Europe Holiday 2015 - Day Two

The service mark for Emirates dropped markedly when they forgot to serve breakfast to our row. Air rage is a real thing - ask the missus. She was pissed. I was asleep but had placed a sticker on the seat in front of me. The missus had been awake the whole time but was watching a movie. The guy in the aisle seat was asleep.

Finally they served us after being told off and my missus demanded an apology from the head stewardess, who touched her as she apologised, which upset her even more. Then they tried to take away her breakfast before she'd finished, with some lame excuse about coming in to land, and she told them exactly where to get off. Funny how the stewardess in charge didn't want to make eye contact as we departed the plane.

Wifi didn't work too well either.

Dubai is a flashy new airport

 Bit of a line for security screening. Did some duty free shopping. It was at this time that the missus realised she'd been ripped off buying duty free cosmetics on board the previous flight. The toilets were really busy at the airport. Lots of men and boys running around the airport wearing bath towels. Not sure what that was about. Thought they must have belonged to Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party.

Don't you dare forget my meal on this flight

Another big bird waiting to take off

Dubai almost looks like a bomb hit it

Sat next to an Aussie who works 2 months on and 1 month off in Mali, of all places. Got thirsty and made the call for an attendant. Waited 20 minutes until the meals were served before they noticed. Can't complain about the service when there is none. Watched Unbroken - great film.

The missus obtained a refund for her cosmetics which were too dear on the previous flight. Happy traveller again. She was speaking to a Parisian about restaurants at the back of the plane at one stage. Found that I could even upload photos to Facebook on the flight - bit slow though.

If I'm not mistaken that must be the Alps - but if they were in Turkey probably not

Today's flight

Watched Run All Night - violent but quite good movie. Mountains were beautiful from the air with little in the way of clouds to spoil the view. Lots of gasps from the missus when I pointed them out to her. Meal was excellent - chicken. Great food on board.

After 1 hour to progress through immigration and then wait for our baggage. At Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport I found EasyJet's terminal, 2D, but you had to ask as it wasn't stated anywhere. We would have to wait another two hours for the check-in to open. Had something to eat which wasn't really tasty. Purchased sim cards for the phones and installed them. Took a bit to get going and then all the notifications came through in French.

Obtained our boarding passes but Miky's hadn't been filled in properly - instead of From:Paris they had entered the booking reference number which made no sense to anybody. Changed the boarding pass and went through security. Had to remove my belt and go through again. Found I was unable to call anybody except Miky - turns out this was to do with the leading "0" and international codes. So confusing when it's all in French.

Air conditioner must be an English word as the airport doesn't seem to use them. There was a call for volunteers to place their carry on luggage in the hold - must be overloaded. And our flight to Prague was delayed so we stood in the bus on the tarmac for a while. Did they call themselves EasyJet for a laugh?

"Notso" EasyJet

It'll take forever if we drive to Prague from Paris

Took off at least 45 minutes late. Both of us were zonked and fell asleep quickly. Short flight. I was amazed to see that Korean was written on the signs at the airport as well as English, Czech and Russian. Changed some pounds sterling left over from a previous holiday and spoke as much Czech as I could. This surprised the clerk. He was even more surprised to hear that I was from Australia. Then to top that off I bade him farewell in Czech and Russian (accidentally) which provided him with a decent laugh.

I wasn't expecting Korean on signs at Prague airport

Grabbed our bags, at least three groups of Koreans were also on that flight, and grabbed a taxi. Saw a guy with a sign looking for "James Pissis". Nearly pissed myself over that but didn't stop to take a photo. Our driver was quite talkative and surprised to hear that we were from Oz. Friendliest driver ever. He even rang our host and took us right to the door. Gave us a discount too. Guess it pays to know some of the language and history of the place you are visiting as it made him fell comfortable with us.

Waited 20 minutes for someone to let us in to the building. A guy came out the front door and I asked him if he was Martin. This guy was in total shock as his name was Martin. But he wasn't the Martin that was our host so it was a huge coincidence. The apartment that we had rented was spacious and clean with 10' ceilings. Went out and grabbed some Mexican food for dinner. Ordered in Czech and the guy just spoke Czech to me. There was a group of Aussies that he served just before me so why was everyone surprised that we were from there? Didn't have to worry about how comfortable the bed was as I was almost asleep before turning off the light.

Europe Holiday 2015 - Day One

Dropped The Boy off at the airport this morning as he was headed to India for three weeks with World Challenge. Hoping that he has a difficult time in a third world country and comes back to appreciate what he has in Australia. Put in a hard day at the office before heading home for dinner and last minute panicking, er packing.

We left about an hour earlier than usual because there was a customs officer strike during the day and we expected this to lead to some delays. The taxi driver was an Indian chap. On the radio we had, "Die Yuppie Die". No trouble reaching the airport.

Suitcases - 13.4kg and 11.8kg. This will be important once we reach day 20 or so.

