What I Did In My Summer.

SL. Lots of it. Feeling sick. Lots of that too. Hating the high humidity and heat. REALLY lots of that...

So it's been one of our hotter and more humid summers, and with advancing emphysema it has been unpleasant. Other people see to write more at such times but I find I tend to write morose depressive shit at those times so I've avoided it.

I'm amazed at one particular humour newsletter editor who's taken it upon himself to single-handedly campaign against global warming. His platform? "Oh look at all these pictures of MUCH MUCH colder than normal winter weather - that's not global 'warming', pah!"

Some people are so thick it amazes one...

I've noticed that for the first time in 15 years or more, we actually had a reasonable amount fo rain over a few weeks. Unfortunately, that is still a few dozen weeks short of the rainfall we used to get back then, but a bit more of Manfred's "Global Freezing, Not Warming - So Screw You Al Gore" weather will see Western Australia out of the long dry 20 year drought. And the rest of the world into climate and environment changes...

Oh and today brought with it my espresso emergency, in the form of one of those "what the heck is that puddle of water doing under the machine?" experiences. Let me tell you the lengths I'll go to to have espresso on tap:

First of all, Breville have a unique manufacturing style - apparently they hang the steam pump in mid-air and then attach the rest ofthe espresso machine to it. Disassembly took an hour, over 30 screws removed, and every last panel and chassis member removed. Also about 2 sq cm of skin from various fingers, knuckles, and other parts of the hands.

The problem turned out to be a cheap plastic snap coupling for the water supply to the main boiler. Out of three snap tongues, two had snapped, one uncountably long ago as I couldn't find the missing plastic bit, the other more recently because I found that piece in the innards.

Since the fitting wouldn't hold worth shit with only one of three clips, I had to either find another fitting (impossible because it was custom molded for Breville,) buy a new espresso machine, or fix this one.

The coupling is now araldited and held in place with several ties, and the re-assembly only took another hour. Oh and it works. No bad taste in the water, I must have managed to sanitarily place the epoxy only on non-water surfaces, and no water under the machine. My morning coffee is assured, the weather has started cooling a little, and I'm feeling much better.

Watch out world...