The totally off-topic thread

[drron]

Have you ever wondered about the lowest bidder on price winning a contract?
That would be the only explanation for our corporate watchdogs site (ASIC) being so woeful on business name renewals. Last week the 1300 call site wait was well over 30 minutes and one time they could not even put anyone into the long queue.
Their ASIC site is down at the moment......
I remember being told that the reason for the Los Angeles power and water site being so ordinary was because the lowest bidder won the contract.
now of course that would not be happening with any airline booking systems would it??

One of the Astronauts was quoted as saying the only problem he had hurtling through space was knowing the spacecraft was built using the lowest bidder.

 

[QF WP]

Mrs.dr.ron, the wind and rain have picked up in BNE. I Had to drive from mid northern suburbs to my parents in the western suburbs to pick up my daughter (she had a final sleep over with them before going back to school). Plenty of small debris on the roads and our local creek, Cabbage Tree Creek is already at 75% and rising.

We had left one half of a plastic shell (we use as a paddling pool) and it is now full - will have to look at how much it holds. Time for the kids to play out in the rain now

Have seen Facebook photos of Sandgate waterfront which has flooded Flinders Parade - no Fish & Chips from our favourite shop tomorrow then

 

[QF WP]

Now for some splashing - the kids want me to go in, but I graciously declined

They are out in the back garden, in the rain, jumping on their trampoline. Considering they have been inside for 3 days...

 

[Major]

Bundy Bear have you been playing with snakes again ?


I swear that this is a true Bundy Rum Fishing Story.................

BUNDY RUM (Bundaberg Rum)... Queensland 's famous product! Forget Jamaica or any other rubbish!
For you overseas people a King Brown is one of the deadliest snakes on earth. Out of the worlds top 10 deadliest, Australia has 9.

I finally got around to going fishing this morning, but, after a while I ran out of worms.

Then I saw a King Brown with a frog in his mouth, and frogs are good bass bait.
Knowing the snake couldn't bite me with the frog in his mouth; I grabbed him right behind the head, took the frog and put it in my bait bucket.

Now the dilemma was how to release the snake, without getting bitten. I grabbed my bottle of Bundaberg rum and poured a little rum in its mouth.

His eyes rolled back, he went limp, I released him into the lake without incident, and carried on my fishing with the frog.

A little later, I felt a nudge on my foot.

There was that same snake and, bugger me, it had two frogs in his mouth.

 

[burrco]

Anybody knows who handles refunds at the Queensland Tourism Office? Currently at the Sheraton on the Gold Coast and things are not matching up to the beautiful one day etc as promised!

Also being trapped in a hotel with dozens and dozens of screaming kids must be a breach of some UN convention.

 

[anat0l]

Now for some splashing - the kids want me to go in, but I graciously declined

Given how strong the wind is, I wonder if it made a difference to if you had accepted (save for a non-waterproof mobile or camera)

 

[NM]

Mrs.dr.ron, the wind and rain have picked up in BNE. I Had to drive from mid northern suburbs to my parents in the western suburbs to pick up my daughter (she had a final sleep over with them before going back to school). Plenty of small debris on the roads and our local creek, Cabbage Tree Creek is already at 75% and rising.

We had left one half of a plastic shell (we use as a paddling pool) and it is now full - will have to look at how much it holds. Time for the kids to play out in the rain now

Have seen Facebook photos of Sandgate waterfront which has flooded Flinders Parade - no Fish & Chips from our favourite shop tomorrow then

Our swimming pool holds a little more water then your paddle pool, but it too is well and truly overflowing. Guinea Pigs and Puppies rescued to higher ground (the back verandah) since most of the yard is at least ankle deep (my ankle, not the guinea pig's or puppie's ankles) in water/mud/slush.

I imagine there will be some bumpy arrivals into BNE today.

 

[QF WP]

I don't want a cold this week..have a big appointment in ADL on Thursday.

Backyard thankfully has some angle and good drainage courtesy of my father-in-law putting in new rubble drains 18 months ago and increasing the volume capacity from our roof (into our water tanks and overflow to storm water drain).

Rain coming in at 45 degrees at present. Wouldn't want to be a pax or pilot landing into, or taking off from, BNE at present. Wind sheer, low visibility and pooling water on runway....

 

[NM]

While the rain is not overly heavy around Brisbane, it is relentless with quite gusty winds:

 

[QF WP]

They finally have come in, cold and shivering. Nice warm shower time now and an afternoon DVD movie to follow

I'm warmer now as well, after sitting outside, supervising their play. Love a hot cuppa tea

 

[QF WP]

Watched Open Season laughing our heads off, with a bowl of buttery popcorn. Does life get better ??

Now the rain has really come with the wind. Hissing down...

 

[markis10]

Watched Open Season laughing our heads off, with a bowl of buttery popcorn. Does life get better ??

Now the rain has really come with the wind. Hissing down...

I am on the third replay of Madagascar - Europe's most wanted, wish they would refill the mini bar to ease the pain.

 

[anat0l]

Our house front is being slammed by the sheets of rain. There's a(n) (un)healthy puddle on the floor getting periodically bigger in drops just inside our front door. Door mat has been relegated to somewhere else to (attempt to) dry out.

One of my windows to my bedroom is trapping water between the bottom of the fly screen mesh and the window itself. It's up to about an inch now. Won't be opening that window straight away after it stops raining!

 

[anat0l]

I am on the third replay of Madagascar - Europe's most wanted, wish they would refill the mini bar to ease the pain.

I don't know much about Madagascar, but this one's for you markis10 :mrgreen:

[video=youtube;BAzXjaIWbh0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAzXjaIWbh0[/video]

 

[markis10]

I don't know much about Madagascar, but this one's for you markis10 :mrgreen:

[video=youtube;BAzXjaIWbh0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAzXjaIWbh0[/video]

LOL thanks for that, just what I needed, Gin is not a bad drop after all!

 

[markis10]

Winds up to 120kmh at Cape Moreton, not really tempted to go boating ! No wonder outside looks like it did when I got caught in Carlos in Darwin two years ago, it hit a peak of 120kmh.

Latest Capital City Observations Cape Moreton

 

[JohnK]

Anybody knows who handles refunds at the Queensland Tourism Office? Currently at the Sheraton on the Gold Coast and things are not matching up to the beautiful one day etc as promised!

Tell 'em they're dreamin'....

 

[oz_mark]

Tell 'em they're dreamin'....

Iirc they used to have such a guarantee....can't remember the details though.

 

[Pleb Status]

To get OT -

SYD has some of the most vandalised, unclean trains I have seen in Australia (or in most parts of the Western world, Rome had worse trains from memory). Was on a Tangara today and you could almost not see out of the windows. It was like they had sandblasted the thing to remove some (but not all) graffiti etc. Inside was just as bad.

 

[Gold Member]

SYD trains are like the Orient express compared to trains in India. Be grateful...

Btw, when did train surfing catch on in India? 150 years ago upon colonial development of the rail network?