Author Archives: Pete

Use-by Bog Rolls

What is it?
I’ve seen everything now. Yesterday at my local supermarket there was a shopping trolley, next to the markdown/short-date table, stacked to the brim with big 8-pack toilet paper packages.
Yes, toilet paper with a use-by date! I can’t believe it.
I did believe it and grabbed two 8 roll packs for $2.99 each. I’m going to go back today and get some more. I, er, don’t think I’m worried about use-by dates on this.
This reminds me that several weeks ago, I picked up a cube shaped cardboard package from the short-date table marked down to $3.99 or similar. It was an elegant package, brown with swirly patterns all over it, called Super Thins. Oooh, goody, I thought, After Dinner Mints. Might have those.
NO! Super Thins are, er, ladies feminine hygiene thingys.  I dropped ’em quick smart. It happened again a couple of weeks later. No, not for me, thanks.
Ya gotta laugh.

Hypocrites!!!

I am writing, very frequently, to Dr Mal Washer, Federal MHR for Cowan, the electorate north of me. Michael Keenan, I am ashamed to say, is the member for Stirling which is my electorate.
Doctor Washer is a medical doctor, a GP, and we used to be at Kingswood College, UWA in 1965, at the same time. He graduated as a medico. I was on a different course. Boy, what a different course!
He relies on nurses. He is a member of the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the union hating party, the-no-apology-to-Aborigines party, the anti-refugees boat people, push-’em-back-to-Indonesia party. A Tony Abbott lover.

I have been sending him emails saying, Repudiate your leader or be branded a hypocrite. he has never replied. I say he is a coward.

DOCTOR Washer, Mr Keenan,

You bastards hate unions. You supported “Work Choices” and were roundly rejected by the electorate for that draconian legislation.

Nurses in Perth are angry and fed up because the state government is going to increase the parking charges at hospitals, which the nurses have to pay when they park at their workplace!

This is a tax on nurses’ wages.

In your philosophy, the nurses are not allowed to make a collective union led protest. Every nurse should have to go individually to management and make her/his protest about the parking charges.

You’re mentally ill!

DOCTOR Washer, I bet you don’t pay parking charges!


No need to say any more.

The Dentist Says …

Hi Yudhie
I forgot to mention – in my dental examination on Monday, they measure the pH of your saliva. Mine measured at 6.2, so it is perfectly true, I have an acid tongue!
It is true, I am one who no longer suffers fools quietly. I’m quite happy to tolerate people who can’t do any better, but when someone, a frequent visitor over many years with a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics, continues, despite my repeated requests, to refer to refugees as “illegals”, I get angry. He is in my house when he says it! Yet he will not stop.
So, out!
His comment when all the refugees drowned off the sinking boat a few weeks ago?
“Why do they [the RAN/RAAF/Coastwatch/Dept of Immigration] have to bring them to Perth? Why can’t they take them [the survivors] back to Indonesia?”
I nearly blew my stack with him then, but I wasn’t sure of the answer.
The answer is, (a) because Indonesia won’t take them; (b) because we can’t just fly into Indonesian territory, land and dump refugees; (c) we have the best facilities to treat injured survivors; and (d) because we are Australians! It’s what we do. We are humanitarians.
Not this bastard. He’d be happier if they drowned. I’m referring to Mr Negative from yesterday, a long, long-time “friend”. Why did I put up with him for so long???

