metafizix

2011-09-11T17:27:00.003+10:00

Haven't sat down to write anything of length for a while, but I won't just let the blog be forgotten forever. I started it over ten years ago, but obviously I've had more prolific periods....

Finished that St. Kilda job, that was a great paycheck and a great place to be working inside all winter. Easy commute. Could have earned a few more dollars but lowballing my hourly made me the 'first choice', even though I was the last call.

Finally got on the books with the film crewing agency in Melbourne, not that I really needed to, but I'm getting to the point where I don't want to leave any stone unturned when it comes to money. I got a job the first week or two that paid my dues for the whole year, so already worth it.

I just got back from two weeks in Queensland training with Keir Beck, who is a stunt rigging bad ass. I'm proud to say I was in his first ever class and will have one of the first rigging certifications he issues. It was a really great experience, I had a whole bunch of fun learning how to fly people and stuff all around and climb almost anything. Money well spent, although Jo still calls it my holiday.

I only have Flycam technocrane work this month so far, although supposedly the week after next I start with a shopfitter doing some work for him. I did get a call from one of the stagebuilding companies I worked for last year, the summer music festival season starts pretty soon. I won't be doing too much staging this year, too heavy on the body. Next week we're on a crew filming one of the broadway type stage shows in town.

I won't be able to do safety officer work this summer either. Although I got my Cert IV in OHS, I still need to take an MFB course and the f@%&ers scheduled it for the week I'm working and won't offer it until there are five more participants. So I might have to bribe some people or wait another year.

A week or two ago I started my Cert IV Builder's course, which is a stepping stone to getting that builders licence. It's pretty easy so far, just time consuming.....

2011-05-16T12:25:00.002+10:00

In what is becoming a once a month update........

Well, started a new building job down in St. Kilda, that will go until the end of June. It's been a good experience so far, I've of course always loved buildings, architecture, woodworking, carpentry. This combines all of that. There is just so much more going on in that industry than film that I have no choice, even if I didn't like it as much as I do. Every tradesman I work with is flat out going in four different directions and have been so for twenty years.

I've been really apprehensive about the future health of the building industry, given our experience with the American housing industry and it's colossal flop over in the last few years. Australia is luckily in a bit of a different spot. While all the same warnings and provisions do exist here, specifically in Melbourne there is a huge influx of residents from all points and an ongoing shortage of housing.

So I've bitten the bullet and I'm moving forward with taking steps to become a fully licensed, registered and insured builder. Today I bought a rather expensive (but comparatively good deal) set of the latest building codes, and I'm planning to enroll in a distance learning program before the end of the tax year. Given my experience with training programs in the last two years, this is perfect for me. I should be able to slam through it in about four to six months. This in addition to the work I already have booked as a Techno Tech through the end of the year, and the work people have already asked me about signing into also before the end of the year.

Li got his cast off the other day, and we've already forgotten about it. Honestly, I've never seen anybody convalesce like him, except maybe me. He didn't even slow down when he had had it on for only a week, and another karate parent was astonished the other day when I told her he'd had it on for a month and a half. During that time he attended all his karate classes. We went on the prep tour of his school today, the new building will be awesome.

Zo is sick. candle nosed and coughing.

Kai is doing well. Listening much more. Almost well behaved. Could conceivably be a big help within six months or so.

Jo is getting into her busy mode, there's frozen food stocked up in the freezer so we don't starve in the next couple weeks.....

2011-04-05T13:39:00.002+10:00

Been absolutely forever since I posted.

The end of the concert festival season finished with a bang. Had a brush with the force of gravity, got my CERT IV in OHS. Took a First Aid course, poured that concrete and started stripping the forms. Dad came for a visit. Had a couple of Techno jobs with Flycam. Kai and Liam both moved up to a new belt in karate. Booked a whole bunch of carpentry work. Zoe started talking a little bit. Jo got a magazine contract and we bought her a new computer. Last weekend Li broke his elbow after falling off a trampoline! Since I last posted I've baked thirty or forty loaves of bread. Bought a couple of new arborist saws. Booked a few pruning jobs. And that's just about all the info to bring us up to date.

2011-02-20T13:41:00.002+11:00

Had a crazy hard week last week. From Sunday morning to Wednesday night was 56 hours of work. I tailed off sharply on Thursday, as I wasn't able to get out of bed.

Friday was slightly more useful, and after the boy's karate yesterday I was finally able to get the last two bits of formwork finished, ready to pour. The last bit of work is to tie up the steel for the stairs, which is already cut, and clean all the dead leaves out of the tanks. The pump truck, and two concretors are scheduled for next Saturday.

I was going to take an OHS class the week after next, but there are two more festival concerts for the summer series, and I think I'll push it for a few weeks and milk out the work. I'm in the hole already, and the concrete will be a couple thou.

2011-01-27T15:48:00.001+11:00

Well, I've started nailing subs down to hard dates Dad. We should be stripping concrete forms when you get here.

PS-I talk to everyone else on facebook.....

2011-01-08T16:36:00.002+11:00

Such a long time. Over a month ago. Well, it was busy. I had a lot of work on and then as soon as it got quiet, the kids went on school holiday for the summer. I had some money at some point a few weeks ago, and it's begun to dissolve like sand through my fingers. I'm hammering my Roth though. I've almost doubled it's value in the last ten months, and I've diversified, made a bit more, and reinvested back into original investments that have hit a trough. Wish I had more to put in, but I'll settle for building on what's there. Can't have that money for a while. = )

Lots more work starting to fill the pipeline now that all the straggler adult Aussies are back on the job. I'm waiting for a cabinet shop to reopen so I can order some stuff. I have a couple of tree jobs in the next few weeks, and scheduled maintenance of the Technocrane @ it's new "hopefully not secret" headquarters. Then a bunch of game show dates, and hopefully some more rigging training in the next few months.

I've spent some time in the garden cleaning up, though the wandering jew has me almost completely defeated. If not for the heat of the sun it would have covered the house already, and it's a huge hassle to even begin to clear. A single broken stem can root and spread again. Chemicals work, but I've seen the chickens eat it, and we eat the eggs, so....

The fruit trees are still young, but there is evidence of progress. My espaliered apple and pears are growing like mad, I got a bit creative without being ruthless enough and I'm sure there will be branches that will have to be removed at the end of the summer.

Lots of raspberry canes. I can't remember whether I'm supposed to cut the canes every two years (I doubt it, I wouldn't have bought the more complicated of the two) or every year, and when?! So I'm sort of edging there and not letting it go crazy. I think the blackberries will come back in the same spot and they'll mix.

The banana came back around from the hail damage I've two shoots, one twice the size of the other, unfolding new leaves every week.

All the weeds are trimmed back from the formwork, anticipating a concrete pour. I'm going to get one tree job done and jump straight on it. Tree job is for Alex of course.

2010-12-03T14:19:00.001+11:00

Sitting at home for a last hour or two before I drive into the city for the load out of U2.

2010-11-09T07:51:00.002+11:00

As has become the normal, it's been a long while since a post.

I've been very busy with work, I'm working with a company called Flycam Australia now, as a rigger and Technocrane operator, so it seems I'll continue to operate the techno well into retirement, every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in!

The crane work is on a show called Millionaire Hot Seat, and then today I'm doing some kind of national IQ test show. The last couple of weeks I was climbing towers for a Flycam rig at the Melbourne Cup, which was pretty fun. The weather was awful but the prospect of actually making enough money for once, for the time spent working was enough to keep me happy all through the rain. I also like large events that I have an All Access pass to, there's something humanly satisfying about bypassing huge lines of people.

The Waterloop is now completely plumbed, and by the middle of the month the weather should be consistantly nice enough that we can get serious about pouring concrete. I've started thinking about the next phase, which is to get the reeds in and get a greenhouse up over that part of the tanks I want covered. It looks like maybe a greenhouse kit might make sense, but I'm torn, because that is proportionately more expensive and might not be exactly what I want. But I want whatever goes there to be flash enough to bring the backyard up a notch. The planning for other projects is starting to bleed in around the edges of this one.

We lost power in a couple of rooms during the huge rainstorm two weekends ago, and I haven't been able to pinpoint the problem. I'm going to have to get a pro in for this fix I think, and those guys are expensive, so it might set me back a bit, but it needs to be done.

2010-10-21T07:50:00.002+11:00

Went to the Victorian Microbrew festival @ Fed Square yesterday with Brad, posing as a bartender to get into the trade tasting. It started an hour earlier.

The beer was very good. I'm not really made for marathon drinks anymore, but I held up well. Got home around ten last night. The good thing about only tasting 100 beers is that I haven't skulled enough to get a hangover.

Today I'm watching Liam in the morning so Jo can take Zo to get her hearing checked out, no cause for alarm, just something we're following up on. I might take Li over to Chadstone and pick up a new iPhone4. Ddn't really get any work done outside yesterday, but I finally have all the parts. = (

2010-10-20T08:22:00.002+11:00

Got the inlet plumbed, the bit that will eventually be entombed under the top step of the new patio. I'm a little torn about whether to put a sump box halfway back to the house to handle the pipe size transition. I go from a stormwater/sewage 50mil to a pvc 50 mil, which are of course not the same diameter or fittings.

It's high enough above grade that it probably won't overflow, the bulk of the water will be absorbed into the beds in time. But still, I think I might not want an open box that periodically fills with grey sewage under the deck. I think I'll put a sani 90 instead, with a bung that goes to greywater hose, which I can run to the base of the bananas (which are very sad at the moment after the harsh winter). Worst case scenario, I can always either cut back the flow from the house by using fewer sources, or install a flood barrel.

Today will be the day I cut into the stormwater pipe and install a diverter, although it obviously won't run to the beds until after the concrete goes in.

The apples and pears (not the stairs) all have new leaves and are looking pretty good. I'm kicking myself for not spraying bordeaux this spring before leaf burst though, the leaf curl I had on the peach last year has spread to the nectarine and possibly the cherry. Next year no question I will spray. I guess I just keep thinking if I give it time it will build resistance and shrug it off because I don't use any pesticides or anything there must be a natural balance somehow right? Wrong apparently. Looks like shit. I'm going outside...

2010-10-17T15:18:00.003+11:00

So lazy today. Everyone left to go to the city, and I just can't get motivated to do anything at all. I have a huge day of work tomorrow, so I don't feel too guilty about taking a day off. It's really about the working at night thing. It throws your rhythm for a few days and for me it has much the same effect as sleeping on a park bench for a day. I feel like a crapped out wino even though I've fed, showered and shaved. I just feel like shit. Hopefully I'll wake up feeling better after another night's sleep. Next month is already a day-heavy schedule and cannot fail to prove sunnier which will vastly improve my mood. Liam and I planted peas the other day. I can't believe the weather, I was in shorts last week and it snowed over in Gembrook yesterday. So screwy.

2010-10-16T20:50:00.002+11:00

Did a couple of days on Millionaire with the Flycam Techno, then some various rigging jobs, the last ended a few hours before karate this morning.

Both Kai and Li were catching up on belt grading, and both pulled out an astonishing win today. I was honestly starting to get the impression that neither was taking anything on board, and they both demonstrated excellent kata. Sensei Cameron was back with a new belt himself, and brought much goodwill back to class.

