Practicality's Blog

Was it really 40 - 40! years ago?

2009-07-04T15:16:00.004+10:00

A long time ago, in a place not so far away, a 12 year old boy and his brother and sister stayed home from school with their Mum's blessing and watched TV all day.

The event we watched was the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon, and the first 2 humans to set foot on a celestial body other than the earth. It was, I believe, the most significant event I've ever witnessed, on a whole range of levels.

It probably, for example, influenced me as to the direction I took when looking for a job skill (electronics), further heightened my interest in my favourite fiction genre (science fiction), also reinforced my respect for the USA. All of these important in forming a 12 yo's view of the world and it's/his future.

It was, I note during Australia's and the US's involvement in the Vietnam war. (It was pretty impressive that the US could wage a war (hot and Cold), and yet still do something the size and scope of what the Apollo project achieved). And I was even then aware of the technological spinoffs of the space program (transistors and integrated circuits, for example).

A few short years later, I was to join our Air Force and train in electronics, the way paved by the subjects I chose and was motivated in. A few years after I had left the RAAF I got to work manufacturing some space hardware (for a local subcontractor for what was then Hughes Aircraft - for the Aussat-B series of satellites - and a few follow-on ones as well).

So, as July 20th approaches, lets marvel at what was achieved, honour the courage and dedication of those that conceived and achieved it, and reflect on how it affected us all, in one way or another.

Sat for my 'Ham' exams.

2009-06-01T21:05:00.003+10:00

Well, I finally got to do something which has been on my 'to do' list for a very long time.

Sunday, I sat for my 'Ham' licence. Ham radio being amateur radio.

There were 3 exams, theory, regulations, and practical. There are 3 levels in Australia, and I did the intermediate level, or Standard licence. I passed. :-)

All-weather Flat Jet

2009-05-29T19:15:00.003+10:00

It's been a while - too long a while - since I posted some of Alex's photos.

This is an F-111 displaying her 'all-weather' capabilities. F-111s ('Pigs') are flown by Nos 1 and 6 Sqn RAAF. Two of the oldest squadrons in the world, at 1 Jan 1916 and 15 Jun 1917 they even pre-date the formation of the RAAF, which is itself one of the oldest air forces in the world (1921). How is that possible - because they were part of the AFC - Australian Flying Corps - part of the 1st AIF - Aust Army - (1915).

Movies we've seen. 'Angels and Demons'

2009-05-24T20:12:00.001+10:00

We went and saw 'Angels and Demons' yesterday.

Adaption of the Dan Brown book (written before DaVinci Code).

I won't do a spoiler, but suffice it to say there is a twist in the end of the movie. I haven't read either of Brown's books, so I can't comment on whether they are true to the books or not.

Some people take the conspiracy aspect that is the mainstay of books and movies like this VERY seriously (I suspect that counts for a lot of their popularity actually).

My feeling was that there was a lot of inconsistency in the story for the film. An inconsistency that doesn't sit well with the aforementioned twist in the end. To me, it would have made more sense without the twist than with it.

Acting good, production/direction good, screenplay so/so.

3 out of 5.

Gotta love internet 'justice'.

2009-05-24T11:13:00.003+10:00

The internet is a great and amazing thing. Like walking into the world's biggest public library, mail order store, video store, and social club all at the same time.

It can give a sense of anonymity, possibly a false sense of anonymity, which some think they can hide behind.

Sometimes, those who do the wrong thing come badly undone though.

This has become somewhat famous on the 'net, and led to the term 'to be wenzeled'.

1. Defrauded by an Internet seller.
2. Publicly outed as fraudulent person of low character.

There's a lesson to be learnt here, hope the right people learn it.

Dan at 'the office'.

2009-05-17T20:47:00.004+10:00

Some people have a different workplace than the rest of us. This is Dan's workplace, deep underground, dirty, wet, and dangerous.

So when we take Australia's primary product exports for granted (like mining) we should think about what people like Dan's workdays involve to get those products.

(Dan and I haunt the same forum - The best thing about this 'net thingy is you get to know (sort of) people who you only have, say, hobbies, or even just the 'net, in common with).

Keep up the good work Dan, our balance of payments needs you!

Movies we've seen. 'Defiance' and 'Star Trek'.

2009-05-10T18:08:00.003+10:00

Last weekend, wen and saw the movie 'Defiance'.

Based on a true story about the Jewish Bielski brothers who escape into the forests of Poland/Belarussia to esacpe the Germans, who are, with the help of the locals, rounding up Jews to send them off to be killed.

Good script, historically true as far as my checks can tell. Some action and inter-character drama. Gives you some pause for thought about what people had to do in situations that test basic values.

A solid 9 out of 10. Has a very important story to tell.

