Nearly There!

As Jan pointed out; it’s been almost a year since I started the bathroom renovation project.  Jerry; the Polish (as in country – not shine) Tiler; has been making steady progress.  He is quite meticulous and the finished product looks good.  I have assisted with some of the tile cutting; but only where my cuts will be concealed!

Just the grouting to be done tomorrow and then I can start on reinstalling the towel rails, mirror, etc.

Jan had decided she didn’t want all the walls covered in large while ceramic tiles and announced the exterior wall would be clad in subway tiles.  That surprised me and I immediately tried to recall what the tiles were in Subway.  I’ve only eaten in one three times so it was a bit of a struggle.  Yes, I know…. I’m a fella and the trigger word “subway” had me thinking of food.  Meanwhile Jan was thinking “subway” ( a tunnel under a road for use by pedestrians).  Or brick shaped tiles!

She appears to love the new look. 

Pottering and our helpful neighbour

This morning I spent a few hours pottering in the shed making a reinforced steel base for the swimming pool handrail.  It’s going to be sent in concrete and needs to be substantial as it’s likely other people will “swing” off it getting out of the pool.

The handrail is stainless steel and I want the visible anchor points to be the same.  Galvanised and mild steel don’t combine well with water; particularly salt water.  Finding suitable threaded stainless steel rod was an issue.  I only needed 2 metres and that appeared to be a very small quantity.  Eventually I found an online seller who happened to supply sail components.

 

The angle iron is scrap steel from an old bench.  Apart from the four top nuts; everything in the above photo will be buried in concrete.

Meanwhile, Jan had noticed Wayne, our neighbour, was painting the short length of fencing at the front of the house.

Wayne informed me his wife, Fiona, had ordered him to do it.  When he protested explaining “It’s not our fence!”  Fiona explained that he was to be a good neighbour and look after the elderly couple next door.  Not wishing to push my luck with Wayne; I’ve decided to give the list of outstanding minor maintenance tasks to Fiona next time I see her.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Jerry the Tiler pointed out to Jan there was missing grout between some of the tiles in shower floor.  Of course Jan had already noticed this and mentioned it to me months ago…… Not that I remember!

The upshot of all of this is Jerry will repair the floor.  However we won’t be able to use the shower for two days prior, to allow the floor to dry and two days afterwards, for the grout to set.  Jan was talking of having flannel washes. But I much prefer a shower.  Initially I thought of imposing myself upon relatives every evening.  Then I realised I had an alternative.

The camper trailer shower

This will be a test of the system before my next trip.

Returnees

I will try and restrict myself to this being my last blog post regarding COVID-19. However I suspect I'll be unsuccessful!

Over the last couple of days the leading media story is about the 27,000+ Australians who are trapped overseas and want to return home. Currently there is an Australian overseas arrivals cap of 4000 per week, which is maximum number the existing quarantine resources can manage.

On 17 March of this year the Federal government urged all overseas Australian citizens to immediately return to Australia and no citizens should go overseas. Six months later there are still 27,000+ overseas. Who are these people? I suspect the majority probably fall into one of the following categories.

1. Already overseas on extended holiday and didn't want to return.

2. Already overseas; didn't immediately return; and subsequently found themselves trapped when that country's borders were closed.

3. Dual citizen living overseas

4. Departed Australia after 17 March and now can't get back

5. One of the above and now doesn't have the money for the high return airfares.

Excluding 4 above, all these people made a conscious decision to ignore their government and not immediately return. Thousands did; frequently at additional expense. Those in category 4 left Australia, despite government instructions not to go.

These people are solely responsible for their situation and are now demanding the government rectify the problem they have created.

The Federal leader of the opposition was interviewed on TV demanding the PM use air force jets (large and small) or chartered Qantas aircraft to retrieve these people. Whilst this makes a great headline it ignores the real issue which is the lack of quarantine resources. Of course an option might be to allow returning citizens to 'self-quarantine' in their homes. I'll return to this point later.