Tomorrow off, Jo and the kids going in to St. Kilda, I'll likely get back outside. I might try and get the plumbing inlet laid for the first tank so we can bury it under the new steps. We have a little bit more work to do on the form shutters, but getting there.

2010-09-27T20:03:00.002+10:00

Did that Fed Square thing, that was a fun climb but I ended up needing way more than a 10 metre lanyard so I used a 30m Blue semi-static Edelrid rope I got a while ago. I wanted to climb on it before it got wrecked by using it as a rigging rope. I should really get a 16mm stable braid for rigging, easier to hand than an 11mm.

Swung a technocrane on the footy show for Flycam, easy gig, good money. I'm doing a couple of dates next month with them, but they really don't have enough days yet to drop everything else, though I'd like to.

Did a day last week at the Upwey Garden Centre with a friend, Tom, which wasn't flash money but a really really short commute. I have some dates in October with him, about a week, and in the same vein I've accepted some work @ Trees Adventure in Belgrave. They want me to be an alternate manager, and again, while not crazy money, the hours are reasonable and it's mine for the asking, and local.

I had a short day this morning and was going to get 3 or 4 cubes of bark mulch to put out on the paths, but it opened up this afternoon and it was pouring for most of the day.

Jo and the kids had another mom and kids over for play, so I ended up out in the shed for much of the afternoon. Didn't really do anything.

Jo got about 2k worth of Ikea wardrobes online for $50, so I'll likely have to go pick them up some time this week.

Hoping the weather will be somewhat dry this week, I've got some free time, hoping to get back on the Waterloop.project.

2010-09-13T20:46:00.002+10:00

Very long day yesterday that ended at 5 this morning. First we had a giant flag reveal for Virgin Blue's 10th birthday celebration. Richard Branson was there and it's uncanny how much he resembles Don with a goatee. So that was most of the day, the show actually ended around 6 and then it was a couple hours to get punters drunk on free booze out of the way so we could start dropping stuff.

Then a couple hours later, some of that crew went to Fed Square to hang 15 giant architectural glass panels. To say that driving the boom lift in and around those while pulling up and dropping motor chains, power cables, etc was a late night sobriety test would be a massive understatement. I was all thumbs by the end and my speed and dexterity was way below half capacity. But we finished up not too much later than anticipated.

Same thing again for the next two nights, and a bunch of free climbing. I'll wear an extra lanyard so I'm in 3-d space, one 10 metre off the front point and one each 3 metre off the side points. Makes it easy to throw the long one up over and then jug up it, swing out and tie off with the sides.

Tomorrow I have to go sit in on Millionaire Hot Seat and watch a rehearsal.

2010-09-11T19:05:00.003+10:00

Got Mom at the airport this morning. She had a good flight. We've been hanging around all day, it's seven and she's ~~starting to fade~~ going to bed. I have a massive day of work tomorrow (Sunday?!!?), I'll be on the road at 5A and probably not back for almost 24 hours.

I set up a nice little potting area just outside her room. She can do some gardening in the front of the house. The back is pretty treacherous at the moment, although now that it's drying out, Alex and I will get serious again about pouring concrete.

2010-09-07T23:18:00.002+10:00

My calendar is all shades of color with work. Not a lot of money unfortunately, but plenty of work. And a lot of variety.

2010-09-04T21:05:00.002+10:00

The boys had a respectable karate session this morning despite a late bedtime Fri nite. I took them to the bakery for something special and a loaf of bread. Not only had I missed Kai's Father's Day breakfast (Sunday is greeting card holiday here in Oz), I also worked through and missed Liam's Father's Day lunch. So I got them a treat at the bakery to make up for it.

Jo took them to an indoor playground to meet a friend and I got at the tiles in the laundry room. Finished cutting and laying all of them, I still need to grout and caulk the gaps, install the floor drain, and I think we're going to get a frosted door to match the one in the passageway. When I find the doors I'll get two, as we want to replace the one on the bathroom as well. We have enough tiles that I can do a backsplash behind the sink taps, so I might do that as well.

Monday I'm going to refinish the bartop at Oscar's, and then Tuesday I have some rigging work.

2010-08-27T20:37:00.002+10:00

Switched over to night mode for the weekend. I have calls sprinkled all over the weekend. This is the crap thing about the rigging work. It's amazing how busy I get when I get worried about money. I'm literally servicing calls around the clock seven days a week between building work and rigging. . And the pressure is still on to keep moving forward on the work at home. I'm going to get a few more hours sleep before tonight's job. Had a lovely nap with Zoe on my chest earlier, but I'm still tired.

2010-08-26T13:33:00.002+10:00

Feeling much better. I'm the only one in the house except Kai that's logging any sleep at all. Today I had a few hours work at Oscar's. This weekend is completely booked with rigging work, mostly at night, but I'll be off for a lot of the week next week I hope. I have all the stuff to start laying tile in the laundry room and Jo is more than ready for that to happen.

I priced a product called Versi-Foam that I sussed out is available here, despite the fact that the foam guy who gave me a monster quote to insulate the house last year said he was the only importer (liar!). It's still pretty expensive, but a lot easier and cheaper for retro-ing the underfloor radiant hydronic system. My alternative is to insulate conventionally, but then after insulating I'd have to cut and fit some kind of sheet goods to keep the f@#king possums out of it. This way I can hit it in one go and have a perfect airseal to boot.

The van is almost totally dialled, I'm still toying with the idea of shelving to get some of the tools up off the floor. But everything fits so well without it, I'm like why bother. I can even carry a full load of tools and all my rigging gear. So no need to unload anything. Eventually I want to rebuild the shed further back and pour a pad and make a carport with a full roll up door in front of it, so I can back in and work out of the van without unloading.

2010-08-24T17:22:00.002+10:00

There was more rigging involved. There was no forklift.

But I rigged a dynex line and a couple sets of blocks and we lifted the stairs into place the way the Egyptians would have done it, if they had hi tech line and a ute.

I had them dynabolted in pretty quick and they were pretty much done. It went really fast. I'd look at using a premade stair assembly again, it was very efficient and not much hassle. I went back in today for a few hours to level the top.

I had packed out the web of the I-beam they rest up against at the top, but the ideal position still had a pretty big space, so the offwall stringer ended up hanging off a section of angle iron bolted through the wall itself. This angle will serve as the first (or last depending if you're coming or going) upright for a metal handrail to be fabbed by owner at a later date.

Really was dragging around today, I'm not feeling well. I think I got a touch of gastro from Liam.

2010-08-21T00:20:00.002+10:00

So definitely my kind of workweek. A late call on Thursday and then over today. It's the weekend again! Not much rigging work around, no grip work at all for months and I totally refuse to pay the one agency in town to do nothing for me.

Might be time to take some more courses. I'm thinking some kind of rope rescue, or twin rope industrial, or maybe confined spaces, heli rescue? I don't know, I just need something that involves a test and learning something. If there's climbing in the mix, so much the better. I already can't deal with the quiet and that's including the domestic midget screams.

Lucky I've been heating up some construction work. It was a strange day of the week to do it, but I started a building job today. Cut a hole in a wall on the second floor and jambed and hung a door for a stairway that isn't in yet. That was a new experience, I've never had to wear a harness while I hung a door before. The stair is being delivered Monday, it's premade, hopefully there will be a forklift around to put it in or there may be some more rigging involved.

I loved chopping the hinge mortises. It's a very satisfying thing to have a super sharp chisel and do it by hand. If I was doing thirty doors, or even three or four, I'd set up a router, but for one door it's a wank, you can have them done with a chisel in the time you choose the right bit and collet.

It hung alright, I've learned to be almost happy with the mistakes I can see at the end of a task. It shuts, it's level, plumb, etc. It's never perfect though. And I was careful to make all the phillips screw heads line up they same way. Still, at least I'm progressing to the point I won't say out loud what I thought was wrong. Drives me crazy though.

I had to pack up and leave when it got dark. I didn't get a chance to fit the lockset, I'll do it on Monday. I'm loving the van, everything's locked up in the back and I'm not worried. I want to get a decal that says it's for live snake transport or something ominously subtle, and stick it on the window.

2010-08-14T21:18:00.001+10:00

Please let me find the strength to resist!!!!!! This thing is awesome!

2010-08-10T22:36:00.002+10:00

Downrigged two self raising roofs today, in a huge warehouse. Somebody was demoing a super hush hush stage show with some kind of aerial action and some big animated something. That's all I know. Picking up the rest of the pieces tomorrow. Hopefully kicking off a new building job at the end of the week or maybe next week.

2010-08-09T15:16:00.002+10:00

It's been a beautiful day. We made an attempt to get outside, but most of us were in pajamas until 11.

2010-08-05T08:58:00.001+10:00

Finally got the passageway door hung yesterday. It's already proving a good winter move, the kitchen and living room can be heated by just the woodfire and it's ten or fifteen degrees hotter than the rest of the house. Still have to rebuild the strike side of the door jamb, but Jo's napping, kids are coming to visit later, etc. I think I'll do it Friday when big boys are at school.

The van got tinted and barred and it's bad asssss. Like a stealth cop car or something. Should be really great as I won't have to unload every night of a job for fear the tools will get pinched.

Next project is laundry room cabinets. I've got a worktable and all the tools set up inside with full dust collection, so it will be pretty quick but still will pull me into next week. I guess I'll start heating up the building jobs outside the house again, as nothing seems to be materializing. As soon as I'm ready to go with something normal TV or film will probably fire off and pull me away. The nature of the beast. No stunt rigging yet.

It's really a good time for the housework, it's still freezing and really shitty weather outside, so unless it's stage work I'm not really very excited about rigging! Of course I do miss the climbing. We had a dry spell in the morning yesterday and I jumped up into the elm tree for a good view of the forest.

Zoe is under her own power and can go from one end of the house to the other in under fifteen seconds. That's an estimate, I haven't really clocked her, but if I don't get some interesting work soon I might. She's worked out how to stand up while holding on to something, but not how to sit down again, so once she stands, she's stuck until she calls someone to help her out.

Unfortunately neither she nor Liam has been sleeping well, which means I'm sitting them during the day for a few hours while Jo catches up on sleep. Li has been a real handful for the last couple of weeks, if he gets into tantrum land because he's too tired, it's all over.

On the flip side, Kai has been an angel. He's really been pretty lovely. His ears aren't working too well, so he has to be asked things over and over, but since I've been home we've managed to keep the TV off more, so hopefully the attention spans will lengthen. He's been playing soccer a few times a week after school and loves it. This morning he did pushups, situps, and stretching, and got me and Li to join him. We'll be like a Japanese corporation soon, with morning calisthenics in the courtyard.

Our neighbor Marnie got a dog. A little yapping white ball of fur. I think she's almost had it with the thing, it's been barking almost nonstop for a month and a half. The main thing is it lives on her porch during the day, which is within sight of our kitchen. If it sees us, it starts barking. It may be a korean breed, as more than once I've fantasized what it might be like to kill and eat it, it's so obnoxious. It's very cute though, I just wish it had a mute button.

