faulcon1

Had mine a couple of years ago and when the doctor had his finger up my back passage I asked if this means we're engaged. He wanted to know what I meant. I said well my ring is one your finger.

A man used to live across the road from my mum and dad and in WW2 he'd been in Paupa New Guinea. He saw some horrific sites and wrote a book about his wartime experiences (long out of print). But I remember him saying in the book that when the Japanese shot Anglo soldiers or Anglo soldiers shot the Japanese the dead would have to be buried very quickly, not from a security viewpoint but simply because in the heat and high humidity the dead would start to decompose within one hour. He also told of a visiting officer who berated their company commander for not wearing his stripes or any other way to recognise his rank. It was pointed out to this visiting officer that Japanese snipers pick off the officers in the belief that the men left will become a disorganised rabble. This visiting officer made it known that he didn't care and that the company commander would be reported on his return to HQ. Well on his way back to HQ the Japanese attacked his staff car and made him their target. He took refuge in a muddy ditch where he ripped off all decorations pertaining to his rank and threw his baton away. The company commander never was reported. In another chapter he reported how out on patrol he and his fellow soldiers would have to make camp for the night wherever they were. One night they made camp but there a horrific smell and they soon realised that they'd made camp onto of buried dead soldiers who weren't buried deep enough and in the heat the swelling decomposing bodies had broken the ground. It's those sort of stories that were never on a recruitment poster. To look at him this man was perfectly normal and no one would have an inkling of the horrors he'd been through.

There was somone who said that the mobile phone has become a "drug" and those constantly on their phones are addicts. Getting a text message on a phone gives the user the same chemical reaction in the brain as smoking, drinking and gambling. That's why we see so many people using their phones when they're driving. This person said if kids are studying for exams and they're feeling stressed their parents don't say to them "well go and make yourself a scotch and dry". A message comes in their phone whilst people are driving and because of the drug effect it has they feel compelled to answer right then and there. They can't wait. I've personally been told to pair my phone with the blue tooth in the work car. But when I get a message come through I wait until I get to my next work location and I've parked before I answer it. I can't reply to a message whilst I'm driving and I won't. Only the other night I was stopped for a random breath test and whilst the cop was at the window off went the chime on the phone with a message. But I ignored it and told him I'll read it at my next work location. The same if the phone rings. The wonderful thing about mobiles is that they state the name of the person (if they're in your contact list) or the number. If "no number" is displayed then if they really want to contact you they'll phone back later. People have allowed mobiles to control them in "when I ring you will answer and when I text you a message you will reply and for both right then and there. You will not wait and you will not ignore me". Well I do. I saw the effect mobiles had on people way back in 2000 when I went to the UK and in the shuttle bus from home (as I live a long way from the airport) one lady was constantly on the phone telling her family of her location. She kept on phoning when we reached the international airport and again when we waited in the queue at the check in and again to tell of the further wait at the check in. She phoned again to say she'd checked in. It must have cost her a fortune. I phoned once when I arrived in the UK and sent a text once a week to say I was still ok.

Have you read this article. This railway had a problem with coal firing but not smoke but sparks. So they've fitted one of their locos to burn light oil namely diesel. https://puffingbilly.com.au/news/workshop-blog/would-you-rather/

Different states have different laws in regards to cars and parking. In Victoria if your tyres are over five years old then your car is not road legal. In NSW no such law exists. My mum's Focus had tyres on it that were thirteen years old and I replaced all five even though they were no where near down to the wear indicators so they were still road legal. It had just passed it's annual rego check or MOT in the UK. As for parking people take photos of the work car all the time when it's in disabled spots or no stopping/no standing zones and put them on social media I suppose. The council takes no action and the same with the police. In NSW the police can park anywhere even in your own driveway if they want to and there's nothing you can do about it. I often have to use a vehicle mounted high pressure water blaster and if the disabled is the only parking spot left I take it. The reinforced hose is only twenty meters in length and I need to be as close the the job as possible. Also the cabinet doors on the rear canopy have to stay open whilst the petrol powered water blaster is in use because of the build up of fumes within the canopy. That's OH&S Occupational Health and Safety laws. Just because something is law in one country doesn't mean that it's law in every other country and if that country has states then laws can and do differ from state to state and even within local area boundaries laws can differ. You often see on social media people spouting laws and saying if you do something differently then you are breaking the law. It usually comes from the US but sometimes the UK too. People who aren't from either of those two countries can totally disregard what those people say. In the course of my duties I can park anywhere I need to, to be close to the job. But only in the course of my duties. If I'm parking in a car park to go shopping in the work car then I have to use an available ordinary parking space like most others. Parks and Gardens trucks with trailers often park across eight or more parking spaces and if a disabled parking space is one of them then too bad. Council employees but only in the course of their duties have certain exemptions from local laws that people outside the council do not. Yes people whip out their phones and take photos of the P&G trucks parked in that manner but all to no avail. So before some you get on your high horses stating that this is the law where you are and you can't park here or there, just remember it isn't the law for everyone everywhere else.

