| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Lordy, Lordy… I’m in trouble again! The weather has cooled down to 28 C (82 F), and I feel cold. Last night, the temp fell to 16 C (60 F) and I had a blanket wrapped around myself. I went to the UQ pool this afternoon and swam for a couple of hours. When I got out of the water, I started shivering and raced to grab my towel and dry off. When I get back to Cheviot, I’m going to freeze! Everything around here is looking a little greener than it was before the rain came through on Christmas Eve. Not real green and not everywhere; but there are a lot of small patches of green grass in pastures that were completely brown. A bit more rain would be a real blessing to the valley; unfortunately, the forecast isn’t predicting any. Melia and I got back to Spring Creek last night. It’s funny; my sleep patterns have changed so that sleeping until 5:30 in the morning is sleeping in and 9:00 PM is bedtime. I screwed that up last night. We stopped and gassed up the Swift and I got a Flat White coffee. The coffee kept me awake until well after 10:00. What seemed weird was that it felt like the wee hours of the morning at 8:30 as we were driving into Spring Creek. The sun shining on my face at 5:10 this morning felt right, though. We forgot to bring the steaks with us when we went down to Open Sores (that’s what Melia calls Ocean Shores). Nobody suffered from lack of food, however. But now it looks like Melia and I will be eating steak for a few days. Beef; it’s what’s for Dinner! True in tonight’s case. I’ll say that Australian Beef is really good. It’s something I look forward to eating. When I was in Kenya, the beef there had a horrible flavor. Supposedly, it was because the cattle there ate Safari Grass. All I know was that I really didn’t care for the taste. The pork in Kenya, however was a totally different story. It was some of the best tasting pork I’ve ever eaten. The pork here is on a par with US pork. It’s good, but not spectacular. Hmmm; Kenyan pork and Kenyan coffee; both are superb. I don’t think I’ll be in Nairobi in the near future, though. Well; dinner is almost ready. I’ll finish this now. | ||
| Crusty |
Steak Davo on the XL Forum lives in Central Queensland, and when he read my last Snippet, he advised me to try a local T-bone steak. Then Sportsterpaul posted that he thought I was a Rib Eye kind of guy. I started to type out a reply, but when it started growing in length, I figured that Australian Steak is more than worthy of a Snippet on its own merits. Anyway, Paul pretty much nailed it. I generally prefer a Rib Eye or Delmonico steak, but I enjoy other cuts of beef as well. The steaks we had were thick cut sirloins about 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) thick. They were quite tasty for dinner. A good T-bone is nothing to sneer at, and maybe I'll get the chance to enjoy one before I leave. My favorite steak is the rib fillet used in Steak sandwiches here. The Australian Steak Sandwich is one of the great culinary delights. My taste buds start quivering when I order one. I first discovered them on my first trip back in 1994, and I look forward to eating them each time I take the long flight over. My favorite restaurant on this trip has been the RnB on Main in Gatton. Not only do they make a really good steak sandwich, but they make the best fries (chips) I’ve ever eaten. Their chips are so good, they don’t need ketchup. They’re the best I’ve ever eaten. My favorite place to get a steak sandwich has changed each time I’ve been here. This is my fourth trip, so there are four different places I’ve liked. In 1994, I really liked the sandwiches from the hotel in Byron Bay. Then, in 1997, I preferred the sandwiches at the hotel in Brunswick Heads. On my last trip over, in 2015, I found out that the hotel in Byron Bay bought out the hotel in Brunswick Heads. We made a special trip down to Brunswick and the steak sandwich had gone way downhill from what it used to be. But I discovered that the Bakery in Fernvale made a great steak sandwich and that became my favorite place. On this trip, it gets a little more difficult. The bakery in Fernvale still makes a wonderful steak sandwich, and they have the outdoor seating and the lorikeets. But Gatton is the closest town to us, and the RnB has really nice people running it and they’ll go out of their way to make you a satisfied customer. The Chips are what pushes them ahead of the Bakery. I wouldn’t badmouth either place for any reason. If you ever get a chance to eat at either place, jump at it. You won’t be disappointed with the food. If you go into the RnB, tell them that a crazy American was raving about their steak burger and chips on the internet. They’ll know who you’re talking about. I’m only going to be here for three more weeks. It feels like the time has really raced by. But so much has happened so far. I’m hoping that things settle down in a positive way and