Could be worse. At least she doesn't put it outside before we wake up anymore after we complained. She's getting a citronella collar and a trainer for it, which may or may not work, but I'm keeping a noise log just in case further action is required down the road. A neighbor across the valley has expressed concern over the dog as well, so it isn't just because we're right next to it. I understand that she got it for the kids but I saw this situation a mile away when she told me she was getting it four months ago. You can't make people do things that make sense usually, and it's way too early to sell the house and move even if we wanted to, so I guess we just live with it.

2010-07-30T19:33:00.004+10:00

Fixed (hopefully) the dojo floor this morning. Had a great phone call about some stunt rigging work in the future. Next week is bound to be pretty light but I think I'm zeroing in on the week after.

Bought two dissimilar trolley wheels to fix my upright trolley. I only replaced one, and although it isn't like the original, and the trolley is about 10mm lopsided, it still worked fine to get the IKEA crap around the house, and down to my room. I would have the two sets of drawers built, but I also had to iron on some melamine edging for the units in the boys' room. Our friend Umani painted it today, so their stuff is still out in the hallway.

Got (hopefully) our last delivery of firewood for the winter. We should cruise through with a M³ or so left over.

~~Might go out for a beer or two tonight, it's been a few weeks~~. Jo and the kids are going to St. Kilda tomorrow, so I can spend the day finishing up the IKEA stuff and hanging blinds and light fixtures etc.

I ordered some security grilles for the van windows. I need to get limo tinted on Monday so they can be installed Tuesday.

2010-07-27T20:54:00.002+10:00

Finished knocking up the new server cabinet at Power Customs. Tony is headed off to America for a while.

Have a few things to do around the house and little errandy type runs in the van. Tomorrow should be a pretty chill day.

2010-07-24T19:01:00.003+10:00

Finally completely finished the movie Friday. Just have to turn in my last phone bill for reimbursement.

Hopped straight back in to karate Saturday morning. Both boys did really well, Kai's pushups have doubled in technique if not volume. Took a look at a broken floorboard in the Dojo. Someone landed a forward flip a bit hard. Shouldn't be too hard a fix, I think I can get to it later in the week.

Saturday afternoon I went and took a first look at a building job that might take a while to get momentum with, but will take a while to complete once it's going, at least until it's warm again and the rigging work heats up.

I've got some odd jobs this week that I've been pushing a while. Hoping to get back into housework after a little rest.

I'm going to spend a bit of money kitting out the van with security drawers, window grilles and limo tint. The onset carpenter had all his tools ripped off during the shoot from the same make and model and it officially freaked me out. Pretty much no matter what I spend it's cheaper than replacing the tools. Should have a quote on the drawer system by the end of the week.

Today I have to unload about three months worth of clothes, rigging equipment and garbage from the van and get it ready to jump back into carpentry tomorrow.

2010-06-27T18:09:00.002+10:00

Got up early at eight this morning (which was really sleeping in 3 or 4 hours), and then the boys and I went swimming at the Knox pool. They both handle themselves really well in the water, and it's less panic and more joy going swimming now.

After the maple syrup from breakfast's french toast wore off, the mood started to sour a bit, and we got dressed and left. The small military museum at the RSL in Upwey was open, so we went in to handle guns, knives, and swords for an hour. The boys were right into it, asking questions about everything.

We got home and some friends came over for a few hours, during which I checked out with Z and got some z's. We've just finished dinner and everything's winding down, without the wheels falling off too badly. In about half an hour we should be able to put the boys in bed, then I'm off to get a massage, come back and we'll watch a show, and that's a wrap on another one-day weekend. Work is interesting but exhausting.

2010-06-21T09:01:00.002+10:00

The end of another too short weekend, another week closer to the end of the movie. I'm starting to think about what to do when it's over, and at the moment I have a couple of options, so that's good. Feeling pretty exhausted by the end of the week, but I've been getting a massage every weekend and that's been keeping me from any injuries, pulls, etc.

2010-06-13T18:21:00.003+10:00

Have had a really great weekend so far. Did nothing all day yesterday, with everybody.

Last night went out to Oscar's met up with a couple of the LX boys from the show I'm on, tasted about fifty amazing beers. There was really great live music.

I slept in until about 11 this morning, something I'm pretty sure hasn't happened at home for a couple of years. I was up and down of course, and the last hour I robbed by putting Zoe to sleep and sleeping with her. I took a funny video of her trying to grok a mirror in the bedroom. Jo, Li and Z went into town and Kai and I hung out together. We watched Three Stooges in our pajamas until about 1330, and then went over to Belgrave to Trees Adventure.

We paid for the last time we went as well. Nic let us slide because I didn't have cash. Kai ate it up today, no fear at all. He is still limited to the two lowest level courses, but we switched off I would watch him do one and then I'd go and do a Black Diamond while he watched from the ground.

I lost track of him while I was in the middle of a course and figured he was playing with kids somewhere or walking around the forest trails. I finished my course and went to look for him, found him 3/4 of the way through a course he'd frozen on a few weeks ago. He had clipped himself in and just gone for it on his own. I was so proud of him. He's really good at conquering fear. He'll be an excellent climber.

We did a few more rounds and then decided it was time to eat. On the way down the hill we stopped to gas the van and check the tires, etc. Kai found some walkie-talkies in my van from work and wanted to sit at different tables at the restaurant and talk over the radio, but I really wanted to have a nice meal, so we compromised by my promising to use them at the grocery store, where we went next.

"I'm in the cookie aisle, over"
"cookies aren't on the list, we need butter, over"
"now I'm near the toys, over"
"where is that? We need milk, over"
"you're a poo head loser, over"

You get the idea....

My massage is tomorrow night instead of tonight. I've been looking forward to it the whole second half of the week.

2010-06-12T01:19:00.003+10:00

Another full on week finished. Many things going on at once, my administrative responsibilities are squeezed in on the side of all the physical tasks I've always done as a grip. I'm definitely stimulated by the planning side of things.

Not to the point where I would want it to be the full focus of my work, I enjoy hard physical labor too much. (ask my masseuse) But I get to use the computer a few times a week, and think about the best way to help plan things. I spend more time on the phone working out logistical problems, something I relish, making bridges and solving problems with others. I think I'm pretty good at it. My cell phone bill is certainly going to reflect it, but the company will pay for that.

I'm not giving the kids enough time at the moment. I think only Kai really feels it. I still sting when I think about how many times he asked me to play with him on my one day off last weekend. And I didn't really in the end because I was going from one kid to the other, and trying to get the budget caught up for tax time, which is coming up. And packing the van with tools for a big week.

Even though there are three, he's like an only child. Because he's the only one who really was an only child and also because he's the oldest and is ready for real interaction. Everyone's been having their dad time, just less of it. They find me on their own and sneak me away from each other. Except Zoe. She'll make noise and if Jo's had enough, I'll pick her right up. She's still such a happy person. I hope she always is.

2010-05-31T20:47:00.005+10:00

Over a month since the last post, sorry all, sometimes I just get too busy. Makin' chedda. Wrapped that last show, slept in the van and started scouting locations the next day. Non-stop and interesting but stressful. I'll be busy for a while. Already putting together next works. Got an interesting call from a woman who wants some Eames reproduction chairs and an 8 foot table done. Maybe I should talk her into waiting. Having a really good time being around the stunt rigging at the moment.

Zoe is starting to really inchworm around the carpet. Liam apparently swam for three hours this afternoon. Kai is doing well at school (I think?). Haven't spent much time with the chickens or gardening. Forget about finishing the water project until it's warm again. I'm so close. I may drop some money and get it completed .

Today was my birthday and it was pretty hum. Busy to the last second. Kind of a shitty work day, but it would have been bearable if it hadn't been a personal holiday. I think it might be good policy to start taking that day off work.

2010-04-28T23:35:00.002+10:00

Rainy. This morning I made it to work on time, narrowly avoiding a massive traffic jam on the freeway. Sometimes, you hit that exit right.

Very little call to have the riggers in today. We rig the games, but they aren't challenging anymore, more routine. Still paying close attention though. Riding the ruts like mud season. Today I had the chance to climb down onto one of the games from above. The first time was to fix an overhead safety line, last week. Today was to get an imperfectly rigged camera cable out of shot. Non-routine.

Stopped in to a new production office on the lot for the new movie. Key Grip was there, said hi.

Went to Kai's school for a pajama night. We drew and read, practiced numeracy (I would have preferred they call it counting), and went to the computer lab. He stayed up late.

2010-04-27T09:08:00.002+10:00

Winter is here. One day last week it got up to 28 degrees Celsius, but in the last few days the temps have dropped and all of a sudden we're having fires in the living room every night. I have the day off today, and as much as I don't want to, I think I'll have to order wood to stack.

We have enough for them to get through my last week on this job, but they tend to just use the furnace and an electric heater, so maybe it isn't worth it. I could do it next week, but the longer I put it off, the greater a chance we won't have it when we need it. I usually order it April Fool's day, while it's still warm and dry.

It's started to rain as well. I find it amazing that there's a water shortage ever. It gets so wet up here in the hills that roads wash out and steps get slippery with moss. Someday I'll get used to the seasons, but I still think of April as spring, which isn't helped by the April showers!

2010-04-23T20:19:00.002+10:00

Everybody's hitting their stride on this game show, and I'm pretty sure we're peaking out at the same time. This is the bit where I have to be extra careful, when rigging, complacency breeds injury. Next week is the last of three. I have to say I'll miss it a little, it's been a good job. Of course having said that, the last week is bound to be hell.

Got a phone call today about a film coming to town. A film long enough that it could almost be summer again when it finishes. That could be good.

I experienced legendary traffic tonight, it was raining when I left the studio downtown, and the freeway was so locked up I got off and zigzagged surface streets, which experience has taught me is no faster but at least gives the illusion of forward motion. a normally thirty minute drive took me almost two hours, including a stop for diesel.

Kai and Li were watching Lord of The Rings when I got home, not scared in the least by orcs and goblins. Kai is right into castles, bow and arrow, etc at the moment, I've promised we'll build some seige engines at some point...

2010-04-21T22:49:00.003+10:00

Had a pretty easy time of it these last couple days. Early-ish wakeups but not super long days. I'm happy at this job, we're the only show at the lot and it's a funny job, everybody taking the piss out of each other all the time, totally ridiculous stunts for the contestants, etc. Good people. Next month's work is not just stacking up, it's starting to seriously overlap. I wish I could keep one of me in deep freeze for when it gets busy like this.

Kai (and his friends) had a great time at swim class. I snuck off for a dip in the big pool, but watched some of the lesson. I have to admit, I thought Kai wasn't much of a swimmer. The couple of times we've been to the pool or the lake, etc. I thought he was going to drown if I took my eyes off him.

It's like all of a sudden he's made up his mind to swim. The swim instructor was amazed and told me so. Another parent that chaperoned yesterday said he's like a fish, a natural. Kids are funny, sometimes it's just astonishing the cognitive or physical leaps they make forward.

In other news, both boys are coconut heads again, they got haircuts yesterday because I got home early from work. I went to the RSL for a few beers with Brad last night, he's leaving in a few days for a month back in the states. And finally it seems that Zoe's teeth have started to come in. Good night.

