Monday 31st August

We’ve got a plague of small sandflies at work, since late last week. It must be the change of weather, or the painters have disturbed a breeding area. I thought it was bad last week, by Friday, but today it finally drove me out to the shops and a large can of flyspray. They don’t bite as such, but they do have a sting to them when they do decide to have a feed. And being as small as they are they get everywhere. Once I had them getting in my ears and stinging that was enough.

I sprayed the office, it was a bit like chemical warfare, a thick fog of spray. The floor was literally black with the bodies, but it only lasted an hour or so till more arrived. I spent most of the afternoon spraying the bloody things.

Tiffany and I are out to lunch on Thursday, a meeting with all the people who are meant to be keeping Honiara clean and looking good. It’s at Kwitano Mendana Hotel, with lunch provided. It’s good we’ve got the pricing for all the gardens done, we can argue for payment for them now that it’s going to become more official. Apparently it’s being driven by Solomon Tourism, who have been analysing all the tourist questionaires, and Honiara has been top of the list as the dirtiest and filthiest town in the Solomons. As the saying goes, “No shit Sherlock”

You don’t need a questionaire to tell you that surely, just a walk along the street does that. Hopefully Tiffany and I can get some better co-operation from everyone and mainly better funding for the work SEB does. Having Keithie out of town for the month is a mixed blessing, we can argue for proper costing, not just a figure pulled out of the air.

The big truck died over the weekend, nothing serious thankfully. David arrived with it this morning saying it had to be push started because the battery was flat. I went out to have a look, turned the key on and heard the starter motor clicking away from the solenoid. Ok the battery was low as well, he’s had his big radio and speakers in it over the weekend, and probably left the radio on without running the motor to keep the charge up. Anyway, we took the starter motor out, the thrust gear on the Bendix spring was almost dry sealed in place, it could hardly be pulled out let alone spin out, so it got a good dose of CRC656, and the solenoid got a few good taps with a hammer. I’m not sure which worked, but once it was back in place it worked. We’ll have to get another solenoid for it I think, or make sure the battery is always charged up.

I’m stuck on Tantrix 19, it’s taken me a couple of hours so far, and I’m still no further along. I have the loop made, it’s just trying to get all the other colours to match now.






I was discussing with Tiffany today about getting one of the local radio stations in to the Gardens on a Friday afternoon, as some sort of focus and entertainment for the teenagers. She isn’t wildly enthusiastic, but I’m allowed to contact XFM and SIBC about it. XFM would be the better I think, but either one that can do a mix of music and promotions, with local bands and musicians will work. There is the problem that we may get too big a crowd, and lose all control, but we can always close the gates and not have it if it gets too big a problem.

I don’t know how anyone can use the touch pad on a laptop and not go mad with frustration. My usb mouse finally gave up working entirely over the weekend, and I’ve had to get used to the touch pad again. The led light in the mouse broke off the contacts, which rendered it useless, obviously. Trying to scroll and navigate around with the touch pad is an exercise in futility for me, I had screens opening, closing, minimising, pages I didn’t want opening, stuff I was trying to save vanishing.

I lasted till 10 o’clock, and went into Point Cruz Centrepoint and coughed up $70 for another mouse. Which isn’t too bad, about NZ$12 which is what I paid for the mouse originally.

Why can’t they fit a scroll wheel into a laptop?

I’ll mention www.joepastry.com again. If you have any interest in bread making, baking in general, and just plain offbeat facts and trivia about bread, flour, baking, wood fired ovens, he has a really interesting blog. The exact opposite to this collection of disjointed ramblings. Tell him you found him here, and say Warren sent you.

Hi to Gytha, MaryAnne, Sandy and Sus, Sally, Rhonda.