creature he created in his final experiment terrorizes the district and she decides to create one of her own making. (Please note, if you watch this, don't assume there's a fault in the print; the final scene simply fades to black, with no end credits.)<br /><br />THE DAY REAGAN WAS SHOT [2001]<br />No great shakes as a historical piece, but this shot-in-Canada TV movie makes an exiting story out of John Hinckley's shooting of Ronald Reagan in 1981<br /> (I clearly remember watching the actual event on the TV news). Emphasis is equally divided between the doctors fighting to save the President and the chaos and bickering among the White House insiders. Richard Crenna is Reagan and (of all people) Richard Dreyfuss plays General Haig. <br /><br />MAYDAY [2005]<br />Explosive decompression at 64,000 feet is no joke. But that's what happens in this edge-of-the-seat TV movie. A trio of survivors have to do what they can to get the plane down safely. A few familiar faces but no big names; however Gail O'Grady has a memorable cameo as the insurance executive who explains it would be cheaper to let the plane crash rather than try to save it. (Based on a bestseller co-written by Nelson de Mille)<br /><br />CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON [1934]<br />Sixth of the Chan films with Warner Oland playing the oriental super-sleuth. Here he's working to a deadline -- he has to track down a killer before an innocent man is hanged for the crime in three days time. He spends the weekend at a stately home where his presence causes some alarm among the servants - "We'll all be murdered in our beds " declares a maid. Barrister Ray Milland is there for legal help. The mystery is solved just in time, thanks no doubt to Philip MacDonald the scriptwriter (who was a popular crime novelist as well as the man who adapted REBECCA for Hitchcock). Passable for a movie of this vintage.<br /><br />ATRAGON [1963]<br />The legendary lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War ll Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, possibly the surface world's only hope.<br /><br />THE SEVENTH VICTIM [1964] a.k.a. THE RACETRACK MURDERS<br />A string of murders take place at a rich horse-owner's estate. This is sort of an Edgar Wallace thriller - it's based on a novel by his son - and provides the required number of deaths, race-fixing and surprises.<br /><br />FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD a.k.a. Frankenstein vs. Baragon [1965]<br />Near the end of WWII, Germans transport the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster to Japan, where it is seeming lost in the bombing of Hiroshima. Years later a wild boy is found, born from the immortal heart. <br />I saw this on TV when I was at school on a small black and white set; this looks more impressive than that and the plot is more subtle (which could be something to do with the Australian TV censor).</span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-14690079173540195812023-06-12T16:23:00.000+10:002023-06-12T16:23:57.164+10:00A Winter not-so-wonderland<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9Kiu3218jNEiD2cZ9PaV7tYJiO5qhAhxpPGr8Gup0oXdj1HXGqldcUxpzQNx57MOwjCaPVhEEwHvlWISQEhllaGj4ofrAwP5sy-mCOFY81-0FEovfpJG5b74ArpLZ95sCFDpGm1ugjuTCptHuPS9qS5423kcczAR-aA11ANxYsXeqbzTg7o/s1350/the-black-raven-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1350" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9Kiu3218jNEiD2cZ9PaV7tYJiO5qhAhxpPGr8Gup0oXdj1HXGqldcUxpzQNx57MOwjCaPVhEEwHvlWISQEhllaGj4ofrAwP5sy-mCOFY81-0FEovfpJG5b74ArpLZ95sCFDpGm1ugjuTCptHuPS9qS5423kcczAR-aA11ANxYsXeqbzTg7o/s320/the-black-raven-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A while between updates. Sorry about that. Herewith some miscellaneous notes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Watched movie THE BLACK RAVEN [1943]<br />"The bridge is out, you'll have to stay the night." How many old movies has this situation turned up in??<br />In this B-movie from the PRC studio, it turns out to be an enjoyable low-budget drama benefiting from the casting of George Zucco as the sinister innkeeper and Glenn Strange as his not-too-bright handyman. A group of strangers are isolated by a storm, despite their varying reasons for wanting to cross the border. Thrills and mystery ensue. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Worth a look.<br />*<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I didn't mind having a widow's peak when I was in my fifties (hey, if it's good enough for Doc Savage...), but now I am in my seventies my receding hairline makes me think. The first thing that comes to mind are those Superman comics I used to read as a child. Time travellers from the future always had bulbous heads, as though their brains were so large they made their skulls bulge. That's my story anyway.<br />*<br />The lead-up to Easter was always going to be a busy week. This year I had the weekly Tuesday night quiz, the fortnightly Wednesday study group, the monthly Missions meeting on Thursday, the annual Good Friday service, the weekly op-shopping on Saturday and the annual Easter Sunday service, followed by a lunch with friends down the river. By the time I got home Sunday afternoon I went straight back to bed.<br />*<br />Winter draws near. We had some showers in the morning and maybe some snow on the mountain (couldn't see). By the time I set off for church there was a faint rainbow in the sky and I aimed the car towards it. After the morning service, commiserated with other church-goers about the break-in we had at the church hall. Apparently a man has been arrested for committing five burglaries in one night. You may deplore his morals but you have to admire his work ethic.<br />Dozed in my chair for a while after lunch then did some boxing-up of stuff. Books, movies, CDs, etc etc. I had dinner and watched a Mexican horror movie -- didn't enjoy it much, since it was the third in a trilogy and they spent a lot of time harking back to the first two in the series. Meh, should have had an early night instead. [May 22nd]<br />*<br />This Sunday had the feel of the winter months ahead. I came home from church and had lunch, then dozed off for a while in my chair. When I woke up, I had to rush outside and feed the animals before it got dark. So far so good. But when I got back inside I started sneezing and sniffling for over an hour (I must have gone through half a box of Kleenex). Fortunately I remembered I had a bottle of tablets from last winter, so I took a dose of Cenovis Immunity (Garlic, Horseradish and C Complex).<br />I was all right by the time I went to bed, but I do recall that last winter I used to wear a mask not just to protect me from Covid but to keep the cold winds out of my face. I suspect I'll do the same thing this year. <br />*<br />What is that strange humming noise? It died away in the afternoon after being audible most of last night. Puzzling. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://theconversation.com/cracking-the-mystery-of-the-worldwide-hum-60296" target="_blank">The Hum</a><br /><br />* <br />As they said on SEINFELD once, sometimes one of your friends is up and one of them is down. That's certainly true today. I spoke to Keith Curtis on the phone and he is quite unwell this week, so no visits to the op shops for him in the immediate future. Then when I looked at Facebook this morning what do I find but Ian Grieve has been awarded the Order of Australia medal for his thirty years researching Australian radio history; probably the equivalent of an MBE in the old system. <br />So it's "Congratulations" to Ian, and "Get Well Soon" to Keith. God bless you both!</span><br /></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-28641254104584716182023-03-19T23:50:00.000+11:002023-03-19T23:50:12.468+11:00Movies from last year (You Tube)<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Fairly complete listing of the movies I watched on-line last year.</span><br /><br />12 to the Moon Ken Clark Michi Kobi Tom Conway.mp4 <br />40 Days&Nights - Full Movie HD Bizzarro Madhouse.mp4 <br />A Casualty of War (1989) Frederick Forsyth - Action Thriller HD<br />Abominable Dr Phibes.mp4 1.16 GB<br />Air Collision Full Movie Action Adventure Disaster.mp4 432 MB<br />Airline Disaster Full Movie Action Adventure.mp4 903 MB<br />ALLIGATOR PEOPLE and THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS.mp4 <br />Arctic Blast FULL MOVIE Michael Shanks .mp4 1.07 GB<br />Atomic Attack (1950).mp4 124 MB<br />Atomic Brain- Jan Wahl.mp4 985 MB<br />Attack of the Cat People and Cat Women of the Moon <br />Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) Ken Clark Yvette Vickers <br />Battle Beyond The Sun & The Terror - Roger Corman.mp4 <br />Battle of Los Angeles (Attack L.A.) Alien Invasion.mp4 391 MB<br />BATTLE OF THE WORLDS .mp4 536 MB<br />Biggles Adventures in Time<br />BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS and THE BRAIN EATERS.mp4 <br />Bride of the Monster Full Restored Movie Ed Wood <br />Carnival of Souls.mp4 1.04 GB<br />Captain Video Master of the Stratosphere 1951, Colorized<br />Cat Women of the Moon & The Phantom Planet.mp4 952 MB<br />Colonel March of Scotland Yard Episode 1 Boris Karloff <br />Cone of Silence Flick Vault.mp4 623 MB<br />Creation of the humanoids (1962) Sci-fi full movie.mp4 233 MB<br />Creature From The Haunted Sea Mark Siegel.mp4 749 MB<br />Damnation Alley.mp4 1.07 GB<br />Das Gasthaus an der Themse 1962.mp4 901 MB<br />Deadly Mantis 1957.mp4 5.98 GB<br />Der Fälscher von London 1961.mp4 991 MB<br />DESTINATION MOON 1950 REMASTERED Classic 50's Sci-Fi<br />Die Seltsame Grafin 1961 strange countess (German).mp4 <br />Die Weisse Spinne 1963.mp4 339 MB<br />Die, Monster, Die! Classic Horror Movie Boris Karloff<br />Doctor Bloods Coffin.zip 971 MB<br />Earth vs The Flying Saucers & Flight to Mars.mp4 1.5 GB<br />First Man Into Space & Fiend Without a Face (1958).mp4 589 MB<br />Gamera vs Monster X (Gamera vs Jiger) (1080p).mp4 949 MB<br />Gammera the Invincible (1966).mp4 298 MB<br />Giant Gila Monster & Terror From The Year 5000.mp4 1.38 GB<br />Hannie Caulder Full Movie Flick Vault.mp4 381 MB<br />Here Come The Huggetts 1948 Kathleen Harrison & Jack Warner.mp4 564 MB<br />Horror Express Michael Berryman.mp4 833 MB<br />INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) Full Movie. <br />Invasion of the Animal People (1959) <br />IT Conqured the World & The Day Mars Invaded Earth.mp4 <br />Killer Shrews - Damian's Dreadfuls Se 03, Ep 02.mp4 959 MB<br />Killers from Space (1954) PETER GRAVES.mp4 219 MB<br />Kronos (1957).mp4 151 M<br />Lathe of Heaven interview.mp4 64.2 MB<br />LATHE OF HEAVEN.mp4 335 MB<br />Maigret S01E01 - The Patience of Maigret full episode.mp4 <br />MAXIMUM IMPACT + DRONE WARS Midnight Screening.mp4 <br />MONSTROSITY THE ATOMIC BRAIN a.k.a.<br />MOON ZERO TWO (1969) Full Movie Sci-Fi,<br />Night Gallery the Often Forgotten Successor of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone(1).mp4 132 MB<br />Nightmare Castle - Full Movie in English (HD)<br />No Highway In The Sky 1951, Colorized, James Stewart<br />NOT OF THIS EARTH Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, Morgan Jones <br />NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT (1973) Classic Horror<br />Old Dark House-- John Stanley.mp4 974 MB<br />Our Town OSCAR-NOMINATED William Holden <br />Over the Hill Gang Full Movie Comedy Western <br />Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again Walter Brennan WESTERN <br />Pandora and the Flying Dutchman <br />Paper Tiger Full Movie Flick Vault.mp4 532 MB<br />People City Toronto’s Lost Anthem (2017).mp4 285 MB<br />Plan 9 from Outer Space Ed Wood (full movie).mp4 179 MB<br />Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) Versión Color <br />Planet Of the Vampires.zip 926 MB<br />Pterodactyl FULL MOVIE The Midnight Screening.mp4 462 MB<br />Reptilicus 444 MB<br />Rocketship-XM 1950.mp4 376 MB<br />Sharknado 1 - Full Movie HD by Bizzarro Madhouse.mp4 1.22 GB<br />Sharknado 2 The Second One - Full Movie HD by Bizzarr<br />SHERLOCK HOLMES THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939) <br />Sink the Bismarck! Kenneth More, Dana Wynter.mp4 946 MB<br />Son Of Monte Cristo (1940) Full Movie Louis Hayward <br />Strategic Command - 1997 action movie.mp4 558 MB<br />Superman And The Molemen.zip 404 MB<br />Tarzan and the Green Goddess Bruce Bennett.mp4 1.08 GB<br />Tarzan and the Trappers .mp4 833 MB<br />Tarzan's Revenge (1938) Full Movie Glenn Morris <br />The Ape Man (1943) BELA LUGOSI.mp4 188 MB<br />The Atomic Brain (1963) Full Movie Marjorie Eaton <br />The Blood Beast Terror Full Movie Flick Vault.mp4 618 MB<br />The Brain Eaters (1958) Sci-Fi, Horror Cult Film.mp4 357 MB<br />THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE (1962) COLORIZED.mp4 <br />The Cosmic Man - 1959.mp4 193 MB<br />THE CRAWLING EYE 1958 Full Movie Sci Fi The Trollenberg Terror <br />THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH (1962) Sci-Fi, Kent Taylor<br />The Drowned Giant Full Movie in English.mp4 32 MB<br />The Flood Part 1 Tom Hardy <br />The Flood Part 2 Tom Hardy<br />The Forger of London Der Falsher Von London(dubbed).mp4 <br />The Giant Gila Monster (1959) Colorized <br />The Indestructible Man (1956) Full Movie Lon Chaney, Jr. <br />THE LOST MISSILE 1958 Colorized Classic 50's Sci Fi, Robert Loggia<br />The Manster (1959) Horror, Sci-Fi Full Length Monster Movie.mp4 <br />THE NIGHT THE WORLD EXPLODED 1957 Full Movie <br />The Oblong Box.mp4 524 MB<br />The Quiller Memorandum.mp4 323 MB<br />The She Beast (1966) Barbara Steele, John Karlsen.mp4 311 MB<br />The She Creature 1956 Horror.mp4 692 MB<br />THE SKY CALLS Nebo zovyot Battle Beyond The Sun <br />The White Spider (Eng dub of Die Weibe Spinne).mp4 <br />UNKNOWN ISLAND and LOST CONTINENT.mp4 590 MB<br />Valley Of The Dragons.zip 858 MB<br />Voyage to the End of the Universe ( Ikarie XB 1 1963) [1080p] <br />World of the Vampires.mp4 248 MB<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Comment from Andrew Murray<br />Bloody hell, that's awesome 👍 Very impressive list</span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-8399015638628691272023-02-01T12:01:00.000+11:002023-02-01T12:01:21.915+11:00A happy new year hopefully<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fdlKX9Ms_EbaxHj2IwHuI7BDQaO4pNB-QkmLYjkuNVjXYXO5qFK5rJrGV4GbrBRnGPezX1y31WspWodxs-1HSqKF0j03lPNHx5A5xzYZiriqHninJKxg6lbT0Uf6vdswq_jYbi23MTkql4y2091bt5tDNPkmRWwMvgTntdw-OLrjnxiWX6w/s1280/happy%20new%20year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fdlKX9Ms_EbaxHj2IwHuI7BDQaO4pNB-QkmLYjkuNVjXYXO5qFK5rJrGV4GbrBRnGPezX1y31WspWodxs-1HSqKF0j03lPNHx5A5xzYZiriqHninJKxg6lbT0Uf6vdswq_jYbi23MTkql4y2091bt5tDNPkmRWwMvgTntdw-OLrjnxiWX6w/s320/happy%20new%20year.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>These fifty two weeks <br />are all the time we can own;<br />value the New Year</i>.<br />-- Haiku for January 2014 No.1<br /></span><br />2022 was a difficult year. I had Covid early in the year, then after I got over that I ended up in an ambulance after falling over and hitting my head. On the national scene, there were disastrous floods all around the country (though my home town was spared) and in the elections we had a change of government; the right wing were right out and the left wing were left in office. There was inflation, soaring power prices and shortages of all sorts of things.<br /><br />Some of this was to do with world events. Who would have thought we'd have an honest-to-goodness shooting war in Europe, but that's what we got when the Russians went into Ukraine. This affected supplies of oil, gas and wheat to the rest of the world. China meanwhile was having its own problems, but to paraphrase an old saying, when China gets a cold, we start sneezing.<br /><br />The Queen died, which didn't shock me as much as I would have expected, because the previous night I spoke to my friend Keith on the phone. He had been listening to the BBC radio news and said that reading between the lines they had been saying Her Majesty's health was concerning. So the next morning I was mentally prepared to some extent when the news came over the radio. <br /><br />Locally, Sue Neill-Fraser completed 13 years of her life sentence for murder and successfully applied for parole. Sue isn't a friend, but she knew my sister and I recall meeting up with her in the car park at our local supermarket. Her trial was controversial, and I know of no other case where somebody was convicted of killing her husband despite there being no body, no witnesses and no murder weapon.<br /><br />I remember hearing someone say the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse symbolised Famine, War, Pestilence and Death. Having lived through the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam and AIDS, I had not expected to hear those hoofbeats in the distance again in my lifetime.<br /><br />Here's something I wrote on a Christmas card last year. Maybe it's applicable to all of us.<br /><br /><i>This year, may you be healthier, wealthier and happier than you were in the previous year.