Crumbs, from winter cold to summer heat in a week. It was 32C yesterday and it feels similar today. I need to open the window in this room as it’s very stuffy, but reaching the latch behind my monitor is hard. I can do it, just … in a while. (Later – done it.)

I’ve just had a cup of instant coffee, using the winner, number 1 in CHOICE’s latest test of instant coffee. Surprisingly, it’s Bushells powdered coffee in a big tin, 200g for $8.50.

But frankly, I don’t know how they could have chosen this. To me, it’s bland, boring, tasting just like the powdered “caterers’ blend” we used to be served at work. Sweepings off the factory floor. I don’t like it. They say if you like a richer coffee (which I definitely do), use two teaspoons. Well, I’ve used two, and in this cup I used three heaped teaspoons, but I still don’t like it. Fail. Wasted my money, I reckon.

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I haven’t got every one, but I’ve had at least one of every type over the years and I’ve probably still got a dozen or more of these. More. I’ve even got a few specialised electronics types that are not included in the photo, fine side cutters and finer needle nose pliers. Right angle needle nose. I’ve got a lotta tools! The last one, bottom right, is an oil filter wrench and I wouldn’t have included it in the list, but what the hell…

I had to buy yet another tool yesterday, a tap valve face reseating tool. I’ve had a leaking tap in the bathroom for some time and I was sure I had one of these tools. But the weeks slid by and I couldn’t find it.

Then last week, when the dishwasher guy was here, he had to turn the water off, so I asked to borrow his refacing tool. I used it and ground a bit away, but I couldn’t test it because I couldn’t turn the water on while he was working.

Well, finally, when the water went back on, it was still leaking, but he was finishing and going and I couldn’t redo the job. Hence yesterday I gave in and bought myself a new refacing tool. $15.70. It’ll last me a lifetime, but how many more years do I have? It hardly matters how long it’ll last, I’ll probably never have to use it again. What a waste.

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Oh, it’s so good to have a dishwasher again. Six months I’ve been without it. It’s so convenient to use some crockery or cutlery or a pan, and just throw it into the dishwasher immediately. Bliss. It allows me to really use all my stuff, instead of trying to minimise.

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I also bought series 2 and 3 of Succession, that HBO TV series I mentioned last week. Kerrumbs! I’d been hearing and reading about this series for a couple of years and didn’t think I wanted to get involved very much.

But WHAM! It is so good! So complex, so well scripted, so involving. The actors are so good. Especially Shiv (short for Shivonne). She’s the smiling assassin, the velvet fist, the scheming bitch, always planning to turn the family situation to suit her. Playing double games, in one case with a lover against her husband, in another case in a plot against her brothers to get control of the family company, and in another, a plot to join forces with a US senator and presidential candidate who is a sworn enemy of her father. She’s a hydra headed smiling Gorgon.

There are 12 episodes in each boxed set. You can pay to watch on-line, without buying the discs, but each episode is $2.99, so 12 episodes cost $36 approx. The boxed sets cost me $16 each, half that price, and I get to keep them.

By the way, “boxed sets”, not “box sets”. Lazy people say box set. Not me. The same way I say ass-fault (asphalt), not ashfelt; and licoriss (licorice), not lick-rish. How do you get lickrish from licorice? (Yeah, by licking it, ha ha ha)

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One week to go to the referendum and I’m ramping up my efforts persuade people to vote YES.

The Indigenous population have extended the hand of friendship to us, the people who stole their land, waged war against them, murdered them, imprisoned them, spread diseases to them, and ignored their pleas for a Voice in the things that affect them.

The people who are going to vote Yes are the best educated, the brightest, the leaders, the medical fraternity, the health clinics, the biggest and best of business and industry, the people who care.

If you’re planning to vote No, you’ll be slapping the hand away. You’ll be in the group of ultra right wingers, dullards, racists, Neo Nazis, slow learners, spreaders of false and misleading stories …

If you’re of the Liberal persuasion and feel it’s too Labour, there are plenty of Liberal leaders who are advocating Yes. It’s not a political question. You don’t need to feel you’d be too far left/liberal (small l).

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My current book is the Sony Story by Akio Morita, the main guy who started Sony. Although he wasn’t the only top dog in the startup company, it’s just that he’s written the book.

I can’t disguise my admiration for well run companies making top quality products. Most of the Japanese companies are brilliant case studies of how to run a company. The immaculate precision of Sony electronics (and mechanicals) is just a sight to behold. They’re not the only ones – similar companies are Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi and so on, well known names. But a company you’ve probably never heard of is Anritsu. They make admirably good electronic test equipment. Anyone who works in high end electronics will speak highly about Anritsu.

When Australia was trying to choose a supplier of submarines, Japan tried very hard to get into the race. They weren’t happy to be excluded. In my opinion, if we had chosen the Japanese design, we would have had our subs by now, they would have been incredibly well built and they would have been incredibly reliable. So reliable that we could have had 11 out of 12 at sea at any one time, with only one being in dry dock for maintenance instead of three or four being unavailable. Assuming that we ever get any subs! What a debacle! Every defence acquisition we attempt goes wrong. Utter incompetence in Defence.