Strathmore Boys

A request for Bretty

2007-05-17T00:07:00.000+10:00

As per your request Bretty. Plus a few more.

cheers

Scott

No 10

2007-05-16T08:19:00.000+10:00

Popped in at No. 10 today to say farwell to Tony.

Scott

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T22:27:00.000+11:00

Hi All,

If you didn’t know already, I kept up an online Weblog – kind of like a diary – of our family activities for the year. Here’s a summary with all the links if you’re interested. It was a good experiment, and an interesting way of keeping up with all the stuff we did. There is much finer reading by going through the archive sets.

In January we had the Crying Baby, and The First Day Of School.

In February we had The Story of Wednesday (the Dog), Callum's so called First Word (and he still doesn't talk), and our favourite past time of Going to the Beach.

In March we had Callum's Chickenpox, Sleepy Children, The Golden Crutch (one of my literary masterworks), and my first Taekwondo grading.

April brought the first of the birthdays with Aidan's birthday, Stupid Faces, Our Melbourne Trip including Going to the Zoo with all the nieces and nephews, and Ethan having a Heart Attack at soccer.

In May we had Six Strange Things About Me, Hell Morning followed by Aidan's Child of Courage Award, Anth's Birthday, and my first trip to the U.S. for the year.

For the first part of June I was in the U.S., but I did have the good fortune of seeing my Sister and Her Family. On the return I got to see Callum Crawling and had My Birthday.

In July, we saw what it was like to have Dinner at our Place, Discussed God, had Ethan's teeth fall out, and had Ethan's Sports Day.

In August Ethan got the Taekwondo Student of the Month Award, I did the Bridge to Brisbane run (and paid for it for months!), went to the Ekka, Went to a Farm, and had Aidan's Sports Day.

September brought forth Aidan's Charity Art Auction night, spring Callum eating Chocolate, and had Callum's First Birthday

In October I went down to New South Wales to watch the AFL Grand Final with mates, Callum stood for the first time, I headed back to the U.S. again and wasn't home for Ethan's birthday, and Callum really got going walking.

In November Ethan took up Auskick, we had family outings to the Park, and I got very very sick.

Which brings us to December, where we've already had many trips to the beach, we completed nearly a whole year of Taekwondo (including with Snake!), we got our new Bird Beefy, and recently celebrated Christmas.

Cheers, Wes (and Anth, Aidan, Ethan, Callum, Wednesday and Beefy).

P.S. I haven't stopped completely, I'm going to attempt a new blog called I Love Brisbane. Check it out!

More XMAS photos

2006-12-24T15:34:00.000+11:00

Just posting some more xams photos.

2007 Strathmore Boys AGM

2006-12-23T14:54:00.000+11:00

The Annual 2007 AGM has now been and gone and from a personal stand point, was a great success. Thanks to all those that attended to make it the great day that it was. Rohan, Brett, Bruce, Erv, Nais, Big Dave, Ted, Spinner, Age, Dave F and Me (Goaty). The day had it all, food, alcohol, pleasant scenery, action, adventure and most of all humour. Sorry you couldn't be with us this year Wiz as well as G.T.

Thanks to Dave F for booking the lunch venue and negotiating a great price as well as a special gift. Thats as close to doing a runner from lunch as we will ever get. Obviously the staff at Mesh aren't known for their mathematical genuis. It's going to be hard to top that next year. Lunch could have gone for longer, especially being a buffett but that was more than made up for by the generous invitation to carry on our Annual General Meeting aboard Incentive 3. Many thanks to Rohan for making the boat available, as well as taking us for a cruise to Station Pier. Special thanks to Nais for showing off his newly learnt boating skills and piloting the vessel, at least through the easy stretches.

I think we will all be thankful that Rohan avoided parking the boat at Table 13 in Capari during our hasty exit from Station Pier. An excellent piece of driving, seconded only by the pick up of Spinner off a lonely jetty under the West Gate.

Well, thats it for another Christmas Lunch, stay safe and have a Merry Christmas.
I have attached some photos for the benefit of those who couldn't joint us and those who can't recollect.

