McBlog

While public transport has its place in a modern city, it seems that unless you live & work extremely close to train stations on the same line, in many cases it’s far better to take a car.

Our car is currently off the road so we’ve been relying on public transport here in Melbourne and it’s a bloody pain in the neck! We live in McKinnon which is in the sorta-inner south east not too far from Moorabbin Airport so we’re not way out in the boonies but were also not in the inner-city as we once were.

So, here’s a list of issues so far:

1. From the front door of my house to the front door of my office in West Richmond, it’s faster for me to drive than take public transport, even if I use the bus from home to the railways station instead of walking. At 7:30am I drive to the office by 8am and that’s even after dropping Kitt at Richmond station to get into the CBD. Via Public Transport it’s a bus (or walk) to the station, then a train to Richmond & walk up to West Richmond or a train to the city & then another to West Richmond. Not all trains that go through West Richmond stop there and buses at home are infrequent enough to make walking almost but not quite more effective.
2. Now that holidays are over, the trains are starting to fill up, occasionally being standing-room only even from McKinnon around 7:50-8am (especially if they’ve cancelled a prior service or it’s running late). Certainly the roads are getting more crowded but I’m still faster in the car.
3. On weekends when we go shopping, the bus service through Carnegie and/or to Chadstone drops to one per hour from about 3 or 4pm onwards – bad luck if you just miss one!
4. Later in the evening or on a Sunday, frequency drops right off and you’re screwed if you want to stop off for a late dinner on the way home from watching a movie in the city.
5. Carrying anything more than a couple of bags of shopping per person becomes a joke! If you’re lucky there’s space but you’re still hauling them all with you instead of chucking them in the back of the car.
6. Even if I’m in slow moving traffic, I have heating/cooling, my music and space. Woe unto the commuters packed into a bus/tram/train with crappy temperature controls, packed up against others who usually hate moving into the middle of the carriage.
7. Lets not even talk about going from down here up to Kew or Greensborough where you need to go into the city then back out again on not-so-frequent services (if you’re doing it on a weekend/evening/holiday) and walk a few kilometres if your friends aren’t living near a service.

Yes, public transport is an essential item but we really need to improve the offerings here in Melbourne if more people are to start using it. How about more frequency on routes & not dropping down to “non-existant” on Saturday arvos, Sunday’s or Public Holidays? Just that would help immensely let alone putting in some more routes for those of us not conveniently near a train station or tram stop.

Despite not a single spam comment showing up on any of the blogs I run, the stupid spammers keep trying. I wind up with mountains of the stuff that has been automatically tagged & put in the “spam” folder by Akismet. These days, I don’t even both to check, I just go in and wipe the lot.

Occasionally some spam gets past Akismet as it uses different phrasing and thus winds up in the pending folder for me to review. Usually these are few & far between but this morning I had waves of new ones getting past on all the blog sites. It wasn’t long before these were all tagged as spam by myself and many other people out there using Akismet so very quickly the wave stopped and new ones were being dealt with properly.

How much longer will it be before the ROI for these retards pumping out comment spam gets so low that it’s no longer worth doing? What will they replace it with?

Who knows. Meanwhile, I just live in hope of one day actually getting my hands on one of these frakkers so I can return the care & kindness they’ve shown us :)

I don’t usually get a lot of time to read novels due to juggling lots of work, family & a stack of aviation magazines. That said, I still love reading Sci Fi & Fantasy as well as aviation related books. I’ve also recently signed up with LibraryThing as an “early reviewer” to get access to new books (typically in eBook format) so I can find new authors & works to follow when we’re buying books.

You can follow my book reading via my LibraryThing account which should give you an idea of the eclectic nature of my readings lately :) Two books I’ve recently received & finished thanks to LibraryThing’s “Early Reviewers” and “Member Giveaways” include:

San Joaquin Siren A great (auto)biography of Bill Behrns who flew P38s in the China/Burma/India theatre during WWII. For more detail on this one, check out the review I’ve posted on my flying blog.

Broods of Fenrir by Coral Moore. An enjoyable read that had me hooked from start to finish, travelling through the various plots that were unfolding, running together & merging towards the conclusion. With an interesting approach to the roles & rules of wolf packs and overtones of vampirism in their use of blood to bond & play, the book presents a new look at lycans that’s well worth considering.

There are others that I’ve got to read and another that I’ve read & reviewed but am waiting on Nykolai to read & comment on. Turns out it was a Young Adult novella which could explain why I found it an OK & easy read but a little light in some areas. If Nykolai thinks it’s good then I’ll update the review with an increased rating :) :)

So much to read, so little time. Oh well, at least I can have a beer or two while relaxing with a book :)

Last year Kitt and I took yet another step down the dark path of domesticity: we started going to Bunnings, the hardware/home improvement/garden/DIY/whatever place that has warehouse sized stores all around the country. It all began when we moved into a house that had a garden so we went there & picked up some gardening gear.