that life becomes a bit more stable for Melia. (My life is seldom stable; but that’s the way I like it) I also hope that Mother Nature eases up and brings some rain here. This valley is so beautiful when it’s green and not the brown of dead vegetation. I’d like to see Lake Clarendon a lake again and not the dry hole that it is now. That, however probably won’t happen until my next trip; whenever that happens. Getting back to the three weeks thing; I’m feeling that I’m at the end of my vacation; but there are many who only get two weeks of vacation a year. I’m living a Tramp’s dream! And there’s a good chance that the adventure will continue until I get on the plane homeward bound. I really have been Blessed. Clarence (my Guardian Angel) has really gone above and beyond in taking care of me. I guess he considers me the Huck Finn that Mark Twain didn’t get to write about. | ||
| Crusty |
1/1/2020 Happy New Year. It’s now 2020. I remember being in Grade School and thinking that if I lived to be an old man, I’d get to see the new Century in 2000. Now, it’s 20 years beyond that. I wonder what surprises this coming year will bring? 2019 was pretty eventful. My Roadster turned over the 100,000 mile mark on the odometer. When I bought it in 2015, it had 7,000 miles showing on the odometer. I put close to 100k on it in 4 years. The speedometer sensor was giving me fits for a little while and the odometer wasn’t working, so the 7,000 mile gap has narrowed, but I don’t know by how much. Still, it’s a milestone. The accident I had in March was really hard on me, both physically and mentally. It took until after the West Virginia Buell Revival before I was pain free from that. I did get to ride up to Massachusetts in July, which was a good trip. I went to the Short Track in Weedsport, New York on the way, and I decided that I won’t return there. I think it was when I was in Hudson that I lit the spark in Ernie for him to get a Sportster. He looked and found a 2005 883 that had been well cared for. It’s the Right Bike for what he wants and he’s really happy with it. I had a good trip planned for October, but it fell apart. I got sick while at the Buelltoberfest rally and cancelled the rest of the trip and just rode home. After I got over being sick, I was struck by an overwhelming urge to fly to Australia. I was here in Spring Creek when Ron died. It’s been a really wild trip with a lot of strong emotions flying around. Things are starting to get a bit more stable, but I think it’s a stability borne from exhaustion. There were a lot of other events which happened during the year. The pre-race party at Jerry & Carol’s place and the rained out Springfield Mile on Memorial Day weekend, the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky and the Doubleheader Springfield races on Labor Day weekend. (The Labor Day Mile was incredible, with the racers going seven wide into turn 3 on the last lap). I also got to ride the Sportster in the July 4th Northside Parade. That was a new first for me Another major event that happened was having the lead water pipe replaced. That drained my bank accounts and stretched my financial juggling ability to limits I never dreamed possible, but in the end, I have a new copper water pipe and I was able to pay my share. (Both the Water Works and Hamilton County subsidized a sizeable portion of the cost) As I said, this past year was pretty eventful. A lot more eventful than I realized when I started writing this Snippet. My life really isn’t dull, at all. I’m hoping that 2020 will be just as eventful, but with only positive results. And I hope you all have a phenomenally great 2020 as well. | ||
| Ourdee |
Happy New year! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Look out for Y2K!!!! | ||
| Ourdee |
In binary systems, a kilo is 1,024. 2 to the 10th power. So, Y2K=Year2Kilo=Year(2X1024)=Year2048 We have another 28 years till we have to watch it. | ||
| Crusty |
Wouldn't 2020 be Y2.02K? (Message edited by Crusty on December 31, 2019) | ||
| Ourdee |
| ||
| 86129squids |
There's exactly enough cowbell engineered into that song. | ||
| Ourdee |
That is what I thought! | ||
| Tootal |
That song always sounded like a cross between a young ZZ Top and Head East! | ||
| Ourdee |
I still like it. | ||
| Tootal |
I meant that as a good thing. | ||
| Ourdee |
That's how I took it. | ||
| 86129squids |
Wow... be safe. John. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/01/792853342/in-austra lia-wildfires-scenes-of-smoke-sparks-and-chaos | ||
| Buellish |
I sent the link to that video to a friend,his response,"is there anything that guy can't do?" | ||
| Ourdee |
You haven't seen his art. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Love reading your posts John. Got me to thinking about this past year and the things I got to do, the people I got to see, places I got to go and sadly, the people I lost. Looking forward to seeing you at LEAST once in 2020! | ||
