New Computer & Windows 10

Corsair  Mid Tower Case with side window

Having taken possession of my new super duper computer last Wednesday, I have been accustoming myself to Windows 10.

Much as I dreaded upgrading to Windows 10, it has not been all that stressful and is pretty much like Windows 7, except bossier.

Gratifyingly, all my beloved antique software works fine without any problems. Amazing to discover that MS Office 2003 (the last MS Office with the old interface before the ribbon interface was introduced in Office 2007)  is still operable under the latest version of Windows.

The picture above is of the mid tower case of the new computer. Tower cases have gotten groovier these days -  a far cry from the boring beige boxes of the past.  There was one at the computer shop with flashy lighting effects, but I settled on the minimalist Corsair 100R case which has a side glass panel so you can see the computer’s innards, and no doubt how dusty it will get as the years go by.

It is a fast machine that comes with bountiful USB 3 ports and runs quietly.

So overall I’m really pleased I opted for a new computer and that Windows 10 has proved (so far) not to be the gremlin I had anticipated and was easy to customise to my liking.

One good thing about Windows 10, is that Open Live Writer now has a spell checker, unavailable on Windows 7 , so hopefully I won’t be making as many inadvertent mistakes. I have yet to test that it uploads to Google, but this post will be the proof.

On other matters I have several events booked in February and March, two literary occasions – Margaret Atwood at Hamer Hall on 23 February and Neil Gaiman at the Capitol on February 25 – and three music concerts. The first of these is Patty Griffin on March 3, followed by Eilen Jewell on 19 March and Kieran Kane on 26 March. So there’s lots to look forward to in this brand new year.

Hopefully I’ll be back at the races next Saturday at Caulfield. Alas, transport disruptions mean that I will have to catch a bus to Caulfield next week as trains are not running, though the rest of the autumn racing season at Caulfield appears not to be affected, in February at least.

The 2020 All Star Mile will be run at Caulfield this year in mid March and is shaping up as the race of the Melbourne autumn season, with a plethora of classy horses nominated. 

I witnessed the inaugural running of the race last year at Flemington, won by Tassie filly Mystic Journey. She is nominated again and will probably get a start. Let’s hope the P B Lawrence Stakes curse has worn off this autumn and that she can add another win to her tally.

Apocalypse Now

The recent and ongoing bushfires raging across Australia give one a feeling of living in an end of days scenario.  Here in Melbourne today there is a haze of smoke, but otherwise I feel lucky to be in the city and not out in the bush. So far this summer in Melbourne has been fairly mild and tolerable. I suppose that might change as we move towards February which normally is the hottest month.

I can’t imagine what it would have been like in Mallacoota or Kangaroo Island and the other hot spots in the country. Bravo to the voluntary fire fighters.

With the bushfires dominating the news, my mind can’t help but think back to my childhood in the North East Victorian town of Woods Point, which was wiped out in the Black Friday fires of 13 January 1939.

The memory of those fires still lingered in the late 1950s when we lived in the town.  I used to worry every summer and fret about how I could save our animals from the flames.

We did bushfire evacuation drills at the school, marching from the school to the Morning Star mine to a shelter in one of the shafts.

Woods Point Hospital where we lived in the 1950s

The old Woods Point Hospital in 1905 before it was destroyed in the 1939 bushfire

The above black and white photo is one of several sent to me by former childhood friend Shirley who lived next door to the hospital.

Photo of me and my brothers with Shirley and her dog 1950s

Back in these modern times,  support for Windows 7 expires today. Rather than update this present five year old computer to Windows 10, I’ve opted to buy a brand new desktop, and have ordered a custom made machine from my favourite computer shop Cnet Technology in Preston.

It should be ready to pick up this week and I’m looking forward to firing it up despite it operating on Windows 10. It has all the bells and whistles – a fast CPU, lots of RAM, a sizeable (500 GB) Solid State Drive plus a second  1TB hard drive for data, a whizbang 4 GB Graphic Card, etc etc.

Thinking back over the 25 or so years since my first computer, Windows 10 will mark the seventh operating system I will have to master. Of course you can also count my iPad (OS 10) and mobile phone (new as well) with Android Version 9.

No doubt it will take me at least a day to attach the peripherals and load software. Cross fingers my old verions of MS Office and Dreamweaver MX will still work.

I’m pleasurably anticipating returning to the races in a little under a fortnight for the build up to the Autumn racing season, with the Blue Diamond Previews at Caulfield on 25 January.

