mental delays/ interruptions to service/ anomilies etc

G'day.. Again, a delay in posting due to late nights watching Australian Open tennis for the last 2 weeks.

There will be a short spell of regular updates, i.e. more consistently regular for the interim period- until the start of the winter olympics.

The next major interruption will be Wimbledon, followed by the French and USA open tennis. As these are the only major sporting {exercise} events i follow, a generally more sustained rate

of publishing will occur in the days ahead. I am keenly aware of the shrill cry of increasingly less fervent demands on the part of the readership of this tome for the blog to continue. Such hue and cry is falling on deaf ears, so in the interests of your aural safety, it is strongly suggested such clamour cease. The blog will continue.

A word about my assistant Sabu. I have re-read his posting and am convinced with slightly more attentive mentoring, I will be able to bring him to a state whereby he will be able to share more regularly in this space. Such advancement will be dependent on his willingness to adopt a more compliant and less pompous attitude in his written expression. Rest assured I will have words with him regarding his prose style.

Meanwhile, I hope you all have a good week. Until next time then...

MFH

G'day. Good to be back with you. Thanks to Sabu for filling in on last post. Things were a bit hectic this past week, but now the drone of dull daily routine has resumed.

Today, Sunday in Australia, has been a scorcher with temperatures near 40C /110F.

I sat inside under the air conditoner watching the Australian Open Tennis. To be more accurate, in front of the AC not under it. The tennis was on tv, not the ac.

Due to the absence of recent posts, my sentence structure is suffering a meltdown in this heat. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it. As a professionally trained English teacher, or more precisely, a teacher of English, I recognize the need for precision and clarity in written expression.

Since that is not occuring in this particular post, I humbly beg your forgiveness and promise to do better on the next one. Until then, have a good week. Sabu will make the odd or rather occasional guest appearance in this posting. He aspires to the degree of linguistic sophistication as possessed by this writer. I will take every opportunity to encourage him.

Anon, dear reader...

A thousand apologies

Greeting Esteemed Reader...
I am Sabu, executive assistant to Martinfh.
I am instructed to convey on behalf of his good self, 1000 apologies on the lateness of this posting.
A number of days have elapsed since MFH has posted to this most worthy blog. I am further instructed to advise you, his most esteemed readers, that MFH has been unavoidably detained with a number of social engagements which precluded the opportunity to create a posting.

At this writing he is presently performing morning ablutions, a process familiar to everyone. Consequently, he has requested that I post on his behalf today to assure you of his sincere regrets at the gross negect of his posting duty, and to assure you, most worthy reader, that this situation will be quickly remedied.

I am further required to extend to you, on behalf of MFH, his wish that you have a most pleasant day, and to assure you of his soon return to this space.

Respectfully,
SABU
[Executive Assistant to MFH and former employee India Railways.]

Some Days Are Like That

G'day. Someone sent me today's pic, called 'Mission Impossible'. This is open to several interpretations I guess, but here's one view.

The mouse shows initiative by scaling down from a great height {ceiling}.


There is an element of risk [ trap].
There is a great prize [ cheese]
There is a moment of decision [go or no go]

These represent all the elements of everyday life, really, having goals, facing the challenges, committing to a plan. [or having one].

One hopes you will be inspired in some way by the pic of the day and derive insight for your own personal situation.

Time now for a grilled cheese sandwich.. Adieu.

What's The Story Here?

G'day. Well , another pastoral scene, early Sunday morning last.

The incongruity of the tyre {tire in USA} on the fence caught my attention. I Also liked the texture of the wood on the fencerails.

The above has nothing to do with today's reflection, as there is none, being a cloudy day. Thus there will be no rant or diatribe today , in keeping with the pastoral bliss of the scene above. It is now 10.00PM, well past my alotted hours of consciousness, so i will make my way to the realm of slumber and repose.

Staff below stairs are yet searching for Beethovan's Pastoral Symphony to accompany the series of pictures. Their collective efforts thus far have not been rewarded. They have been instructed by my executive assistant Sabu [former employee India Railways, and keeper of my Diary,] to redouble their efforts.

Just because people have never seen Sabu, does not mean that he doesn't exist- he will show up at unexpected times, and will at the odd time, enter a blog item, purporting to present ideas on my behalf.

Don't believe a word of those postings- he is very officious and bureaucratic and writes in civil service jargon. You have been warned.
Sweet dreams.

This is SO accurate

Sunday Sunrise

G'day. Something a bit different. The fruit of yesterday's 3;50 a.m. wake up call resulted in the picture you see above.

Called "Town Cows" because the herd was within the civic boundaries of Warrnambool, Vic., this exclusive image was captured at 6;30 a.m. in a paddock not far from my dwelling.

I had been planning this photo shoot for some time, wanting to catch the right morning light, and took a series of about 12 photos at this paddock.
Others will be posted in the days ahead.

