Watch these nasty little fellows….

dsc_4057_2.jpgDefinitely do not want to accidentally fall in one of these nests, i remember bites from a single one hurts like buggery and the lump lasts for days! Imagine a nest of ’em….

Galstons Walk – part of the Great Northern Walk – check it out here! a tinyfraction of the 250 km walk!

Bull ants have a fearsome reputation, and deservedly so. They are large with long, straight, powerful jaws and a potent venom-loaded sting. They attack intruders of any size that come too close to their nest. Bull ants also have well-developed vision and will follow or even chase an intruder a good distance from the nest. Usually the sight of large aggressive ants streaming out of the nest is enough to prompt a hasty retreat. If not, the ants deliver painful stings by gripping the intruder with their mandibles (jaws), curling their abdomen to reveal the sting and injecting the victim with venom. Often multiple stings are delivered.

Refer to http://www.faunanet.gov.au/ 

Chinamens Beach Rusty fence…

dsc_4211_2.jpgWell it was time to do the other end of Chinamens Beach, fortunately all my images are pretty ordinary since I left the VR (Vibration Reduction) on whilst on my tripod and also had ISO set to 1250 from the night before… what a crappy eh.. especially since I got up at the cracker of dawn…

Nonetheless there was some nicely composed pictures, which can be all viewed here….

The attached image is of, what appears to be, a fence of some sort to separate Chinamens Beach from the adjacent beach which is part of a military testing zone – probably has not been used for many years but ….

Well I will be up there again soon and this time, 3rd time, I will remember not to leave the ISO or VR on …. oh and it will be an absolutely magic morning.. 🙂

Read More →

Drafting Acroynms

2-PSS: Two-Part Polysulfide Sealant
2-PUMS: Two-Part Polyurethane Modified Sealant
@ At (the rate of)
& And
” Inch; Ditto (which means “same as above”)
# Number. or Pound
[circle with diagonal slash through it] Diameter, Round, Phase

A: Area, Ampere; Acre; Alcove; Compressed Air Line
AB: Anchor Bolt; Asbestos Board
ABV: Above

Read More →

Stealth Grub…..

dsc_3985_2.jpgCheck this cheeky monkey out….if we did not pick this guy up he would have had free reign on our Chilli plant for good….all credit has to go to evolution for this guys camo coat…

I would love to know what this guy is called or what family he is from!

That ‘search engine’ gives me lots of useful info about how to get Grub booting off a usb stick :/ yes I am interested in linux but come on… I am looking for grubbies….

dsc_3988_2.jpg

Read More →

Spiders…handy info..

dsc_3977.JPGQuoted from: (excellent, informative site – the pic on the left is one of my many holes!)

http://www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/venom/spiders.html

Spider Bites

The Sydney funnel web (and a few related Atrax species) is unquestionably the most dangerous spider in Australia; the red back and the paralysis tick are the only other two arachnids with potentially fatal bites.

Geoff Isbister has authored a nice review of the management of spider bites on the Australian Prescriber website.

The AVRU has a page on spider identification with some nice photos and a description of their behaviour. The Australian Reptile Park pioneered funnel web venom milking and is the sole supplier of venom to CSL for antivenom production, and they now have a specific spider exhibit. If you capture a live funnel web please take it to one of their funnel-web collection points. Their comprehensive information about important Australian spiders makes fascinating reading.

Read More →

Coffee Update….

dsc_3997_2.jpg

Well, after purchasing a cheap, but suitable tamper – which will keep me going until I get my custom one made up 🙂 Things are looking pretty darn good on the coffee front….have not purchased a coffee from the cafe for over a week and I am still going strong!

.

Check out this one — note the cup supplied by sar’s Nan 🙂

.

.