Cheers
Scott

Grand final

2006-09-22T17:01:00.000+10:00

G'Day Fellas,

The concrete for the pool was poured hours ago so I can rest easy. Looking forward to the Grand Final weekend, also happy to be a part of the Strathmore Boys. As an outsider I'm honoured.

The King is dead !!

2006-09-08T18:05:00.000+10:00

The King is Dead.

Long live the King !!!

Trip to the U.S.

2006-06-11T21:23:00.000+10:00

G'day Boys,

I just got to spend a fortnight in the U.S., predominantly in Florida at a conference. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend most of the time right on the beach. The conference hotel was in Clearwater, and backed onto the Gulf of Mexico. Each evening we had some amazing sunsets, and this shot captures one of them.

On the weekend I was free from the constraints of work, I ventured down Route 75 to visit my sister and her family, who live on Sanibel Island. It took about 3 hours to get there, but I managed to do it without getting lost too much. It was great to catch up with everyone, and although the heat of the day was more or less unbearable. Tania and Mark are doing well, and Mark is winning lots of awards for his TV commercial work. He even got one in the Superbowl last year. His web site Trademark Films shows a lot of his work.

We also took a drive up to Captiva Island, where I couldn't resist the urge to behave like the great white whale, and get my kit off for a swim. Well, actually, in an effort not to shock the retirees that live there, I did display a modicum of decency by keeping my pants on. I could here the shock of some of the old folks saying "Oh My God, Look at Whitey and the glare coming off his body. Heaven save us." whilst other's quietly murmured "Should we call the coast guard to shift the beached whale?" I was able to ignore this and float around with Mark and the kids.

I also spent a day up in St Louis, where I was hoping to try to come close to matching Detto by getting a flight in an F-18 Super Hornet simulator. Not quite the real thing, but fun anyway. But it didn't happen, so I can say I saw one, but that's about on the par of watching an SS Commodore pass you at the lights. I'm still not in the Detto league yet!

Cheers, Whiz.

The best day ever - Driving Real F1's

2006-05-31T04:14:00.000+10:00

Guys, I had a once in lifetime opportunity to go F1 driving at La Luc motoring racing circuit in France yesterday. This was a reward for our results last year for our global team.
Can't truly describe the experience only the best activity ever day, actual F1 cars from the AGS team in 2000 amazing and powerful at 650bhp, scary at 300km with 3g's on breaking and just plain wow.....and very special feeling and day....anyway had to share this one.......

Greetings from Monaco

2006-05-29T02:51:00.000+10:00

greetings from the Monaco GP, had a meeting with my SAP global team this week in Nice, and we went along to the Monaco GP today, great venue, lots of babes and boats.......Webber did well was leading for a while before his car stopped and caught fire...catch ya Paul

40th Birthday Party

2006-05-21T17:35:00.000+10:00

Guys

Just want to thank you all for a great 40th Birthday Party. Both Donna and I were blown away by the generosity of your gift and can't wait to go and climb the famous "coat hanger". Once again, we both thank you all, even those of you who couldn't join us (Wiz and Erv), you missed a good night. Looking forward to the next major 40th celebration in September. It should be a huge night. :-)

Just on a side note, I have found some evidence on how the red wine may have been spilt in Harry's bedroom. See attached photographic evidence obtained around 0300 hours!!

Grand Final Weekend - Decision Time

2006-05-16T22:42:00.000+10:00

Gents

I'll just take a moment to transcribe what has been circulated so far on the google groups email.

Nais has tracked down some flights from Melb to Newcastle.

Friday 29th Jetstar 11.15 am arrive Newcastle 12.40 pm $69
Sunday 1st October 1.35 pm arrive Melb 3.10 pm $89

All up fares under $180, need to be booked by Friday.

Erv also informs us that a Digital set Top Box has been installed at the hall this past weekend. (all is good)

Wiz isn't confirmed yet but looks likely to be in.

Nais, count me in, i think we should jump on the flights ASAP. We may have to do a ring around to make sure everyone is on board. Let me know.

Hopefully we can keep this conversation within the blog comments section.