You don’t see this every day …

Minnie is fine. Here she’s lying on the side with the tumour. Five seconds before I took the shot, she was actually asleep on it, then she lifted her head. She doesn’t seem to feel any pain
_____________________________________
Here’s something you don’t see every day. This is an actual mortgage:
That’s not a mortgage, son THIS is a mortgage.
The bank phoned me today to say I can come in and collect the documents. Why? Because my former  equity loan account is now defunct, so the mortgage is discharged and “here are your documents”.
Here’s the discharge:
And here’s the actual Title Deed:
I’ve seen photocopies of this before, including when I bought the house, but this is the actual document and it’s at my right hand right now. Faskinatin’.
I was talking to the branch manager and he said, “Yes, you don’t see these documents very often because, from a few years ago, it’s all electronic now. There are no paper documents.” Wow, those servers better stay up!
Finally, I said I’m a bit nervous about having these documents in my house.
No worries, they will provide a secure envelope in the vault for $25 per year. No problem.
______________________________________
That’s the good news. The bad news is that I guess I finally cut the ties with a long time “friend” today.
It was such a trivial thing, but he ran away, bolted out the door, rather than view a slide show I’ve made. Why? Because he’s afraid it shows how simple and silly/boring his own slide shows are. He hasn’t seen one iota of my show, he doesn’t even know what it looks like, he just knows he doesn’t want to see it. So he ran away for the second time in five weeks.
I laughed at him.

Why is it better than his shows? He could be doing the same level of show, but he won’t pay for the Pro version of the software. I think it’s because he fears he won’t be able to master it. How bizarre. We’re only talking the difference between $89 and $129! It’s just fear. He has told me he bolts from dentist’s chairs, for example.

This might seem an overreaction on my part, but I assure you this is just another in a long, long line of double dealing, scavenging, stealing from me, scrounging, asking me to feed him and provide him with beer etc, borrowing things and never returning them, etc etc. 
I’m afraid it’s time. Time to slough off the bad friends. He won’t come back except if he wants something from me!

Oh, I forgot to mention — he’s also known as “Mr Negative” by my real estate friend – no matter what I say I’m doing, he says negative things about it. “Home Open on Wednesday”? Nah, waste of time, you won’t get anyone through. “So what am I supposed to do? Refuse the agent’s request to open on Wednesday?!” Shrug of shoulders and weak smile.

Year after year, it’s been the same. No matter what I do or say, it’s the wrong thing. NO MORE!

Sigh.

Camera Bag


Mike posted about not having a camera handy today. I posted this in reply in the comments section:

Contents of my small hessian shopping bag, which goes everywhere with me these days:
 
* wallet, large, zip-up, multiple cards for the holding of
* glasses, distance type, other
* mobile phone, Nokia, heavy, drag pocket down type
* Panasonic LX5, camera, high quality type
* tape measure, 5m, furniture and wood measuring for
* tissues, various, emergencies for
* GPS, Garmin 1490t, finding way home type
* iPod Touch, video files for showing of
* liquor shop bags, beer transport of
* strong analgesics, emergency for
* letters, notes, notebook, pencil, biros

How did I ever do without these things when I was younger? I don’t have enough pockets for all this.

If you don’t carry a camera, you won’t get the shots. Fortune favours the prepared.

The Carpet Bombing Aftermath – Monday

Finished, but he left some debris for me to clean up.
It’s middday and the Carpet Call storm trooper has just finished up and left. Thank Dog!
I had a dentist appointment at 10am this morning, which if the job had been finished on Friday would not have been a problem. As it turned out, I had to leave that guy alone in my house until I got back at 11:30am. Him alone with Minnie. I was nervous.
When I got home, I heard a coupe of dog barks and found Minnie trapped in a small area between my carport wall and the house. She had wandered in there, as she does, and couldn’t find her way back out again. Why? Because the passageway was blocked by a pile of carpet scraps too big for me to lift out of the way.
Cleared now, but Minnie was trapped behind that box and a pile of carpet debris.
I had to leave her while I went inside and sussed the situation.
When I saw the carpet bomber was preparing to leave and was outside near his car, I said, “My dog is trapped here (she had settled down on the brick paving to wait) – can you shift this stuff so I can get her out?”
“Yeah, mate, I’ll get to it in a minute, I’m just finishing up.”
I said, “No, can you move it right now please, I need to get my dog out.”
“Yeah, alright mate”, he says, in a tone as if I’m causing him aggro again!
Then finally, as he’s leaving, I point out the three large rolls of carpet in my laundry.
He left these for me. What a guy!
“What about these?” I say. Meaning, aren’t you going to take these? “No, those are leftovers for you” he says. He’s not taking them away. These are the rolls he left on Friday blocking my toilet door.
I’ve just been around taking photos. He’s left more pieces of nail strip in the passageways, just ready for me to tread on! 
New pieces of nail strip left for me to tread on.
There’s debris on the carpet, and there’s a small bulge in the carpet in one room.
That bump will be my fault, of course.
So now, luckily the sun is still shining, but I have to spend the rest of the day moving my furniture back in before it rains tomorrow.
What a BASTARD. What a rotten customer service. CARPET CALL, Balcatta. Stay away from them!
______________________________________________
And the dentist? No decay, but my teeth are very worn down due to Bruxism, teeth grinding. I wonder why I do that???!!!!

