whoo hoo ..

Just in case readers may persist in the perception that am an "ancient old fogey".

Um, probably am ... have been searching hundreds of "recent" photo files and can't find the one of me that proves am me in a motorcycle helmet.

Ah - can i 'prove' anything with some words, and a 'photo' - of course not.

My "history" belongs the "staging" of something that belongs to the ancient concept -
the willing suspension of dis-belief. Think about it.

Aha - found it

Meh.

Also have a recent pic of three old fogeys ...

um, well, one is behind the camera ... heh.
(and no, the white truck isn't mine. The scrubby old Jackaroo 'bushbasher' is off to the left, behind, as always).
And yep, there's a sort of hidden 'joke' in this pic. If we find a "difficult" track - the bloke in the blue cap always sends me first - because he doesn't want to get his nice new 4WD 'scratched' ... heh.

respect

Interesting word.
What does it mean.

methinks, without it - civilisations
  fall.

Osama been Loading

.. mm, should i be glad to see THAT myth laid to rest?

legal depression

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lawreport/stories/2011/3181665.htm

O, ho ho. Am not a 'lawer', but could make some laughs out of it. (love the bloke from Dallaz, Texaz)

However, one of the things that keeps me alive is that have yet to figure out a "neat" way of disappearing without leaving a mess ..

5/8ths of FA*

Which pretty much sums up my knowledge about "nuclear" power. Well, atoms have a  'nucleus', there are 'nuclei' in animal cells. There seems to be some sort of "issue" revolving around the problems in Japan, and various "big business" conglomerates seem to be busy defending "nuclear power".

So, what's it all about? Depends on how one interprets "nuclear", I guess. A 'one man band'?

Have been ptooering around the internetty thingos and found this
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/03/01/1859758.htm
 so will ponder that one for a while.

(*still don't really understand algebra .. but is sometimes useful).

BOOO!

one of the locals; march, 2011

more info on this little character -

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Huntsman-Spiders

In the defense of Julian Assange.

(Updated 15 Dec 2010 - found some links .. heh. Will "post to other" when have a bit more info)


[still under edit:was written "offline"; still trying to find the reference links; might be me who's getting confused, but did 'save' a whole heap of   "reference links". Gruogle "Krum" don't make it easy. Might revisit Firefox.  ]

For a start; am not a lawyer, nor involved with any “law enforcement” agencies, official or otherwise. Am just an ordinary citizen of Australia (Rtr'd).

All this 'internet' furoré has me fascinated, so was wondering if there was some factual basis. All of the following is opinion.

I see where some politicians are calling for the “arrest” of Julian Assange (fair enough – means 'to bring to a standstill' or 'stop' (from the Old French; arester or Latin; restãre – to stand still). Can quite understand their embarrassment. Being caught with yer pants down does tend to invoke some anger generated by surprise. However, Julian has been very careful to distance himself and the organisation known as “WikiLeaks” from any link, collusion with, or knowledge of who actually happened to “break the law” (according to their own, individual, conscience or motive). “assassination” is quite a different concept, mostly confined to “primitive”, “uneducated” Nations.

There are, actually, quite a few “laws” in many countries around this planet relating to 'confidentiality', 'loyalty' and 'submission'. Most of the 'enlightened' systems of governance rely on individuals 'signing a contract'. Won't go into detail, but the “Spycatcher” case some time ago illustrates the general principal of what am alluding to.

Will also remind readers to read the detail of any TOS - “terms of service” that internet host providers supply. You'd be surprised at how vague some of the clauses are.

As far as I can gather; Julian Assange – by publishing information given to him - has broken no specific law. He is, yes, “Editor in Chief” of WikiLeaks. If, in fact, he IS guilty of “publishing information” given to him in secret - then I would suggest that EVERY “Editor in Chief” of EVERY print, radio, video transmission, media on this planet is, essentially, guilty.

The list, and details, of these sort of practices is far too long for me to summarise here; but am sure you will know what I mean. (Remember “Deep Throat”; Woodward and Bernstein)

As a side-track; Am very disappointed by Julia Gillard and our own Attorney General. Ask Assange to “cease and desist”, perhaps; call for his “arrest”, perhaps. But shouting to the rooftops that what he has done is “illegal” - letting him know that you are just acutely embarrassed, uninformed; is not the mature stance, or response, that I would expect of an Australian National Leadership.

So, let me look at the “legalities” of what happened in Sweden in August, and subsequent.

Timeline1

So, who knows. Am very suspicious about the “timing” -

And it IS tempting to “invent” some dialogues. [Disclaimer – not fact, “rape” is objectively difficult to define. This is a short summary based on 50 years of interaction between me and various human European origin females; and what have been able to discover from the internet.]