Scott

Footy Wrap Up, Week Six

2006-05-10T22:28:00.000+10:00

Ok, so at the start of the season, even though Carlton did just average, I thought that we were going to be in for a better year than last. I got sucker punched with bravado by the first round, when we beat Melbourne, but since then its been pretty average, even though we haven't been losing by that much. I skipped writing about last week. But I have to write about the debacle which was last weekend.

What the hell happened. At half time we were in front. In FRONT god dammit. What, it rained and we couldn't stand getting our boots wet? So the CollyWobblers are now on top of the ladder, and if it weren't for Brisbane, we'd be on the bottom. This weeks coming game against Essendon almost looks like the battle for the Bottom!

The Cats have come off the boil, and Melbourne are back on. St Kilda are up again. The Bulldogs are running out of puff, but they are still having the most watchable games. I love watching them play. Freo turned up the books on West Coast. Adelaide pumped port at Derby day. I can just picture Brucey there. Essendon keep losing. The lions keep losing. Sydney keep playing the worst style of play. And the Kunk-A-Roo's finally made good against Hawthorn. This has got to be one of the most unpredictable seasons, it seems even more so than last year!

Still, Carn the Blues, Whiz.

Footy Wrap Up, Week Four

2006-04-26T22:06:00.000+10:00

Ok, I was slack last week, but I was also too upset with the disgusting decision set down upon Fev when he was given a week off, and yet a Fremantle player can king hit behind the play and get off. What a joke the tribunal system is at the moment.

Anyways, it looks like the footy is coming back to some semblance of reality, with Carlton slowly making there way down the ladder. My only solace is that the Bully's keep defying the odds and winning some heart stoppers along the way. Great performance and game against Geelong, showing how a real game of footy should be played.

Brisbane are certainly on the slide. Its amazing how the local press just ignore AFL if Brisbane drops off. Surprisingly, they haven't ripped into the side yet, rather they focus on the NRL Bronco's and Cowboys, who get about 16 pages to the AFL's 2. Still its just the reverse in Melbourne, so I shouldn't complain.

Some games, I just didn't care about. So Adelaide won. Big Whoop, except now they're 3-1. West Coast one again, and if it weren't for the Bully's, they'd be on top. Melbourne beat the ugliest team players in the league, Sydney. Bad luck boys, kicking backwards is now loosing you matches.

Port beat St Kilda in another interesting game. It wasn't that much of a spectacle, as it was all catch up, but Port should have won by a lot more in the end, so credit to the Saints. The big surprise for me was Collingwood ripping into the Bombers. Goata would have reason to smile as the Colly-Wobblers are now 3-1 and Didak's kicking goals!

C'mon the Blues, Whiz.

Footy Wrap Up, Week Two

2006-04-09T22:12:00.000+10:00

So boys, is it too early to be whinging about the umpires already. But Fair Dinkum, if Freemantle hadn't got 4 suss goals from free kicks in the first quarter, it might have been a different story out Subiaco way. Ok ok, I'm biased, but the old Bluey's are still playing well above their so called form. Next week should be interesting with Sydney.

Speaking of Sydney, it would seem like they and Essendon are finally going to suffer for their crap "kick backwards" style of play. There's no flow, everything is about holding up and looking for the best way forward to goal. To me it is totally uninspiring, and both teams are getting what they deserve with losses. It would seem this afternoon that the only reason they came back was they decided to actually go direct instead of piss farting around.

Geelong and West Coast are showing some excellent starting form, and the Cats are mind blowing at the moment, although the home ground seems to help. The big surprise continues to be the Bulldogs, who also look fantastic when you watch them. Now that's the kind of footy I like, fast, quick and direct, with massive tackling efforts.

And this week, at least Goaty gets to be happy with a win on the board for the Woodsmen.

Go Blues, Whiz.

P.S. Anyone interested in going to Sydney/Carlton next Saturday night at the Telstra Dome?

