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terryc 14-07-2008 01:40 PM

Potatoes
 
Interesting ABC Landline program last Sunday on Potatoes and itbeing
Internatinal Year of the Potatoe. About 1,700 varieties exists.

Podcast from ABc if interested. Very informative about potatoes role to
solve hunger. china apparently double production last year and becamethe
worlds biggest produce,with Russia now second.

Interesting question; where did the spud originate from?

loosecanon 14-07-2008 06:03 PM

Potatoes
 

"terryc" wrote in message
...
Interesting ABC Landline program last Sunday on Potatoes and itbeing
Internatinal Year of the Potatoe. About 1,700 varieties exists.

Podcast from ABc if interested. Very informative about potatoes role to
solve hunger. china apparently double production last year and becamethe
worlds biggest produce,with Russia now second.

Interesting question; where did the spud originate from?


More interesting why do they only seem to sell 4 varieties in WA and
persist in selling crap Nadine variety. More work should have been done to
increase the yields and strength of Delaware.

We have a Royal Blue variety which is excellent but you have to use them
within a week or they sprout. The supply line of these isn't that crash hot
either where some weeks marble sized potatoes hit the shelves.

Now I know they grow sebago here but never ever do these get sold in fruit &
veg shops. I wonder where they go to. I guess the Potato Marketing board has
it all tied up. Meanwhile we dip out on decent white potatoes.



len gardener 14-07-2008 08:08 PM

Potatoes
 
g'day terry,

was an interesting program hey?

potato's where developed by those southern american natives of peru or
brazil where ever, that is why they have this research centre situated
there.

interesting how many varieties they seem to regularly grow in those
countries, yet in our country we grow maybe a handfull of varieties
for general consumption.


On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:40:24 +1000, terryc
wrote:
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

0tterbot 15-07-2008 02:35 AM

Potatoes
 
"Loosecanon" wrote in message
...

"terryc" wrote in message
...


Interesting question; where did the spud originate from?


south america, along with their relative the tomato.

loosecanon
More interesting why do they only seem to sell 4 varieties in WA and
persist in selling crap Nadine variety. More work should have been done to
increase the yields and strength of Delaware.


there are literally thousands of potato cultivars out there. as with other
"supermarket" veg, commercial growers tend towards a handful of varieties
only, to suit supermarket purposes (ripening time, transportation, long
storage etc).

further to your comment on nadines, different potatoes cook best in
different ways (find yourself a list). there is personal preference & there
is right cooking method for the type - there aren't really any "bad"
potatoes. i'm pretty sure desiree & pontiac sell so well commercially
because they are all-purpose & you can't really go wrong with them.

diggers club (no doubt, amongst others) is promoting more potato types every
year for home growers, so try them. iirc they sell perhaps 15 kinds (which
is still only the tip of the iceberg).

We have a Royal Blue variety which is excellent but you have to use them
within a week or they sprout. The supply line of these isn't that crash
hot either where some weeks marble sized potatoes hit the shelves.


see above - not everything is suitable for mass commercial sale.

Now I know they grow sebago here but never ever do these get sold in fruit
& veg shops. I wonder where they go to. I guess the Potato Marketing board
has it all tied up. Meanwhile we dip out on decent white potatoes.


in nsw you can't get away from bloody sebagos! which are not at all my
personal preference. however, they're pretty good in & of themselves - they
keep growing in one patch of my garden despite all my efforts, so from that
pov i can't fault them ;-) if you really like sebagos, get some seed
potatoes & go for it! or move to nsw g.
kylie



loosecanon 15-07-2008 05:41 AM

Potatoes
 

"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
"Loosecanon" wrote in message
...

"terryc" wrote in message
...


Interesting question; where did the spud originate from?


south america, along with their relative the tomato.

loosecanon
More interesting why do they only seem to sell 4 varieties in WA and
persist in selling crap Nadine variety. More work should have been done
to increase the yields and strength of Delaware.


there are literally thousands of potato cultivars out there. as with other
"supermarket" veg, commercial growers tend towards a handful of varieties
only, to suit supermarket purposes (ripening time, transportation, long
storage etc).

further to your comment on nadines, different potatoes cook best in
different ways (find yourself a list). there is personal preference &
there is right cooking method for the type - there aren't really any "bad"
potatoes. i'm pretty sure desiree & pontiac sell so well commercially
because they are all-purpose & you can't really go wrong with them.

diggers club (no doubt, amongst others) is promoting more potato types
every year for home growers, so try them. iirc they sell perhaps 15 kinds
(which is still only the tip of the iceberg).