</i><br /><br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-853229246877757492022-12-24T21:14:00.001+11:002022-12-24T21:14:38.579+11:00year ending<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LbJ3q3EfqaACDdCUiTOO4LETMbN8gj-d4ptUYMTQgtq0n1OPkKivwebrPm2l3aDIgtqaukAl0adKdn7qnvW2DYn8d99onXCjyLiT7VKdRIaZSpOTconwhuZoSZ6slRh5l-kXED18zMGszZxyE_Y1PTZsJSuYGF3-rObBlonU2SYPJcmc3eo/s498/coffee%20depresso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="472" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LbJ3q3EfqaACDdCUiTOO4LETMbN8gj-d4ptUYMTQgtq0n1OPkKivwebrPm2l3aDIgtqaukAl0adKdn7qnvW2DYn8d99onXCjyLiT7VKdRIaZSpOTconwhuZoSZ6slRh5l-kXED18zMGszZxyE_Y1PTZsJSuYGF3-rObBlonU2SYPJcmc3eo/s320/coffee%20depresso.jpg" width="303" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tuesday night our team was ready and waiting when the quiz started. We made good progress, including getting a perfect score on three of the eight rounds, finishing with a respectable 84 points. Alas, our rivals at the next table came in with a score of 85 points! So near and yet so far. <br />Oh well, there's another couple of weeks until the Christmas break, so watch this space.<br />* <br />Wednesday the last of three days of ferrying stuff to K's place. I am glad for his sake that we got it done, but I'm grateful that there isn't any more stuff to shift. Always happy to help a friend in need, but there are limits. Checked my road map to remind me how to get to Royal Yacht Club for Mission Group's Christmas lunch tomorrow.<br />*<br />Lunch at Wrest Point on Friday to celebrate Helena and Julie joint-birthday. Half a dozen of us dined in the Boardwalk room, then sat outside enjoying the sunny afternoon, admiring the view of the river and talking. A pleasant time to meet up with old friends and discuss old times.<br />*<br />Friday night I finished writing up the quiz questions for the next day. Saturday lunch time we all gathered at the Croquet Club and enjoyed a two-course lunch in the open-air with the annual Christmas quiz at half-time. I kept it fairly simple, just 12 true-or-false questions about the Christmas season. And I advised players "If you don't know the answer, have a guess. You've got a 50% chance of being right."<br />*<br />BATTLE OF THE WORLDS [1961] available on You Tube.<br /><span style="font-size: large;">A stray planet, on a collision course with Earth, instead slows and takes orbit around our blue marble. After careful examination - and a few near-fatal accidents in space - what seems like a dead planet suddenly launches a fleet of flying attack saucers. Professor Benson and his team, along with the space fleet, must figure out how to destroy the invaders. In the end, the frustrated professor is forced to weigh the sacrifices that are required to save the citizens of Earth from certain doom. <br />These Italian space opera movies always look stylish, though the scripts sometimes don't hang together too well. Claude Rains, as Professor Benson, seems to be channeling the character he played in THE LOST WORLD, Professor Challenger. Indeed, I have seen the American trailer and it even (ahem) declares "See Claude Rains in his most challenging role" !</span><br />*<br />I didn't check my e-mails on Saturday night, so I missed an update from the church office. I thought I was reading from the book of Matthew, but when the minister introduced me, he said I'd be reading from chapter 9 of Isaiah. I looked calm as I walked up to the lectern, but inwardly I was anxious to open my Bible and see what I was about to do a "cold read" from. I opened the Bible and scanned the passage while I announced the passage I'd be reading, then launched into reading aloud from the Old Testament. I was lucky - there were almost no complicated names on that page and I got through without any visible problems.<br />A friend nodded to me afterwards and said "Good reading this morning." I responded with "You have no idea!"<br />*<br /><span style="font-size: large;">Watched the "mockbuster" movie BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES, made by Asylum studios to cash in on the release of the Columbia movie BATTLE: LOS ANGELES. Lots of running and shooting doesn't compensate for the confusing plot. Strange to see Nia Peeples as a Xena-style swordswoman who comes to the aid of the heroes.</span><br />*<br />Monday and Wednesday I spent the days relaxing, with no calls on my time to make me leave the house. Tuesday I got in one game of croquet at lunchtime, then out to the final quiz night of the year. We shared a good dinner, paid for by the prize money from the last twelve months, then ended up being narrowly nudged into second place by the people at the next table who won by a single point.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*<br />Thursday I was having a quiet day at home, watching the weather to see if we could fit in our last game of Bocce for the season. Unfortunately friends descended on me and quizzed me about how my feet were going. When I finally showed them, they were very concerned and insisted on calling a friend who runs a "foot nurse" service. There went my chances of getting to Bocce but I did finish the day with a nice pedicure.<br />*<br />I must remember to check these things before I sit down and tune in a movie on You Tube. Tonight I started watching the movie THE EYE CREATURES thinking it was the American title for the well-regarded British movie THE TROLLENBERG TERROR. Alas it's not; I was thinking of THE CRAWLING EYE. This one was a really dire flick about a couple who run over an alien invader on their way back from Lover's Lane and (surprise) nobody believes them. I don't think I've ever said this before, but there's not a single thing of interest in the whole movie.<br />*<br />A columnist in the WASHINGTON POST mused on Richard Whateley’s satirical pamphlet, published in 1819, “Historic Doubts Relative to Napoleon Buonaparte.” In it, this future archbishop proves that there’s no way to be absolutely sure that Napoleon, who was then still alive, wasn’t actually a myth. Whately’s intent was subtly religious: He wanted to mock those who questioned the evidence for Christ’s existence. <br />[Today we'd probably call this a work of "alternative history"!]<br />*<br />They have some dumb things on-line trying to get you interested in watching You Tube videos. One trumpeted "Lucille Ball's grand-daughter looks just like her!" - what a surprise. Another asked "Why was the coffin closed at JFK's funeral?" - well, it could be something to do with him being shot in the head.<br />*<br />Have never seen any Mexican horror T, though I know there are some, so WORLD OF THE VAMPIRES (1960) was something new to me. <span style="font-size: large;">Filmed in black and white, it used the old plot of the vampire count who seeks revenge on the family whose ancestors wiped out his family. The twist is that the family have a guest, a music expert who has just returned from Transylvania, where he discovered which musical notes repel vampires. This is actually quite an interesting little movie.</span><br />*<br />The Light Programme radio show has now moved to <a href="https://www.mixcloud.com/The_Light_Programme/" target="_blank">https://www.mixcloud.com/The_Light_Programme/</a><br />I'd been wondering what had happened to them, since their website seemed up to date.<br /><br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-89585904791244605802022-12-13T22:33:00.000+11:002022-12-13T22:33:05.987+11:00Busy Busy !<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZehVEO7nMvnHQtvsFyeezU26lHd-TligXUevGq2o-76NJugTzsJj4DBs4yEgd0YC3dFOwLOyVIVH5Hr4P1XHkWWAVvdBp-K9TCE-koLbaqPQ5x2XfFGp5IdSRaTjED2jwVKyFvxpX7e_lL0XDtr-elDy4crYxW6UtpkYRIiRBcwSaowpiOn4/s778/Introvert's%20heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZehVEO7nMvnHQtvsFyeezU26lHd-TligXUevGq2o-76NJugTzsJj4DBs4yEgd0YC3dFOwLOyVIVH5Hr4P1XHkWWAVvdBp-K9TCE-koLbaqPQ5x2XfFGp5IdSRaTjED2jwVKyFvxpX7e_lL0XDtr-elDy4crYxW6UtpkYRIiRBcwSaowpiOn4/s320/Introvert's%20heart.jpg" width="263" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Oct 28<br />Friday agenda:<br />1. inject 5 micrograms of exenatide subcutaneously<br />2. visit favorite coffee shop - eggs benedict<br />3. Pharmacist<br />4. Salvo store and City Mission shop<br />5. Newsagent<br />6. Supermarket<br />7. return home and rest before dinner<br />8. can't be bothered with TV, listen to old radio series before bed.<br />*<br />I filled a new prescription for my diabetes medication and the pharmacist ran through possible side effects and told me to take it an hour before meals. For a couple of days, that's just what I did. Then something started niggling in the back of my mind and I did a Google search. Sure enough, it told me to take the drug "2 times a day at any time within the 60–minute period before the morning and evening meals (or before the 2 main meals of the day, about 6 hours or more apart)". So I did not need to wait sixty minutes till I could eat breakfast in the morning.<br />*<br />I went to the meeting at the church hall today and everyone laughed at me. I don't know who thought of having a comedy segment in the middle of the monthly meeting, but it must have seemed like a good idea to somebody. (I don't recall hearing of any other Presbyterian stand-up comics; would it be better for my career if I converted to Judaism?)<br />*<br />What a week. You know there are things you do every week, things you do once a fortnight, monthly things, quarterly things and once-a-year things? Well, by some freak of the calendar they all coincided in the same week! I had appointments, meetings, dinners and lunches every day. By the time I got to the end of the week I didn't know if I was coming or going. I felt like a Christmas tree salesman on December 24th.<br />Friday I had hoped to rest up for a bit, only to receive a note on my door saying the RSPCA wanted to talk to me about my goat. I phoned them and left a message asking them to ring me back, then waited apprehensively. When they did ring back, they said they'd had a complaint my goat was looking thin. Fortunately we were able to resolve the matter with no trouble after I sent them some recent pictures of the goat I had on my phone!<br />*<br />Nov 11th<br />After hearing this morning's radio interview with the Director of Public Health, I made sure to buy a new packet of masks before going to do the weekend shopping. Cooler, with showers. Stores beginning to clog up with Christmas stuff. Puzzled by the reindeer around the Christmas tree in Coles; when did reindeer grow manes like a lion?<br />Went home and had afternoon tea while listening to a 1944 episode of The Lone Ranger.<br />*<br />Nov12th<br />Saturday Keith and I went out to the South Hobart tip shop. Keith happy because he found a book he'd been looking for since I-don't-know-when.<br />Watched a movie on You Tube after dinner. What a difference nine years makes. In 2013 when <i>500mph STORM</i> was made, it was just another disaster movie. Looking at it now, the scenes of storms, floods and fires are uncomfortably like last week's news broadcasts.<br />*<br />A friend commented "I like your new glasses. They must have been expensive." No, I explained, because I sold so much of their product when I was in the hotel business, one of the big breweries said they'd chip in for the cost of them. "You mean...." Yes, it was a Foster Grant.<br />*<br />Set out for church early but traffic was light and despite light rain I was there early. Read from Matthew chapter 20 at the Communion Service without difficulty (aside from a tickle in my throat in the last paragraph). Drove out to what used to be Animal Tucker Box; the new owners started by repainting the outside, now they've re-organized the inside. Home for lunch and debated whether or not to take a nap until it was too late to do so. More light rain.<br />Served up dinner and watched another You Tube movie <i>The Deadly Mantis</i> from 1957; not bad at all, with a semi-documentary opening reel about North America's radar network which is attacked by ... well, you can probably guess.<br />*<br />Here's a thought provoking quote: <br />"A movie is a novel turned inside out. A novel directly describes the invisible inner motives and emotions of characters and leaves [the reader] to formulate a mental picture of the physical world. A movie...depicts the visible and implies the unseen. Adapting a book to a screenplay thereby calls for a very difficult inversion: The explicit must be made implicit, and the invisible visible." <br />~<i>101 Things I Learned in Film School</i>. Neil Landau w/Matthew Frederick<br />*<br />Thursday I kept busy. Downloaded some stuff from the Internet before lunch, then went out and stocked up on my prescription drugs. Spent two hours clearing up the front porch so the electricity company can install a new power board tomorrow, then went out and played Bocce for two hours. By the time I got home and ate dinner, I was ready for bed.<br />Friday was a madhouse on the roads. Was there something going on I didn't know about? If I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was Christmas Eve out there or that the Rolling Stones were performing in the next suburb. I helped Keith move some stuff to his house and managed to fight my way through the traffic and got home eventually. Saw OTR guru Ian Grieve in passing at favorite coffee shop. Our friendly neighborhood goatherd dropped in to see Mr Snuggles and share a cup of tea. No sign of the electricians; not that surprised - at least I hadn't been at home waiting for them.<br />*<br />29 Nov : Spent nearly all day Tuesday out in the sun driving Keith around. He's finishing up at the place he's been working for years and there was a lot of stuff to be moved. We made two trips today, and two more tomorrow should finish it off. I feel a little guilty that all I can do is the driving; carrying stuff up and down stairs is beyond me these days but I do what I can. Got home at 5 o'clock and drank a can of watermelon & pineapple energy drink.<br /><br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-10497466498957466332022-10-26T18:55:00.001+11:002022-12-13T22:19:18.915+11:00The Color... Purple??<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5MVVYMRIqjwBlrJ1EKOfIHN_cdgZK0DlVQqEPDDu63Iz6u6FaIFhCDnrB2FX-s0BHxpbA1FPcWNKX82upiYTilEDjXlRrqpXmNv5rG2UKfHObujpoip8E0gMM10xf3vBwmgZH0Y5lzv6eAEV-GyWHWGBoZ4HJ4ws2cGl39Rjow4JSxFt3AE/s1046/Hitchcock%20colorized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="1046" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5MVVYMRIqjwBlrJ1EKOfIHN_cdgZK0DlVQqEPDDu63Iz6u6FaIFhCDnrB2FX-s0BHxpbA1FPcWNKX82upiYTilEDjXlRrqpXmNv5rG2UKfHObujpoip8E0gMM10xf3vBwmgZH0Y5lzv6eAEV-GyWHWGBoZ4HJ4ws2cGl39Rjow4JSxFt3AE/s320/Hitchcock%20colorized.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Continuing my explorations down the rabbit-hole of You Tube movie sites, I came across one that had an old black & white movie that was marked as being colorized. I took a peep at it, and indeed it was in color -- the color purple. The whole film had apparently been tinted purple, and the blacks and whites were now dark and light shades of purple. I don't think this is what most people mean by "colorized" !<br />*<br />September 1st is the first day of spring in Australia. As often happens, it decided to drizzle. I am feeling a little run down, so walking back from the meeting at the church hall to the bus stop seemed a long way, even if it all downhill. Stopped off for my periodicals in the mall, and had tea & scones at Beaujangles. <br />Expensive detour though JB Hi-Fi even with their 20% off sale. A boxed set of the DVDs of MURDER CALL, one of my favorite Australian shows from the 1990s, DVD of the new movie EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, and the Blu Ray of Goddard's BREATHLESS (with lots of bonus features for we Nouvelle Vague fans).<br />Agonized for five minutes over whether to write "I was the only one on the bus wearing a mask" or "I was the only one wearing a mask on the bus"; decided in the end not to mention it at all.<br />*<br />Thursday I had nothing planned aside from pottering around at home, but Keith phoned and said "Let's meet for lunch". After a couple of hours dining and op-shopping, I called in at K-Mart where things were disappointing. When I asked for a refill for my diabetes injections, the pharmacist just said "We are out of stock." When I tried my new credit card in the coffee machine, it responded "Try another card" which is all it ever says to me. Went home and made a coffee gratis - that'll show them!<br />*<br />For years people have been saying that social media is bad for you because it makes you feel inferior after comparing yourself with the wonderful time all your friends seem to be having. All I can say is you must have a different lot of friends to mine. I have a lot of Facebook friends who are having a tough time. In fact over the years I've had several people comment "You have such an interesting life", a compliment I'm at a loss to know to respond to ("Yes I do" or "No I don't"?)