There was a fine taster on the Gold Coast last Saturday with the Magic Millions race day. I even had a few bets on a couple of races and was delighted that Chris Waller trained mare Invincibella won the Fillies & Mares Magic Millions for the third consecutive time, paying $5.00 for the win.  I also invested a small sum on Conceited in the Two Year Old Classic. Though not winning, he payed $3.00 for running third.

Alligator Blood, if ever there was a future star of the turf, won the Three Year Old Guineas in fine style after much drama getting to the course. I would have placed money on him, but his odds were so short it wasn’t worth it. Hopefully we’ll get to see him in Melbourne over the Autumn Carnival.

We may be living in a dystopian world, but there are still enjoyable things to do amid the doom and gloom.

So Long to the 2010s

Bingo early December

I really can’t complain about the 2010s as I have been retired from work for  9/10ths of the decade, but globally the world is a different place to what it was in 2009.

Actually, in my humble opinion, the world changed for good on 11 September 2001 with the fall of the two towers and has been going downhill ever since.

Anyway, to see out the old year here are some of my highlights for this year.

Books

Though as usual I reread several old favourites, a number of new titles impressed me this year, notably two books by previously unknown authors – Diane Setterfield and Sarah Tolmie.

An engaging ghost story set on the river Thames, Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield gripped me from the beginning. It’s a sort of old fashioned tale that you comfortably settle into and follow delightedly to its satisfying conclusion.

The Little Animals by Canadian writer, Sarah Tolmie, is the book I loved the most this year; an unremarked gem of a novel about Dutch scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, known as the Father of Microbiology. He was a contemporary of the famous artist Johannes Vermeer who is also a character in the book. Another main character, who haunts the book and lends an otherworldly vibe to it, is the goose girl, transported from a Grimm fairy story to 17th century Delft to become a strange collaborator in van Leeuwenhoek’s scientific investigations into animacules (Little Animals). 

If like me you are weary of books banging on about modern social issues, The Little Animals is a welcome escape from these troubled times and a pleasure to read.

I also enjoyed new books by favourite authors – The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, The Secret Commonwealth by Phillip Pullman and two new books by the wonderful American writer John Crowley, And Go Like This, a book of short stories, and Reading Backwards an illuminating, exquisitely written collection of essays and reviews covering an astonishingly wide range of topics.

Alas John Crowley’s 25th Anniversary edition of Little, Big was not published this year – no surprise really. Hopefully I get to finally hold it in my hands next year after a 15 year wait.

Next year I’m pleasantly anticipating Agency by William Gibson in January,  The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel in March, a new David Mitchell novel, Utopia Avenue, in June and after a 16 year hiatus Susanna Clarke (author of the magical Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel) has a new novel titled Piranisi coming in September.

We’re not doing anything special this New Year’s Eve and will be asleep by midnight, possibly awakened by fireworks, but more likely the cat Bingo.

He’s now three years old and just as mischievous as ever, not to mention noisily vocal. But he is a beautiful looking animal and a dear little fellow most of the time.

Let’s hope summer is not too trying. A few 40C+ degree days is normal in Melbourne, and luckily the few we’ve had so far  have only lasted 24 hours with a cool change following in a timely manner and lingering for days.

The hot weather has affected the horse racing industry. Several recent race meetings have been abandoned due to the heat, which is to be commended. Hopefully when the Group 1 racing resumes in early February the weather will be kind, though that’s unlikely. We wait and see.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the new racing season as I enjoy my Saturday afternoon outings to the track. It’s also pleasurable to speculate on the emergence of new stars of the turf in the Magic Millions two year old competitions in early January at the Gold Coast.

Whilst awaiting the new racing season I’ve been playing computer games, the current one on the go being Blade Runner, a 1997 game recently rejigged for modern computers by GOG.

Despite it’s 80s retro visuals, I recently  enjoyed a very well made game called Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders.  The game is based on a real life ancient Chinese judge and investigator Di Renjie, who was also the hero of a series of novels by Robert van Gulick, quite few of which I have in my personal library.

As support for Windows 7 expires mid January, I’ll be obliged to either update my current computer to the dreaded Windows 10 or purchase a new one.  Despite this Windows 7 computer still going smoothly, I’m favouring getting a new computer for Windows 10 for several reasons. Firstly the SSD C: drive on this computer is running out of space, and secondly it being close to  five years old, the bios is pretty ancient and is probably not up to date or updateable.

I intend to buy another desktop with all the bells and whistles, ie a good graphics card, a fast CPU with lots of RAM. Hopefully my favourite old software will still work on a new machine and in Windows 10.

