Sat 01: New Year's Day. Welcome to 2011. I went to bed around 8.30pm last night - woke around 11.30pm last night - and again at 12.30am today. I was lucky enough to get back to sleep each time. Dragged myself out of bed at 7am - to check my email and tidy up the house a bit while the temperature is still on the cool side. A new year and a new decade. Governments often have legislation taking effect from 01 January. The Gillard Labor (Federal) Government is no exception. Two historic pieves of legislation take effect from today. The first is that from 1 January 2011, Australia will have a single, national consumer law: the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). From today, parents will be able to claim 18 weeks government-funded paid parental leave, at the national minimum wage of $570 a week before tax, The Weekend Australian said.

Sun 02: Pleasant overnight - with 18.7ºC - but a late burst of heat pushed the maximum temperature to 40.7ºC at 4.06pm. I raked the street lawn and the front lawn - as our street tree sheds a lot of bark when the wind blows and it looks unsightly. The forecast for Perth tomorrow is 32ºC - with the chance of a shower. Much better than the 40C+ heatwave the Weather Bureau was tipping for the New Year a few days ago. Much of the east coast of Australia is flood ravaged - even friends in the Philippines are complaing about flooding and mud-slides. Strange weather for the start of 2011.

Mon 03: New Year's Day Public Holiday. Hot and tired - but I got a lot done. More updates - later.

Tue 04: Hot - hot - hot. A tiring day - but once again, a lot achieved. Shopped at Coles on the weay home. The smell of rotting garbage is stong at the moment. Put out the bins when I came home. Troy was sick and had today off work - but is well enough to go to poker tonight. Barry is still home on holidays - but getting bored. Witt is at work - has tomorrow evening off. Rain is forecast for tomorrow.

Wed 05: I was not feeling well last night - so I went to bed early. Fast asleep at 9pm - when I phone rang. A missed call from Witt. I tried to phone back but my call was disconnected. Went back to sleep. Received a phone call from Witt at 2.30am (today). Witt phoned to say the police were bringing him home as he was attacked at Carlisle train station by 3 females last night - while he was waiting for a train home after work. They demanded his cash and phone - he was threatened by one female brandishing a rack. Another had a knife. He was lucky to get away and run for help - and fortunate he managed to come across a lady walking her dog - who contacted police. The females were caught - Witt has made a statement to police. He was not physically injured - but suffered severe shock. I will let you know what happens to the females when they face court. Some rain this morning. I did some washing and started mowing lawns.

Thu 06: A bit cooler today. The air-conditioning man arrived to have a look at our home air-con. It turned out that bugs and dust - combined with condensation killed it. We have cleaned the drain - but can only use it on manual - low fan speed - cool setting. It will have to do until a new circuit board and remote arrive from the eastern states in a few days (early next week). I got the washing up to date and paid a few bills. Early night tonight - I hope Witt has a safe night. He is now Executive Chef at the Victoria Park restaurant he works at.

Fri 07: I just received audited website statistics for peter991.com® a few minutes ago. From humble beginnings in late 2001, this website averaged 750,000 unique 'hits' (visits) each day last calendar year. I refuse to run paid advertising on the site - instead if I find a genuine bargain - I will provide a link. Likewise - if I spot a rip-off, I will Name & Shame. For summer - the weather is mild at the moment - a bit humid - but bearable. I am being very anti-social lately - it's not deliberate - I am trying to get into sync with Witt - he works nights and I am out each day.

Sat 08: Today was a very l-o-n-g day. It was a mental roller-coaster. Not an emotional one (thank goodness). Maybe that comes later. I got up at 6am - checked my email - and the problems started. Headed out to Willeton to try to sort out the mess and smooth the troubled waters. Called in help - thanks, Mukesh. Finally ended up with a compromise solution. Home to unwind. Troy, Barry and Peter (Troy's half-brother) were on their way to Mandurah - to go fishing. Why people want to drive 120km to attempt to catch fish (and 120km home the same day) is beyond me. We have a great fish and chips shop down the road. (I am not a fisherman, in case you haven't guessed). Witt was at work - and due home around midnight. I checked my email, made myself a sandwich and settled back to chat with friends on Facebook chat and Yahoo Messenger. pleasant evening - I could feel the stress from the day melt away. In bed and asleep by 10pm.