Holy Shit! Anti-depressant!

The dark before the dawn. Sanur January 2011
A few days ago I wrote about the news item warning of side effects of an anti-depressant called Efexor (compulsive gambling addiction). I knew I’d taken it, but I couldn’t remember when, even though I remember its effects all too well. 
Today I’ve found my diary for May 2003, starting on Efexor. “Anxiety, nausea, stomach upsets, vision difficulty, prostate constriction, difficulty urinating.”  I stuck it out until Thursday 7 August, but had to stop. I can’t believe I went on so long.
____________________________________
I’ve just found the further details of the next anti-depressant drug I was prescribed, the one I wrote about last week. It was 8 August 2003, and the drug I took wasn’t Efexor, it was Edronax.
Guess what I’ve got in my cupboard at this moment? A packet of Edronax, prescribed only a month ago! Luckily, I didn’t start them.
Diary entries: 
Friday 8 August 2003 – started Edronax – UGH! Stomach upset, mild nausea, chills, shivers, back to bed for 1 hour.  Can’t face taking second tablet.
Saturday 9 August: After breakfast, again, UGH! Stomach churning, upset, chills, shivers, woozy.
Later: wobbly, slow.  Second tablet, couldn’t face food or drink.
Rotten night – floods of dreams. COLD feet. Couldn’t get them warm. Woke at 3am and very poor sleep afterwards.
Sunday 10 August: Can’t face tablet this morning. Breakfast OK. Still woozy, tired, headache, stomach upset. Lunch at Meryl’s place.  [This is where I wrote about feeling disembodied, weird, having to drive home.]
3.30pm  took 1x Edronax. UGH! Awful feeling. Tense, stomach upset, anxious, scared. Continued to bed time 9.30pm. Chills, shivers, distress.
Awful sleep, masses of dreams, waking every 1/2 hr to 1 hr, sweating, feet ice cold.
Monday 11 August 2003: work at TVW [how did I do it?]
Effects of Edronax slowly wearing off, but excessive sweating! Even in COLD evening, still sweating.
Tuesday 12 August: poor sleep again but not as bad. It’s wearing off. Sweating still.
3pm: saw Dr W… — Stop for 1 month or more (my suggestion).
Thursday 14 August: Feeling much better.
____________________________________
So there it was, August 2003, burned into my memory, a week or so of terror and sweating.
And I’ve got a packet of this awful drug at my side right now, prescribed only a month ago!
Is this coincidence or my psychic abilities again? In yesterday’s Weekend West, Saturday 28 July 2012, there was an ad at about page 7:
The Captain Stirling Medical Centre is going to get a call from me. I’m not on antidepressant medication now, but this is too good a story to keep secret. I’ve got them all diarised.
What a lucky escape!

PS

My mind?
I am in a state of nervous anxiety right now, Sunday evening 8pm. I have a dentist appointment at 10am tomorrow morning, which is anxiety producing enough.
But that carpet gorilla is due here to finish the job in the morning, and I wonder what I’m in for. I spent a good hour today taking doors off their hinges because I didn’t realise it was up to me to do it. He’ll crap on me if I don’t do it, or charge me $30 per door.
But as well, I’m going to have to leave him here alone in my house while I go to the dentist. F..ck!

