Mini Punch-List

Current list of things to sort on my 1975 Mini Clubman:

• Speedometer - currently not working, have a second one but not much luck so far;
• Windscreen wipers - currently not working, now have a working set in the shed to try;
• Doors - rusty and in a state of disrepair, newer rust free doors require stripping, preparing, painting and fitting;
• Numerous small body repairs - usual stuff for a 42 year old car.

Planes I have flown in (updated to include Saab 340)

• Fokker 100 (Alliance Airlines, Network Aviation);
• Boeing 737-400 (Qantas/QantasLink);
• Boeing 737-800 (Qantas, Virgin Australia);
• British Aerospace 146 (QantasLink);
• Boeing 717-200 (QantasLink);
• Embraer E-Jets E-190 (Virgin Australia);
• Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (Network Aviation);
• Fokker F70LR (Network Aviation);
• Airbus A320 (Virgin Australia);
• Saab 340 (Regional Express Airlines).

May 2017 Update

So it's been a while since I've posted.  Notice a theme?
Anyway, here goes:

• I've quit my job as a Control Systems Engineer in the mining industry and have started a new job as a Control Systems Engineer in the grain handling industry.  The change has been good and I feel reinvigorated.  I'm enjoying engineering more as I no longer have people reporting to me.  I'm also going away with work a lot less (and when I do go away it's generally a day trip).
• I'm catching the bus to and from work so the 1975 Mini Clubman is no longer a daily drive.  I'm getting some of the more involved work done on it now (disc brakes and suspension).  I'm planning on it being a fairly original car with some upgrades for safety (disc brakes and suspension) and for the look (period roof rack, possibly a rear window shade).  Recently fitted new plugs and leads as it lost a cylinder...

End of 2016 Update

So it's been a while since I've posted an update.  Apologies to my regular readers...

Here is a point form update:

• Work and life are very busy (so no change there);
• I'm not sure what I think about Fitbit buying Pebble (I don't remember an acquisition like this ever going well);
• The finches are doing well, the Painteds seem happy and are breeding, the Zebras perhaps a little too happy...;
• Bird watching has taken a bit of a hit (closely related to amount of free time available unfortunately);
• Using a 1975 Mini Clubman as a daily driver seems to be going well (after the clutch was replaced).

Planes I have flown in (updated to include Airbus A320)

• Fokker 100 (Alliance Airlines, Network Aviation);
• Boeing 737-400 (Qantas/QantasLink);
• Boeing 737-800 (Qantas, Virgin Australia);
• British Aerospace 146 (QantasLink);
• Boeing 717-200 (QantasLink);
• Embraer E-Jets E-190 (Virgin Australia);
• Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (Network Aviation);
• Fokker F70LR (Network Aviation);
• Airbus A320 (Virgin Australia).

Planes I have flown in (updated to include Fokker 70)

• Fokker 100 (Alliance Airlines, Network Aviation);
• Boeing 737-400 (Qantas/QantasLink);
• Boeing 737-800 (Qantas, Virgin Australia);
• British Aerospace 146 (QantasLink);
• Boeing 717-200 (QantasLink);
• Embraer E-Jets E-190 (Virgin Australia);
• Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (Network Aviation);
• Fokker F70LR (Network Aviation).

Minecraft on an iMac Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz 20-inch (Al)

Just in case anyone out there on the Internet would like to know, the current version of Minecraft runs quite happily (according to Mr 7 y.o.) on an iMac Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 20-inch (Al).  The iMac has 4GB of RAM and is running Mac OS X 10.11 "El Capitan".

Pebble Smartwatch

I am now the proud owner of a Pebble Smartwatch (I went for the "Classic" version).  It seems to play nicely with my iPhone 5s.  My favourite "watchface" at the moment is the built in "time as text" one (although I do think the iWatch one is cool).

I have installed the Pebble SDK and I am going to try to develop an app/watchface or two.  Stay tuned.

Birds seen from my office window

List of birds seen from my first floor office window in Applecross, Perth, WA (in order seen/recorded).

1. Silver Gull - regular fly-bys throughout the day
2. Singing Honeyeater
3. Rainbow Lorikeet - frequent
4. Galah
5. Australian Magpie - nesting nearby
6. Australian Pelican - seen circling high
7. Australian Raven - nesting nearby
8. Red-tailed Black-cockatoo
9. Red Wattlebird
10. Laughing Dove
11. Australian White Ibis
12. Rock Dove
13. Spotted Dove
14. Willie Wagtail - road verge
15. Brown Honeyeater
16. Magpie-lark
17. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
18. Eastern Osprey
19. New Holland Honeyeater
20. Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo
21. Laughing Kookaburra

Update

Life is busy.
That is all.