This weekend, went and saw 'Star Trek'.

As a kid, I loved Star Trek, and have seen the other movies. (No longer possible as the original actors are all aging (or sadly - passed on as is the case with James Doohan - Scotty).

Good script. LOTS of action, twists the timeline a bit (but that also sets up the scene for future movies). I found it a little 'cheesy' in parts though.

8.5 out of 10. Recommended as good entertainment.

First post in a while...

2009-05-09T19:00:00.003+10:00

This is my first post in quite a while. Since February in fact.
Thought I should at least explain why that has been so.
What happened in February? On the 27th, we lost a family member, not our little family, but my Wife's sister Rosemary, very quickly (in fact over a couple of days really) to leukaemia. There were other medical problems as well, but that was the big one.

It wasn't something I felt I could write about, and it is still very difficult. It also was not something I could ignore, and write of something else, so I just didn't write at all.

But life does go on. And Rosie would be the first person to tell us to get on with life, because time can pass, can run out all too soon.

So I have written, and will write some more.
Rosie was a very private person, so I will respect that privacy, but also, she will not be forgotten either.

Doing our bit for 'Clean Up Oz Day'

2009-02-24T20:04:00.007+11:00

The staff at our little workplace got up early the other morning and engaged in some community involvement, cleaning up a park near our workplace. We are a small office of 21, but part of a larger company, which encourages making a connection with the local community.

I thought it'd also be a nice idea to post a piccie of my workmates - most of them anyway.

So here are my workmates and I. (It was quite foggy that morning beside the river).
From left; Mark, Jacob, Jan, Myself (with the orange GT stripe), Karen (sitting), Lindsay (rear row w/hat), Peter, Andy, Nat (sitting), Ian (in yellow), Tracy, Dennis, Bryan, Rod, Denny (sitting), Bob and Pierre. (Tim took the photo).

...Now black is all I see...

2009-02-19T20:45:00.003+11:00

A nice lady at work circulated this poem with some pictures. It's starting to pop up in a few places on the 'net. Quite touching, written by a Victorian gent;

Where green and gold once cloaked the land
Where eucalypt and pine did stand
Where man did live and lay his hand
Now black is all I see

Where horses grazed and cattle drank
Where grasses lined the river bank
Where stood a house and water tank
Now black is all I see

There was a town with store and hall
Which proudly stood ‘neath ridges tall
Now nothing moves or lives at all
And black is all I see

There stood a home and there another
Where lived a daughter, father , mother
A sister, cousin, niece or brother
Now black is all I see

Our nation grieves and holds them tight
Throughout the darkness of the night
Till daybreak brings an ashy light
And black is all I see

Mike Claridge, Fri Feb 13, 2009

A Tribute - to our Bush Fire Fighters.

2009-02-14T15:32:00.007+11:00

The bushfire tragedy in Victoria (and there are bushfires in NSW, and bad flooding in Queensland too, let's not forget) makes this a good time to reflect on ou Emergency Service volunteers.

In Victoria, its the CFA - the Country Fire Authority.
Here in NSW, we have our equivalent, the Rural Fire Service - the RFS (the world's largest fire service - which probably says all about how much they are needed). Another group is the SES - State Emergency Service, who do more varied work such as storm damage, floods, and other disasters. Most of these guys (and gals) are volunteers, they help their community for free, giving up their evenings for training and equipment maintenance, and their time when it's needed for actual disaster relief.

I was in a bushfire brigade when we lived in an outlying village, but not currently.

Times like Victoria is having now puts the affection the community feels for these volunteers into perspective. For example, at our local Australia Day festivities, the local RFS brigades and SES participate in the parade, get a warm round of appreciative applause, as it's a simple and heartfelt way to say Thanks.

Here are some piccies from Oz Day - 26 Jan;

Obligatory Friday Fat Jet.

2009-02-13T20:51:00.002+11:00

Courtesy of Alex.

Bushfires in Victoria. At least 65 dead, 600 houses destroyed....

2009-02-08T19:22:00.007+11:00

Spare a thought for the residents of Australia's southern state of Victoria. Today will go down in our history for the wrong reasons - it'll probably get called 'Black Sunday' or suchlike.

Melbourne and parts of Victoria have had temperatures in the high 40's (C) - that's ~120F - for most of the last week. That's perfect bushfire weather. Today the worst fears happened.

Tonight, there are many who have lost loved ones in the worst way possible - burnt to death. There are many more people in burns units, and there are thousands either evacuated, or actually homeless as their houses were burnt. Then there's the other property lost, stock losses, crops, and native flora and fauna. A bad, bad day.

For some footage, have a look here, here, and here.

(Some helo waterbombing footage here).

