Date:	2009-06-27 15:31
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	musing

I have been watching Underbelly on dvd. I didnt watch it when it was originally broadcast, and I only bought the dvd because the dvd chain was going out of business and selling everything at stupid prices.

The series was marketed as a "compelling dramatisation of Melbourne's gangland killings" - 30 of them, between 1995 and 2004, and is a multi-point of view narrative with a commentary-style frame in a voice-over by the actress playig the female cop. It is essentially a crime show, and would probably be classifed as "faction". The first episodes are a bit cheesy, but its not that bad, really. A little more realistic in terms of what the police are allowed to do than is generally seen on tv, and it doesnt always show the cops in a particularly good light. The music's not bad as well.

In a magazine I looked at whilst shopping this morning, were photos of Judy Moran and Roberta Williams. The tv producers have gone out of their way to get actors who bear some resemblance to the real people. There is a video on that link that shows the real Detective Inspector in charge of the taskforce - he doesnt look all that much like the guy they picked, but he does look a little like a combination of both senior police in the series :)

It has recently been shown again .. I think .. now that the main court case is done in Victoria - perhaps they wll have to pull it again now :P

What does come out is the utter stupidity of some of the criminals - early on, they were twice missed only because the police made decisions that went the wrong way. Later, it gets worse - why, for instance, would you drink and smoke yourself stupid before going to kill someone? Allow a hopped up fool to collect a stolen car, only to have him leave it somewhere with the headlights on so the battery was flat when it was need? They also killed the wrong people on more than one occasion because they guessed wrong about who had killed one of their family. The most recent killing makes it clear that someone isnt thinking too clearly either.

Date:	2009-06-22 19:07
Subject:	Question
Security:	Public
Mood:	zombified

If zombies stagger around muttering " ... brainzz ... brainzz"
what staggers aound muttering " ... tea ... tea ..." .. as I was at 3 this afternoon?

From leecetheartist ...

How Perthian are you?

Bold the ones you have done.

Italicise the ones you could easily achieve within 3 hours if you had the time/money.

Underline the ones you'd like to do

Perthian Quiz by Alicia Smith © 2009

Lived in Perth, Western Australia for 3 months or more?

Do you intend to visit or have you visited in the past? I visited before I came to stay.

Been taken to Lake Monger to feed the Black Swans as a kid. (yes we know not to feed wildlife now) Does 16 count as a kid?

Climbed the DNA Tower at King's Park.

Climbed the DNA Tower at King's Park more than once.

Climbed Jacob's Ladder

Been to Rottnest.

Stayed overnight at Rottnest.

Seen a Quokka.

Barracked for the West Coast Eagles

Barracked for whoever, at any given time, is playing the West Coast Eagles

Barracked for Fremantle Dockers

Barracked for whoever, at any given time, is playing the Fremantle Dockers

Find contrails unusual

Say "I'm going to Perth" when you are already living in the suburbs of that city.

Remember or have heard of the Birdman Rallies at Yanchep

Does the name "Fat Cat" ring a bell?

Do you remember Percy Penguin?

Have you ever been to "Hamburger Hill" (no, not the battle site)

Have you ever eaten at "Captain Munchies"

Have you ever been annoyed by "Captain Munchies" advertisements

Have driven across the Narrows How about walked?

Have you been 'Perthed' lately?

Have caught Blue Manna Crabs at Mandurah, or tried to.

Have gone to Mandurah for a cheap holiday

Seen the peacocks at UWA

Spent New Year's Day at Scarborough Beach Well, City Beach, anyway...

Had a BBQ at King's Park at Boxing Day

Heard the Bell Tower

Shopped at Bunnings

Had a good time in Northbridge

Had a bad time in Northbridge

Don't remember Northbridge even though your friends swear blind you were there

Referred to the Eastern States as t'othersiders Or the Eastern Barbarians :)

Urgently ring the relevant authorities if you see a Cane Toad, Starling or Sparrow

Prawned in the Swan River and got the deep end

Given someone the deep end in the Swan river while prawning

Had a drink at Little Creatures in Fremantle

Had chips stolen by seagulls. From Ciccerellos, naturally.

