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September 1998

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"AH, SO THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE!"
Monday, 29 September 1998

We shipped Kathryn off to visit Nanna for the school holidays - and to give her a break from being "neglected" as both Leonie and I swing into fulltime everything to get the Federal Election, and my assignments, out of the way. Poor darling was just so bored - and neither of us could afford to give her too much attention. I guess there is a bit of a guilty feeling - it's not that I don't love her or care for her - it's just at this time, well... She flew down to Perth on her own - a real seasoned traveller - on Wednesday morning. She is always so excited about being around Nanna, and Auntie Neecey (Denise) and baby Christan. Well, she gets the attention, doesn't she (!)

This last weekend, Leonie and I spent at Esperance - the nearest coastal town to Kalgoorlie - four hours to the south.

With the impending Election, we were required to provide training for the many Polling Place OIC's, as well as deliver some of the Election materials that they will require. We left after lunch Friday, and after dropping boxes at Norseman and Salmon Gums, arrived at the caravan park we were to stay at about 7pm. The next morning we were on the road early to Ravensthorpe to the west. Although not actually in Leonie's Division of Kalgoorlie, by arrangement with the neighbouring Returning Officer, we would provide the training for staff in that area. The staff range from exerienced (having done elections for the past twenty years or so), to "first timers". It was a case of go through all the procedures to remind everyone of what happened when, how to manage their polling place, and how to do the count on Saturday night.

Saturday afternoon gave us a chance to play the tourist a bit, and we drove down to Hopetoun, on the coast south of Ravensthorpe. Once the port for the mining and wool industries in the area, it is now a sleepy seaside village catering to the tourists.

Sunday was training sessions for the Esperance staff. Since I will have the important job of being Leonie's representative in the area on Polling Day, I undertook most of the training sessions this time. Again a mix of experienced and new staff. One of my first-timers had assisted in polling before, but this was her first time as an OIC. She had always wondered how the two-candidate preferred distribution worked. She'd always seen her previous OIC disappear off somewhere to do that, and exclaimed "Ah, so thats how its done!" when I explained it.

I must be a bit weird, but I actually like elections and the electoral process. I think it is so important. Yet many in this country are so apathetic about it - I guess as a result of cynicism and disillusionment with politicians generally. Its a sad state of affairs. Maybe with a bit more electoral education in schools, they might appreciate it a bit more.

This election is shaping up to be quite an interesting one. We are again being asked to adopt a goods and services tax. And then there is the electoral "sideshow" of the One Nation party. As the campaign wears on, they seem to be getting more ludicrous by the day. [In getting the link to the Commissions web site above, I was poking about the site abit and came across a list of candidates for the election in Tasmania - imagine my surprise to see someone with my name there - including my initial! And he was standing for One Nation! - It's NOT me - 'tis someone else. I swear!] Well, next weekend we will know - hopefully one way or the other. And I will have played my part in the whole exercise.

Today I took a little trip out to Coolgardie to get some pictures of the many beautiful wildflowers in bloom. You can see them at my KalCam page. Or there are some great pictures an information on Western Australians wildflowers.

IT LIVES!!! (sometimes...)
Tuesday, 22 September 1998

Well, I finally got the camera going - at home anyway. Thanks Steve for helping me test the CUSeeMe software - it was great being able to see AND talk with someone on the other side of the world.

And I finally figured out how to get the webcam software working - although it sometimes still falls over with access problems when someone is trying to access the picture at the same time the ftp upload is trying to go. But I'll sort it out eventually.

In case you were wondering where the cam page was, heres a little riddle to so you can work it out yourself:

The TazyCam's alive and well
The URL? Well, I can't tell
You'll have to work it out from ryhme
There's no hurry, take your time.

The first to serve, if you can guess
The first four letters - a town, my address
Next there follows hanging down
Drapes alike a learning crown.

But get it right, this IP
Or Curtin's all you're gonna see
A place of learning way down under
You're nearly there, its such a wonder.

A squiggle, then there is my name
An index to my little game
Almost there but can you find
My cam to see and not be blind.

The secret door is plain as day
A pointing finger shows the way!

In case you dont work it out, try looking for the "secret door" somewhere on this page. Now it won't be like Jennifers famous Cam - I'm under strict instructions from Leonie that that won't happen. But you may occasionally see Ol' Tazy in his natural habitat. And if the time on the picture looks pretty recent, there is a fair chance its a "live" picture. I would be most pleased to hear from anyone that catches a picture - any comments welcome.

In other news - the Federal election process is beginning to take its toll on this family. With Leonie working many late nights, sometimes from 8am through to 10pm or more, I have to step in to ensure that she at least stops for lunch!

Last night we had a "full house" - all beds occupied, as we temporarily put up part of the crew for the main remote mobile polling team. They flew out this morning on their nine-day run to collect votes from the desert communities scattered out east and north from here. Its a process of flying in a light plane to each community, openning up shop for a few hours to take the votes of a handfull of people, and then moving on to the next community. Isn't democracy wonderful?

