Where did I go wrong?

The doc tells me it's a cry for help.

more Cyclonic sucking

Ocker Jones writes:

C -

I'm stuck in a mining camp 100km NE of Newman, directly in the cyclone's path. We just had an emergency meeting where we are going to be confined to our rooms for the duration. Apparently a mining camp collapsed up near Hedland, with one fatality and twenty injuries, but the cyclone will have lost a lot of intensity before it gets here.(4 hours away)

And yes, I am meant to be flying home tonight. The airports are closed for a mandatory 48 hours due to the red alert. If you have a look at the storm tracking site, you'll see that there is another f*ckin cyclone tracking directly behind this one (the perfect storm!) I was denied permission to drive out, which pisses me off, as everyone always seems to over react to these things. I'm sure I would be well on the way to Perth.

So If the other one hits as well, we could be stuck here for weeks.

My response to him was that the gods invented Emu Bitter beer and Bundaberg Rum just for such occasions. Ocker promptly wrote back that there was a total ban on alcohol. Which is prudent. But stupid and boring. Myself having lived for months right where he is right now, I know stupid and boring.

(I lived in Wiluna, where the wind never ever ever stopped, and spent a bunch of time bouncing around Laverton and Leonora and Meeka and up to Newman. There was no real virtue in sobriety.)

cyclone

The picture of me last week, the one in snug Aussie shorts under a mop of long hair, was taken in Perth. My long-time friend from that period of life is Russell "Ocker" Jones. We've managed to stay in touch over the years, and even see each other a few times here or there.

Ocker works for the telco in Western Australia. He's waaay up the coast right now, as he often is, sorting something out. He's supposed to be getting onto his fishing boat today with the family out of Exmouth, living the great Australian dream. He's not though.

Instead he's in Port Hedland. It's flooded now, and the worst is yet to come. He just sent me this image. It's a cyclone. You can see, because it's down under, that where our storms come in from the south and bounce along the eastern seaboard, theirs come in from the north and bounce down the western seaboard.

I told him if he was unable to get out - and apparently this is now his fate - at least take pictures.

service, indeed

What is the graphic that goes with this? Does she represent service, or dis-satisfaction, or damaged goods, or compatibility issues, or what? It's a tech site I was surfing, so maybe it's just tech geeks serving tech geeks, knowing that 96% of the male population really just don't want to see a big warehouse guy on any page of their site.

Sweet CFM Pumps.

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Walk me

I don't complain about the weather much. It just doesn't seem to make a difference.

But - behold - I complained a few days ago and it got warmer. Now, today, it's downright springly. This morning I did some work in a warm studio, then went and flew my airplane (second flight on the new engine).

I'm home now, my doors are open, the tulips no long come up with a grudge - this is a world, today anyway, where they belong.

More work to be done and a telepathic dog who is beaming words into my brain. The words are, "walk me. Walk me. Walk me."