2010-04-19T10:44:00.003+10:00

Finally have a day off after the first seven days straight of "Beat The Star", a channel seven game show I'm doing this month. Two more weeks of this and then it's on to the next thing.

I was wrong about the bunk beds, Kai never even got a look in at the top bunk, Liam went straight for it as soon as they were built, so problem solved. The added bonus is that he's mostly staying in bed all night now.

Really just all kinds and styles of work offers coming out of the woodwork. As always there's a seemingly endless schedule of entertainment rigging, a bunch of different building work on offer, I met a Director of Photography a few days ago that claims to have a packed schedule and no Key Grip, and I even had a guy email me yesterday about building custom skateboards?!! It's a good feeling, having so many brands in the fire. Now to get set burning my initials on everything in sight!!

Typically though, zero recent progress on the water project. When Alex and I do get to work on it we fly, but then one or the other of us gets booked up with work and it just sits for weeks. I just have one set of outside forms to build, the plumbing on one side to place, and the patio and stairs to form up, and then we're good to go.

Dropped off the Honda at the panel beaters this morning to fix the hail damage, it may be in as long as two weeks, so Jo and the kids are on foot or train again. We might try and trade out of it into something roomier, it will never be in such good shape again as when it's freshly painted.

This afternoon I'm chaperoning Kai's class at swim lessons, the two of us are looking forward to it, what with me missing so many karate classes for this *stupid* (but lucrative) TV show.

Got a massage scheduled for tonight to fix me back up.

2010-04-05T16:05:00.003+10:00

Today was one of those parental 'feats of strength' days. I'm technically supposed to be working on the water project but after all the chocolate yesterday we decided we had to pry everybody out of the house while still on school holidays. So we got going pretty early and hopped the train (change at Ringwood both ways, yeesh) into the city.

We ate a packed lunch on southbank while dodging the wasps. As an aside, something's screwy, they are a huge plague this year, absolutely everywhere, but no one's been stung yet. Anyway, walked down the river. There was a huge line and it was quite crowded at the Aquarium. But we got in and managed to get through it without losing either boy for more than a few minutes. They really only wanted to see the sharks. Zoe was totally transfixed by the coral reef tank, she stroked the glass and made a whole bunch of noise, which is getting more common, as if it could get any louder in our house.

Got a couple of stuffed shark souvenirs, walked back up to Flinders station and got a few smoothies, hopped the train just in time. Li and Zoe slept most of the ride back. The boys were pretty crazy again tonight but finally went down. We've moved the clocks so it's getting dark really early again, which doesn't hurt at bedtime. Jo was pretty tired and went to bed (I got a nap with Zoe after we got back). I'm all caught up now on all the podcasted Gardening Australias.

Tomorrow I have to take the van in to town and pick up a set of bunkbeds Jo got on eBay. It's hotly contested who will end up on the top bunk, neither boy wants it. I'm tipping as soon as it's built Kai gets up there and never comes down, but I guess we'll see.

Wednesday I start that biggish job, which I'm looking forward to. I never have a lack of work when I'm off, but of course it's a bit unnerving to not know what to do for money = )

2010-03-31T23:11:00.003+11:00

Dad left a week or two ago. He had a good visit but his patience is somewhat limited with little children x 3.

Trade show in Brisbane last weekend was interesting, but only just. I think I sold more of the products around me than my own, but we sort of expected nobody would go for a thousand dollar workbench right out of the box. I made a few sales for sure, we have to wait a week or two for chips to fall. Good thing I'm not commission based. I've been asked to do a couple more shows in the next two or three months.

Got a fair bit of work done this week on the water project. Jo is really getting sick of looking at its unfinished state and is not buying that the wait will be worth it. One whole side is formed up. The other side has the inner shutters finished. So basically one more run of formwork outside and the plumbing, and we'll be ready to pour at long last.

I set the first valve assembly on the first tank today. It went in a lot easier than I expected. I've decided to leave the neighbor fence side forms on after the pour, as I think we'll damage the plumbing trying to take it off. I'm building the greenhouse wall right over it, it'll pretty much never be seen. Have to remember to leave valve access down there, even though I'll probably only use the outside valves to close off tanks in pairs.

I still have about thirty pavers to pull up by the 'cue where we'll pour a new patio. I've been using pavers to circle the citrus trees with walls as I plant them, so it may be time to put that last potted tree in the ground. Good time for it, cooler and rainy, nothing will fry and they'll have the winter to establish root systems.

Met an interesting brit at the market today who's all about permaculture. I'm going to go over to his place next week and get some thornless blackberry canes. He has two acres, fifty fruit trees, a 360,000 liter dam, four ducks and a goat.

As usual, two days ago I was worried about work. Jo gets the kudos for saying don't worry just before the flood of calls came. Seems like we might be getting a big film in Melbourne mid-May, but before that I'm booked pretty much all next month on some kind of game show involving celebrity stunts. I'm happy to be doing stunt rigging, it was a field I could never quite break into in LA. Pay is still pretty shit. I might ask for a raise, it's been almost a year.

It does somewhat delay my full time entry into the residential remodeling market, but I didn't waste any time, I now have all my forms and stuff together for when someone comes knocking. I should work on the paperwork to get licensed as well.

I'm going to greatly enjoy driving my van to work a lot. Sounds like it might be busy enough I'll have to sleep in it. I finally fulfilled my boat rule, penned after spending the night in the rain on the 'deck' of my 13 foot Boston Whaler. "Never buy a vehicle you can't sleep in"

2010-03-20T09:01:00.002+11:00

Picked up the van a few days ago. 2006 VW T5 Transporter. Turbo diesel 6 speed tiptronic transmission. Holy Crap! I'm like a kid with my first car. What a sleeper! First off the light without even trying. I have to drive with a light foot, it sips diesel but drives like an Audi. I'm so excited to get it kitted out in the back and get tools into it. I've got the handsfree set up for the phone. The stereo kicks ass. It's really comfortable. Cruise control works. Central locking, power windows. No complaints at all. A couple smaller things the dealer is paying to fix.

Load in and load out Harry Connick, Jnr yesterday. I got to the load out early and sat at the top of the theatre to listen to the end of the show for a few minutes. I don't often bother, but it was worth it. He plays piano like he has thirty fingers.

Tonight load out for Massive Attack. Nothing more of note this weekend, going to Brisbane for a bit next week to work as a rep at a tool show. Jo calls that vacation.

2010-03-15T21:13:00.002+11:00

Well, most everyone heard by now that Kai flipped the billy cart, all his road rash is almost healed up but he has moved firmly into Band-Aid territory. I apply band-aids at the rate of one or two a day at this point, both he and Li are getting bashed on a regular basis. It is better than any science experiment watching them heal.

We had a fantastic weekend camping down in Queenscliff. So much fun that Jo now wants to buy a camper trailer. I think once we do we'll hit the road every few months. I'm already scoping out retractable awnings, 2nd row seating and tow hitches for the new van even though I haven't taken delivery yet.

I should get the van by the end of the week. We're pretty excited. Jo has been working on a name and signage, but nothing firm yet, so I won't announce it yet. I have my first outside-the-family job hopefully starting next week, a room addition. Even though I'm well capable of building additions, my strategy is to get in the door as a handyman, and then upsell for whatever else is needed once I have consumer confidence.

I'm still booking rigging, I still have a couple of calls a week, and even though I'm not 'back' from holiday, I've already booked a few jobs this week.

2010-02-27T16:14:00.001+11:00

Sometimes, I really miss Venice = )

Wait allllll the way to the end.

2010-02-27T12:48:00.002+11:00

AHHHHHHH! The silent helicopters are coming!

Had a so-so morning of karate. Let's just say everyone was there and karate was practiced and leave it at that. In other news, I'm incorporating "Drop and give me ten" into the disciplinary framework here at the house, and I think everyone's really going to love it.

Tomorrow is the Billy Cart race. Kai has been psyching himself up for the race. By which I meant to say he's been watching television and asking people to get him juice and snacks. Liam finally understands that the rules don't allow him to race for a couple years, but I let him have a go off-course out at Kangaroo Flats the other day (it's a real place I swear) and he was quite keen, so I think we might race all year pretty soon. I'll need a trailer for that I think.

Everybody is still pretty snotty sicky. I had a late work night loading out the Soundwave Festival and I'm pretty sapped today, I've been fighting off the cold. Everyone went to St. Kilda and it's vewy, vewy quiet here. Next week pretty busy, George Michael AND Whitney Houston.

2010-02-22T19:08:00.001+11:00

Best Construction Business blog competition ends in a weeek. I voted for Michael Stone.

2010-02-19T17:55:00.002+11:00

The boys were both in school today, I walked them and dropped them off. Jo had to take Zoe for her hearing test. After all that, they said her hearing was fine. Really I'm finding that the less you know sometimes, the less you worry.

I got the rest of the wood mounted on the inside of the tanks, so there's nothing stopping Alex and I from building the rest of the forms. I'd love to get it poured in the beginning of March so Dad and I have stuff to do.

That didn't take the whole morning, I had a chance to clean up the 'lawn' where all the garden beds/chook pen spots are and transplant a navel orange down there. I don't know how well it will do, the roots were kind of potbound, so hopefully it won't girdle itself. I watered everything else, it's been pretty dry for a few days. We were due for some really hot weather, but it's been down graded and it looks like we might get some rain.

I started to take up the pavers by the barbecue, when we pour I've promised a new patio there. They've gone to build a little wall around that new orange.

2010-02-17T15:12:00.002+11:00

Pool was fun. Let the chickens out. Spotty is doing well, she was chased down to the bottom of the yard a few days ago by a local dog. It was off the leash and bolted down into the block off the road.

Lucky I cleverly left all those tall weeds at the bottom, she managed to get away from the dog in them. The mongrel tore a wad of feathers off her wing. I thought it was broken because it looked funny, but she seems fine, it's just nudity. Polly was missing for a while but it seems she had the sense and the superior speed to get up under the house in time.

I'ma whip out my Korean Cookbook on that dog if it comes back and have me a barbecue.

Maggie lent us a Flip camera, so I'll try and get some billy cart test footage this afternoon at the park, we're going to meet Simmone and her kids there.

2010-02-17T09:16:00.001+11:00

Upwey Billy Cart Race

2010-02-17T08:57:00.002+11:00

No work today! ACDC load out was long and stupid yesterday. I felt sorry for the guys who travel around the world for months at a time doing that. It just seemed awful. It was fun for me though. I'd do it again. In fact I will do it again. I think George Michael is next month.

I'm going to take everybody to the pool today, to let Jo wrap up work that's been hanging for a while. I'll have to wear the baby bjorn into the pool with Zoe, but the boys are pretty good now and I have a set of water wings for each of them. Kai doesn't actually need them, he can touch bottom.

Jo is driving me batshit this morning.

2010-02-14T20:33:00.002+11:00

Jumped right into the huge family thing first up this morning with a massive grocery shopping trip. It took me a few hours after everyone left to go to St. Kilda to put the groceries away and make the kitchen right, although officially management was 'shocked' at my lack of tangible progress. This had mostly to do with a single basket of laundry that I repeatedly walked past.