Sun 09: Tossed and turned a bit - one CON (Call Of Nature) awakening and up around 9am. Refreshed. Nothing special planned today. I am still in my anti-social phase - I don't know why. A relaxing day - all I did was the laundry - hung some of it on the line. My washing is usually up to date - 99% of it was Troy's washing.

Mon 10: Warm - but bearable weather today in Perth. A do-nothing much day today. Most things are up to date - so I paid a bill and did a bit of cleaning and that was about all. Still - today will go on the books as One Step Forward and 2 Steps Back. It's a long story - which I hope can be sorted out soon.

Tue 11: While the weather in Perth - my home town is slowly getting warmer (37ºC at 6pm); a major bushfire at Lake Clifton (2 hours south of Perth is finally contained) with some property damage - but no lives lost. It is a different story in Queensland, on the east coast of Australia. Almost the whole state is now under water - after non-stop rains have flooded the state. Brisbane, the 3rd largest capital city in Australia is awash tonight - with major evacuations underway. The 2011 floods are bigger than the 1974 floods in Brisbane.

Wed 12: A sleep in this morning. Went to Mirrabooka Shopping Centre with Ron and bought a 40cm pedestal fan for $AUD12. These things get cheaper every year! Made in China - simple to assemble. Runs quietly and moves enough air around. Didnt get to bed until around 2am (tomorrow).

Thu 13: Up at 9am - Troy and. Barry at work and Witt's bed was empty - I thought he had taken a morning walk - but this was unusual as he usually gets home from work around 12.30am and doesnt surface until around 2pm. Witt called me from Perth city - to say he had applied for another job and had passed the Induction (prepatory screening). I was getting worried about him travelling at night on public transport - after his drama (see Wed 05 this month). Hopefully this is a daytime job. Me - I am relaxing today - laundry, dishes and housework (is that relaxing?) Overnight 20ºC, a high of 36.4ºC today. Humid weather is forecast for Perth for the sext 7 days - from 37ºC down to 29ºC. Roll on winter!

Fri 14: I am surprised I am not locked in a padded room after today. I woke around 6am - only to find that Witt never made it home from work last night. My worst fears surfaced ... this time he had been critically injured after being robbed on the way home from work. His phone was switched off. I phoned the Police - but they said they were the last port of call (to report a person missing) - to contact his friends and associates. I tried to explain that he is always home by 12.30am - he never stays out all night. Phoned hospitals. Finally phoned his mother - who told me that Witt's brother was in town - having made the 723km trip from Norseman to Perth for a few days - brothers catching up - maybe? Finally - at 6pm (12 hours later) - he answered the phone - like nothing was wrong - he said he told me ages ago that his brother was coming to Perth! I didnt know whether to laugh or cry! Hopefully I will have a quiet weekend.

Sat 15: After the drama of yesterday - today was quiet. I headed out around 7am and returned home 11 hours later. Everything ran relatively smoothly. I considered mowing the lawn - but decided to have a quiet evening. The weather in Perth is relatively mild - considering it is the middle of summer here.

Sun 16: Shinran Memorial Day The Weather Bureau tipped a 37ºC maximum temperature today - but I have a feeling that although it is warm outside - the temperauture is not that high. A fairly relaxed day - a good sleep (after going to bed at 10pm) and up around 7am. I had plans to mow lawns but I wimped out - too hot. Instead I did some research on my laptop, before Troy insisted I accompany him to IGA to do some food shopping.

Mon 17: The middle of summer. Dry as a bone here on the west coast of Australia. Victoria and NSW are flooded. The clean-up after the worst floods in Queensland since 1974 has started. Today I am relaxing. Most things are up to date. By 5pm I hope I can report a productive day.

