since last we heard, faded mirage
Wit and scribbles mrormsbyatlarge.
I think he works, he once said so,
Erudite without the show.
.
Now following pooroldhenry
Also born in same century.
Both were teachers, thats for sure,
Their English is so damn pure.
.
Pooroldhenry reviewed my tripe,
Perhaps some was for his delight.
My pace is slowing, for doggerel,
Not frantic pace, inaugural
Three plus decades in engineering,in private industry, followed by another decade in Tasmanian public service.
Some of the engineering, failures, and achievements have been written about. Folk I knew, and quirky observations.
Whilst of more recent times this video captures its vanilla essence.
It’s a world I’ve left behind.
Enjoy!
As the regular Australian Mail services have been halved, could scammers please note to reduce their emails appropriately.
I’ve succumbed, to the challenge of a Christmas newsletter. Rather than writing for my own enjoyment, to rail against stuff I’m indignant about, or simply poetic doggerel, I thought I’d try this.
Should it be a chronological review of the year, kids and so on. Actually I’ve no idea, but here goes anyway.
Anne and I are enjoying the quiet seclusion of Hobart. We continue to invite guests to our home through http://www.couchsurfing.com and have done so now for a few years. In June / July we used couchsurfing contacts to circumnavigate Ireland for nights. We drove a rental car uphill down dale around the rugged west coast of the island. So green and manicured. We met and stayed with the very best people. Staying with the parents of two girls who had stayed with us earlier in the year was a highlight.
I’ve taken with a passion to sailing radio controlled yachts. I love it, relaxing and absorbing with a great group of like minded retired gentleman.
Anne maintains her passion for cooking. We eat real well.
Timbi Toolz and twins Ari and Rafa live in Brisbane. The boys completed a year at the same kindy their Dad went to just down the road from where we once lived in Victoria Avenue.
Nick Lauren Wolfgang and Cleopatra live in the same area. Wolfgang also went to the same kindy and now attends the primary school his Dad uncle and aunties attended.
We were honoured to travel to Brisbane for the 82nd birthday and 50th wedding anniversary of Gavin, a very best friend, who, along with others we started the Schizophrenia Fellowship of South Queensland, all those years ago. The Fellowship has been absorbed into another organisation.
Nick is working on a large infrastructure project to bring renewably generated electricity from outback Queensland to the coast via a 1000 km grid. T
Tatimbi is with a NZ consultancy bringing Frankly-AI to Queensland. Recently, he presented to the Queensland Government in a pitch to bring together small teams in police, emergency services, government and corporates to develop solutions to cope with emergency response and communication issues during natural disasters. I struggle to understand this AI stuff fully. I realise I started engineering with a slide rule and log book. If you’re interested, learn more at https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=2990bf725bb6f49dJmltdHM9MTcwMTY0ODAwMCZpZ3VpZD0yNTk5NGI4MS1hYjIyLTZjYmItMDQwNC01OTU3YWEyZDZkOGUmaW5zaWQ9NTQ3Ng&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=25994b81-ab22-6cbb-0404-5957aa2d6d8e&psq=frankly+ai&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9mcmFua2x5LmFpLw&ntb=1
Anne visited her sister Diana in Hastings and caught up with the Village People. Not those Village People but her neighbours. Together they refurbished her bedroom and kitchen a massive undertaking .
Later in the year, Diana spent an enjoyable two weeks on the Apple Isle with us at Tranmere. Spotlight benefited from several visits as they sought material to cover chairs and curtain windows
Cha and Harry have a little girl in Canberra. Cha is on maternity leave from the Federal Treasury enjoying her little daughter Vivi. La and Scott in Sydney have two little boys, Archie and little Hamish. La has just bone back to Federal Treasury following maternity leave.
Cathryn continues refurbishing schools with the Department of Education in NSW, dancing the Argentinian Tango with her partner Jim.
I continue voluntary work with the Migrant Resource Centre. Recently I’ve applied to serve as a voluntary Consumer Engagement Council representative for the Tasmanian Health Service, if I don’t get fed up with the plethora of forms and checks required. The Criminal History Check, the consent to use my pic in who knows what, the confidentiality agreement, the application to work with vulnerable people. and so on. I used to work for this mob as a public servant. It’s a long way back to when we started the Schizophrenia Fellowship, in our own time, around a kitchen table bound together by a desire to do stuff for those in need. At least all these checks provide others with paid jobs?
This year’s tomatoes are doing well. Anne and I will spend a couple of weeks looking after my cousin up in Sydney in early December. We’re blessed to have a house sitter to look after our two cats Whisky and Sashka.
As Christmas comes around we think of our friends, old and new, far and wide. We hope to see some of you next year, perhaps after our trip to NZ. Why NZ? Well Air New Zealand ceases direct flights to Auckland from Hobart in April and we just want to travel ‘international’ direct from Hobart.
Blessings to all.
Anne and David
What are your two favorite things to wear?
Firstly, recently, there’s been an avalanche of washable undies ads.
WTF
Aren’t all undies washable? Where have I gone wrong all these years.
Shouldn’t I have been washing my undies? Have y’all done yours?
Que?
Secondly braces.
The perfect way for day long wedgies is overtightened braces.
No belt or draw string pull ties on trackies.
It’s gotta be braces on jeans drawn up o’er belly button.
I’m sat here, after eating breakfast,
More than bemused by what I’ve read.
’bout Frankly AI^, kinda podcast,
Enlightening, but I’m filled with dread.
.
It’s GPT Chat or the like,
Technology’s changed, nowhere to hide.
In summers past, I was a tike,
A trusty slide rule was my guide.
.
Or was it log book for calculation,
Reiterations* were the rage.
Do one design, caused pure frustration,
An overestimate! turn the page.
.
Try to find god given meaning,
The words a salad, confused vignette.
Must be a purpose, or am I dreaming,
The meaning squeezed tart vinaigrette.
^ https://www.beca.com/ignite-your-thinking/in-focus/digital-transformation/frankly-ai
*
Reflection on iterative design of a fusion welded pressure vessel to BS 5500 standard, calculations done with slide rule.
“Whadidya do today?” echoed from past conversations.
“Mmhh,” I reflected as you see, in a break from pulling weeds round the rose bushes.
The light mist spritzing my face had strengthened to a drizzle, forcing me onto the back deck.
I inhaled, spine straightening, watching my chest rise from my tummy roll.
Having paid a working life of tax and superannuation, I no longer contribute to either.
I’m in “The Golden Years.”
Tax, like death, said to be unavoidable.
The never-ending squabble to pay less tax lead to a diminution of the services provided by governments.
The government needed to get outta the way of private industry who claimed to be more efficient, more flexible, and driven by the profit motive.
Gas, electricity, public transport, et al succumbed. Many folk from these industry workers were transferred into private industry. Somehow, they became more efficient or got the arse.
But how the f*#k services were to be maintained? Services at the same price, while simultaneously making a profit, required commercial gymnastics worthy of the Kama Sutra.
I ruminated. I’d experience in the transitions in gas and electricity. Arguably, neither of these worked out well.
A simple question.
Was an alternative simply to have assisted the government employees to become more efficient?
Rumination over, drizzle eased, back to weeding.
The Hobart Chinaman 
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