Bobbsy

Frankly I've never been able to tell the difference between gammon and ham. The technical difference in definition is that gammon is the leg of pork cured as part of the whole side of pork then cut off while ham is the leg cut off then cured. Even in the UK I'd buy them interchangeably. Try any of the hams available at all supermarkets or butchers--find one that appeals to you (smoked or not smoked etc.) and give it a try. I wouldn't spend huge amounts of money to get gammon when the differences are negligible.

I hope it's as Johndoe says. This is a no win situation for outside intervention. Assad is a vicious despot who has killed several hundred thousand of his citizens (and has links with international terrorism) while the rebels are heavily infiltrated by the actual international terrorists and will guarantee years of sectarian violence. If the yanks do get involved though, I hope they have incontrovertible evidence they can share with the Russians that it WAS Assad. Even if the Russians don't actively support an attack, I suspect evidence that Assad has gone rogue will help keep them quiet.

I just re-read your post and noticed your doozy about "incremental solutions". Do you know how ridiculous that would be when it comes to pulling thousands of miles of fibre and mains cabling to the nodes, installing the nodes and then finding the technology is flawed and inadequate. Fibre to the home IS the cheaper, faster alternative for the future. Although they're offering up to 100Mb now, the fibre part of the infrastructure can go up to gigabits. If the coalition do get in then you better get used to eating crow in four of five years when you find their NBN "solution" is inadequate for the new things you wish to do on line--but can't because the last 500 metres is Telstra's rubbish old copper wire network. As an engineer who actually knows what he's talking about (as opposed to a politician who hasn't a clue) posted to me today "Telstra's copper network has failed Australians for years. It's not future proof...it's not even water proof".

BT in the UK is "gambling" several times that on the future bandwidth planning based on the estimates from him and his department when he worked there. More recently he left BT and now consults for a large number of technology based companies. I just did some Googling and found his current web site: IAN PEARSON. If he's a fruit cake an awful lot of large companies enjoy cake.

Well, on the fun side, he predicted electronic pets would be the next big fad. This was 1995 and Tamagotchis came out in 1996 in Japan and '97 in the rest of the world. One a more serious note, he was pretty much spot on with the growth in bandwidth availability and requirements. He had ADSL starting to take off in 2000--and, in the UK at least, that was spot on. He predicted smart phones for 2006. The first iPhone came out in January 2007. He predicted the growth of video streaming and VoIP technologies just as they've happened. He predicted that wifi hotspots would become common in public gather spots...think Starbucks and McDonalds. Etc. Anyway, perhaps your life hasn't been changed by the internet as much as my family but we were talking about this just the other day. I'm retired from doing sound for a living but a few weeks back I was contacted by a director I'd worked with in the UK about 10 years ago, asking about a particular sound effect. This was 10PM Aus time. I found the effect and sent it to him (actually to his sound op) within about five minutes. I got another message moments later asking if I could modify the effect slightly which I did then sent a second version. All this happened in real time over about a 15 minute period while actors were actually on stage--and nobody batted an eye lide about getting an effect in real time from 10,000 km away. This is just a tiny example. Or, how about Adobe announcing earlier this year that they'll stop selling their Creative Suite software. Instead, it's now on a subscription basis and you get the software you need from "the cloud" as required. It's all build around collaboration with people who might be in the next office or half way around the world. Tell graphic artists, video editors, web developers or audio noise boys like me we don't need high speed internet access. Or, at the most basic level, I can't think of an evening in the past 5 years where my wife and I weren't discussing something, not been able to remember the name of an actor...or city...or river...or whatever and just Google it instantly rather than just sit there wondering. Our 8 year old can't conceive of a world where you don't have access to the entire collection of human knowledge by tapping a few keys. Or how about me waiting for a heart operation--I live in Toowoomba and my cardiologist is in Brisbane...but my GP gets electronic copies of my Brisbane cardiograms while the cardiologists get results of my weekly blood tests. All this requires bandwidth. At to the above the fact that the bandwidth into any home now tends to be shared among a number of devices--our family of 3 has 4 laptops, an iPad and 3 smart phones, all sharing access to our measly 4Mbps ADSL line. Sorry, but the growth of bandwidth needs is going to keep growing at a surprising rate and there will be uses we haven't even thought of yet. It's time for some bold new technology, not outdated party political ideology. Not having the proper NBN will be a disaster for Australia.