The leader of the oppositions airlift suggestion isn't without precedence. In 2006 a large number of Australian-Lebanese dual citizens were trapped in Lebanon during the civil war. At that time some 25,000 dual Australian-Lebanese were in the country. Australia was able to arrange the evacuation of approximately 2500, many of whom were flown back to Australia on government chartered aircraft. The affected people were supposed to pay for their flight; but many never did. I take two lessons from this. There are thousands of dual national citizens living overseas on a semi-permanent bases. A citizen can spend up to six months outside Australia and still receive the government pension. You can obviously live a good life in Lebanon on an Australian pension. Moreover Lebanon is only one of many countries where this can occur. The second lesson is; when the government pays for something many people feel no obligation to repay.

Returning to the point about self-quarantining. Those who are most likely to comply with self-quarantining are the same people who have a sense of social responsibility. I suspect the majority of those overseas don't have that sense of social responsibility and therefore cannot be trusted to self-quarantine. That is; the general public don't want these people returning to self-quarantine only to cause a 'second wave'.

This brings us back to the issue of existing quarantine capacity. The Federal government has asked the States to accept an increase in returning citizens. Here in Western Australia the available hotels are already full and there is a lack of additional human resources (ie, guards, medical workers and support staff). In the early stages of the pandemic, when everyone was limiting their movements, the State government quarantined cruise ship passengers on the holiday resort island of Rottnest, just off the coast of Perth. This worked because Rottnest resort was empty as a consequence of the pandemic lockdown. The State is now open (internally) and COVID-19 free. Consequentially Rottnest resort is fully booked until next February. It's not hard to imagine the State government’s reluctance to tell citizens who complied with all the lockdown restrictions during the last six months they now have to give up their holiday for people who failed to comply with the Federal government directive back in March.

My opinion is the government should not provide return flights to Australia. There is already sufficient capacity on commercial airlines. The government should not be paying for airfares. Citizens who complied with the government instruction to return six months ago had to pay for their own airfares. People who failed to comply shouldn't now be rewarded with a free flight.

The Federal and State governments should provide supervised quarantine facilities to returnees. Self-quarantine shouldn't be an option as affected people have already demonstrated a lack of willingness to comply with instructions. Returnees who have the funds and are prepared to pay, should be allowed go into hotel quarantine. Those without the funds or unwilling to pay, should be detailed in a holding camp. Australia is a vast country with a number of isolated defence facilities. Two weeks under canvas with long drop toilets and army ration packs should provide plenty of time for self reflection. :-)

COVID-19 and Freedom

I've recently read three separate media articles about Australian Federal and State government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Essentially the writers argue the cure is more painful than the cause and the general public will be very angry with their political leaders once they realise this.

The writers also point out that there have been relatively few fatalities (816 in Australia) compared to the population (25 million). Therefore COVID-19 isn't particularly harmful.

One writer also pointed out the majority of fatalities were with the elderly in residential care (606). The writer then goes on to point out the statistics.  There were 1000 fewer deaths in aged care in the first seven months of 2020 compared to the previous year.

I find these arguments quite illogical.

In my opinion the reason why there has been a low fatality rate in Australia is precisely because of the measures introduced by Federal and State governments. Not because the virus is relatively harmless. Furthermore, where there was a breakdown in control measures there was a spike in infections and fatalities.  One only has to look at the rate of fatalities in Brazil where there have been few control measure or the USA where the response has be patchwork.

Moreover the recent lower mortality rate in residential aged care can be attributed to the increased national isolation measures which not only restricted the spread of COVID-19 but also the annual influenza outbreak.

It's not rocket science... just simple logic!

What has surprised me is the realization that a sizeable proportion of the population is incapable of complying with control measures. Society seems out of balance with so much emphasis on personal 'freedoms and rights' whilst ignoring their 'responsibilities'. The two are opposite sides of the same coin. The more you have of one the more you have of the other. To put it another way. You have the freedom and right to drive your vehicle whenever you want. However you are also responsible for complying with all the rules of driving. The more you drive, the more responsibility you have!