I baked a loaf of bread in my breadmaker.. I bought a 25 kilo bag of flour this morning, so we aren't likely to be out of bread for a month. That's assuming we eat three loaves of bread a day for the rest of the month.

And finally, I ticked the last item off the billy cart build list. I'm finally finished. All the steering issues are worked out, all the braking systems are finished, and I had plenty of time to make it look snazzy. In the next week I'll scout a good practice location and take Kai out for a run, to see if he's down with it. He may still decide he doesn't want to run this year, but my part is well finished. It's been a really interesting project, but I'm really looking forward to getting concrete poured soon on the water project. And I want to get the billy cart out of my shop. It's getting hard to move around in there.

Tomorrow I have to be in Williamstown again (the floor turned out really nice) to coordinate the Festool Premium store install. Really just setting up hanging displays with Festool Australia staff and making sure everything ends up in the right place.

Tuesday tearing down the ACDC stage and then Wednesday I go to a Hire a Hubby franchisee prospect meeting to see what that's all about.

2010-02-10T07:26:00.002+11:00

Three days of climbing and humping big huge steel bits all over the mungo stage of the legendary rock band ACDC has been fun, but I have to move on. Festool premium store build in Williamstown for the rest of the week.

What a hard three days. I don't think I've done yakka like that since I was in my mid twenties. Still, I really started to enjoy it this last day. The first day sucked because it was spent dragging huge truss around, something I don't really have enough ballast for. Another twenty kilos and I'd be able to do it, but I've finally realized I'm almost too lightly built for such stuff.

But by the second day the towers were mostly up and the roof raised up off the ground, so yesterday was almost pure climbing, which was really fun. Terrifying at first, your body reacts in a funny way when you are standing with nothing but air between you and the ground, your only safety a few lines and a cocoon of webbing wrapped around your body. Each climbing situation is unique. Even after twelve or thirteen years of working the perms in the studios, my first five minutes aloft breaks me out in a fear sweat. Most of the time on film stage, you have the illusion you aren't very high, as the set walls are up off the ground. Sometimes you can even climb them all the way to the roof.

But on a rock stage, it is clear space from the truss roof all the way to the stage. It's a large volume of air to comprehend, and the notion of flight doesn't enter into the calculations you make when you look down. Of course the more safety lines you clip in the harder it is to move. So it's a compromise of speed for me, because there can be no compromise of safety. The second day I swore I wouldn't do any more rock rigging after this, but I could easily see by the end of yesterday how to get hooked. It was a rush.

2010-02-05T21:10:00.002+11:00

School has been getting a little bit easier for Kai as we've come through the week. He seems really tired after only these half days, it seems like dinner will have to be early once he starts full time, as he'll be wiped out. Liam still acting as local conduit for the Dark Lord.

Tomorrow a double shot of boy karate, and then I think we'll swing by an arborist supply place for a set of earmuffs for my climbing helmet. I've been warned that the load-in for ACDC will be very noisy, and I have no intention of going home with a headache.

Got a massage today from Eva, the lady down the street. I've never had fire cupping before. It was interesting, kind of like having a vacuum hose stuck to your back without the noise. I feel loads better, will probably feel like crap tomorrow but right for Sunday, the first of three 12 hour build days.

The rest of next week I'll be laying a new floor for the Festool premium shop at Ideal Tools down in Williamstown. Then hopefully I'll have a chance to get a crack at some waterloop work. I gotta get concrete poured.

The billy cart is all but finished after two really good days of work. I have a lot of loose ends to tighten up but everything worked out. I'm surprised at how well the design process went even though I had no plan and no idea what I was doing. A lot of silent moments staring at pieces of mangled prams......

2010-01-29T21:41:00.003+11:00

Business as usual. I've been really busy rigging jobs, I've scheduled shifts into March, but not every day. It seems to come in three or four day bursts, which is good, because often those are back to back (to back) shifts. I spent the day today driving around doing in store demos for the new WALKO table. It's cool. I felt like a brush salesman though. I don't like sales much.

Zero work done on the water project lately. I'm despairing a little because next month is totally full of work already. At one point it looked like I might pour concrete in January, but I got really busy. The rest of my 'free' time will be finishing the billy cart this month.

I'm starting to think I might be a franchise candidate. I need something that pays a bit more than what I have now, with the same flexibility, and a lot less heavy lifting. I do like the climbing aspect of rigging though. I'd miss that. But I have trees in the backyard. I could climb those.

We think Kai might be getting a little bit nervous about starting school. I think we might be getting nervous too. It's a big milestone. First one 'leaves' the house and into the world. Jo's had nightmares about it and I've obsessively labeled everything he owns with my phone number. He's been acting pretty erratic, doing really obnoxious things. He responds best to hugs and attention, but that's if you can control the urge to throttle him for messing with Liam. I think once he gets into the groove of school he'll chill out a lot.

Li is really finding his place as a tiny disobedient clown in this circus. Like Kai, he's motivated by a need for more attention, and it's something to remember that usually explains what's going on with him. He hasn't been getting as many spontaneous bloody noses lately, so I guess that's good. He looked like he'd eaten some dirt when he came home though, by the handful. Sometimes it's like living with tiny aliens.

Zoe looks at us with increasing clarity. She's smiling a lot more, and can be laid in the crib for a nap with sporadic success. I still can't tell how well she hears, she responds to loud noise, so she can hear, we just don't know how well yet, she has yet to be tested again. I'm not sure we'd notice if the medical community hadn't. Could still work itself out, I think it's early to freak.

Jo is juggling all that and freelance work, which I think is making her a bit nuts. But it's resulted in some fantastic dinners, go figure.

So everybody's great.

2010-01-23T11:05:00.000+11:00

This is what I pictured I'd be able to do on the internet ten years ago.

2010-01-22T18:23:00.002+11:00

Got a little bit of work done on the water thing today, but I wrecked a masonry bit, so I hadda go to Bunnings to buy (a couple) more. I also got a whole bunch of 50 liter tubs with lids. The washing machine overflowed the laundry sink and flooded the basement a few days ago, so we got all the stored clothes out and washed, dried, and folded them. Well, Jo did. I got the tubs. And I'll carry them back down when they're full. The boys were in creche all day. But it hasn't been quiet. Zoe is constantly requesting a pickup.

2010-01-15T18:39:00.003+11:00

Got some more formwork done today, the outside shutter against the boundary fence. We also cleated and braced plumb the fence post right in the middle of the run to keep the fence from falling down. I've excavated quite a bit and the bamboo on the other side of the fence had started to push it down, as it will do. After the concrete pour we'll pull the forms and backfill against the post.

I can't believe how solid the formwork that's up so far is. It was really a crapshoot using these old foundation walls as part of the project because they're an unknown. I don't know how old they are, whether they have any steel reinforcement, what density of concrete, etc.

But every time we've drilled into it to secure the formwork we usually have to beat in a nail or piece of rebar or something. And each time the hammer strikes, the entire wall rings like a bell. If there were voids or it was old crappy concrete, it would sound more like a dull thump. So it's a good sign. Also despite the number of holes I've drilled, not one chunk of concrete has blown out as a result. It really gives me a lot of confidence in the material and reinforces (haha) the validity of reusing an in place resource.

I picked up the tank shutoff valves from Bunnings today, they'd finally sent the right ones. I realized I'm going to have to buy a whole additional set for waste branches under the house, as the pipe size is different.

On a totally unrelated topic, I scored three modern hotel style bathroom sink basins for $20 a piece. I couldn't walk past them. *Someday* I will redo the bathrooms, I thought with three kids it would be smart to put two basins in the upstairs bathroom, and we have a matching one for downstairs. *someday*

Tomorrow is the first day of karate this year, I'm looking forward to getting back into the saturday routine, I'd missed it. I'm going to see if Li can start soon, it'll give him something to do during karate class. He's there anyway.

Kai has been helping me a little bit on the back deck. I have him find a rotten board and we cut out the bad bit together, cut a replacement piece from the stack of painted deck boards we now have, and we nail it in together. It's really easy and fun. We usually do about two before he loses interest, but if we did it all at once we'd have no project.

We had a good hour or two in the garden together day before yesterday and ended up lying in the hammock.

The billy cart is still coming along, I have the front end worked out I think, just need a few cutting and bolting things done, need to make some brake shoes, and mount the seat, and I'm done.

I got the big bike out yesterday, took off the baby seat, and biked to Belgrave and back. I stopped at the Tecoma car wash on the way there and pressure washed everything. little bit of armor all. It looks good as new. When the billy cart dust settles I should rebuild the other bike, it's turning into a pile of junk.

2010-01-09T22:50:00.002+11:00

It was hot like you want to be naked on the living room floor with all the fans on eating popsicles while watching tv through one eye hot today.

So we pretty much did. They did that is.

I got outside early before the sun got high and tied up some more steel, then gardened in the shady bits. I went to pull a weed and discovered some potatoes from an old compost spot. Half a bowl of white earlies. I took them in and fried them up with an onion and had four superlocal free range eggs for breakfast. I've never eaten potatoes I grew before. They were great.

I tore apart some more pram stock for the billy cart, which is getting at least recognizable as something you'd strap your kid into for a roll down main street. For some reason everyone wanted to know about brakes. Sheesh. Let me get the steering done first, 'cause that's the part that WINS the race, THEN i'll worry about stopping. Because it's a pram, there are four last ditch brake locks, one for each wheel, trigger in pairs. So the emergency braking system is built in, I just have to create a supplementary friction braking system. Piece of cake.

I used to work with this one Shotmaker driver a lot in LA, and we got to talking one time standing around waiting to roll, and it turns out the founder of the company and all the drivers used to be salt flat speed junkies. They were all a part of his build and race team, and then they all moved into film.

So I asked him all about the race vehicle. Turns out it was powered by hydrogen peroxide powered jets. When Hydrogen peroxide hits silver, it vaporizes super fast, and there's no flame or anything, so it's really safe for this type of thing.

What does this have to do with billy carts? Nothing really.

Well, there were obviously no brakes on this race vehicle, it was a rocket with wheels, there was a steering wheel and a single pedal. The pedal controlled the flow of peroxide. As long as you held the pedal down, peroxide was delivered to the silver surface of the jet, and speed resulted. As soon as you lifted your foot off, the flow was cut off for good, as a safety measure, and the ride was over. The vehicle coasted to a stop. Which is pretty much what happens to the billy cart, they have a few feet of sand and a wall of hay bales at the bottom.

The driver I spoke to figured he was only ever going to get one ride, as he was race support and not a race driver. So he jammed his foot down and kept it down until the tank was dry. Which took a relatively long time, as he was the last crew guy to get a ride, and a lot of people had bailed early on the rides before him, leaving successive tailings in the tank.

"What was it like?", I asked.
"I soiled my suit", he said.

I haven't found Kai a suit yet.

The boys had had enough of the house and TV by late afternoon, so I drove them down to an indoor aquatic center, we swam for a couple of hours, and came home just before bedtime.

The heat has broken now, cool change come through, and the forecast has changed for the next couple of days, not as hot. Tomorrow everyone goes in to St. Kilda.