<br />*<br />I knew this would happen someday, now that I'm no longer wearing my glasses all the time I'm out of bed. I watched a gripping disaster movie FLOOD on You Tube last night, then when I got ready to retire I realized I didn't know where my glasses were. I looked in a few places, then decided it might be easier in the daylight. So the next day I got down on my hands and knees and crawled around the chair I'd been sitting in during the movie. After a couple of minutes, I spotted them next to the chair and muttered "Eureka!". A relief, since a replacement set would not only have been expensive but would have meant a two-week wait.<br />*<br />This comment from Ted of California on a New York Times story about AM radio gave me a wry chuckle on this day 9 years ago: <br />"One of the two classical-music radio stations in Los Angeles is on AM.<br />It used to be on FM, but the owner (an individual, not a media conglomerate) switched the FM frequency to country music. That was after the media conglomerate that had operated the one country music station in Los Angeles decided that they could better serve shareholders with yet another automated Top-40 station that could offer advertisers a more desirable demographic. Faced with declining revenues from the classical station, the individual owner figured that country music could be sufficiently profitable for him, even if it's not profitable enough to satisfy a media conglomerate's bean counters. He figured right.<br />Strangely, the relocated classical station is doing well enough to remain on the air, despite the very inadequate sound quality. I only recently realized how that's possible, when I went to a concert of a local semi-professional orchestra. The large hall was filled with gray-haired patrons, whose whistling hearing aids randomly added notes the composers never wrote.<br />That is also the audience for classical-music radio. And hearing aids, by design, have an even more limited frequency response than AM radio. So the AM signal carrying pleasantly listenable programming probably sounds just fine to its intended audience."<br />*<br />Sept 18 - I left for church the usual time this Sunday but I had so many supplies to deliver to the church kitchen that they were half way through the first hymn before I slipped into my pew. During morning tea, I went over to one of the girls from the music group and told her I appreciated her singing in that morning's service. I could have added "And you're very pretty" but I didn't think she would appreciate a guy 50 years her senior hitting on her.<br />On the way home from church, I stopped off at the pharmacy to see if they had any new stocks of my diabetic injections. Nope, they didn't. That makes three weeks I haven't been able to source my medication; no wonder my blood glucose level is up. <br />I had coffee and a croissant in the cafe and a distraught individual shambled up to my table and said "I have mental health problems and I'm very upset but nobody here will talk to me. Can I talk to you?" I shrugged and said "Sure, sit down." I listened to his problems for a while and asked him if he was seeing a doctor; he said he was and he'd been prescribed Escitalopram. I think he was a bit surprised when I nodded and said "Yeah, I take that once a day myself." He looked a bit calmer when he left. <br />*<br />Sept 20th<br />Tuesday was a bit tiring. I had to go out for my blood test before my doctor's appointment next week, and have an empty stomach. By the time I drove around trying to find a parking spot near the pathology lab, and waited while the technician looked up my records because she couldn't read the doctor's handwriting, and drove home again, I felt exhausted.<br />Some food and rest made me feel fit enough to see if there was anybody at the Croquet Club. There was but they left just after Terry and I arrived, so we had one game then departed to our respective homes. <br />More rest, which meant I was almost late in leaving for the quiz night. Whew.<br />*<br />Sept 27th <br />A few things on this Tuesday, so it was a good thing I slept a bit better. Started off the day with my first appointment for months with my psychologist. She reassured me that the stressed feelings I've been having lately are just a normal response to some nervous tension. Then on to the Croquet Club where one of the members took pity on me and stayed on to have a game with me - which I lost 7-3.<br />After a quick lunch, attended the funeral service for one of the grand old men of croquet, Maurice Woodmansee. To put it in a modern perspective, he was the Yoda of Tasmanian croquet. I still hear his instructions in my head when I prepare to hit the ball towards the hoop.<br />Quiz night tonight and the four of us were unfortunately unable to make it a hat trick. Even with some inspired guesses from June, we ended up coming third, beaten by a team of newcomers who had never played before. <br />Then home for a 42 minute phone call from Keith about books and autographs he was hunting on the Internet. After which I was ready to go to bed.<br />* <br />October 4th<br />On NPR this morning an American radio newsman sounded shocked that interest rates may go up to 7%. Back when we were in the hotel business fifty years ago we were paying up around 17%. At the risk of sounding like a a grumpy old man, may I just quote the old saying "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it."<br />*<br />Keith looked a bit gloomy when we met for lunch last week. He seemed preoccupied and distracted, though he did cheer up a bit when I brought the conversation round to one of his favorite subjects (old westerns). In retrospect, he may just have been undercaffeinated; I noticed he had two cups of coffee with his lunch and when we emerged from the Salvo store later he muttered something about it was a shame the coffee shop was closed.<br />*<br />Tuesday I was too busy for croquet. Mick and Helena said they'd meet me for lunch and we had a filling if not overly healthy meal down the road from my place. Then we separated so they could visit the tip shop and I could go out to Glenorchy to pick up some stuff and call in to get some feed at Animal Tucker Box. After that I visited my pharmacy for the first of my twice-a-week visits; no, they didn't have any of my diabetes injectables. It's now being reported as being out of stock till next year! 😕<br />I returned home only to have Mick & Hedlena turn up five minutes later. Helena showed me the things she had bought, then started tidying up my back room. At one point I had to wrest the groceries I'd bought this afternoon from her grasp.<br />Managed to send them home about 6.15, leaving me just enough time to feed the goat and high-tail it for the quiz night. <br />I think I will have an early night.<br />*<br />Is it old age or just lack of concentration? Whatever I'm up to, I always seem to be thinking about something else unrelated to what I'm actually doing at that moment.....<br />triangulation of quantitative data (factor-analyzed items) and qualitative data (semistructured questions) reveals that they are orthogonal and independent in nature.<br />*<br />Woke up early on October 11th so I made a cup of coffee and went back to bed to listen to the morning news round-up on the radio. It was a Tuesday but there was nothing happening at the Croquet Club so I went into Moonah for lunch and a haircut (now that winter has finished I do not need so much insulation). I didn't have time for a nap before I went out and this evening consumed an energy drink, a cup of coffee and a gin & tonic. No wonder I felt a little befuddled by the time I got home.<br />The postman delivered three issues of The New Yorker today; I must do something about catching up on my reading tomorrow.<br />I was a bit late getting to bed because Keith phoned and we talked about books for 68 minutes...<br />*<br />I felt tired Wednesday morning and spent the day at home. In fact after lunch I nodded off in my armchair for a bit (what I need is an app for my laptop that tells me how long it has been since I used it, so I will know how long I've been dozing). With the days drawing out, I can't get away with not feeding the animals in the evening; they are still wide awake and ready for a snack.<br />Had dinner and watched a series 2 episode of MY LIFE IS MURDER, planning on an early night.<br />*<br />Sounds in the Mall today:<br />1. Police siren<br />2. Running feet<br />3. Crash into fence<br />4. voice [stern] "Stay where you are."<br />5. voice [whining] "I didn't do nothing."<br />6. soft footsteps as I walk away minding my own business.<br />*<br />The only calls I get on my house phone are scammers and people wanting me to give them money. This week I got a call from a woman with a very familiar voice. "Hello this is Helen Murphy calling from the Fund Raising Centre. I hope you're well?" I replied "I'm find thanks, but weren't you Ann Fitzgerald last month?" There was a moment of silence and I took the opportunity to hang up.</span></span> <br /></p><p> </p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-60429472355987303032022-10-22T23:58:00.000+11:002022-10-22T23:58:47.049+11:00Onward and (maybe) upward<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCFBhhungnkecGeeyaA4eAIco7flscb4iJDDCdN8p-dPBgt2ZGxN-l5VBfObmxyoGTJinaI-XiUKRyADV9jOMfWNQTgX0jGVa7HAlLbsH02zAXg1yiNfg8BCrSNAtxeZDKE9DiyY8dovtOD2HUpsYfapNHvaGkPOg-GMkI-VrtMMlTzHCqVM/s1333/backyard-eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCFBhhungnkecGeeyaA4eAIco7flscb4iJDDCdN8p-dPBgt2ZGxN-l5VBfObmxyoGTJinaI-XiUKRyADV9jOMfWNQTgX0jGVa7HAlLbsH02zAXg1yiNfg8BCrSNAtxeZDKE9DiyY8dovtOD2HUpsYfapNHvaGkPOg-GMkI-VrtMMlTzHCqVM/s320/backyard-eggs.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> I nearly always play croquet after lunch on a Tuesday, but one day was just too cold. The following week I was asked out to lunch unexpectedly. The following week I finally got out on the lawn, mallet in hand. I lost, but they say that taking part is the important thing, not winning.<br /><br />Friday was a bit of a madhouse. I had to be in town in the morning for a committee meeting; this went all right and I was sent off with some leftover home-made scones for lunch. On the way home, I detoured through the JB Hi Fi shop to look for a couple of movies I wanted; I didn't find them, but I was pleased to spot the boxed set of television serials based on John Wyndham's novel CHOCKY for ten dollars less than I'd seen it on-line.<br />Taking the bus home was a bit of a drama. The bus left late because police had to be called to remove a woman who was abusing the driver. When we did start off, the bus turned onto the highway instead of taking the road through the suburbs and I realized I must be on the wrong bus. After some thought, I waited till we got to a bus stop on the same latitude as my home, got off and started on a 45-minute walk through the back streets to my house. <br />Spent an hour on hold with my bank so I could straighten out some irregularities with my credit card (I googled a transaction I didn't remember, and it took me to a page with 300 complaints about the merchant!)<br />In the evening, my friendly local goatherd came round and we spent two hours after dark in the backyard rounding up the roosters, who were the subject of a noise complaint to City Hall. I think we got them all, because it was unusually quiet when I woke up the next morning.<br />*<br />Feeding the chickens this morning, I noticed a woman and her little girl watching the hens pecking about. I had to bring in the rubbish bin, so I ambled down the driveway and bade them a good morning. The mother sighed and said "I'd love to have chickens, but I can't where I live at the moment." "That's a shame," I said, "once every family had chickens in their back garden." I waved goodbye as they went on their way and the little girl gave me a big smile. I was reminded of something my sister Julie said about how sad it was that some city children grew up with no animals around at all.<br />*<br />Sunday was wet and windy, so I motored into town cautiously, driving to the conditions. This had the usual effect - cars behind me who decided I was driving too slowly so they overtook me and zoomed off. But I'm used to that.<br />The Sunday before, I was worried about other stuff. It was my turn to stand at the lectern and read from the Bible, and I was down to read the whole first chapter of Samuel. Not only is that a large chunk of text, but there are several unusual names in the first paragraph. I started off all right, but halfway through I lost my place in the middle of a sentence and couldn't find it again; A couple of people in the congregation were starting to look concerned, so I skipped to the start of the next paragraph and carried on.<br />Over morning tea, a woman approached me and commended my clear reading of Samuel. But, she said, as a GP she had been worried for a second that I might have been having a mini-stroke. I replied "Well, if you'd known I was recovering from a head injury, you would have been REALLY worried."<br />*<br />The doorbell rang at 7 a.m. and the phone rang at 11 p.m. Nobody there either time. Sometimes it's like living in a haunted house.<br />The meeting I was going to on Wednesday afternoon was cancelled. So what did I do with all that extra time? Fooled around with the laptop and drank too much coffee of course. In the evening there were just two of us at the quiz night, but we did fairly well -- at the beginning we solved the puzzle question on the first clue, and got a perfect score in the first round. Unfortunately we didn't keep up that standard, especially in the Sports and Music rounds! Still, an entertaining evening out. <br /><br />Imaginary conversation:<br />"I'm not eating that, it's going green."<br />"You did order the Pesto Parmagiana, didn't you sir?"<br />*<br />Friday was a nice day but I spent most of my time resting up from the day before. Thursday had been one of those "perfect storm" days when everything happened on the same day. It started straight after breakfast, when my friendly local goatherd stopped by to check on the goat. Then I drove down to South Hobart for a morning tea with friends from church; I'd never been to the Rivulet Cafe but it's a nice modern place with (of course) a view of the Hobart Rivulet. Took a couple of minutes trying to get pictures of the ducks paddling around in the rivulet.<br />Not long after I returned home, got a call to meet visiting friends for lunch. Grant doesn't get down to Tasmania often, so it was good to see him and meet his wife Cheryl. Following that, I went around the bookshops with Keith, who took pleasure in showing me a couple of desirable items he'd picked up for two dollars a throw this morning. I'm trying not to buy books these days myself, but I was happy for him. <br />Then I had about sixty minutes before I had to leave for the theatre. Just time for a hasty meal before my lift arrived. I met Helena at the Playhouse and we saw the comedy 39 STEPS in which four actors play dozens of characters in a high-energy spoof of the Hitchcock movie. Some clever stagecraft meant the pace never slowed down and the audience (mostly from the older age group) seemed to enjoy it a lot. <br />I returned home and sat down on my bed. Looking at my watch I realised I'd been on the go for twelve hours, not something I'm used to these days. Either a feast or a famine, eh?<br />*<br />Haiku for the TV serial of WAR OF THE WORLDS 20/08/2020<br /><i>Robots a-scuttling<br />as a world goes to ruin.<br />The blind see again. </i><br />*<br />Free and easy? Well...<br />I noticed one of my tyres was getting down a bit so I thought, no problem I'll just stop off and get some air while I'm out. Nope. First station I stopped at had a big Out Of Order sign on the air & water. I traveled on to another station, but their air hose was missing altogether. Third time lucky, at the United station in North Hobart I was able to inflate the tyre back to normal pressure. I was so grateful I went into the office and bought coffee and a sandwich just to thank them for having a function air pump. (And I noticed another car was waiting to use the pump after me - air may be free but it's not always easy to find)<br />*.<br />In 2020 there was an arts project in Huonville where your three-line poems were stencilled onto walls of buildings:<br /><i>See those words on walls<br />a community haiku<br />for all Huon eyes</i><br />*<br />Clear weather, which means a fine afternoon but a cold morning. No croquet again this week, but made it to two quiz nights. We went from the sublime to the ridiculous - Tuesday we finished second, the closest we've come to winning this winter, but Wednesday night we came second-last! I will admit that the latter was the first time I've ever scored 2/10 in the TV and cinema round.<br />*<br />The following Tuesday, it seemed a bit wet for croquet so I went out for lunch with the goatherd and his partner. Later she persuaded me to remove my shirt so she could rub arnica onto my shoulder after my fall in the garden yesterday. Fortunately I haven't mowed the grass this month so it was a relatively soft landing.