The Deaf Wife Problem

I can relate to this….

 

The Deaf Wife Problem

Bert feared his wife Peg wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid.

Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family Doctor to discuss the problem.

The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the Doctor a better idea about her hearing loss.

'Here's what you do,' said the Doctor, 'stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you.. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response.'

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was In the study. He says to himself, 'I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens.' Then in a normal tone he asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?'

No response.

So the husband moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, 'Peg, what's for dinner?'

Still no response.

Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his Wife and asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?'

Again he gets no response.

So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. 'Honey, what's for dinner?'

Again there is no response.

So he walks right up behind her. 'Peg, what's for dinner?'

(I just love this)??

'For heaven's sake, Bert, for the FIFTH time, CHICKEN!'

 

And why not be politically incorrect

Stage One Completed

Only an hour of work on the pool fence today installing the self closing gate.

I clamped the gate to the support post and then squared everything up before fitting the hinges.

With everything squared and level I fitted the latch to the long post.  The release button is on top of the latch and must be a minimum of 1500mm above ground level.  Ours is 1800mm.

Finished section

The remaining fencing will have to wait until the pool is installed.

Reading these last two posts must be as interesting as watching paint dry!

A Start

This afternoon I made a start on the pool fencing which had been delivered earlier in the week.  Not all of it can be installed at this time because the Bobcat and excavator will need room for the excavations.

The longest part of the process was getting the two end posts plumb.  The concrete pad isn’t level and I needed to insert washers under the corners of some of the post baseplates in order to ensure the posts were correctly vertically aligned.  I decided to use plugs and screws to fix the posts to the pad rather than dynabolts.  I think the former give me slightly more “wriggle room”.

First I marking the fence line on the concrete pad using a chalk line.  Then I measured and marked the position of each post.  I also made a small baseplate template with a scrap of plywood.  This was used to ensure the anchor holes were correctly aligned.

Four holes for each post.  Two 80mm long plugs about to be hammered home.  You can see the small plywood template I used to mark the position of the holes. 

With the end posts correctly installed I ran a high and low string line between them to align the intermediate posts.  This is when I came upon my next snag.  I’d got too clever for my own good and instead of purchasing the anchor plugs and bolts in a blister pack of two ($4.86 ea) I’d  found a box of 10 on the shelf in the hardware store ($15).  It wasn’t until I opened the box I discovered that unlike the two packs  the screws in the box didn’t have a bolt head.

 

The box contained large cross head screws and I didn’t have a bit that would fit.  After visiting four tool shops the final salesman suggested I try CLI Fasteners.  Fortunately CLI had a bit that would fit.  The salesman told me he hadn’t sold one that size in years.  Well I was able to insert the screws using the impact driver (another good purchase). 

With all the posts installed I started fitting the fence panels.

Intermediate panel.  The gate will be in the foreground

End panel also fitted.

This evening I’ve been reading the installation instructions for the gate hinges and latch (I must be getting old).  The gate will be installed tomorrow….. No rest for the wicked!

Another Delivery

Australia Post delivered another package this morning.  Can you guess what it is?

It’s the pool stainless steel handrail.  With the relocation of the pool my plans for fitting it have been placed on hold.

Meanwhile I’m pleased to report all the chipping has been completed.  Jan suggested the bathroom now looks slightly art deco.

I’d never have got this far without the use of Ken’s comb hammer.  Ken also suggested I probably wouldn’t be able to remove the large mirror above the vanity without breaking it.  But I had a cunning plan.  Ken had suggested using paint scrapers.  however I opted to use a 26” cross cut saw and a 1000mm steel ruler.  I managed to fit the saw blade between the back of the mirror and the wall and saw downwards cutting through the adhesive.  Having done both sides I then attacked from the top.  It was then a case of gently prying the mirror away from the wall.  It shattered…  I hate to write this…. but Ken was right!