We have a Royal Blue variety which is excellent but you have to use them
within a week or they sprout. The supply line of these isn't that crash
hot either where some weeks marble sized potatoes hit the shelves.


see above - not everything is suitable for mass commercial sale.

Now I know they grow sebago here but never ever do these get sold in
fruit & veg shops. I wonder where they go to. I guess the Potato
Marketing board has it all tied up. Meanwhile we dip out on decent white
potatoes.


in nsw you can't get away from bloody sebagos! which are not at all my
personal preference. however, they're pretty good in & of themselves -
they keep growing in one patch of my garden despite all my efforts, so
from that pov i can't fault them ;-) if you really like sebagos, get some
seed potatoes & go for it! or move to nsw g.
kylie


Eastern states companies could sell 100 different varities none would get
past quarantine into WA. The AG department and the Potato Marketing board
have it sown up.

Royal Blues are not sold as certified potatoes. The Delaware they sell are
not the same as 30 years ago, I reckon there was a sneaky cross sometime.

As for moving to Sydney nah....

The Landline story was interesting as the Peruvians grow these spuds at 3000
ft above sea level. Not many potato grows at that altitude here.



FarmI 15-07-2008 09:06 AM

Potatoes
 
"Loosecanon" wrote in message
"0tterbot" wrote in message


;-) if you really like sebagos, get some
seed potatoes & go for it! or move to nsw g.


As for moving to Sydney nah....


"Move to nsw" does not mean the same as "move to Sydney"

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have my
State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on the
central NSW coastline.



terryc 15-07-2008 09:14 AM

Potatoes
 
On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:06:55 +1000, FarmI wrote:

"Move to nsw" does not mean the same as "move to Sydney"

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have my
State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on the
central NSW coastline.


N.S.W. = Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong

don asbestos does the rest count /da V.B.G.
The only thing that keeps me in S is money, or lack of it,


loosecanon 15-07-2008 10:42 AM

Potatoes
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
"Loosecanon" wrote in message
"0tterbot" wrote in message


;-) if you really like sebagos, get some
seed potatoes & go for it! or move to nsw g.


As for moving to Sydney nah....


"Move to nsw" does not mean the same as "move to Sydney"

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have
my State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on
the central NSW coastline.


Oops my bad



FarmI 16-07-2008 12:54 AM

Potatoes
 
"Loosecanon" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
"Loosecanon" wrote in message
"0tterbot" wrote in message


;-) if you really like sebagos, get some
seed potatoes & go for it! or move to nsw g.


As for moving to Sydney nah....


"Move to nsw" does not mean the same as "move to Sydney"

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have
my State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on
the central NSW coastline.


Oops my bad


Glad you can see the errors of your ways. :-))



FarmI 16-07-2008 01:07 AM

Potatoes
 
"terryc" wrote in message
On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:06:55 +1000, FarmI wrote:

"Move to nsw" does not mean the same as "move to Sydney"

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have
my
State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on
the
central NSW coastline.


N.S.W. = Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong


Nah! It really means Nelligen, Stockinbingal, Wellington.

don asbestos does the rest count /da V.B.G.


Only if you want a decent conversation with people. My biggest problem when
in Sydney is finding someone I can be bothered talking to. I have trouble
finding Sydney people who actually 'do' things - busy, busy, busy all the
ttime but not actually 'doing' anything other than what I would put into the
category of 'socialising' and 'having fun'. There is only so much that can
be meaningfully said about those activites before bordom sets in.

The only thing that keeps me in S is money, or lack of it,


Yeah. I can understand that, having been a wage slave for years. But then
in the country it is surprising how little some people live on very happily
and very successfully. Many years ago when I was earning $40K+/year (an
upper middle bracket salary for that time) and probably wasting most of it,
I found out that a couple that I knew were earning $11K. I couldn't
understand how they made ends meet as they had recently built a house and
had 3 children. I watched and learned.



Andrew 16-07-2008 04:59 AM

Potatoes
 
On Jul 15, 1:41*pm, "Loosecanon" wrote:
Eastern states companies could sell 100 different varities none would get
past quarantine into WA. The AG department and the Potato Marketing board
have it sown up.