Then we figured it would be better to mow the lawns ourselves so back we went for a lawn mower. Of course any house has some maintenance required, even if you’re renting, so soon enough it was back for a few tools. Then Kitt decided to rennovate a table so it was multiple trips to buy a couple of sanders (be aware that the idea of power tools in my hands is a terrifying thing), more trips for sand paper and then brushes & stains.

Like an addict starting from “just a small taste”, our first little step had become a slippery slope and now we’re going there about once a month for plants, pots, pH kits (the new place has a fish pond), CAT5 networking cable, lighting, pegs, wood & nails for Nykolai’s latest school project (don’t ask :) and even seeds on a recent trip. Fortunately we’re not as bad as those who cannot leave Bunnings without spending lots more than they anticipated and mostly we leave with only the items we had intended to buy. Mostly.

Maybe it’s ‘cos the main thing I find of interest at a Bunnings Warehouse is the sausage sizzle going on outside the front doors every Saturday & Sunday. There’s always a school, sporting or charity group there running a BBQ cooking up sausages & onions to have in a slice of bread. For a few bucks you can get a quick bite, a drink and get a happy glow from the thought of helping a (hopefully :) good cause.

It certainly means that a mid-week visit to Bunnings just isn’t the same and, in fact, is something to be avoided. What’s the point of exposing yourself to terrors of a home improvements, handy man, DIY, gardening super store if you’re not even able to get a bit of BBQ?

Hmmm – I wonder if we’d ever go to IKEA if they had cheap BBQ food available out front? Nope – doubt it. Nothing can make going to IKEA bearable…

It must be spring in Melbourne: Spring Carnival horse racing has started and there are ladies to be seen in town wearing light & often skimpy spring fashions on their way to & from the races. We’ve just had a week or so of clear blue skies and relative warmth (20-25 degrees Celsius) to get everyone feeling like Spring has sprung and it’s safe to shed a few layers of clothing.

So what does Melbourne’s weather decide to do? Why, flip to cold and start the rain bucketing down, what else? We’re back to 12-16 degrees, it’s raining, there’s storms (with hail, no less) and lots of wind. The Bureau are predicting coldish temperatures into next week and there are currently warnings for flooding in the catchment areas, severe winds across the bay & district (gale force & damaging) and potential for flash flooding.

Great time for my parents to come down from their place in tropical Thailand to visit us, no? :)

NOTE: Actually, the flooding in the catchment areas is not all bad – we need the rain to help refill our water supplies as the 10 year drought we’ve been in had them getting worryingly low.

We were setting up a business bank account today for our new online media venture and while we managed to make it happen today, it wasn’t without a bit of effort and some crazy uphill battles.

First up we figured we’d try ANZ as they’re promoting themselves for small businesses and have recently received an award for being best small business bank. They also have a reasonably good online banking system with mobile support, so we figured they were worth a go.

Sadly, they didn’t come through for us.

We weren’t getting great vibes in the branch as they guy setting us up wasn’t really engaging with us and didn’t really seem to have his act together as he worked through various notes & guide sheets. We managed to keep it flowing along and things seemed to be on track for getting us signed up when he dropped the clanger:

We needed to open the account with $500 in cash that had to stay in the account over night (but could be withdrawn the next day).

Excuse me? Where was that in the documentation? What are they on about wanting $500 to start and just for one night?

We’re a small, start-up biz with a very basic & primarily online operation. Neither of us had the liquid assets to be able to give ANZ $500 on the spot, even for just one night.

I tell the guy that this is a show stopper and we’re leaving. He takes copies of our paperwork in case we can come back and create the account with $500. He’s also going to check with his manager whether he can get the $500 requirement dropped for us. Unfortunately, he can’t get this answer in five minutes as he needs to email the request in (yes, emails, not a phone call). He’s got my mobile and will give me a call when he hears more.

Yeah, right – whatever. See ya.

So, we go over the road to our second choice bank – Bendigo Bank.

They weren’t first on the list as I’d been told their online system wasn’t as smooth & easy as the ANZ system (important to us as we do everything online & need freedom to work from where-ever we are). They also have a strange way of dealing with bank fees that wasn’t 100% clear through their paperwork. But, they’re still supposed to be as good as most banks so they were a very close second.

We were introduced to the manager and she worked us through what was required. The branch was in much better condition than ANZ, the feel was good and the interaction was more real – not a bureaucratic process with some lumps of meat as it felt like at ANZ.