Bengalese Finch (Society Finch)

One of my Bengalese Finches in my aviary.  Lovely little finches.

Red-eared Firetail at Lesmurdie Falls

Sunrise in the Yilgarn

OWC Data Doubler

I have just installed an OWC Data Doubler kit in my 13" MacBook Pro (the late 2011 model).  It is a bracket that replaces the optical drive that ships with the MacBook Pro and allows you to install a second 2.5" hard disk or SSD.  In my case I have installed a 480GB SSD (KINGSTON SV300S37A480G Media) in the location of the original disk and moved the original disk to the Data Doubler.  The boot disk is now the SSD; I intend to use the old disk as an internal backup drive.

The instructions are very good, all of the tools required are included and the kit itself is of a very high quality.  I highly recommend the Data Doubler kit (and the idea of installing an SSD into a 4 year old MacBook Pro to give it a new lease on life).

2015 Birding Targets

Here is a list of the birds I am looking for in 2015 (in no particular order):

• Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus);
• Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii);
• Black-eared Cuckoo (Chalcites osculans);
• Gilbert's Whistler (Pachycephala inornata);
• Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata);
• Inland Dotterel (Charadrius australis);
• Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus);
• Painted Button-quail (Turnix varius);
• Southern Scrub-robin (Drymodes brunneopygia);
• Sanderling (Calidris alba).

Edit:  Added Sanderling...

Lifers per Year

2012 included a trip to SE Queensland with Martin Cake.

Juvenile Painted Finches

Photos of one of the recent Painted Finches (Emblema pictum) that have hatched and fledged in my aviary.

Lesmurdie Falls Birding

My local birding patch is Lesmurdie Falls - below is my current list.  There are a few obvious holes (raptors in particular) so hopefully this will be added to in the near future.

1. Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata)
2. Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera)
3. Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
4. Galah (Eolophus roseicapillus)
5. Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius)
6. Red-capped Parrot (Purpureicephalus spurius)
7. Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)
8. Splendid Fairy-wren (Malurus splendens)
9. White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis)
10. Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa)
11. Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta)
12. New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)
13. White-cheeked Honeyeater (Phylidonyris niger)
14. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae)
15. Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris)
16. Grey Shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica)
17. Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus)
18. Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen)
19. Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)
20. Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys)
21. Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides)
22. White-breasted Robin (Eopsaltria georgiana)
23. Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)
24. Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum)
25. Red-eared Firetail (Stagonopleura oculata)

Finch Update 28-10-2014

• Unfortunately one of the three new Painted Finches mentioned in the previous post has died - causes unknown.  The remaining two are doing well and the parents are apparently breeding again.
• After a number of failed attempts to keep a pair of Star Finches I have admitted defeat and sent my remaining male Star Finch to a finch keeper who has success in keeping the species.  I think my aviaries may be too draughty?
• Following a successful breeding season I have moved the Gouldian Finch parents into the holding aviary for some rest and relaxation (or as much rest and relaxation as you can have with a group of young Gouldians and a flock of Zebra Finches).

Finch Update 02-10-2014

A fair bit has happened in the last few months (I have been particularly slack in updating this blog):

• The fawn Zebra Finches have bred, five young hatched and three have survived (goes to show that even a Zebra Finch with a busted wing can still father a healthy brood);
• The Gouldian Finches bred again, raising a single offspring (this is the fourth brood for the season);
• The Painted Finches have bred, 3 have hatched, have left the nest and are doing very well.

I am particularly happy with the Painted Finches - I did not think I had a chance getting them to breed in a mixed and somewhat hectic aviary.

Useful Mac OS X Software

Here is some software I use on my MacBook Pro and recommend.  I have no commercial interests in any of them.

BBEdit (or it's free cousin TextWrangler)

Available from Bare Bones Software or through the App Store.  TextWrangler (a free "lite" version from the makers of BBEdit) probably fulfils my requirements but once I had the funds I purchased the full version.  The best text editor I have used on any platform.  I have been using this product since the days of Mac OS 7.1 on a PowerBook 150 (when BBEdit Lite was available as opposed to TextWrangler).

VLC

A media player available from VideoLAN.  Plays just about any format I need.