Female 1:(very happy, wanting to share) “'alloo, S here, you know Julian?'

Female 2:“Ya”

Female 1:“We have beautiful night”

2: “Oh?”'

1: “ya, he is so beautiful”

2: “you have sex with him?”

1: “Ya, he very strong”.

Long pause …....

Yes, can imagine the sort of thing that happens next. Information sharing. 'Me also. What, no condom?” “No”. “Have you?”, “No”, “Oh shit, has he ....?” “No idea”. Ring the bastard! Ask him````````````````````````````. No contact, where is he?, report to police, find him, ask him.

The whole Swedish situation seems to have gone a bit pearshaped from there.

confrontation/resolution

Um, there are probably many details that have chosen to not publish.

So, short story.

When i first lobbed on this apparent 'wilderness' campground, was under the impression that nobody cared. After a while some locals wandered past. Had spoken to one or two, given shrugged 'permission' to 'stay as long as i liked'.

After a while discovered that  'undercurrents' prevailed. Was told that 'the locals think you are taking over their campground' (cramping their style?). Had no intention of "taking over", but, obviously, had to think about it. The "hints" became more obvious - revving motor vehicles, wheelies in the dark of the night.

Was visited by a 4WD at 10.00pm one night. Parked next to my van. Uh,Oh, think i. Two burly blokes. We had a chat. Was left alone, but after a couple of visits, got to know one of them. i went round to visit him, several times. Alcohol involved. Mad bastard, too similar. Alpha males.

He helped me get into the house that i now occupy, his friend is the next door neighbour.

He came round to this house several times, me sober, him crissed as a picket, could cope.

Then, something happened to a nearby house, wanton vandalism. Saw him in the vicinity, the timing was suspicious, so i mentioned it to the cops. OOOOps.

Intimidation is not all that pleasant. Won't go into details, but there were several late night visits, rocks on my roof. Took some weeks to get into a rational dialogue, but - so far, as of last Saturday night - when the visit was a bit tense, we sort of sorted things out. A bit.

Am not a "fighter" and only 70kilo facing two blokes taller than me and 20 years younger; had, basically to "talk" my way out of it.

Oddly, after a bit of "argy bargy" they were invited in, we sat down, shared a beer and, so far, all is quiet and peaceful.

the good oil

Um, wonder if I could pipe some of that into my little heater .. heh.

.. and there ARE quite a lot of people who want to try this sort of thing in the Alaskan Arctic wilderness.

{insert; Sunday 16 May} Am not making any comment about veracity, but there's some interesting info at Twelfth Bough.

If I could write

Have been reading in the papers about some serious "damage control" by various Roman Church Popes and Bishops.

It's a long story, I guess, and have not been all that bothered enough to write about it; but this post by Anne sort of says much.

fishing

OOOps wrong image ..
Dunno where the days have gone, really.
The sun comes up from the middle of a distant, easterly barley-field stubble .. and disappears into the slightly curved, ultramarine horizon, occasionally flecked by distant merry whitecaps on a jocular sea.
I don't DO much, actually. A ramble along the dune-tops, amazed by the stunted, tough, hardy, spindly spiked vegetation who inhabit this area; surviving on dew, seaspray (and the occasional piss). Have dug down a bit to see if I could discover the true source of their sustenance and survival .. but have only discovered sand, drier than a Temperance Union Sunday breakfast.
One of the problems at the moment is a distancing from christian calendars. Had no idea that last weekend incorporated a “holiday” Monday (tho am bemused to note that that “holyday” was for a city horserace – apparently lobbied for and won from the State Gummint some time ago by the the local jockey club because “South Australia had one less public 'holiday'” than the rest of the States (fully supported, of course, by the Labour Unions) .. Oh Well .. heh. At this point of my life – every day is a “holy day”.
I was, however, somewhat premature when I wrote last Thursday about “solitude”.
Anyway, as of last Freya's day afternoon, and Saturn's day morn my “solitude space” was interspersed with 10 or so other tribal groupings – including one tribal group with 3 4X4's, two tents, a camper trailer, 5 trail bikes, two quad bikes who spent most of the next three days raising hell dust around the campsite.
Was up in Moonta a couple of days ago for supplies and casually mentioned it to the bar-person. “Oh yer,” he tells me, “on long weekends we're inundated with city people, so the locals go down the coast to escape.” Mmm, whatever.
Did, however, get to say hello to a bloke who unpacked his camper-trailer about 20 yards in front of the van.
[Curious thing – this area is, to all appearances – “uncontrolled” and yet there is very little litter – what there is I collect. I feel “safe” here, for all its isolation.
The only evidence of “local council” interest is a new sign-post with new concrete footings about 1k up the track proclaiming “Cape Elizabeth Conservation Area. Day use only” .. and an adjacent area on the map that says “Gynburra Narungga Aboriginal Land”. May their Spirits long be present.]
Another thought. What IS “natural” spacing? Everybody here seemed to camp about 22 yards away – the length of a cricket pitch? As far as a normal male can throw a fist sized rock?
All that being as it may – am, for all the “isolation” am untroubled by passers-by or other campers. If I believe myself unobserved, wander the dunes naked.
(the weather for this past week has been superb. Warm enough to wander naked, not hot enough to render a body prostrate or burnt to a crisp. Could I survive here unaided? Interesting question. Funny, really, have just finished reading “Naked under Capricorn” by Olaf (?).)

