Monday, January 31, 2005

Is this modelled on me...?

What's going on here? Why are they bringing out teddy bears looking like me nowdays...? What's going on...?!?


... and then there's the one about the three chickens who were sitting at a bar late one night, and one turns to the other and says nothing, 'cause chickens can't talk...

Friday, January 28, 2005

(*) Bridle track

I did this road today - in my little car! Mind you, in parts of it, I had to crawl along in first gear doing less than 20km/h - but it was really worth it! Sure, I had no rush, so i took my time - the 60km Bridle Track took me 2 1/2 hours to do! But the views!!!! And... guess which Homer left his farking camera behind...?! Awww... I didn't plan on going all the way... I just jumped in the car and went for a bit of a drive... 120km later...! D'oh! A beautiful day.

Check out this page for some glorious photos of the Bridle Track! The last pic is of the ford/causeway - that's what it looked like yesterday!

The Bridle track : On the track between Bathurst and Hill End

"The Bridle Track runs from Duramana, northwest of Bathurst, to the old mining town of Hill End. It is approximately 60 km long, and in 4WD terms, can be graded 'easy'. So easy in fact that driven carefully, a conventional vehicle could manage the entire distance, though extreme care would be required on some of the steeper, shaly sections of the road. (Mal: too true... some of it is pretty hairy in a small car! lol)

"If however, you want to experience some of the better, more isolated camp sites (on the other side of the river), a 4WD with better-than-average wading ability and low range gearing is mandatory.

"The Bridle Track begins as a narrow ribbon of bitumen running through picturesque grazing land in rolling country. It later becomes dirt, but it's easy driving, though some caution is needed on sweepers, particularly after a long dry spell, when the road surface can be very loose.

"In these conditions, dust can also be a problem, so leave plenty of distance between vehicles if travelling in a group. If it rains, the road surface becomes slippery rather than boggy, requiring careful driving, even in a 4WD.

"Further on, the countryside is more rugged, with striking vistas into the valleys and the river winding through them. On some corners, you'll notice the original stone formwork, hand-laid by Chinese labourers back in the gold rush era of the 1870s. (Mal: there's plenty of that in evidence).

"The camp site at Bruinbun offers the first easy access to the river. Bruinbun is a favourite spot with canoeists, as it has both flat water and medium grade rapids. In the old days, all along the Bridle Track, primitive camping was the go, but for many years, long-drop loos have mimimised the risk of giardia being borne downriver in floodtimes. These are currently being replaced by even more environmentally friendly composting toilets, and to assist with upkeep, a $5 camping fee applies.

"After Bruinbun, the road becomes narrower, hemmed in by drops to the water on one side and rugged cliffs on the other. Slow speed is recommended, because a number of corners are completely blind. Over the years, there have been quite a few head-ons. (Mal: some of this, while quite hairy at moments, is made up for with the spectacular views...)

"Perhaps the best camp site of all is at Sailors Bluff. Access requires negotiating a very steep downhill track, a low range traverse of a (normally) dry riverbed littered with large rocks, and finally, crossing on of the small tributaries of the Macquarie. It's worth it. A massive vari-colored rock bluff flanks the site, and in the mornings, the visual impact of the sun hitting the wall is quite spectacular. As with all camp sites on the Bridle Track, high visitation has seen dead wood become scarce, so if you want a cheery log fire at night, bring the necessaries with you. (Mal: this looked truely awesome!)

"After periods of heavy rain, the causeway across the Turon River can become extremely dangerous. Though normally dry or easily splashed through, in flood the Turon causeway lies under swift and deep water, and even heavy 4WDs in low range have been swept away. (Mal: the water was only a few inches high yesterday - thankfully! It would have been a real bummer to have gone all that way and not have been able to get across the causeway! lol. Luckily I remembered how to drive across a causeway no problem...)

"As the Track climbs out of the Turon Valley to reach Hill End, it's at its most rough. You know you're close to the township when you see old stampers rusting by the road, and even some of the drives the miners used to burrow into the rich hillsides.

"Originally called Bald Hill, in its heyday, the Hill End site was one of the richest fields in NSW. The world's largest specimen of reef gold - the massive Holtermann Nugget that stood almost as tall as its discoverer - was unearthed from nearby Hawkins Hill in 1872.

"Now under the control of the NSW NPWS, the town today has preserved many of the buildings from the rush days.

"Even the pub, which still dispenses cold beers, good food and even a bed for the night if that's what you want, dates back to the 1870s, and many of the significant structures around town boast useful information plaques that describe life in the golden years. Hill End is perfect for parents to instill a knowledge of Australia's rich history in young minds. You can even take the kids on a walk-in tour of the Bald Hill Mine.

Traveller's tips

When travelling on the Bridle track be sure to take a spare tyre and do not speed or travel the last 20kms at night. If a car is coming from the other direction you may have to reverse quite a few kms around blind corner mountainsides with 1000 foot drops...it is a very dangerous journey at night in any vehicle.
Source: Bridle Track

"Monoghan's Bluff" is that insanely tight steep bit with a few km's of blind corners... but what a view! Seriously - this was a severe case of deja-vu for me... I know I drempt of this very place when I was a kid! I'd seen this very place before - but only in my dreams! ooowwwwww.....

"... The Bridle Track has been graded with some new signage appearing that is classifying it as a "four wheel drive" only effort - after seeing a van tipped over the edge of a bluff on one of the more dangerous parts of the Bridle Track I can see why this aggressive approach of fore-warning travellers along the route has been used. It actually felt weird approaching Monoghans Bluff and seeing a huge sign saying 'use extreme caution through this area' being displayed. The Bridle Track is known for its appeal to four wheel drivers, those who don't possess common sense deserve a one way pass off the edge!... "
(Source)

HOWEVER - you can take the EASY road to get to Hill End, via Sofala! That dirt road, by comparison, is like a freeway! That's a great road! I took the 'hard' road knowingly! If you're ever out this way, I really recommend a visit out to Hill End... it'll warp your mind how far out in the middle of nowhere these places really are!

