Personal Space & Queues

Don’t you hate it when you are waiting in a line to be served and the person behind you invades your personal space? I had to buy some padding today for an upholstery project at home so I went to the only haberdashery chain store we have in Cairns. After searching for ages I found a roll of the required padding and lugged it to the counter for cutting. The staff in this store are very slow and inefficient, which is bad enough, but it got even worse when this barrel shaped woman with a walking stick parked herself behind me. She was wheezing and breathing all over me and tapping her metal tipped walking stick on the floor, so I edged forward slightly to give her some space, however she just moved up as close as possible to me as she could without actually touching me. I tried moving again and sure enough she was following and wasn’t going to give me any space. I silently cursed and endured this until it was my turn to be served, luckily the roll I had was just the right size so I quickly paid the correct cash amount and moved away. As I was leaving I heard the space invader rifling through her handbag for ages (which she could have done while she was waiting in the damn queue!) then she started demanding something with a pronounced eastern European accent. That was when I realised she was probably a professional queue stander from Russia or somewhere similar.

ahhhh Donnini's

A tribute is well overdue to our favourite restaurant in Cairns, Donnini's Ciao Italia at The Pier. This restaurant is one of those rare gems that consistently delivers "the goods". The food is divine, the service is very slick and efficient and the staff are wonderful, and so loyal. Pictured here is Marc's lunchtime dessert today, a strawberry and mango trifle made with marscapone. We've enjoyed countless visits to Donnini's for well over 10 years now and have never, ever been disappointed.

Hydration Packs?

I just saw an advertisement on TV tonight from a major hotel chain advertising hotel accommodation during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. The ad featured a famous Aussie swimming star promising everyone who books a "Thorpedo Hydration Pack", no further details given though. I'm intrigued and it got me to thinking would this perhaps be some of the swimming pool water he has swum in? Any suggestions?

Podcasting

Anyone out there actually downloading podcasts yet? True to my pioneering spirit, I'm now sampling this new medium. The term "podcast" is a real coup for Apple, I get the feeling many folks feel they must have one of those cute looking personal digital music players produced by Apple in order to access a podcast. Not so, it's just a matter of downloading a file (usually MP3 or WMA format) to your computer, just as you would any other file. You can then play this file on your computer, assuming of course the computer has a sound card and speakers. What I've been doing is copying a bunch of "podcast" files to a re-writable CD and playing it back on my stereo system. It's excellent for downloading and listening to programs I've missed, particularly on ABC Radio National. It also opens up access to very interesting content from radio stations all over the world.

Holly Doggie

Holly was a bit miffed to see another hound appearing on her Mum's blog. Here she is this afternoon after a refreshing dip in the river at Goomboora Park, a refuge from the 34c scorcher in Cairns today.

Howl's Moving Castle

Great movie, beautiful animation, very cute story. Four stars (out of 5) from MB.

The Prodigal Son

Pictured here in Japan at host dad's (next to Paul on the left) ambulance station.

Invasion of the Puffer Jackets

Another "Puffer Jacket" theme photo! This time it's MDR on the road to Ben Lomond ski fields in Northern Tasmania. The road up to the ski field is called "Jacob's Ladder", for good reason too, it's a very narrow dirt road with really tight switchbacks up a terribly steep, rocky incline. Fortunately for us the road was dry, I'd hate to have tried to negotiate it with snow or ice on the road.

Marcia: Liquid Gold

Did you know you can buy a bottle of wine called "Marcia" from Trafford Hill Wines?

Strahan

MB got to do a little side trip to Strahan over the weekend, a very isolated port township on the west coast of Tasmania. Strahan is a hugely popular destination as it is located near the mouth of the Gordon River and is home to now protected Huon Pine forests. As you can see the township is picture postcard pretty. Getting there from Hobart entails a 5 hour drive through some very rugged country which includes the Franklin River National Park. Remember all the controversy throughout the seventies when the Tas. Govt. was going to dam the Franklin River? Fortunately the conservationists won out, the area is now a pristine National Park with stunning mountain scenery. I stopped at the Franklin River and filled my water bottle. The water is the colour of weak tea, but perfectly OK to drink, I hope!

Bluebell Inn

Here's the team after a truly superb gourmet dinner at the Bluebell Inn in Sorell, an oasis of jolly hospitality in a rather lacklustre township. Our host was so jolly he could barely stand, so a good night was had by all!