Clean out

We're in clean out mode - the house is just packed with stuff we never use, and I've decided it's time to clean out. It's getting so hard to find anything when we want it, and so many things are stuffed away in boxes and shelfs that we totally lose track of what we've got.

So we started yesterday going through the rooms upstairs, and cleaning out. A load of furniture is going (if we can get it down the stairs) - amongst the stuff going to the tip (or to the op-shop) is a load of old PC gear, a small lcd monitor, telephone desk, coffee table, old clothes, loads of books, magazines... Anything we've not used for at least 4 years is going - and thats a suprising amount of stuff.

I've been considering buying a new SLR - the Canon EOS 30D, a friend at work just bought a 5D (a bit too pricey for me) which has got me wanting to upgrade. I'm trying hard to resist the temptation.

Back from another day with the Subaru 4wd club

DSC01714
Originally uploaded by robandwend.

But too late, and too tired to type anything about it.

Party

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Originally uploaded by robandwend.

A great time had last night at Lisa's 40 birthday party...

New toy - GPS

Last Friday I bought myself a car navigation GPS (as opposed to a GPS that works off-road). It was a Garvin Unit, really neat, but it only lasted 2 days, then it went dead, and couldn't be turned on whatever what tried.

So they replaced it (they being 'Dick Smith') - assuring me they were usually very stable (although my first unit turned out to be a replacement they'd already got for some bad stock.)

That unit lasted about 18 hours, exactly the same problem.

After returning my 3rd one they’ve told me they are returning all their stock – think it must be a bad batch. They work for about 3 hours, then refuse to turn on.

Coincidentally a guy on the 4wd trip had just bought a top of range hand held garvin, which also died whilst we were camping – he was pretty pissed.

So after three units failed in less than a week, I decided I'd change model, this time I got a TomTom 710, which so far has kept working.

Compared to the garvin, it’s a lot more pocket-pc like (it even has a hour-glass when it’s waiting) – the screen is bigger, but font size is smaller, and thus not as easy to read. The garvin didn’t have nearly as many features, but that made it very easy to use.

The tomtom does at least support gps coordinates, so it's not limited to on road, although once you are off road, theirs no mapping / tracking to help.

For off road, I've bought a Compact-Flash gps which came a couple of days ago. This plugs into my ipaq, and I've got some software and maps which cover most of australia in detail.

A couple of ikea cabinets

A couple of ikea cabinets
Originally uploaded by robandwend.

Here's the Ikea cabinets I mentioned a couple of days ago - cheap, but I don't think they look bad at all.

Cat Enclosure

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Originally uploaded by robandwend.

A lot of last weekend was spent adding some more to our 'fenced in' garden. Digging holes, concreting a couple more poles, and extending an area of netting (see photo).

The problem isn't that Cookies getting out, but rather that a neighbours very large cat keeps getting in - by simply resting his weight against the netting and getting it to sag.

Still, it looks a lot neater than it did before, plus it got me to do some much needed heavy pruning to the wooly bushes at the bottom of the garden.

Horse Riding

W went horse riding on Sunday afternoon. Lucky for me (cost wise) the stables are only open for a couple more weeks.

She's really doing it ready for when our nieces come over at the end of July, they are really into riding, so W doesn't want to be left out.

She's not stopped saying how tired she is since she got back.

Myself - I spent the time putting together a couple of new Ikea TV stands we've bought for upstairs. What would we do without Ikea. The next challenge is how to get the very heavy TV up there.

English accents

Thought this was great...

More quizzes

How well I do speach

Your Score Is.... 88%!

Congratulations, you scored in the highest percentile. You don't let very many mispronunciations slip by. No sir, not you. You speak quite properly, and everyone is impressed with your command of the English language. But do keep in mind, you probably come across as bookish and pedantic!

Do You Pronounce Words Right?
Make a Quiz

And W got this

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Science/Math Nerd (Absolute Insane Laughter as you pour toxic chemicals into a foaming tub of death!) Well, maybe you aren't this extreme, but you're in league with the crazy scientists/mathmeticians of today. Very few people have the talent of math and science is something takes a lot of brains as well. Thank whosever God you worship, or don't worship, so thank no deity whatsoever in your case, for you people! Most of us would have died off without your help.
Literature Nerd
Drama Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Social Nerd
Musician
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Whilst I got...