Check out these articles about Hill End, NSW.
My norty housemate bought back from o/s a small bottle of Jim Beam Black bourbon - 86 proof, from her hourneys to Ireland. I had a sip the other night, and it sure 'cleared out the sinuses', shall we say! I'm not used to such really strong good stuff! Delicious but - oooh! She had a few people around last night for a very casual birthday/bbq/Aussie get-together (you don't really need an excuse for people to get together over here... just bring a few drinks, maybe a few sausages, and 'she'll be right, mate!'). Sure, the cricket and the tennis was on (tennis - yawn!), but they all worked together at the local paper, so it was a 5-hour-long bitch session! Really funny to listen to. I slowly worked my way thru the bourbon, expecting to feel quite 'tight' at the end. But - no! I only sipped it with coke and ice, and by the end of the night I was just tired! Silly ol' me! hahahahaaa.

And yes... the airline who left her bag behind in London flew and taxied the bag to the front door this arvo!

Cyalayta
Mallard d'Quackers

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

(*) Look in her eye

For a change, I thought rather than flood this post with lots of pics, I'd just link to them instead - so, the pics are all still here, you've just gotta click on them to see 'em this time. Enjoy.

Trip to mum's went really well - the car performed remarkably well... even survived getting stuck hiding under a tall tree on the side of a lonely road in the middle of nowhere in a crazy hailstorm for about 10 minutes with no damage! That was an experience too - never had that pleasure before...

Mum looked pretty blah, actually. She's as thin as a rake, breathless and gasping for breath a lot of the time... but she was remarkably happy to just hang out with me for the few hours. We talked and talked - about old movies, basically. It's a love we both share, so we can ramble on about them for ages without stopping, once we get ourselves started! It was a nice relaxing day. Leaving was hard - I know that look in her eye as I was driving out... that's the look my dad gave me the last time I ever saw him alive... hmmm... we'll just have to see how things pan out this time... not much else I can do about things like that.

I'm feeling pretty wiped out at the moment... just the swings of the dog, I guess... today feeling just emotionally empty in a lot of ways... no desire to do anything, even those things I remain passionate about... it's tough being depressed, you know... it shites me that it still creeps up on me without any due cause or reason... I just get very tired and drained being like this a lot of the time... I'm not as bad as I used to be (M has never acknowledged that my depression swings are real, you know... gees...), but when you get down a bit, you tend to notice it a bit more. Oh, I'll be alright... as normal... just carry on, regardless... an empty shell of the man I once was, you know...

I've been sleeping a lot too... that's a side-affect of the dog, you know... I've been enjoying my dreams so much, because they're so much more interesting than my real life at the moment! I had a nice dream the other night, when I was at the pub - with my Nan! She's been gone for over 6 years, but it was brilliant being able to hear her laugh again! Isn't it amazing what your memory stores deep down for you, eh? Thanks, Mr Brain.

Crying, Waiting, Hoping...
post

My housemate got back from her holiday jaunt in Ireland relatively unscathed yesterday - except her main bag was stuck behind in London! Argh! Her biggest upset was that her glasses were in it! But - a nice birthday present for her today - the airport rang to confirm that the bag will be arriving in our own towns' airport tomorrow! Whoo hoo!

I stopped at a few places along the way home from mum's on Saturday, spots I haven't been able to pay a visit to for a few years now (for many different reasons). First was at Govett's Leap at Blackheath - it's the forgotten spectacle of the Blue Mountains. It's on the other side of the ridge from the 'Three Sisters' and all that... beautiful scenery, like a mini Grand Canyon. Alas, it had just finished thundering and pouring when I got there, so the huge valley was encased in mist - absolutely nothing to photograph of that view that day! I did manage to get this peculiar Aussie construct - a picnic shelter... typically made out of whatever materials were at hand... like the surrounding bush rock!

Next stop was Mt York, right at the end of the Blue Mountains, near Mt Victoria Pass. This was the original way down off the mountains at Cox's Pass in 1815. You can see this monument for miles around from the valleys below... (tho it looks like it's in the middle of nowhere, which it is, as the road nowdays goes about 5km away from this site.) You can still walk down the original track they used, complete with convict cuttings and workings still in evident. This sign says: "These pick marks were made to allow Governor MacQuarie's vehicle to pass over the Blue Mountains, 1815." A beautiful spot - and a good place for abseiling too. There were three separate parties of abseilers going when I was there. Abseiling... that is, climbing down a rock cliff wall attached by ropes (it's lots of fun, and looks scary the first time, but isn't really!). There's a few different small cliffs and drops for all ages and levels of experience... I mean, there was even a young family there, and over the top and side of a large boulder they had their five-year-old daughter, all trussed-up with a harness, helmet etc - abseling! She did it with absolute confident ease! That's something I'd never thought of doing before... as a family - let's go abseling together! hahahaa!

A storm was brewing to the north-east, and everyone was starting to pack up their ropes and gear. I was only about 5 minutes down the track when I knew I'd better get back to the relative safety of the car... it was getting blacker and darker by the minute. Not that 5-yo kid tho... "Please daddy? One more? One more?" lol. I got to the car, and started pottering back down the road to the highway as it started to spit with rain. I thought we'd missed the main part of that storm... but, I was wrong! It started hailing big-time, with flying ice about the size of one of your fingernails... I pulled-up underneath this tree, thinking this would pass in a minute or so... 10 minutes later, I'm still waiting for the ice to stop thudding into the roof and windscreen of my little car! This pic was taken from my car! Luckily, there was no damage, but the ground was covered with ice for a few minutes, before it quickly melted away as the rain eventually began to fall in its' place. And is was pithing down... the wipers could hardly keep up with it! By the time I got back to the highway to a bit of shelter of a service station, it'd eased right off... typical! lol.

At the bottom of Mt Victoria, near Lithgow, is the remains of an old village/town called Hartley. There's only about half-a-dozen people who live there now, but when the road first came down over the mountains, this was a really large staging point for travellers. There's some pretty impressive old buildings still standing in remarkable condition there - very Aussie. Here's the Court House, the Catholic Rectory, and these three pics of this great old Aussie bush house - I love the old posts and the stone veranda. This tree was huge - must've been there for absolutely ages.

It's still a huge novelty for me being able to 'go for a drive' in the country once again, after being without a car for 2+ years. Petrol is cheap here still (88.9c/l), and the little machine runs on the smell of an oily rag - almost.