Know that Gauge Roads is not just a beer company.

Been in the City to Surf.

Seen Tricia at the Perth Zoo. But did you ever call Alastair and have him come talk to you?

Watched the Sky Show from an outside vantage point.

Been through the Polly Pipe.

Think South of the River is unknown territory

Think North of the River is unknown territory

Know where and what the Snake Pit was

Know what a bodgie and a widgie are

Know who the Boy from Bassendean is

Know or are related to a neighbour or relative of him?

Wish it rained more often and for longer

Know your sprinkler days

Do you 'look for the birthmark' when shopping?

Do you or have you ever owned a Smartrider?

Gone on a wine cruise

Had breakfast at Miss Maude's

Been to Penguin Island and not seen Penguins

Been to Penguin Island and seen Penguins

Been to Penguin Island and seen Bridled Terns

Been to Penguin Island and not seen Bridled Terns

Been on the Leeuwin II

Complained about Perth's public transport

Find other State's public transport payment systems far too confusing

Contract suburb names: Subi for Subiaco, Ozzie Park for Osborne Park, Freo for Fremantle etc

Wished the Fremantle Doctor would make more house calls

Been to Lake Leschenaultia

Travelled along the Bibbulman or Munda Biddi Trail

Been to John Forest National Park

Do you know what a Sandgroper is?

Have you ever seen the actual animal? (No, not the drunk guy at the bar claiming to be from W.A)

Made a special trip to see Mundaring Weir

Made a special trip to see Mundaring Weir overflowing But have you had a picnic there in the rain while it overflowed?

Caught the ferry to/from South Perth

Caught the ferry to go to the Perth Zoo

Been to the Cricket at Lilac Hill

Originally posted at Lympago

Not too bad considering I didnt grow up here.

Date:	2009-06-15 21:14
Subject:	Monberry
Security:	Public
Mood:	smiling

So much for jury duty. They had called enough jurists for 9 trials, and then had most of them postponed. Three today, two for 3 days, one for 5, one tomorrow and Wednesday (3 and 5 days). So they drew all the juries they needed and sent the rest of us home.

And I went back to the Glass Box. To get the final two sign-offs that I need. One was easy, the other .. the prat from previous posts decided he would be center stage again and take 3 hours to sign it. I like getting paid to sit around and wait. There was almost nothing I could do there, as the end-of-things type tasks rely on stuff I have in Perth.

But barring problems, I am in the tidy up the odds and ends stage.

Date:	2009-05-30 16:13
Subject:	Nothing day
Security:	Public
Mood:	blah

Woke up at the usual time. So far, I have: done much intawebs (including almost falling off my chair laughing at e_moon60's entry about picking up her meat-grinder), including updating the virus stuff; fed the cats and the goldfish; got dressed; stripped the bed; did the washing up; moved the orchids back into the side room now its a bit warmer (still have a broken pane in the windows there); went for lunch at "my" cafe at Belmont; spread powder on the ubiquitous ant holes in the front yard (made by the tiniest ants I have ever seen - they are about 1mm long) to try, probably ineffectually, to do something about the apparently enormous nest they have under the front verandah, half the front grass, and down the side of the house; and spent the best part of 2 hours checking back entries on this LJ to find out how I was refering to A Certain Friend with whom I am having dinner tonight.

Cant even blame the weather, the atmospheric pressure is kinda normal, and its 23-24C and a pleasant cloudy-sunnyish day. Yes, this is winter. A bit drier and warmer than normal, but winter. I have to find out from next door whether her owner has seen/done anything about the fence, so I can move the panels and get to the reticulation valves. Hopefully they arent damaged. The garden needs watering. In winter.

Tomorrow is dafwarg's birthday. It was weather rather like this when he was born. We had an earthquake that day - at Cadoux out in the Goldfields, but we felt it at the hospital. My bed, on wheels, moved a foot from the wall as his father and I looked at each other wondering if we had to do anything in what was clearly a much bigger earthquake than we normally feel in Perth.

