Read the fine print! See item below. © PJ Croft 1992, 2014

Uuuurrrrrgh. A mild cold last week turned into a bad one this week. Not flu. No aches and pains, no bad fever, although a little feverish at times. Just coughs, congestion and confusion. And bed. Actually, the congestion was so bad last night that I had to sleep sitting up. It worked a treat. I awoke about 6am feeling clear enough to lie flat again for another couple of hours.

But today I feel so droopy, so lacking in energy … I deliberately went to Clarkson for lunch and supermarket but wow, it was hard to stay on my feet. Lucky they provide armchairs.

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I’ve spoken before about my precognition, and yet another instance has shown itself.

For the past two days the name Litvinenko has been rolling around in my mind. I know who he is – it’s a familiar name, but why now? The name has been constantly in my head.

Bazinga! In the news today, Alexandr Litvinenko’s widow is to seek compensation for her husband’s death. He was a Russian in London targeted by the KGB and poisoned with Polonium, a radioactive substance. There was no cure. He died an agonising death. Nice KGB. Nice Russia.

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I’m pretty upset with Photobook Australia. I’ve been using their software since 2009 to get printed books of my images, as you know. I’ve done six books so far, and I planned to do at least three more. To that end, I’ve bought pre-paid vouchers as the specials come up. I had two waiting for me to do my next book.

Yesterday I got an email from them saying my vouchers expire in 24 hours! These cost $45 each, $90.

I sent off an angry email because I thought they had a three year validity. It seems the rules had changed and I hadn’t read the fine print.

They’ve given me a three week extension, in view of the past business I’ve done with them. So now I’m embarked on a fast book composition project. All the previous books I’ve done have been three months, at least. Constant checking, constant refining, constant, improvements.

But I’m going to tell them, this will cost you my business. You can’t take my money, then confiscate it without providing a product or service! Your software is crude and clunky, it has bugs, there’s no page numbering … the only reason I’ve continued to use Photobook is because it does dropped shadows, which I really want.

But there are other book comp web sites, so I’ll use someone else next time.

At least my next three weeks is pretty well mapped out.

A few weeks ago I posted a couple of pics of Fremantle (Freo) which are a little bit historic:

This was April 1976.

This was June 1989.

And I’ve just rediscovered this one:

All © PJ Croft 2014

This was July 2012.  Yeah, I know, doesn’t change much does it? That’s the point, Fremantle is holding the line in not demolishing buildings just because they’re old.

I can remember what St George’s Terrace in Perth was like when it had all those magnificent old sandstone buildings. Now they’re mostly gone, replaced by glass/concrete/stainless steel boring boxes of no interest whatever.

It happened despite all thr warnings about creating a wind tunnel. What have we got? A wind tunnel. A major street in Perth which is hardly worth visiting. There’s nothing to see. The only good thing about modern architecture is that no-one will miss it or even notice that it’s gone when it comes time for demolition. It’s worthless.

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I’ve often heard Muslim extremists say they are avenging the humiliation of Islam by the West.

Muslim extremists are endlessly firing rockets into Israel. Israel reacts by putting bombs into the rocket launching sites.

Could it be that if the extremists stopped firing their rockets, the Israeli bombing would stop?

Is that so hard to understand? Stop firing rockets and the bombs will stop. It seems simple enough to this Westerner. It seems to me that extremist Muslims deserve the title of World’s Most Stupid People. Humiliation? You said it.

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Colin Barnett says we are getting upset, getting “grumpy” over trivial things like the loss of pensioner concessions on state charges. He doesn’t like us saying we’re grumpy.

Well, Col, I’m grumpy. Today you’ve announced the expenditure of a massive amount of public money on a new stadium which I will never use, not being a sporting person.

Yes, premier, I’m bloody grumpy.

Barong Dancer © PJ Croft 2014

I’m feeling considerably warmer and more relaxed at the moment. I’m home again after seeing a haematologist / oncologist at 1.30pm, and the news was yes, you have CLL, but low level, only one swollen lymph node, no need for any treatment, come back and see him in 6-12 months. Meanwhile, like the Alzheimers patient, just go home and fuggeddaboudit. Phew. Seven weeks I’ve been sweating a bit on that. Hey. he bulk bills! No cost to me, see you later Mr Croft. Nice. Same for the CAT scan – bulk billed, no cost. This is good.