On another tangent - have you seen "The Incredibles" yet? Whaaat? NO?!? JUST DO IT! Go see it - today!!! You'll really love it.
incredibles


On This Day... AUSTRALIA DAY
Born: Paul Newman (actor, 1925); Eddie Van Halen (guitarist, 1957).
Events: Australia's Day to celebrate being Aussie!
Useless Trivia: Richard Neville's book, 'Play Power', published 1970.
My Soundtrack:
Split Enz; White Album
Footwear: bare butt stark nekkid - still!!!
Weather: wow still - we've had a lot of rain, but today is gloriously sunny, about 40% cloud, light winds, about 25c!

A young lunatic named Deuteronomy
Was in need of a frontal lobotomy
But sadly, my friend,
They did the wrong end,
And he came out with a total colostomy


Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard d'Quackers) :o)
Email: mal [@] maljam [.] cjb [.] net
Message Board: http://malboard.cjb.net

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Excuse me, which way is the stage?" (Audience member, lost at Altamont, 1969.)
"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!" (Outtake ending, 'Dr Strangelove' 1963)
"Phew!." (Eric Clapton)

Saturday, January 22, 2005

(*) Extremely breathless

That 120km drive I went on the other day... I filled-up again today, and my car only took 8 litres / $7 of fuel! That's amazing fuel economy! What a great little car! I'm going down (up?) to visit my mum later today (it's like midnight right now... too hot to sleep right now). My brother rang yesterday to say she had a 'bad' day yesterday - extremely breathless (the heat has a lot to do with that), and to ring her in the morning before I leave to see how she's going. But, barring death, there's no way she's going to stop me from coming! lol. Inside family joke... I've got some bread rolls for lunch...

And now for something completely different... a man with three buttocks... Kandos hosts its Annual Street Machine Show this weekend... ultimate bogan heaven... hotrods, hotted-up Holdens and Fords, burn-outs etc etc etc... not my cuppa tea tho. I used to live out that way a few years ago... Kandos and Rylstone are in the middle of nowhere (man!), half-way between Lithgow and Mudgee in NSW... way-out in the boonies, I'm telling ya! Pretty area tho, just waaaay to far from anywhere!

Random thought while I was watching the cricket this arvo... here's a bit of a challenge for you Aussies... who can remember all the words to the "Louie the Fly" / Mortein song, hmmmm? Scary... I bet you can do it! Tell me - if you can - without cheating and searching on Google, alrite?! Yeah! The scary thing is... the other week, my housemate and I were just sitting there watching something totally other on tellie, and we both started singing all the words to the song! So, do you think years' of subliminal advertising jingles affects you, hmmm...? hahahaa.

Here's another quick challenge... what the heck do you think this is...?

Here's a site that the 'Plodding Along' blog pointed me to - interesting concept... I'm still a work in progress... "MoodGym" Thanx for helping me keep working thru things wrong in my brain.

Here's some piccies I've taken recently of around town... each one tells a thousand words...? Gawd, I hope not!


You want the best Ice Cream in the Universe?! Yeah? This is IT - Annies! Love the little old couple who own and run it.


A local bakery with a great balcony you can sit and eat with a view... come to think of it, it was upstairs here that M told me simply she did not want our relationship to go on! Oh well... it's still got a great pie, anyway!


2 views of one of our main streets.


'Ithica' was recently on the market for something like a million dollars - can u believe it? A great old house tho - it'd make an amazingly atmospheric movie set.


Every town has one of 'those' pubs, you know, the ones you're told NOT to ever go to? Well, here's ours! lol


This is a large shady park slap bang in the centre of town, complete with duckie park, fountain etc.


Stannies is the big catholic boarding school that seems to loom over the whole town... actually, one of the very first radio messages in Australia was sent from this very tower.


On This Day...
Born: Lord Byron (poet, 1788); John Hurt (actor, 19740); Sam Cooke (singer, 1931).
Died: Judy Garland (actress, 1969); Queen Victoria, 1901.
Events: Rolling Stones refuse to be part of the tacky finale on 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium", 1967.
Useless Trivia: Boren's First Law: "When in doubt, mumble"
My Soundtrack:
Beach Boys
Footwear: bare butt neddik yet again!
Weather: glorious c.30c, sunny, warm, light airs.
An elephant born in Tibet
One day in its cage wouldn't get
So its keeper stood near
Stuck a hose in its ear
And invented the first Jumbo Jet.


Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard d'Quackers) :o)
Email: mal [@] maljam [.] cjb [.] net
Message Board: http://malboard.cjb.net

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Excuse me, which way is the stage?" (Audience member, lost at Altamont, 1969.)
"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!" (Outtake ending, 'Dr Strangelove' 1963)
"Phew!." (Eric Clapton)

Friday, January 21, 2005

(*) A nice touch

Quiet few days here. Good quick loud thunderstorm this arvo - that's about it! Yesterday arvo I thought it sounded like the neighbour had left their radio on loudly... I went out to see what it was, and it was just the sound from the PA from the Trots at the Showground about 750 meters away! It was so still, the sound just carried on the air. At evenings I can still hear the 'Winchester chimes' of the bell tower every 15 minutes pretty clearly from here - a nice touch in this lovely town.


Spoke with JD last night... the boys were about to go on an evening bike ride - sounded lovely. Splashing off thru the mud... then straight into a bath, I'm sure! lol


Going to visit my mum in Springwood - Blue Mountains on Saturday. First time I've felt confident enough to take my little car for a long drive up to the mountains and back. (Normally I go with my brother or via bus/train). It should go fine tho. Fingers' crossed mum will be OK on the day... she still has her good and not-so-good days. Still very very weak, lethargic, and lost most of her appetite. She's a skinny as a rake, which is still alarming, I find.


My brother rang this arvo to brag a bit, I guess... he and his wife have been asked to housesit our Uncle and Aunts' place for a few weeks in September - in Cairns! Argh! Well - good luck to them, I say. That's the grandparents of my 2nd cousin I told you about, S.


I've enjoyed reading thru my blog lately... gees, I've written a whole range of different stuff, haven't I? I've liked these last three tho... I know there's a lot there to be read, but that's fine by me.

Raven in Brisbane celebrated her birthday yesterday and today. She got a surprose when she'd just walked in the door from Air League and I was on the phone wisher her a happy day!

Then tonight, three of the remaining loopeys got on IM together for a good ol' chat for about 90 minutes... it was like catching up on old times... we don't get the chance so often nowdays for all of us to be online together all at the same time, so we have to 'make a date' to do it! hahahaa.