[Update, Tues Feb 10th]

This will update you a little;

If any good has come out of this it is the great community spirit. Appeals have been organised by the Salvos, Red Cross, and many others. There have been so many donations of clothing, food etc that we've been asked to hold off for a while. At work yesterday, we held a short meeting, voted on it, and donated a large part of our social club funds to the appeal. (You can bet many other workplaces did something similar). Businesses large and small are donating. You can go into virtually any bank and donate. That part makes me proud of this society.
More here. And here.

[Update Sat Feb 14th]

A picture gallery here (Melbourne's 'Herald-Sun' site) helps give some context.

A man has been arrested, charged with (among other things) 'arson causing death) and moved to Melbourne 'for his own protection'.

The weather in that area, currently mild, is expected to get hotter over the coming week. So it may not be over yet.

[Update Sunday Feb 15th]

Click here. An ABC one-hour special looking at the people aspect of this tragedy. It looks at the details of how people get through the present, and what's needed to move forward to the future.
Look at the comments section. You will see some small portion of the debate that is beginning on environmental vs human safety concerns.

Time for a Friday Fat Jet :-)

2009-02-06T21:02:00.002+11:00

Friday Fat Jet Courtesy of Alex.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T20:40:00.000+11:00

Just wishing everyone a belated Merry Christmas and here's hoping you have a GREAT 2009.

Happy New Year!

Time for a Friday Fat Jet!

2008-12-05T20:21:00.003+11:00

Courtesy of Alex's camera. (I've been remiss of late - partly because I didn't want to overdo the genre - but dammit, I like aircraft, and Fat Jets, and Alex does some fine work).

Movies we've seen - 'Australia'.

2008-11-29T21:01:00.004+11:00

Went and saw the film 'Australia' this afternoon, we wanted to see if it lived up to the hype and it's budget.

The short way to to put it is that if Baz Luhrmann wanted it to be a blockbuster epic (with a message) that will be a rival to 'Gone with the Wind', it falls short.

The scenery was great, the plot quite good, the actors did a good job (both lead and supporting). Things went bad however, when Luhrmann inserted his 'message', and that message was heavily worked on from beginning to end. The message was his view on what is called the 'Stolen Generations'. I felt like I was being preached at.
Since it was part of his storyline, read more about 'the Stolen Generations' here (Wikipedia).
(Of interest, the same problems that drove that policy, is being addressed in the Northern Territory these days by a set of laws collectively called 'the Intervention'. Which suggests there's more to the problem than Luhrmann lets on?).
The treatment of Aboriginal Australians was portrayed in the worst light possible. And that is not the only way the movie goes too far. It's a bit too 'TryHard' in many places - to the point that if you wanted to parody parts of it - you couldn't do any better than it does itself.

Entertaining, pity about the preaching. Worth seeing, but I'd wait until you can get it on DVD at a discount if I were you. Non Australians might find the cliched Ocker aspect entertaining.

3 1/2 out of 5.

[Update 6Dec08 - Another review - by a scriptwriter - here.]

Hhmmmm.....

2008-11-29T10:29:00.004+11:00

What some people will try (subtext: how warped is your sense of humour?).

The link is an "email conversation that Adelaide man David Thorne claims he had with a utility company chasing payment of an overdue bill".

(I have to admit I did ask the lady behind the lunch bar once if I could have a discount because the Swiss cheese had holes in it... ;-)

Do Men and Women write differently?

2008-11-28T20:27:00.004+11:00

It would seem so.

Found a link to this site (Genderanalyzer). which uses AI to analyse site content.

What did it say about this Blog?

"We think http://pracs-blog.blogspot.com/ is written by a man (82%)".

Cheap, clean, 24/7 power.

2008-11-24T20:48:00.002+11:00

Cheap, clean, 24/7 power. But I can pretty much guarantee that the environmentalists will dismiss the option out of hand.

"...Small enough to be transported on a ship, truck or train, Hyperion power modules are about the size of a "hot tub" — approximately 1.5 meters wide. Out of sight and safe from nefarious threats, Hyperion power modules are buried far underground and guarded by a security detail. Like a power battery, Hyperion modules have no moving parts to wear down, and are delivered factory sealed. They are never opened on site. Even if one were compromised, the material inside would not be appropriate for proliferation purposes. Further, due to the unique, yet proven science upon which this new technology is based, it is impossible for the module to go supercritical, “melt down” or create any type of emergency situation. If opened, the very small amount of fuel that is enclosed would immediately cool. The waste produced after five years of operation is approximately the size of a softball and is a good candidate for fuel recycling.."

More on Hyperion Power from Wikipedia.

Yes, it's a new style technology nuclear reactor.

Disparate thoughts.