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Science/Math Nerd   (Absolute Insane Laughter as you pour toxic chemicals into a foaming tub of death!) Well, maybe you aren't this extreme, but you're in league with the crazy scientists/mathmeticians of today. Very few people have the talent of math and science is something takes a lot of brains as well. Thank whosever God you worship, or don't worship, so thank no deity whatsoever in your case, for you people! Most of us would have died off without your help.
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Literature Nerd
Drama Nerd
Social Nerd
Musician
Artistic Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

And W gets

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Low
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Low
Narcissistic:	Moderate
Avoidant:	Low
Dependent:	Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Low
-- Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Information --

Final Exam

W. has just gone back to work after two weeks of unpaid leave, to give her revision time for her last engineering exam. She sat this on Tuesday, and it was the hardest for her so far. I'm really hoping this will be the last course she take - I don't think "I" can take all the stress she gets over them.

I've now got the rest of this week off (W being back at work) - for this this is time owed for all the Sunday's I've worked whilst doing various courses myself over the last few months.

So far, I've been reasonably lazy. I'v e been slowly working on a wooden table to fit in the back of the 4wd - this is something we noticed a few others had during the weekend away, and helps in preparation of meals etc.

I've ordered a new GPS - we were using a very basic model, which didn't have the capacity to actually display maps (you could see where you'd been, but just as a squiddly path on a grey background). The maps going to be a great help later this month when we go away again - this time on our own, meeting up with everyone at an outback farm, which is being maintained as a place of historic significance by the DLA (Department of Land Administration).

Personality

Saw this,

(that on Kirra's blog - she a great photographer - especially considering her age)



so I did this

and got this...

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Low
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Moderate
Narcissistic:	High
Avoidant:	Low
Dependent:	Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Low
-- Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Information --

SO...

Then I went on to do this

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.4
Mind:	7.3
Body:	5.1
Spirit:	7
Friends/Family:	5
Love:	9.1
Finance:	8.9
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Finally I did this

You Are 29% Strange!

You are very slightly strange. This means you are quite normal. You don't exactly freak out old grandmas or anything. You most likely fit in well with the crowd. Hey, it's okay, being normal ain't so bad.

How Strange Are You?
Quizzes for MySpace

Off a camping

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Originally uploaded by robandwend.

Had a brilliant, but cool, time camping somewhere East of here. Here's our day 2 report for the clubs mag:

DAY TWO – Sunday 3 June.

Elachbutting Rock.

We woke bright and early by the resident alarm clock – a crow, to a clear blue sky and promise of a warm, dry day ahead. After a substantial breakfast, nine of us (Tony, Dave, Keith, Marianne & Karl, Anne & Simon and Wendy & Robert) set off on a morning walk over Elachbutting Rock. Initially taking the 4wd track, we soon diverted through the bush to start the ascent. The rock, like most we visited this long weekend was a thankfully non-slip granite outcrop. An easy climb to the top was rewarded with spectacular views of the surrounding bush. The top being littered with water filled hollows making for more interesting photo opportunities. A steep decent led to the ‘front’ of the rock (opposite side to the camp) where Simon and Anne led us on to the wave, and Monty’s pass – both spectacular rock formations showing the power of water and time.

Continuing around the rock we followed the 4wd track for some time, before again ascending back over towards the camp. This led on to a rather steep descent, leading to varied techniques ranging from Tony’s impression of a mountain goat to Wendy’s sit and slide approach.

The morning’s activities were rewarded by morning tea back a camp, before setting off for Baladjie Rock. There was a detour from the planned route due to problems with Tony’s GPS. However we were soon back on track, and had lunch at the rock before starting the climb. The reward at the summit was a large rock cairn, now slightly taller thanks to some site works from Karl and Tony. The views from here gave panoramic vistas of the surrounding lakes.

Attempts to navigate around the base of the rock proved futile as we drove through ceaseless meandering tracks weaving intricate pattens through the bushland. Karl and Marianne left us at this point for an early return, as we headed off for a failed attempt at access to Chiddarcooping Nature Reserve – which had been closed off for management vehicles only. We continued on to Yanneymooning Rock for afternoon tea. Simon, Robert, Wendy and Anne headed off from here to stock up on fire wood, whilst the rest again traversed the granite.

Everyone arrived back at camp in close succession, and a roaring fire was soon started – much needed as the temperatures soon plummeted with the disappearing sun. A very pleasant evening was spent by the camp fire, and thankfully Tony didn’t sing or snore too much.