Synchronicity

Have just been watching the synchronised diving on TV.. well, to be exact, the womens's 10 metre .. not an easy exercise, considering the short distance.

Australia won the silver .. after China.

Synchronicity is China's forte. That was obvious during the opening ceremony. The slogan “One world, one dream “..is a dangerous concept, perhaps. Been around since the Assyrians “came down like a wolf on the fold”. Empires Greek, Roman, Visigoth, Mongol - were built and discarded.

And yet, one cannot suppress a sneaking admiration for the Chinese experiment.

They are not, as individuals, physically strong – and yet, mentally together, they would be a formidable force if one wanted to pursue an alternative or individual train of thought.

Australians are golden in the water. Some things decided, some not.

Water polo – Australia 8 against Spain 9.

America has won gold in the Olympic shotgun shooting match .. heh.

[PS, have just popped down to the local library in the car to post this and read stuff, typing this by torchlight .. just downloaded the PDF Vest, will read it when i get back to the van.]

Paddy's crabs

[An old yarn .. could be from anywhere, or any time - but heard it as Irish, some 40 year ago.]

A tourist wandered out on to a jetty where Paddy was fishing for crabs, and putting them into an open bucket.

“Um,” said the tourist, “shouldn't you put a lid on that bucket?”

“Na, no need,” replied Paddy “dey're oirish crabs, have more than one. Soon as one tries t' climb out, t'others will drag 'im back in.”

This yarn, of course, can be further embroidered with multiple adjectives and concepts - in whichever way one chooses. Is the tourist sophisticated, scientific, knowledgeable.. Is Paddy a simple rustic.

Could the concept be applied to any tribe, family (working; or not), trade unions, football teams, business associations, political parties, religious groups, Empires?

For my peculiar mind .. one simple sentence

rang a tinkle from the bell of clarity ..

And so ..

If I told you the truth, you wouldn't believe me*.

but the sentence was written
down through the ages,
and sages -
by a bystander smitten;
a long 2000 years
and seers
ago.

*Written, not by Yeshua, but found within the recorded writings of Thomas ..

This is, according to the doctrine of the Roman – or any - clergy .. sheer heresy. Punishable by “Ex-communication!”? Expelled from the tribe. Slung from a tree, nailed to a cross. No longer a valid person! Discarded! Sent into exile, to Coventry, a railway carriage to Belsen/Auschwitz ! You are on your own! No support!

Terror!.

(and yet the basic human spirit survives, i wonder why)

Images

PrOn?
These images are not of a child - though there might be a lengthy discussion about ' states of mind'. Can't say where they came from .. perhaps arrived via some sort of electronic 'inbox' .. heh.

Did, actually, have a long conversation with my conscience ..

Davo, you shouldn't do this - Oh? why not - It was an intimate moment in time - So? - It's not Right!! - Look, am trying to eradicate 'right' and 'wrong' from the vocabulary, there is only 'appropriate' or 'inappropriate', effective or ineffective, big words and difficult to say - Do you have permission? - Errrm, no, contact, both mobile and landline of both parties were disconnected some 12 months ago - What if someone recognises her? - Mm, well, have magnified the images and had a close look, will stake my entire worth on the fact that no-one will recognise her in street clothes - .. umm .. well ....

...

There is, in my mind at least, something extraordinarily beautiful about the naked female - or any - body; relaxed - and in repose; but since am also trying to make a point about "imagery" - am also posting several versions.

What do the differing versions "say"?

Run silent, run deep

All is very quiet, here in casa caravan since the problem with Greta Garbo next door (I vant to be left alooone).

Can't quite remember the exact sequence and details, but methinks the last straw was couple of Friday nights ago. Had been missing my chats with S, somehow ended up at the lower end of a cask of Port. Wandered next door to say hello .. again. Can't remember the exact conversation, this time, but happily went to bed at about 1am, toddled off to work at 5.30am on the Saturday, came home at 4.30pm.