Tue 18: Yesterday was fairly productive. Mid-30C weather and about 25% humidity. I am sweating a lot. Google says this good - as I am not dehydrated. The washing (laundry) is up to date. I did the back lawns yesterday and I talked one of Troy's brothers (Peter) to mow the front lawns for me. Teenagers have such untapped energy. Witt is off to work as I get ready to go out - I offer him a lift as he has a 1.5hr journey each way - but he declines with thanks.

Wed 19: I tried to be motivated today - but ran out of energy very fast. Simple chores (like cutting my toe nails) are causing me to break out into a drenching sweat. Fortunately I know before I become dehydrated so I drink plenty of liquids (less coffee - more water and fruit juices lately). I am having a day off tomorrow - to catch up on all the things which have been neglected.

Thu 20: Apologies, apologies, apologies. For the first time in over 10 years, peter991-ONLINE™ suffered a catastrophic crash - the main server (in Russia) crashed, taking all the data - so the mirrors which are used to spread the load had nothing to do. This would not have been so bad - but (as is usually the case), it was the end of a long chain of events. Thursday was a ME Day - so my friend Ron decided to help me out. My Acer laptop is 5 years old and is falling apart (literally). Ron has a near new HP laptop - minus a hard drive and mounting rack. Would the hard drive in my Acer fit into the HP laptop. NO. Unfortunately - it's liky trying to put a petrol motor in a diesel car (along with changes to gearbox and diff ... you get the picture). We took a trip to the Nerd Shop in Malaga. I hoped they could supply and fit a new hard drive and ghost (clone) my Acer's hard drive. No go. My 'baby' spent Thursday night at Malaga in The Shop. Unable to update website.

Fri 21: Troy had today off work, so he kindly picked up my HP replacement and my Acer's hard-drive after I paid lots of money. When I got home - I turned on the HP - it started and ran well - all my DATA had been recovered - but I needed to REINSTALL ALL MY PROGRAMMES! That wasn't what I wanted. To make matters worse - when I replaced the Acer hard-drive back in the Acer case - it refused to operate - saying: Operating System Not Found!

Sat 22: Troy (bless his little cotton socks!) dropped the Acer case and hard-drive back to the Nerd Shop. I am not a happy chappy and told them. No technician on duty.

Sun 23: While I am able to check my email (using Microsoft's web-based Hotmail programme), check my Facebook and interact with friends using Yahoo Messenger - my Diary is my life and it is not updated. A nice cool night - 18ºC - glorious.

Mon 24: Late this afternoon I phoned to check the progress (or otherwise) of my Acer. It is 'on the bench and about to be operated on.' This is worse than watching a hospital soap-opera. Just remove 3 screws and replace the hard-drive - please! It seems that despite the hard-drive never missing a beat in 5 years - it does not have a caddy and should have shaken itself to bits. The tech uses chewing gum and cardboard to 'balance' the hard drive and I can take it home. Witt and I celebrate with a few beers and some Asian groceries. As I update I can smell fragrant aromas coming from the kitchen. Today - 26ºC and a bit of drizzle.

Tue 25: Early start - early finish - nap in the afternoon. What more couldI want? Quite a lot actually. Life still seems to be full of 1 step forward and 2 step back days lately. I have some idea what the problem is. I think I need a change of scenery for a day. I have plans to head to Mandurah (100km south of Perth), and Rockingham (50km south of Perth) for a day and catch up with friends I haven't seen for some time. The weather in Perth is kind at the moment - in the mid-20s (Celcius) - but 40ºC and a late thunderstorm on Friday won't be nice.

Wed 26: Australia Day (public holiday) Year after year many of us have spent Australia Day lazily watching the cricket, at the beach or around a barbie. For most it’s a carefree day enjoyed with family and friends. But this summer such hopes have not been realised. Instead as a nation we have endured some of the worst floods in our history. Together we have shared shock and horror at the scale of the destruction and grieved for lost lives.

