Alice Springs

Arrived yesterday and it's quite cool here 20-21, good for walking and good for me. The weather for the next few days is about the same being sunny throughout. Alice Springs looks a bit tired and a lot of shops are hidden in malls - not surprising it can get into the 40s here in the summer. But it does have an excellent outdoor shop called the Lone Dingo which is next door to the Red Dog Cafe, they have a bit of a theme going there.

The trip here was interesting, unsurprisingly. At the airport had a three kid disease factory set up next to me while I was at a cafe. Three kids under 10 coughing and sneezing in all directions. Their main mission appeared to be to spread their illness. It didn't appear that they had been introduced to the handkerchief or the courtesy of covering their mouths when coughing. While I was waiting at the gate someone come up and took a photo of the vending machine dispensing chips. But he was not interested in the drinks one. Must have been a foreign tourist as you don't see many chip vending machines in Europe. He can tell his friends all about it. They will be in awe.

The flight was quite quick - only 2 1/2 hours. Food was served, being a Qantas flight, a pie. Not everybody took up the offer so they had spares, so they offered seconds. Many of the people  taking up the offer probably shouldn't have.

On arrival they had a quarantine bin for tomatoes, capsicum and chilis. Lucky I left mine at home. Also what's odd here is that they take the TV news from Queensland. Not much coverage of  NT news though.

Today I walked down to the Old Telegraph station, just 3km away but already in the bush. I was slightly concerned when I saw a notice stating that dingoes were active in the area and that if you came across them you should look big, look them in the eye and fall back slowly. I thought that's what you had to do with bears which are much more scary. Tomorrow I am on the Larapiinta Trek for six days (but staying at a base camp) no phone, Internet, electricity and limited water. It will be interesting.

And Yet More Random Thoughts

Hello again, yet more random thoughts....and some pictures...

Knuckleheads
It appears that the latest invention for knuckleheads in Melbourne is the installation of traffic lights in the footpath for those approaching road crossings while still absorbed in their mobile phone. You can read the story here. Whatever happened to "survival of the fittest?" There should be a knucklehead tax and/or register.
When I was walking to Hoppers Crossing railway station, as I was crossing the street, a car turned in front of me without any indicator with the driver looking down at something in the car and not out the windscreen. Lucky for him I was paying attention and waited in the middle of the road (on a traffic island). Knucklehead tax, ka-ching.

Soccer
As you may be aware I am a fan but the increasing tendency of some players (particularly overseas) to wear their socks over their knees is a bit silly. I think they are going soft; are they feeling the cold or are they afraid of hurting their knees? If it's such a problem just wear long pants and be done with it.

Abbreviations
Apparently some people are in such a rush they don't have time to speak full words anymore. I saw an ad which said that "Ts and Cs applied". I think that's terms and conditions. I saw some footballer being interviewed that said that how many Ws and Ls was what was important. I think he meant wins and losses but obviously saying that was going to take too long and strain his mouth.

Old People
According to the TV news recently a survey taken of employees indicated that people in the category of 70 years old plus were the most happiest. Hardly a surprise, most in this age group are probably just happy to be mobile enough to work and to be alive. That comes with a high satisfaction rating. 
As we get older, invariably, we lose some functionality etc. Some people are more fortunate than others in this regard. I have a dodgy knee and am losing my hair (the latter is in fact a longstanding project). However, I saw someone on the train who had a full set of hair but he suffered from involuntary facial twitching when he was putting his bag away and, more seriously, suffered from a need to wear a pastel yellow coloured jumper. My issues pale by comparison.  
I also saw an older person getting on the train at Southern Cross station. He was well dressed, with matching slippers. Must be from Wodonga. They are into comfort there.

Slovenia
The latest innovation to come out of here is digital headstones. Obviously something that the market has been waiting (or dying) for. You can read the story, in English, here. 
Also a new speed record was set in Slovenia the other day. Police caught a driver going 232 km/h. It must have been a really good car.

Interesting People
When I was in the city the other day, I saw a person who appeared to cope with having to wait for the lights to change by rubbing both sides of his head with his hands. He did this twice. He went into an office building so I assume he is in gainful employment. I wonder whether he does the head rubbing thing at work and how that goes.
Again on the way to Hoppers Crossing Crossing railway station,  I saw a person walking his dog with one hand and pushing a shopping jeep with the other, in an on-road bike lane with his back to the traffic. But it was OK, he was wearing a bright yellow fluro jacket.

Animals
Apart from dogs on my bike I also seem to attract less threatening animals. Recently a butterfly hitched a ride on my backpack. I only noticed it when I got on the train. It flew off somewhere so I don't know which station it was headed for. 
At Bright, my house (or at least outside it) seems to be attracting an increasing number of lizards. There are the small skinks and a blue tongue has taken up residence (but not in the garage this time), often the motion alarm goes off and it is usually a lizard. The blue tongue has found a home behind a pot plant (begonia), near the front door. I found it one day when I was watering and something started hissing at me from behind the pot. It clearly doesn't appreciate getting an impromptu shower.
Also the other day I was walking along a trail and a dog came running towards me, shortly followed by the (running) owner carrying a lead. I am not sure whether he was running with the dog or running after the dog. Whatever was the case, the dog was clearly the fitter.

TV Stories
Recently an Albury police inspector, while giving a press conference on the street, took a break from the interview to arrest a drunk who was walking past and giving him a mouthful. Wrong place, wrong time. You can see the story and video here if you are interested.
Another interesting story was about the Bristol apostophe vigilate who went around correcting business signs but who wanted to remain anonymous while at the same time featuring in a national news story in the UK. Not really keeping a low profile. You can read more about it here.
Also saw a news story that said that illicit drugs affects people with different body shapes differently. Is that just another way of saying it affects fat and skinny people differently?

Tourists
Recently it has been the tourist season here in Bright being school holidays and Easter. It's good for the town to have so many tourists but they are so loud, in the street, and you can even hear them down the road. I don't know whether its because it's so noisy in the city they are used to shouting at each other or what. Also they seem oblivious to the fact that we have cars in Bright (or roads for that matter), just walking down the middle of the road without a care in the world. Also the other day a person with their two dogs was just standing in the middle of the footpath completely blocking it, utterly oblivious to the existence of any cohabitants on planet Earth. It's a lot quieter now.

My Other Blog
Australian Childcare Regulation is the new name of my childcare regulation blog, it can be accessed at childcarereg.blogspot.com for those interested.


And finally, here are some pictures taken in the local area. Off to Alice Springs at the end of the week, more pictures from there!

Around Mt Beauty...

Wandiligong...

 Bright...