The cost of living just got a bit cheaper.

Nearly five years ago, we bought a slightly damaged , (just a wee scratch,) 68cm TV at an auction in Adelaide. It is a brand our children rejected with much disdain, but it was just the 'bees knees' as far as we were concerned. We have a Sharp tv that this one replaced, which now sits on a cupboard in the main bedroom, and is 27 years old and still going strong. It is not connected to an arial, just plugged into the power socket. Yesterday morning, Neville turned the telly in the lounge on in the morning, and zilch! Just a thin white/blue line across the middle. There was sound but nothing else.
Today were went to Naracoorte 80kms south of here, to do some shopping,and I firstly asked at a tv repair shop what the problem could be, and was told by the gauche young man, 'There's something wrong inside it'. I thought that was obvious to 'blind Freddy, but refrained from saying so. When I mentioned the brand name, I was stopped in my tracks by the girl behind the counter saying they don't touch them, as they can't get the parts or backup to fix them. We went and did our errands, and I asked at one of the electrical stores if they could tell me what the prob was. He said the tube had gone. We accepted that, and discussed buying a new one.
Later in the afternoon, we went to one of the two electrical stores and saw a very nice 68cm Palsonic tv for $AU399.00. We then went to the other store to enquire about their tvs. One thing is for sure, you can't complain about the service, coz there ain't any. The prices were far more than the first store, so we went back, and Neville went in to ask if they would knock any more off for cash. I thought he was pushing the envelpoe a bit, but was pleasantly surprised when he came out to be told they had brought the price down to $ 359.00
It has been delivered, and is working fine. The woman who delivered it said she doubts that the tube has gone, and so do I. If it had, there would be no sound etc. We will see if it can be fixed, and it will probably go into the bedroom.
P.S. The irony of this little tale is, our daughter and son-in-law now have an 80cm TV the same brand as the one we just replaced!!??

RU486

Only an athiest or a total moron would think the debate about this drug is one about women's health issues and their right to choose to abort a baby that is conceived at a time that is inconveniant to the mother or the couple. This is about life and death. The life and death of the unborn child, and the possible death of the mother. Several women have died after using this drug, and more testing needs to be done, before a final decision is made. Society as a whole, needs to lift their game, and start living in a more reponsible and moral way. Sex is not the 'be all and end all' and people should keep it in it's proper place. I can't for the life of me, understand how any doctor could consider using this drug to effect an abortion, as they swear to 'do no harm'. Itsaddens me to know that society has sunk so low, as to not value human life.

The snakes crwal at night

The title is a title of a song by Charley Pride, and is very apt for our federal pollies, in the matter of the present debate before parliament about the so called abortion drug. The snakes have done the dirty on health minister, Tony Abbot, and stripped him of his veto power in said debate. I suspect it is because he is a Catholoic, and they are not sure how he will vote, but, to be sure they can get their own way, they have gotten him out of the way. I know I will upset, if not enrage, many, particularly women's libbers, by saying I am impacably opposed to abortions , and cannot for the life of me understand why ANY doctor is willing to use this drug for this purpose. The Hypochratic oath in part, says they will do no harm to anyone. Why is abortion viewed as being unharmful? It is taking a life, and has been known to cause the deaths of some women. There needs to be much more testing done before it is released on to the market, as every person reacts differently to each drug they are given, and no-one can know what the outcome will be in any given circumstances.

Snakes of a different kind.
It was reported in the news tonight, that another person has been bitten by a snake and been flown to Adelaide for treatment. It was a Tiger Snake this time, and they are deadlier the King Brown snakes. The patient is in a stable condition. Thankfully. They are really getting about more, as the weather has been cooler of late, and they do not like very hot weather, due to the fact they have to crawl along the ground.

Spiderman

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Snakes

I didn't hear all the news item, but the gist of it is thus. A young couple were driving along, don't know if it was town or country, and the girl was driving. She ran over a King Brown snake. Her boyfriend got out of the car, got a stick and tried to get it off the road. The snake,(feeling decidedly snakey after the trauma, Sorry folks) climbed rapidly up the stick and bit him twice on the finger! He did not seek medical advice, but went home and not surprisingly, collapsed. Somehow, he was conveyed to ER and is in a critical condition in hospital. Now, call me cynical if you like, but I would have thought most people would know we have some of the deadliest snakes in the world, and therefore, would not have, a.gotten out of the car, but kept driving,b. would not under any circumstances have approached the thing. I guess the fact I grew up on a farm where we had frequent visits in summer from these animals, taught me to have a healthy respect for them and to keep my distance. My chronic lack of eyesight has also been a factor in my not getting close to them. I am utterly phobic about all reptiles, except Tortoises and Turtles. I would still keep my distance from their jaws. There is most definately a difference in country and city folk. They are different breeds!