Windows 7 in my opinion has been the best version of Windows I’ve ever used. It’s stable, fast and problem free in the main and runs all my old beloved software programs.

This is turning into a marathon post, so I’ll end here, wishing my readers, whoever you are, a Happy 2020 and a more enlightened world.

Pictures & Pages–Elise Hurst Signing in Coburg

Pictures & Pages Bookshop in Sydney Road Coburg

I would not normally venture out to the north western suburb of Coburg - in fact I can’t remember the last time I was there - but the special occasion of local artist  Elise Hurst signing copies of her recent collaboration with famed writer Neil Gaiman, an illustrated edition of his novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, drew me thence.

 
Illustrated edition of The Ocean at the End of the Lane

It was actually quite easy to get to Coburg from Ivanhoe via public transport, the convenient 510 (Ivanhoe to Essendon) Bus allowed me to alight at the corner of  Sydney Road and Moreland Road and take a short tram trip north that got me to the venue, a specialist Children’s Bookshop called Pictures & Pages, in a little over 30 minutes.

Elise Hurst is a remarkably talented Melbourne artist whom I first discovered in December 2017 when a friend gifted me with her 2018 Calendar for Christmas.  I’ve been a great fan since and have met Elise several times at the Brunswick Sisters Market and purchased her cards, books and prints.

As well as being dazzingly talented, Elise Hurst is a lovely person, sweet, unaffected, friendly and easy to talk to.

Elise Hurst signing books at Pictures & Pages

Naturally I bought a copy of The Ocean at the End of the Lane and got Elise to sign it. She also had prints of illustrations from the book for sale, but I resisted the temptation to buy the perfectly composed skulking  Fox  print. I may yet cave in and buy a copy before they sell out.

The Fox – an illustration from The Ocean at the End of the Lane

As I haven’t previously read The Ocean at the End of the Lane, I’m looking forward to reading this beautiful edition, a handsome hard covered book that is highly collectable if you’re a bibliophile who appreciates beautiful books.

It was an interesting excursion to Coburg,  a mini adventure of sorts for a Sunday afternoon.

A Wave of a Magic Wand and the Carnival is Over

Magic Wand wins the Mackinnon Stakes

The final day of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival at Flemington on Saturday was held once again under cloudy skies, though thankfully the rain held off most of the afternoon. There hasn’t been such a consistently wet and wintry spring racing season for ages, a least not since I’ve been a regular attendant. A few sunny days wouldn’t have gone astray.

So it was an unusual carnival and the Winx factor was sadly missing with only Nature Strip winning more than one of the 28 Group 1 races, and Melody Belle who won four Group 1 races in New Zealand prior to winning the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes on Derby Day.

Unfortunately Melody Belle was denied a second Australian Group 1 win in the Mackinnon Stakes, having drawn the widest barrier, racing at the tail of the field and being unable to quite catch Magic Wand at the finish.  We can look forward to seeing her back in action in the Autumn in Melbourne.

For grand old warhorse Hartnell, now at the ripe old age of nine, the Mackinnon Stakes was his swansong. Many hoped that he would end his illustrious career with a win, but he had to settle for third place behind the girls.

Hartnell Farewelll on the big screen

He was suitably farewelled by having his career played out on the big screen and Godolphin were giving away caps embroidered with his name as a memento of the popular galloper.

I first saw Hartell in the flesh on Turnbull Stakes day 2015 where he finished unplaced. He also started in Winx’s first Cox Plate in 2015 and ran 5th. That was the first time he raced against the mighty Winx and in seven races all up, he ran second to her in three.

Instantly recognisable, he is a beautiful looking beast with a handsome head. I’ll miss seeing his familiar presence in the future. He will be lovingly cared for in retirement. Bart Cummings old foreman Reg Fleming will be his caretaker and Hartnell will possibly have a new career as a show horse.

Hartnell in his stall last Saturday

Back to the races, I arrived at Flemington around 1.30 pm and met up with my friend Rebecca in the stalls area. She had called me in a panic when I was on the Flemington train. She had forgotten to put a memory card in her camera.  By chance I had a spare on my person, so that problem was solved when I arrived.

Many of the Group 1 contenders were present in their stalls, so I got some nice photos whilst I was there.

Melody Belle chewing her lead

Rondinella in the stall next to Melody Belle

Melody Belle poked her head over the partition into Rondinella’s stall to check her out. Whoa! That was a mistake as Rondinella recoiled from the contact with a squeal, thereby startling Melody Belle who recoiled as well. It was an amusing encounter for us bystanders.