The last of my preparation work involves brushing the wall with a stiff brush and then washing them with a wet sponge.  Hopefully the Tiler will make a start next week.

I’ve already made a start on the pool alterations digging out more lawn.  I’m rather annoyed that I’ve dug out lawn and water reticulation pipes which now require reinstating.

A Rare Treat

Homemade “Spoons” big breakfast this morning!  No doubt the colon and liver will complain tomorrow.  However it was delicious.

Jan cooked all of the vein clogging stuff in her new air-fryer, which is supposed to reduce the risk.

The walls of the bathroom are now 75% chipped.  I’ll have the shoulders of Hercules by the time I’ve finished.  Once the chipping is completed all the walls have to be brushed and then washed with a sponge to remove the dust.  Hopefully the Tiler will come in 10-12 days.

Meanwhile back to the swimming pool installation which didn’t occur.

The pool company agreed the pool would fit in the following location

 

In this location it complied with all the regulations relating to property boundaries.  The area was measured twice by separate company employees.

When the crew arrived to do the excavations they discovered the measurements were incorrect and the pool would look like this.

In this position it is too close to the rear boundary fence.  The pool company suggested we cut the patio pad and slide the pool partially under the pergola .  Jan didn’t like this and rightly pointed out it would adversely affect the outdoor BBQ area.

We have now agreed to the following location

The pool will fit but I now need to:

1. Remove more lawn
2. Reinstate lawn that was removed
3. Relocate the buried lawn reticulation pipes and sprinklers
4. Repair the hole in the pergola concrete pad that I drilled for the pool handrail earth wire.
5. Purchase more pavers
6. Purchase more fencing

At least it will be a change from chip chip chip chip

Trailer Modifications

The standard wheel and rim specifications for the camper trailer are a zero offset.  Whereas the rim specifications for the 4X4 are 33+.  I wanted the rims on the trailer to be the same as the 4X4 giving me a total of nine rims and tyres.  Four on the 4X4 and two on the trailer with three spares.  The method the dealer used to achieve a 33+ offset was to fit a 33mm thick aluminium alloy packer between the trailer drum brake and the rim.

When I removed the wheel I realised the nuts holding the packer to the drum were only half on the thread.

The plan is for the trailer to go off road, consequentially I’ve decided to remove the wheels spacers.  My plan is to extend the stub axle by inserting a 33mm thick steel packer between the independent suspension arm and the stub axle.  I’ve already cleaned up the steel packers before priming and painting them with some surplus brown enamel spray paint.

Of course nothing is ever simple.  The existing 12mm bolts need to be replaced with similar diameter bolts that are 33mm longer.  Then I discovered the original 12mm diameter Chinese bolts are probably 11.5mm and my replacement hi tensile Australian sourced bolts wouldn’t fit.  After overcoming that, I then discovered not all the new and longer bolts would fit through the suspension arm holes.  I had to cut out some of the suspension arm in order for the bolts to fit.  I also had to temporarily remove one of the two shock absorbers

A – Cut a rebate for the head of the bolt

B – Remove shock absorber

C – Grind some of the steel away for the lower bolt to fit into the hole

The new steel packer could then be fitted

Finally the stub axle assembly could be fitted.

Whilst I had everything disassembled I decided to remove the wheel bearings and clean them before repacking with a known quality bearing grease.  I don’t trust the Chinese grease!

Now I need to repeat this on the opposite side.

Meanwhile……. Chip chip chip chip!  Almost half done!

Warning

Do NOT hire this dirtbag!

I recently hired Dave the landscaper to remodel our back yard. This morning I walked into the laundry and found him laying on the floor chewing up Jan’s underwear. I yelled at him and he ran away! He is out of control! Not to mention the hour long smokeos'. Also, I’ve just found out that earlier this morning, Dave stuck his nose up my mother in law’s rear.

Meanwhile…. Chip chip chip chip……  4 days more (I hope)

That was a FAIL!

