Come on now, how about a bit of smiting

Yes, I'm thinking of you, Cory Bernadi and your mouldy band of godbothering right wing 'don't mind if the gays kids kill themselves because of bullying' slugs.  Something has to be done about this ratpack of a Parliament and there's a few Labor snots included here.

Best quote from a newspaper today:

"All the coalition have done is replace budgie smugglers with a very expensive suit".

It goes so well with Elephant's Child's  favourite comment,  "same pig, better lipstick".

I have said so many times on this blog, we live in a secular country so if you are elected to Parliament, leave your religion at the door.  You're here to represent all of us not just the people YOU consider to be righteous. 

And just because your invisible overlord in the sky didn't put the word 'SCIENCE' in that magical book you put so much stock in, doesn't mean it isn't real.  And if He didn't want us to have knowledge, he should have been smarter and disguised the apple as Durian (look it up).  

And why the minion comment?  Had a good look at Abbott's and Bernardi's ears lately? 

Over and out Homeland Security, go menace an innocent child.

No dignity at all

Well that answers that question.  If they can reach it, they'll play with it.

I already feel drunk so I might as well drag out the Bombay

Podiatrist this morning so happy to wake up at 6.30 for a shower since it takes forever to scrub feet without falling over.  I tell you one day I will have a shower recess with no door and room for a large chair.
Feed the cat and throw it out the back door because it's been out all night playing around with leaves under the full moon.  Doing that irritating little dance of coming up to the door and then scooting  off again.  I gave up in the finish and left the door ajar hoping the axe murders were busy on the other side of town.
Breakfast so I can take the vile antibiotics with the five pages of side affects and turn on the news. So when did 6.30 suddenly turn into 5 past 9.  Check the bedroom clock, battery is fritzed. I can never get knickers or shoes on when I panic about time.  And the phone rings, Flaming Mo wants to come and measure up for the heater.  He'll be here about 9 tomorrow morning.
Taxi was quick. So glad I didn't spend a lot on a walker now I don't worry about the clanks and bangs as it's thrown in the back seat.  Lots of cars at the clinic, not much space and I trip on the gutter and fall into a line of garbage bins.  Little old lady approx. age of 120 helps me up while driver gets out the walker and barely hides his hysteria.
Good news, my feet are in spendid order.  Barely a callous, no cracks and we've given up on the toenail that's been ripped out 3 times.  It's truly cactus and I'd have been burnt as a witch in the days of the Devil's mark on sweet looking rich ladies.
Walk to the bus stop and remember not to catch the bus to Dandenong this time.  Driver I did get obviously trained at the kamikazi school of passenger bruising.  And how am I supposed to read the Myki balance which is floating in a sea of muck.  Another little old lady helped my walker off the bus.  I'm starting to think my natural red hair might need a touch up.  Also remembered not to take the walker up the escalator and went to the lift.  The lady in the wheelchair behind me was almost crunched because the door slammed too fast.  The button panel inside was like the control panel of a 747 but I finally found the open symbols.  Then we both stood inside trying to decide which button to push for the 3rd floor because button 5 had all the things we wanted.  As chicks we can think laterally and pushed every button and looked at every floor until we recognized a familiar shop.
Lunch with coffee and walnut sponge was delicious.
I bought one pair of earrings, clip, great brand which I've been wearing since the 70s.
I picked up the script I'd missed the other day.
I managed to get down the travelvator without incident or accident. Count that as miraculous.
Taxi and the Home where mother hoped I'd brought a strong bag to take home the bloody garden gnome in case the new owners tossed him out.  I'd like to see them move the bird bath with the 20kgs of rocks we put in so the residents couldn't push it over.
Now I'm going to rat through the freezer and find an ice-cream, there's always one sneaking under the frozen peas.

Countdown 12 days and she hits 86.

Climate change moves slowly

This is what happens with one little change and a period of time. Earth change doesn't dump on us all of a sudden unless we get hit with a great lump of space rock or the magnetic poles reverse.
The iceberg collision is here My favourite penguins have to be the Adelies and to see them fighting to keep their colony going makes me want to get out there and carry a few or I'll pay for Elephant's Child to do it for me. I don't like the cold and she loves it and penguins.

As you can see from the Map, Cape Denison is where Mawson's hut was built and where volunteers are now reclaiming them from years of ice coverage.  It will take a lot more to save the Adelies.

And just to add a brighter note, Warnie managed to get bitten on the head by a snake not on the bum by a spider as I had hoped but still it hurt and Elephant's Child will laugh and not cry about the penguins.

Procrastinate and even then get it wrong

I'm printing this out and handing it to the poor bloke who is going to sell me a new gas space heater.
While the RatPack in Canberra is still dithering about whether to slug us another 5% GST or do the decent thing and halve their own Superannuation and cut off all perks to former RatPackers of both parties to save money, I decided to get in first, just in case.