Then off to the endocrinologist for diabetes assessment. Long, detailed chat, very nice bloke. He’s taking me off the fast acting Apidra and switching me to Byetta. This is a weight loser, thank goodness. Unfortunately, if you’re on Lantus, which is PBS, but you need Byetta as well, the Byetta is non-PBS, $140/month. If you were on Byetta without the Lantus, it would be PBS $0. Oh well.

Again, come back in three months, so no urgency. That’s good.

He measured my blood pressure – 160/45 ! That’s the lowest diastolic I’ve ever had. Strange. It went up again in the outer office – $330 for his consultation! No bulk billing here.

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I was in the Joondalup parking area. What a schemozzle that place is! Overcrowded and only one pay station for the whole area. Hard to get a parking space for people who are not 100% fit and healthy – great.

Anyway, I was so preoccupied when I went out that I forgot to pay on my ticket. I drove straight to the exit, put my card in and saw a figure of $4 to pay, but there’s nowhere to pay at the exit! But the machine had my card! I couldn’t retrieve it, so I just had to back out — no-one behind me, luckily.

But what to do? I didn’t have a ticket to pay on at the machine. Dammit. I just had to drive to the exit and try to follow someone else under the boom. No luck, so I just drove forward, reached out and forced the boom up over my car and drove forward. Bang, clunk and I was through. Too bad.

I’ve complained to the hospital management in writing before about this parking, but I just got brushed off. OK, guys, I get angry.

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I was napping this morning (recommend it!) and woke to a strong visual memory, which is still in my head at 6pm.

I was in a plane coming in to land at London City Airport, which is in the Docklands area, east of the city. I could see all the runways of the airport, but next to it through thin haze was a huge rail station track area with all its intricate tracks and switching between them, stretching off into the distance to the covered platforms.

Wow. It was a clear strong vision and I still have it. The airport is real, but the rail tracks are not. They’re off in other parts of London and you can’t see much because most of it is under cover. I have an urge to build a model railway like this, though.

Dark days indeed. © PJ Croft 2014

Well, you think you’ve seen bad behaviour in Parliament, and then this comes along:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jul/01/michaelia-cash-labor-sisterhood-penny-wong

What a spiteful, raving rant. Disgusting. Michalia Cash is a Liberal, of course.

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And again: Richard Ackland in The Guardian –

“The Abbott government has taken us into a whole new territory as a result of disregarding Australian human rights obligations under international and domestic law.”

This cruel government is engaging in “refoulement”, the UN term for turning refugees back to a place where they face significant harm. It is illegal! There’s no other way to put it. It is breaking international law, and indirectly, Australian law.

From the comments –

“what can you say – apart from another despicable act from the worst government in australia’s history?”

“I can say that despicable is the nice way of putting it. Illegal, vicious, arrogant, and embarrassing are a few more adjectives.

Michelle Grattan is one of Australia’s most respected senior journalists. She’s a long time political writer and is now a professorial fellow at the University of Canberra. Her reputation has always depended on being seen to be impartial and balanced in what she writes. I’ve been reading her and listening to her for more than 20 years.

But I’ve never heard or seen her as explicit as this:

“What is offensive about this government is not that it is pursuing tough policies, but that it is trashing accountability and is so lacking in empathy.

“The boats did need to be stopped. The budget does require fixing.

“But an empathetic government would bring some humanity to the first and greater sensitivity to the second, while a less arrogant administration would show more respect all around.”

This is an extract from her article in The Conversation http://www.theconversation.com This is direct, explicit criticism of this harsh, cruel government that is defying the High Court of Australia, and breaking international law. As well as defying our right to know what is going on.

I don’t think I’ve ever read such strong criticism from her. She is saying, this is a bad government. This government is defying all the laws and conventions, including our rights as citizens.

In 1975 the Malcolm Fraser led Liberal opposition thought the Whitlam Labor government was so bad that they blocked Supply and forced a new election long before it was due.