2006-04-07T15:44:00.000+10:00

Well lads, I've finally got a few moments to try this site. Thought I would take the opportunity to update you all with Emily and her treatment. As per Bruce's update a week or so ago, Emily has completed the last of her Radiation treatments. I've got to say, we're very happy to have it finished. We did a house swap for the last two weeks and lived at friends of Michelle's parents in Richmond during the Games which certainly made life a little easier without the travelling and broke it up a bit. Inner city living was quite enjoyable.
Emily has handled the whole prceedure better than we could have hoped for. She has shown herself to be a fighter and takes it all on board. She has lost her hair at the back of her head and it may not grow back but that's not a big deal in the scheme of things. Upart from that she looks great and is bouncing off the walls. You can't beat the resilience of a 3 year old. I'de hate to think how one of us would handle it - winge winge winge.
The program from here is a general appointment with the doctors next week followed by an MRI scan in about five weeks. This scan will then be the litmus test for the future with another scan in three months. They will then compare the two to establish if the tumour (cancer) is growing or not. We will have 3 monthly scans for a while and hopefully they will then move out to 6 month and then annually. We remain positve about the whole thing and hope for the best.
Well that about covers it. Hope to catch up soon and look forward to the Chandlers 40th to have a beer or 12.

Footy Wrap Up, Week One

2006-04-04T22:17:00.000+10:00

Well, I gotta say, I'm happy. I sat, listening to 3AW over the Net, with baby Callum asleep on my lap, wanting to jump up and go "Da Da Da Da Da" with Rexy, but unable to. Dave and Tink know what I would have been thinking. First time in several seasons, we won in the first round. Is it too early to say, "The Bluey's are Back?" (I was saying it last year after the pre-season, and look where it got us...)

In my recollections, the happiest of us has to be Age-ah. Go Kanga's. Highest position of the Strathmore Boys supporters on the ladder. Then I was tossing up whether it would be Brucey next, given that he's now defacto Adelaide, and he has the added bonus of the Bomber's big win following up behind it. Next we'd have Nais, Bretty, Ro, Detto and Erv on the Bomber's bandwagon. Erv would have to be a little sad over beating Sydney, but you can't have it all. Me, Tinks and Big Dave as mentioned previously are ecstatic for our win, which really only leave's Goaty to lament yet another year of potential misery with the Colly-Wobbles. Still, away, in Adelaide, it would have been a big ask, much like the Saints at West Coast.

Now, you've also gotta be happy when the biggest win of the week goes to the good ol' Scraggers. Go Doggies! Interesting season ahead.

Go Blues, Whiz.

Google Groups - Strathmore Boys

2006-04-04T22:02:00.000+10:00

Fellow Strathmore Boys,

At Detto's request, I have put together a group mailing list on Google Groups to facilitate the automatic posting of new Blog Entries, and new Blog Comments. Detto was concerned that if he didn't get an e-mail, how was he going to know that there was something new on the blog. Must be tough in the high flying world, where browsing just doesn't happen!! You should all get an e-mail about it, and hopefully a follow up e-mail about this post!

Anyways, Here are the essentials:

Group name: Strathmore Boys
Group home page: http://groups.google.com/group/StrathmoreBoys
Group email address StrathmoreBoys@googlegroups.com

Note, that the main reason I created this page was as a multi-email list so we'd get Blog notifications. That's really all its for! Hopefully its gonna work.

Cheers, Whiz.

Dream Team Fantasy Game

2006-03-28T13:43:00.000+11:00

The kids have started a league at the AFL site's fantasy footy game.

The Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Dream Team is the FREE Fantasy Football competition at the Official Website of the Australian Football League! It is an online game of skill, where you pick a team of real Aussie Rules players who score points based on real statistics. Your team's performance is measured against other users, based on real football performances throughout the season!

Feel free to join or get the kids to join. Let's face it its not going to be much chop watching the Bombers or the Blues this year.

To join the League, please click on this link and register:http://afl.virtualsports.com.au/?p=register&iid=69692

Our LEAGUE CODE: 758666

Tinks

2006-03-28T09:06:00.000+11:00

Spoke with Grant yesterday after the completion of Emily's final treatment. That's right, after 33 days of general anesthetic Emily has completed her radiation treatment. Emily has handled the treatment very well. In listening to Grant's voice yesterday he was clearly wrapped that it was over and that the Tinker family could try and get back to some form of normality.