Nature Strip in his stall also munching on his lead

Santa Ana Lane – hot favourite for the Sprint Classic

Girl Tuesday – the daughter of former star mare Tuesday Joy from Street Cry

2019 Manikato Stakes winner Loving Gaby

Former New Zealand mare Danzdanzdance now with Chris Waller

Chris Waller had a large contingent of horses running on Saturday and for once he was present at Flemington. Rebecca and I waylaid him later in the afternoon and got him to sign our Winx racebooks from last year’s Cox Plate (in Rebecca’s case) and her last three races (in my case).

Chris Waller trained horses won both the Sydney “pop up” races, The Everest and The Golden Eagle with Yes, Yes, Yes and Kolding respectively, so he’d remained in Sydney for most of the Melbourne Spring Carnival.

Back trackside we were in time to catch Race 4, the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a race over 2600 metres, a sort of consolation race for horses who missed out on running in the Melbourne Cup.

Irish mare True Self, who ran second in the Geelong Cup, was the warm favourite and delivered the bickies winning by 1.5 lengths from Carif, with long shot Maurus running third.

True Self winning the Queen Elizabeth Stakes

The win of the afternoon has to go to Nature Strip in the Group 1 Darley Sprint Classic, run down the long Flemington straight over 1200 metres.

As is typical of sprints down the straight, it is difficult at the best of times to get good photos of the finish, with the official photographers congregating in front of our favourite spot. During the Spring carnival, you also have to put up with security guys placing themselves at regular intervals along the fence. 

Official photographers and security guards hinder my POV as Nature Strip zooms into shot

This time the runners all ran along the outside rail with Nature Strip leading the pack from the start.  He increased his lead 400 metres from the finishing post to win by over three lengths from Loving Gaby and In Her Time.  Santa Ana Lane didn’t fire and finished 5th.

Nature Strip wins the Darley Classic Sprint

Nature Strip returns to scale in the mounting yard an ecstatic James McDonald salutes the crowd

Nature Strip in the winners rug

Nature Strip certainly killed any doubts that he couldn’t win over 1200 metres, Chris Waller’s training efforts, to get him to relax and not overexert himself early, paying off big time.

Race 6 was the Group 3 Matriarch Stakes, a race for mares over 2000 metres. Girl Tuesday was the tote favourite, but she ended up unplaced. Oceanex won at big odds from Miss Siska and Aristocratic Miss.

Matriarch Stakes finish – Oceanex is outside Miss Siska and Greysful Glamour

Oceanex on her way to the barriers

Only one race remained to be run before the feature Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes and that was the Group 3 Chatham Stakes, run over 1400 metres.  Admiral’s Joker was the starting favourite but he was denied victory by 11/1 shot Reykjavic.  Noble Boy ran third.

Reykjavic (outside) and Noble Boy cross the finish line

Reykjavic on his way to the barriers

As previously mentioned the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes was won by tough Irish mare Magic Wand. She certainly had a full program during her sojourn in Melbourne, running in the Cox Plate where she ran fourth and also competing in the Melbourne Cup and running tenth. 

I was disappointed that Melody Belle was defeated, but she certainly wasn’t disgraced, running a great race from last to second place.

Magic Wand on her way to the barriers

Melody Belle returns to scale

Hartnell returns to scale after running his last race

And so ended the 2019 Spring Racing Carnival.

It was mostly memorable due to the awful weather and extremely negative press, but I enjoyed the racing action and remained interested all through the season despite no potential super stars making an impression. Horses of the calibre of Winx and Black Caviar are few and far between, but you never know when a new star may arise to capture our attention again.

Anyway, I look forward to returning to the track in late January and the Autumn carnival and seeing my photographer friends Rebecca and George, and our new acquaintance – Jiei, a young Japanese guy, in Australia to learn English, who is also a keen racing fan and amateur photographer.

Melbourne Cup 2019

Surprise Baby at Moonee Valley September 2019

The annual 24 piece puzzle has come around again and racing fans are pondering the odds of tipping the 2019 Melbourne Cup winner.

The form “experts” are tipping the current favourite Constantinople, last year’s winner Cross Counter,  Caulfield Cup winner Mer de Glace,  the Chris Waller trained Finche and various other International contenders.

Local hopes rest on Surprise Baby whose sire Shocking won the Melbourne Cup in 2009, and Vow and Declare who ran second in the Caulfield Cup.  The Zabeel factor, which used to be quite reliable, is largely missing these days, but the New Zealand trained The Chosen One has Zabeel as his grandsire, and is the sole runner with the Z Factor in his pedigree.