I saw in the newspaper this morning that it is 20 years since Tiananmen Square (happened 4 June). In the magazine there is a small section at the back where they publish a quirky photo. Today it is of the demonstrators in Tiananmen, taken 20 years ago, and the commentary from the journo who took it mentions that on 4 June, many of those in the photo were shot. They were demonstrating for democracy and freedom.

Such a long time ago, both of these milestones, but neither of them seem that far away.

So now I should finish the odds and ends of housework Ive started, and get ready for going out.

Date:	2009-05-27 07:46
Subject:	*Squeak* What did I miss?
Security:	Public
Mood:	O.o.O

Armed teenager sparks siege in Perth

A 17-year-old boy will appear in the Childrens Court to face several charges relating to the siege. (ABC: file photo)

Police have arrested a teenager who sparked a siege in the Perth suburb of Carlisle.

The Police Tactical Response Group surrounded a house in Planet Street last night following reports a 17-year-old boy armed with a gun and knives had assaulted one person and was threatening to kill people held hostage.

During tense negotiations three people were allowed to leave the house.

Police then moved in and arrested the teenager in the backyard.

He is facing several charges including making threats to kill.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/27/2581709.htm
(Planet Street is a long street, it doesnt have to have been anywhere near me ....)

Date:	2009-05-27 06:27
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	whaaa???

"So many people want to know if there is life after death. They might be better off asking if there is life during life? It often seems as if many of us lead an existence so dull or dreary that if we were to be granted immortality, we might consider it more of a punishment than a gift. For a long time, lately, you have been putting up with circumstances that are anything but life-enhancing or spirit-lifting. Here, this very day, comes an encounter that should reassure you about your future. You are about to do a spot of 'real' living! "

Date:	2009-05-21 19:29
Subject:	Strange day ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	slightly bemused

It really started yesterday, when the weather was warning of a severe cold front. The satellite showed a nasty double front swirl coming up from Antarctica with a mass of cold air behind it. But it looked like it was going to slide away south like many of them do. It rained a little, at 10pm and midnight.
( too long for comfort )

Date:	2009-05-16 10:15
Subject:	Feeling the need ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	whatever

to watch Serenity and Firefly again ...

Peoples (bunny_m, satyapriya, etc) are talking about it ...

At the very least I should listen to the CD ... now where is it ....

Date:	2009-04-21 07:47
Subject:	Excuse for not going to work?
Security:	Public
Mood:	smiling

Do you think they would accept ..

My cat doesnt want me to. He needs snuggles.
He needs playing with.
He keeps catching my ankles and hanging on. (Witness the scratches round my ankles and up my legs ...)
He keeps sitting on me.
?




No, I guess not. Sorry Mango.

Out of the blue, I decided to go to the West Coast Blues and Roots Festival in Fremantle yesterday. ( A long day )spent mostly on my feet. You would think I would sleep well after - but no - the most amazing and ridiculous dreams which were completely silly kept waking me up. At one point I got up and made a cup of tea and read a while. Mango did his thing just before 6. Eventually I got up and let him out. My ankles ache gently, but I dont seem to have any other bad reactions.

Date:	2009-04-05 20:18
Subject:	Sunday
Security:	Public
Mood:	ho hum

Finished Altered Carbon, started, and read large amounts of The Steel Remains - very impressive.

Tidied up a few odds and ends.

Mowed the field and the parents lawns. Replaced a sprinkler in the field that snapped off when I stood on it - usually they get undone by the rotary action of the mower :P Its a watering day for me today, but I got back from theparents too late to do it. The lawns are looking green and any of the plants that might be thirsty I will water with grey water tomorrow. The rest can wait until the next watering day on Tuesday.

Tried unsuccessfully - twice - to download the latest version of OpenOffice, only to have it refuse to run - I dont think it liked my dialup :P. Downloaded a new version of Java, but that didnt seem to help.

Thats about it .. every time I sat down I finished up falling asleep.

