Train companions

I've realized that the only train line in Perth that has no bogans/
weirdos on it is the Fremantle line.

Mind you you just have to look at the destination list to see why;

West Leederville
Subiaco
Claremont
Cottesloe
Mosman Park

No wonder the colour of the line on the train map is Royal Blue.

Bundle!

Sunrise is outraged by schoolyard violence.

So outraged in fact that they have shown the video about five times in
the last two minutes.

Forced Memorials

Before I start this I just want to say I really feel sorry for the people who have lost everyting in the Vidctorian Bushfires. It's sad, it's tragic when people die and it must be a huge shock for them all. 

But...Bushfires are not an unusual thing here. This is not some amazingly unusual act of a god. It's a fire, admittedly a big fire, but it's part of the cycle of the Australian bush. If you live in the bush it's going to burn at some point. If you get caught you'll die. If you're not insured, you'll loose everything. These are unavoidable truths.

What I am getting a bit annoyed with is the constant wailing and gnashing of teeth in the media and from the public. If you know someone who has died in a fire then you have every right to mourn, be sad and get support. 

But most of us don't know anyone. The public caterwauling is too much. I've just turned on the TV and EVERY channel is showing the "Victorian Bushfire Memorial Service". Every one. Event the SBS who can usually be relied on not to be sucked into maudlin reporting. Every shop is raising money, all the usual suspects are out rattling tins and "doing things to help the victims" while simultaneously getting their grinning/pseudo-sad mugs in the papers.

This happens after every 'disaster' and it's because we have completely lost touch with reality:

Everyone dies. All the time. Accidents happen. People are killed. This is the only inevitable part of life.

200 people have died in these fires and that is a huge amount of people to be killed in a natural event in the western world. But it's not affecting the other 6.76 Billion people on the planet. Life goes on, move on, let the victim's relatives and friends mourn in privacy and with dignity. 

Remember we'll all be dead one day, but very few of us will get a TV memorial service.

Delivery

I may have ranted about this before, but I'm going to do it again. 

I got home from work this evening to a "we tried to deliver a parcel" card from the post office. Obviously they try to deliver between 8 and 5 when I am at work. So they dropped the parcel at the post office just down the road. Which is only open from 9 till 5. So it's even  less likely that I'll be able to pick up my parcel from there isn't? You MORONS!!

Can someone please explain to me what I'm meant to do in this situation? 

Are there people at Australia Post that think that everyone finishes work at 4 and so it's easy to get parcels from Post Offices with completely inconvenient opening hours.

Oh and it's not just me. There were two other people outside the door of the Post Office at 5.05 when I got there. Even in Kalgoorlie the PO was open from 6 am to 5:30 pm.

Bloody ridiculous.

Call An Expert

If you think you can do something yourself you're probably wrong. As illustrated by the nightmare I just had trying to "simply change over my dishwasher". You know just take out the old one and put in a new one. How easy is that!

Not very as it happens. Take the old one out - very easy. Put the new one in - not so easy. First it would not fit in the hole and got wedged, then it wouldn't come back out of the hole, then I broke the lid off it, then I got it wedged on the edge of the floor tiles (who doesn't tile right to the wall under their cabinets for gods' sake), then I had a bit of a flood, then, finally, it seems to be in and working. I mean it's about 2 inches smaller than the old one so if you bend over there's a big gap at the top, but to be honest, I don't give a flying...It's in the hole and it's staying. I don't think I'll tackle the electrical work myself that's for certain. Thanks to Andrew for his help, stopping me going at it like a bull at a gate.

On a completely different note I thought I'd share this link about great packaging design:

Pearlfish via playmedesign

I'm sharing it because, if you look carefully, you'll see that most of the products are from Waitrose, my favouritest supermarket in the whole world. It's so great it even cares about how it's pickles look. 

Dirty Buggers

Well I'm back.  And I'm in the new house. 

I have a tip for anyone buying a new place: do not sign the final papers until you have seen the vendors cleaning the place. I mean actually see them with a mop in their hand. I've moved into mine and it was filthy. Or maybe some people's idea of clean is not the same as mine. Anyway I've spent the last few days cleaning and most of the strange smells have gone except the dishwasher is extremely stinky. God knows what the last owners were cleaning in it.  Old cheese by the smell of it. I tried to take it out and put mine in (dishwasher, not cheese) but it's held in with some weird type of screws so I'll have to call a plumber unfortunately. I'm finally getting everything sorted out, just have to make a trip to my favourite Swedish flat-pack emporium and get some shelves and stuff. 

Moving day was a bit of a disaster. The Pickford's fellers came and delivered the stuff and within 2 hours of them leaving I'd smashed the sliding patio door. Luckily it was covered on the strata insurance (so I suppose I get some value from my strata levies this year). Then I stood on the spare bed, forgetting it's on wheels on a wooden floor, and was shocked when it shot out from under me and almost broke my neck. Then finally walking back from Beaufort St in the evening I got egged! So if you see some dickheads in a green VN Commodore in Mount Lawley watch out. Actually of all of those the most annoying was the egging. Not only do I absolutely hate eggs, so being covered in them is my worst nightmare, but the buggers who did it get absolutely no comeback. Hopefully this is not a regular occurrence, but I'll be walking facing the traffic from now on anyway.

I spent yesterday hanging picture on the walls. More accurately I spent yesterday knocking chunks of plaster out of the walls after making multiple pencil marks on the paint. I never realised how hard it is to put picture hooks into concrete walls. Even when you buy the ones that say they are for concrete walls. There was much swearing over bent nails (that you hammer in) and thumped nails (that grow out your fingers). I am waiting for the first one to fall off the wall to be honest, but at least I can patch up the worst of the damage when I paint the place in the next school holidays.

I also bought a tumble dryer yesterday. I have to get one as there is no washing line and nowhere to put one. In fact I got the strata company rules this week and I'm not allowed to even put one up bizarrely. Anyway a normal person would but the cheapo Fisher and Pykel number, but I need one that will stand on top of the washing machine as there is not much room in the laundry. This means that I need to buy one that is the same brand as the washing machine. Unfortunately this means I need a Miele one. And if you say you want anything cheapo in that particular shop they'll spit in your eye. Actually that's not fair as the staff are very, very helpful. It is a bit odd though going to the Miele Gallery in Claremont. This is like a fancy car showroom, but it sells white goods, and only ones from one manufacturer at that. You'd never think they'd have enough custom to keep it going but is was packed on Saturday. I suppose the fact that you can't get anything in there for less that a grand does help with their bills somewhat. Anyhow I bought the dryer, got a free cup of coffee and a chocolate while they typed up the order and a bar of very fancy pistachio and something or other chocolate to take home with me. They even deliver and install the thing for me. You don't get that at Hardly Normal I can tell you.

Mind you I wouldn't be paying for it for the next ten years either.