I think the same conditions apply now. This government is so bad, so harsh, so defiant of anyone else’s rights that I would strongly support the Senate blocking Supply and forcing a double dissolution and a new election.

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Also in the weekend papers, this from the Australian Financial Review – that the power generation industry is laughing at PM The Rabbot BA (Boxing) Oxon. over his speech that this country needs to be long term planning to build more base load power stations, i.e. large coal or gas fired power generators.

They’re laughing at him because electricity demand is falling in this country, not rising. Large power stations are being closed down. Why? First, because of the marked increase in solar power use; second, because of the fall in manufacturing, large power hungry plants being closed; and third, because consumers are just plain using less power – energy saving CFL and LED light fittings, more efficient appliances and a general need to keep power bills down.

So much for that, Tones. Any more bright ideas?

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What the hell has WordPress done to this blogging software? I was tipped into a new composition page and I hate it. I’ll have to figure out what’s going on.

Each taken with Olympus OM-D E-M1. Sharp, hand held, no camera shake, low noise.

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At the pub the other night (Brrrr):

• Woman: “I’m like, just over there and we, like, were wondering if we can, like, order something now?”

• “G’day mate, I’m from Darwin and I’ve been out in the Tanami Desert and I dunno about the rules about singlets and I’m on Darwin time zone and I dunno if I you can serve me?”   Yeah, no worries, mate.

I said, “If you can wear a singlet in this cold, you’re OK, mate.”  Grin.

• He passes me 20 mins later, breathing beer fumes into my face and says,  “Did you hear? … two baked beans travel around Australia and they end up in Cairns [pronounced Cans]”  Hah ha hah.

The good ol’ days of 2″ videotape. Those are my hands. © PJ Croft 2014

I can hardly believe it. This morning’s Goon Show was the last to be aired on the ABC! “Contractual reasons” was the reason given.

The Goons have been running weekly, continuously, for more than 30 years, the last regular broadcasts in the world. I’ve been listening regularly for about 15 years, since I retired. I used to wake at 5.30am for the Goon Show every Friday (and that made waking at that time a daily habit), and for the past year or so I’ve been pretty regularly listening at 5.00am on Mondays after they shifted it. It seems now as if that shift might have been to shake as many of us addicts off as they could before axing it.

I’ve got more than 100 episodes recorded on Mini-Discs and on the computer, and I’ve usually heard the episode before, but this morning’s was one I hadn’t heard before! (The Thing on the Mountain). Even now, the episodes are fresh. I don’t care how many times they are repeated, it’s like listening to classical music, you always hear something new in the performance.

Bloody BBC – I bet they are behind this. “Contractual reasons”. A euphemism for, We can make more money out of this than the ABC is willing to pay. So much for the Mother Country and the Empire.

I must admit I don’t listen apart from in bed because they need concentration. You can’t listen and be reading or doing something else at the same time. I guess I’ll have to find the episode titles I don’t have and buy the CDs.

This is a tragedy. Not only are the Goons gone, there used to be radio comedy every morning at 5.30am – all BBC of course, but I was a regular listener.  My Music, My Word, Round the Horn … I must admit those got a bit repetitive, but they’re all gone. Tragic.

All I can say is that RN is a rich source of programs at that time of the morning so I’ll continue listening.

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To Liberal voters, what does it take to open your eyes and minds? How many lies and broken commitments will it take to make you realise that Barnett will break any promise, say anything, go back on any agreement at any time he feels like it?

His latest is to say that all the 2013 election statements that his promises are “Fully costed, fully funded” were printed by the party organisation and not endorsed by him, therefore he doesn’t have to stand by them. What crap! Why didn’t he say so last year?

The hypocrisy of the government is also on display again with the last parliamentary pay increases. Yes, it’s an independent committee that sets politicians’ salaries, but he could have made a stronger effort to ensure the CPI rise increase was adhered to. As far as I’m concerned, the unions should now push as hard as they can for whatever pay increases that police, nurses, teachers and others deserve. Any cooperation in keeping wages down is forfeited.