We had all our paperwork but there was a linkage that wasn’t documented between our legal entity and the trading name. This was a blocker for Bendigo that needed to get resolved to proceed. DOH! Fortunately our accountant was pretty much next door so we were able to get sufficient information from them to tip things across the line and all was done.

So, we now have a business banking account and I think that, so far, we’re probably better off with Bendigo than ANZ. Certainly we have a couple more steps to meet for their online system (eg: use of physical security tokens/fobs) but we’re ahead on monthly fees and the interaction has so far been leaps ahead.

Bendigo certainly seemed more interested in getting our business than ANZ. I’m still surprised about the $500 initial deposit requirement – that was definitely out of left field and not what I expected from a bank that’s marketing itself as a “small business friendly” organisation.

About a month ago I had a slight twinge in my shoulder one Saturday evening. I’d been doing my usual crewing of hot air balloons during the week and while some of it was a little more strenuous than normal, there hadn’t been any moments of pain or recognisable “oh shit” moments. Not until I was sitting at the computer, chatting on Skype with Steve, my co-host in the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast. I reached back to get my beer off a table beside & behind me but, becau&se I was chatting into the microphone in front of me, I didn’t turn my upper body.

That, I think, was when I felt the slight strain, almost like stretching a muscle after exercise. Gentle, no twinge, just a bit of resistance.

By a few hours later, it was rather sore and by Sunday morning it was all locked up & painful. On Sunday arvo I was applying heat creams and a friend of ours who does sports massage came over and worked up my shoulder. I could barely get on the massage table let alone turn myself over.

We figured I’d over-exerted myself and my muscles & tendons were registering their protest. I was only getting a few hours of sleep at a time on Sunday night and the pain was as bad (if not worse) on Monday morning, so I started taking some Ibuprofen & pain killers to see if that would make things bearable while my arm sorted itself out.

On Tuesday, I made an appointment with the doc as things just weren’t getting better. The lady I saw thought it was my tendons, put me on Voltaren and sent me for ultrasounds. She wanted to check that there weren’t any tears. The ultrasound revealed bursistis in the shoulder area (inflammation) and fluid in the sheathes around the tendons. Yup, nasty, but not a surgical situation. Whew!

A few days later I called the doc as the images & report should have been in. Reception told me she’d read them and marked my case as closed ‘cos it’d be fine within a few days. Erm, no, pain persisting and in some areas getting worse. I came back and wound up seeing a different doctor who examined me and asked “What’s this lump here?” pointing at the spot where my clavicle meets my sternum.

It takes me a few days to get scheduled (maybe I was kidding myself it would settle down of its own accord? :) but then I’m back for more ultrasounds & x-rays of that spot. This time the radiologist said “Don’t wait a few days for the results to go by courier, take them now and go see your doc again ASAP.” She said she thought I might have popped my clavicle out of its joint with the sternum. Yup, that makes you feel a LOT better, doesn’t it? :)

The next day the doc took a look at the results and immediately sent me off for a CT Scan. Later that afternoon I was having my first ever CT Scan and got to see seven sheets of little images that all said I had a real issue, apparently :)

Back with my doc and the assessment is that while I’ve not dislocated or fractured anything in there, the left sterno-clavicular joint has expanded and the surrounding tissues are swollen. She finds a good orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in shoulders and writes me a referral. I call the clinic and am told they’re booked out until September but can take urgent cases by the end of August (I was calling in early August). The lady gets me to work through what happened, where I’m at and what movement/pain I’m experiencing. On hearing the news, she double books me for the next week and tells me to come with lots of reading material as I may be waiting a while.

The day comes and I’m in reasonably quickly. The surgeon checks it all out, runs me through the what/how/etc and sends me for blood tests. We meet again two days later and he confirms the likely diagnosis:

Costochondritis / Tietze Syndrome

Costo-what???? :)

Costchondritis is where the rib/sternum joints get inflamed and swell, causing localised sore spots and some pain. The Tietze Syndrome is associated with it and leads to referred pain through the nerves, typically around the chest wall and into the arm. This can often lead to reports of pain similar to angina/heart attack. Charming.

In my case the costochondritis is in the clavicle joint and top one or two ribs. It was probably brought on through a series of micro-traumas built up over time (eg: from crewing/flying hot air balloons (packing away especially), lifting stuff and generally over doing it a few times). As a result of this I’m getting pain under my shoulder blade, in the front of my chest, up into my neck, across the top of my shoulder and down my arm – all on the left side.

Coughing, sneezing and yawning can lead to rather intense pain in those areas while moving the arm feels similar to when your muscles are protesting after a hard workout. If I try to do anything against resistance (eg: lift the shopping, pull/push a door, change gears in the car, etc) then pain can be experienced too, often associated with a “nerve tingle” and/or numbness immediately afterwards.