Grant was not clear as to the next step of the process, but this significant hurdle had been cleared. I'm sure if he gets some time over the next couple of weeks that he will update us all.

The Fitzgeralds are looking forward to having the Tinkers back over to our home in SA in the next couple of weeks. Although the pool temperature has dropped a few degrees over recent weeks, I'm sure that the kids will enjoy catching up, whilst the adults consume some high quality local produce!

Cheers
Bruce

Chirstmas Skiing in Denn

2006-03-27T22:22:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,

I know it's early to talk about Water Skiing at X-Mas, however, lock it in your calanders. I have booked 3 sites at Denneliquin, McLeans Beach (the one with the nice beach and facilities), for camping 3 sites from the Wed 27/12/05 to Monday 01/01/07 so please come and join us.

There is also an option of cabins for the soft ones...however, we would need to book these soon, each cabin as one double and 2 sets of bunks...cost is $75 per night for 2 adults, extra adults is $10 per night and kids $6 per night. So let me know if you are thinking of comming and also if you would like to book a cabin or camp.

The Murray Self Contained - Mclean Beach Caravan Park
Self Contained Accommodation in The Murray, New South Wales. About Australia offers Self Contained information for all regions of New South Wales and ...www.about-australia.com/.../the-murray/ accommodation/self-contained/mclean-beach-caravan-park

anyway lock it in,
Regards, Paul

Regards, Paul

Boyz lunch next Friday 7th April

2006-03-27T22:16:00.000+11:00

Hi Guys,
so hopefully you are reading this, this blogger stuff has stretched me a little I must be loosing it...

anyway a link to read first.....lesbian's at Strathmore high...

Dvorak Uncensored » Lesbian T-Shirt Tizzy At SchoolA student being asked to remove a T-shirt with a lesbian slogan has sparked aprotest at a school in Melbourne’s northwest. About 30 students at Strathmore ...www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=4312 - 54k - Cached - Similar pages

so for those that can make it next Friday for Lunch we need to pick a venue, any suggestions?

Regards, Paul

Taking a Wiz in Melbourne

2006-03-25T22:57:00.000+11:00

The whole family will be coming down to Melbourne for Easter. We will be flying in on Monday 10th April, and going back to Brisbane on the 19th. This goes over the Easter break. I'm not really sure what everyone else is doing at Easter.

Our plan is to spend a few days at Anth's Brother's and Sister's places, as well as some time up at Deniliquin so that the kids can see their grandparents. We'll likely be in Deni at the start of the trip.

Its a shame we didn't get there a bit earlier for the 7th April dinner, but them's the breaks. I'll try to catch up with others over the course of the holidays, but if there is going to be a general get together over Easter at anytime (like people going down to a holiday house somewhere), let us know and we'll see what we can fit in.

Cheers, Whiz.

The AFL is back

2006-03-19T00:58:00.000+11:00

Tonight I took Ethan to his first Australian Football League game. It was a practice match between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood, played at Carrara, down on the Gold Coast. They had a practice game last year which I also went to, and this year they already have had a few games. As it says, AFL is Back! Brisbane won 14.15.99 to 12.10.82 in the end, although we didn't stay for the whole game, as Ethan got tired into the last quarter. That was ok, as I didn't really want to leave at the end with the rush out of the only exit from the carpark. They got just over 10,000 people there. Not bad for a practice game when Rugby League games struggle to get that many.

It was an interesting affair. We arrived late, just as the first quarter ended. We went to rush in, then got told we had to go an buy our tickets at a separate booth, so of course, although there was no one waiting at that time as we walked over to it, all of a sudden these Collingwood supporters came out of no-where, and jumped the queue. Ethan and I waited whilst they argued about whether they could get a seat in the stands, and there was only one ticket window open. Can you imagine how frustrating it is to stand in front of 7 ticket windows, with women behind each counting ticket sales, and wait for Collingwood supporters? Ethan also wanted to go to the loo. Fortunately, our saviour arrived when this guy offered us complimentary tickets. I took them, and we got in for nothing.

