Rum & Dal

Battery operated screwdrivers have been around for over 15 years.  Since their debut they have come a long way, reduction in size and weight, variable torque settings, ergonomics and more importantly battery life.

Whilst browsing in Bunnings, the equivalent to B&Q; I came across the Bosch IXO cordless screwdriver.  It was the packaging that drew attention towards the quaint stylish driver.  The driver and its accessories are packaged in a tin box (18 x 18 x 14cm) however this is not why purchased the item.

The driver weighs approximately 300g and fits like a glove.  The soft rubber grip allows the user to be comfortable and confident when using the driver with his/hers left or right hand.  For additional support you can easily hold the driver with both hands.  With the aid of arrows that light up the user is always aware which way the driver is rotating.  When the trigger is half and fully pressed an LED will come on at the front of the driver to illuminate the fastener.  Nice idea when you working inside a cupboard.

The main reason I purchased this driver was because of the attachments that accompanied the driver.  The driver can be used as it is or with the adjustable torque setting attachment or with the angle driver head.  The heads are easily attached by removing the plastic cap and clipping the attachment, they can be removed with a simple twist and pull action.  Torque settings are necessary when using small diameter screws; if you’re not careful you will thread or damage the screw head.

The set includes 10 fastener heads: 1 x flat, 2 x hex, 2 x torx, 2 x cross and 2 x which are all housed in a plastic clip that can be removed from the docking station.  The docking station which is also the charger can sit on the work bench or mounted on a wall.

This is a nice piece of kit that should be a part of everyone’s toolbox, a must for those enthusiastic IKEA future lovers.  It is clear that this driver has been designed with some thought, comfortable for men, woman and children to use; from the amateur DIY person to the professional tradesperson.  The only compliant I have is that Bosch should have included an extension piece for the fastener heads.  I paid $79 for this, ten dollars less and think it would have been a bargain.

So we’ve been in Melbourne for 16 months and are yet to have ourselves decent fish n chips.
The quest started a week after we landed here, many chippies were sampled but always failed scoring 1/5. Main reason for the rejection was the batter quality and the use of frozen chips with lemon as apposed to salt and finger. Criminal offence.

Us Brits have a set criteria when we’re abroad, alcohol, tea, fish n chips and someone who appreciates the British sense of humour.

Our dear friends Kate and Gerald, who are born again Brits from East London were very exited when telling us about there experience at a fish n chip shop that they came across in Brighton. (Melbourne also has a Brighton not quite as forward and extravagant, if you know what I mean

So to set the scene… it was a beautiful sunny day, Dal and I walked down to the station to meet Kate and G. We were early so we ducked into the near by pub (Young and Jackson) for a quick pint, as you do and were soon in the mood for a greasy fish n chip, lovely jubbly.

Took the train down to Brighton, if it wasn’t a Sunday Dal and I would have taken our hip flasks, oh well next time. Once in Brighton Kate took us to the chippy via the scenic route, Beautiful houses, lovely lush gardens, automatic gates, definitely dream homes for us.

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As a birthday gift from Parm and Sian this year, Rum and I received a popcorn maker for the new house.  The idea was we wait until December, have a movie night and enjoy some freshly made popcorn.  Well we couldn’t wait.  It was a nice idea but we simply couldn’t hold out till the house was ready, we had to use it!  It took Rum about a minute to get it out of the box and to plug it in.  Lights on, camera running and action in about 5 minutes.

We let it run for about 3 minutes for the kettle to warm up, added 2 teaspoons of oil, 1 scoop of popcorn and that was it. Popcorn was popping out of the kettle and the room was smelling like a cinema foyer. Two scoops later we had half a bucket of popcorn and a very smiley Rum!

Cleaning it was no big deal, one wet wipe and one dry wipe.  Job done and ready for next time :)  All we need now is to get some popcorn oil and popcorn flavours… this time it was salted… my favourite. Right, I am off to find a toothpick!!!  View video below.

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The bitch is back… and is coming your way this Christmas. What better gift could Santa bring you?  Lets all hope that this film makes up for all the shortfalls in the last movie.  I know what standard to expect now so I won’t be disappointed, dare I say?  Is this going to be a “real” film or a chic flick?

The trailer seems promising and has certainly got me excited but have I seen all the best bits of the film already?  We’ll wait and see.  Ever since I heard about the film AVP it got me thinking about the alien/predator hybrid,  this bitch better be bad!!!

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Transformers, robots in disguise. These Transformers, more than meets the eye.

I’m 30 odd years old now and when I heard about the film Transformers I could have wet myself with excitement. All the boys my age can remember the cartoon and how great it was; I even had a set of toys back in the day. Citroen brought out an advertisement which showed the C4 transforming into an elegant ice skater and this CGI really got me pumped. The transformation animation from car to Autobot was seamless and you could believe this could happen.

I wait with anticipation for this film however Hollywood have this tendency to ruin films at the moment (AVP being one) though I’ll try to remain optimistic.

The wait is over.

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The Breville juice fountain was purchased from Big W for AUS$98 (regular price of $148) the other choice was the juicer endorsed by the legendary George Forman, just like this boxer stear clear from him and anything endorsed by him.

This juicer was mainly purchased because of its special price offer, robust build quality and ease of cleaning.  Unknown to us at the time Breville are known for their industrial juicers, it is understandable why their home juice fountain performs so well.

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