Too true. It's pretty hard to get anything across the WA border if
you've got Solanaceae on or near your property (if you're honest
enough to tell them) let alone the potatoes themselves. There's only
really a handful of varieties that make up the bulk of potatoes sold.
The other varieties are not competitive as a 'supermarket' food crop
and are only available through smaller suppliers. I suspect, as is
the case with most of the smaller plant suppliers, it's not worth the
money and effort to get the more obscure varieties past WAQIS when the
eastern market will sustain their business.

0tterbot 17-07-2008 01:35 AM

Potatoes
 
"Loosecanon" wrote in message
...
Eastern states companies could sell 100 different varities none would get
past quarantine into WA. The AG department and the Potato Marketing board
have it sown up.


mm, that's a point. however, there must be local gardeners or seed companies
who grow others & have been for decades, there simply must be!


Royal Blues are not sold as certified potatoes. The Delaware they sell are
not the same as 30 years ago, I reckon there was a sneaky cross sometime.

As for moving to Sydney nah....

The Landline story was interesting as the Peruvians grow these spuds at
3000 ft above sea level. Not many potato grows at that altitude here.


no but the potatoes we eat now have been extensively developed from the wild
potato & have slightly different requirements most likely. however, speaking
generally, they like altitude as apparently the various blights & problems
they can have occur commonly at low altitudes. iirc(?!) certified seed
potatoes are generally grown at a higher altitude because of this.
kylie



Chookie 17-07-2008 11:36 AM

Potatoes
 
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have my
State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on the
central NSW coastline.


Ahem!

Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool. You are thinking of the Legislative
Assembly. But this is the wrong week to visit unless you are a young Catholic.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

Chookie 17-07-2008 11:44 AM

Potatoes
 
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

Only if you want a decent conversation with people. My biggest problem when
in Sydney is finding someone I can be bothered talking to. I have trouble
finding Sydney people who actually 'do' things - busy, busy, busy all the
ttime but not actually 'doing' anything other than what I would put into the
category of 'socialising' and 'having fun'. There is only so much that can
be meaningfully said about those activites before bordom sets in.


I've met them too, but I must say that none of them are librarians! Do you
have relatives in banking or finance or something? They tend not to want to
talk shop, for some reason... My friends tend to be in "Doing" professions
like teaching and engineering.

The only thing that keeps me in S is money, or lack of it,


Yeah. I can understand that, having been a wage slave for years. But then
in the country it is surprising how little some people live on very happily
and very successfully.


Well, in our case it's the prospect of ageing relatives (my Dad is still
independent, but he turned 88 last week) and that my hubby will only ever be
employed in either Sydney or Bleak City, and he'll never stop being a
programmer -- it's his vocation, and not one that can be fulfilled outside of
a major city.

But we've always known these things, and that's why I have a large block (by
Sydney standards, and given our other need for being less than half an hour
from the city). It was one of the essential criteria for our house.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

FarmI 18-07-2008 03:11 AM

Potatoes
 
"Chookie" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have
my
State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on
the
central NSW coastline.


Ahem!

Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool. You are thinking of the Legislative
Assembly.


Nah, that's just an additional feature of the boring cesspool.

But this is the wrong week to visit unless you are a young Catholic.


Indeed. Such a scary sight.



FarmI 18-07-2008 03:37 AM

Potatoes
 
"Chookie" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

Only if you want a decent conversation with people. My biggest problem
when
in Sydney is finding someone I can be bothered talking to. I have
trouble
finding Sydney people who actually 'do' things - busy, busy, busy all the
ttime but not actually 'doing' anything other than what I would put into
the
category of 'socialising' and 'having fun'. There is only so much that
can
be meaningfully said about those activites before bordom sets in.


I've met them too, but I must say that none of them are librarians! Do
you
have relatives in banking or finance or something? They tend not to want
to
talk shop, for some reason... My friends tend to be in "Doing"
professions
like teaching and engineering.


No rellies in finance or banking, anywhere. I do have a number of librarian
friends, in fact all 3 of my closest female friends (of nearly 40 years)
trained as librarians but none of them have ever worked in Sydney.

