Nic's Journal

2020

January 1: Happy New Year.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year. And here's hope 2020 is a year filled with peace, health, love, success, and happiness for all.

February 21: An Inspirational Couple Living Their Dreams.

A couple of weeks ago I visited YouTube. I don't log into YouTube so there were only generic suggestions of videos. The first video that came up was about a young Aussie couple who are living their dreams sailing around the world on their boat, "La Vagabonde", and funding their lifestyle by making YouTube videos of their adventures.

Since watching that first video, I've now watched over 150 of their episodes, which I find most inspiring and entertaining. If you are interested in watching, here is their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZdQjaSoLjIzFnWsDQOv4ww

February 29: Happy Birthday to All Those With Birthdays Today.

As we know 2020 is a Leap Year, so I would like to take this opportunity to wish every who was born on February 29, a very Happy Birthday today. Enjoy your most special day.

March 9: Autumn Has Arrived In Brisbane.

After a long hot, humid summer with most days being above 30C, today it appears autumn has arrived in Brisbane as today's maximum temperature is expected to reach 24C, and then the next 7 days all below 30C. This is usually a sign autumn is on its way.

It has been an interesting summer for me. - First of all there were the bushfires across Australia. Thankfully though none were too close to where I live. The sky above Brisbane was blanketed with smoke for about 10 days. Then, starting on December 27, 2019, until January 13, 2020 I once again, (my 11th year), volunteered at the 'Brisbane Tennis', which this year comprised of the regular 'Brisbane International' (a WTA event), and the new 'ATP Cup', (an ATP event). In previous years the 'Brisbane International' was the name of both the Men's and Women's tournaments. Overall another fantastic event to be part of catching up with friends I've worked with previously, as well as making new friends.

After the tennis finished, the rains came. Brisbane has had limited rain in the last year or so, but so far this year we've had close to 400mm of rain, and as I'm typing this entry, I can hear the rain falling.

I'm really looking forward to the cooler months now as I much prefer Brisbane's autumn and winter.

March 20: First Year Anniversary.

One Year ago today, March 20, 2019, I started this website and journal.

As you have probably seen I haven’t posted much, but the posts I’ve made have been important to me. And it has been an interesting year.

Please make sure you do whatever you can to stay healthy in these times.

Until next time . . . Enjoy a great day.

April 15: 40 years of Friendship.

It was in April 1980 I moved to Australia as a child with my family and started in the first grade. The particular class I was in (1D) had around 30 students, many of whom I lost contact with over the 12 years of schooling.

However, to this day, 40 years later, one friend from that class is still one of my closest friends. Over the years we've travelled throughout Australia together, visiting world famous cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and the Gold Coast, as well as the icon Uluru (Ayers Rock) and many others. And, we also travelled through 15 states of the United States in 2005. We spent time in Boston, Washington D.C. New York, Las Vegas, walked across the Hoover Dam, trekked the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, and Bryce Canyon. We also hung off balconies,listened to Jazz, and sailed down the mighty Mississippi River in New Orleans, a month before hurricane Katrina to name a few. And, remembering back now, the weekend we were in New Orleans, we survived hurricane Dennis.

Thanks for 40 years of friendship Glenn. I appreciate you mate!

June 1: Winter.

After a hot summer this year Brisbane has quickly gone to into a nice cool winter. Brisbane's average winter temps are usually around 22C, so not too cold compared to other areas around other parts of Australia, and the world.

Last week we had our coldest day in May in 98 years. We only reached 12.3C. I have to say I much prefer the cooler temps than those of out hot and humid summers.

June 9: The Power of Linux.

As you may recall from a previous post I've been using GNU/Linux as my OS , along with other Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) on my laptops since 2015. One of the best things I love about GNU/Linux is the ability to configure my entire system (desktop and even key bindings for specific tasks I want to do).

My laptop is configured exactly how I want it, and many of the daily functions - opening a browser, opening my email client, and even shutting the machine down are all done with a couple of keys rather than using a mouse. Now, since it's been five years since I last used a laptop or desktop running a different OS to GNU/Linux, I can't say if it is possible to configure a computer running the mainstream OS, but I don't recall being able to do so on my machines prior to 2015.

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