Bye bye winter, hello expensive summer

Couple of teas before we got started. No swab test for bomb residue - surprising. Normally get asked to do this. Wasn't pleased with the way the security guy slammed the missus' bag which contained her tablet. Only waited for one family at border protection/immigration so the strike didn't have much of a knock-on effect.

Airbus A380 - big, luxurious, USB power. Emirates serves really nice food, except for the carrots, and the entertainment system is fabulous. Could do with noise-cancelling headphones though. Watched Avengers - Age of Ultron and Kingsman. Only one screaming baby and that didn't last long.

Just in case I'm asleep when they serve the next meal

Scam Call

Scammers. They're everywhere. But lately they've been trying really hard to get me on the phone. Take this call from "Jason O'Connor" from the ATO. He must think I'm a real dipshit.

Boycott Bali?

Bali, Indonesia. A place where my wife suggested we spend our honeymoon. I've never been and have never had the inclination to visit. Until recently perhaps.

Bali is well known for being a place where bogans and yobbos from Australia hang out. They get drunk, do drugs and behave obnoxiously. Not all Aussies behave that way, I might point out. It's a destination that is cheaper than visiting other capital cities on the mainland and the rules seem pretty lax so it is the dregs of our society are attracted to it, naturally.

All visitors to Bali are warned about the trafficking of drugs and the death penalty associated with such activity. As has been well publicised a couple of stupid Aussies were executed recently in Indonesia for their role in a drug syndicate after having been caught 10 years ago with their drug mules and 8.3 kg of heroin they were trying to import into Australia.

The do-gooders in this country rallied behind them, and the Australian government provided quite a bit of support during the appeals process, but they were executed for their crimes, according to Indonesian law, nonetheless. Now they are calling for us to "Boycott Bali". Really? If that stops all of the yobbos and druggies visiting Bali then perhaps it will become a nice, clean place to visit. Even an attractive place to visit. I might have to reconsider my stance.

By all means, boycott Bali. Make it a better place for respectable people to visit safe from the influence of our uncouth and uncultured.

Today In Solar News

Bit of a milestone with regards to solar news. Today marks the day that the exported value of my solar panels exceeded the import from the electricity utility. It's just a smidgen under six months since we moved in and two days over three months since the solar was installed. Not quite self-sufficient, would be if I'd installed (extremely cost-prohibitive) batteries, but an interesting point nonetheless.

Some stats
Average daily output of solar array: 18.7 kWh (on the downward trend as winter approaches)
Average daily consumption (grid and solar): 8.86 kWh (pretty steady)
Percentage of electricity exported (sold to utility): 80.85% (pretty steady)
Daily savings average: $1.89

Considering that the average US home consumes 909 kWh/month and, on current consumption, we are heading for 270 kWh/month, we're being reasonably conservative. The depth of winter, not that we really have that season in Perth, and the height of summer, which we have in abundance, will place a severe upward pressure on that figure.

I've become more of an electricity Nazi, which is hard to believe, since installing the solar panels. No point in wasting it as it still costs money to use and you forgo money if you can't sell it to the utility. Pity that the rebate level is only seven (7) cents per kWh when the purchase costs are 22.36 cents per kWh. I could be making money if these rates were the same.

Six-Word Short Story

My son mentioned to me today that in English they had been studying six-word short stories. This style of writing has, rightly or wrongly, been attributed to Ernest Hemingway.

For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.

Or so the story goes. Some examples that his class came up with, or found on the Net, are as follows:

- Sorry soldier, shoes only in pairs.
- You are a failed artist, Adolf.
- Life is hard. Concrete is harder.

It got me thinking. Dangerous, I know. Here's some I came up with:

- Short sentence. Jailed for one day.
- Bali executions. Got their just desserts.
- Verbose people can't tell short stories.
- Nepalese life - I shudder to think.
- I cut a long story short.
- Memory loss. What was I thinking?
- Most vampires are nasty little suckers.
- My stomach is like the TARDIS.
- No single rooms in love hotels.
- No light bulb moments before Edison.

Think of any you'd like to share?

Don't Mess With The Little Guy You Big, Ugly Electricity Utility

Had a couple of fights picked with the electricity utility of late. One with a property that was recently sold and the second was with at the new place with a new solar installation.

First off, the old place. We were on self-read as the meter box was inside the locked property due to an extension which encapsulated the meter. No probs, been like that for years. When we vacated the property the electricity usage dropped noticeably. Obviously. The property wasn't on the market for long and during the period set aside for settlement I had to provide a reading. Duly noted the value and instead of using the phone service to register it I decided to complete an online form. The form notified me of an issue, namely the usage was lower than anticipated. So I commented that the property had been vacated. Soon after I received my bill with the usage as I had recorded.

Come the day before settlement. I advised, by phone, that the property was being sold the next day (13/2) at lunchtime and I wished to have a final reading of the meter done so that I could close the account. No probs and the utility and I read the meter in the late afternoon and took photos of the meter with date, time and usage.