The interesting thing about Carrara is that there is a massive push to get an AFL team up there. the Southport Sharks are alledgedly trying to get North Melbourne to relocate up here, with half their games at Carrara, and the other half in Melbourne. They're supposedly very cashed up due to their Pokie revenue. Its interesting that the focus of AFL news up here, other than the Lions, has been on this. Maybe Age, you'll have to move up here!

Cheers, Whiz.

The Games

2006-03-17T08:13:00.000+11:00

Has anyone been or are going to any of the events during the Games?

Street Party: I took the kids along to the batton relay street party on Tue night. It was pretty good. Had Chritina Anu, Mark Seymour, True Live, DJ Dexter and Rogue Traders do a few songs each. I'd never heard of True Live before but was pretty impressed. A bit like Cat Empire but a bit more "rappier" but with violins and chellows. Rogue Traders were good and man what an arse on that bird, she's very hot.
Decided as a nation we're not really "party people". If this was in Sth Amer or Europe the place would have gone off but there was little more than some foot tapping. There's only so long you can stand and watch a DJ doing his stuff.

Opening Ceremony: Unexpectantly got a call for this one last minute. My sister in law had a baby the night before and didn't feel upto it. There were no problems with crowded trains or getting into the MCG at all. Couldn't believe how easy everything was. We didn't have any bags and the "no bags" line didn't have anyone in it so we walked straight in.
I was pretty crook with the flu so didn't really get in to it but it was a great show. Sat in the new MCG members stand which looks pretty impressive.

Goatie were you there working?
Anyone else go?

We've got the cycling tonight and then a couple of nights of athletics next week.

7th April Dinner

2006-03-14T19:47:00.000+11:00

Ok, now that we have established some preliminaries, what we know is that we are going out for dinner, Friday 7th April.

Venue is yet to be decided but we will probably start to gather around 6pm for a few looseners.

Acceptances: Scott, Paul (Ted), Paul (Nais), Dave, Rohan, Age

Appologies from: Bruce, Grant, Erv and Wiz.

I think Bretty may have responded, I will have to sort through my email.

More info as it comes to hand, please check the comments below for updates.

CSIRO Update

2006-03-11T11:49:00.000+11:00

Well, after 9 weeks on the CSIRO diet, I have reached my target weight of 90 Kgs. That's 12 Kgs from the start date of 2/1/06. Now i'm in maintenance mode. Looking forward to my first donut of the year. Actually, i'm not really!

I would like to thank my sponsors, The Meat and Livestock Association of Australia as well as the Vegetable Growers Association. They have both profited highly from this exercise. It's definately cheaper eating Carbs!!

I actually had a large pizza last night and I couldn't finish it without feeling like my stomach would explode. I think my stomach has shrunk. May have to order a medium from now on. I finished it all anyway :-)

P.S. Donna has lost 4 Kg as well. Not bad for a girl who turned 40 today!!!

How to do a Post

2006-03-10T23:15:00.000+11:00

I thought I'd put up a quick message to remind people how to put up Posts, because you're probably sick to death of just reading my diatribe. I also thought I'd include a picture of me from Movie World, because I just signed up for a yearly pass, but I still haven't got to go on the Superman rollercoaster yet. I have to work out a way that I can sneak down there by myself, but I digress.

To make a post, you have to login. Over on the right menu there is an icon which says "I Power Blogger". You can just click on this. Alternatively, go to http://www.blogger.com and login that way. You will need to use the same Name/Password that you chose to Contribute with.

That should take you to an area where you will get an option to Create posts. Have a go and see what you can put up. Don't worry about stuffing up. A few of us have already tried, and if I can do it, anyone can. You'll get a simple editor where you can just type stuff in. If you've used Word you'll be sweet.

If you have a new topic to start, ie organising the next boy's get together, create a new post.

If you want to continue a thread about what someone is already talking about, just click on the "commment" link under the original post and post a comment for that post, ie, responding to an invitation to attend a boy's get together. etc etc.

Remember to check the number of comments under each main post as someone may have entered a comment there and gone unnoticed.

