Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Defragging

Ah the memories, often associated in my mind with dial up internet.

I cannot remember Windows 3.1 but I certainly can remember Windows 95, which had a semi manual system for defragging your computer. I suppose I used to do it every few months, and with another system check, which I no longer remember. What is defragging? The proper word would be defragmentation, so it is correcting when everything is fragmented. It pulls together bits and pieces on your hard drive into a more orderly manner, hopefully to improve your computer's performance. 

I think we moved on to Windows 98 but certainly not Windows ME, which was and is known to be less stable than previous versions of Windows. The next was Windows XP and then Windows 10, which is what I am now using and have for a very long time.

I am being nagged by Microsoft to upgrade to Windows 11, and I guess I will have to bite the bullet at some point and change over. 

Now defragging happens automatically and you don't know what your computer is doing in the background, as it looks after itself.

Here is a nice clip of what you saw when you were defragging back in the 90s. I used to find it quite mesmerising and strangely relaxing. 

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Beautiful sunny Australia

Emigrate to Australia where it's always warm and sunny! Miles miles of beautiful sandy beaches to take in the sun with lots of space to be alone. Err...

It is very interesting when a rain front comes in across the bay. I was dry, but not for long. The south west is where our prevailing weather and wind originates.


Another interesting photo with the heavier cloud sitting atop the rainbow. I did not notice this until I began making this post. It is quite a phenomenon. 


While looking east, I think this rain missed me. I can't remember rain ever arriving from that direction, and it is rare for rain to blow in from that direction. Seagulls seem alarmed.


For the third time we had to cancel a motorcar trip to Powelltown in  the hills because of the weather. We would have been driving into this. 

Monday, April 6, 2026

Monday Mural

Along with Sami, here is my Monday Mural post.

It is the oldest mural photo I have, taken in 2022. It was good to see a mural on a utility box, as there weren't many around four years ago

I suppose it is a representation of part of our Flinders Street Station Pran Central and while it is simple, there is detail within the mural. 

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Just once...

Will there be a future when I won't wake up to listen to the ABC ten minute 7.00am radio news bulletin without it beginning with "US President Donald Trump...".

Sunday Selections

River and others participate in Sunday Selections. 

Did I mention I visited Barkly Square in Brunswick to see a Gillie and Marc statue? I think so, and its theft was a heinous crime.

This bicycle outside Barkly Square grabbed my attention for obvious reasons.


It is sad, and as far as I know, nothing has been done to Sydney Road to protect cyclists since, while much has been done in other Melbourne inner suburbs.  


I've definitely used this photo before but the restaurant name amuses me greatly.


I think this was once Victoria's treasury building, now the Hellenic (Greek) Museum.
 

Some but not all, as there has been great losses of beautiful historical buildings, have been nicely kept and restored at the western end of Collins Street within the city. 




Err, not this one, that unsympathetically does not blend with the historic streetscape.


And now for something completely different. With the backdrop of a tall building in Footscray, this flower clock in the inner suburb with a huge number of Vietnamese immigrants, is a larger version of what might be found on a wall at their homes. Yes, stereotyping. 

Saturday, April 4, 2026

Dinner for Jass

Jass likes her dry food and not wet foreign muck (Who gets the Alf Garnett reference). She took a small taste and decided to not eat that night. 

I don't blame her really. 

Brand name Cachet. Mousse with lamb, spinach and feta. It sounds ghastly.


Jass went without dinner, and while I know a cat won't starve to death when any food is available (my mantra to Phyllis and Kosov), why do I feel criminally responsible for almost starving a cat to death? 

Friday, April 3, 2026

Friday Funny

It's not really funny, but a bit amusing. It has just been added to our national sound archive

Defragging

Ah the memories, often associated in my mind with dial up internet. I cannot remember Windows 3.1 but I certainly can remember Windows 95, w...