<br /><br />Got ready for the quiz night. There were five of us there tonight and we finished second out of nine teams. Second week running - not bad.<br />*<br />I've been scouting around the various channels on You Tube and I've found several that offer a lot of old B-movies from the post-war period. So far I've watched THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE, THE GIANT GILA MONSTER, THE NIGHT THE WORLD EXPLODED and EARTH vs THE FLYING SAUCERS. These are actually better than you might think from the titles. The last mentioned one is a triumph of special effects by the great Ray Harryhausen -- if you came to it cold you'd find it hard to believe it was made in 1957!<br />*<br />I posted this on Facebook back in 2012 when I was younger and sadder:<br />Sometimes on a wet afternoon you leave the TV and the radio switched off and think. <br />You think about the past and the future. The people you knew. The people you never met but you felt you knew them. The things you wish you'd done and the things you wish you hadn't. The things that you know now that you'll never do. <br />I guess that's life, in all its richness and heartache. But every day we get a new 24 hours, to do with as we wish...<br /><br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-78429019529181020812022-08-03T11:08:00.003+10:002022-08-03T11:08:55.399+10:00Wash the blood off my scarf<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJ69lw3feiInSWXglZAhtqksWY-IHgOGa478zaz9QgQdV6d1jy68mjSdPA1zHpS0ccj3PPVsP9SZLgjUOO1Ej2ayLB67inihDLB4G_TUzKEsaDP0ftH8rG9wl7xhWipfyWQnwNM7TaMx3O2lwPEcx3bgstjap6dBekWiaArmq6U_qa1oGSMA/s1088/ambulance.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1088" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJ69lw3feiInSWXglZAhtqksWY-IHgOGa478zaz9QgQdV6d1jy68mjSdPA1zHpS0ccj3PPVsP9SZLgjUOO1Ej2ayLB67inihDLB4G_TUzKEsaDP0ftH8rG9wl7xhWipfyWQnwNM7TaMx3O2lwPEcx3bgstjap6dBekWiaArmq6U_qa1oGSMA/s320/ambulance.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I've been a bit slow to write about this because I didn't want to worry people. But a lot of you will realize something is up when I do not turn up for church tomorrow. The fact is that when I left the quiz night on Wednesday I had a bad fall trying to walk up the hill to the car park. Fortunately one of the other people leaving the venue was a nurse and she gave me first aid while an ambulance was summoned.<br />After a few hours in the ER at the Royal Hobart Hospital, they patched me up and gave me a bed for the night, letting me go home the next afternoon.<br />I'm not in any pain, but the left side of my face is like a jigsaw puzzle where they glued me back together. Oh, and I had a spectacular black eye the next day. I don't think I'll ever forget the moment my head hit the asphalt -- I thought for a second somebody had hit me on the side of the head with a cricket bat.<br />So if you don't see me around for a week, you'll understand why.<br />*<br />Recuperation day 6. Can't remember the last time I spent the day in bed, but as my Quaker friends would say I felt a leading to it. A selection of snacks on the bedside table, listening to the radio, reading my e-mails, dozing off every now and again. As necessary go out and visit the bathroom and/or make a hot drink. My left eye is coming good and I can now look in the mirror and see myself in 3D - not that this is a pleasant view at the moment. I no longer feel like I am wearing a Phantom-of-the-Opera mask over the left side of my face.<br /><br />This morning I fed the poultry in my pyjamas. How they got in there I'll never know!<br />(You need to be a Marxist to appreciate that joke.)<br /><br />Tuesday evening I ventured out to the quiz night. The other members of the team surveyed me thoughtfully and muttered things like "Well, you certainly did a job on yourself." When the quizmaster read out the scores halfway through, she commented our team might have done better but one of us had suffered a head injury! There were eight teams and in the end we finished fifth with 78 points; the winners were the Dawdlers who belied their name by coming home with 84 points. But we did win a bottle of wine for solving the puzzle question and I got 9/10 for the Art & Literature round. So not too bad.<br /><br />I came home and made a cup of Nerada Detox tea. A blend of Dandelion, Lemon Verbena and Milk Thistle with a dash of Senna and Nettle.<br />*<br />July 11th I went to the eye clinic for a follow-up exam. An orbital fracture sounds like something you worry about at NASA but my doctor doesn't seem to be worried about it. I had lunch in town then went home and took a nap; I didn't plan it, it just sort of happened.<br />In the evening, I got a big tray of snacks and drinks and settled down in front of the laptop to watch the first Garrison Keillor show any of us have seen in years. Thanks to the Mandolin site for streaming it.<br />*<br />Temperature in my house in winter seems to sit on 40 F during winter according to my old thermometer, which I think is 4.5 C -- but then I live in Tasmania.<br />* <br />Watched two movies on-line. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">ANGELS OF TERROR (1971) was the last of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace movies made in Germany. Karin Dor was no longer starring, but Uschi Glas makes an acceptable substitute. An Australian woman arrives in London to search for her sister who she finds is involved with a drug ring. The gang itself is under attack from an unknown rival, who is methodically assassinating them one by one.<br />FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL... (2012) adult comedy about a girl in New York who discovers her room-mate is running a phone-sex business. After her initial revulsion, she is tempted to take over the business and (as they say in the classics) hilarity ensues. This is actually quite funny and both Ari Graynor and Lauren Miller Rogen are fun to watch. An independent movie that had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. </span><br /></span></span></p><p></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-45980954110532251132022-07-15T00:35:00.000+10:002022-07-15T00:35:22.404+10:00Caprine Collission <p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7mbbTipJxGlaUdS46MKKQQNONKDhcpWxAGgO536QgNjrhIB210Stem8MnpJSDn6zIc-pSvigljFZvydvw2PN2fS6nWwa1ZpKBdx_Jo1W_ClOdBfDPmAgJNDSLCN8v2GI2VX9TcFsRUR_pLvC-eMDMX6QuRbJ6BX0aJ7M0vu1csqkBT22I-E/s1080/goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7mbbTipJxGlaUdS46MKKQQNONKDhcpWxAGgO536QgNjrhIB210Stem8MnpJSDn6zIc-pSvigljFZvydvw2PN2fS6nWwa1ZpKBdx_Jo1W_ClOdBfDPmAgJNDSLCN8v2GI2VX9TcFsRUR_pLvC-eMDMX6QuRbJ6BX0aJ7M0vu1csqkBT22I-E/s320/goat.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tuesday 24th May <br />No quiz for me tonight. Seventh day of isolation. Weirdly, the last week has seemed like a never-ending Saturday afternoon to me. No beginning or end, just a long middle. Hard to believe the world is going on as usual outside my front gate. At least I'm saving a fortune in petrol -- which reminds me I should st</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">art the car tomorrow to make sure it hasn't carked it while I've been in quarantine. <br />*<br />I don't contribute to many of the on-line fundraisers like Kickstarter and Gofundme, but now and again I do succumb to temptation. Earlier this year I pledged a few bucks to a project that was bringing back into print new and old stories from August Derleth's famous Sherlock clone Solar Pons. Today I received via email THE NOVELLAS OF SOLAR PONS and a handful of new volumes like THE PAPERS OF SOLAR PONS and THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SOLAR PONS (not forgetting THE NECRONOMICON OF SOLAR PONS !). Enough e-books to keep me busy for months to come. *<br />Numerology isn't something that usually interests me. But it's hard not to be startled by this week's quiz night results. I went to two quiz nights in two days. Both times we came second in the final results, and both times we won a bottle of wine for solving the puzzle question on the second clue. Something felt strange about all that.<br />* <br />The new survey is out for radio listening in Hobart. As expected, the two big commercial FM stations are battling for the younger audience, but if you look at the numbers you will notice that the ABC picks up more and more listeners as the ages go up. By the time we get to the final column (65 and over) the public broadcaster scores an unbeatable 39.5% and only one of the commercial stations scores more than 1% ! <br />*<br />There are certain landmarks that show the progress of the seasons from summer to winter. First week you start wearing a jacket outside. First time you put on a beanie inside and outside. First time you get out the Ugg Boots (June 3rd this year). Next will be the first time you go searching for those gloves you wore last winter.<br />* <br />June 7th was a Tuesday. After checking the apparent temperature outside (2.5C) I was glad I didn't have to be out early. Dressed warmly before I went out to play croquet -- the weather forecast made it sound as though I needed to be prepared for rain, snow or hail but actually there was enough sunshine for one game.<br />And I was happy to be able to buy some Ozempic on the way home, after the pharmacist scrutinised my prescription to make sure I was a diabetic and not some hipster wanting to lose a few pounds before they tried out their new swimwear for next summer.<br />It is also cheering to get a reminder in the mail for your overdue water bill when you know you paid it last week! <br /><br />At the quiz night our numbers were down, so the folk at the Minerva's Disciples table adopted Caroline and I. But even our combined brainpower wasn't enough to defeat the unstoppable Jambag table and we finished second (again). And the Wednesday night quiz ... second again???<br />*<br />Routine visit to my GP. Signed my form for the Transport Department, gave me my flu shot and asked "Are you still taking the Ozempic injections?" "When I can get it," I replied. He gave a wry laugh. <br />*<br />The winter weather is setting in. Last night the wind was gusting and kept blowing my bedroom open. "How can I keep that closed?" I said to myself. <br />And a little voice in my head said "Put a box of books against it."<br />I said "Where can I find a box of books in my house?"<br />And the little voice laughed and laughed.... <br />*<br />We didn't do so well in the Wednesday night quiz, coming in fifth out of nine teams. But I was amused at the puzzle question they gave us tonight. The question was about a painting, and the first few lines of the clue were a vague description of it, followed by a passing mention that the artist had once been featured in a DOCTOR WHO story. The result -- five teams answered correctly after the first clue ! Including us, needless to say. ☺<br />*<br />I knew this would happen one day. I don't know the technical names, but I've noticed there are two sorts of goats -- ones whose horns grow backwards from their heads and ones whose horns grow sideways. My goat is the latter, so I'm always careful not to put my head down next to him. But ... a few minutes ago he was standing at the fence, waiting for his afternoon feed. As I leaned over to put the hay in his trough, he swung his head sideways and the tip of his horn whacked into my glasses, driving them into my cheek. Ouch!<br />What I fear is that it will leave a mark visible beneath my spectacles and if someone asks what happens, I'll have to relate the whole unlikely story. <br />Come to think of it, I am having trouble typing this. Could I have concussion??<br />*<br />My old laptop has been getting slower and slower - I think I've used it every day since the pandemic began - so I finally got round to setting up the new laptop I bought last year. It's been sitting in a box in the corner of my room, while I kept thinking "I must get round to that" every few weeks. One of the first things it did when I got it running was to update itself from Windows 10 to Windows 11. A bit different to what I'm used to, but I seem to have figured out most things. I suspect that I am having less trouble than a friend if mine will - he dropped his laptop and broke it, but one of his family has obtained a new laptop and is sending it to him. The only stumbling block for him may be that his old machine was still running on Windows 7.<br />*<br />We have had a few cold days this winter but not as bad as some years. Usually by the shortest day I am shivering and complaining about the rains, mud and snow. The other day I went to the Croquet Club and by the time we got into the second game it was bright and sunny, motivating me to discard my scarf and beanie for the rest of the game.<br />Some years at this time the grass is very thin and anemic, while the lawn we were playing on this week was like a very large piece of green carpet.<br />*<br />So true. "<i>Nothing is as it was</i>."<br />Linda Mottram on ABC Radio's THIS WEEK June 25th.<br /><br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-89937765447443565382022-06-20T11:16:00.001+10:002022-06-20T11:16:41.799+10:00Quarantined !<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTG_CJc0E2ld3s-StzCOtXHQ8vAMvgYpvkYyFftD4hfMdWraf_HzCAUaUdxe0TixPYsIxOpSuZTFfCRvQ3-Qq1BcCOysSTtMyUCktb6z46M-YVR_3srE9YHulfDnbclEeLHKahXW1klBxu5CXnprRiPIS9pSHlxp2A3dD5b_xbySFy0TwFjo0/s1280/spanish%20flu%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTG_CJc0E2ld3s-StzCOtXHQ8vAMvgYpvkYyFftD4hfMdWraf_HzCAUaUdxe0TixPYsIxOpSuZTFfCRvQ3-Qq1BcCOysSTtMyUCktb6z46M-YVR_3srE9YHulfDnbclEeLHKahXW1klBxu5CXnprRiPIS9pSHlxp2A3dD5b_xbySFy0TwFjo0/s320/spanish%20flu%203.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I guess it had to happen sooner or later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Yesterday they were 1,075 new cases of Covid in Tasmania. 1,076 if you count me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">All last week I was sneezing and snuffling, then at the weekend I grew progressively more tired -- the sort of feeling where you spend ten hours in bed but don't feel rested. A friend convinced me I should use that Rapid Antigen Test kit I bought last month, so I got it out, read the instructions and tried it. You know what it said, I think.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The Public Healthline told me I'd have to isolate for seven days. If I didn't feel better by then, give it another three days. I didn't think that would bother me, but there's a big difference between "Monday, stayed home all day" and "Monday, had to stay home all day."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Ironically, on Saturday density and capacity limits were removed from all settings and premises, including events, shops, cafes, restaurants and lifts. Not that this will concern me for now! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Saturday - fourth day of isolation. After a few days of feeling "blah", I started to feel a bit better Saturday morning, as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I no longer felt like crawling back into bed every couple of hours. It was fine and sunny so I actually ate lunch in the backyard after I voted by phone. That went off without any problems, helped perhaps by the fact I'd done my homework the day before and had my preferences written down in advance. (And the candidate I voted for got elected, so that was good.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The day after the election. Mr Albanese went out for coffee Sunday morning and was mobbed by the press, not surprisingly. What I noticed was he had his dog with him. When was the last time we had a Prime Minister who appeared in public with his dog? I can't remember one. It somehow makes the new PM seem more human and relatable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> Last week's quiz nights ranged from good to mediocre. A lot depended on the human factor, it seems. For Tuesday night, we were invited to join Minerva's Disciples at the next table (2+3=5). We did pretty well and finished in second place.. It was a good night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Wednesday night saw the return of the Barnstoneworth team after a long absence. They were always unbeatable last year, and they ran right over the top of everyone this week. Wherever they've been lately, they've kept in practice; we came second-last.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">A haiku to my EFTPOS card:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <i>Those glowing letters </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i> bring an end to your shopping</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i> "Insufficient Funds."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Every time I accidentally see some of the Montreal comedy festival on television I can't believe how awful it is. The presenter comes out every few minutes and swears at the audience. And they laugh, even when he tells them how ignorant and stupid Canadians are. I guess I'm not in the target audience. My ideas about humor and comedy were laid down in the 1950s and 1960s. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">* </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">These shorter days are messing with my head. Sunday afternoon after being out for lunch I thought I'd lie down and read for a while. I nodded off and when I woke up it was dark outside. My watch said it was 5:30 but it took me some time to work out if it was Sunday evening or Monday morning. In the end I realized I had only been asleep for an hour, not twelve hours. So I made something for dinner, watched some TV while I ate and went off to bed. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Sadly, last week we said goodbye to Apollo, the last of the geese. The gaggle from Julie's house have long since been rehoused at a farm up past New Norfolk, but Apollo had grown up here so I gave him a home until he got so old he'd obviously come to the end of his life. I shall miss him. It took a few days to get used to not hearing him whuffling in the distance when I go out to feed the chickens in the morning. Goodby goosie 😔</span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-65830590647273719162022-05-12T19:56:00.000+10:002022-05-12T19:56:31.808+10:00water, water everywhere <p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVYxzYE4XQUU2tpaqn3O65wofEXqRSX4DaMxtQe8-TooxVUNQZdDqm1cu5U4YnAqBSq1a0BMFM8nvzVB85OIz3MgewisPbJUUf6pGokD3IgEmh0rhd7J411ScAGfY1IwZLsjjzHuvSTYdm-3lQ5J4vJtPwh-BQ3s4nhqLoVUAxJO0yv4q-Ec/s510/flood%202022%20hobart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="510" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVYxzYE4XQUU2tpaqn3O65wofEXqRSX4DaMxtQe8-TooxVUNQZdDqm1cu5U4YnAqBSq1a0BMFM8nvzVB85OIz3MgewisPbJUUf6pGokD3IgEmh0rhd7J411ScAGfY1IwZLsjjzHuvSTYdm-3lQ5J4vJtPwh-BQ3s4nhqLoVUAxJO0yv4q-Ec/s320/flood%202022%20hobart.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">March 13th</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Drove down to Sandy Bay for an hour involving sexual immorality, lust, greed and filthy language. Next week we plan to study the <u>rest</u> of chapter 3 of St. Paul's letter to the Colossians.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">March 20th Tuesday I went out and played (badly) one game of croquet. In the evening, there were only two of us on the team at the quiz night. Even fortified with alcohol and pain-killers we fared badly on some rounds, adequately on others, and finished in fourth place. (The winners, as usual, were Jambag with 91/110) But we won a bottle of wine for solving the puzzle question on the second clue. One team member who was sick at home asked how we did it and (channeling Joe Friday) I told her "I just played a hunch. It was just a hunch. I played my luck; sometimes a hunch pays off, sometimes it doesn't, I was just lucky, I just played a hunch." She replied "Your hunches are the stuff of legend." I rather like that; I might get Anita to put it on my tombstone.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I spent most of Wednesday resting at home but it didn't help my performance at the quiz night. Not only did we fail to finish in the money, I scored 2/10 for the TV & Cinema round -- possibly my worst score in memory. I think the problem may be that more and more questions are things like "Name the Marvel super-hero that this actor will be starring as later this year on Disney+." I am flummoxed.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Two months till the solstice but Thursday morning I could feel the first sting of winter in the morning air. The sun broke through just as I was feeding the chickens so maybe it wasn't so bad for the rest if the day. Bought more feed for the poultry this week. I notice they seem to be using twice as much water as they did last year; I suspect I'm watering a lot of birds and small mammals without knowing it. As long as this doesn't include rats - rats can bugger off.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I seem to be drinking more coffee this year too. Not that it does much good. Yesterday I had several cups of coffee and still dozed off twice during the day, once before lunch and once after lunch. I keep promising myself I'll go back to having afternoon naps. Maybe I should actually do it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">This year I kept running out of space on my laptop hard drive. With one thing and another I have accumulated a lot of radio show downloads on my laptop, so I buckled down to move all my 2021 downloads onto my external drive. It took me a while. I had 133 GB. Yikes!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Played two games of croquet on a fine Tuesday afternoon then had a rest before going out to the quiz night. Caroline and I represented the team at this week's quiz and we started off the evening by winning a bottle of champagne for solving the puzzle question after the first clue. The quiz master looked a little surprised when she looked at our answer sheet and said "That's right." Things took an unexpected turn when a waiter appeared at our table with a piece of cake and said "Is this your birthday?" Following this, the whole restaurant sang "Happy Birthday to you". I have a good idea who was responsible for this. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The end of the evening saw us finish third, with our friendly rivals Minerva's Disciples actually beating us to come in second.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The following night, we had a complete team at the Wednesday quiz night for the first time this year, I think. I wasn't much use in the puzzle question (which was about elements) because I got myself mixed up between Platinum and Palladium, and Lisa eventually came up with the correct answer. But I did get to give a sardonic chuckle when the last question in the movie round asked what was the actual meaning of Rosebud in CITIZEN KANE's ending; I said "<u>This</u> will separate the men from the boys in movie trivia!" </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I think we came fourth out of seven teams, with 78 points, nothing to be ashamed of.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">May 3rd - Tuesday was a peculiar sort of afternoon. I went over to the Croquet Club and played a couple of games; during the second one, we were followed around the lawn by a ride-on mower that cut the grass on whichever part of the lawn we weren't actually playing on. A little distracting. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">When I came home, I found a note from the RSPCA telling me my goose couldn't walk. Well, sometimes he can and sometimes he can't. I left them a message and sent them a photo I took last month of the goose standing on his own two feet.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Just before I left for the Quiz Night, I received a text message from the water company telling me there were urgent repairs being done in my street and they hoped to have the water turned on again by 10.30 tonight. That explained the mass of lights at the end of my street when I drove off.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The quiz was quite normal though. We came in third with 70 points, behind Walt Quizney who won with 80 points. Jambag? They were taking the night off apparently.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">At least there were two issues of THE NEW YORKER in the mailbox today.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">May 5th. Thursday was proof that sometimes the weather bureau gets it right. For about 24 hours they'd been issuing warnings about severe weather conditions Thursday night and Friday. Coming back from the monthly meeting in the church hall, it started to drizzle before I caught the bus home. By the time I reached my house it was raining lightly. Then it got heavier. I moved all the stuff in the back room off the ground just in case. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">After dinner it was coming down pretty hard. I put on my raincoat and went out to check on the drain in the driveway, which was slow to get rid of the water. I got one of the hoses and with some trouble set up a siphon to take away some of the lake that was rapidly forming. Felt tired after half an hour on my hands and knees in the rain with my head in the gully trap and had to rest for a while before I went to bed. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Then I was woken three hours later by a tremendous display of thunder and lightning. The rain poured down, but there was nothing I could do except pull the covers over my head and hope the siphon kept running.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The next morning the rain had almost stopped and I warily opened the back door, bracing myself for a lake lapping at the back steps. Praise be, the water was not even enough to fill a small pond. There were plenty of signs where the water had been, though. It's a good thing that years ago I changed from cardboard cartons to plastic crates for storing my stuff. (Friends dropped in that afternoon and were horrified by the water damage; I guess I had been preparing for the worst, so it didn't seem so bad to me)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Tuesday the plumber came bright and early to flush out the blocked drains. Second time in 25 years we've had to do this, so I guess we can't complain. And since it was fine and sunny today I went over to play croquet in the afternoon. Usually I can get through a game in an hour, but not today -- it took us an incredible 45 minutes just to get past hoop #3. I thought of going home after we finally got hoop #12, but in the end I stayed for another (more normal) game.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Ironically the people in one suburb are without water because of a burst water-main, while the rest of the city are drying out carpets and repairing storm damage. There's never a happy medium !</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-22720719509032319602022-04-12T23:12:00.001+10:002022-04-12T23:12:41.015+10:00I'm spinning around, move out of my way<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_jtlFhbLcO_zmSU3LrcTWdLP7InmzbMeLX8uIWwqoJ3mD6w0EBKtEqWvPWbJwTwjoBGJSEpJzNuKR5xy_BJSshyHvx_FkRNB0_QkfOflRZA3t1Opf1DuHW81cQaeSxkMQXh-ZUdhbQV8dMShH8qVdyge_LOXWR22SU2C-Nfbu4uLFAC9MlM/s979/IMG_2360%20nerines%202022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_jtlFhbLcO_zmSU3LrcTWdLP7InmzbMeLX8uIWwqoJ3mD6w0EBKtEqWvPWbJwTwjoBGJSEpJzNuKR5xy_BJSshyHvx_FkRNB0_QkfOflRZA3t1Opf1DuHW81cQaeSxkMQXh-ZUdhbQV8dMShH8qVdyge_LOXWR22SU2C-Nfbu4uLFAC9MlM/s320/IMG_2360%20nerines%202022.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The Nerines that my mother planted many years ago came out into flower last week. They keep such a low profile during the rest of the year I almost forget they are there, but every year I think of her when they suddenly erupt into colour.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">8th March</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Tuesday the usual stuff. After lunch, went to the Croquet Club and played a couple of games. Lost both but made some good shots in the second game so I wasn't unhappy. Read the latest issue of <i>New Scientist</i> weekly while transferring 6GB of old radio shows off my laptop -- anything to avoid the dreaded message "Download failed; disk full".</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Not a lot at the quiz tonight. We came second with 79 points, while Jambag romped home with 95/110. And we (ahem) won the bottle of wine for guessing the puzzle question on the first clue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">18 March</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Why am I suddenly experiencing dizzy spells again? Friday I came back from a Morning Tea in Sandy Bay feeling fine. I had a bit of a nap after lunch and when I got up, the room seemed to be spinning a bit. I walked around the bed to put something away and I just went down (ka-thump!). No injuries but the plastic crate I landed on will never be the same again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">First attack of vertigo I've had for years. Let's not go down that path again!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Haiku for the feline: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Cats are like the clouds,</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Ever changing and graceful, </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>No two quite alike. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Dedicated to Olivia, who sat on my knee until I finished writing this.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Not all crime involves computers even in 2022. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">In Tasmania the newly-elected Mayor of New Norfolk was notified that somebody had stolen the 300 plants the Council had used to decorate the entrance to the township. Meanwhile over in Melbourne, thieves scaled the Mission To Seafarers building and made off with the copper weather-vane that had graced the roof for a hundred years. 😒</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">SUNRISE OVER THE CROQUET LAWN, </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">A HAIKU [2017]</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Ready for the game</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Blue, red, black and yellow orbs; </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>The white hoops await.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">After church, I was talking to a friend who used to be a nurse. I told her about my vertigo and she said "Before you get up in the morning, sit on the edge of your bed, take a deep breath and wiggle your toes." OK, I haven't heard that one before. Maybe I'll try it -- heck, you don't even need a prescription.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Felt really tired when I got home. I made some lunch, read the Sunday comics in the paper then went back to bed. I must have slept for two or three hours. I woke up in the middle of a very involved dream -- I was back in the 1970s and I was trying to watch a movie on TV with one eye while trying to arbitrate in a disagreement between my mother and sister. In the background, Julie's pets were running around while a selection of pots and pans were cooking on the stove. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I got up and made myself a strong cup of coffee.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Only played one game of croquet on Tuesday. The warm sunny weather was a bit much for me and when I left the club I took refuge in the air-conditioned comfort of the local supermarket for a while before I went home. I answered some messages about a book someone was trying to sell me, then went out to the quiz night.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Not our greatest result, which wasn't surprising. The only round we had a really good score in was the final one of the night. The puzzle question was about an American football star so none of the clues meant anything to us (who knew Tom Brady was married to a supermodel who makes more than he does?). From memory, we came seventh and our friendly rivals Minerva's Disciples came fifth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Jambag won again, but from next week they'll be handicapped five points for every time they win. There is still hope for us! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Wednesday I stayed in during the day. I took a nap after lunch, but it didn't help much because I woke up abruptly thinking "What day is it? Is it morning or evening? Where am I supposed to be?" I calmed down after a bit, had a late lunch and did some work on the laptop. In the evening, went out to the Wednesday night pub quiz. The first round was remarkable because every team got a perfect score - fairly simple questions about recipes. After that things didn't go so well and there were a lot of questions where we thought we knew the answers but didn't. And the round about movie theme music was cancelled because the sound system was on the blink! So we ended up in fourth place. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Yeah, there were only five teams.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">So I had to send out this message #sigh#</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">DO NOT OPEN ANY YOU TUBE LINK SUPPOSEDLY SENT BY ME. My Facebook friends list has been hacked and somebody is sending out "look what I found" messages which require you to give your FB password. In a word: DON'T !</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Back in the days of black-and-white television there were two series titled SPACE PATROL, one on each side of the Atlantic. I remember the British series created by Roberta Leigh, was a puppet show unlike the live action American show. It was surprisingly sophisticated for a children's program and I remember it fondly. So I was intrigued to discover that someone has colorized a few episodes of it and put them on You Tube. The colour makes the rather smudgy recordings a bit more distinct and helps us enjoy the adventures of Larry Dart and his gyroscope-shaped space ship. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=F_GHB0z83vM">youtube.com/watch?v=F_GHB0z83vM</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The meaning of words changes over the years. Glancing at a catalog this week, I noticed a page of "gaming essentials" featuring high-tech computer equipment. A century ago this would probably have been a page of roulette wheels, cards and poker chips. (And let's not think about what the "Jack Adapter" might have been....)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The modern world has some small advantages. My room is at the back of the house, so whenever somebody brings a parcel to the front door and rings the bell, they're always taking it back to the truck by the time I get there. This week I got a text to alert me that a package I'd ordered would be delivered that day between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. It was a nice morning, so before lunch I dragged one of my chairs out into the driveway and sat out in the sun. I had my little transistor radio and sat there listening to the 'Conversations' show (hard to believe that Hanna Gadsby was already a successful stand-up comedian before she was diagnosed as being autistic).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Half an hour later I saw the postal van drive up to my house. I had time to get down the driveway and appear on the footpath while the driver was still getting my item out of his vehicle. Much more satisfactory than all that running for the front door, hoping to get there before they drive off.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">August Derleth may have died in 1971 but he obviously still has plenty of fans. One publisher last year successfully ran a crowd funding campaign to reprint his Solar Pons stories, loving imitations of Sherlock Holmes he began writing in 1929. This year they started another campaign to fund a follow-up volume THE NOVELLAS OF SOLAR PONS. There are 17 days to go and they are already over-subscribed 800%. Zowie ! 😲</span></p><p><br /></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-6881533040206525642022-03-08T00:43:00.001+11:002022-03-08T00:43:15.630+11:00Going to hell in a handbasket?<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfAM8Xgu3QqvNvNlgEW-7Rd3E97VhUdjR0ha0_vmAdlWhVQY82UeRRaFNhkB5IDn4IJlc7VRfCiBT1INDnyMl3CYISGdXmyQmJxzZryBbWhIJTIEC0sw7GFfqrubK2uF0oiNHzkC5WIBxIQFWPN2gV2ze_hx7w9J6dBISoOR9aICX27vPzEKE=s979" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfAM8Xgu3QqvNvNlgEW-7Rd3E97VhUdjR0ha0_vmAdlWhVQY82UeRRaFNhkB5IDn4IJlc7VRfCiBT1INDnyMl3CYISGdXmyQmJxzZryBbWhIJTIEC0sw7GFfqrubK2uF0oiNHzkC5WIBxIQFWPN2gV2ze_hx7w9J6dBISoOR9aICX27vPzEKE=s320" width="240" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I saw him get out </span><span style="text-align: left;">but how did he get in there?</span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Every now and again I read the Bible from the lectern at my local church. Invariably I have people telling me afterwards how well I did. I tell you this not so you know what a fine fellow I am, but because I wondered last time whether it might be related to my interest in vintage radio. As a member of the last pre-television generation, I have always been a fan of "the wireless" and I wonder if my mind is more strongly focussed on the human voice and what it can do. I'm not saying I think "I'll read this in William Conrad's voice" or "What would Orson Welles do with this?". But maybe I'm a little more open to reading a piece of text and deciding where to put the emphasis and how to mould the text into more effective vocal pieces.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">And I enjoy it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">February 22nd was a Tuesday, so for me that means croquet and quizzes. The first game at the Croquet Club I started off mediocre then improved. After the coffee break, my second game was ... not good. (How do you spell abysmal?) At one stage I couldn't hit the ball straight, even after my fellow players gave me a second and then a third try at it!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Rested for an hour before I went out to the quiz night and it seemed to help a bit. Everybody was baffled by the puzzle question this week and round after round went by with nobody identifying the who-am-I person. Finally, something rang a bell in the clue about having a pet ocelot and my wife being his manager. "Salvador Dali," I wrote down. "Correct!" said the quiz master, handing me a bottle of wine for being the first person to solve the puzzle.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">We came in at second place with 75 points. The winners, as usual, were the folk at the next table who sail under the name Jambag.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">I knew this was going to happen. I went out to check the mail box and there were a dozen copies of the weekly magazine THE NEW YORKER from last year. Had been wondering when they were going to turn up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Haiku for a pussycat: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Eyes shut, body still;</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>The true meaning of "cat nap"</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Plain for all to see.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Pleased to notice I seem to be regaining control of my handwriting. At the end of last year, I noticed that it was getting pretty bad. I debated whether it was due to old age, lack of practice or the first signs of some degenerative disease. Not that I'm a hypochondriac, you understand!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Haiku for an organist:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Racing finger work</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>and flying feet producing</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>the thunder of pipes.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Saturday was a truly autumnal day (the end of February in Australia signals the transition from Summer to Autumn); dark and damp most of the day. I woke up early, and had my morning coffee listening to the morning news show on ABC radio -- half devoted to the Queensland floods, the other half to the war in Ukraine. Not a cheery start to the day. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">After venturing out into the mud to feed the animals, I made lunch and listened to the podcast of last week's <i>This American Life</i>, which interviewed three people personally affected by climate change. By this time I was feeling so pessimistic I sent money to the first two charities I saw who were sending aid to Ukraine and felt a tad better.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Haiku for a nuclear test 03 October 1952:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>Earth moves and skies split. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>The planet groans and shudders </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><i>at Monte Bello. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Maybe after 2022 things will get better. I hope so.</span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-63002499670622859792022-01-06T19:19:00.000+11:002022-01-06T19:19:20.943+11:00Computer writes short story<p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Can machines write fiction? I put in some names and adjectives into a Fiction Generator. This is what I got:<br /><br /> <i>Understanding Steven Willis<br />A Short Story</i><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Steven Willis had always loved calm Hobart with its obedient, odd op shops. It was a place where he felt pleased.<br /><br />He was an understanding, courageous, Gin drinker with chubby hands and tall eyes. His friends saw him as a regurgitated, resonant recluse. Once, he had even helped a scrawny cat recover from a flying accident. That's the sort of man he was.<br /><br />Steven walked over to the window and reflected on his quiet surroundings. The sunny teased like rummaging rats.<br /><br />Then he saw something in the distance, or rather someone. It was the figure of Keith Curtis. Keith was a tight-fisted collector with old hands and bearded eyes.<br /><br />Steven gulped. He was not prepared for Keith.<br /><br />As Steven stepped outside and Keith came closer, he could see the successful smile on his face.<br /><br />Keith gazed with the affection of 2656 clumsy handsome horses. He said, in hushed tones, "I love you and I want assistance."<br /><br />Steven looked back, even more ecstatic and still fingering the pristine backpack. "Keith, take it easy," he replied.<br /><br />They looked at each other with uncertain feelings, like two cheerful, clear cockatoos searching at a very splendid book sale, which had K-Pop music playing in the background and two generous uncles researching to the beat.<br /><br />Suddenly, Keith lunged forward and tried to punch Steven in the face. Quickly, Steven grabbed the pristine backpack and brought it down on Keith's skull.<br /><br />Keith's old hands trembled and his bearded eyes wobbled. He looked acquisitive, his emotions raw like a salty, selfish sunglasses.<br /><br />Then he let out an agonizing groan and collapsed onto the ground. Moments later Keith Curtis was dead.<br /><br />Steven Willis went back inside and made himself a nice drink of Gin.<br />THE END <br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Not exactly <i>War and Peace</i>, is it? </span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-76857357415773414422021-12-24T15:00:00.000+11:002021-12-24T15:00:21.816+11:00Season's Greetings<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPnSHI4IFcUnpP-yODmwoX0L44VEwk193xqbi_1-HbctSJZHFc1fh6Iy6M6W3g1TJNsWM7x7ryjWwQKvyQf0OJhFGgB_eCpdCJ-Nrnwy8WMbItkEFwD82HePIzU3YcL46gns7iFzSjDJNfJM72aVH8D-rA7VgLfCPEfpN4M7OuA1VVNn7FZ9I=s489" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="489" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPnSHI4IFcUnpP-yODmwoX0L44VEwk193xqbi_1-HbctSJZHFc1fh6Iy6M6W3g1TJNsWM7x7ryjWwQKvyQf0OJhFGgB_eCpdCJ-Nrnwy8WMbItkEFwD82HePIzU3YcL46gns7iFzSjDJNfJM72aVH8D-rA7VgLfCPEfpN4M7OuA1VVNn7FZ9I=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> It's Christmas Eve -- again? The year seems to have flown by, not helped by my effectively losing two m0nths out of the year while I had my cataract surgery. That made the year feel shorter (for me anyway). I have become used to my new glasses, though I have yet to make a dent in the To Be Read pile that built up while I was having problems reading much at all. <br /><br />Neither have I done anything about the garden. My friendly local goatherd brought down one of the goats I had last summer (Mr Snuggles) and he's been useful in the backyard. One day I was looking at a head-high stand of weeds in the back garden and thought we'd probably have to get in there and slash them. Two mornings later I went out to feed the livestock and the weeds had been reduced to a bare row of stalks. Well done Mr Snuggles.<br /><br />I seem to have lost a little weight this year. A combination of changing some of my medications, and spending several weeks doing a lot of walking while I wasn't able to drive. One of my friends actually told me she thought I was losing too much weight, but I'll believe that when I get rid of this spare tire.<br /><br />Living without any cats took a bit of getting used to this year. I was asked if I would get another cat, but at my time of life it's a question that takes some considering. Would it be fair to either of us if I took in one or more felines? The jury is still out on that one.<br /><br />We have been a bit spoiled in Tasmania by less stringent Covid precautions -- being an island has its advantages. It was only this month that masks were made mandatory again after the borders were re-opened to travel (even though 90% of adults are vaccinated in this state). I was at the supermarket early today for a couple of last minute items and the car park was filled with people wearing dark glasses and masks; it looked like the annual meeting of the Witness Protection Scheme.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I feel grateful for the support given by family, friends and the wider community over this last two years. I extend to all my very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year -- surely 2022 <u>must</u> be better !</span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-30981663192547527672021-12-20T18:47:00.001+11:002021-12-20T18:47:05.960+11:00"Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”– Walter Hagen<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxgxZ_LvOZE8rsKVQE1sLGlRdyZELaY_yRyRAmtiENh6Q2ngn1JdoJ5qq2z8A0PoUCYglNGtIaUpBV6QEd7bC6zg7a1fw6ekHuAManPJdqjrc7W-wV-kdfzgJB6CuIg4HwlDEqRWi1jmsxQmfeLuHJ1YwxcECNhGulSLr8C6N4FLr9Me_Hdoc=s1306" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1306" data-original-width="979" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxgxZ_LvOZE8rsKVQE1sLGlRdyZELaY_yRyRAmtiENh6Q2ngn1JdoJ5qq2z8A0PoUCYglNGtIaUpBV6QEd7bC6zg7a1fw6ekHuAManPJdqjrc7W-wV-kdfzgJB6CuIg4HwlDEqRWi1jmsxQmfeLuHJ1YwxcECNhGulSLr8C6N4FLr9Me_Hdoc=s320" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Nov 5th <br />Today would have been my sister's wedding anniversary. This is a story I don't think I've told before. When Julie was planning her wedding she was wondering what to do about decorating her hair. I happened to mention that I always liked her look when she came in from feeding her animals with bits of elderflower blossom through her hair. She seized on the idea and the wedding was scheduled for a time when they would be in flower. I think of this every time I see the elderflowers in my back yard blooming. They are in flower now, and I remember Julie every time I walk by them. <br /><br />Nov 16th<br />Well, things turned out OK today. The weather stayed fine enough for us to get in two games of croquet today, and in the first game both I and Gina (my opponent) were playing extremely well. I lost on the tie-breaker but we were both exhilarated because we had made so many great shots. <br />Then at the Tuesday night quiz, we started off well and scored a consistent 7/10 or 8/10 for every round except the last one. This resulted in us winning the night for the first time in months. <br />Not bad. Not bad at all.<br /><br />Nov 17th<br />The Bocce Club has been pretty lucky the last few weeks but it couldn't last. It was drizzling when I went out to buy drugs this afternoon, and by the time I got back from the pharmacy it had progressed to light rain. Stayed home and settled in to wait for Doctor Who "Flux" on ABC television.<br /><br />Nov 22nd<br />For the last three months I have been wondering when we'd get any more episodes of the weekly radio show <i>One Nostalgic Weekend</i>. Wonder no more! Twelve hours ago, WON posted thirteen episodes on-line at Mixcloud. That's a lot of listening to catch up with. (You could probably get through them in about 24 hours of non-stop listening -- shades of Jack Bauer.)<br /><br />Nov 28th<br />Listening to "The Mystery of Edelweiss Lodge", a Sherlock Holmes radio play, I found myself in the unusual position of spotting the murderer for the wrong reason. The murder had been committed using cyanide, and one of the characters had a background as a gold prospector. Knowing that cyanide was used in gold mining, I immediately suspected him. Alas, it turned out that while he was the murderer, his life as a prospector was only a cover story. Holmes would have shaken his head at my ham-fisted attempt at deduction.<br /><br />Dec 7th <br />I thought of the famous PUNCH cartoon "I keep thinking it's Tuesday" when I woke up this morning and was convinced for some time it was Sunday morning. I eventually sorted myself out and arrived at the Croquet Club punctually for my Tuesday afternoon game. Weather was a bit on-and-off but I was surprised when I arrived home just before it hailed for ten minutes. It wasn't too bad, but it was enough to scare the goose out of the driveway and under the carport.<br /><br />Dec 12th<br />After a busy few days, finished up the week at church this morning. Communion service after a spirited sermon by Alistair, who drew on his legal background to expound on a passage from Psalm 146. A guest speaker told us movingly about the important role foster parents can have in the life of a child. Later I purchased some Christmas cards designed by one of our members, raising money for foreign aid (fresh water for two villages: one in India and the other in Ethiopia, Bible teaching material in Timor Leste and a new classroom for Orbus, Malawi). I am sorry to hear that the evening service is being put on hold for the duration. I didn't attend it myself, but I know that years ago it was a gathering place for the younger members of the congregation.