Now for food, tv, and more Richard Morgan.

For the record, I am 55-45 left-right brained

I gave up on the slang one because I hadnt heard half the terms and the others required "all of the above"

And the ad running next to both saying "how clever are you?" and showing a set of triangles - the answers they gave you are wrong - theres 10 triangles.

Date:	2009-03-15 09:37
Subject:	Personality memed gacked from snaky_poet
Security:	Public

You Are An ENFJ

The Giver You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and you usually succeed. Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections. Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down. You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. In love, you are very protective and supporting. However, you do need to "feel special" - and it's quite easy for you to get jealous. At work, you are a natural leader. You can help people discover their greatest potential. You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist. How you see yourself: Trusting, idealistic, and expressive When other people don't get you, they see you as: Bossy, inappropriate, and loud

Date:	2009-03-09 07:03
Subject:	Yanchep Blues in the Park
Security:	Public
Mood:	good one

An awesome day.
A day of blues music at the resort hotel inside Yanchep National Park.
( too long for comfort )

Date:	2009-03-06 21:08
Subject:	Grandma rambling on ....
Security:	Public
Mood:	whatever

These people are situated on a road I go along to get to the Glass Box.

Something tells me they need to teach them a little more than Community Evangelism: "This is a road" "It has vehicles on it - fscking big cement mixers, double trucks laden with concrete, cars, trucks", "vehicles + wandering human = much pain".

So far I have slowed to a standstill to avoid (twice) young men on skateboards crossing the road who glared at me as if I had no right to be there, (several times) young people wandering across the road whilst talking and completely ignoring everyone else on the road, and a whole group of them who had clearly been to the beach or a pool in a 12-seater, which was stopped on the opposite side of the road to a perfectly good crossover-into-a-loading bay they could have stopped in. This road is shared with enormous cement-mixing trucks from the TWO cement distributors on it, delivery trucks from/to the various small industries that line it, the double trucks that bring supplies to the distributors, and vehicles like me who are cutting out a bad intersection on the way to the train station. *I* drive carefully there because of the traffic .. and these youngsters wander through it like they own the road and aggressively defend their right to cause an accident - for which the driver is probably going to pay the price.

Read the webpage. They have a CRICOS number, which means they have been recognised as an education institution of some sort. But look further - their courses are offered as being part of the "University of Nations" which is NOT recognised as a university in Aus. And they charge for tuition. WHY would you spend money on qualifications that are not recognised? You cant even say it keeps them off the streets!

Date:	2009-03-06 07:08
Subject:	Its Friday so its the city and the Glass Box
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake, just

Finished early yesterday (only 5:15!) and made it to the Watchmen screening. And to Hans for one of the fastest meals I have ever had - they are so good at quick service there.

Amazing film. Cant say I actually liked it, but it is extremely clever, and those that know tell me it has large chunks of dialogue from and is visual accurately to the original comic. Critics of the amount of gore might like to reflect that when one chops a guys head with an axe, one does tend to get it everywhere - albeit not quite so much of it, nor as black as it was sometimes shown. Im not sure that it is 15+ material though - theyd have to be pretty mature 15 yr olds, and I doubt they would get the satire. The violence gets a little tedious, even if appropriate to the story.

Media teachers will love it - there is so much you can write about it - the commentary on how the US behaves internally and globally, the way the soundtrack makes and improves on that commentary - two whole rows in the cinema cackled all the way through the sex scene, to the apparent bemusement of many others. I will never be able to hear that song again without falling about hysterically. Being able to remember the 80s made it all the more relevant (the commentary that is ....). The Ozymandias motif inherent in that character flows through much of it, strongly emphasising the message at the end. (Remembers another connection - the twin towers were shown in a scene - Ozymandias indeed!) I liked the end, although there were a couple of items that stretched credibility a little too far, but they werent bad enough to throw you out of suspension of disbelief (and they were typical comic-book visuals).

Sadly, I dont think this will be the blockbuster other filmed comics have been - it will become more of an art film because of its attraction for the comic-book afficianados, but it isnt pleasant or openly comedic enough for general consumption.