A large tipper with a Bobcat in the tray arrived this morning towing a trailer on which a small excavator was loaded.  Time to dig the hole for the pool.  Out came four timber pegs and the tape measure.

Houston we have a problem!

The pool was too big for the allocated area.  Someone has their measurements wrong.  No hole today.

Meanwhile our good friend Ken arrived to give a hand with the bathroom renovations.  Well not quite ” give a hand”.  Ken very kindly loaned me a second hammer for removing the wall plaster.  He has such a big heart.  He’s also full of advice…. which he subsequently recanted!!!  Aussies can be like that…..

Now I’m not really maligning Ken for lending me the hammer as it has proved to be particularly effective in removing the plaster.

The hammer

It’s those tungsten carbide hardened teeth that are making the difference.

And progress at the end of Day 2

Jan is starting to despair at the volume of plaster being walked or blown through the house. 

Chip chip chip chip……

The Big Chipper, The Camera and the Visitor

The Big Chipper

We had a visit from Jerry the Tiler.  He’s East European and has an accent as thick as gravy.  I did ensure he introduced himself first as I didn’t want to announce Tom & Jerry.  After looking at the bathroom, Jerry was able to convey to me that he needed the existing plaster walls chipped in order that the adhesive for the new tiles will have some grip.  The ‘Big Chipper” (Me!) has to do this by hand with a hammer and cold chisel.  Jerry will be back in a fortnight to do the technical stuff.

You can see I’ve made a start in the corner

This is hard going for an old fella. 

I’ve set myself a target of completing the chipping in seven days.  Then the walls have to be brushed clean and washed.

The Camera

Just over a year ago the lens on our large Canon DSLR camera locked up.  The lens range is from 24 to 105mm but we could only get it to move between 50 and 105.

It took me a while to realise there was a problem (sometimes I’m a little slow…. but don’t tell Jan!) I decided there was probably a loose screw or pin inside the lens.  Nothing major, and was almost tempted to disassemble it (common sense prevailed).  A week ago I took it to the camera repair shop where they required $99 to examine the lens and would then send me a quote to repair.  I was thinking the actual cost would be less than $99 and almost fell off my chair when the quote for $660 arrived.  Now I’ve had this problem in Australia before.  Last time it was the Sony shortwave radio.  They wanted $275 to repair the radio.  I declined and had it repaired in Hong Kong for $20 whilst on one of our holidays.  At $660 I could get the lens repaired in Hong Kong and pay for the return flights.  Therefore I declined to have the lens repaired and was out of pocket by $99.  But when I collected the re-assembled lens I discovered it was back to having the full zoom range of 24 to 105mm.  RESULT!

The Visitor

This morning we had an unannounced visitor.  Jan poked her head around the bedroom door and said “Who’s that out on the front lawn?” 

A strange place to be pushing the infant pushchair???

Being polite, I asked if I could help him.  He informed me that he was doing a ground test for the crane company using a ground proximity radar.  He’s checking for underground voids as the crane will be positioned on our front lawn in order to lift Jan’s swimming pool over the house.

YES…. the bobcat is due today to dig the hole for the swimming pool.  It’s likely to be a busy day!

The Alternative Method

Brian (nb Harnser) left a comment describing an alternative method of embedding videos into a post and I’ve been trying it out.

The Steps are

1. Login to You Tube and copy the address
2. Load open Live Writer and write you text.  When you get to the section where you want the video.
3. Click from the ‘Edit’ to the ‘Source’ tab in the bottom left of the screen

Paste the You Tube address into the source screen. (In my example it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DF80oAqzSA)

You now end up with more code below the embedded You Tube link.  you can adjust the size of the You Tube video window by changing the figures for the width.  All my photos are 550 wide so I changed the video window to the same.

It’s very hard to see in the above window but I changed the width figure from 564 to 550.

If I have followed Brian’s instructions correctly then there should be an embedded video of the Falkirk Wheel.

Result

Did not work.... I must be doing something wrong!!!!