THE DRILL COMP. (or How Not To Sleep On A Train)
and CANDID CAMERA
Friday, 18 September 1998

These two weeks have rushed by, and, yes, I've been slack as usual in writing here. Not that there hasn't been anything happening!

Last weekend I escorted most of the cadet flight down to Fremantle (Leewin Barracks) for the Squadrons Drill Competition. This was the first time 9 Flight has participated in the annual competition for quite a long time. And, although we didn't win, we didn't come last!

The only down side to the weekend was all the train travel. Friday evening down to Perth (it was nearly 2am Saturday by the time we all got to sleep at Leewin Barracks). You know, I have discovered this before, but it isn't easy to get sleep on a train. The upright seats don't recline nearly enough, there isn't enough legroom to strech out, and the damn thing keeps bouncing, swaying and rattling along.

But we got there, and on Saturday, the Flight performed quite well. If you want to see, here is a picture of the Flight during their rehearsed drill routine. Note the stern looking judges on the side of the parade ground. 8^)

It was a fun weekend really, and after the cometitions were all over there was a chance to relax a bit - the 9 Flight drill squad, along with their Drill Instructors.

The other event for the weekend was the Squadrons' National Banner Parade. The Banner is awarded the the most efficient Squadron each year, and this year (well it was actually for the year 1997), thw Western Australian Squadron won it. The winning Squadron gets to hold the National Banner for the ensuing year. So we had a parade for the formal handover of the Banner. (Thats the Banner in the middle of the picture).

We were honoured by the visit of Air Commodore Byrne, to present the Banner. I was fortunate enought to meet him in the Officers Mess prior to the parade. As a junior officer, it is sometimes difficult to know what to say, but we muddled by with the required small talk.

Sunday was a free day for us, as our train home didn't leave until late afternoon. The morning was spent at Fremantle, enjoying cappucinos in the morning sun, and with a visit to the Air Force Associations Aviation Museum (what else did you expect me to do with a bunch of air cadets with spare time on their hands?)

And so it was back home on the train - not much sleep - but I did have one crazy dream about driving a huge mining dump truck (maybe the sound of metal on metal of the wheels on the tracks triggered that one!), and we didn't arrive home until 1am Monday morning. It sure was nice to have Leonie and Kathryn there to meet me at the station.

The other thing I now have, is one of those digital video cameras - the sort that plugs into the parrallel port on the computer. I know I'll never quite make the grade of JenniCam, but, if I can get it working, there might be a TazyCam!

I had a bit of a try this week, and discovered just how frustrating it can be. At home I get a nice clear colour picture, but I cant get the ftp program to work. At work, I have the luxury of being able to save the images directly to the network drive where the web page will be, but for some reason the camera produces crap pictures, something is causing severe interference. And it keeps crashing, and on restart, the software can't find the camera anymore, necessitating a frustrating reboot.

Ah the joys of digital computing! You didn't want to hear about the rest of the boring week did you?

TIME, KEEPS ON SLIPPING, SLIPPING, INTO THE FUTURE...
Friday, 4 September 1998

Oh dear! I have been slack haven't I! It just seems to be getting harder and harder to find time to do this thing. I recently had a friend more or less wind up her journal because of inability to keep it up. It was one journal that was particularly dear to me, as it was the inspiration for my effort. I know I shall miss the regular reading. I actually felt quite sad when she announced that it would cease at least for the time being.

I resolved then to try to keep mine going - but alas I haven't got very far have I? Well, at least I am still here writing.

The other disappointment in the last few weeks has been the demise of one of the web rings I was in with this journal. In His Own Words was sabotaged by a disgruntled hacker, the owner, disillusioned by the attack, decided to destroy the ring. This is a pity, 'cause it was actually the one ring I regularly surfed - I actually enjoyed reading what other men had to say on a very wide variety of topics. Unfortunately I have to live with that decision.

On the brighter side, the IRC channel that I have been frequenting has seen fit to make me an operator. I guess persistence, and my geography (me being awake and online when most of the others are asleep), payed off in the end.

So, whats been happening these past weeks? Well, in a nutshell, work, work, and other commitments.

Last weekend I was away on a bivouac with cadets. We spent two nights out in the bush at Mount Burges not far from Coolgardie. Mt Burges isn't really much of a "mountain" - in fact where I come from its not much more than a hill - as one of the cadets put it "Mt. Burges, you mean that lumpy thing?". None the less, when we climbed it on Friday night - parts did seem rather steep.

The weekend camp was actually quite relaxing - the cadets are now able to organise most of the activities without too much supervision.

The other big news of this week was the calling of the election. This means a complete revolution in our household - work patterns and routines completely altered. Leonie is now into late night work mode, and, of course, I have to take up the slack domestically. She's also promised me a nice easy job on election day - see it does help to know the boss!

I also note that today is exactly one year since I started writing this journal, and although I haven't always been as regular as I would have liked (lately being a prime example), on reflection, it has been an interesting year. I have learned so much about the 'Net and other technical stuff, and about other people and how they project themselves through the 'Net. But above all, I think I have learned a thing or two, about myself. At the very least I have been able to document a year in my life. I hope I can keep it up for many more.