The Sydney people I know best are my sister and her family, medicos,
business people (mostly better off), and my husbands family (most of whom
have now left Sydney and those that haven't are tolerable for a short time
but still have the "up with the Jones" Sydney mentality).

It might help if Sydney was full of librarians but even they might get
seduced by the typical Sydney mindset (Melbourne has a similar one).

One story I tell about my issue with the Sydney mindset is: for my sister's
big 50th, I bought her the complete Oxford in Micrographic form (cost about
$300 - she's a bibliophile). Her husband bought her a $50,000 diamond ring
a humungeous and very ugly single diamond solitaire.

Big party, we are the only non-Sydney people there. All those who arrive
should know of my sister's passion for books as she talks of little else
other than golf (her husband still hasn't figured out her preference for
books even after decades of marriage). Everyone who comes in the door
wants to see the ring, The first thing she says to them after a quick flash
of the ring is "Come and see what my sister bought me!" And she carts them
off to see a dictionary and they all look quite bewildered at her
excitement.

Mind you, even my book loving sister has only now got onto the No1 Ladies
Detective Agency and I can't remember how long since I read the last one of
those. I know there is a new one out coming shortly.

I can give Sydney about 2 days for the Opera and museums/galleries etc and
after that, I'm well over it and just want to escape.

The only thing that keeps me in S is money, or lack of it,


Yeah. I can understand that, having been a wage slave for years. But
then
in the country it is surprising how little some people live on very
happily
and very successfully.


Well, in our case it's the prospect of ageing relatives (my Dad is still
independent, but he turned 88 last week) and that my hubby will only ever
be employed in either Sydney or Bleak City, and he'll never stop being a
programmer -- it's his vocation, and not one that can be fulfilled outside
of
a major city.


:-)) I like that reference to Bleak City but it certainly couldn't be a
reference to the weather given that it gets more sunlight hours per year
than Brisbane.

But we've always known these things, and that's why I have a large block
(by Sydney standards, and given our other need for being less than half
an hour
from the city). It was one of the essential criteria for our house.


My husband started out as a programmer in Bleak City way back in the early
days of the industry. We escaped after only 10 years to live in the
country. He still commuted and stayed in the profession before moving into
straight management where his analytical skills resulting from the IT
background were very useful. Our earliest amibitions were to have 5 acres
in the country. Now we have 2 farms. Maybe a case of be careful what you
wish for?



terryc 18-07-2008 06:44 AM

Potatoes
 
On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:37:07 +1000, FarmI wrote:


Mind you, even my book loving sister has only now got onto the No1 Ladies
Detective Agency and I can't remember how long since I read the last one of
those. I know there is a new one out coming shortly.


Thanks for the tip. The chief pussy here likes those stories.


I can give Sydney about 2 days for the Opera and museums/galleries etc and
after that, I'm well over it and just want to escape.

The only thing that keeps me in S is money, or lack of it,

Yeah. I can understand that, having been a wage slave for years.
But then in the country it is surprising how little some people
live on very happily and very successfully.


No longer a wage slave and definitely not a surprise how little you can
live on. It is more being able to afford a bit of land where you are not
cheek by jowl, but still being able to come back to syndey for medical
servicing.


Our earliest amibitions were to have 5 acres in the country.
Now we have 2 farms. Maybe a case of
be careful what you wish for?


It depends on what the farms are?



Chookie 21-07-2008 11:57 AM

Potatoes
 
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

One story I tell about my issue with the Sydney mindset is: for my sister's
big 50th, I bought her the complete Oxford in Micrographic form (cost about
$300 - she's a bibliophile). Her husband bought her a $50,000 diamond ring
a humungeous and very ugly single diamond solitaire.


Ahhhh OK... that is definitely NOT the kind of circle I move in -- not as far
as the rock goes anyway. The book thing I *can* imagine!

I have met younger members of the northwest nouveaux riches; they would put a
$5000 diamond on their credit cards, but they would not go to $50K because
their mortgages are starting to hurt now. I am guessing that your sister
lives Mosman way or Vaucluse way, or possibly Northern Beaches. I have heard
of a couple of women up that way who spend their time getting pedicures, and
whose only work is hostessing for their husbands' business dinners -- not even
charitable work, and certainly not raising their children -- that's what
nannies are for. I haven't met them. I have met their employees and their
(significantly poorer) relatives. I think it is rare to find people who are a
total waste of space, though -- a lot of the glitterati do actually help out
with Variety Club and other charities, as do the Old Money types.