You're pretty sure of yourself. However, I wouldn't assume that Assad is a nice guy who wouldn't use chemical weapons. He's an evil despot with a history of supporting terrorism. His government is/was known to have large stocks of chemical weapons salted away. You don't spend the money on making such things unless you're at least thinking of using them. I don't know who was responsible for the chemical attack outside Damascus and neither do you. However, if I had to bet I'd say the odds slightly favour the Syrian government rather than the rebels.

That $94 billion number for the Labor NBN is a number that the LNP plucked out of the air. There is little or no evidence to support it. It may go over the original $44.1 billion but not by anything like that much. The Liberal plan isn't isn't a V8 Commodore. It's a 20 year old mini with a serious oil leak. I hear what you say about not needing the NBN now but ten years ago you wouldn't have believed you needed the ADSL speeds which are already inadequate for many people. In ten years time we'll be using the internet for things not even dreamt of today. To not plan for that--and the Liberal scheme barely caters for today's needs, much less the future--is short sighted in the extreme. I'll bet you a pint or three that in five years time you'll wish you had fibre (if the LNP get in) and in ten years time whichever government is in power will be spending many more billions playing catch up. This isn't just me by the way. Some years back (while in the UK) I was lucky to participate in a BBC-sponsored think tank about future technology. The most interesting person there was the BT "Futureologist"...the man who predicts technology trends to help BT plan their network. One of his key predictions was that, before 2020, huge numbers of people will be telecommuting rather than actually travelling to work. The same guy predicted that, by 2025, virtual reality will be such that you will be able to live anywhere you like in the world and work anywhere, all via electronic communication. (He also predicted that national governments as we know them will disappear by 2030--when all work and commerce is in a virtual world, how can a national government raise taxes and be relevant?) I don't know about that but I've been following his predictions and, so far, he's been right to within a year or two each time. The Labour NBN can handle all that. The Liberal one can't and will need replacing within less than a decade. This is a question for engineers and scientists, not politicians.

It's not just the Foxtel link (although that's part of it) but Murdoch has a right win agenda that's obvious all over the world. The fact that he's allowed to own 70% of the print media in Australia plus a huge chunk of broadcasting is appalling. NOBODY (right or left) should have that sort of stranglehold over the media we can see. They're moving to IP products but would prefer to do so over their own cable network so they can control what you see. With the NBN you could just as easily subscribe to BBC iPlayer international as the Foxtel channels (just as an example). As for the coalition NBC being "fast enough" that'll depend on where you live. Speeds on FTTN systems drop rapidly as the distance from the node increases. At 300 meters the MAXIMUM will be about 20 Mbps and even that will rely on your copper being in good shape (which much of the Telstra network patently is not). However, think of how your internet needs have grown over the last 10 or 15 years. In about 2000 I moved from a 14.2 dial up system to a 56k one and thought it was great. Within 2 years I moved from dial up to 512k ADSL and THAT was great. Less that 2 years later I moved to 8 Mbps ADSL and THAT was great. However, since moving to Australia, distance to the exchange and crappy copper wiring mean that now I'm running at about 4Mbps and curse that speed daily, especially as our household has three computers, 3 smart phones, a netbook and a tablet. The need for digital bandwidth will only increase and likely exponentially. Investment in FTTN will be a waste of money that'll have to be replaced in a few years anyway. Abbott's plan will be a disaster for Australia.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (who support two hospitals in the Damascus area) have confirmed that they treated around 3500 people (of whom 355 died, including 2 doctors) suffering from the effects of neurotoxic agents. BBC STORY. Obviously this doesn't solve the question of who used the chemical agents but it puts paid to some commentators I've seen (mainly Assad supporters) who tried to say the video footage was faked. My mind is still open about which side did it--though if forced to bet I'd probably say it's more likely it was the government regime.