Not pleasant at all :(

The only real solution is rest and not aggravating things by doing any lifting. As such, I’m grounded from any form of ballooning for three months or so. Not happy about that at all! :(

We’re trialling some new anti-inflammatories and I’m off the pain killers as we see where things are at. So far, not good. The pills are helping a bit but not doing a lot for removing the pain when I move my arm, etc. Will have to check with the surgeon re: taking other pills as well (would prefer not to), using a sling, etc.

This sort of thing is all very new for me as I’m normally a pretty active person and enjoy running around being involved in lots of things, doing IT work and being outside working with aviation. I’m now coming to grips with the fact that even just sitting at the computer all day is painful, let alone travelling into the city to an office. As to flying, the surgeon’s asked me to wait a while before I try going off flying fixed wing with friends (let alone aerobatics) and I shouldn’t contemplate setting up or packing up a balloon until this has all cleared up.

Bugger :(

Watch this space for more news as things develop.

I run a few blogs for myself, my business interests and some clients so I get to see a LOT of spam come through the filters. Suffice to say, the idiot Russian spammers keep coming back here and there, but now the latest are what I’m calling the “copy n paste” spammers.

This is where a spammer takes a comment from your blog and tries to repost it (usually against the same entry) in the hopes you’ll think it’s a real comment and allow it through. In the process they include a site URL that gets recorded as a link in your site if their comment gets through.

Yes, it’s the “website promotion” bastards again. These are the folks who say “Pay us some money and we’ll make sure your website gets promoted around the ‘net, gets lots of links and rises up in the search engine results.” The concept is that by having lots & lots of blogs out there pointing back at a site, it makes it look more important to seach engines plus people click through to it from the various blog comments.

First they tried to string fake messages together with random selections of words, but that was pretty easy to spot. Then they tried to make semi-real messages saying how cool your blog and/or blog post was but they got easy to spot when they’d appear against your daily twitter summary post.

So now they’re finding a random comment from a post’s history (remember, this is all done by automated systems) and re-post it so you’ll be suckered into publishing their comment. Nice one!

Of course, the other side effect of this is that on most blogging systems, once you’ve had a message published, your email address is in the clear and you can post any message you want. Hello, the doors are open, come on in and go nuts.

Fortunately most of us have spam filters that help weed these idiots out. Still, makes for an amusing moment or two when I go and check what the filters have dredged up :)

I’m not sure about the rest of you folks, but I certainly do seem to be spending a lot of time waiting for Google these days. I’m using their RSS Reader & doing searches, both at their home page and through the search box in my browsers. I’m also using their maps, translation system, documents and, of course, their web traffic analytics system on all of the web sites I manage.

It also seems that many of the sites I visit during the day have decided that Google’s products are pretty good and are using Google Analytics as wel as displaying adverts supplied by Google.

With so many sites & people making Google a central part of their online experience. perhaps it’s no surprise that I’m frequently seeing the phrase “waiting for google.com” in the status bar of my browsers. Given it’s all free for a non-advertiser like me (so far :), I shouldn’t be complaining about having to wait, but it seems that whenever I’m thinking “Damn, this is taking a while” I see “Waiting for google.com.”

So long as it all stays free as it currently is, I’m willing to put up with it. Certainly wouldn’t want to be paying for it, that’s for sure.

I knew we’d become domestic when we went to Bunnings for the express purpose of buying a lawn mower & some gardening gear (spade, trowel, fork, rake, etc). Despite flashbacks to my initiation into the psychedelic world of Sydney’s 1992 dance party scene and hazy recollections of nootropics, virtual reality rigs and funky/chunky graphics, the closest I got to the Lawnmower Man was that I was this guy pushing a lawnmower around the back yard.

Oh well, at least I had a stack of aviation podcasts to listen to under my tarmac worker quality hearing protection.

I’ve been willing to put up with the boring hassle of mowing the lawns, even when the spring & autumn seasons meant rain and grass growing at a rate you could watch all day without having to pretend you saw movement. Sadly, however, today took me over the edge. I’ve spent today mowing lawn, ripping out crap from flowerbeds & driveway edges and otherwise trying to make the space look acceptable. What makes it worse is that we’re moving out of here next week and all this is just to ensure that the place doesn’t look too run down/dilapidated when the contractors come through to renovate the place.

After a day of mowing, bending, ripping, carrying & dealing with pissed off insects & arachnida, I think the next gardening tool I buy will be a flame thrower. Screw this “beautiful looking garden” shit – it’s either paved or the place comes with a gardener who gets paid to make it look good while I get my weekends back.