The closest I have got to prestige is that good friends of ours (not listed on
the page below) helped in the endowment of the John Lions Chair in Operating
Systems:
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/JohnLions/

If I were to move in more rarefied circles, I'd pick the
academia-and-classical-music group, not the Variety Club Bash types. But I
would be much more likely to join the Mighty Duck River Restoration Collective
than help endow a chair.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

FarmI 21-07-2008 02:31 PM

Potatoes
 
"Chookie" wrote in message "FarmI"
ask@itshall be given wrote:

One story I tell about my issue with the Sydney mindset is: for my
sister's
big 50th, I bought her the complete Oxford in Micrographic form (cost
about
$300 - she's a bibliophile). Her husband bought her a $50,000 diamond
ring
a humungeous and very ugly single diamond solitaire.


Ahhhh OK... that is definitely NOT the kind of circle I move in -- not as
far
as the rock goes anyway. The book thing I *can* imagine!


Thought you might :-)). When it came for my big 50th, guess what I asked
for and got in return? I use it a LOT.

I have met younger members of the northwest nouveaux riches; they would
put a
$5000 diamond on their credit cards, but they would not go to $50K because
their mortgages are starting to hurt now.


:-)) I've stopped wearing all rings, they interfered with getting my garden
gloves on.

I am guessing that your sister
lives Mosman way or Vaucluse way, or possibly Northern Beaches.


Nah, she's in Sutherland Shire.

I have heard
of a couple of women up that way who spend their time getting pedicures,
and
whose only work is hostessing for their husbands' business dinners -- not
even
charitable work, and certainly not raising their children -- that's what
nannies are for.


Strewth - my sister is nothing like that, thankfully.

I haven't met them. I have met their employees and their
(significantly poorer) relatives. I think it is rare to find people who
are a
total waste of space, though -- a lot of the glitterati do actually help
out
with Variety Club and other charities, as do the Old Money types.

The closest I have got to prestige is that good friends of ours (not
listed on
the page below) helped in the endowment of the John Lions Chair in
Operating
Systems:
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/JohnLions/

If I were to move in more rarefied circles, I'd pick the
academia-and-classical-music group, not the Variety Club Bash types. But
I
would be much more likely to join the Mighty Duck River Restoration
Collective
than help endow a chair.


Much too useful to society. :-)) I guess you don't want to hear the story
of the photo of a Eastern suburbs dwelling brother in law (not my sister's
husband) with his arm around Pamela Anderson?



terryc 21-07-2008 02:49 PM

Potatoes
 
On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:31:36 +1000, FarmI wrote:


Thought you might :-)). When it came for my big 50th, guess what I asked
for and got in return? I use it a LOT.


A gardening fork? {:-).



FarmI 22-07-2008 01:11 PM

Potatoes
 
"terryc" wrote in message
On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:31:36 +1000, FarmI wrote:


Thought you might :-)). When it came for my big 50th, guess what I asked
for and got in return? I use it a LOT.


A gardening fork? {:-).


Nah. Don't buy a ticket in a meat tray till you get it right :-)).



terryc 22-07-2008 06:14 PM

Potatoes
 
On Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:11:46 +1000, FarmI wrote:

Nah. Don't buy a ticket in a meat tray till you get it right :-)).


No point in me doing that. I'll just get arsy to do it.
Just about every month she wins something at her quilters group.


Chookie 25-07-2008 06:25 AM

Potatoes
 
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

I am guessing that your sister
lives Mosman way or Vaucluse way, or possibly Northern Beaches.


Nah, she's in Sutherland Shire.


Sorry -- forgot about that little southern outpost of the North Shore. Easy
to do -- I come from St George!

Much too useful to society. :-)) I guess you don't want to hear the story
of the photo of a Eastern suburbs dwelling brother in law (not my sister's
husband) with his arm around Pamela Anderson?


Of course I do -- dish the dirt!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

SG1 25-07-2008 07:00 AM

Potatoes
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-52C8A1.14253825072008@news...
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

I am guessing that your sister
lives Mosman way or Vaucluse way, or possibly Northern Beaches.


Nah, she's in Sutherland Shire.


Sorry -- forgot about that little southern outpost of the North Shore.
Easy
to do -- I come from St George!