Read More →

La Pavoni – Europiccola

dsc_3992_2.jpgSo after years of looking on ‘that auction site’ and visiting the local Distributor, conveniently located in Annandale Sydney (http://www.euroespresso.com.au/), I finally picked up one of these bad boys. The price was right, secondhand and only used a handfull of times I picked it up for about half the retail price – still alot for a freakin’ coffee machine. However considering I will save on my daily coffee costs it should be ok….

So, the La Pavoni Europiccola (http://www.lapavoni.com)is basically the base model in their range of Lever Handle machines, keeping in mind the only differences between the base model and the ‘Pro’ version is the inclusion of a pressure gauge (yes that looks cool) and a bigger boiler. So all things considered I am happy with the base model.

For once I did read up before plugging it in! I tested some crappy old old coffee that I had lying around…and surprise surprise..it was crap! Next try was with some fresher stuff in the freezer, this round tested out the cappucino nozzle thingy – WOW….that tasted better than the stuff I get up the road from my local Cafe!

dsc_3994_2.jpgThis is only gonna get better. However one crucial piece of equipment is required, a decent, and correct sized tamper, the one supplied was a 51mm which is too large for the 49mm basket – maybe one from here! http://www.coffeetamper.com.au/

or I will get one done up from a local machine shop!!

couple of links…

http://coffeesnobs.com.au/

http://www.coffeeitalia.com.au

Spare parts:

http://www.espressoservices.co.uk/shop.html 

http://www.coffeeparts.com/ 

Don’t throw out that PSU!

SO… if you live in a dust bowl like I do you probably experience the pleasure of remove caked on dust from inlets, outlets, grilles boards…basically everything! From time to time I get a seized fan, depending on the cost and quality they can be given a new lease on life or it can be worth just chucking it and getting a new one. PSU fans are potentially the most under-rated fans in the system, with one of these stopping things can get very, very interesting.

I tend to get decent quality PSU where possible, these are typically, but not limited too, Antec and Silverstone. These usually have a single large fan or two slower fans, these fans can be hard to get, even though they are not soldered in. Here is an example of a Antec fan that seized and was repaired with a good clean and a few drops of machine oil. Any sewing machine oil is suitable, as long as it is light Machine oil.

Obviously do at your own risk since this can potentially void your warranty – Note the “No user-serviceable parts” decal!

Remove the cover of the PSU – note voiding warranty now!

dsc_3786.JPG

Problem fan!

dsc_3785.JPG

Fan mounted…

dsc_3784.JPG

Remove the plastic sticker and clear plastic cover on the DC motor….there is a little plastic cir-clip which needs to be removed, this holds the fan into the assembly, without it, the fan will take off when started!

dsc_3783.JPG

Read More →

Ever had that feeling that you know you have something…but just can’t find it! – Crawl, index, search

search.pngWell this is what I get all the time on computers, with enormous amounts of data, from work stuff, pdf librarys, drawings, pictures you name it. I am fairly careful about organising stuff and and fairly consistent in the backing up, but there comes a point where you need some form of effective search, I am not talking about the search crap that comes with any O/S, these take days to search thru pdfs and documents. Vista’s search has not yet convinced me either! So I went on a search for decent, opensource or at least free searching and indexing software. I am not fussed if it runs on a desktop or off a server thru a java applet or some other means.

I was looking for something that was relatively simple to install and configure, I dont mind tweaking stuff and spending a bit of time to get stuff to work, but taking days and days to install and sort out problems is not good enough! I wanted somthing that, ideally, could search thru MS format files, Open Office format files, pdf’s, generic text files and CAD files, it also had to provide results based on file name and path, not really much to ask. It is important to note that g$$gle provides some SOHO options for this kinda stuff, in particular the g$$gle mini, this little box would do most of what I need, but is limited to 200,000 docs and cost shitloads of money, probably would not reach 200,000 docs but the 6kUS is a killer…..so off to the alternatives I went 🙂

Read More →

Rainwater Tank Complete

dsc_3567_2.jpgSo after a marathon effort of installing a concrete slab for the rainwater, the next phase was to establish the 3500L tank on the foundation of get some of the water off the roof and into the tank. SO the tank is about 30-40 metres away on the other side of the house and weighs in at about 70kg, how do you move this bulky item? well do as the romans did, well kinda…. Layed out several planks and slid it along, worked very well and did not damage the tank at all. Positioned the tank on the slab and checked for the correct level, it is so damn level you could gauge the rest of the house of it, on that note its probably the only level thing on the property!