Cheers, Whiz.

Goaty Famous Again

2006-03-04T22:26:00.000+11:00

Anth told me she saw Goaty on the Telly tonight. See if you can spot him here (You'll need broadband connection to watch the video). The evidence does show that he has lost all of the weight too. Go Goata!!!

Apparently he was also on some of the other news channels, but I couldn't find any other feeds.

Cheers, Whiz.

Grand Final 2006

2006-02-21T14:28:00.000+11:00

Gents

This may seem a bit early to be talking about this, considering the misery for some of us hasn't even started yet, but what are some thoughts about this years grand final.

I think we would all agree that last years road/air trip was a stunning success, thanks largely to the great organisation and hospitality of Erv as well as Kate.
Personally, I had a great time.

I'm not sure what others think but why couldn't we do that each year or even every second year. We could look at other venues to see whats available. Rohan and Ted may even offer up a weekend down the Great Ocean Road. Now that the Hunter is Erv's main place of residence, it may make it hard to take it over for the weekend. We will be guided by Erv on that matter.

The women certainly have their fair share of dinners and outings so we need to get off our bums and lock in something like this early.

Please post your thoughts on this subject using the comment button at the end of this post. Hopefully everyone gets to see this posting.

It's Very Quiet!

2006-02-21T08:49:00.000+11:00

Guys

Very quiet on the Blog front. Is that because everyone is very busy or are doing nothing?

The biggest news I've got is that Myles is into the State Athletic Championships in the 400 metres. With a slight possibility of the 800 metres as well. We've had to get him a coach for the last couple of weeks to get him "ready". The Championships are in Bendigo in 2 weeks time.

There wouldn't be too many of you boys looking forward to the footy season, would there???

Tinks - Emily update

2006-02-07T15:31:00.000+11:00

I was talking with Grant earlier today. They had just finished Emily's first treatment of radiation. "Only 32 sessions to go!" I think most of you are aware that the treatment requires Emily to go under a general anesthetic. Unfortunately Emily did not respond well when coming out of the anesthetic today. This certainly makes it harder on both Shell and Grant, as dealing with a 3 year old who is very hostile is not an easy task. Grant said that they will vary the anesthetic and hopefully get a blend that does not upset Emily as much when they bring her out of it.

I'm hoping Grant will get on line over the next couple of weeks so that he can share our support and hopefully get a few laughs from everyone's entries.

Emily arrived home a couple of hours after the treatment and Grant is pleased to report that Emily is back to her normal cheeky self!

With six weeks of daily treatment (weekends off!) they are all taking it one day at a time. I'm sure you will all join me in wishing the Tinkers all the success over the next couple of months.

Ghosts of the Past

2006-02-03T00:19:00.000+11:00

Well Boys, I've been looking through some of my old electronic pics, and I came across a couple of gems from Bruce's Wedding. Can you remember going for a swim in a particular reception centre's pool. The obvious shots are Erv and Age-ah as Ghosts from the Past (looking mighty cut there too is young Age), but the question is - who's Ass is it. I vote Goata's!!

Cheers, Whiz.

India Trip.

2006-01-31T09:09:00.000+11:00

Boys, returned last Friday AM from 10 days in India. Amazing trip, amazing and very confronting country.

Looks like Signcraft India is a fair likelihood, with a JV 50/50 on the table for discussions in the next week or so. They have recently had an independent private business over there turn the oil industry on its head (the company - reliance - is responsible for 4% of India's GDP), meaning a huge explosion of rebranding for the remaining segment, which is all government run in a corporatized context. Try around 50,000 fuel retail outlets that will be rebranded over the next 3 years, with around 3000 new sites every year as well.

The Indian signage industry is significantly under developed and cannot hope to meet these demands. Hence they are looking to JV partners, of which we would be the second Australian company to enter the sector.

As for India, it is as dirty as buggery, the air is rotten and the poverty very confronting. The upside is the people are plesent and the opportunity is massive.

Dropped in on Ted on the way home for a night, visited the local karting centre with the big twin engine units. I will try and upload the outcome. 3 wheeler karts are difficult to stear! Ted managed to avoid the $90 demands for damages and repairs!