Is that the real St George (Qld) or the NSW immitation??????



Much too useful to society. :-)) I guess you don't want to hear the
story
of the photo of a Eastern suburbs dwelling brother in law (not my
sister's
husband) with his arm around Pamela Anderson?


Of course I do -- dish the dirt!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/




-- Posted on news://freenews.netfront.net - Complaints to --

FarmI 26-07-2008 12:19 AM

Potatoes
 
"Chookie" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

I am guessing that your sister
lives Mosman way or Vaucluse way, or possibly Northern Beaches.


Nah, she's in Sutherland Shire.


Sorry -- forgot about that little southern outpost of the North Shore.
Easy
to do -- I come from St George!


Actually I like the Sutherland Shire bods better than the North Shore types.
Still well heeled, but not quite as vacuous.

My husband's family were North Shore types and he spent his formative
decades there before he escaped (and his leaving Sydney was definitely an
'escape' tactic) so we used to see them in action a lot. I always used to
complain about their vacuous lives.

Much too useful to society. :-)) I guess you don't want to hear the
story
of the photo of a Eastern suburbs dwelling brother in law (not my
sister's
husband) with his arm around Pamela Anderson?


Of course I do -- dish the dirt!


Well I was so gobbsmacked by the photo at the time that I can't really tell
you how he managed to get it. He has a background in Health campaigns so
has contact with lots of media people so presume he was at a 'do' that she
was also at. One thing is clear though, they are both obviously posing for
the camera. Smiling at it with their arms around each other in a crowd of
less well dressed, obviously adoring and envious males who don't look like
they'd have a hope of getting her to put her arm around them.

But I'll tell you the background so you'll know why I was so gobbsmacked and
had the wind taken out of my sails to such an extent that I forgot to ask
for the gory details (which you've now reminded me that I must do before I
die - it's a good story to put into the family history).

As you know, my husband's career was in IT. One day I was thinking about
what I'd write about him to put into the family history. Given the range of
work he'd done and the amount of money his organisation had spent with
various US companies and the trips he'd done to the US for his work, I
wondered if he'd ever come across Bill Gates in his travels so I asked him.

Response; 'Yes'. (Monsyllabic male). I pushed; 'Have you ever been
introduced to him?'. 'Yes'. 'Really introduced? Shook his hand. Weren't just
in the same room as him'. 'Yes'. 'How many times?' '3 or 4'. 'Why didn't
you tell me?' 'It's just work'.

I was so gobbsmacked by husband's reply that he also stopped me in my
tracks. I can think of hundreds of people I know (me included) who would
love to brag about having met Bill Gates, but not my bloody husband. He
thinks it's 'just work' and therefore not really important in his real life!
And he knows I love to have snippets to include in the family history! Yet
another story about him though that HAS gone into the family history because
it reveals so much about him. He isn't a blow hard by any stretch of the
imagination (I am or would be if I had access to some of the people he has
had).

Anyway, shortly after this incident, we were going to Sydney to a sit down
family 'do' with the Pamela Anderson brother in laws' family.

They have 2 teenage boys who are totally and utterly computer mad but like
all young males are monosyllabic and disinterested and I can never figure
out what to say to them to engage them.

I finally thought I had something of interest and that they might be
interested to know that their Uncle had met Bill Gates so told them the
story at the dinner table. At this point, the brother in law said I've met
Pamela Anderson and raced off to his study to get the pic of him and Pamela.
Pamela Anderson trumps Bill Gates in any male mind. I still couldn't engage
the youngsters as all attention then turned to the photo.




FarmI 26-07-2008 12:25 AM

Potatoes
 
"SG1" wrote in message
"Chookie" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

I am guessing that your sister
lives Mosman way or Vaucluse way, or possibly Northern Beaches.

Nah, she's in Sutherland Shire.


Sorry -- forgot about that little southern outpost of the North Shore.
Easy
to do -- I come from St George!



Is that the real St George (Qld) or the NSW immitation??????


It's the St George where they can spell ;-))




I simply couldn't resist that opening.



terryc 26-07-2008 02:40 AM

Potatoes
 
On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:19:53 +1000, FarmI wrote:

I still couldn't engage
the youngsters as all attention then turned to the photo.


Ask them if they play any mmmorpg games?
See if it has a free trial and play it.