Many car drivers complain about motorbike and scooter riders doing as they please. But this person has absolutely no idea of what they're doing. But they do end up in the safest place for everyone.

Well I have a council parking permit so I can park anywhere. Disabled, loading zones, no parking zones, no stopping zones, park lands anywhere. I can drive across playing fields too if I need too as long as no ones playing at the time. I don't like parking in the disabled spot because then where do disabled people park. Mind you most of the people who park there aren't actually disabled. They're just old people who have a walking stick. My dad had two walking sticks and he flatly refused to have a disabled parking permit. I can walk so I'm not disabled was what he said. These old people have a disabled parking permit but they can walking the length and breadth of the town no problems. The trouble is someone who is genuinely disabled then has no where to park because of all the oldies and their stiff limbs. It all started here with the ex Olympian Dawn Fraser who had a big Nissan Patrol 4x4 and lived in inner Sydney. She claimed the parking spots were too small out the front of her apartment and insisted on a double parking space or a disabled parking space. She got the later and that opened the floodgates. Anyone with a mild permanent limp was suddenly entitled to a disabled parking permit. Then there are the people who have a disabled relative and they have a disabled parking permit. Now they're only supposed to use it IF the disabled relative is in the car and is going to get out and back into the car. But no, they use disabled parking spaces whether the disabled person is in the car or not. If the disabled person is in the car but is not going to get out then they're not supposed to use a disabled parking space. There is lady who lives up the road from me who in my eyes is genuinely disabled for she carries her wheelchair on the roof of her car. Now she uses hand controls and there's a big knob on her steering wheel so she can safely steer with one hand. She told me she has trouble parking locally due to all the old "fake" disabled permit holders.

Here's another from India at the Riga Sugar Mill. An 0-8-0 Hudswell Clark Saddle Tank of 1930 and a 0-4-0 diesel by Hunslet or 1935.

As a council employee we now have dedicated parking spaces which are used by us but also plumbers, electricians, painters, police, ambulance, fire brigade. But members of the public often take no notice of the no parking signs. I have heavy equipment to carry and often have to park in the disabled parking spot.

The 0-4-2 Bagnell is named "David" and the ex Darjeeling 0-4-0 is No. 789. They have other ex Darjeeling locos there but that's the only serviceable one. The bright ring around the smoke box door is mud and it's used for sealing it. Dai Jones on the Tallyllyn said that in the old company days Dolgoch had leaking tubes and oatmeal was used to plug the holes. He said it only lasted a day or two and all you could smell was porridge. The Burma Mines Railway does the same thing. Their Kerr Stewart loco No. 13 has to my ears a very similar whistle to a Bulleid Merchant Navy/ West Country class loco.

In part four of four we get to see one sick Bagnell. A cross head bearing plate falls out and the crew fashions a replacement from a piece of wood (can't see this being done on the Severn Valley Railway if it happened to them) and with near endless slipping the poor loco climbs the spiral. Despite all the slipping there's no rolling clouds of black smoke. I have no idea what sort of "coal" is used but it burns very cleanly.

In this part three of four we get to see the little Wickham rail car which looks very English

Here's part two of four on the Burma Mines Railway in Myanmar.

This video is one of four and shows Burma Mines Railway. The two steam locos are a 0-4-2 Kerr Stewart No.13 of 1914 and a 2-6-2 Bagnell No. 42 of 1928. Neither is in regular service. This railway can only be visited by special tour groups. There's also a Japanese Hino truck converted to rail use an O&K 0-6-0 DH and a Wickham rail car. There is a derailment in this video which in western countries would demand an inquiry. However here one hour later the track is repaired, the loco re-railed and the day carries on.

Here's another YouTube video but this time a diesel. AI&S or Australian Iron and Steel bought English Electric diesels to replace the 0-6-0 steam locos. There was a famous photo of one of the EE diesels with a long line of the former steam locos. Most of the steam locos met their end in a blast furnace and now some of these diesels have gone into preservation. This railway was only around for a few years and I don't know what happened to D10 and the loco is in it's AI&S original livery. This diesel is from the era when diesels made "noise". Today's diesels are shaped like house bricks and sound like vacuum cleaners. D10 has the feel of a rather enlarged EE type 1 or class 20.

Here's video find from YouTube of British built steam locos at work overseas. This is not preservation.

Sorry about that. Patience may have been better.

In the UK driving through the city of Rugby probably needs a lot of patients. Well here's me driving through Rugby......our Australian Rugby in southern New South Wales. It's between the towns of Boorowa and Crookwell. As you can see it's a hive of activity.

I've come across sheep at Dent Head Viaduct on the S&C on the road at the base of the viaduct being shepherded by a farmer from one field to another on a quad bike. However these sheep are grazing at the roadside. One needs to move slowly but must keep moving. If you stop then the sheep will gather round your car and it will be hard to start moving again as you may run down the sheep. This was in the Batlow/ Tumbarumba area of the high country in southern New South Wales.