Cyalayta
Mal

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

(*) Colour is awesome

happy I knew this would be a long post - enjoy! I am in a devistatingly positive mood... even 'M' couldn't stuff things up for me at the moment! Whoo hoo! lol

I had a very surreal experience yesterday at Coles, doing some grocery shopping... the girl at the checkout next to me was the splitting image of this girl I've nicknamed 'Paige'! I'm not kidding - it was Twilight Zone time! This lady was a 20-yo version of this same girl! I couldn't help but stare! It was freakish - I thought my brain was seriously playing tricks on me, but she was practically the mature double of Paige! Argh - if only I was 20 years' younger! She was gorgeous - lip-bitingly-so!!! lol
paige

I went for a late afternoon 'country drive' yesterday afternoon, out to Blayney and Carcoar - about 45-minutes west of here. The car is running like a dream - I was totally spontaneous after I put just a few bucks of fuel into the petrol tank (at 88.5 cents/litre), and just started heading west into a slowly setting sun. I had often driven past Carcoar Dam on my way to Cowra or Canberra or Tumut etc, but had never actually dropped in. So - what they heck. There's a giant Wind Farm right on the shores of the nearly-dry lake.
windfarm
It was pretty cool stopping right beside the dam wall with about a dozen of these great things going "whoopf... whoopf... whoopf..." above my head in the stillness of the evening air. The water levels at the dam are so low that the local Sailing Club's boathouse is about 150-200 feet from the edge of the water at the moment - looks ridiculous!!! There's about enough water in there to take a kayak out for a paddle, let alone anything else! There's about a 70-100 foot drop to the water from the spillway level of the dam - that's how dry it's been out here for the past few years! Really bad! A few years' ago I was almost desperate for a sail, but after seeing this place, there's no way! Luckily the dam that provides our water supply is over 85% full, but sailing's not so good there either... so, that makes it pretty hard. Not to worry. Just a thought. So - guess who forget to take his camera with him, eh? D'oh! Like I said - it was just a spur-of-the-moment spontaneous thing. I'm so lucky to be able to do crazy things like this at my age, I guess.
car
I ended up driving 120km, which just was a slow cruise really... I'm no speed demon (not much of a chance in a little darling like this, is there?!? lol), but I just puttered along enjoying the scenery. I hadn't been out that way for a few years... having a car of my own is still a bit of a spin at times! hahahaa. I ended up going thru Blayney, out to Carcoar (a really pretty hamlet complete with 19th century dwellings), then back thru Carcoar Dam, Barry and back - a lovely drive. Just slipping along deserted country roads with the sunset filling my mirrors - beautiful.
sunset

Driving quietly along between Barry and Wimbledon (no - not a tennis court in sight at this Wimbledon!), a bloody great big rabbit was just sitting in the middle of this long straight stretch of deserted road. I slowed dow - i didn't fancy getting the car messy (!) - but instead of pounding off into the scrub beside the road, he went running wildly down the road in front of me! He's swerve left then right the straight, running for his dear life, as I puttered along at like 15km/h behind him, laughing the whole time! I kept expecting him to run off the road but - no!
rabbit
For about a minute, this rabbit just kept running down the centre of this deserted country road in front of me - and I was pissing myself laughing at the sight! He wasn't hopping - this was a sprint for the poor thing... and I was going as slowly as i could for it too. Just as well there was no other traffic out there at the time. The there was a gate on the left and - zoom - he was gone thru it! Silly thing! It was the loopiest sight, this rabbit running like a wild thing weaving down the centre of this road!

Luckily, I didn't see one single roo (kangaroo) in the dusk... roos are particularly bad at the moment, especially at dusk when they move to their resting areas for the night... they are quite active at this time, and one reason I was driving slowly was so that I wouldn't run into one! Roos get hit often, yet there's nothing you can do about it. For people reading this who have never experienced what roos can do to a drought affected region, they are a pest and are regularly 'culled' (systematically killed-off), and to hit one of them driving along a country road can not only write-off your car, you could even get splattered yourself!

Thoon sends his aquatic greetings... he's going from strength-to-strength... the steroids must be kicking-in at last... he's a norty little bugger... he keeps digging out the gravel around the base of the dinosaur, and I often find it floating on the surface after about at week! It's become a game to him... bugger! lol
thoon

Here's an amazing picture someone sent me... the colour is awesome. (Click to see full-sized pic open in a new window).
candles

Raven's celebrating a birthday tomorrow! Happy Birthday, Ms Raven Cravin' Ringo! It's been over three years - that's a lot of time to be crazy, hey?

Weebl and bob have a new cartoon as well - enjoy!

Here's some highly-detailed pictures of my latest Nudist Swingers Volleyball Party...


Week 102
I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Yoda:: digitally delivered kicker-of-butt!
2. Mensa:: only for those not stoopid enuff to understand
3. Pink:: Ms Pink from Melbourne
4. Text message:: a few laffs along life's slow journey
5. Galactic:: Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters
6. Chicks:: Chicken Man
7. Quesadilla:: Mexican yummies
8. Backpack:: Ireland
9. Socked:: Glove puppets - yaaah!
10. Compromise:: sorry... what...?


Sunday, January 16, 2005

Name your favorite...

1. Family Game - Monopoly
2. Piece of Jewelry - ring of three bands of gold as a necklace - each colour represents one of my sons
3. Winter Activity - reading by a nice open fire
4. Hot Beverage - tea
5. Quote - "You're not as old as you feel... except first thing in the morning doesn't count, right...?"
6. Color on You - blue
7. Summer Activity - sailing
8. Topping on Pancakes - ice cream and jam
9. Musician - The Beatles or John Entwistle - bassist for The Who.
Cyalayta
Mallard d'Quackers

Saturday, January 15, 2005

(*) 9.5 out of 10 kinda day


Today was a 9.5 out of 10 kinda day! Whoo hoo!!!!!
The boys and I had a blast swimming and hanging-out at the local swimming pool this arvo. We delicately 'pigged-out' on Milo chocolate ice creams for a break - mmmmMMM! It was 36c (97f) the whole time we were there, but towards 5pm (when it was time to leave), a big thunderstorm built up quickly from out of the west. Normally - no problemo. But when we were all splashing about in the deep end of the main Olympic Pool, there were two almighty CRACKS of rolling thunder - and poor Seb was not impressed! He practically jumped out of the pool and burst into tears, poor bloke. It was pretty darn loud all the same... I guess he'd never been out in the open to hear thunder explode above him before! The sky and clouds did look pretty amazing as it all built up above us for about an hour.