Greta was standing at the corner of his annexe, arms akimbo, looking like Thor had just hit his thumbnail with the hammer. Half a dozen Valkeries hovering over his stocky shoulders.

"Oh", say I, all innocent, "What's up?"

"You!" he thunders. "Don't want to talk to you, don't want you near me!" With that, he turns and disappears into his annexe. Would have been a rather impressive and dramatic exit - if he was wearing a swirl from a dark wool, red lined, hooded cape.

Things went a bit quiet after that. Went off to work on Sunday and Monday. Was at the Laundry on the Tuesday waiting for the machine to do its thing when noticed the Park Manager wandering up and down the roadway talking on his mobile phone. Wanted to speak to him, so made sure that he saw me, then hung about until he'd finished. He eventually completed whatever conversation he was on, then came across.

"Gidday," say I, "has grumbleguts from the van next to me said anything yet?"
"Yep," says he, and was given a severe "talking to". He doesn't like you bothering him, your music - and Inebriation is a big No-No.

So, am still here .. but it's all socks and sneak time in the van. Not a sound shall emerge until I can figure out how to get out of here. And yes, of the quiet and stilly night; can hear every creak, sniff and snuffle from next door so don't blame him, really - even though I DID try to keep every sound down to a dull roar. Can't quite think what the music was that caused the upset. Mostly play Bach, Brahms and Mozart .. but it might have been the Rachmaninov.

Am running silent .. but that, in a way, is a bonus. Everything, now, is on Sony headphones and have discovered that I much prefer the full, rich bass and trebles of the digital TV instead of the tiny, tinpot speakers built in to the set .. heh.

Which reminds me. Have just found this

which seems vaguely appropriate.

[and yes, Hughes, will give much credit, though there's no point in coming at me with a cricket bat - used to be a wicket-keeper before those prissy helmets; skull of pre-stressed concrete .. heh. If the reader has yet to discover Scrag Ends, please go and have a squizz.]

Cronulla to Kokoda

Watched this program tonight (yesterday night?) on the local "Aunty" ABC .. "Compass" series. About a group of young Aussies tackling the "Kokoda Track". The challenge, the struggle, the history - the changes in attitudes.

Of particular interest was the change in attitude of a young Australian of Lebanese Muslim extraction.

[UPDATE LINK: Cronulla to Kokoda

Also .. what is written there is christian biased bullshit .. the Track is a tough ask .. for anybody.]

Best laid schemes ..

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men
Gang aft agley,
An'lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

(from a Robbie Burns poem)

It was, I naívely thought, going to be relatively simple. Begin with a fixed sum of money .. allocate priorities, assign a budget and time-frame for acquisition to each .. and then, after a few months - become more or less independent again.

The "scheme", some months ago, was to dig up a small "nest-egg" that had been parked, almost forgotten, in an account that had been created some 20 years ago; get the car fixed, buy a caravan and a few "wants", shuck off the tedium of daily grind then set off on further adventures - footloose and fancy free.

Not, it seems, quite so easy these days.

The first priority was to get the motor vehicle to a state where i could be confident that it wouldn't fall apart in the middle of nowhere. There was a leak in the power steering, and the quote had been in the region of $600 to fix. So, some weeks ago, duly booked the "wagon" in for service, dropped it off at 7.30am, thinking mmm, should be somewhere around $1500 budget allocation, and caught the bus into the city for the day. Called into the workshop at 4.30pm on the way home .. to find pretty much the entire front end of the vehicle spread all over the workshop floor. ?? think I. "Whaaa..?", say i, pointing. "Ah," the mechanic replies, "you know that small "knock" you reported was coming from near the front left wheel .." "Yeeesss .. " say i. "Well, the front shock absorber had shattered, and it's a wonder that the front wheel hasn't fallen off already." "Oh", mumble me. "Well," says the mech, "You did say 'fix everything', and get it 'highway ready', you'll have to come back tomorrow".

Duly returned the following day .. to be presented with an operational motor vehicle, and a bill for $2500. Cést la vie.


Similar story with the caravan. Had allocated a maximum $5000 from a very limited budget and spent several weekends searching the internet and driving all over the city looking for one. There is a very large "caravan yard" about 20K away over on the North side of town, with Vans ranging from $1500 to $250,000 (who the hell would spend $250K on a caravan?, I'd rather buy a house). The ones that interested me were in the $3500 - $4500 range, but very old and somewhat tacky, requiring considerable time to "renovate" .. buuut, would have been copable.