Throughout it all we have bonded together and reached out to each other with the hand of mateship. Reaching out to each other is something we’ve always done. It’s proven by the efforts of many Australians who are receiving Australia Day honours. Like the 2011 Australia of the Year, Simon McKeon, who is being recognised for his lifelong efforts to support charities. It’s also proven by men like Victorian Cross recipient Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith, who did not fail when mateship and duty called.

On this Australia Day I am calling on our nation to dedicate ourselves to continuing the spirit of mateship, to not letting go in the hard days of recovery and rebuilding to come. As people, as families, as a country, we have so many good things already in our hands, good things to pass on for the future - our wealth, our way of life, and our values.

This Australia Day my message to all Australians is simple - Don’t let go. We will hang on to each other in the worst times and in the best.We will hang on to our Aussie mateship and our Aussie fair go in the worst times and in the best.

Because we are Australian. Yours sincerely, Julia Gillard. Prime Minister of Australia.

While I have always tried to be apolitical - I feel proud to be an Australian today. Thanks, PM - Julia Gillard. Special thanks to my friend Ron for an excellent day. Ron is a lifesaver (not the beach kind!) who gave me a DVD I 'burned' for him in 2007 - it contains my most critical software - programmes which I thought were lost when my 500Gb backup drive crashed.

Thu 27: Up early again today - headed off with Noel to Claremont - then to Canning Bridge. Perth is a beautiful place at first light. Very little evidence of litter after last night's Australia Day City of Perth Skyworks. Back to Willeton and then Chaos Central. OMG! A nightmare (and a half). Back home to unwind, do my laundry and sleep. Numerous calls and SMS. Finally awake just as the sun was going down to bring in my washing and swap cars around. Updated my Diary and (hopefully) go back to sleep. The weekend is mine. I just need to get through tomorrow.

Fri 28: Phew! A hot one in Perth today. The temperature was 30ºC by 4am and it got hotter and more humid by the minute after that. Lots of sheet lightning early - but nothing became of it - just a spectacular peach-coloured sunrise. A volcano is spewing ash about 18,000 feet (5,500 metres) into the air in Indonesia - disrupting the travel plans of people going to Bali. I am unavailable this weekend - hoping to migrate my website from the ACER to the HP laptop.

Sat 29: Hot overnight - so despite air-conditioning and fan, I was awake by 6.15am. I have migrated 90% of my data and programmes from the old Acer to the (relatively) new HP. There's a few programmes I can't move (as I can't find the original disk or registration code - or the programme is an old one that is not available any more etc. At least the main things: I can surf the net, check my email(s) and update my website - are all now on both computers. I am not sure what the fate of the Acer will be - it is 6 years old and has made a number of overseas and interstate trips with me. Some rain at 2pm in Perth - a solid (but brief) downpour - from Severe Tropical Cyclone Bianca - which is expected to cross the WA coastline around 8pm tomorrow, near mandurah (about 100km south of Perth).

Sun 30: Sunday. Last day of the weekend. A bit of a wasted time really - I planned to migrate everything from my old Acer laptop to my newer HP - and to date I am very happy. Everything I need works fine. I can access the internet wirelessly using either, access my email (on either) and also update my website (and upload it) using either computer. I am not sure what will happen to the Acer - it's case is badly broken - but - if treated with care) it will be an emergency backup. Hot again today - yesterday's warning is now downgraded from Category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone Bianca to ex-TC Bianca to a low pressure system - which is expected to pass over Perth at 8pm (GMT +8). Troy and I have cleaned up outside as best as possible - probably exceeding the work the locals do in the Pilbara and Kimberley when a cyclone approaches. By 2pm, the ex-TC Bianca was downgraded to a low pressure system. At 8pm when the storm was expected to cross the coast at Perth - nothing happened. By 10pm - it was obvious it was a fizzer. A small amount of overnight drizzle.

Mon 31: Drizzle continued today. I was up at 7am - in case I missed something last night. Went to the Post Office and IGA just after 9am today - and had a haircut too. It was actually nice to walk back to the car in the shoping centre car park in the light rain. A quiet day - had a few naps - not feeling 100%. Early night tonight. Witt is having a long day - he officialy started his new job today - but I know he is missing Thailand.