Ix (he's 6) is swimming like a champion - and I'm not boasting either! He's swimming 'properly' and not just splashing about. He's got more guts than a lot of kids his age - jumping and attempting near-perfect bombs right off the deep end! I'd have never have tried something like that at 6!!! Seb's a good swimmer too, and JD swims with lots of strength and confidence as well. Last year the younger two had like life-jacket-type vests on when they were in the deep end... not this year!

I felt so much more happier and relaxed with the boys today. It wasn't an effort at all. Not that it should be... what I mean is that somedays I find my 'black dog' of depression kind-of prevents me from enjoying being with them as much as we all should. But - not today - no way! A near perfect day - barring huge claps of thunder, of course.

One of the attendants at the pool kiosk was one of the girls I used to help teaching with at one of the local Primary schools over 3 years' ago. She looks all grown up now - she was in 6th class back them, and now she's all - filled-in! lol. It was nice to say hello again.

Luckily it's cooled down this evening to a pleasant 19c (66f) - a change of 17 degrees in just a few hours! Whew - a nice cooler change brought some soft rain and cooler air - whew! Not another tossing-and-turning hot still airless night. Actually, this summer has been very mild - nothing to complain about at all. We'll probably have a freezing winter, but I prefer the cold to the heat, given the choice. But living here is probably the best of both worlds, in reality.

Here's a few ruff copied photos for you to have a squizz at (click on the pic to open it to a larger one)... the first one is of my 2nd cousin, S, who's 10. She's the splitting image of my cousin (the girl, that is, not the dog! lol), who I literally haven't seen in about 20 years. She's a real cutie - I can't believe we're related! lol Between you and me, Miss Paige, I think my brother is secretly plotting to match-up one of my boys with her at a later date! Argh! hahahaha (just kidding!)


The next one is Seb & JD's school pics from last year, but I don't think these really do their handsome features justice! (So, I'm totally biased, alright?! hahahaa)


And the last one was taken at the boys' mum's wedding a few months' ago. Don't they all look soooo grown up?!? The bloke in the right picture is my one and only brother and his wife. We're 'chalk and cheese' - he's dark and olive skinned with brown eyes, and I'm light and fair and blue eyed! You'd never know we had the same parents, to look at us together! But I love him all the same.


Sorry 'bout the poor quality... they're scans of photocopies of originals... I haven't got my original copies for Xmas yet... but that's another story!

My housemate got away on her holiday alright, I assume. She left this morning, complete with back-pack over her shoulder, to catch the train to the airport. She's mid-air on the way to Tokyo as I speak. She looked so funny walking down the driveway... "Well, I'm off to Ireland! See ya!" It's gonna be a whole lot quieter while she's away... but that's fine too.
Cyalayta
Mallard d'Quackers
mal [at] maljam [dot] cjb [dot] net
Message Board

(*) Swimming

I'm taking the boys swimming at the local pool in a few hours... we'll wait until it's not the hottest part of the day. It's about 36c (97f) at the moment. It's wonderful how they all have the confidence to swim practically like fish now... well, wallowing like seals might be more adpt...? Or perhaps, that's just a description of me in the water...? lol

Wild, outrageous and exciting news - the new phone book arrived today! I know, I know - it's just all too much! Whoah... I think I need to sit down, calm down and stop spinning... oh wow! Yes - it has been a slow few days!

My housemate's gone away and left me again... but this time it's a bit further away... she's spending about 2 weeks tripping around Ireland! Her biggest aim was... not the Blarney Stone but - The Guinness Brewery! hahahaa.
Cyalayta
Mallard d'Quackers

Friday, January 14, 2005

In time with the sighs

Farking blogger's done it again... I originally posted this as an email THREE days ago - it not only did not arrive, but got bounced as well! Argh!
My old ally the sun shines sparkling through the upright green whisperers
Blue infinity braces itself against the soft white drifting air
Sighing softly, she sings sweet shining breaths
As the leaves high upon the sky clap slowly in time with the sighs.

The shooshing of worn sandals against the black weathered pathway
Never ceases to turn, yet steadily onwards they climb
The steep riverbank to the crest of our rise, unhurried
By the strains and stress of the normality in daily anxieties.

Small gray lizards hide hurriedly for cover, scurrying
In the soft whispy undergrowth alongside the fenceline
Untroubled by the bigger-picture of worldweariness
They snooze about for leftovers, unfazed yet secretive.

The air breathes in leaves' sighing whispers
And small ducks nose searching the freshly-mown grass
For special gifts of fresh feed, unhurried by the roar
Of unwelcomed intruders that squeal by uncaringly.

My river sparkles golden, kaleidascoped by thousands
Of leaves dancing freely in the sighing air passing.

"Walk Home", Maljam (c) 2003


The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course
The city fathers they're trying to endorse
The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse
But the town has no need to be nervous

The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits
To Jezebel the nun she violently knits
A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits
At the head of the chamber of commerce

Mama's in the fact'ry / She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley / He's lookin' for food
I'm in the kitchen / With the tombstone blues

The hysterical bride in the penny arcade
Screaming she moans, "I've just been made"
Then sends out for the doctor who pulls down the shade
Says, "My advice is to not let the boys in"

Now the medicine man comes and he shuffles inside
He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride
"Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride
You will not die, it's not poison"

Mama's in the fact'ry / She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley / He's lookin' for food
I'm in the kitchen / With the tombstone blues


Well, John the Baptist after torturing a thief
Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief
Saying, "Tell me great hero, but please make it brief
Is there a hole for me to get sick in?"

The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly
Saying, "Death to all those who would whimper and cry"
And dropping a bar bell he points to the sky
Saving, "The sun's not yellow it's chicken"

Mama's in the fact'ry / She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley / He's lookin' for food
I'm in the kitchen / With the tombstone blues


The king of the Philistines his soldiers to save
Puts jawbones on their tombstones and flatters their graves
Puts the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves
Then sends them out to the jungle

Gypsy Davey with a blowtorch he burns out their camps
With his faithful slave Pedro behind him he tramps
With a fantastic collection of stamps
To win friends and influence his uncle

Mama's in the fact'ry / She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley / He's lookin' for food
I'm in the kitchen / With the tombstone blues


The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone
Causes Galileo's math book to get thrown
At Delilah who sits worthlessly alone
But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter

Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after

Mama's in the fact'ry / She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley / He's lookin' for food
I'm in the kitchen / With the tombstone blues


Where Ma Raney and Beethoven once unwrapped their bed roll
Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole
And the National Bank at a profit sells road maps for the soul
To the old folks home and the college

Now I wish I could write you a melody so plain
That could hold you dear lady from going insane
That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain
Of your useless and pointless knowledge

Mama's in the fact'ry / She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley / He's lookin' for food
I'm in the kitchen / With the tombstone blues.