Worse, much worse, is the Queensland Liberal National government led by that hard man Campbell Newman. When Tony Fitzgerald QC is moved to speak out about the dangerous attacks on democracy in Queensland, and the Law Society is moved to call for the blocking of the appointment of a Supreme Court judge because he is “too close” and “influenced” by Newman and the LNP party, something is seriously wrong.

The Liberal National Party Queensland government is unmistakeably taking Queensland back to the days of Joh and all the corruption and bribery of those times.

This is on top of the harsh treatment of nurses and other essential workers in Queensland last year. Newman dished out massive job losses in government departments, regardless of their effects on these dedicated workers. This was harsh, cruel treatment.

This is the Liberal Party way. Harsh, cruel government, voted for by the type of people who think all unions are bad and “Laws are for other people. Get out of my way, allow me to make myself rich and some of it might rub off on you”. The old saying that the rich are getting richer is definitely true, but it’s at the expense of the poor, even in this country.

If you voted for it, good for you, but I didn’t. I’m affected – I’ll be losing my Seniors concessions. While Liberal parliamentarians will be smoking their cigars and counting their pay rises and investment bankers will continue to get away with insider trading and fraud.

Also coming from the federal Liberal government is a repeal of the law that financial advisors must work “in the interests of their clients”. In other words, for a Liberal government, advisors do not by law have to have the interests of their clients uppermost. How can any of us now have confidence in any financial advice? The way is open for kickbacks, frauds and secret commissions, as happened at the Commonwealth Bank.

I spit.

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Feeling a bit better today, and I know why. I’m almost pain free for the first time in over two weeks.  My left ankle and foot have been very painful, enough that I’m having to use my stick just to get from the bed to the bathroom. I was hobbling all the time and getting shooting pain and constant aches. Strong painkillers were not having much effect. I think it was caused by a pinched nerve up in my left hip area and by shifting my position and repadding my chair, I seem to have made some progress in fixing it.

Chronic pain. It’s insidious. It has a greater effect than just the pain itself, it also affects my mood, badly.

I wasn’t aware until recently that paracetemol doesn’t work for everyone. So that’s why my Panadol Osteo never seemed to have any effect! I asked the chemist the other day and she confirmed it – she said Panadol definitely doesn’t work for her either.

I’ll be danged. All these years when I thought it might be working, it was probably just placebo. Grrr. The problem is, I can’t use ibuprofen or aspirin either due to the other meds I take, so that doesn’t leave much at all. She said codeine is addictive, and I find Tramadol has little effect either.  I’ll have to ask the doc. Medical marijuana is the answer, I reckon. Not that I’d know.

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I’m in a quandary. I’m compiling an electronic version of our school magazine for our 50th anniversary reunion in October. I’m on a small committee (6 of us) and we discuss how things should be, and because I’m pretty computer “literate”, I’ve got the job. I’ve been calling for contributions for the past four or five months (tell us what you’ve been doing in your life for the past 50 years) but out of 150 emails sent out, I’ve only had 16 responses, and none from the committee members.

I would have thought people would have a fair bit to write about to cover 50 years, but all the responses have been no more than one A4 page and one photo, usually less and no photo.

Except mine, as you may gather. I’ve written 40 pages with about 30 photos. How can I write less? I remember it all and I have hundreds of photos, hundreds. It’s mostly about my life at Channel 7 of course, but the last 15 years since Channel 7 have been interesting too. I’ve been back over it to see if I want to drop anything out, but no.

As well, I’ve written another 20 pages about what life was like at the Boys’ Hostel in Northam, with several photos. Twenty pages! I could have written more, and I’ll probably add some. I’ve also included scans of my old school reports, certificates, references (from school times) and a 1966 letter home. I also have plans for at least another 20 pages of other material, and I’ll be going up to Northam soon to get present day photos.

But I feel as if I’m in a foot race and I’m sprinting away, then realising there’s no-one beside me. I’m looking back and there’s no-one coming up behind me either, they’re all just standing at the start line. I’m saying, “Come on, where are you?” I’ve suggested things for people to write about and put the magazine in 100 page prototype form up for them to look at, but I get no response at all, no comments.

It’s a bit disheartening. I’ve said I don’t want it just to be Pete’s magazine, but I get no response. Too bad, it’ll be my magazine, then.