That's all for today- just wanted to set a pastoral mood to start off the new week... now where did I put that Beethoven symphony?

Have a moo day!

Sunday Morning Really Really Early

Shh! [whisper] be very, very quiet. It is 3;50 am Sunday morning. yes that's A.M. I notice it's lots faster on the web at this hour. Sites seem to download heaps quicker.

Why are you up at this hour? one might ask. That's an excellent question. Next question?

There's something marvelous about being up early. The quietness has a warmth about it. It's almost like having a secret meeting with the new day- just you and well, the new day- free of distractions, hustle and bustle, noise etc.

In the interests of public health and safety, I must confess this is not a regular occurance, nor is it a result of not taking one's meds- or taking them even. Rather, it is one of those times when one awakens, and doesn't feel tired. The early hour seems irrelevant.

There's a strange energy level that comes with tiptoeing about in the pre-dawn of a new day. Hard to describe unless you have experienced it. The hour brings with it a rare moment of lucidity which is not characteristic of the normal daily routine.

Episodes such as this are infrequent, but they add zest to an otherwise drab day filled with responsibilities and obligations. For the present, I'll try not to think about the second load of laundry and ironing to be done.
Instead, I'll enjoy the sunrise.

Have a great day!

Friday Rant

OK, here's the deal.. we need to ABOLISH passwords. It took me 4 goes to enter my blog today because i forgot my {ahem username}. Sorry, it was not an OMC episode.

Rather, it was a case of too many different passwords and usernames for different logins. One needs to start a campaign for a ULI= Universal Login Identity. This would be a self chosen user/pass which can be forever plus 3 hours [4 hours if leap year] used for all login requirements.
Just yesterday I hooked up to skype the free voIP phone.. is great, easy to use and has great sound. {not a paid endorsement}. In the process of setting up the account a user id/password was needed. I delved into my vast repetoire of ids and pseudopasses and selected one which worked... It should -it was the first time used on the site. Today i had to log in again to check some help details. That episode took 2 goes {tries, attempts}. I then realised i had it written on a scrap of paper under the keyboard- [no one thinks to look there].

Long story short, we want ULI! UNITE FOR ULI! to contribute to growth of this world-wide campaign, enter your unsername/password in this space { } I hope you accessed the site.
sweet dreams...

Can Someone Please Explain?

Good Morning, Good Day, whatever time it is where you are. TODAY'S RANT: Supermarkets.
In the seaside village where I dwell, there are a couple of major "chain" supermarkets.

Can someone please explain why in such establishments, and in each case, when you have 12 or 14 checkouts, there are only one or two lanes open? I suspect from a "management" viewpoint, 'staffing' is kept to minimums to preserve the bottom line, whatever that means.

For the poor consumer who justs wants to get their meagre items and exit, they must endure the ritual of the "Express line-8items or less" which has at least 7 or 8 folk ahead of one in the cue.

As well, if you are driving a trolley with a wonky wheel, you have to jockey between the two open lanes , trying to guess which cue will move faster. Recently at one of these supermarkets, the poor solo checkout girl had folk 10 deep in her lane. The manager standing in his raised outpost box was oblivious to this. When I asked if another lane could be opened, the reply was a very abrupt "NO."

I suspect he missed the class on people skills. If you know why this supermarket trauma occurs, can you please explain? I hope the rest of your day improves.

The Morning After The Night Before

January 2, 2006. Good Day. I trust you have survived New Years Eve and can remember most of what you did. If you can't I'm sure there will be some loyal comrade to remind you with stories and if needed, pictures.

Others of us were sound asleep by 10:00 P.M. That being the hour by which persons of advancing years are required to attend to their slumber. It is a ritual, however, with certain prerequisite tasks to be completed before the bliss of bedding down.
Task One: Security- (a) ensure the front door is locked. (b) Ensure the back door is locked.
Task Two:-Ensure all water taps are off.
Task Three:- Ensure the fridge door is closed.
Task Four:- Ensure the stove is off.
It is at this point of the regime that OMC can rear it's ugly head. {refer to previous post}
Task Five:-Turn out the lights. That's fine if the last light you douse is the bedside lamp. Not so fine if it's the loungeroom lamp or office desk light.
If in the lounge, for example, one realises that one is standing in complete darkness, some distance from the comfort of bed. There is a very good chance of tripping over furniture and shoes in the dark.
The correct procedure is to turn ON the bedside lamp BEFORE dousing the remaining lights in the dwelling. When this procedure is faithfully followed, you can safely navigate your way from the darkened recesses of the dwelling to the serenity of the bedroom. Scoff if you will, you generations x, y, z or whatever you are...your day will come. Ah, in repose at last.... #@$%@# forgot to wind the clock. Pardon me while I grope for the lamp switch.... Now where is that other slipper? Sweet dreams.