"Tombstone Blues", Bob Dylan © 1965, 1993 Special Rider Music.

On This Day...
Born: Slim Harpo (muso, 1924).
Died: Thomas Hardy (writer, 1928).
Events: 1st time British women granted the right to vote by the House of Lords.
Useless Trivia: 'Lipograms', a form of verbal gymnastics, are written works that deliberately omit a certain letter of the alphabet by avoiding all words that contain that letter.
My Soundtrack:
'Rubber Soul' The Beatles
Footwear: bare-ass butt naked still!
Weather:simply glorious, but hotting up http://www.weatherzone.com.au/local/local.jsp?obs=94729&fcast=94729&img=radar&rad=003&pcode=2795

There was a young poet of Trinity
Who, although he could trill like a linnet, he
Could never complete
Any poem with feet
Saying, 'Idiots,
Can't you see
That what I'm writing
happens
to be
Free
Verse?'

Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard d'Quackers) :o)
Email: mal [@] maljam [.] cjb [.] net
Message Board: http://malboard.cjb.net

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Excuse me, which way is the stage?" (Audience member, lost at Altamont, 1969.)
"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!" (Outtake ending, 'Dr Strangelove' 1963)
"Phew!." (Eric Clapton)

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

chimney flintlock

This is wierd... bleedin' Blogger! I actually emailed this post yesterday - but it never arrived! Grrr! Second-time lucky, hey? lol
There was rebellion, father, when the mock
French windows slammed and you hove backward, rammed
Into your heirlooms, screens, a glass-cased clock,
The highboy quaking to its toes. You damned
My arm that cast your house upon your head
And broke the chimney flintlock on your skull.
Last night the moon was full:
I dreamed the dead
Caught at my knees and fell:
And it was well
With me, my father. Then
Behemoth and Leviathan
Devoured our mighty merchants. None could arm
Or put to sea. O father, on my farm
I added field to field
And I have sealed
An everlasting pact
With Dives to contract
The world that spreads in pain;
But the world spread
When the clubbed flintlock broke my father's brain.

"Rebellion", Robert Lowell, 'Lord Weary's Castle' 1946.

...Father's death was abrupt and unprotesting.
His vision was still twenty-twenty.
After a morning of anxious, repetitive smiling,
his last words to mother were:
"I feel awful."

From "Terminal Days at Beverly Farms", Robert Lowell, 'Life Studies' 1959.

... At forty-five,
what next, what next?
At every corner,
I meet my father,
my age, still alive.

Father, forgive me
my injuries,
as I forgive
those I
have injured!

You never climbed
Mount Sion, yet left
dinosaur
death-steps on the crust,
where I must walk.

From "Middle Age", Robert Lowell, 'For the Union Dead' 1964.


... Nothing! No oil
for the eye, nothing to pour
on those waters or flames.
I am tired. Everyone's tired of my turmoil.

From "Eye and Tooth", Robert Lowell, 'For the Union Dead' 1964.

Canine Convict

Rarely in United States history has an animal served a prison term. Incredibly, it happened as recently as 1924, in Peke County, Pa. "Pep", a male black Labrador retriever, belonged to neighbours of Governor and Mrs Gifford Pinchot. A friendly dog, Pep unaccountably went wild one hot summer day and killed Mrs Pinchot's cat. An enraged Governor Pinchot presided over an immediate hearing and then a trial. Poor Pep had no legal counsel, and the evidence against him was damning. Pinchot sentenced him to life imprisonment. The no-doubt bewildered beast was taken to the state penitentiary in Philadelphia. The warden, also bewildered, wondered whether he should assign the dog an ID number like the rest of the cons. Tradition won out, and 'Pep' became No. C2559.

The story has a happy ending though: Pep's fellow inmates lavished him with affection, and he was allowed to switch cellmates at will. The prisoners were building a new penitentiary, and every morning the enthusiastic dog boarded the bus for work upon hearing his number called. When the new prison was completed, Pep was one of the first to move in. In 1930, after six years in prison (42 dog years), Pep died of old age.

Wallechinsky, D., Wallace, I. & Wallace, A. "The Book of Lists 3", Corgi, London, 1984, pp. 63-64.


1. My lucky number is sixteen.
2. My favorite day of the week is Saturday because I get to hang out with my boys.
3. I spend about 60 minutes on the phone a week, and 50% of those are long distance.
4. My favorite cereal is Coco Pops.
5. One hobby of mine is Kite flying.
6. I wish I could spend more time being with my sons.
7. I wish I could spend less time acting lazy.
8. I am really proud of my three glorious sons.
I am nerdier than 16% of all people. Are you nerdier? Click here to find out!

On This Day - January 10th...
Born: Rod Stewart, (singer, 1945); Jim Croce (singer, 1943); Johnny Ray (crooner, 1927).
Died: Howlin' Wolf (bluesman, 1976).
Events: UN 1st General Assembly, 1946.
Useless Trivia: The Rolling Stones gig at Hammersmith, London, 1965.
My Soundtrack:
"Bringing It All Back Home" (1965) - Bob Dylan.
Footwear: bare butt stark neekid!
Weather: glorious.


Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard d'Quackers) :o)
Email: mal [@] maljam [.] cjb [.] net
Blog Paige: http://n.domaindlx.com/maljam/paige.html
Message Board: http://malboard.cjb.net

Monday, January 10, 2005

(*) Mine was a beauty

Hiya Blog Paige! How was your weekend? Mine was a beauty - thank gawd for that! I needed a good weekend - I thought I was losing the plot a little bit there, methinks. Now, if only I could get my typing back upto scratch again - you should read all the typos before I edit these posts nowdays... terrible! Tisk tusk tisk!