Phones. The next threat to our health.

It is widly known that, medical boffins etc, have been saying for some time, that mobile phones are dangerous to our health, because it is suspected they cause benign brain tumors. Now they are saying that people who use digital cordless phones are at risk of the same thing happening to them. I use a cordless digital home phone, and will continue to do so untill or unless it can be proven unequivically, that it is harmful. I have an analogue moblie too, which is said to be more likely to cause these tumours. I have been using it for three years now. I wonder how much one has to use them for them to cause a problem? I don't use my phones very much , unlike some people, who always seem to have them' glued' to their ear.

Leaving his mark

It has been reported in the Advertiser today, that Mark Latham has had charges of assault malicious damage and theft, brought against him, for his angry outburst toward a camerman last month. He was angry because he felt that his privacy was being invaded, when he had taken his children to a fast food outlet for a meal. The journalist/cameraman in question was trying to do a piece about him on the first anniversary of his resignation from the Labor party. Now, some might say that it was a legitimate action by the journo. But was it? Was it an invasion of his privacy, due to the fact he is no longer in the public arena? Are there enough people out there who give a tinker's what this man is doing now? I think he should be left alone to get on with his life. Mr Latham threw a punch, and missed, then grabbed the $12,000.00 camera and took it away and smashed it to smitherines and then it was taken to the local police station.
Interestingly, it was not the paper or the journo who preferred charges, it was the police.
I think Mr. Latham needs to get some anger management counselling, as well as a life.

Tradesman, or as in our case, no tradesman

Yesterday at 3am, hubby got up to go to the loo, and put the passage light on and woke me. I asked him why, and he said the hot water service was leaking. I got up and discovered there was indeed a large pool of water on the floor. He turned the valve off, and I put news paper on the pool to soak it up, meaning to see to it later. When we arose later in the AM, it was still leaking. This is on top of the pressure pump breaking down because ants had eaten out part of the mechanism, looking for water. They have caused it to not function many times, but this time they really mucked it up. Neville eventually fixed the pump. It would pump but not switch off when the tap was turned off. Today, he wants to go to a nearby farm and continue splitting firewood, so he can load it on a semi, so we can sell it soon. He had hoped to be gone by 8 o'clock, but has made two trips to try to buy parts to fix the hot water srevice. He said he might have to empty the tank to be able to fix it. Thankfully , that has not been necessary, as it would have meant the loss of sixty gallons of rain water. He was able to buy a sealed gate valve from Faull's( plumber/tankmaker) for $5.50. Bargain! He has just done his usual joke routine, and said, 'What a bugger!' I had to ask. "What's the matter?" He said, "Bloody thing won't leak." I wish I could read his mind sometimes, then I would not get 'caught'

Being believed or not, as the case may be.

Last Saterday morning, at about 5 am, I rolled over in bed and promtly fell out and caught my eye socket on the corner of the bedside cupboard. I have nearly done this many times in the past. The problem is, I have a very painful back, and even a very slight bend causes me excruciating pain. Therefore, making the bed is not something I relish. About a year ago, I had a 6inch foam mattress but on top of the ensemble to try to aleviate some of the agony. Unfortuneately, it does not help much. This foam mattress is about 4-6 inches wider and much softer. I am a very restless sleeper, which is the reason I was so close to the edge. I developed a black eye as a result of the fall. Now, No-one outside of the family has asked me how I got the 'shiner' which makes things easier to explain, as I know they will believe my account of events. What I find hard to deal with is, other people who do not know you or your husband, will automatically assume the worst and look' knowingly' at you and think they know how you REALLY got the black eye. I find that mindset deeply insulting and offensive as my husband has never been that kind of person. Unfortunately, it is the 'norm' in so many homes. As a result of the fall, I have not been able to sleep soundly as I am still worried it will happen again.