PCalc

Simply the best calculator application out there (and available for iOS too).  I used to use the "lite" version of PCalc on the aforementioned PowerBook 150 during my university engineering studies.  Well worth the money.

VirtualBox

A free virtualisation platform (now available through Oracle).  Worth a look if you need to run old software on old operating systems every now and then.

Photographs from our Peel Zoo Visit

Southern Boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae)

Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

Sun Conure (on Declan's hat, Aratinga solstitialis)

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus)

Princess Parrot (Polytelis alexandrae)

Finch Update 06-06-2014

The two Gouldian Finches from the second clutch have had their coloured bands added.  I'm adding these bands and recording the details in a spreadsheet to try and ensure I don't inbreed.  I expect the third clutch of eggs to hatch any day.

The most recent addition to the aviaries is a pair of Double-barred Finches.  They are a finch I have always liked but for one reason or another have never purchased (one of those reasons is the lack of confidence I have in a bird shop selling me a pair, mine come from a breeder).  I saw these finches in the wild in SE Queensland a few years ago.

Zebra Finch (charcoal) with eye infection (after a few days of treatment).

One of my charcoal Zebra Finches has been living inside for the last week, recovering from an eye infection (see photograph above).  I have been cleaning his eye every day or so with a saline solution and it has cleared up quite well.  The poor little guy couldn't land on perches and was stuck on the ground in the aviary (their eyes are on the sides of their heads so with one eye clogged up completely he was in trouble).  He appears to be able to see well now so I think he may be returned to the aviary soon.

UPDATE:  Unfortunately this finch died after it was returned to the aviary.

Finch Update 14-05-2014

All five Gouldian Finches that hatched from the first batch of eggs have survived and are now living in the larger aviary (with the Zebra Finch colony).  Of the four Gouldians Finches that hatched from the second batch of eggs two have survived.  They are still with their parents but are becoming increasingly independent.

The parents now appear to be going for round three...  Stay tuned.

Finch Update 23-03-2014

All five Gouldian Finches have fledged and are progressing well.  Some of them still require feeding by their parents but they are increasingly fossicking for seed on the aviary floor and visiting the seed bowl.  It will be many months before I can work out what is what (in terms of males and females).  The parents have already relined the nest and laid more eggs (I had hoped to remove the nest box before this happened as I didn't want to stress them with multiple clutches this season but they beat me to it).

My pair of Painted Finches have constructed an elaborate nest in a wicker basket.  I cannot tell if there are any eggs in there but there always seems to be a parent on duty so I am optimistic.

Finch Update 09-03-2014

The first Gouldian Finch fledgling has left the nest box!  The remaining four are clearly enjoying the room service.  Note the remnant mouth markings on the edge of the beak (see here for more details).

As a side note, this is the first photograph from my "new" Canon 50D I have posted online.

Finch Update 21-02-2014

I lifted the lid on the Gouldian nest in the aviary today to check how the recently hatched chicks are going.  We have five healthy looking youngsters (and one unhatched egg).

Canon 50D

I have recently replaced my Canon 350D DSLR after many years of reliable service.  I purchased the 350D in about 2006, just as the 400D was being released (which made the 350D with the twin lens kit affordable).  I have taken about 8,500 photographs with the 350D and the original battery still holds a very good charge.

Shutter speed was my primary reason for upgrading - the 350D was capable of 1/4000 second but I needed (wanted) more.  I primarily use my camera for bird photography so being able to freeze the action is an advantage.

Some research indicated that the 50D was the sweet spot: it still used CF (so I could keep my collection of memory cards), it was capable of a 1/8000 second shutter speed and it was cheap as there had been some recent upgrades (meaning there were a few available on the market).

I found a very affordable 50D second hand in Perth, complete with a 16GB memory card, two batteries and a car charger.  All for about 25% of what I paid for the 350D...

Finch Update 14-02-2014

When I fed and watered the finches in the main aviary this evening I noticed that both of the Gouldian Finches were inside their nesting box.  Thinking I'd better check if everything is ok, I climbed inside the aviary.  To my surprise I discovered that some (possibly all, it's a bit hard to see everything in there) of the eggs have hatched!

Finch Update 09-02-2014

Did a quick check on the Gouldian Finches this afternoon and there are six eggs in the nest box.  Mummy bird was less than impressed but quickly resumed duties when I closed the lid and made my exit.  I'll be happy if one or two are reared successfully.