2010-01-07T19:30:00.000+11:00

Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number -
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you -
Ye are many - they are few.
- Percy B. Shelley

2010-01-06T20:21:00.002+11:00

Got loads of work done on the Waterloop in the last week so far. We actually started doing formwork today! I'm still pretty far out on the pour, as hot weather's coming and it'll put a stop until next week at least. But still.

On my way to Crown casino tonight, to pull out the Christmas install. Don't know how long that's going to take. Hopefully I'll be done before daylight.

Guess I have to pack the tree away soon. Yes, it's fake. Yes, I actually love that.

2010-01-03T22:47:00.002+11:00

Jo and the kids went in to the Docklands Costco today. I stayed home. She said it was just like America, which is borne out by exhibit A, a huge carton of Kirkland wipes that now sits on my kitchen table.

I stayed home. I did a lot of gardening, mostly chop and drop on the branches of the loquat tree, which I pruned back to the fenceline yesterday. It was pretty dramatic, I really kind of butchered it. It should have no trouble, it's very full on the other side of the fence. I may go up in it again, it has a crown of creepers on the other side I'd like to get down for the health of the tree. I'll have to get rid of the waste myself, Marnie has a pretty full load over there just mowing the lawn and keeping the weeds back.

I also did some more work on the billy cart. I have the seat frame done. I was promised another pram from a friend, but it hasn't dropped out of the sky, so I think I just have to bite the bullet and go down to the waste transfer station and get a pram out of their recycling area. I don't want to leave myself short on time building the front end. After all, steering is high on the list of important features. It should only be a couple of bucks, but I've decided to put 16" or larger wheels in the back, so I may also look for a kid's bike to strip of tires. I dug out a brand new set of disc brakes that I got long ago for the Xtracycle and never used. Not sure I can make them work, but it would be cool.

Saw Alex over New Year's, he's cleared his schedule for the next week and a half, so we should get some good work done on the WaterLoop (a new name I'm trialling) project.

I've got a bit of work on this week, but the office comes back online tomorrow, so if there's more it will probably get booked then.

We've emerged from the holidays in the black! Another cause for celebration. I suspect only having one car as the main explanation and a great tax return as supporting cause. And maybe a slight amount of prudence. Couldn't just be the free eggs.

2009-12-26T18:15:00.002+11:00

Had a bit of fun in the elm tree out front this morning, getting a line up into the canopy, practicing with mechanical ascenders, my new climbing line and hitch climber friction hitch system, various pulleys and lanyards.

These first couple climbs are exploratory missions, to enable me to get up there and iron out gear problems. I can discover something that will help me rig the gear differently on the ground, and that saves a lot of misery in the tree. In addition, the view is obviously different once you're in the tree, and I've already spotted a couple of dead limbs I couldn't see from the ground. The view is pretty spectacular full stop, and the temperature and gentle breeze really made it a nice day for it.

I ended up off the ground for a few hours. My harness, while not an arborist's saddle, is pretty comfortable for work positioning. It's cool having such a special tree right next to the shed and a step out the front door.

Proximity to a working telephone and someone to call the ambulance is a not a bad thing either.

Liam was miserable this afternoon. He's usually great about taking a nap, but we were trying to get him to go down right when Jo was going out with everybody else, and he took it out on me. He finally wound out and slept for an hour or so. He's on the couch now, eating pizza and watching the second Curious George movie, a gift. I think he might be a little sick maybe.

2009-12-26T08:48:00.002+11:00

Had a good Christmas yesterday, but very overwhelming. I do okay getting up early for work, because the drive or train ride is pretty quiet. I had wrapping paper up to my knees within five minutes of waking up. The boys were very excited though.

We went to Jell's park for Power Christmas picnic. Drank a few beers (just me). Then we came home. Didn't really have any dinner, just read the boys a story and then they went to bed.

I've been thinking there must be a clever way to pump water other than a small solar panel and 12v pump. I spent an hour or two reading about Vertical Axis windmills, Archimedes screws and Hydraulic ram pumps. Then I went to bed too.

2009-12-24T17:59:00.002+11:00

Alex came over yesterday and despite the 30+ temperature we got a whole side of the tank steel done. Well, almost, I didn't want to cut any more ells because of the total fire ban. And I was tired. So I have four more to tie, to complete the last two tanks on that side.

Probably won't get stuck into it until after New Year's. But I might try and nibble away at it here and there. It really is starting to look real. I can almost start thinking about the greenhouse frame materials.

Went to see Brad at Oscar's last night. I figured I'd be busy for a while. I drank a Little Creatures beer called Rogers, which is a middy, a lower alcohol beer. Made a huge difference today. Kai and I went into the city on the train today for the Power Customs BBQ. Stuck around for a few hours and came home and he had a nap. Mag, Marti, and Gabby are up here for Christmas eve.

2009-12-22T18:26:00.002+11:00

The rigging company has shut down for the holidays, so I won't have any add'l work that isn't scheduled already. I still have some last minute Christmas shopping to do, but the kids are all taken care of. Despite relentless present buying, the accounts are still in okay shape, and that's not counting the tax rebate still on the way.

I went to Bunnings to pick up my special order valves today and they were there, but the supply place sent threaded instead of weld connection fittings. All ten of them. They had a 50/50 chance and blew it. Oh well. I'm not quite ready to plumb anyway, I can wait for the right ones to come in. Using the threaded ones would mean two more connector fittings per union, so it's worth the wait.

Stopped at the Stihl Dealership, Classic Mowers, and got a metal blade for the weed wacker. Loading nylon line in that cartridge head was starting to really shit me. 17 bucks and resharpenable. Love German products.

Went on the prowl for another jogger stroller today, to cut up for our Billy Cart, which is in production in the super secret Shed One location. Couldn't find the recycling center, and none of the op shops had one, so still looking. If I find the right one it'll make the construction easier, but I may compromise. Work in progress.

Tomorrow will be hot, but Alex has said heat doesn't faze him, so we'll at least get steel tied on the sides tomorrow, and maybe start thinking about formwork.

2009-12-22T18:21:00.002+11:00

How timely. I initiate the water project just as the politicianss try and decide how best tell their voters to "Go and drink shit". A very tactless phraseology. I don't expect them to get far like this. Still, better late than never.

2009-12-21T18:50:00.002+11:00

What I thought was an owl the other night was more likely a Tawny Frogmouth. We got a better look at them just now at dinner. There were three of them sitting in the tree outside the dining room. Great to have around, as they eat loads of nocturnal insects.

2009-12-20T09:00:00.000+11:00

"The folly at the root of this foolish economy began with the idea that a corporation should be regarded, legally, as "a person." But the limitless destructiveness of this economy comes about precisely because a corporation is not a person. A corporation, essentially, is a pile of money to which a number of persons have sold their moral allegiance. As such, unlike a person, a corporation does not age. It does not arrive, as most persons finally do, at a realization of the shortness and smallness of human lives; it does not come to see the future as the lifetime of the children and grandchildren of anybody in particular. It can experience no personal hope or remorse, no change of heart. It cannot humble itself. It goes about its business as if it were immortal, with the single purpose of becoming a bigger pile of money."
-Wendell Berry

2009-12-19T11:08:00.003+11:00

I got up early and went into the city for my first thing in the morning shift and after sitting at the loading dock for fifteen minutes by myself, double checked and realized the call was for the afternoon. I rode the train back home, had lunch, rinse, repeat. Finally got back home for dinner.

Kai had a belt grading at karate today and did well, was awarded white belt/red stripe. Hot wheels for both boys. Everyone is off to a birthday party/movie. I have a lot of cleanup to do out back in my work area, there's a party here tomorrow. Thankfully not too many kids, I think it's lawsuit city down there.

2009-12-17T19:38:00.004+11:00

Tuesday I bought all the pipe and fittings at Bunnings. I had to special order the ball valves, which I'll be putting on the connection between each tank. I decided to go with 50mm for the whole thing, so the ball valves were a special order, of course they had up to 40mm. Strangely enough they were a bit cheaper than 40mm. Everything else is stock, but I might have to come up with a creative solution to plumb in a cleanout.

50mm sanitary is *hey presto* a different outer (and inner) diameter than 50mm pressure pipe. 50mm pressure pipe is thicker and more robust and more UV stabilized than sanitary pipe, which is obviously designed to be buried and not have children use it to climb on, which is a big concern for this application. And with pressure pipe there is no call for a cleanout, so the one does not fit the other.

This is a typical situation where in the course of a conversation, the phrase, "She'll be right, mate" is usually uttered at least once, the assumption being that some miracle will allow you to bodge together two things that don't fit on the day. The bodgey job will then last longer than can be expected than if you weren't in Australia and she wouldn't be right.

My buddy Alex came over today to help measure and cut the steel reinforcement mesh, and we got all of the bottom pieces done ~~before~~ during a torrential downpour which was welcome anyway, as it was super hot and a total fire ban yesterday. It's made it sloppy again down there.

Tomorrow I'm working a shift in the first part of the day, but I should be home by lunch. If it isn't raining again, we'll get the mesh cut for the sides. After that we'll be into the actual formwork. Unfortunately the pour won't happen until after Christmas I'm sure, as it will be really hard to get any concrete next week. A shame really, my goal for the month has been to get it done before a party this coming Sunday. I couldn't have done it any faster, I've been digging like I'm escaping jail every day I'm not working.

The whole family went to an indoor pool in Boronia in the last part of the day today. I went in with the boys and Jo sat on the sidelines and chatted with another Mom. The boys had a great time. Zoe must have liked the noise, she slept almost the whole time. She's still sleeping a lot, so it was a good thing. Kai absolutely did not want to get out. He's much bigger than the last time we went to a pool, even though he still can't really swim, the water level in the kiddy pool he was in was well under his chin, so I could let him roam free and just watch Liam, who was equally difficult to pry out when it was time to go. We got back home really tired and hungry. Everybody had a sandwich and went to bed.

2009-12-13T21:51:00.001+11:00

Second big star today, atop the Malvern Library. We had a 60 ton crane.

It's going to be hot later this week, It'll be time to start watering with all the water I've been saving in barrels. Maybe I'll go to a plumbing supply place tomorrow.

2009-12-12T21:39:00.003+11:00

Excellent karate class from Kai this morning. Liam is almost ready to start in there himself. He loves running around before class with the other kids, and Kai is so big now, I'm afraid he'll be moved on before they get a chance to be in the same class together. I had the thought today that it would be good to wait until Kai starts school in a month or two, then the money we now pay for Kai's day care can go to Li's karate and it won't be an added expense, just reallocated. We'll actually have a small surplus, BMC.

So both boys got another Hot Wheels car today. I have to keep my eye out for a good solid plastic toolbox, the cars are outpacing the giant shoebox. I picked up another twenty or so cars at the toy store, so I'm set for a while. I do have a slush fund of ordinary cars starting to build up. They always ask me for a brightly colored one, or one with exposed engine and header pipes and so the more mundane cars stay in hiding, unwanted. I don't know what I'll do with all these average cars. Maybe I'll give them to Zoe and purge them as soon as she's interested, but before she can tell the difference between models.