Let change drivers at a set of traffic lights in the rain. The male driver then walks into the servo and his wife now driving the car drives into the servo. They could have changed drivers there. Please forgive my "anglo saxon".

This one is early in the morning and a Holden Captiva doesn't want to give way to me. I have the right of way.

Well there are bad drivers where ever there are cars and here's one from my area. I'm in my work vehicle and it's late afternoon. The dash cam is on as always when I'm driving for insurance. The railway is nearby and the crossing gates are open but two people refused to wait in the line of traffic. A Mazda 2 and a Subaru Forester. For them impatiences is the name of the game. The main reason for the dash cam is that I work for the local council and people who run into council vehicles like to put the blame on the council driver. Without a dash cam I would have no proof that I'm innocent. But with it I can show the police so if a person who drives into me and states that to the police then I can show with the footage that they're lying. That's the main purpose of a dash cam and one reason why everyone should have one. Mine has a suction cup mounting so I can use it in my own car too. It may come to pass in the future that insurance companies will deny claims unless there's dash cam footage to show what really happened. With dash cams you get what you pay for. A cheap dash cam will give you blurry footage whereas a more expensive dash cam will give you good in focus footage. The ability to read a number plate is vital especially if someone rolls back into you and then drives away. Known here as "hit and run" and it's illegal.

In the 1970's Ford Australia put a 6 cylinder in a Cortina which had been a 4 cylinder. A nimble car with good handling. The heavier 6 cylinder turned it into a nose heavy fuel gulping horror. The final locally made and designed cars from both Ford and GMH were the best the companies had ever produced but people by and large had fallen in love with these awful SUV's. They looked upon the Commodore and Falcon as outdated fuel hungry dinosaurs. But as I've found out on the highway 40mpg is easily achievable. One reviewer said that round town you'd be lucky to get better than 15l/100km out of a G6E Falcon. I've never got economy as bad as that. Not even close to it. He must have been driving around in 2nd gear in manual mode. A test was done with four men and their luggage driving in a Toyota Prius from Sydney to Adelaide. The fuel economy in the Prius was appalling as the car struggled. They then drove a N/A G6E Falcon back to Sydney and it returned good fuel economy and the four men were comfortable and not squashed in as on the outward leg.

This is the motor of my G6E a 4.0l "Barra" naturally aspirated with originally 195kw or 261hp and 391 NM or 288.125 lbs of torque. This motor purrs like a kitten and has only run rough once and that was after a Ford dealer service, the one and only time it's been serviced by Ford. All other servicing has been carried out by an independent mechanic who tried to get me to sell the car to his dad. But what would I buy as an equivalent. There is nothing on the Australian market that offers all that this car has. A Mercedes Benz or BMW comes close but their spare parts are an outrageous price. All that's been replaced in the engine bay is the battery and that's it's third battery and most powerful battery to date. No globes have blown yet. G6E Turbos have a red motor instead of silver and an F6 has a blue motor. In another twenty years time this car maybe, just maybe a classic. After all 30 and 40 year old Falcons are now starting to fetch high prices. If I run the car on premium unleaded or 98 RON it ups the hp to 270 and yes there's a slight difference. On 91RON round town the fuel economy is around 9L/100km and on the highway 7L/100km which isn't bad for a car that weighs almost 2 tons. Most people are only interested in the turbo variants but the N/A like mine is no slouch. A while back I was driving along a motorway at 110 kph and I was approaching a left merging lane with cars wanting to join the motorway. A semi trailer was right on my tail and a Nissan Xtrail was in the right lane keeping pace with me. If I braked the semi driver would have hit the back of my car and I would have hit the cars joining the motorway from the merging lane. So I opened the taps or gave the car a boot full. In no time I was rocketing down the motorway at 165kph leaving the semi with enough room to brake and allowing the merging traffic to merge. Thank heavens there was no police about. These cars were used by the police but a slightly less luxurious version and I asked a policeman what they were like. The policeman had an XR6 Turbo or the same motor as mine but fitted with a turbo. He said the Falcon turbo was the car to chase people and even high powered European cars just couldn't outrun it. Their cars were fitted with brembo brakes so they stopped well too. He said even Subaru WRX STi's couldn't out perform the XR6T and they'd give up trying to run when their interior rear vision mirror was full of police XR6T Falcon. The motor can trace it's lineage right back to the first Falcons in the 1960's which is those days was the XK Falcon.

This is the rear seat which is able to seat three in safety or two if you wish to use the centre arm rest. You can see the rear vents for the climate control with a foot well light beneath. The rear seat has a design fault. The rear headrest are not adjustable and are part of the seat back. It's ok for short people but tall people would suffer whiplash in a rear end collision. This was a fault that was never remedied and remained the same from my 09 Falcon right up to the last one in 2016.