Comments by twitter.com/desertgirl_2
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetRule #1 of storing stuff on a computer: NEVER ever store on C drive! C is for your Operating System files & program files etc. Any data you have (be it photos, videos, music, PDFs etc) should be stored on another drive (for most people that means just storing it on D, but if you have the capacity, have your computer divided into C, D & E drives, more if space allows.)
Why are you using McAfee for anti-virus when AVG or Avast are so much better (& they’re free!)
As for iTunes, I have been caught myself. It’s a bizarre system to sync your iPod/iPhone & iTunes is so fussy. So thank you for the link. I have found I rarely need to update my iPod & when I do I just ignore all those errors it tells me I have.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetGreat post! Lots of good info, thoughts & links. May you continue to orgasm long, hard & frequently. :-)
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetA sudden and unexpected loss of internet connection = "oddly productive"? Oh I wish. In this scenario I go through acute withdrawal and I find I can't even write. At heart I'm a control freak so unless I have decided to sever the connection I can't take advantage of the quiet opportunity disconnection offers. I usually clean my office or go out. :(
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetThe internet is such a marvellous way to connect, to stay in touch, to learn. I think those of us who utilize its usefulness share a lot more (thoughts, photos, videos, etc) than those that don't find time for the internet and in the past. I think this is all wonderful. Yes, I have made many friends via my interactions on various social media sites, blogs and forums. Some have become friends in "real life".
But when I go on holiday I tend to switch off voluntarily. I have found if I'm carting the laptop with a mobile broadband connection then I tend to spend too much time in the hotel room and not enough time outside looking around experiencing my holiday to the full. I do like the idea of updating my blog whilst on the road but honestly, I'd much prefer to immerse myself totally in the holiday. So no internet, sometimes for weeks at a time.
Mind you, now we have iPhones and I watched my daughter use hers on our recent trip to north-west Tassie. Handy little gadget isn't it? Might have to rethink my holidays with no internet philosophy. :-)
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetRates in rural areas used to be much higher than in cities, not sure if that’s still the case. And it was mainly farming communities affected rather than the townies.
With the Indiginous rates of suicide amongst young males, much of the problem lies in the fact that it is considered a taboo subject within their culture (in the NT & northern WA at least). The organisation I now work for is doing a lot of suicide prevention work aimed at the aboriginal communities, with some degree of progress. To be hoped funding and success continue.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetYou do get box jellies & irukandji on Sunshine Coast, just not in big numbers. They often stop around Fraser Island, but some years drift further south. They put out warnings when that happens. Most Aussies are not aware of the dangers of picking up live coneshells.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetDo we really? I’d not noticed, just assumed every country had its quirky rules & regulations. Mind you, the liquor licensing laws in Alice Springs (as opposed to any other town in the Northern Territory) take some beating. I still don’t understand them. I stand outside the store, reading through the list of what you can and can’t buy, how much you can purchase in one day, and at what time of day … then I give up. House guests are requested to please provide their own alcohol.
As for the cockroaches … well, you are in nice, warm, humid Qld. Venture south for colder climates, fewer cockroaches and those that exist tend to be smaller.
Poisonous snakes are exciting. No, really they are. Nothing like them to get the adrenaline pumping. But honestly, you rarely see them, even out in the bush. Must admit that Qld’s big, bulky pythons take the breathe away … and yet they’re harmless. Well, they’re not poisonous.
As for box jellyfish & irukandj, yes well. As Bill Bryson once observed, best not to go in the water at all in Australia! We won’t mention the salt water crocodiles. Or the Great White Sharks. Or coneshells. Or bluebottles. Hmm, I’m thinking Bryson had a point.
You missed out cyclones & floods.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetWhat wonderful thoughts! And so true.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetI speak as an Australian (grumpy old woman) who has lived overseas in Oman & the UK before coming back home to Oz in late 2000.
Interesting that Shelley comments that we’re a sexist nation. I’ve don’t find it thus ALTHOUGH I wonder if it’s a cultural (mis-)perception. We’re a very laid back lot who do like to laugh and take the mickey out of anything and everything, race and sex included. I am aware from my own international friends that this can be seen the wrong way. All comes down to communication and barriers.
As for racism, that’s a very complex issue. Technically I’d have to say yes, we’re a racist country. BUT we’re also a very friendly, integrated multi-cultural nation, with a long history of accepting migrants and their cultures (especially their food! I recall days when my mother serving pasta was considered very, very “ethnic”).
The aboriginal question is incredibly complex. I would highly encourage any visitors & urban Australians to do that visit to Alice Springs one day and see just one aspect of Indigenous life in this country. If there’s one message I’d like to get out to the “white” community (Australians included) & international visitiors, it’s that our Indigenous people are NOT a single people, they are a proud, MANY PEOPLES. They need to be respected as the many tribes they are before we see true progress in improved health and reconciliation. And the Aboriginal people in Central Australia live a very different life (& speak a different languages) to those Indigenous communities residing in southern or eastern or western States.
Overall, I’d have to say this country of mine is accepting and friendly. Smile and enjoy.
