The Lounge 2

My brother in Sydney barracks for the Balmain Tigers Craig.
He lives in Rozelle and earlier Balmain.
I myself enjoy watching the Rugby highlights. A tough game.
 
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I went for a 110km run on my motorbike up to a mate's farm today. It tested my350c Honda but it got there steadily.
On the way out on his gravel driveway I slipped and dropped the bike. The bike was fine but I landed heavily on my right shoulder. Just pain I thought but the 110km ride home made my shoulder hurt more.
When home I had a closer look and then realised I'd dislocated my shoulder.
Hence I drove my car down to a local emergency care clinic that was busy and had no time for me. They had two (2) patients! At least the nurse organinised a sling for me but couldn't remember how to do it. Wow! I've done several first aid classes and know how to make an arm sling. Good grief.
I have to go back tomorrow and hope they can put my shoulder back in place.
More pain but they give nitrous oxide while they'll relocate my shoulder to its rightful place.
Oh, I'm sorry to read that, Terry. What a relief to learn that you're on the mend and going to recover fully sooner than expected. I wish you a speedy recovery and, frankly, I feel your thoughts about what to do with the bike are going in the right direction. Keep us posted, will you?
 
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Oh, I'm sorry to read that, Terry. What a relief to learn that you're on the mend and going to recover fully sooner than expected. I wish you a speedy recovery and, frankly, I feel your thoughts about what to do with the bike are going in the right direction. Keep us posted, will you?
Thanks for your kind words Thomas. Much appreciated.

It turned out I was wrong about a dislocated shoulder with it being a fractured clavicle or collarbone. I've been hither and thither with appointments, X-Rays and ultrasounds. Lots of follow up appointments all on our generous health system apart from $44 I had to pay to get in quick to my local Urgent care clinic. Not so Urgent imo.
No surgery needed despite a few bone shards that'll be absorbed or rejoined.
The more than several Doctors, Radiologists and Nurses I saw were great but I gave a D grade to the Admin at my local Urgent Care Clinic. The Egyptian Doctor I did see there was A+ imho. He was brilliant and worth the red tape to see him.
My own Indian Lady GP who bulk bills me is fantastic too answering all my questions kindly and frankly. My right shoulder has a kink I must live with. OK 😔 On the bright side she explained to me how to treat my seemingly bruised arm and chest. "Just harmless blood flow from the fracture, it'll go away but heat speeds up the process". She's often helped me more than Specialists. A+👍

As for my motorbike, I'm putting it on my 'later' list. Healing first. Winter's coming and Spring is a good time to sell. I'll wait till next Sping here but know much better what's risky on my motorbike, but also the easy safe quiet back roads just north of me. I do love scenic riding, even at 40km/h through winding Park roads.
I've also realised my are bones are brittle and my reflexes are slower than they were 50 years ago.

Me 5 minutes before my accident
received_4107355576252059.jpeg

The next day
20250512_170049.jpg

I've had worse and it looks a lot worse than it is.
 
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A mate took the pic Craig. I'm not dating anymore atm.

The purple, red, yellow and black on my arm, chest and shoulder are mostly not bruises but the blood that flowed from my fractured collarbone. No pain there bar my shoulder and those splotches are slowly fading as the blood gets absorbed.
It worried most of the Urgent Care Clinic and ED medicos but my sister in Sydney explained it to me, likewise my wonderful GP who told me heat packs would speed up the process. She's right and my splotches are fading nicely now.
I wear a sling now which helps a lot too, likewise the strong anti-inflametory meds I'm on. I actually refused strong pain killers and just take a little panadol.
 
Shocking, Terry. Seeing yourself like that should make it clear to you not to have second thoughts about your bike. This time it was gravel, next time it's something else that comes equally unexpected. At our age it'll be harder to hold the bike. It could also have fallen on your leg causing a comminuted fracture of your foot and/or joint or something. I liked your idea of putting a decision on the back burner until spring but have a hunch what it will be. Get better soon.
 
Shocking, Terry. Seeing yourself like that should make it clear to you not to have second thoughts about your bike. This time it was gravel, next time it's something else that comes equally unexpected. At our age it'll be harder to hold the bike. It could also have fallen on your leg causing a comminuted fracture of your foot and/or joint or something. I liked your idea of putting a decision on the back burner until spring but have a hunch what it will be. Get better soon.
Wise advice Terry. Sell your bike and upgrade from your banger, as the Poms call an old car. Just forgotten the Aussie expression for the moment.
 
Wise advice Terry. Sell your bike and upgrade from your banger, as the Poms call an old car. Just forgotten the Aussie expression for the moment.
My brilliant 2008 Corolla is no banger. It runs really well and I treat it to 98 octane fuel.
In 17 years I've only done 73,000 km in it.
As for Aussie slang about old cars, we tend to call them old bombs in WA.

Two of my closest friends reckon I shouldn't sell my motorbike but I'll make that decision later. The lady friend loves being my pillion passenger and my mate already owns a motorbike, and wants a bigger one.
 
I'm happy to say I generally lean mid left re my politics, and a Monarchist too!
Listening to our Aussie ABC 4 Corners our conservative Liberals are soul searching about their Federal Election loss. I do hope they go for middle right than far right. I also hope they reunite their coalition with the National Party.