Date:	2009-03-04 21:28
Subject:	If its Wednesday, its Midland ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	asleep

(and tomorrow) and if its Friday its in the city and back at the Glass box.

And next week its Midland and more Midland (different place) and sometime I have to organise Morley for ?the following week and Kelmscott (yay, Kelmscott ... 26k from the city) for the week after.

Remember how I said Id need two of me? Im not sure which one of me is typing this. 10 hour day today, 9 yesterday .. have to be in Midland at 8am tomorrow. At least I get to leave earlier. And Friday I can leave early too .. from the Glass Box :) [Edit: Early? 6:45 ...) ]

Site visit to Morley today before Midland. Morley doesnt have much parking. They are allowed to use the Bunnings carpark next door. Bunnings have a lake in their carpark. With an island, and marsh hens with hatchlings. You have to see baby marsh hens. Balls of black fluff on stilts. These have started to get their adult feathers so they arent so fluffy. This is A Good Thing because they are learning to dive for their food, and fluff would make them float.

Yes. Im tired.

Date:	2009-02-12 06:44
Subject:	Fire alarm ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	bah

So I didnt really feel like being there, but there was a heap of stuff to organise, so Im dutifully ploughing through stuff when slowly, sounding like its tentatively coming out of a cupboard and trying not to scare anyone, the fire alarm starts its "listen to me, Im about to go mad and whoop at you" starting up noise.

I look up, one of the contractors has stood up, I close down my screen, look behind me at the another contractor who is squinting at his screen with a "go away, not another stupid test" expression coming off his shoulders, say "C'mon Dean, its real, its not a test", grab my bag, he moves, and I start walking. People are slowly coming to the fire stairs, the floor warden is there and pushes open the firestairs door.

We use the stairs in this building, so the rush of the negative pressure is confronting and strange. People are walking down the stairs and I join the steady plod.

At the bottom the alarm on the fire door starts whining as a warden holds it open. We turn right and walk along a pavement prepared for lunch with umbrellas by the bar next door. People are staring. We straggle along a bit to squeeze into the available shade under the awning of the audio store. It is hot (only 35C I find later, but it feels much hotter). We consider the fact that half the road is closed to traffic as they are building opposite and there is a long flatbed truck delivering tilt-up portions to the site. A serious situation would require the road closed at the traffic lights and the truck moved. I wonder how they would feel about this.

When the firebrigade turns up - and they made it through much construction-restricted traffic from the other end of town in only 7 minutes (good - their KPI is 6 :) ) it is obvious this is Not A Drill. People obviously are not sticking around, because the crowd is thinning. Later I find my friend on the top floor was taken off for coffee and muffins with her section by her ADG boss.

The fire brigade are negotiating with the traffic controller for the building site. Traffic is still crawling through.

They only sent one measely pumper. We classify as a high-rise and have a large number of staff. We deserve more! But I remember they would be able to assess the size of the fire from the amount of indicator engagement on the alarm, and the senior fire warden would be at the control station telling them whether smoke or flame are visible.

It is too hot and too close to lunch time, so I tell someone from my section where Im going and head off to planetfantastic to buy lunch at Takas and talk to agoodliedown about her 4-gig tour with TripleJ's Big Day Out.

When I return an hour later there are techs talking in the foyer about replacing stuff, and a cupboard door is open in the little corridor leading to the PR guys room.

Verdict: something electrical went pfft-fizzle and spewed black smoke.

Date:	2009-01-19 07:06
Subject:	Climate change?
Security:	Public
Mood:	this is Monday?

day 1 - 43C (officially 41.8 but thats at Mt Lawley and the reading is taken in a valley)
day 2 - 32-ish grey cloud, humid
day 3 - 32-ish patchy cloud with spectacular black bits and heat clouds hiding enormous thunderheads, followed by overnight thunderstorm, hail and torrential rain ...

The garden smells green, looks clean and happy.
Today is meant to be 29C.