I took the boys bowling today (Sunday), and then we spent about an hour playing all the 'arcade' games together... what the heck, we rarely get to do that, so we all raced each other on bikes and cars and air hockey - stuff like that. Yes... it was fun... for the BOYS' sake, you understand... (wink wink!) Bowling was a treat (as always) - Ix (my youngest) won with a mega-score of 98... I won't tell you who came last... even tho he WASN'T using the gutter-stoppers...! D'oh! hahahaa.

Then we went for a drive around "The Mount". We ended up walking upto the big white letters on the side of the Mount that you can see from miles and miles away... the view is awesome from up there. I'd never been to that particular spot either, and I was amazed to see the amount of white quartz rocks they'd used to spell out the huge white letters. We goofed about on a giant "P" and a giant "M"!!! Of course, we did a lap of the track... for the boys, of course... lol. Josh was too busy being the amateur photographer with my camera to talk too much... trying to take photos of the new Pitt complex and signs along the track - from out of the car or thru the windscreen - pretty cute, hey?

Guide to the Circuit
Map of the Circuit
By the way - it's a public road, complete with a 60km/h speed limit, totally open for anyone to drive on at anytime - except when a race is on, obviously!

Finally we ended up at one of the local railway bridges (now, come on... what boy can't resist a railway track?) Josh took a few more piccies, and this great one of one of the old local churches, "St Barnabas" (build late in the 1800's). St Barney went on to be better known in history as marrying Betty and being the neighbours of Fred and Wilma... is that right...?

The weather was great all day, and we all got a sweat up just goofing around together. Love it - it recharges the batteries in my innermost soul, you know. It really does. I just adore being with my boys so much. It's still very emotionally exhausting for me - today I unusually found it exceptionally hard emotionally, but I always manage to keep a smiley face all the same. I just wanna hug them and not let them go, you know...? But I can't do that, so I keep it really positive, and they love that.

After they started off home, I turned the idiot box on to watch a bit of the ODI cricket... saw a wicket fall immediately (laffs)... then as I flicked across the 5 TV chanels we get here (same ones as Sydney, basically, just rural versions of them) the ABC was playing Midnight Oil's great Goat Island gig from 1985! A truely great gig by the Oils in fine form, on one of the islands in the middle of Sydney Harbour, with the Bridge as a backdrop... very memorable! I remembered when it happened... but it came as a bit of a shock to realise that it was TWENTY years ago
already! ARGH!!! hahahaa!
On a lesser note, the throttle and high-revving of my little car is alright now... doing a lap around The Mount always seems to do something special for a car, somehow! Yes, tis a mystery...



Week 101
I say ... and you think ... ?
  1. Pistol:: Packing Momma
  2. Rick:: Shaw
  3. Full circle:: I have come
  4. I wish:: I was a fish
  5. Frame:: Not Guilty
  6. Adult:: supposedly mature
  7. Photography:: second of history
  8. Stew:: brown chuncks of floating meat
  9. Cheat:: sheet
  10. Brad:: and Janet

Cyalayta
Mallard d'Quackers

Sunday, January 09, 2005

(*) Bronze Thong

Hello Blog Paige. I'm taking the boys bowling tomorrow (Sunday) - another 3-to-4 hours of just hanging out together! Whoo hoo! This satisfies my weary ol' soul!

I washed and aired-out my sleeping bag yesterday... I thought I'd better do it as I'll be needing it soon... the date on the bag-and-box it'd been stored inside was October 2001! Argh!

My housemate went and bought herself a copy of one of my Top-Five of All-Time movies on DVD - "Dead Poets Society". Oh wow - this film is so good, it's a piece of ART!

Do you realise - you'll never see the back of your own head? (Just something to think about...?!? (snigger) )


The Wattle Flat Bronze Thong is on this weekend - the ultimate in country race meetings!
The Parkes Elvis Festival is coming! Elvis impersonators everywhere! Argh!
Here's a blogger who lives not far from where I am - Beelzebublog.
Cyalayta
Mallard d'Quackers

Friday, January 07, 2005

(*) Edward jealous

Greetings, Blog Paige. Hope this entry finds you well, happy and healthy in your little space in the indivisibility invisibility of the internet...

One of our new pot plants has been given the honorary title of "Sideshow Bob" (from 'The Simpsons') - the spikey-leafed palm-thing really looks like that, you know...! Argh! It lives atop the back table on the rear porch.



Random thought... my 'Winzip' wouldn't work for me the other day - I have so much stuff saved as Zip files on this machine and on discs (Uni work, html files, work files etc etc)... luckily being at Uni has another side-affecting benefit... a CD-ROM with a whole heap of software came with my first-semester notes, which included - you guessed it - a copy of WinZip. It was easy to reinstall, and now works like a dream. Whew... I thought for a tic there I was in big trouble, but no... harrah for software that actually works.

Bad news! Terribly bad news! Gasp! Groan! Horrors! Tears! The local "Teddy Bear Shop" is closing down! Argh! Noooooooo! It has the best array of the cutest teddys you've ever seen... their closing down sale has things marked down to 70% off, so maybe... we'll see... don't wanna get Edward jealous, you know...


Speaking of Edward, (he's the gray/blue grotty one!), this year sees him turning 41... the same as his loyal subject... I mean, owner... friend... confidant... companion...? Edward appeared when I was very young, and lived under my arm for many a year loyally. There's a slide somewhere of me sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch at home when i'm like only 2, sucking my thumb with Edward in attendance under the arm - naturally. I was about 3 when one day he just wasn't there...! The story goes that a dog picked him up and walked off with him when I was in the front yard one day. Being frantic attempting to calm a frantic child dispossessed of his teddy bear, mum went searching thru the nearby bushland in the faint hope of finding poor Edward alive in one piece... her efforts were rewarded as Edward - although slightly chewed and slimy - made a bold return under my arm, once he had been surely washed and disinfected, I'm sure!

In all the years, the only thing he's had 'done' to him is his little blue ribbon replaced with a new one. I remember laying on my side with Edward in my arms, rubbing the silky edge of that ribbon back-and-forth along my upper lip... some sort of soft comfort, I guess. Eventually, you get older, and you feel you no longer need a teddy bear... but the 4-foot-tall big-red-"Rufus" bear still survived atop my bed. He still lives atop Josh's bed at the moment - an intergenerational teddy! Whoo hoo! Edward was put away, and eventually forgotten, but not tossed. Years' later - and I mean years - it was after I was married, I think, mum pulled a small plastic bag out of the back of the linen cupboard at home. Out came Edward - he looked somewhat smaller, but exactly as I remembered him! Little button eyes and stitched fingers... It was the HUGEST gift for me to see him again. I think I lay on my side just looking at him for a few days swimming in distant memories, much to my wife's bemuzement. Edward now lives proudly atop my bed, guarding it against norty Moofie intruders. On one of my 'down' days, I may still be known to clutch that small grotty (but clean) teddy bear under my arm as I try not to cry myself to sleep... awwww...