<br />*<br />Who says soap operas are a waste of time? I was at a quiz night last week and one of the questions was "What name is used in England for the board name Americans call CLUE?" I had to smile, because just that afternoon I had been listening to an episode of <i>The Archers </i>and three of the main characters had been playing CLUEDO. One point for us.<br />*<br />At the final quiz night for the year, we did better than expected. There were nine teams, and we came in second with 83 points, just a point behind Walt Quizney. Noteworthy quizzing from Minerva's Disciples who got a perfect score on one of their double points rounds. And since we were eating up our prize money from this year, I ordered a Porterhouse Steak, something that I would never do normally (and very good it was too).<br />*<br /> <b> SKYWAVE AUDIO THEATRE</b> <span style="font-size: large;">March 13 2021</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My Favorite Husband - The Quiz Show 3/18/1949</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Boston Blackie - Sam Fisher’s Past 3/13/1947<br />Fort Laramie - Hattie Pelfrey 3/11/1956<br />Escape - The Log of the Evening Star 3/14/1948<br />Suspense - Narrative about Clarence 3/16/1944</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The Weird Circle - The Specter of Tappington 3/11/1944</span><br />Lots of great listening here; I had never heard any of these episodes before.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFprKAgFOPQIfz-GCxzWd7vS3iwiOtncwZpmj6Mfc7tzIWo-o6eRI1iqHl8dWEuyLSOMK2_6-XFurjK1qOj3Kl1MYZ95Wut0uoTtq_RjpCu3EpP_LDpMUbfcdpSii5wHCYpsHtA8_XwuarQVNbE9MmeicVODzboXNZ5Q-xlTIDrOME4tLOXCY=s599" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="599" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFprKAgFOPQIfz-GCxzWd7vS3iwiOtncwZpmj6Mfc7tzIWo-o6eRI1iqHl8dWEuyLSOMK2_6-XFurjK1qOj3Kl1MYZ95Wut0uoTtq_RjpCu3EpP_LDpMUbfcdpSii5wHCYpsHtA8_XwuarQVNbE9MmeicVODzboXNZ5Q-xlTIDrOME4tLOXCY=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-20187137056956212552021-11-30T16:41:00.000+11:002021-11-30T16:41:07.869+11:00Cup Day dining<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> I saw Noel Coward's play "Blithe Spirit" again recently. I had forgotten that the name of the [spoilers] dead wife who comes back to life is Elvira. Some of her dialogue would fit well with "our Elvira" too. I wonder if the Coward estate would be interested in licensing a production where Elvira plays Elvira ??<br />*<br />So the nurse comes in and says to the patient "Your insurance doesn't cover the cost of a general anaesthetic. These are your two options: I can hit you over the head with this wooden paddle or you can sniff this old medicine bottle. Which would you prefer?"<br />The patient frowns and says "Can I have both?"<br />"No, it's an Ether/Oar choice," she replies. :)<br />*<br />Oct 26th<br />This morning one of those tiresome survey-takers phoned and wanted to ask me questions about charities. While she worked through her list of questions, delivered with almost inhuman cheerfulness, I started to wonder how easy it would be to program a computer with every possible answer I might give. Were those pauses after every question her noting down my response or was it the system switching to a new pathway? Finally I asked her if she was a human being or an AI. She laughed and said "You think I'm a machine? No, I'm not."<br />But of course that's just what they would say, isn't it?<br />*<br />Warm and sunny at the Croquet Club this afternoon. I had wondered last night if it would rain on us, but the sun beat down on us all day. It took us three hours to play two games but our team triumphed, winning 7-5 and 7-3. I muffed a couple of shots at the start but got my eye in later. As Rod Serling would have said "There is a Twilight Zone that lies between the knowledge of what to do and the ability to do it..."<br />*<br />Tuesday night quiz we finished in 6th place I think, one point ahead of Minerva’s disciples on 68. Jambag won again with 80 points.<br />The following evening we were in fifth place with 78 points, while Barnstoneworth course) won with an eye-watering 99/110 <br />But it was worth going if only for the slow-cooked lamb from the Beltana which was truly memorable. (And the cute girl sitting on the other side of the restaurant, a feast for my new eyes - but I fear I might have received a negative answer if I had asked "Do you think fifty years is too great an age difference when dating?")<br /><br />Oct 29th<br />The River Derwent at Macquarie Plains is currently at 1.75 metres and rising. The River Derwent at Macquarie Plains is expected to exceed the minor flood level (4.00 m) early Saturday morning. The river level is likely to peak near the moderate flood level (5.00 metres) late Saturday morning.<br />Minor flooding is likely along the River Derwent around New Norfolk.<br />The River Derwent at New Norfolk is currently at 0.88 metres and steady. The River Derwent at New Norfolk may exceed the minor flood level (2.00 m) late Saturday morning. The river level is likely to peak near 2.10 metres early Saturday afternoon with the high tide.<br /><br />Nov 2nd<br />First Tuesday in November: Melbourne Cup day "the race that stops a nation". We joined a room full of folks at the Black Buffalo Hotel for lunch and some entertainment before the big race at 3 o'clock. My horse was unfortunately scratched early - he didn't make it to the starting gate, much less the finish line.<br />One amusing incident took place at the lunch table. My friend Mick is a meat and potatoes man -- literally! He told the waiter he wanted no other vegetables with his meal. His food arrived while he was getting some drinks and I noticed big serves of cauliflower and broccoli on his plate. I hastily transferred the broccoli to my plate and the cauli to our mutual friend Adrian's plate. Mick returned a moment later while we were calmly tucking into our vegetables and he was none the wiser!<br /><br />Nov 3rd<br />The Tuesday Night quiz was a non-event because we didn't have enough people to field a team. Wednesday we had a team, but after a good start (got 9 points on the puzzle question and a perfect score on the food & drink round) we crashed and burned in the second half, finishing 9th in a 10-horse race. Oh well, surely we cannot do any worse next week ... can we?<br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-77805011668770811412021-10-23T13:30:00.001+11:002021-10-23T13:30:34.237+11:00Spring has sprung<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Even the Banksia Rose thinks Spring has arrived.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbPVxybbNkgA1T6ugFfS9A1i9jcUc1rtEfpactIJqZjkvVWQ8frMbY8C5YAHeHVErfa2P63IeogLbmcDVyXpRp6R3BDfLAb0MXq1qEbw8VCDh8pso_wDU4t0V4QRJ__m5FbdsTw/s2048/Banksie+rose+2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbPVxybbNkgA1T6ugFfS9A1i9jcUc1rtEfpactIJqZjkvVWQ8frMbY8C5YAHeHVErfa2P63IeogLbmcDVyXpRp6R3BDfLAb0MXq1qEbw8VCDh8pso_wDU4t0V4QRJ__m5FbdsTw/w300-h400/Banksie+rose+2021.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sunday 2nd October<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Welcome<br />Opening Verses<br />1. Rejoice 51 Holy, Holy Holy - Organ<br />Prayer of Confession<br />2. Rejoice 251 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say - Organ<br />Community News<br />Prayer Meeting<br />Friends of Mission: Speaker Geoff Powell of Barnabas Fund<br />Kids Talk - James</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Pastoral Prayer - Jasmin<br />3. Holy Spirit Living Breath of God - piano<br />Bible Reading - Isaiah 32 & Luke 7:18-35 - Michael <br />Sermon: Hope and Despair for Planet Earth - Alistair<br />4. Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me - piano<br />Closing Verses<br />5. The Steadfast Love of the Lord - piano<br /></span><br />After church, 50th anniversary concert of the Theatre Organ Society's local branch today. A good crowd turned up to the Collegiate school hall to see the Wurlitzer being played, to welcome guests including Chris Waterhouse, to watch awards being presented and to hear messages from people overseas like Nigel Ogden and Simon Gledhill. I was sorry to hear that Alan Rider has passed away -- his long-running radio show Theatre Organ Showcase was a useful outlet for promoting TOSA for many years.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Oct 5th<br />Tuesday the Croquet Club wasn't quite as busy in the afternoon, possibly due to an indifferent weather forecast; in spite of that I spent most of the day in a short sleeve shirt. First time I remember playing on a lawn 15 minutes after it had been mowed though.<br />Went in to pick up some office supplies that I hadn't been able to get when I was off the road for two months. There are some things you just can't carry home on the bus.<br />The quiz night this week wasn't a great success. The puzzle question was particularly elusive, and some of the other rounds were mediocre [1/10 for music for example]. We finished up with 68 points, one point more than our friendly rivals at the Minerva's Disciple table. The Jambag team romped home yet again with 89 points.<br /><br />Oct 14th<br />Took Helena to the Playhouse to see the Noel Coward classic <i>Blithe Spirit</i>. It is many years since I saw it, and I was surprised I had forgotten nearly all of the third act. Good cast included Petr Divis, the son of my old GP.<br />Just as well we didn't leave it any later -- the next day the state government announced a three-day lockdown to control a Covid scare.<br /><br />Oct 19th<br />I've never played croquet wearing a mask before, but there was no way of getting out of it this week. At first I felt like an astronaut playing the game on Mars, my sunglasses kept threatening to fog up because of the breath from under the mask. Not so bad though - won the first game comfortably (7-2) and lost the second on a tie-breaker (6-7).<br />Contestants were a bit thin on the ground at the Tuesday night quiz, probably because people didn't want to mask up for a whole evening. Walt Quizney won with 78 points, while we finished in fifth place with 70 (did I mention there were only six teams?).<br /><br />Oct 21st<br />The Hobart Show holiday is notoriously unpredictable and often turns out to be wet or miserable. But once again this year it was warm and sunny. I sat out on the patio and ate lunch while browsing through the latest issues of The Phantom comic book.<br /><br />Oct 22nd<br />Met up with Keith on Friday for a visit to the Salvo store and lunch across the road. We walked in to be told they had just announced the mandatory masking period was over -- made eating lunch a lot more fun. Keith tells me that as part of his spring cleaning phase last week he was reading three books a day to try and reduce his To-be-read pile. I don't know how he does it.<br />When I got home, I had a cup of coffee and looked through some of the stuff Keith had passed on to me, including a 1962 edition of the children's annual KNOCK OUT (not a pristine copy, but some interesting strips and stories, inluding one of my personal favorites Battler Britton). <br /><br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-46354565371895052152021-10-18T21:31:00.001+11:002023-12-18T15:35:45.434+11:00New eyes, old thoughts<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNH2p2bKfNM_j0-QVJbOzdqFHQhR7m7PvWWc-CyCvyxKe5lPpWfxiUM5dDQaYpS02agcc4ARHnvN930zyavg4IfKcfFZmhSJYXnCM7T2D0FobBrVq8J14d3Zfdul32NZ-5dmajFg/s450/crowquet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNH2p2bKfNM_j0-QVJbOzdqFHQhR7m7PvWWc-CyCvyxKe5lPpWfxiUM5dDQaYpS02agcc4ARHnvN930zyavg4IfKcfFZmhSJYXnCM7T2D0FobBrVq8J14d3Zfdul32NZ-5dmajFg/s320/crowquet.jpg" width="284" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Saturday Sept 11th<br /><br />My first try at typing with my "new eyes" -- last week was difficult, this week seems to be mostly guesswork. Just as well I learned to touch type as a teenage student. It will be a few weeks before I can get new prescription lenses.<br />*<br />Home again after my recuperative trip to the seaside. The last day we went for a stroll along the beach and I commented "What a pretty little creek emptying into the sea," to be told it was actually a storm drain outlet. In the evening I met up with an old school friend and we caught up over dinner before he gave me a lift back to my house (where all was quiet except the goose who came out looking for supper).<br />*<br />Today's date reminds me of that evening twenty years ago when we were settling in at the day's end. My mother was already in bed and I said goodnight to my sister Julie. I walked into my roo and flicked the radio on to see what was on the late show. A moment later I appeared in the door of Julie's room and said "There's something happening in New York. I'm going to switch the TV on." From memory, that was just before the second plane hit the towers. The rest, as they say, is history. The next morning, as I walked down the front path to pick up the morning paper, a light plane flew overhead. I flinched. <br />*<br />Nightmares aren't my thing, but now and again I have an odd dream. Saturday I woke up from a strange one, filled with elements that could have come from a B-grade horror movie. I'll spare you the details except for one exchange I recall: <br /><i>"Think it's safe to look in the refrigerator?"<br />"Probably not..."</i><br />The dream I had the following night was much better. A picaresque spy thriller that even included cameo appearances by two of my friends as themselves.<br />*<br />I was asleep when the phone rang. As I reached for it, my eye fell on the clock and I thought "Who could be phoning me at 4.30 a.m.?" Just for a second I had forgotten I was taking an afternoon nap and it was actually 4.30 p.m. !<br />*<br />Walking back into town after church on Sunday morning, I wasn't thinking about much except where I was going to eat lunch before going home. Then I thought the woman walking up the street looked familiar. While my brain was dredging up the memory, I heard a voice "Mee-kal!" and the woman threw her arms around me. "Isobel! Great to see you again," I said. It was only the second time I'd seen her this year, and that time she'd been driving east and I'd been walking west so it had been a very short conversation. We chatted for a while, then I walked on, this time with a spring in my step. Sometimes it's a nice thing to live in a small city.<br />*<br />Tuesday 14th Sept<br />Out this morning to walk to the Sunderland Street clinic for my quarterly blood test. Walked back to the Croquet Club and played for two hours, then walked home. Rested while doing some research for tonight, then walked to the Quiz Night. No wonder I've lost 5kg this month.<br />(We didn't do so badly at the quiz, coming third with 81 points -- those braniacs at the Diamond Set Stickpin table came first again.) June said to me she thought my handwriting had improved since my eye operation; I told her that since I couldn't see what I was writing, it was all down to muscle memory.<br /><br />Wednesday night quiz was a perfect storm -- but I mean that in a good way. We solved the puzzle question on the first clue [10 points], got a perfect score on our bonus round [20 points] and romped through the first half of the evening ahead of the pack. At the end we won with 97 points, our best score ever -- we even beat Barnstoneworth and Don Quizote (yay!). 😁<br /><br />Saturday 17th Sept<br /> I went out for lunch, meeting Keith Curtis at his favorite restaurant (which just happens to be across the road from the Salvo's op shop). Between the food, fellowship and fossicking, it was an entertaining afternoon and the walking there and back was good exercise in the fresh air. Felt much better this evening than I did when I got up today, eating roast beef while I listened to a Sherlock Holmes radio play "The Two Watsons" by M.J. Elliot.<br /><a href="https://harrynile.com/product/the-two-watsons/ly">https://harrynile.com/product/the-two-watsons/ly</a><br />Steve Ashley's podcast was especially interesting to me this week, since it featured the music of Jelani Eddington who visited Hobart some years ago. After he performed on our Wurlitzer, I chatted with him and asked him if he thought Cole Porter and George Gershwin would have been surprised to know they were still being heard in the 21st century. He shook his head and said "Their music is timeless."<br /><a href="https://www.hotpipes.eu/half-hour-broadcast-333/">https://www.hotpipes.eu/half-hour-broadcast-333/</a><br /><br />Sunday 19th Sept<br />After the morning service at church, we stayed on for lunch. Something we haven't been able to do for a long time. Fortunately the state Covid regulations allow us to have up to 64 people in the church hall, so we had more than enough room. And as usual with a Presbyterian function there was food to spare!<br />I came home and slept for two hours afterwards. Got up for a light dinner, then tuned in ABC-TV to watch the final episode of THE NEWSREADER and a show about the giant armadillo narrated by David Attenborough (or was it a profile of David Attenborough narrated by a giant armadillo? I must be tired).