Cheers,
DG
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetIn the old days, we just played golf with the cane toads. Many a Queenslander spent his/her childhood nights clearing the yard and the streets whilst practising a mean swing. They tell us that isn’t humane and they’re probably right. So we moved on to spraying the cane toads with a mixture of Dettol and water. Amazingly quick. But they frown on that method too.
I moved away from Queensland before I had to allocate a portion of my deep freeze to the bodies. But I have heard that one should never make the mistake of removing the frozen dead creatures and tossing them in to the wheelie bin before bin night for they’ll defrost and then … I’ll leave that to your olfactory and visual imaginations.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetFor the past 20 years or so I’ve done the mung bean/hippy thing and drastically cut back the total number of cleaning products I use. Initially did this for a ’safe house for the kids’, these days it’s also for $$ and environmental reasons.
I buy my personal soap (& moisturisers) once or twice a year from Beauty & the Bees (www.beebeauty.com), small, ethical company in Tasmania. I also use their wonderful shampoo soap bar on my hair.
For cleaning, I only ever use microfibre, re-usable cloths with small bucket of hot water with a capful of Australian eucalyptus oil: does floors, bathrooms, benchtops. Will even wipe the fat off the kitchen splashbacks. If it needs scrubbing I use bi-carb, wait 10 mins, wipe off. Minimal effort. White vinegar is good for cleaning (tiny amount only), but I prefer the eucalyptus oil. All very cheap, all Aussie. Unfortunately not made in Alice Springs so I look at the eco-miles & choose my source accordingly.
Oh, the toilet. I have a weakness for clean smelling. Bi-carb (1tsp) to soften the water in bowl. Wait 10 mins+, then scrub with toilet cleaner but only use a very small amount. I do have a quality brush (now 6 years old and still strong). One bottle of toilet cleaner lasts me around 9-12 months, cleaning 2 toilets once a week.
Cheers, good luck with all your new lifestyle changes. DG
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetFor the past 20 years or so I’ve done the mung bean/hippy thing and drastically cut back the total number of cleaning products I use. Initially did this for a ’safe house for the kids’, these days it’s also for $$ and environmental reasons.
I buy my personal soap (& moisturisers) once or twice a year from Beauty & the Bees (www.beebeauty.com), small, ethical company in Tasmania. I also use their wonderful shampoo soap bar on my hair.
For cleaning, I only ever use microfibre, re-usable cloths with small bucket of hot water with a capful of Australian eucalyptus oil: does floors, bathrooms, benchtops. Will even wipe the fat off the kitchen splashbacks. If it needs scrubbing I use bi-carb, wait 10 mins, wipe off. Minimal effort. White vinegar is good for cleaning (tiny amount only), but I prefer the eucalyptus oil. All very cheap, all Aussie. Unfortunately not made in Alice Springs so I look at the eco-miles & choose my source accordingly.
Oh, the toilet. I have a weakness for clean smelling. Bi-carb (1tsp) to soften the water in bowl. Wait 10 mins+, then scrub with toilet cleaner but only use a very small amount. I do have a quality brush (now 6 years old and still strong). One bottle of toilet cleaner lasts me around 9-12 months, cleaning 2 toilets once a week.
Cheers, good luck with all your new lifestyle changes. DG
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetFor the past 20 years or so I've done the mung bean/hippy thing and drastically cut back the total number of cleaning products I use. Initially did this for a 'safe house for the kids', these days it's also for $$ and environmental reasons.I buy my personal soap (& moisturisers) once or twice a year from Beauty & the Bees (www.beebeauty.com), small, ethical company in Tasmania. I also use their wonderful shampoo soap bar on my hair.For cleaning, I only ever use microfibre, re-usable cloths with small bucket of hot water with a capful of Australian eucalyptus oil: does floors, bathrooms, benchtops. Will even wipe the fat off the kitchen splashbacks. If it needs scrubbing I use bi-carb, wait 10 mins, wipe off. Minimal effort. White vinegar is good for cleaning (tiny amount only), but I prefer the eucalyptus oil. All very cheap, all Aussie. Unfortunately not made in Alice Springs so I look at the eco-miles & choose my source accordingly.Oh, the toilet. I have a weakness for clean smelling. Bi-carb (1tsp) to soften the water in bowl. Wait 10 mins+, then scrub with toilet cleaner but only use a very small amount. I do have a quality brush (now 6 years old and still strong). One bottle of toilet cleaner lasts me around 9-12 months, cleaning 2 toilets once a week.Cheers, good luck with all your new lifestyle changes. DG
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetI am led to believe that limes are grown in the NT (top end) and Woolworths are a major purchaser. I know they also grow limes in FNQ and Northern Rivers, NSW – would assume Woolies buy from those areas too.
I have found asking the Food/Produce manager at my local Woolworths & Coles to be a good source of info … quite surprisingly so.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetI am led to believe that limes are grown in the NT (top end) and Woolworths are a major purchaser. I know they also grow limes in FNQ and Northern Rivers, NSW - would assume Woolies buy from those areas too.I have found asking the Food/Produce manager at my local Woolworths & Coles to be a good source of info ... quite surprisingly so.