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Due to the consecutive failure of two cheap coffee makers bought from Woolies, I’ve been without one for a while, but I missed it. I weakened and bought another $49 one from Coles the other day. (I got a full refund from Woolies.)

You can’t tell anything about it from the pictures on the box, but I’ve found that (a) the capsules it uses are unique – you can’t use any except its specific brand; (b) it has a small water container that holds no more than two cups worth, so I’m constantly refilling it; (c) it only makes demi-tasse espresso sized cups, not the full cups we’re used to; (d) they’re not very hot out of the machine; and (e) it’s s-l-o-w. You have to wait.

However, the coffee is quite nice, so I’ll stick with it. I often leave some cold coffee in the cup anyway. For $49, lump it mate.

Some more of my old shots.  Hardly historic but they ain’t gettin’ any newer.

Fremantle men’s barber, April 1976
© PJ Croft 2014

Fremantle January 1991    This is a film scan.  The sunlit building was very burnt out but the magic of digital highlight recovery has brought some detail back.
© PJ Croft 2014 

Alley, Fremantle January 1991
© PJ Croft 2104

Fremantle January 1991 © PJ Croft 2014
Again, digital magic allowed me to pull the perspective up and crop creatively.

Fremantle June 1989 © PJ Croft
The file name says this is Ektachrome 1000ASA. Wow, advanced for its time.

Fremantle Port Authority January 1976 © PJ Croft 2014

Fremantle pub December 1990 © PJ Croft 2014

I have a lot more to come.

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I’m spending all my time doing the magazine for our reunion in October.  Crumbs, it looks like being my magazine.  I’m writing and illustrating like crazy.  I’ve written 40 pages on my own experiences in the past 50 years, and now I’ve added another 20 pages on Life at the Hut, with photos.  Plus I’ve still got all my old school reports, exam certificates so I’m scanning them and putting them in. Plus old references with historic signatures, and even a letter I wrote to home in January 1966.

I don’t know how people are going to feel about this.  It’s all about me, but what else can I do?  I want to make it an interesting magazine but no-one else is contributing anything!  I’ve only had 16 responses to our call for life stories (out of 103 who have responded to our email invitations), and all of them, ALL of them, are only about half a page and one photo, some not even that.

I feel as if I’m in a running race and find myself way out in front.  I look back over my shoulder and see a few people walking slowly behind and I’m saying “Come on, where are you?”  I don’t know what to do.

I think I’m going to say bugger it, I’m doing the work, if I want to put it in I will. I’m going to make another appeal, but I’ve already said “send me lots of material – there is no limit to what I can take”.  But I’m not getting anything.  Too bad.

Fremantle April 1976 © PJ Croft 2014
A recently rediscovered image that will be historic one day. It is already, to some extent. I have thousands of images of WA. It seems a pity, but when I die, all this will be thrown out and lost. No-one wants it.  No-one is interested. I just noticed – that’s my red MGB parked at left. Top off on a sunny day. Nice car to drive.

I’ve been quiet lately, sorry.  Quite busy.  Damn legs playing up a fair bit (diabetic effects, minor ankle sprains) meaning confinement to home a lot. Constant work at the computer, doing things like the Avon magazine for our reunion in October.  I’m using Serif Page Plus X7 DTP software for that and I’m pretty impressed for such a low cost program.  I doubt I’m using it to its full potential.

I’m also discovering more boxes of CDs. Holy smoke, I must have well over 1,000, probably more.  Many of them are favourites but I really must do a ruthless cull.  I’ve got a friend who’s said he wants anything I don’t want, so that makes it easier.

I also have two hard drives with around 250 DVDs in “ripped” form.  These don’t take up much space, obviously, but I do wonder why I’m keeping them.  But dammit, I’ve just scanned the drive contents at high speed and I’ve seen all sorts of titles that make me think, “Oooh, yes, I must look at that.”  Episodes of Rumpole, for example, and …  bloody hell, I’ve just looked at the list more closely and I want all of them!  That’s why I kept them in the first place.  So there’s the rest of my life mapped out, watching 250 DVDs, some with multiple episodes. Hah!

