Tall crane is tall

Turns out if you need to pour cement into a block at the back of a good sized residential property then this is the crane you need.

Photo of two trucks parked back-to-back on a residential street. One truck is a cement mixer and the other truck has a tall crane on it. The two are connected via a large pipe.

It might be loud, but it certainly does the job.

Photo of a truck parked on a residential street. The truck has a tall crane built into it. The crane has a long pipe running through it. The pipe is pouring concrete into the very back of an empty plot of land.

It is a little disconcerting to have a four story tall crane teaching into the sky just a couple of houses away from yours though!

Photo of a residential street with cars parked on it. Also on the street is a truck with a four story tall crane that is reaching out to the back of one of the properties on this street.

Hello Windows 11!

It’s finally time…

Screenshot of a window titled ‘Windows Update’ that reads “Upgrade to Windows 11 is ready—and it’s free!” and “Get the latest version of Windows, with a new look, new features, and enhanced security” plus a button that reads “Download and install”.

This upgrade notification comes six months and five days after Windows 11 was officially released.

And it’s almost exactly a week after I did an in-place Windows 10 upgrade to fix a corrupt print services install that had been messing with my regular Windows updates.

Screenshot of a window titled ‘Windows Update’ with heading that reads “Error encountered” “There were some problems installing updates, but we'll try again later”.

For weeks I’d been getting that unhelpful 0x800f0831 error when trying to update Windows.

To fix this I ran the Windows Update troubleshooter and tried all the troubleshooting tips I could find on the web. Nothing worked.

I then pored through the Windows Update install logs to see what was wrong. I found the error — a Windows install-on-demand printer service installation had been corrupted — but nothing I tried to do fixed that issue.

In the end I had to overwrite my current Windows install with an in-place Windows 10 upgrade. #NucularOption

That finally cleared the logjam because now it’s upgrade time…

Time card image from the SpongeBob cartoon series that reads “Two hours later”.

…and after lots of downloading, installing, rebooting, Windows updating, and app updating, I’m finally all set to enjoy Windows 11!

Screenshot of a welcome window titled “Hi Ameel” that reads “Let’s make sure everything is set up just how you want it” and has a button labelled “Get started”.

So far it’s great!

So no surprises there

The Australian federal election has been called for 21 May 2022.

As a result, ABC have launched the 2022 version of their Vote Compass, which is “a tool developed by political scientists to help you explore how your views align with those of the election candidates”.

No surprises on where I fall along that spectrum.

Screenshot titled “Vote Compass” and “Australia 2022 Federal Election”. Below that there are two visuals.

One is a grid chart titled “How you fit in the political landscape”. The horizontal axis of this chart shows whether you’re on the economic left or right; the vertical axis shows whether you’re socially conservative or progressive. In the economic right and socially conservative corner is a marker for the Liberal-National Coalition (LNP). Close to the exact middle is a marker for the Australian Labor Party (ALP). In the economic left and socially progressive corner is a marker for the Australian Greens (GRN). In the top left quadrant (economically left and socially progression) is a marker that shows where I stand. This is located between the Greens and the ALP, but much closer to the Greens.

The second visual is a bar chart titled “How much agree with the parties” and it shows that I agree 90% with the Australian Greens, 60% with the Australian Labor Party, and 33% with the Liberal-National Coalition.

Poor spammers

They make all that effort to add random spaces in words so automated SMS spam filters don’t block their attempted spam/phish…and then the spam filters effortlessly figure it out and block their messages anyway.

(งಠ_ಠ)ง

Lifting party 2022 at Barbell Babes Brigade

Another year, another fantastic Barbell Babes Brigade lifting party for Nadia – with one equal and two new personal bests!

Photo of a woman in a large indoor power lifting gym. The woman is wearing black exercise gear, wrist straps, and a lifting belt and is smiling at the camera. She is leaning on a barbell with heavy weights on it that’s been placed on a lifting rack.

This year’s results:

  • Squat: 90kg

  • Bench press: 50kg

  • Deadlift: 107.5kg (up from 65kg just two years ago!)

Photo of a woman smiling broadly at the camera. The woman is wearing a sleeveless black exercise top and is standing in a large power lifting gym.

#JustStrong

Photo of the back of a woman’s head. The woman is standing in a large power lifting gym. She is wearing a sleeveless black exercise top and her hair has been arranged into a bun that’s being held together with paint brushes.

A little stressed at the vet

Maggie was only a little stressed at the vet today. Her visits usually end up net positive though, because the *second* the vet gives her a treat all her stress goes out the window :)

Photo of a red/brown dog standing in a large waiting area, looking up at the photographer. The dog’s mouth is open because she’s panting and her ears are pulled back slightly from the typical alert position. She looks a little stressed.