The dear old Vulcan has been chugging away for 40 years now with only a few hiccups like the freezing winter when the fan called it quits.  Fortunately we found a vulcan parts place only a click away and a new one was installed, upside down and everything had to be pulled out again and re-done but it purred.  The cats were happy, I still had two at this time and they were happy on mohair rugs either side of the oil upright heater.  I had six loads of clothes and blankets and a tiny air heater. The other problem with it was the ceramic bricks used to conduct the heat, fragile to say the least and to buy one was more expensive than to buy a whole new box but saving the best of the bad lot paid off next time one shattered.  Automatic thermostat gave up the ghost fairly early on but the tradie said not to replace it, just do it myself.  Good advice, getting up and down was usually the only exercise I got all winter.

This year I have some money, almost enough to put down a decent deposit and pay the rest off. The computer found several in the area and one I really liked with a 4 star energy rating and a nice beige colour.  Rang Hardly Normal for a price. I was shunted to 3 different departments with mumblings, ditherings and silences.  Finally someone found the price list but I'm sure I didn't hear right when they said it was just over two thousand but probably 3 when the installation was factored in but they did have one in store.  This was for someone else who hadn't come in to pay yet but they were prepared to piss them off in favour of me because I was going to pay it off not pay at once.  Don't they just love that interest.  Nothing about checking out the house to see if it would fit in the Vulcan space, just arrive and sign the papers.

I tried the next on the list.  This was a list of showrooms that had the heaters on display and could be turned on for me to view.  HN was on this list and I think they must have bribed someone. The Good Guys sold them but didn't have any on display so I ditched them but I will come back with another story.  I also looked at the possibility of buying a gas cooker and heater together and pay both.  Good Guys had a lovely range, various prices though for almost the same sort of cooker so I'm reading the small print and measuring up when I discovered that an under the hob grill was almost never there.  One did have the grill in the oven.  So that is something on the procrastinate list and the mouse gets to live in the insulation for a bit longer.

Next cab off the rank was a place called Flaming Mo's and it's five minutes away by car or an hour of me walking.  A favour called in from the Nephew should do it.  Actually a few favours, the smoke alarm fell out of the ceiling again and now I have six holes to be polyfilled,  the light in the front room is still hanging down because they don't put the proper screws in with new fittings just to make you spend more and 5 years ago he promised to put in a double electric point in the laundry so I would not have double adapters for dryer and washer.  Still waiting.
Back to Flaming Mo's, the guy knew everything about the heater I wanted, gave me a price but couldn't say about an installation fee until the gas fitter came and checked the flue and the space size.
He did ask if I had a chimney and I said no, silence, am I sure?  I have a flue but the builder said it was a waste of money to have a chimney without an open fire so what I saved there I spent on electrical outlets except in the bloody laundry. 

So going up to have a look as soon as I can grab himself which should be tomorrow considering what he put in the recycle bin which I can't move.  Of course you know what will happen, we will probably have the mildest winter in years. 

He said what and he's nearly what?

Shane Warne thinks we evolved from aliens.  I always thought he didn't quite fit this planet.  But he has an excuse, he's on a (pardon me as I choke with laughter) reality show.  I rather hope he gets bitten on the arse by an unevolved earth spider because ain't no-one is going to suck that venom out.

And the other hideous news belongs to Baarmy Joyce.  I never quite thought about this before but no-brain is just one heartbeat away from being Prime Minister. I don't care how much it costs, I want Turnbbot protected 24 hours a day, don't even let him get a paper cut in case it turns septic. Baarmy as P.M., just the thought is brain crushing. I wonder if there is a chance of stunning him and hiding him in the middle of one of those ghastly sheep ships where he won't be found until well out of Australian waters.

Every time I think of this country lately, I start humming "Somewhere over the rainbow".  Watching too much question time in Parliament will do that to you.  

And I really do have a unicorn and you can't prove I don't.

Science is not boring so watch and learn

I think I lost a few brain cells trying to get this Youtube on the blog so even if you don't like science stuff, stick with it and watch.
Such a simple device that could do so much good in the world and the scientists involved spend half their time begging for funds.  What else would you expect with a government that can barely spell science but can spell 'unemployed' to scientists at the CSIRO.
With the Zika virus now running rampant across the world, it's a shame that this is not at every airport where a simple test would detect an infected person before they entered the country.

The mining boom is over, the time of the science boom should be beginning.  It wouldn't even leave giant holes in the ground but it would save people.  But testing takes time and money before a profit is realized so the scientists are right back to begging.

 But here's a thought, since James is throwing his money, $10 million it's rumoured, away on a diamond ring for his current singing bimbo perhaps he could throw a few bucks for a much better cause and help 10 million people.