Nice to be home, I have threatened the kids to take them to India next time they complain, so they really have something to whinge about.

Speak soon.

Age was Added!

2006-01-30T22:02:00.000+11:00

Hi All,
Since Goaty has given me Admin rights, I've added Age to the list of invitees, and resent a request to Rohan who has had a few problems connecting up. Hopefully that should cover off everyone.
I've made some minor mods to the way the page lays out, but nothing significant. Everything is set to keep the page pretty much unique to only our group of invitees, which I think was Goaty's intent. No one other than us can put up comments or write posts. If you want that to change, let Goaty know. Anyone can come and have a squiz, but given that there are over 20 million Blogs out there now, and its growing at a rate of around 50,000 a day, I don't think people will be jumping on us if they can't comment.
I've also done some self promotion to my own Blog. It's in the sidebar so everyone can see it all the time. You can also click here <- yes the underlined highlighted word there, and it will take you to my diatribe. Nothing like an ego is there.
Cheers, Whiz.

Blogging SOP's

2006-01-30T18:54:00.000+11:00

Just for everyones info who are on board so far;

If you have a new topic to start, ie organising the nexts boy's get together, create a new post.

If you want to continue a thread about what someone is already talking about, just click on the "commment" link under the original post and post a comment for that post, ie, responding to an invitation to attend a boy's get together. etc etc.

Remember to check the number of comments under each main post as someone may have entered a comment there and gone unnoticed.

cheers
Scott
Blog Admin

Trip to Italy

2006-01-28T13:12:00.000+11:00

Chris and I are off to Tuscany in Italy for the next two weeks on Tuesday. I shall try to give you an update while on my travels if technology allows. It should be fantastico sanguinante (bloody fantastic) (except for the winter cold). We are catching up with the Deto's on the way home for a couple of days also. Goatie also is a great bloke by fixing up why washing machine issue. I hope it fits perfectly into your new laundry!!

More Shots from Outside the Pub - Xmas 2005

2006-01-26T23:59:00.000+11:00

Well gents, here are some more of the pics I took outside the University Hotel in Carlton, after our Christmas lunch in 2005. If you want the full size versions, just leave a comment or e-mail me. Enjoy, Whiz.

Lunch Pictures

2006-01-24T07:48:00.000+11:00

Wiz

Im not seeing the pics, only grey squares.

Scott

The Boys Lunch

2006-01-24T00:25:00.000+11:00

Yes I know I've been slack. I have pictures from both the boy's lunch and the Kid's Christmas party to post out to everyone, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. As a teaser, here are the two main pics from the restaurant which I took. These have been shrunk to fit easier onto the blog. If anyone wants the "full" pics, let me know and I will send them via e-mail, unless I can find an easier way to post the full size ones here somewhere.

Enjoy, Whiz.

Welcome aboard Wiz

2006-01-23T14:19:00.000+11:00

Hey Wiz

Just had a quick read through a few chapters of angry dad. Very interesting. Maybe you should commission your own comic strip. Hope all the family are well. Say hi to Anth. Where did you stay on your hoilday, the pool looks nice.

I hope all the boys give this a try as it will be easy to keep track of whats going on without having to worry whether you have everyones correct email address.

As for what i've been up to on my 5 weeks leave (which have just ended).

I've just lost 5.5 kg in 3 weeks of the CSIRO diet. Another 6.5 kg to go to get me to my fighting weight.

Spent the last 2 weeks of my holidays converting the area under the house into a laundry and storage area. Got a concrete slab laid, put up some walls and plaster, just have to construct some cupboards to put the sink into and then get a bench top.

Scott

Bruce access

2006-01-21T13:33:00.000+11:00

This all all web based so Bruce should be able to access it. I don't think they are that anal over at Detmold.

Scott

What about Bruce

2006-01-21T12:36:00.000+11:00

Hello,
Goatie how do you think this will work with Bruce in IT isolation??
Paul

Blog test

2006-01-20T22:02:00.000+11:00

This is the first post of the Strathmore Boys blog.

Scott