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CIEUX — that’s the number plate of a car at the medical centre carpark.  I guessed, correctly, that it belongs to the lovely Isobel, the French receptionist behind the counter.  She has the most beautiful French accent.

I asked her about the number plate and she said it means (the) heavens or sky.  Pronounced see-yuh. Sky on its own is ciel (see-el).  That explains my Lyle Mays CD’s title, Cielo e Terra, Sky and Earth in Spanish.

She said her number plate is also the name of a small village near her home in France.  Nice.

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Fremantle Custom House April 1976 © PJ Croft 2014. HMC – Her Majesty’s Customs. Quaint.

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I had a visit from an old friend from Channel 7 yesterday.  He actually resigned in 1989 so it’s been a long time.  He’s 55 now and has decided to ease off the work and take a couple of days off a week to do things he wants to do.  Luckily he has a supportive wife, even though they have a son to bring up.

He confirmed what I knew – he was one of a string (well, three) of graduate engineers who’d been employed successively with the long term aim of taking over as the next Chief Engineer.  The trouble was, no-one ever told them.  That was the way Channel 7 management worked in our area – don’t communicate!  Don’t tell people what is expected of them. Just, sort of, y’know, let ’em find out.

The trouble was there was another engineer who was never going to leave and despite not explicitly having the title of Deputy Chief Engineer, regarded himself as such (these things were not spelt out clearly).  He blocked the path of any potential rival.  He was capable of terrible skullduggery and bullying.

The result was that these young engineers lasted a few years but got fed up, saw the future and resigned.  My friend yesterday said that when he did, the Director of Engineering was told by the Managing Director to “throw money” at him.  “How much do you want to stay?” in other words.  My friend said it was too late, he’d already accepted another job.

That confirmed what another ex-TVW engineer told me last year, same story.  He was really good, a great people manager and a good electronics brain too.  But he was on $25,000 a year!  (This was in the late 80s)  He said he just couldn’t live on that money and I agree.  Secretaries made more than that.  I was on about $40,000 at the time.

So this good engineer resigned and got the same spiel – “Oh, no, you can’t leave, we were planning for you to take over the Chief’s job.”  “But you never told me, and I can’t live on what you’re paying me.”  “Oh, well how about $50,000?  With car?”  “Sorry, it’s too late, I’m setting up my own business with another mate and we’re too advanced.”  So we lost him.  Mostly because no-one had the foresight or courage to spell things out.

That typified the company.  Don’t tell people what you expect of them, don’t give feedback, don’t do performance reviews (I never had one in 33 years as a tech!)  Then when they get fed up and resign, either go into shock, or don’t try to hold on to them.

Only once, late in my career, was I given a job description, and that was a result of being asked to write my own!  I cannot recall ever being told how I was performing or getting any feedback on my job. There was never any praise.  Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.  And always suffering the blocking and sabotage of that weird engineer who only ever ate his own sandwiches with the crusts cut off out of his biscuit tin and drank Fanta.  Never any tea or coffee, just Fanta, every day for over 30 years that I knew him.  Talk about Dr Sheldon Cooper!  This was Sheldon without the humour.  I was hugely relived to get out.

It’s great to still be friends with these guys after so long, too.  The one yesterday told me he regarded me as having much greater knowledge than him when we worked together, and that tallied with the other one last year saying that he regarded me as his mentor when we worked together.  My jaw dropped!  Really?  I never knew.  It’s nice to know now.  Pity I didn’t then 🙂

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I’ve had my eye on a watch at the local jewellers for some weeks.  It’s just a Casio analogue/digital, but I find it appealing.  Casio is usually far too gross for me, but I like this one, one of the very few in their range that I could wear.

The price in the jewellers is $159.  I checked on-line and the price is $78, plus $14.95 shipping.  That’s too big a difference to ignore, so I’ve ordered on-line.  I don’t see any jewellers shops closing their doors for lack of business, so I don’t feel bad about it.

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Likewise, my order for the Panasonic GH4 was cancelled because they can’t get stock, so that opened the way to order the other camera I want, the Sony RX10.  RRP $1,499 plus delivery costs.  I’m paying $1,096 including delivery.  I can’t ignore these kinds of savings.