2008-11-23T18:27:00.003+11:00

I haven't blogged much lately - for a few reasons. In no particular order some of them are;

A bit depressed about the outcome of the US elections. I wish the new President well, and I hope he at least doesn't make the current financial mess worse, and I hope he can confront some of the may challenges that must be faced, like Iran, China, Russia. Al Quaeda and the Taliban.

Have been watching the current world financial mess make a similar mess of my Super - (retirement savings). Early retirement is looking increasingly remote now.

Lot's to do work wise before we can have a Christmas break, very busy.

And bluntly, have a case of Bloggers block. Hope to get over that soon.

Plans. Trying to get some other writing done (I've had a screenplay under way for ages, - but Bloggers block and Writers block seem to be pretty much the same thing).

I'm taking more interest in some other hobbies as well of late. Hobbyist radio for a start - Thinking of maybe sitting for my Ham licence. Next year, I'm thinking of maybe doing some tech/uni work, to upgrade my quals a little.

I have been checking my usual haunts/friends sites;
Looks like Peter's retirement was short lived. His skills are obviously still valued.
C... err pumuckl is back 'home' after a short spell in Georgia.
Alex has some great photos on his site.

And I note we have a fight brewing here in Oz over internet censorship.

Til next time (and soon) - Phil.

Thoughts on the coming Nov 4th US elections...

2008-11-02T18:41:00.004+11:00

I won't get to vote in the coming US elections, where positions from President, Senate (p/of), HoReps, through on down to Sheriffs and school boards get elected across the US. But I, and the rest of the world will be affected by the results. Which is why it's well worth taking an interest.
(As an example, the US legislation that enabled 'sub-prime' mortgages has a flow on effect for the world financial markets, through on down to what interest rate my mortgage costs, and the negative effects on the balance of my superannuation portfolio - and I live on the opposite side of the world. It affects YOU as well, at least indirectly, but probably directly).

The position most of interest (but not the only interest - the results for Congress are also of importance) is the choice the US voters make for President, between John McCain and Barack Obama.

The polls say Obama will win, so I will think aloud on this.
Looking as objectively as possible at the "junior senator from Illonois", I see a young, gifted politician who is an excellent 'networker', and a charismatic public speaker.
Examining his resume, I DON'T see a background, or skills which prepare him for the job he is applying for from the US electorate, that of President of the USA (POTUS). In particular, I don't see a background preparing him for the job as the most powerful, and responsible 'Chief Executive' in the world.
The most obvious thing to me (besides the inexperience - Sarah palin has more executive experience than Obama) is that Barack Obama has a political ideology substantially to the left of mainstream America.

In John McCain however, I see someone who as we Aussies would put it, has 'the runs on the board'. His commitment to country, and selfless service in the military, and in government service as a long time elected represenative are beyond reproach. In him I see a mature, and principled public servant.

Then there are the questions about Obama which follow;

Why spend 20 years in Jeremiah Wright's church if he didn't agree with him, or wasn't influenced by his views? (Listen to this!).

There's the questions over the relationship, and what Obama knows of the past of William (Bill) Ayers.

Then there's ACORN 'voter registration drives'.

There are questions about credit card donation improprieties to the campaign.

You have to worry about how he plans to (if he can), fulfil those supporter expectations though.

And we haven't even begun to examine his foreign policy yet. Will he stand up to the threat Iran poses? Or the challenge of China? Whatever you may think of President Bush, he has taken the fight to the terrorists, and they have had little chance to engage in mischief for that reason. If the pressure is taken off them....?

As Melanie Phillips in the UK puts it;

"...You have to pinch yourself – a Marxisant (sic) radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently it’s considered impolite to say so...". [Melanie Phillips 'The Spectator' (UK) 14 October 2008]

I fear it's going to be 'interesting times' if he wins. (Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times").

More Hornet pics

2008-10-19T21:04:00.005+11:00

Here are a couple more Hornet (F/A-18) pics from Alex's camera.

There was an Airshow a couple of weeks ago at Amberley (RAAF Base - Qld) and Alex got some great pics.

I particularly like this next one;
Sorry about the paucity of posts lately. Work and 'life' just hasn't been conducive to posting - 'Blogger's Block' if you like. Alex's photos deserve some coverage though.
(More of Alex's pics from his own website , and Amberley airshow here).

Found another good blog.

2008-10-13T20:42:00.005+11:00

Found another good blog. 'MB Musings'.

Interesting thing to note is how many of the same sites we link to. And some similar ideas seem to be shared. This piece of MB's is very similar in vein to this piece I wrote back in '06.

Pigs and Hornets.

2008-10-12T18:52:00.005+11:00

More fine photography from Alex. Pigs (F-111s) and Hornets (F/A-18s).

The vapor is an interesting effect when the wing surfaces are working hard.