| Crusty |
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly I’m in pain this morning. That collarbone area muscle that I pulled a few weeks ago is really hurting. The pain goes from my right shoulder blade, up across my right shoulder, down into my collarbone and right up my neck to the base of my skull. It isn’t constant, though. It acts like a toothache; sometimes it really hurts, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt at all. Melia thinks it might be a pinched nerve. I just want the pain to go away. I’ve been using Deep Heat (a cream like Ben Gay) on it the past few nights, and it helps me to sleep, but I invariably do something in the morning that sets it off again. It doesn’t seem as bad this morning as it was yesterday, so maybe it’s getting better. That’s the ugly. I finally found some BBQ potato Chips in Australia that I really like. And I like them enough that they’re up close to the top of my favorites list. They’re Tyrrell’s Smoky Texas BBQ hand cooked crisps and they’re very tasty. For those of you who are in the USA and don’t know it, a Crisp is what is known as a Potato Chip. And Chips are what’s known as Fries. It’s another case of two Countries, “divided by a common language”. They’re made in Victoria and I bought them on a whim (they were on sale for 40% off), but I’m glad I did. Melia also thinks they’re the best BBQ chips she’s had here and she’s been living in Australia since 1984. That’s the good. As for the bad; it really isn’t purely bad. My flight home is in two weeks. I really like being here. Australia is an amazing country. I was looking at the scenery yesterday afternoon and in spite of the drought, it’s still beautiful. Melia and I were sitting on the veranda eating watermelon, just before sunset watching the horses and kangaroos that were grazing and it hit me how much I’m going to miss doing that. There are so many really neat things that I’ve seen or experienced here, that I’ll miss. However; I do have my home in Cheviot and it’s time to get back to it. There are a few things that we’re planning that I’ll enjoy. Tonight, we’re going to the RnB in Gatton for dinner. I’m going to eat a Steak Burger with fried onion and BBQ sauce on it and have the best chips I’ve ever eaten for a side. I’ll also drink a can or maybe two of Solo. That’s a lemon soda that can be really addictive. I’m surprised that it isn’t sold in the US. We’re also planning to take that route that Scrivo posted again. Both Melia and I enjoyed it and she’d like to do it again. I really want to do that ride on a motorcycle. Preferably on a Roadster, but I’d enjoy it on a Honda 50 step through. Maybe we should do the ride on a weekend; there’d be a lot more bikes on the route, and probably at the Mount Glorious Café, as well. This time, I’d take photos before we eat and keep the camera with me to get photos of bikes that pull up while we’re eating. I guess the bad isn’t all bad; I’d have to say it’s bittersweet. And I’m feeling it a bit early. I’ll still be here for another two weeks, and that’s enough time for more discoveries and adventures. And enough time to enjoy a unique and beautiful place. And, I can still have dinner on the Veranda and watch the local wildlife. | ||
| 86129squids |
Dang... the pics in this article really tell a story themselves. Again, take care John, don't get any crustier from those fires! https://www.npr.org/2020/01/03/793292951/australia -braces-as-frighteningly-quick-bushfires-advance-t oward-sydney | ||
| Crusty |
Potpourri So; what do I write when I’m out of ideas but want to write about something? Yesterday, the sky was grey from smoke and humidity. The Humidity was up over 50% when I checked it at 7:00 in the evening. The temperature had cooled to 33 C (91 F). The sky goes from clear to almost overcast from the smoke, depending on wind direction. The fires that are making the news worldwide are down in the more heavily populated areas, but there are wildfires all over and there are a lot of people who’ve lost their homes. Things are pretty tough. I’m a bit of a cynic; I don’t trust the Insurance Companies to do the right thing. Some of that’s a personal resentment, but it’s mainly due to observation. After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and a lot of people lost their homes, the Insurance companies were claiming that the homes weren’t covered because the homes were lost to flooding (even though the policies stated they were covered for Hurricanes). The personal resentment comes from seeing my dad get screwed after he got hurt on the job and the way I got screwed after my ankle got crushed. I’d like to think that maybe the Insurance companies here in Australia might have a bit more integrity, but I doubt it. Insurance companies exist to take in as much money as possible while paying out as little as necessary. Did you ever notice that the tallest buildings are mostly owned by Insurance companies? How do you