Got another tank or two cut out and leveled today, and sowed a lot of buckets of loose clay throughout the property. It's cool having dirt to fill all the holes and unlevel spots, top up fruit tree basins and planting beds, etc. I moved the chook pen today. Kai actually tried to lift one end, but it's still too heavy for him.

I'm already looking ahead to the next big project and wondering if it's too ambitious to try and get a ferro cement tank poured up near the road before next winter. It would be great to finally start catching rainwater, especially if I could cut my post treatment water with it and reuse it in the house. I might even find a way to make the tank the foundation for my shed rebuild.

What.
Isn't every shed too small?

2009-12-11T23:04:00.002+11:00

We finally bit the bullet and went to the accountant today. I've been dreading it because with all the moving and settling we've done in the last two years, I'm ashamed to say the tight rein on the financials has not developed. At first it was because I didn't care, that easy spending of money helped ease the pain of transition. Then the money insulated me from the new and strange for a while, and caring about the conventionalities of taxes in a foreign country was just too horrid to embrace.

After all, I'd only just mastered paying them in my native land. It was only four or five years ago that I had to pay a tax bill of twelve thou at one go. At the time, I couldn't believe it. Now I'm amazed that back then, I had twelve grand in the bank. Anyway, we had a lovely and speedy meeting with our new accountant, who came highly recommended by a family member. I was sure I'd owe some money, but I'd forgotten, we really didn't make much. I did pay a lot of taxes apparently though, we got some money back! Even better, we'll likely get it beginning of the New Year, a time I've always associated with poverty.

We went Christmas shopping with a free conscience instead of the careless ignorant abandon we usually adopt while buying presents. We still didn't go very crazy. Living with less is starting to be a habit, or maybe more appropriately, feeling that less is more. We're pretty happy to have the mortgage paid and everyone fed comfortably.

There seems to be no end of the rigging work, I'm regulating it so that I can kill myself a bit more slowly, I'm finding as usual there are ever so many things I like more than work. Which is misleading, when I'm not rigging, I've been digging like a madman.

It's been wet, and loose clay pugs up the soles of your boots so you feel like each foot has a three inch scab of turd on the bottom. But slowly I have been cutting and smoothing the sidewalls. I'll be ready by next week to start that steelwork, which is none too soon, the three pieces of steel mesh mat have been sitting on the side of the road taking our favorite parking space for almost a week.

Pretty soon I'll need to go and get a load of pipe, I have to start getting serious about roughing in the plumbing.

2009-12-10T19:39:00.004+11:00

Last night I helped mount a giant plastic star on top of the Toorak library. It's a lot less tacky than it sounds. Lit from inside.

Still getting massive rainstorms. It's raining now. I just know they won't last all summer, but it is wonderful. I spent a long morning digging today. The first two reed bed channels are ready for steel and formwork. They were the only two that required a lot of digging out, the rest is just getting a step footing channel ready for the end walls.

The first hole ended up 500mm deep, which means with a 100mm bottom pad, my finished depth will be 400.

300mm is the recommended minimum depth, and they get deeper by at least 100mm with each step down. I've started taking the pavers out of the steps, we'll redo the steps and flat area by the barby with exposed aggregate.

Kai was a help today, even though he was sick. We were shoveling and cutting the end wall smooth with a mattock and I had him pose for a picture while he was digging. I took the picture and sat down to catch my breath.

He looked at me and said, " what are you doing? Grab a shovel and keep digging".

Everyone took a nap while I dug for the next two or three hours.

Then Kai and Li and I danced to Christmas music, and had sandwiches for dinner.

2009-12-07T22:06:00.003+11:00

Hung a sculpture installation called "Spatial Penetration" at Swinburne Lilydale today. The title was the butt of many jokes. It reminded me of every prop piece from "Beetlejuice". There were about six or seven huge fibreglass, aluminium, etc. primary colored pointy and round shapes. Hung them on steel cables high off the ground. I got the stinkeye from a lady who didn't want one outside her office window.

Tomorrow working at Crown Casino. Hopefully Thu/Fri will stay unbooked so I can start cutting steel. I'm getting excited about greywater.

Which I don't care who you ask, is better than being excited about Nick Cave. I still just don't get it. He looks like a huge wanker. He was on TV and I swear, looked like an extra from "That 70's Show". His lyrics don't rhyme. I'm not a hater, I just don't get it.

I saw an owl just before sunset. I've only seen a few owls in the wild in my life. I heard a noise in the downstairs bedroom. I think he (she?) might have hit a window trying to fly in, Jo opened the curtains down there, they're usually shut.

It was sitting on the porch railing not doing much. Did look kind of dazed. I got outside and got a real good look at him. I'm going to look it up when I get a chance. A real owl.

In the book version of Blade Runner (Do androids dream of Electric Sheep), a cloned owl was one of the most expensive pets you could have made. I hope the owl sticks around, I've always liked the idea of them hunting vermin all night. Maybe I'll build an owl box or something.

2009-12-05T21:30:00.002+11:00

just got back from carols by candlelight in Ferntree Gully. Madhouse. We left on a moments notice with no food, drink, money, blankets, chairs, etc. Worked out pretty much as expected. But everybody had a pretty good time. Boys are manic, it being 9:30 already. Got my massage today and feel really run down. I'm hoping another night's sleep will sort me out.

Did nothing on the watershed project today, tomorrow morning is free but if I feel like crap I'm certainly not picking up a shovel.

Big Power family Christmas party tomorrow. About an hour away.

I've got work scheduled the first part of the week and hopefully by the end of the week I'll be cutting steel and building formwork. My goal is to pour before Christmas.

I just watched the trailer for "The Collapse". Unsurprisingly, it scared the crap out of me.

2009-12-03T22:15:00.002+11:00

Returned late from picnic dinner at Melbourne Zoo, courtesy of Mag's work. Boys had fun (pictures on facebook). It was a bit hectic getting there, we had to battle traffic and arrived with a mostly empty tank. We had fun though.

Steel arrived today, it's out on the road, hopefully no lawsuit worthy things happen before I can get it around back. This weekend should be starting the formwork.

Work tomorrow putting up the monster Christmas tree with a crane @ Fed Square and some other stuff at the music bowl.

My neck is killing me, I'm getting a massage Saturday after karate.

2009-12-03T09:19:00.002+11:00

Got quite a bit of the remaining digging done yesterday. Just a bit of cleanup and I'm ready to start the formwork. The steel mesh should arrive today. I'm splitting time between this and work, and most work is at night.

Last night I went into Fed Square to hang some banners off the cantilever entrance. I thought I'd be climbing again (it's about 15 meters off the ground!), but we did all the work out of the basket of a boom lift, which was much more convenient.

Woke up on four hours sleep this morning and just dropped Kai at school. More work outside today, it's a lovely day. Got to keep momentum on this project. Jo has been really supportive, even though it's an (relatively) expensive undertaking and we're so close to Christmas. She's right though, if I don't stay on it, it'll never happen.

The concrete is the big deal, after that it's a bit of plumbing and we can start to fill and populate it. I don't expect I'll have money to build the greenhouse or chook pen over the top for a few months.

2009-12-01T22:20:00.002+11:00

Damn. I didn't move a scrap of dirt today. That really got me down. New brakes were just over $700. I'm watching the money from the last show get chewed up and I don't have any concrete poured. I'm hoping to pull it together in the next two weeks, but that means I need to get dug and get what little formwork there is knocked up. It's hard right now, work when it happens is often at night, which does eat up the available daylight in recovery sleep. Jo's got a little bit of work, but not heaps, and anyway I end up watching kids during that. We've tricked ourselves for the moment into thinking it'll be easier when Kai goes into school full time in a few months.

I did a little bit of gardening today, it was all I could do with Z in the baby bjorn. Worked on tying up more apple branches on the trellis. I'm going to train the apples into a big ladder/hedge, so you can climb up and get an apple. Should be ready by the time everyone's climbing safely.

Climbing the Cantilever @ Fed Square tomorrow night to hang some banners. The day is totally booked full of childcare duties. No digging.

2009-12-01T09:46:00.001+11:00

Dropped the car off this morning for a brake job at Ringwood Honda and took the train back. They already toted up the damage and it's about what I thought. But the season for immediate departures with little delay is fast approaching and the car has to run perfectly.

Might try and get the last bit of excavation done on the watershed if the rain holds off. Both boys are at school today, and Jo's gone off somewhere, so it's pretty quiet at the moment. Got a few shifts booked so far this week on the rigging front, but there's a momentary lull, so time to press on with home projects.

2009-11-29T13:47:00.002+11:00

We've had an uncredible amount of rain in the last two weeks, and it hasn't stopped just yet. Kiddy pools and buckets left in the back yard have four inches or more of water in them after a thunderstorm has passed, interspersed with beautiful sunny warm afternoons.

Yesterday afternoon while it was raining I diverted the runoff from the road into my fledgling storm water creek. I made a bunch of pools down the side gully at the top of the lot out of broken concrete ("Urbanite"), and it's been pretty dry even during the winter, but with water running into it, it's suddenly become a watercourse. It flows right past the base of the huge elm, and when it gets to the bottom pool, just soaks straght into the ground. I hope I don't have a mudslide! My reasoning was it was better to hardscape and control the flow of the water than:

a) cover it with carpet to prevent growth and erosion (the previous method)

b) fill it in and make it a driveway

c) ignore the problem (opportunity?) and hope the water just 'goes somewhere else'

I may build a ferrocement tank at the bottom and capture the runoff. I'm still thinking there's no way you could ever have enough water holding capacity. It increases the long term security and value of the home, and makes gardening truly enjoyable to not have to worry about a source.

We've only had one or two days of really filthy heat, but definitely a harbinger of things to come this summer. For now it's too easy to enjoy all the water and sun, but in the back of everyone's mind is the amount of fine fuel this will provide for the undercanopy when it gets hot again.

I got home around six this morning, and slept most of the day. I woke up to see Jo off, she's on her way into St. K for a book club meeting with Zoe, and I have the boys here. Kung Fu Panda was just finishing when I got up, and I witnessed how late they went to bed last night, so I mandated twin naps and we'll get stuck into the afternoon once they're well rested.

We might go over to Belgrave to Earthly Pleasures cafe today, where our neighbor Andrew is playing guitar. That would depend on the rain, as we'd have to walk to the train station or get a ride from someone. Either way, I'm going for a pint at Oscar's tonight, I've worked thru the last two weekends.

I had my friend Alex over last week to have a look at the proposed concrete pour for what I'm optimistically calling the Watershed, my greywater recycling house machine. We went over tank depths, excavation, formwork standards, costing for materials and labor. I think it's going to come in around where I thought it would, but it's actually less concrete than I thought.

I just ran around and shut the windows and doors, there's more rain!

2009-11-28T23:48:00.003+11:00

Wish I'd had more sleep in the last couple of days but at least there's work. Had a lot of fun climbing at Fed Square yesterday, but the rest of the day was pretty ordinary. Got no sleep in between jobs yesterday but got home around two last night and slept until karate this morning. Kai had a great class today, listened well and performed well. He's obviously getting much better and more precise control over all his motors. I think I might get the boys some kind of punching bag for Christmas. Not sure where to hang it that it won't shake the house.