With a little rework of the existing PVC piping and I had rain water flowing into the tank not problems, I will get some more piping and mate a more professional job of it but for now, with rain coming down it should be fine.

Now if your wondering where to purchase a rainwater tank on the mid north coast, Camden Haven Tanks would be an excellent place to start, they specialise in “aquaplate” steel tanks which are BHP (or Bluescope, depending on their name today) steel sheeting with a food grade plastic lining. These guys get the sheet and roll the corrugations and form up tanks to suit whatever size you like!

Camden Haven Tanks

4 Flinders Drv, Laurieton, NSW 2443

p: (02) 6559 7421

Monster Witchetty Grub

Monster Witchetty GrubWell maybe not quite a monster one but alot bigger than what I have ever seen! to provide some scale to the shell shown, the shell is at least 3.75″ long, that would make for one tasty meal…if I ate grubs….and if I could find him!

Check out this Fact Sheet (Giant Wood Moth and Witchetty Grubs) from

Author: Geoff Monteith
Queensland Museum
PO Box 3300, South Bank
QLD 4101 Australia
Phone: (07) 3840 7555
Web: http://www.qm.qld.gov.au

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub) is a term used in Australia for the large, white, wood feeding larvae of cossid moths (Cossidae), ghost moths (Hepialidae) and longicorn beetles (Cerambycidae). The term is used mainly when the larvae are being considered as food. The larvae are said to taste similar, probably because they have similar wood feeding habits. Edible either raw or barbecued, they are sought out as a high-protein food by Indigenous Australians. Most often, witchetty grub applies to large, typically 7 cm, wood-eating larva of various Australian moths, particularly the cossid moth Endoxyla leucomochla (aka Xyleutes leucomochla). It feeds on the roots of the Witchetty bush, which is named for the grubs. The grubs feature as Dreamings in many Aboriginal paintings.

Counterstrike Source Common Commands

gg_aim_ag_texture2-m0009.jpgfps_max Frame rate limiter.
cl_allowdownload <0/1> Client downloads customization files. Default: 1
cl_allowupload <0/1> Client uploads customization files. Default: 1
cl_autowepswitch <0/1> Automatically switch to picked up weapons (if more powerful) Default: 1
cl_c4dynamiclight <0/1> Draw dynamic light when planted c4 flashes. Default: 0
cl_c4progressbar <0/1> Draw progress bar when defusing the C4. Default: 1
cl_cmdrate Max number of command packets sent to server per second. Default: 0

Read More →

Sydney Park

sydney-park-brickworks-1-lowres.jpg

Sydney Park has long been a frequently access park for me…..plenty of space for everyone and never too crowded… Shows what can be achieved with our waste land…..

Always a favorite spot for photos also!

Quoted from http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/

”

The City of Sydney’s biggest park is not yet 20 years old. Much has been achieved to transform an industrial history of clay extraction and waste disposal into 44 hectares of parkland and a vital asset for the growing communities of the southern districts of the City. With development continuing in the southern districts, there is a growing community need for access to high quality open space.

The 2003 Master Plan prepared in conjunction with the Plan of Management has largely been successfully implemented and now represents the existing situation.

The Detailed Master Plan, builds on the foundation of the Plan of Management, addresses the need to establish a

meaningful vision for further improvements to Sydney Park as part of its ongoing development.

Future works to the park will establish an improved park landscape of greater environment stability and with wider recreation opportunity, so the park can cater for the growing numbers and diversity of users.”