There are two mares – Youngstar and Magic Wand who are not given that much chance. The last mare to win was Makybe Diva who triumphed three times running (2003 to 2005), a feat as yet to be duplicated.

You might as well stick a pin in the form guide; it’s as good a method as anything.

My online Sporstbet account is flush with money, and as I haven’t had a bet all spring, I may wager a few dollars each way on Finche, Surprise Baby and Il Paradiso (I like his name!) with not much confidence.

Anyway, Good Luck if you’re having a flutter on the Cup.

Tuesday Afternoon Update

So much for my tips, but then again all the experts were out as well. Good to see victory for an Australian bred horse, that being Vow & Declare, who coincidently was sired by Declaration of War the Victoria Derby winner  Warning’s dad. 

Vow & Declare – photo from Turnbull Stakes Day 2019

Irish horse Master of Reality ran second, but was relegated to fourth after a protest was upheld, so Prince of Arran was awarded second place and Il Paradiso third. Surprise Baby ran fifth.

Mud & Champagne–That Was Derby Day 2019

Warning wins the 2019 Victoria Derby

Derby Day dawned with a downpour of rain that persisted practically the whole day. Cox Plate day was inclement, but this was the worst weather I’ve experienced at the races in all the years I’ve been going to the track.

You may say that  I was mad to attend the event, but strangely, challenging weather conditions made the experience memorable and unique.

It was raining when I left home, B obligingly driving me to the station, and was still raining when I arrived at Flemington. Race 4, the Lexus Stakes was in process of being run and was won by Downdraft who gains automatic entry into the Melbourne Cup.

As the next race was the first of the four Group 1 events of the afternoon, I decided to visit the stalls area and kill time before it ran.  I didn’t linger long and only got photos of Melody Belle and Derby favourite Shadow Hero.

Melody Belle in her stall

Shadow Hero in his stall

Squelching back to my accustomed spot just past the winning post I endured the downpour while waiting for the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes to start.

The super New Zealand mare Melody Belle, who has won more Group 1 races than any other horse this year, started as favourite and relished the soggy conditions, winning the Empire Rose easily from local mare Aristia with Spanish Reef running third.

To say that photographic condition were difficult is an understatement and there is not much you can do when the rain is bucketing down.  Hence the speckled effect in most of my photos of the action.

Melody Belle wins the Empire Rose Stakes

Melody Belle in full flight

Aristia with an umbrella clutching audience watching on the opposite side of the track

Melody Belle may race again next weekend at Flemington in either the MacKinnon Stakes or Matriarch Stakes, hopefully in kinder conditions.

I was quite wet, as was my camera, after the Empire Rose Stakes, so I took shelter in the crowded Saintly Stand to dry off.

By the time I got back to the fence the rain had eased and the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes was run in a light shower rather pouring rain. Another mud lark, Exceedance, won from the well fancied Golden Rose winner Bivouac.

Exceedance wins the Coolmore Stud Stakes

Exceedance returns to scale

Bivouac returns to scale

The rain held off for the running of the Victoria Derby. The hot favourite was Shadow Hero who had recently won the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes, but he didn’t fancy the soft track and finished fifth, 10 lengths from the winner Warning who won by over 3 lengths from Southern Moon, with Soul Patch another length in arrears, running third.  Southern Moon, incidently, is the son of Puissance de Lune, a photogenic grey I followed in 2013/2014.

Warning returns to scale in the rain

Southern Moon & Soul Patch cross the finish line in the wake of Warning

The rain returned with a vengeance after the Derby, so I decided not to wait for the fourth Group 1 – Cantala Stakes – and headed for the station and home.

Champagne still flowed abundantly and the mode du jour appeared to consist of rainwear and umbrellas on top of flimsy finery.

In Sydney, on Saturday the feature race was the new fangled Golden Eagle,  a 7 million dollar race for 4 year olds that had attracted a very classy field.  Run over 1500 metres, it resulted in a win for the Chris Waller trained Kolding. Sunlight, having her first start beyond 1200 metres, almost stole the show, losing by a whisker on the line after leading throughout.

Tomorrow is the Melbourne Cup, which I might ponder in a blogpost. It’s the usual puzzle, the field mostly comprised of International runners. I won’t be attending, but will go to Stakes Day on Saturday, which hopefully will not be as wet as the last few Saturday racedays, but I’m not holding my breath for a sunshiny day.