That aside, I heard Liberal politician Andrew Hastie say the moratorium on Nuclear power plants should end, and added saying something like:
"building Nuclear Plants could be given to Private enterprise!"

Now that's a different perspective I never heard Dutton mention.
I have a lot of respect for Hastie as an Army Officer and shadow minister of Defence.
BA(Hons) (University of New South Wales).Graduate Certificate in Business Economics (Harvard Extension School, Harvard University).Army Officer from 2007 to 2015.
And a Sandgroper from WA.

I thought Hasties comments a plus in the pro Nuclear argument. Maybe?
In the next decade or so, but we need to act now and our green 💚 energy production is here and now, even improving with new ways to be green.

If big money wants to "long time" build costly Nuclear power plants, I'm ok with that. Just don't ask for Federal handouts.
Nuclear power has pros and cons, is very safe nowadays, but is costly to build as a long term project. We don't have much time to act before we get to +2C global temperature since pre industrial times.
Another point is that how Green technology might have evolved in the next few decades. And also other technologies yet to be discovered might well reshape the whole discussion. Just like our waste of $$$"""ssz already on Nuclear subs. Not really needed, hugely expensive, decades to wait for even One, if ever. The Yanks production rate is way below China's.
Best we just act as bases for our once decent ally. The Darwin port was sold to China a decade ago on a 99 year lease thanks to a silly NT government.

It was not noticed by Federal authorities until later when it was a fait de comply. 🤪🤣🙄😵‍💫
Thankfully our Feds are making moves to kick the Chinese out making them do their silly Angry dances. 😂 Very entertaining with pointed multi finger gestures. We'll pay a fair price to reclaim what is ours, because of China's existential open threat to Australia and our close neighbours.
After mapping our territorial waters, we know the Chinese are like nasty, greedy petulant children and know now not to trust them. All their intellectual theft , , Cyber crime, Empire ambitions, Drug factories, ... Authoritarian and friends with Depotic Russia, Iran, NK, ....

I'm proud our Australia acts as a beacon of light to smaller nations in our region. They trust us and gave spent decades assisting them in our typical altruistic Aussie nature.
 
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I'm happy to say I generally lean mid left re my politics, and a Monarchist too!
Listening to our Assie ABC 4 Corners our conservative Liberals are soul searching about their Federal loss. I do hope they go for middle right than far right. I also hope they reunite their coalition with the National Party.

That aside, I heard Liberal politician Andrew Hastie say the moratorium on Nuclear power plants should end, and added saying:
"building Nuclear plants could be outsourced to Private Enterprises".

I thought that a plus in the pro Nuclear argument. I hope.In the next decade or so we need to act now and our green 💚 energy production is here and now, even improving with new ways to be green.

I just read this little piece:

Hong Kong schools woo Harvard students


At least three universities in Hong Kong are inviting international students at Harvard University to join their institutions, following the Trump administration’s decision last week to ban Harvard from enrolling foreign students. The universities are offering various forms of support to international students, including through scholarships, accommodation assistance and guidance on transferring academic credit. “Trump’s actions against science and universities in the US will likely make Chinese science great again,” says Yu Xie, who studies the sociology of science.

BRAIN DRAIN I'd say. Was that part of the grand plan? Very altruistic? Very savvy of Hong Kong?
 
"building Nuclear Plants could be given to Private enterprise!"

Can you or I see even a Dick Smith or Clive Palmer or Gina, certainly not Twiggy or the Atlassian co owners, forking out $10b (CSIRO est) for one alone of the smaller modular plants. For a country our size they'd need to build a minimum seven for each state not seven nationally as Coalition alluded to and btw it was mainly the NATS that wanted Nuke power, the main thing that sunk the Coalition. Nuke power for us Australians has been almost demonized for so long that our psyche says no every time, despite the fact that the Yanks and Europe have had nukes for decades. The Commie Chinese have just proposed building a further 100 new plants by 2035.
 
Very altruistic? Very savvy of Hong Kong?
Yes. Commies given a window and they pounced. Dead set they dont miss a trick.
A bit of tit for tat as Trump has jumped in saying he wants to own Darwin Port. But will the Commies sell it? They aint much diplomacy among these two greedy powers. Albo has been quiet of late too about taking back the port for Australia. He really is weak as piss when it comes to dealing with China.
 
I didn't know Trump wants the Darwin Port! 😳

Gawd, he wants everything but don't worry, he'll probably forget about it in a week as he bullies another victim on his "Revenge list" or pardons more criminals.

As for the Chinese, we want them out of Darwin as they're become increasingly bad actors on the global stage. Karma!
 

You West Aussies keeping this a secret so you can have all the iron 😝 Seriously have not seen or heard a word on mainstream media about this mining global game changer. Commie Chyna must be salivating so we have to play it smart and charge them double its worth.
 
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You West Aussies keeping this a secret so you can have all the iron. Not seen or heard a word on mainstream media about this mining global game changer. Commie Chyna must be salivating so we have to play it smart and charge them double its worth.
That's great news Craig. Don't tell Chi-nah!
 
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