think they got the money to build them? I need to change the subject. That’s one that raises my blood pressure faster and higher than Politics. I intentionally keep my political opinions out of these Snippets because I doubt I’ll ever change anybody else’s opinion, but I could ruin a friendship. David (my brother) and I are on opposite ends of the political scale, but we get along well enough. He thinks that I’m a bit extreme, but he tolerates me anyway. I, in turn think he’s way off, but he is entitled to his opinion. However, that kind of tolerance is extremely rare and I’ve seen opposing political opinions destroy friendships that had existed for years. I really hate alienating people that I like over something that neither of us has any control over. Especially since I’m right (at least in my mind, I am). I guess I could write about Money. I don’t have enough of it. That’s been true for my entire life. When I’m earning $1000 per week, I spend $1000 per week. When I’m earning less, I spend less. I do things like put another 1000 miles on that tire, or I just don’t buy that Rib Eye for dinner. I can eat chicken, instead. This little junket to Australia has really screwed up my carefully laid financial plans. Or so it seems. But, the good news is that when you don’t have much to begin with and you lose it all, it isn’t that hard to build back up to the level you started at. I figure that I’ll have a couple of very lean months, but then I’ll be able to get back on track with my financial plans. I’ll eventually be debt free; just a few months later than I had originally thought. I’ll be all right. To be honest, I do fantasize about winning big in the Lottery. My fantasies just reveal why I’ll never be rich. None of them involve investing my winnings. Instead, I think about how I’d spend it. I’d buy a new car for one friend, or pay off the mortgage for another or buy another friend their dream bike; things like that. I just don’t have the temperament to make money. But that’s OK; I like who I am. I ask God to, “Help me to be the best person I can be” each morning, and I try to do that. Still; I think it would be fun to hit it big. Then again; maybe my attempts to help would lead to making things worse for my friends. If you’re old enough, do you remember a TV show called The Millionaire? The concept was that a Rich guy would give a check for $1,000,000 to somebody who was poor. The people who gave it back turned out to be the happy folks, while the people who kept it had all kinds of disaster befall them. There’s more than a grain of truth in that. Plus, I’ve read about a few people who won the lottery and their lives went to hell. The one that really stands out in my mind was the unemployed truck driver in Massachusetts who died a year and a half later from a cocaine overdose. To quote Groucho Marx, “Money will never make you happy. And happy will never make you money”. I’d rather be happy. Anyhow; that’s the drivel that’s oozing through my mind, this morning. I think we’re going to the Bakery in Fernvale for lunch. I really hope the Lorikeets visit with us while we’re there. They’re beautiful to look at and it makes my meal that much more enjoyable. I’d better make sure I’ve got the camera with me. | ||
| Court |
>>>>>> . There’s more than a grain of truth in that. There is. And .... the greatest truth is how little of their happiness or lack thereof had anything to do with money. I’ve Found that happy folks and miserable ones seem pretty uniformly distributed throughout various income levels. I always told my sons ....”anytime yo7 think money will solve a problem you don’t understand the problem”. | ||
| Crusty |
Another Steak Sandwich? So Today we went to the Old Time Bakery in Fernvale for probably the last time this trip. I love the chips at the RnB in Gatton better,but the Bakery makes their own bread and the sandwich is, I think, the best.Plus, If you eat in the garden, the Lorikeets will come by. We got there and ordered our meals and sat in the garden,but there were no birds of any kind around. It was very quiet. Then, when I was about halfway through my meal, I saw a bird go flying by at high speed. A few seconds later, another flew by. Then another. The first bird landed on another table and checked us out.I broke off a small piece of bread and threw it about five feet down on the table (The tables are long). He flew over and started eating. A few seconds later, a second Lorikeet joined the first Then another bird landed on the brick floor, so I threw him a small piece of bread. As soon as he started eating,another bird joined him. I really like Lorikeets. They are amazingly brightly colored birds; and the closer I look at one, the more there is to see. Melia had saved some of her bread for the birds, and we put the pieces closer to us and the birds got right up to us. Eventually, I had one eating out of my hand after a few minutes. I’m pretty sure they’re used to people