Working from home anniversary

Two years ago today I wrote this on the whiteboard next to where my team sits in the office. I guess “foreseeable future” was right because, in this post-vaccine stage of the pandemic, we’re all still working from home.

Photo of a whiteboard on which there is text that reads: “Looking for the Digital & Social Media team? We’re all working from home for the foreseeable future. Contact us via Webex, phone, or email. #FlattenTheCurve #COVID_19”.

My current plan is to start going into the office one day a week from April. Maybe. I’ll still be fully N95-masked, of course. We’re not in the post-pandemic stage yet! But let’s see what happens in the next few weeks.

We’re certainly living in interesting times!

Comfortable dog

Making the most of the sun and quickly-growing grass (which I haven’t mowed yet).

Photo of a red/brown dog that’s been taken through a wooden trellis. The dog is sleeping on its side on the grass on a sunny day.

Peanut butter bread

Turns out peanut butter bread is super easy to make and is quite delicious.

The recipe I followed made a relatively mild loaf, so next time I’ll make a richer, more cake-like version.

Photo of a home-baked loaf of rich brown bread cooling on top of a wire rack on a kitchen countertop.

FYI: I followed the 1932 recipe in this video (which is from the US Great Depression) and I’ll try Dylan’s own peanut butter bread recipe for the next loaf.

Spotting Nadia while she lifts heavy weights

Nadia Tweeted this:

Which I quote-tweeted and said:

Don’t tell Nadia, but spotting her is one of my favourite things to do. Not only do I get to watch her lift ridiculously heavy weights (and increasingly heavy ones at that) I also get the opportunity to hang out with her when she's having the most fun (+ take cool photos of her)!

Photo of a strong-looking woman in a black sleeveless shirt and hair held up in a bun with paint brushes. The woman is wearing wrist straps and a thick leather belt for lifting heavy weights. She is standing in a room in front of a weight rack that has a loaded barbell on it.

Pros and cons of wearing a mask

Up side of wearing a well-fitted, (K)N95/P2 mask: your likelihood of contacting COVID-19 in an indoor setting is greatly reduced.

Down side of wearing a well-fitted, (K)N95/P2 mask:

Close-up selfie of a man’s face. On the man's cheek and nose are reddened indentations made by the straps of a tightly fitted faced mask. The man is sitting inside a car.

Highlights of red

My ‘highlights of red’ outfit while walking the dog today: red sneakers, red watch strap, and red leash+collar combo. Not exactly painting the town red; more like fine lining it :)

Photo of the bottom half of a man’s outfit as he stands on the pavement next to some grass. The man is wearing a black T-shirt, olive green shorts, and red sneakers. The man’s watch is on a red strap and he is holding a red dog leash.

Afternoon naps

The best way to spend an afternoon, tbh.

Photo of a red/brown dog asleep on its side inside an enclosed dog bed cube. The dog’s face and front paws are leaning against the circular hole that is the opening of this cube.

I’ve taken today off (yay for time-in-lieu leave) so I’m doing pretty much the same too :)

Neighbourhood drama

Someone is being a tad…dramatic in our neighbourhood. I wonder if that’s from the building owner or the current renter of this block of shops? Either way, they are decidedly Not Happy.

Photo of a side wall of a block of shops in a residential neighbourhood. The wall has been spray painted with a few graffiti tags, including two large ones. Written in the middle of this graffiti, in all capital letters, is “Tag in this place again I'll find you!!!”

Herring Island picnic

Hello from Herring Island in the Yarra River in Melbourne!

Selfie of a man wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, and a straw hat. The man is standing in an lightly wooded area that’s on an island in the middle of an urban river.

The island is a short punt ride from Richmond.

Photo of a small punt making its way across an urban river to ferry people to the other side.

It has gazebos, public barbecues, several picnic areas, toilets, and even a pottery store.

Photo of a gazebo and some park benches in a large open field surrounded by a wooded area.

Plus there’s artwork to check out. Including this one – ‘Steerage’ by Jill Peck – that you can sit in :)

Selfie of a man wearing a t-shirt, sunglasses, and a straw hat. The man is sitting inside a large piece of artwork that’s shaped like a wide boat. This “boat” is made from pieces of granite, so it looks like grey cobblestones.

It’s a lovely place for a walk and a picnic. 8/10 would recommend.

Photo of a woman in a red and black patterned dress and a straw hat walking across an open field that’s surrounded by tall trees.

Just strong

#JustStrong

Black and white photo of a woman standing at a weights rack with her hands on a barbell that has heavy weights on it. She is wearing wrist straps, a lifting belt, and a black sleeveless top with the phrase “just strong” written across the back in bold, all-caps letters. She looks like a badass.