Just an FYI since you mention Ipswich...a lot of that area IS very badly prone to flooding. We know some people there and they've been flooded out twice in the past few years...even when Brisbane itself is fine. (It's also a pretty grotty bogan-esque area in my opinion...but that's just me.)

We have contents insurance with Suncorp...not the cheapest but they allowed us to list some high value items (like my sound mixer) without batting an eye and offer a "new for old" replacement deal so there's no negotiating about what your 3 year old computer (or whatever) is worth. We've put this to the test once and they were great--my wife got a brand new laptop after pouring vodka and coke into her old one. Edited to Ad: In my experience some place do ask about the details of the property even just for contents insurance...when I asked I was told that the type of construction affects the risk--an all wood house in a fire area is more likely to destroy the contents than a brick house in the middle of town.

If you want to see REALLY poor quality electrical work, you needed to visit my old house in Bedfordshire. It was a downright death trap--done by a "qualified" British electrician. That's the rub. UK law says an electrician must be qualified but there are no government qualifications, just a British Standard (or, rather, series of British Standards) they're supposed to work to. If nobody notices a problem and complains they can keep working. Membership and registration in the NIEEIC is volutary. Obviously anyone in the know should insist on such a registration but how many people understand that? If a guy turns up at the door in a van saying "XYZ Electrical" is anyone going to stop them. Certainly a lot of British electricians feel bitter when they move to Australia and have to pass all the tests for certification but if it truly is "de-skilling' why do they also have problems passing the exams? It's more a case that systems and standards are different here. Indeed, the UK is unusual in world terms with its use of ring mains and the like--the system in Australia is much more like you'd find in most G20 countries. In any case, as others have pointed out, if your British electrician in Australia has not passed the appropriate courses and certificates then his work will be illegal whatever he and you say about his skill level. Frankly, for just changing plugs, most people ignore that requirement anyway but that's down to individual choice.

Load of absolute tosh. In the UK there's no formal qualification for electricians. Joe Bloggs can wake up one morning, decide he wants to be a sparks and start working on people's homes. The only "sort of" quaification is membership in the professional body the NICEIC but that's not compulsory. In Australia, to work as an electrician, you have to pass a formal test with both written and practical segments. In what way do you think standards are low?

Another "don't remove the plugs" answer. I used the solution of taking a couple of British six way short extension cord and changed the plugs on the end when I arrived. This gave some breathing space when we first arrived while I gradually changed plugs as I found them--and even six years on they get used for wall-wart things that can't be changed. I don't recommend the use of basic adaptors unless you know your way around electrics...many adaptors are for light duty only and many others don't connect the earth pin. Finally, to end, many states make it technically illegal to change plugs for yourself, insisting you should use a licensed electrician. Despite that, you can buy plugs at any DIY centre an everyone does it...but it's worth knowing the rules in the one chance in a billion there's a problem.

I've also had a bad experience with Myer though more or less the opposite of yours. In my case, it was in the run up to Christmas and my main present for my wife was a piece of woodwork I was carefully building, staining etc. However, late afternoon while I was working, I remembered I also meant to get a bottle of her favourite perfume (Chanel No 5). The only place I knew for sure I could get it was Myer so I dashed there in my grotty, paint stained work clothes. The store itself was neat and tidy and I found what I wanted fast but, rather than a queue to pay, there was a big square counter with 3 sales assistants behind it. I walked up to one side of the counter and they studiously ignored me. I moved to another side where two of them were serving somebody else, waited my turn and when they were done they wandered to another customer who'd arrived much after me. This went on for another ten minutes and, in the end, I had to make a big fuss simply for the pleasure of giving Myer about $100. Basically, the snooty teenagers behind the counter didn't want to serve somebody in grotty working clothes. (FYI I put in a formal complaint with their head office and got an almost instant reply and apology--but I've not been back in that store in 4 or 5 years..) However, despite the views of others, I have to say I found Myer to be the exception, not the rule. The staff at all the shops I deal with regularly are generally friendly, helpful and up for a chat. Frankly, they're way better than my local Tesco back in the UK which seemed to be staffed with people chosen for their hatred of other human beings.