feeding them. They weren’t skittish at all. I couldn’t get one to perch on my finger, even though I tried, but he didn’t fly away, either. The two birds eating on the floor stayed there and the two on the table also stayed put. I like the steak sandwich from the Bakery a lot, but it’s the Lorikeets that I really enjoy. I’ll think of them fondly once I’m back in Cheviot. Here's the first one, just after he arrived:  Here's when the second bird joined in:  And here are the two who were on the floor:  They are remarkably beautiful birds, and my crappy Point & Shoot really doesn't do justice to them. I wish I had Court or Mike R from Badweb, or Sportytrace from the XL Forum's skills and equipment, so I could show off just how magnificent they really are. Anyway; I wanted to get one more great steak sandwich and I wanted to feed the Lorikeets one more time before I head for home. I was fortunate enough to be able to do both today. It was a Very Good Day. | ||
| Crusty |
In The Morning… Like most people, I have a routine when I first get up. Here in Spring Creek, I usually hit the bathroom and brush my teeth, shave, comb my hair and take my six different pills. Then I stumble out to the kitchen where I grind (by hand) coffee beans and set up the espresso coffee pot. Then, I do the dishes while the coffee is magically brewing. In the States, I usually take a shower first, but since water is scarce here and I’m at the pool almost daily and they have free showers (and even free liquid soap!), I wait until I get there to shower. Anyway, I usually set my cup on a counter and put milk in it in preparation for adding coffee. Melia has a stack of egg crates sitting beside the counter, that she puts the morning’s fresh batch of eggs into. When I glanced at the top egg box, I saw what looked like some straw in the lid. I looked a little closer and thought, that’s a spider that got flattened. It was about 3 inches in cross section. It still looked like some straw, but now there was an element of doubt. Then, one of the legs moved. It was a spider and it wasn’t flattened. Moving very carefully, I tried to lift the top egg box, but it was pressed into the box below it enough that it would require more force than I wanted to use. So I picked up the stack, walked out to the porch and flipped it over and banged it on the railing. The spider fell out and I could get back to my morning routine. Big spiders bother me, and here in Australia, I’ve had it drilled into me that I should assume that any unknown thing (Snake, spider, etc) is probably poisonous and should be treated as such. After that, I sat down with my coffee and saw my camera sitting on the dining room table. I thought that if I’d been a little more thoughtful, I could have had the presence of mind to take a picture. However, I wasn’t and didn’t. While it would be nice to show everybody what the spider looked like, I’m glad it’s gone off into the paddock to hunt and eat whatever it hunts and eats. When Melia returned to the house after feeding the chickens and horses, I told her about it and she once again said that I should treat every spider, snake, etc as poisonous. I think that’s good advice. | ||
| Ourdee |
John almost meets his demise and I sit here chuckling. What kind of friend am I? | ||
| 86129squids |
Poor fella hadn't even had a sip of coffee yet, had to deal with ginormous killer spider. Yeesh.  | ||
| Crusty |
I have a Host of Friends... | ||
| Crusty |
Re: Spiders I just spend some time on Google looking at Australian Spiders,and I’ve come to the conclusion that the spider I saw this morning was a Huntsman Spider. It wasn’t nearly as big as the Huntsman Spiders I saw when I was here four years ago, and it looked a lot flatter and it was brown instead of the grey the others were, but I found a picture and it looks exactly like the one I saw. Here’s a description from Google: Huntsman spiders are large, long-legged spiders.. They are mostly grey to brown, sometimes with banded legs. Many huntsman spiders, especially Delena (the flattest), and including Isopeda, Isopedella and Holconia, have rather flattened bodies adapted for living in narrow spaces under loose bark or rock crevices. It then goes on to say: Despite their often large and hairy appearance, huntsman spiders are not considered to be dangerous spiders. As with most spiders, they do possess venom, and a bite may cause some ill effects. However, they are quite reluctant to bite, and will usually try to run away rather than be aggressive. This photo is the same color and is about the same size as the one I saw this morning:  | ||
| 86129squids |
Been watching the news about all the fires down there... so sad about the critters. What a mess. Again, be safe, brother. In another thread here on BW, I mentioned Pascal's Wager. The same logic could easily be applied to the argument of climate change. | ||
| Ourdee |
They have arrested a lot of people for lighting those fires. |