When I arranged this carpet laying last week, I had no idea it would clash with Monday’s dentist appointment.  This Carpet Call company is going to regret this. Already my article has been linked to on a Canadian web site.

The future

enceladus saturn moon surface
Enceladus. There may be life on this icy moon of Saturn.
I’ve been thinkin’. Yeah, it hurts a bit, but it’s nearly beer o’clock and that’ll ease the pain. I take that fantastic medicine that comes in tall brown bottles. Lovely stuff!

I’ve been making a mental list of things that would set us doing handsprings, lift us up and shake us and make us realise, we will be OK.

I’m an eternal optimist. I believe science and technology are advancing so much and so fast that I don’t worry too much about the future. Even my doom laden post about methane doesn’t set me back too much, despite my forebodings. Something will turn up.

So here’s my list of things I want to see and I reckon are coming. I’m no scientist. I just read a lot.

These are in a rough order of importance and impact, highest first:

  1. A visitation from a friendly alien people (whatever “people” means);
  2. Reception of a decodable, understandable, friendly message from another star or planet;
  3. Discovery of sentient life on another planet, wherever it is;
  4. Discovery of life on a planet in our solar system;
  5. Achievement of fusion power, or any other infinite, non-polluting power source, eliminating the need for oil and coal and all the destruction they cause;
  6. Achievement of transport powered in the same way – ie no need for oil and petrol;
  7. Discovery of a way to eliminate humans’ need to fight and kill each other, ie ALL humans become non-aggressive pacifists, without exception;
  8. Discovery of the basis for disease, ie the fundamental reasons underlying illness and disease, and why DNA goes wrong for us;
  9. Discovery of the basis of sleep and dreaming, and a way to engender restful, peaceful happiness without harmful drug treatment for anyone who wants it, a voluntary choice, without harmful side effects;
  10. Discovery of the basis of mental illness and cures for schizophrenia, depression, psychopathy, other psychoses and all the other terrible mental illnesses;
  11. Development of ways to reliably control the weather, to eliminate droughts and major weather disasters;
  12. Elimination of the need for organised religion as we presently understand it.
That’ll do for now. I may add more, but let’s not get too ambitious.

Note the things I do NOT include:

  1. Immortality – how are you going to pay for your eternal lifetime?
  2. Aging and death – how many people can the planet support?
  3. Elimination of war – when the need to fight and kill is understood, wars will no longer occur.
  4. An endless supply of food – we already have that, if you think about it.
  5. Riches for everyone, “all the gold you can eat”  – what’s left to strive for if everyone is rich?
  6. Elimination of poverty – there will always be people who cannot manage their lives and will be poor. Their lives will improve along with all the other discoveries.
Hmmm. Time for another dose of medicine.
Oh, that’s right! I forgot Point 13: The development of the perfect beer and an endless supply on tap in my kitchen.
PS: it has taken me nearly four hours and multiple tries at saving, editing, reporting Blogger faults, then copying and composing in MS Word (the final solution) to get this posted. EVEN NOW, this is appearing in Times when the rest is Georgia. This is f..cking hopeless. I’m posting now in desperation.

And even though this text appears in Times on the edit screen, on the posted blog, it’s Arial!!!! This is ludicrous. Yet Google is considered to be a top company!

PS

These wardrobes. That workshop shed.
I should add that I am feeling so much better that I went out shopping for food (and beer) this afternoon and clean forgot to take my stick. I did everything without it, too. I have felt for some time that the more I use it, the more I lean on it, but my legs are slowly regaining their strength.
Also, I had to reposition the three wardrobe flat packs in the workshop, because the boys had not raised them off the floor where water might damage them. It took me about an hour, shifting 2.1m high panels and doors, sweeping, vacuuming leaves and bringing bricks in to set them on, then lifting them back onto the bricks.
I did it! I was so tired at the end that I needed a sleep, but the point is, I can do it again now. It’s working!