19 Week Scan

Our [new] kid...

What's that - again?

Big News...

We are due again.

Little Blobinina (maybe a girl, we don't know) is due in October. Not planned, and well, we have not been able to talk too much about it, as Jac was just quite getting used to a bit of normality. But in reality, it's going to be great, if tough for a while. Second time round is so different from the first. We are chuffed. Pics soon.

The other news for JT is that I've finally been awarded Chartered Engineer status from the Institure of Engineering and Technology (formerly the Institute of Electrical Engineers - IEE, the primary professional engineering body in the UK), and have also embalked (about 8 weeks ago... hence being v. busy) on taking the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Masters (or Managers) programme from OGC which means lots of study for the exams in mid June. ITIL is essentially the defacto best practice framework for IT service management... essentially how to run an IT department. Covering... Incident, Problem, Change, Configuration, Release, Service Level, Financial, Capacity, Availability and IT Service Continuity Management.

The way I see it is best practice Information Security (ISO/IEC 17799/27001) and best practice IT (ISO/IEC 15000) make for a good combination.

Take Care out There

Wombeyan Caves

Hi All - again a bit of a delay in posting, it's just been so so busy, and these posts will explain why.... So we'll post separate blogs for separate things.

Please find attached pics of our Easter Camping Trip to the Wombeyan Caves with Paulie, Rowy & Saskia, and Tony, Jess & Spencer.

The Caves are about 3-4 hours drive South-East of Sydney towards Canberra and are at the Southern part of the Great Dividing Range. The last 1.5 hours are along a virtually single dirt track road (not for the feint hearted in the rain) with sheer sides, but end up in a valley full of native and 'exotic' trees.

My, was it bloody cold at night - got down to -3 deg, which was, if truth be told, a little too cold - like 2 duvets, 3 rugs, long-johns, hats, scarves and all in the same bed. But on the bright side, we had a 24 hour fire with masses of wood, and as soon as the sun appeared in the morning, the temperature soared. Personally I like that 'we made it through the night' feeling. Others, perhaps not...!

We also had to try out our new Faaaamily OzTrail 'Villa' tent. Perhaps a bit ambitious, but the reason and size will become clear soon (or in the above posts)... I said to Jac that we would give it 2-3 go's and then sell it on eBay if it does not work out. It's about 6 x 4 mtrs including the 'Sun Lounge' area, and 25Kgs....

I also was breaking in my new Akubra - the only Aussie hat to be seen in. Very proud of it actually - does exactly what it says on the tin, and is top quality fur felt. I went for the 'Plainsman' - which sort of fits my image, no?

We went with great intentions of fishing, and visiting the caves. Alas there were water restrictions, and no water in the rivers. Never mind - the boys could keep themselves happy 'Chopping, Sawing, and Firepoking'.

Next time - the Sea, fishing, surf and warmth! Cheers