<br /><br />20th Sept<br />Monday morning I went out for a walk. This being Springtime in Tasmania, I took a hat in case it rained, dark glasses in case it was sunny, boots in case it was muddy, a scarf in case it was windy and my walking stick in case I got the wobbles.<br /><br />In the afternoon I was testing out my stop-gap magnifying glasses and read most of an issue of the PEOPLE'S FRIEND magazine. Unfortunately that included part 1 of a three part serial, so I spent quite a while sorting through the piles of unread magazines from this year. Did I locate the issues I needed? Yes, in the end.<br /><br />Tuesday 21st Sept<br />Tried to catch up on some paperwork on the laptop, then walked over to the Croquet Club. 14 there this afternoon and I think about the same in the morning games. I played reasonably well in my two games, though my new eyes have not improved my standard of play that much. Walked home and rested up for a couple of hours for the quiz night. <br />We didn't do badly. The puzzle question took us a while, but we did get perfect scores for two of the other rounds. At 89 points, I thought we had a chance, but we came third and Jambag romped home again with a score of 95.<br /><br />Friday 24th Sept<br />Cold, wet and windy for the equinox. I think the ambient temperature was down around zero when the man from the Auto Club replaced my battery this afternoon. With that, and the form my doctor signed yesterday, I can finally get back on the road. <br />In the evening, sat inside where it was warm and dry, eating dinner and watching the DVD of MURDER CALL, one of my favorite cop shows of the 1990s. (It gave rise to a catchphrase in our family "Look out, she's having a Lucy Bell moment"!)<br /><br />Saturday 25th Sept<br />After lunch, cautiously took the car out for a spin. Until I checked the calendar, hadn't realized it was two months since I'd been behimd the wheel! It was actually a bit difficult to get back into the way of it; when you've been driving for fifty years, it becomes almost automatic, and having to think about what you're doing takes a bit of effort. By the time I got home, I felt a bit more comfortable, though I won't be driving in traffic for some time yet.<br /><br />LAXDALE HALL [1953] <span style="font-size: large;">Raymond Huntley leads a parliamentary delegation sent to a remote community in the Scottish Highlands where the residents are protesting at their poor links with the outside world -- the more things change, the more they stay the same, eh? I don't usually get a chance to watch old movies on a Saturday afternoon, but I commend 9Gem for giving me a chance to see this charming old flick based on an Eric Linklater novel.</span><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxdale_Hall">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxdale_Hall</a><br />*<br />Sunday some of us went out to lunch in Bellerive after church. A little surprised to find that one of our group had a connection to the Wednesday quiz night -- her son is part of the Barnstoneworth team who keep beating us every week. Yeah, I know, it's a small world. <br />*<br />I've always been intrigued by authors who collaborate. How does that work? Do they take turns at the typewriter or do they talk through the story in detail before they write it down? Well, I now know about one writing team. A book of the old Sherlock Holmes radio scripts co-written 7 5 years ago by Denis Green and Anthony Boucher for Mutual’s weekly radio program -- Throughout their Holmes broadcast collaboration, Green would pen most of the dialogue while Boucher would write the plots and the twist endings. [THE LOST ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Ken Greenwald] <br /><br />Tuesday I fitted in one game of croquet -- it was helpful not having to walk to and from the club. The quiz night that evening came to naught, because for once we couldn't get enough people to make up a team. I stayed home doing a bit of writing and reading, which is still a bit difficult because the cheap glasses I am using at the moment give me little flexibility, I am anchored to exactly the same distance all the time I use them. (It can be positively dangerous if you use them while you're standing up, because if you look down the floor isn't in focus!)<br /><br />The Wednesday night quiz was a bit better, at least we had three on the team. Got off to a good start, solving the puzzle question on the first clue for ten points. (Thanks to my abundant store of Hollywood trivia.) We faltered in some of the later rounds, scoring 4/10 in both music and television. We finished in third place, defeated by (of course) Barnstoneworth.<br />*<br />I saw two consecutive items on the TV news last week. The first one said that the size and number of crocodiles in the north of Australia had increased dramatically. The second said that the Tasmanian cricket team had left Queensland abruptly. There didn't seem to be a link between the two stories but you can't help wondering ...<br />*<br />I seem to be tired most days these last few weeks. In the morning I lie there, telling myself it's time to get up. Maybe I should try and take an afternoon nap whenever possible. I don't want to go back to those days a couple of years ago when I used to doze off after breakfast and not wake until lunch. Being a septuagenarian is no excuse for nodding off all the time when you're at home alone. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-5132476211640166972021-10-01T15:02:00.000+10:002021-10-01T15:02:05.584+10:00eyes of the beholder<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7w-tFznNDv99oldec4euBdUGEjo1yzUF3Id_UfEKMIlOBguV2PhqdPEDqK4psmtE6ygLtliG24IFHlw4Np3mjVBRYJ8Ii-PUUj9xzueVJXgv_qfHdc6GDZJLQ8H4nP4MaUkhyA/s640/IMG_1947+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7w-tFznNDv99oldec4euBdUGEjo1yzUF3Id_UfEKMIlOBguV2PhqdPEDqK4psmtE6ygLtliG24IFHlw4Np3mjVBRYJ8Ii-PUUj9xzueVJXgv_qfHdc6GDZJLQ8H4nP4MaUkhyA/s320/IMG_1947+a.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Thursday 2nd September was an interesting if tiring day. Rose at dawn for an 8 a.m. doctor's appointment, attended the monthly meeting at the church hall at lunchtime, went out to see the Agatha Christie play THE STRANGER at The Playhouse in the evening and finished the day hunting a rogue rooster in the dark in the backyard. Put out the week's trash. Then a phone call from Keith Curtis. <br /> I'll go to bed now, I thought.<br />*<br />Friday 3rd Sept<br />Woke up still feeling tired from Thursday's busy activities. I was just finishing my second coffee when some friends arrived to take me to the supermarket. But first -- lunch. Agreeing on a venue took quite a bit of time, involving a lot of driving around, discussion and phoning. We finally ended up at the Carlyle Hotel, which was a good choice because the spacious dining room meant we were able to enjoy our meal without worrying about what people at other tables were discussing.<br />*<br />A friend asked me how I was doing in the between-eyes period. Could I read? Watch TV?<br />Well, it's a bit difficult for me to read at the moment, but I can do it if I concentrate. Typing is not easy because my eyes tell me that the letters on the left side of the keyboard are a different distance to the ones of the right hand side -- even touch typists have their limitations. Television is fine, everything more than a yard away is in focus, but if I'm reading captions or subtitles I often have to close one eye to stop seeing them double. After Wednesday I will have both eyes the same so at least I won't be seeing double anymore and it will be a lot easier to walk down steps!<br />*<br />Sunday 5th Sept<br />Even without the rooster, I woke up early on Sunday morning and got ready for church. Helped that I didn't have to carry supplies for the kitchen with me this month when I got on the bus. The preacher gave a considered sermon on the subject of the two cities on the plain, mentioning fire and brimstone without dwelling on it. I had lunch in town, then took the bus home, went to bed and slept for four and a half hours (That ties in nicely with something I once read that said we sleep in multiples of 45 minute cycles.)<br />Made something to eat and watched THE NEWSREADER on ABC TV, a history of the 1980s from the viewpoint of television reporters. It's not NEWSFRONT, but it has extra appeal because I recall all those things happening.<br />*<br />Tuesday 7th Sept<br />Croquet was a bit of a mess for me today. I got there on time for the first afternoon game, but because of the windy weather and my increasingly unreliable eyesight, I lost 7-2 and decided to go home at half time. I sat out on the patio, poured myself a cold drink and read some of the new Harley Quinn collection that kicks off a new partwork for comics fans.<br />In the evening, the Tuesday night quiz team was down to three of us, and we did notably not-so-good in a couple of rounds (music 3/10, sport 2/10). There were 13 teams playing - unlucky for some! - and we finished 8th with 64 points, beaten by Minerva's Disciples with 70. The winners were Walt Quizney who scored 81. Just wait till next week when I have both eyes working!<br />*<br />I find it a little unsettling at the milestone tomorrow brings. All my life I have been near-sighted, but that ends tomorrow morning with my second cataract operation. I suspect it may take me a long time to stop trying to read small print by holding it close to my eyes! Once the eyes settle down, I can go back to the optometrist and get a new set of prescription glasses; till then, reading or writing, e-mailing or texting, will rely on a pair of $5 magnifying glasses from the discount store.<br /></span></span></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163090.post-59240237906153929912021-09-13T12:09:00.000+10:002021-09-13T12:09:52.274+10:00snow <p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaLJNHRI3jONcJUHersVYW3fjRB4oSXj_fdtOe6UjtMciDY1rU2k3BUYyEZzHg-Oj3fq523qjx14oZbtS-rRc3539kFQcLwFGeZyYHakX4EisSzMUBDGJ1n_V-OfdwK2m-RO2Aw/s867/IMG_1957+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="867" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaLJNHRI3jONcJUHersVYW3fjRB4oSXj_fdtOe6UjtMciDY1rU2k3BUYyEZzHg-Oj3fq523qjx14oZbtS-rRc3539kFQcLwFGeZyYHakX4EisSzMUBDGJ1n_V-OfdwK2m-RO2Aw/w400-h185/IMG_1957+a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Tuesday 17th Aug<br />Looked out my front door after two or three days of rain and was surprised to see snow-capped Mount Wellington towering above the city against a blue sky with a few white clouds. The sunny afternoon brought out twenty of us to play croquet and I won 7-5 and lost 5-7... so not too bad. <br />Likewise the quiz night went pretty well. We scored 88 points and came in second, behind Jambag (again) with their 94 point score. If I were the stewards, I think I'd have them swabbed. And congrats to Minerva's Disciples who came in third, thanks to answering the puzzle question in the first round and getting a perfect score on a double-points round. <br /><br /> Wed 18th Aug<br />Tired after yesterday and didn't feel that well this morning. A bit better after lunch, managed to fill out the medical forms for next week before I went out to buy drugs. After I got from the pharmacy, rested up for a little while before going out to the Wednesday night quiz. There were ten teams there, but since our old rivals Barnstoneworth were absent we got third place even though we only made 46 points.<br />Still having trouble getting my blood sugar down. I had a bowl of soup at 8 pm and had nothing to eat the rest of the night, but thirteen hours later my BGL reading was still 10.2 which is a bit disappointing since I've been getting more exercise while I haven't been driving. :(<br /><br />Thursday 19th Aug<br />Sleepy in the afternoons; makes me wonder if I will even need sedation for my procedure next week !<br />Tussles with trying to log into one of my accounts ("Either the user name of the password is incorrect") then took a walk down to the shops. On the way I noticed two places with what looked like Christmas lights in their windows, though August is a bit early for the Yuletide decorations. On a related topic, I see that Coles are now selling what they label "Not Cross Buns", presumably a reaction to the backlash in some quarters about them selling Hot Cross Buns in January in recent years.<br /><br />Friday 20th Aug <br />On local radio's morning show this week, Leon Compton asked his listeners whether they still read comics (or graphic novels).<br />I was pleased to hear the first caller was a proud Carl Barks fan who is still reading Uncle Scrooge at the age of 66. What I thought was that we are not breeding a new generation of comics readers. When I was growing up in the 1960s every newsagency had big racks of comics, all types and categories. Kids bought them avidly and traded them wit their friends. But now if you look a.round, all you will find are The Phantom and The Simpsons usually. Comics are something expensive that you buy in a specialty shop. As an experiment a couple of years ago I asked the counter staff in several shops why they didn't stock comic books; most of them were baffled by the question, though one replied he didn't know if distributors still handled them. The 21st century only seems to see comic books as seed material for blockbuster movies. <br /><br />I may have mentioned this a while back, but "the cloud" can be a mixed blessing. One of the New York internet radio stations 920 WON puts its programs up on Mixcloud so you can listen back to anything you missed. And that's a good thing, we'd all agree on that. But they're only a small operation, I surmise, and they can't always spare the time to post things promptly. This was obvious last month when in one day they posted ten episodes of their weekly program "One Nostalgic Weekend." That's twenty hours of listening made available in one fell swoop!<br /><br />Tuesday 24th Aug<br />Cold night followed by a fine and sunny day brought the croquet players out in big numbers today. We've had to start having both morning and afternoon games, the demand has been so high. In the evening, another big turn out for the quiz night with twelve teams taking part; we worked hard on the answers and scraped into third place<br /><br /><br />Friday 27th Aug<br />Back from two days staying with friends at the beach after my first cataract procedure. No pain and a vast improvement in vision in the right eye. Even the eyedrops get easier with My hosts were very attentive and even their dog made me welcome -- if I was in my bedroom with the door closed he'd come along and woof because he wanted to come in.<br />I thought I had come through it pretty well, but when I got home this afternoon I suddenly felt really tired and had to lie down for an hour before I could summon up the energy to do anything at all. The list of things I need to do next week and next month doesn't help.<br /><br />Favorite radio show title of the wee --How the west was strung - WDCB<br /><br />Sunday 29th Aus<br />After church walked back into the city for lunch before taking the bus home. In the mall I passed a man walking a large shaggy German Shepherd. "What a beautiful dog," I said and held my hand out for the dog to sniff. He whuffled for a second, then began licking the back of my hand. "He doesn't usually do that" said the surprised owner.<br />Ha! I could have told him some stories about my sister. One time she was on Bondi Beach and someone went past with a German Shepherd. Suddenly the dog stopped and put its head on Julie's lap. "I didn't do anything," declared Julie to her boyfriend. He just sighed and said "I know." :)<br /><br />Monday 30th Aug<br />Tasmanian author wins prize for Best Crime Novel for Children. The award went to A CLUE FOR CLARA by Liam Tanner. The detective is a chicken...(Somewhere my sister Julie is smiling.)<br /><br />Tuesday 31sr Aug<br />Last day of winter and it was very windy at croquet club (my sister always said to beware the equinoctial gales). In spite of that, enough people there to use three lawns. I won 7-5 and lost 4-7, which isn't bad for someone who was seeing double if he forgot to close one eye while hitting the ball. My cap blew off for the second time this month but at least I managed to retrieve this one from where it landed against the boundary fence. It will be interesting to see how I go in two weeks time after I've had my other cataract done. Watch out!<br /><br />Nine teams at quiz night. The three of us applied ourselves to the challenge and ended up in fourth place with 62 points -- there was a three-way tie for third, something I haven't seen before. The winners were Diamond Set Stickpin with 91 points. I wasn't too disappointed with our score -- we got 8/10 for TV/Cinema and 7/10 for Art/Literature. I was amused when the final question showed a photo from the THUNDERBIRDS television series while the theme tune was played -- "Name this British TV show." Did anyone <u>not</u> get that I wonder.<br /><br /></span><p></p>Mike Hobarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13522315110855123413noreply@blogger.com0