Speaking of xmas, it's time to get the tree out tomorrow. I guess we'll put it up tomorrow night. I'm so relieved to not have to drive somewhere and get one. Although it was great growing up with a real tree, it's been so much of a hassle the times we've done it. Not to mention the fire hazard at the most fire prone time of year. Add to that the fact that you can have instant Christmas in a few minutes, it comes out of the box with the lights already on it, and the arguments over for me.

I've been thinking about getting a larger car for us, something that suits all the functions we need it for. I don't have quite enough room to move tools when I have building jobs, and I think there may be some of that coming up in the new year. Also, until the ends of the year the gov't is offering a 50% tax rebate on small business purchases. I thought maybe I'd get a loan, buy a newer used van about the same approx value as our car, and then sell off our car in a private sale, pay off the van loan and take the tax rebate. I've got one month to contract for a purchase, so we'll see how much time I actually have to make that happen. Jo's not super keen on driving a van, and to be honest, I love our car, but the boys are trashing it and I'd like to flick it while it still has some value (I think)

Got a bit of garden work done today. Made a trellis to espalier my pear trees. The apples were done a few weeks ago.

Well, it's midnight, and I'm back into the city to bump out a banquet hall. Probably four or five hours of driving a boom lift around, dropping out chain motors.

2009-11-26T19:21:00.002+11:00

Holy Crap this redefines long weekend.

I've got two jobs today (happy thanksgiving ; ), three tomorrow, two Sunday, starting early in the morning, ending late, another Monday morning, then taking the car into the shop on Tuesday.

I realized today that my year after year of work is really only bearable because it's a series of varied hard/boring/crappy/overly demanding jobs and not just the plain vanilla sit in an office all of the above. At least it's a wonderful variety of crap sandwich platter.

Today after work I took great pleasure in consulting the live weather radar update on my iPhone, racewalking to the station, and seeing a legion of thoroughly soaked people flood in ten minutes after me. It was nothing short of miraculous that I made it home only a little damp in time for dinner, despite one cancelled and one very late train to Upwey.

Tomorrow I get to use my new 11mm Yates Bandit line and arborist's Treemagineer hitch climber rig to ascend the Fracture Gallery and hang some art. I'm looking forward to it. But now, back to the city for something or other at the National Gallery.

2009-11-24T18:22:00.002+11:00

Jo had some kind of car drama and was stuck at Ringwood waiting for RACV, so I walked across town to get Kai. We had a pretty good walk home. I made Mac and cheese, and then Jo got home from Li's school. They had walked home and left the car at the childcare centre, so I walked back and got it. Still don't know if there's anything wrong, I wasn't able to replicate the problem.

2009-11-24T11:03:00.003+11:00

I'm in the process of redesigning, so don't be too surprised to see things come and go. One huge bonus I've discovered already is the archives have magically reappeared, allowing anyone to surf the short history of my life since 2001! I thought this stuff was bitrotted and lost down some dark techno-alley a few years back, so it's good to see it all again. On the other hand, my photo albums have pissed off somewhere.....

Dropped the boys at school, house is quiet, the girls are getting some sleep. This afternoon I'm off to an Arborist supply place for a new climbing line and some other doo-dads. I'm hanging art (and 'hanging around' while I do it) this week at the Fracture Gallery in Fed Square, so if you want to come by and taunt a human pinata on your lunch break, do so. Just stay out of range of any thrown tools : )

2009-11-23T14:02:00.002+11:00

Hi everybody, welcome back. Sorry I had to close the blog for this last movie, it was somewhat compromised. I'll be posting here again regularly, all are welcome to read. I've missed this as an outlet, I'm going to try and pull a redesign together for the new year, and I'll be documenting the Watershed project to a lesser degree. That may get it's own blog. We'll see, anyway, everyone here is doing great, there's work although much of it is at night, Zoe is doing well, the boys are doing well, Jo is doing well. Watch for updates.

2009-08-11T13:42:00.001+10:00

ZOE !!!!!

2009-08-02T03:35:00.001+10:00

Waiting for the cab, I'm off to Sydney, then driving 10 hours to Queensland. Narnia here I come.

2009-08-01T14:18:00.002+10:00

Killer day yesterday, but really fun (if you have rocks in your head like I do). I left before wrap but still only managed to make it home at about one in the morning. Got up super early for another job, up in the roof at the Camberwell Civic centre, crawling around on my knees in the dust, setting points for a truss system. Tomorrow I'm off to Queensland for what looks like about three weeks.
I'm addicted to work.
I'm addicted to money.
I'm addicted to family.
Not all of these things can be satisfied at one time.
Gotta remember to bring a swimsuit.

2009-07-30T22:07:00.003+10:00

Not only that, I got a call for tomorrow for the Melbourne movie. They've narrowed the call time down to sometime between 10 and 3?! They called an hour ago. When it rains it pours.....

And it is pouring right now. Could be 10 degrees in Mt. Macedon tomorrow. I'm bringing everything I own.

2009-07-30T14:41:00.002+10:00

Ups and downs.....

So it would appear I'm off to Queensland. I've called and cancelled four out of five rigging days in the next three weeks, as I've been offered a chance to go and work on Narnia for a while. We'll see how it turns out.

As you'll remember, my laptop died when I was in the states, so transmission may be a little bit spotty. I'm not leaving until the beginning of next week, so I'll be home for at least three more days.

This means there will be grip gear and clothing spread out all over the house in every room for about the next 2¾ days.

2009-07-28T08:31:00.000+10:00

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

-Edgar Allen Poe

2009-07-27T19:42:00.000+10:00

In other news, I have five days of rigging booked for next month already.

2009-07-27T19:36:00.002+10:00

I can't believe it.

I worked for weeks on that set of pancakes and delivered them (well he came and picked them up) today. I buffed them all out yesterday and stacked them up on my bench and covered them with a sheet. I spent a couple hours cleaning up the shop.

He was very pleased. I was paid what I asked, which was totally adequate. I was very pleased. I might even get some rigging work from him, he's a stunt coordinator. We were both very pleased.

So what's the problem, where's the rub?
I forgot to take a picture of them.
Damn.
Now I have to build more.

2009-07-24T17:03:00.002+10:00

Home again. Only a four hour shift dropping that scaffolding. Apparently the electricians finally got the LED sign at Fed Square fixed. It was for them to access repairs to said sign.

Gee, wonder why it broke? If you've never been to Fed Square, all the buildings have angled walls, covered with Zincalume roofing. Every surface is covered with this zinc roofing.

Except the roof. That's covered with EPDM rubber, and is flat. I guess it's cheaper though.

Which is apparently the reason water had been getting in that broke the LED. Because it is so architecturally revered, they couldn't change anything about the sign, so I guess we'll be building another scaff tower in a few months time.

I can see why people get sick of riding the train every day. It's good as a novelty. Cold today, but sunny. I worked in a t-shirt for a while. Carried a lot less gear, as I knew exactly what I needed. Pretty blah day really, but the money's better than a sharp stick in the eye.

2009-07-23T20:02:00.001+10:00

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

-Mark Twain

2009-07-23T16:00:00.002+10:00

Got a nap this afternoon. Kai went to school this morning, so it was a little hectic then. Li went down for a nap just before me.

I finally finished that project, I have to call the stunt coordinator and let him know his pancakes are done. I'll try and remember to post a picture before he picks them up. They turned out well, I don't think I'll be dovetailing formply again, you have to make the corners perfectly flush, no sanding them. Makes the sloppy material more a more difficult Medium. A finer finish is more easily achievable with real wood. They were great fun to build though.

Going back into the city tomorrow afternoon to drop the scaff tower I built in Fed Square yesterday. I'll take the train again, that worked out well.

2009-07-19T22:14:00.003+10:00

Painted the kitchen today while Jo and the boys were in St. Kilda. It's a pale greeny blue. Same as the dining room wall. I think it's a bit cold, but it should be perfect for summer. It's loads better than that mustard creamy color. Why people insist on trying to paint plaster ceiling decorations anything but white I'll never understand. I painted the ceiling and crown molding white. The next guy won't curse me for that.

2009-07-17T04:12:00.002+10:00

Back from dropping that truss rig in the city. Piece of piss. Came out easier than it went in, loaders there to stack the truck again. More work next week, blacking in a warehouse-cum-shooting stage for a car commercial.

Same as Hollywood, the riggers don't get the glam or the big cash, but they do have steadier work. Smart move taking those rigging courses, it's starting to pay off finally. I may tell the film business to go flip.

Nah, I'd miss it too much.

I even found a lone VB at the bottom of the fridge which is now at the bottom of my belly. Should help me sleep into the middle of what normal people call morning. The trick to working night hours is to get asleep before the sun rises, because after it comes up you're fucked. And so I'm off.

Goodnight moon.

2009-07-16T20:56:00.004+10:00

Went in to Melbourne early this morning to hang a lighting truss @ Melbourne Town Hall for a little bit of light theatre. Some dinner/boxing match televised on Foxtel. I can't think of a worse way to eat than watching two people pummel each other. It's a bit Rome, isn't it?

Production hired a bunch of labor guys so the Head rigger and I could really concentrate on setting points in the roof. That was nice, it's been a pretty long time since I felt even a little bit skilled and semi important.

Anyway, by now the second course is served and the bell's been rung a few times. At about 1:30AM I'll be back in to shoo the drunk people out and break it all down again.

I should be done early morning. I hope I don't sleep all day tomorrow, I'm really hanging to finish my pancake project, I only have one more set of sides to make, the box tops to cut out, and a carrier to make.

Still no word on the big shows, but rigging looks to be quite brisk through the new year if nothing else comes along. Opera season starts soon!

The kids are totally manic. I think they're still a bit sick. Work being sporadic doesn't help anyone's mood. TV doesn't help either, but it's been raining a lot and there's only so much markers and transformers you can play with. Kai does well when we do get him outside, he helped me stack the wood of three or four big deadfall branches.

I've got some old fence torn out down in the gully on the side of the house. I'm doing the labor part of clearing out and getting ready for new retaining walls. Luckily so much of the yardwork is simple physical labor. I don't need materials or tools, just time, which is cheap at the moment.

I realized today the precise time of day that is my favorite is when I'm in the shop and the car pulls into the drive and the kids get out. They run to my door and bang on it. It's such a great moment when they first come inside and are all excited to see me. To be in that private space with me. They're always torn between telling me what happened before that moment in their lives, and looking all around trying to figure out the meaning of all those odd things I have packed into the space. I'm bombarded with a thousand questions in the first two minutes.

'What's this for?'

'Why is this like this?'

'Why did you do this?'

'Can I have this?'

'Can I see that?'

'Can you get that down for me?'

Hopefully a shop will always be part of our history, and a lot of their memories of me will be tied to a building like that, filled with tools and mystery, and smelling of sawdust.

2009-07-15T15:49:00.003+10:00

Holy Boring day. Got Kai to school just barely on time this morning. Li and I went to Bunnings to buy glue. We all took naps. Jo had an appointment. My life is so blah right now I could get full coverage up on a single twittertweet.

Gotta cut tops for the pancake sets and build a carrier (he's paying enough for swishy little details), but I won't get to that until Friday. Which is when someone will probably call me in to work somewhere.