Then, on another of my almost endless searches of the internet, noticed one that was just a couple of K away at Dario Caravans in the next suburb .. bit higher priced than intended, but decided to have a quick squizz anyway. Hoo boy. Took one look at the outside, a brief look at the inside and, well .. fell in love with it.

The asking price ($6,950) was somewhat higher than my "budget allocation", buuut, a bittuva discussion, I offered $6,100 and we settled at $6,400.

Have to admit that, for its age (1985), the van is immaculate, and everything that I was looking for. Who needs fancy double beds and gadget filled kitchens? All I needed was a bunk, a stove and lots of storage .. heh.

There was, of course, a small problem - it has electric brakes, necessitating the installation of the Brake controller in the wagon .. price $350, which sort of put the purchase price back up to $6,750 ..

On the other hand, I have enormous praise for Dario Caravans, and Chris in particular. After I'd agreed to purchase and paid the deposit, Chris said "Leave it here for 'after sales' service". Well, one week later, when i went to pick it up, found that -
A. there was a new fire extinguisher,
B. the annexe had been replaced with a brand new one,
C. the gas bottle had been replaced with a new one,
D. the 3 way fridge had been pulled apart and fully reconditioned.

"Errrmmm.." say I, "how much will all THIS cost?"
"No problem", says Chris, "All part of the after sales service".

So, for excellent service regarding ANYTHING to do with caravans AND ACCESSORIES, will thoroughly recommend

DARIO CARAVANS,
Pinn St. St MARYS,
ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

So far so good - there were a few problems trying to find a place to "park" it ..
had arranged that with one of my customers who had a back gate and spare section of backyard .. buut, she turned out to be a batty old dear who changed her mind the night before I was due to collect the van, so had to frantically ring around some other customers, and eventually found another who had an empty house with an accessible driveway .. and that is where it sits, for the time being, until I can find the time to add some wiring to make it more-or-less "independent" (have a solar panel, deep cycle battery and 600Watt inverter to go into it yet) - then transfer all the belongings that am intending to keep (or as much as will fit .. heh.)

Actually, the unpredicted "calls" on the budget have been considerable, so quite a lot of what I had "dreamed" of, intended to achieve, has been severely curtailed - and the time-frame extended.

[at this stage am thinking that I should have stuck with the "original", more "romantic" - somewhat more "fanciful" - idea of a Clydesdale (or Percheron), a brightly coloured box on four wheels and a trusty Blue Heeler to trot alongside .. but that idea seems to have been lost, somewhere .. the notion of "comfort", and the intertwined tendrils and tentacles of technology seem to be difficult to discard, these days ..perhaps in the "next life" .. heh.]


Have to admit to a certain amount of "fear of the unknown" at the moment, which is odd .. must be getting old. There was a time when would just "forge ahead" and trust to fate, the future, fairies, the gods, my own ingenuity, or whatever - to look after me and keep me from serious disaster ..

Buut, so far everything seems to be working out well ( if somewhat more expensive than hoped for) - so the story continues ..

It's no longer a game

There was a time, once upon a long time ago, when heroes mounted horseback, waved their weapons. May the strongest man with the biggest weapon win the heart of the fair damsel.

Northern hemisphere fantasy hero games ..

So far, we have talked only of the Northern Hemisphere. But it now seems - unlike the case of a single nuclear weapons test -- that in a real nuclear war, the heating of the vast quantities of atmospheric dust and soot in northern midlatitudes will transport these fine particles toward and across the Equator. We see just this happening in Martian dust storms. The Southern Hemisphere would experience effects that, while less severe than in the Northern Hemisphere, are nevertheless extremely ominous. The illusion with which some people in the Northern Hemisphere reassure themselves -- catching an Air New Zealand flight in a time of serious international crisis, or the like -- is now much less tenable, even on the narrow issue of personal survival for those with the price of a ticket.

Carl Sagan.

Upside, downsides

Very pretty, all those blossoms.

Bit early, methinks. We are/were still in winter. Roughly 3-4 weeks too early.

Am not going to attribute the early blossoming to very much, only time will tell, but last Thursday we had a temperature of 30C (whatever that is in F).

Last year, as the water restrictions came into consciousness, the "richies" put in bores. This year, the local underground water table has dropped by roughly 2 metres (6 feet?).

(am not being exact at this point, probably alarmist, the figures are available and will post them at some point ).

Last year, the word was that the Murray Darling Basin faces EXTREME water restrictions unless ABOVE AVERAGE rainfall occurs.

So far, South Australia has experienced BELOW average rainfall.

If i had a brain ..

would like to write like this dickhead .. heh.