Thanks for listening, Blog Paige. Sleep well and peacefully.

On This Day...
Born: Kenny Loggins (muso, 1948); Nicolas Cage (actor, 1964); Mike McGear (Paul McCartney's bro & singer, 1944).
Died: John Berryman (poet, 1972).
Events: Day of Numa, Wizard King of Rome.
Useless Trivia: Sir Paul McCartney's first name is... James.
My Soundtrack:
The Beatles 'Anthology 2'; Janis Joplin 'Pearl'
Footwear: butt naked yet again!!! http://img149.exs.cx/img149/1751/footii7xq.jpg
Weather: another gloriously sunny clear day with light NW winds.
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/woys/graphic_current.jsp?postcode=2795

A canner, exceedingly canny,
One morning remarked to his granny,
'A canner can can
Anything that he can
But a canner can't can a can, can he...?'


Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard d'Quackers) :o)
Email: mal [@] maljam [.] cjb [.] net

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Excuse me, which way is the stage?" (Audience member, lost at Altamont, 1969.)

"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

(*) Considering the battering

Greetings, Blog Paige. I hope today's finds you happy, healthy, smiling and contented with your life choices! Wow - that's a heavy way to start a farking blog entry! lol I'm actually feeling emotionally quite well, considering the battering I've received over the last 3 years! I can look back now and whistle appreciatively that I actually survived it as well as I have. Sure, the emotional scarring will be there for a long time, but at the moment I'm at about a 7 - a scale out of 1-to-10 for 'how I'm going'. A '7' is pretty damn good for me - believe it!

Today would have been dad's 75th birthday. Even though it's been almost 9 years since he passed away, I still miss not having him around. It's gonna be really nice (warm fuzzies) leafing thru his old sailing and scouting scrap books soon. My brother rediscovered them the other day, sifting thru some junk in mum's ceiling space. It's funny that those have been found again, because it was only the other day I was thinking about them and specifically about some of the clippings in them. Those were the days when dad and I used to love sailing together in Sydney Harbour on the weekends. Well, I guess at the time it was a bit of a downer having to sail with your old man, but I always loved sailing all the same. The one time I was really pissed at him was when he told the Australian champion, Trevor Barnabas, that I couldn't crew in his boat for the next season, because I was sailing in another boat! I could've killed him for saying that! It was like a chance to race with the farking Australian champion, for goodness sakes! Argh! At least that guy knew I was a good crewman, that's a big plus.

Every Sunday morning, after an afternoon on the water around the northern end of Sydney Harbour, we'd get the sails out and hang them out in the large backyard we had at home in those distant days. Dad had even hooked up some ropes and pulleys on a few of the tress, so these huge white and colourful sails could hang suspended mid-air to get hosed down and left to dry. They hung there like giant sun-shades, hanging off the gum trees! How mum ever put up with it, I have no idea... just grinned and bore it, I suppose! That's just the way it was for - well, forever. It's a big bummer living 200km away from the ocean - sailing's pretty limited out here as a result. Sure, there's sailing out at some of the local dams, but with water levels so low as a result of the drought, there's not enough water to run a proper course these days - D'OH!

I miss the ocean, but not enough to want to move back that way. One - it's too far away from the boys, and two - it's too damn expensive to live. The price of living out here is amazingly positive. The other day I went for a nice long drive (100km), and at one point as I was cruising along this beautiful country lane, I had the sudden realisation that I live in such a beautiful open place as this - and not still living in the crowded, smokey, polluted city. I've been living out this way for ... hmm, this will my 10th year. There's no way I'd wanna move back to the city in a hurry, if I could help it. I didn't mind living on the Central Coast for that year, but I still found it too 'busy' and crowded, despite being near the ocean. Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to buy myself a little place of my own out here - somewhere that I can call my own. I'm really happy living in the place I'm in right now (this is probably the best place I've lived in for many a year!), but it's still only 'renting', you know? I guess I'm longing to put my feet down (at last!). I'm happy being single - there's no particular lady in my sights right now (and I'm fine and comfortable with that), so settling down on my own is looking more and more like a good choice for me, sometime in the nearer future. When and how - I'm not sure yet. But... it's alright to hope and dream, for sure, hey? Yeah!

The NRMA guy said my car needs to see the insides of a mechanic's garaged to fix its high-idling problem. It's a problem in the carbie, apparently. No problemo. It's been going like a treat, all the same. I got petrol this morning at 88.9 cents-a-litre as well - about 10c/l cheaper than the other servos around town.

The Aussie cricket team have done it again - and with a whole days' play to spare. They've whitewashed the visiting Pakistani team 3-zip in this Test series! I was lucky enough to watch all of Gilly's innings yesterday (albeit on the box) - a truly awesome display of batting! I can't use enough exclamation marks! lol

Have you seen "The Incredibles" yet? No? WHY NOT??? Do it! I'm actually going to rush out and get it on DVD when it comes out - it's THAT good!

On This Day...
Born: Robert Duvall (actor, 1931); Diane Keaton (actress, 1946).
Died: Mal Evans (Beatles' road manager, 1976); Sonny Bono, 1998.

Useless Trivia: Poet ee cummings was a WWI ambulance driver.
My Soundtrack:
"Pearl" Janis Joplin; ABC radio Test cricket.
Footwear: butt naked.
Weather: brilliantly sunny, moderate nor-wester, practically cloudless - a great day.

A devil-may-care resteraunt cook
Made a mess of cooking a chook
His boss said, 'See,
Use this recipe.'
Now the cook cooks the chook by the book
.


A young girl with eyes of blue
Wanted to make some Irish stew
But her talent in the kitchen
Was not what you'd call bitchin'
And it tasted like industrial-strength glue.


Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard d'Quackers) :o)
Email: mal [@] maljam [.] cjb [.] net
Board: http://malboard.cjb.net

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Excuse me, which way is the stage?" (Audience member, lost at Altamont, 1969.)
"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)