And a bloody good thing too as it was only 2 kWh of usage since the previous reading. The bill came in for 140 kWh of usage. Excuse me! On 27/3 I spoke with the utility and explained the situation. I was informed that the usage must have been estimated. Well, that was a no-brainer as it was behind a locked door. Thank you, Captain Obvious. I explained that I had photos to show the reading and offered to send them. No need, they'd get the electricity network supplier to check except for a rule that stated a bill wouldn't be reviewed unless there was an error greater than 200 kWh. Fine, but I didn't care about their rules as I had all the proof necessary and wanted to speak to someone higher. She spoke to her supervisor and advised that they'd contact the network supplier to see if they'd recheck and she'd put the bill on hold for three weeks.

Fast forward to 13/4 and I receive a revised bill. Wow. Only they still wanted to charge me for 122 kWh of consumption. Bastards. Rang them as soon as I arrived home. The lady I spoke to this time was unable to assist and advised that a supervisor would call me within two days. And she had the nerve to ask if she'd answered my questions to my satisfaction.

Worse was to come. I also received the bill for the new house. It was an astronomical bill for 1161 kWh of consumption with a credit of $1.86 for exported electricity from my solar array. The solar array was 4 kW in size and had been installed and switched on nine days into the 58 days billing period.

This time the lady was most unhelpful and completely lacked understanding. I said that my meter read 1161 kWh on the day of the reading, as I had actually recorded the reading that day, but it didn't take into consideration that that was a cumulative value on the meter for some 18 months or so since installation date. I'd paid my bill only two months before and for this bill they wanted the entire reading for the life of the meter. The stupid person couldn't understand this. I said that I expected my consumption to have been about 470 kWh during that time. Then I mentioned that the 26 kWh that I had exported should be more like 700 or 800 kWh as my solar array had output 997 kWh during that time. For some reason my bill shows 787 kWh as a starting value when the installation took place after the billing period commenced. It made no sense at all.

By my reckoning I'd been overcharged by $163.45 and I'd been shortchanged about $50 in rebate for exporting (I produce more than I consume during the day). It was very frustrating dealing with a customer service operator who doesn't understand the bill nor the mechanics of the product being sold and who continued with that stance.

OK, today I received a call from a supervisor. She got me to check the meter at the new house and it showed I have exported 950 kWh since installation and she could see from the records that installation had taken place on a date after the last billing period commenced. I checked the usage reading too and reported it. Most logical explanation is that the meter hadn't been read correctly and human error was to blame. If I didn't mind she'd request a reread of the meter and waive the $19.65 fee associated with that as it wasn't my error. No probs. Better yet, she believed my recollection of events, probably as I constantly offered to send the photos of the meter, regarding the old house and offered to waive the whole bill which saved me $47.25 when I'd only been looking for a credit of $30 which is what I had been overcharged.

There it is. Even if you are a big, ugly electricity utility you shouldn't mess with a frugal bastard. Especially one who has recorded his electricity consumption and output and had photographic evidence to prove it. Well, I was pretty indignant that an expensive solar array would still lead to an increase of $160 in the bill instead of a sizeable reduction. Oh, and make sure you have a customer service representative that knows the product.

Book Review - 1914 The Year The World Ended by Paul Ham

Haven't done a book review in quite some time. Truth is, I haven't read a book, or at least finished one, since just before Christmas. I bought Paul Ham's "1914 The Year The World Ended" as a Christmas present. Not that it was an uninteresting book by any means but I just got caught up doing other things. Perhaps the coincidental thing is that I finished reading the book on the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, June 28th 1914. Good timing I reckon.

Paul Ham actually delves into the history behind WWI which has its origins closer to 1871 when the German state was born. From then the powers that ruled were building for war. Well, Germany appeared to be looking for empire-building/expansion but continental Europe didn't have much spare space.

I learned that the assassination didn't spark the war but was a point that allowed the Austro-Hungarian empire to try to humiliate the Kingdom of Serbia and engage them in a regional conflict whereupon they wished to inflict a harsh lesson. Backed by Russia, Serbia didn't back down and amassed troops near the border. Germany had backed Austria with a blank cheque and France had an agreement with Russia to assist if she were attacked.

There is quite a bit of information, mainly centred on the British government, regarding diplomacy and France and Germany are dealt with to a lesser degree. Wonderful insight into the goings on behind the scenes including telegrams between cousins the Kaiser and the Tsar. Some amazing information that they don't teach you in school.

There's a few hundred pages regarding the buildup to the conflict, including the diplomacy to try to avoid it, and then a few hundred more on the actual fighting. Wonderful information regarding battles and the waste of human life. I had no idea of the importance of Belgium in WWI and was surprised that the Germans told them that they would respect their neutrality if the Belgians would stand aside and let them walk through to take on the French. If not, they were at war. I was able to see how important it was the Britain entered the war and why so many young men were sacrificed as Britain's safety and respect were at stake. War is so much more formal in nature than I previously thought.

1914 The Year The World Ended by Paul Ham

Fantastic read and worthy of historical study. More of the content should be in any school curriculum when dealing with WWI.