If the local prices were only 10% more than the overseas internet ones I might have some sympathy, but..... Seriously, retailers with shops will always be more expensive--they have far more in terms of overheads. This applies anywhere, not just Australia. However, they can make the difference worthwhile with good service, something all too many of them forget. Again, this isn't just Australia--indeed, I've found more surly sales staff in UK outlets than most Aussie ones. Finally, the quality difference is simply not something I've found. The shorts and T shirts I bought on sale at Big W six years ago are still going strong and lasting just as well as the Tesco jeans I also have.

Of course they work but the large dishes tracking them are VERY directional. Had the signals not been coming actually from the Sea of Tranquility (for example) the Russians would have worked that out instantly. There's no way to fake that. Look at it another way though. Have you ever heard of a government competent enough to organise a conspiracy involving hundreds of people (Diana) or thousands of people (the moon landing) and keep it secret for decades? I think these are circumstances where Occam's razor probably gives the correct answer.

Of course Australia isn't a "paradise". It's a good place to live (at least in my opinion) but it has its rough bits just like its great bits. As for that TV story: First, A Current Affair is tabloid telly at its worst. Second, stories like home invasions get reported because they're so unusual. The time to worry will be when things like that DON'T make it onto a national prime time current affairs show.

The earth and moon would both move with relation to any satellite, whether in lunar or earth orbit--way too easy to detect. As for robotics doing the job, frankly the state of computer science in 1969 would have made landing a man easier. The computers used in the Apollo Command and Lunar capsules had less computing power than a musical birthday card.

Russia was watching like a hawk. Had the radio and TV signals not come from the moon they would have screamed instantly for the propaganda value. For that matter, if you''re an amateur physicist, you can bounce a laser off the reflector they left there and measure the distance to within centimeters. Thousands of students have done that--and it would be impossible if somebody hadn't been there to place the reflector. As for the Diana conspiracy, the driver was drunk and Diana didn't bother with a seatbelt. That's enough for me.

I'd agree with Jessica Berry that it should be on the "ship if there's room without extra cost" list. Do you have the original packaging to put it in (the cardboard box and form fitting styrofoam stuff). If so, there should be no problem shipping--but if you have to rely on bubble wrap and home packaging there's always a chance of damage--things in containers can slide around a fair bit. The main thing is preserving the data which you're doing on the external HDDs anyway. FYI, when we moved we had two laptops and a desktop...we brought the laptops and an external drive (backing up the desktop) as hand luggage but didn't bother with the desktop.

Congratulations! We could almost have waved to each other in the air--my six year anniversary was the 14th!

As has been said, it would be illegal to plug in your British phone here due to the lack of the proper approval, just as it's illegal in the UK to plug in gear without that green triangle. Your chances of getting caught are small but, should you ever need to have an engineer come out they can refuse to fix your line and charge you a fair bit of money for the wasted journey if they see an unapproved phone. FYI, if your phone is a DECT one, it WOULD work here with the appropriate mains adaptor for the charging unit--but with wall warts, such an adaptor would be bulky and prone to falling out of the mains socket. As for the phone socket on the wall, there are two types in use here: an older one known as a 610 and, in any modern installation, an RJ11. You'd have to change the cable coming out of your phone to one of these. Frankly, I'm in agreement with those who've said "don't bother...it's not worth the hassle".

Back in the 1980s I lived a few years just down the road in Berkhamsted. Like most of the new towns the centre of Hemel was a bit boring (the old town was nice) but I don't remember it being THAT bad and there were a few nice pubs along the canal too!

May I be wishy washy and say "a bit of both"? Certainly my normal instincts are to be a night owl. There have been times in the past when I worked from home for a few weeks solid and my sleeping/waking hours quickly evolved into going to bed at 2-2:30 AM and waking up 8 hours later. Without any pressures on me over my sleeping habits, I still gravitate to that sort of time. However, that said, once I'm up, I seem to have the most energy and work my most effectively in the morning. I tend to taper off as the day goes on and evenings are for relaxing, not working.