The trouble with IT is that it covers a very wide area, but they are
probably wintel PC area.


SG1 26-07-2008 03:10 AM

Potatoes
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
"SG1" wrote in message
"Chookie" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

I am guessing that your sister
lives Mosman way or Vaucluse way, or possibly Northern Beaches.

Nah, she's in Sutherland Shire.

Sorry -- forgot about that little southern outpost of the North Shore.
Easy
to do -- I come from St George!



Is that the real St George (Qld) or the NSW immitation??????


It's the St George where they can spell ;-))




I simply couldn't resist that opening.

Thats ok I went to a Very private school south of the Murray.
Never cud spel & never claimed I could????



-- Posted on news://freenews.netfront.net - Complaints to --

Chookie 27-07-2008 12:05 AM

Potatoes
 
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

Is that the real St George (Qld) or the NSW immitation??????


It's the St George where they can spell ;-))


Correct!

And, of course, deadly enemies of our neighbours in the Shire, especially
during footy season.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

0tterbot 27-07-2008 02:28 AM

Potatoes
 
"Chookie" wrote in message
news:ehrebeniuk-DB72BC.08050127072008@news...
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

Is that the real St George (Qld) or the NSW immitation??????


It's the St George where they can spell ;-))


Correct!

And, of course, deadly enemies of our neighbours in the Shire, especially
during footy season.


we have a set of weekender-neighbours (ho hum) who come from "the shire".

to myself, i call them "the donahers" (remember them?) because the
resemblance is just uncanny.
snort
kylie



John Savage 27-07-2008 10:25 AM

Potatoes
 
Chookie writes:
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

As a rural New South Wales rural dweller, I feel very ticked off to have my
State reduced in status to equate with that boring cesspool located on the
central NSW coastline.


Ahem!

Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool.


Sydney? I wondered why Farm1 was dissing *Cessnock*! :-)
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

FarmI 27-07-2008 12:31 PM

Potatoes
 
"terryc" wrote in message
On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:19:53 +1000, FarmI wrote:

I still couldn't engage
the youngsters as all attention then turned to the photo.


Ask them if they play any mmmorpg games?
See if it has a free trial and play it.


Jeeze! I have enough trouble getting them to speak English without starting
to use a foreign language myself!



terryc 27-07-2008 06:56 PM

Potatoes
 
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:25:06 +0000, John Savage wrote:


Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool.


Sydney? I wondered why Farm1 was dissing *Cessnock*! :-)


I'll take Cessnock over Sydney any day.


Jon[_5_] 28-07-2008 07:20 AM

Potatoes
 
terryc wrote:
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:25:06 +0000, John Savage wrote:


Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool.

Sydney? I wondered why Farm1 was dissing *Cessnock*! :-)


I'll take Cessnock over Sydney any day.

Ask some of the g*ys about boring...
Its the boring capital of australia.
I'm prejudiced of course living in Melbourne.
Bigger bay, bigger bridge bigger crooks
and maybe even bigger bridge, but not even wanting to go there wouldnt know.
We've also got bigger mouths. Ask and Sydney sider. Thats why our
restaurants are so much better....

As far as Cessnock goes, its reputation is well known here. Thats where
we sourced our crims. We got the best gardeners from there as well.
Theyre great with hydrophonics... The Police are most impressed.


terryc 28-07-2008 09:45 AM

Potatoes
 
On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:20:16 +1000, Jon wrote:

As far as Cessnock goes, its reputation is well known here. Thats where
we sourced our crims. We got the best gardeners from there as well.
Theyre great with hydrophonics... The Police are most impressed.


Just so 80's. Cessnock was just one location on the northwards trip from
Sydney of the green herb growing industry during the 20th Century. no idea
where it went after that, but it recently made big news about a
kilometre west of here.

Lol, we always joked about funding uni studies from small deals way back
then and to have the opportunity again sorecently. All that time that
time I was commuting to TAFE by bicycle, I could have just detoured around
a few streets.



FarmI 29-07-2008 02:51 AM

Potatoes
 
"Jon" wrote in message
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:25:06 +0000, John Savage wrote:


Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool.
Sydney? I wondered why Farm1 was dissing *Cessnock*! :-)


I'll take Cessnock over Sydney any day.

Ask some of the g*ys about boring...
Its the boring capital of australia.
I'm prejudiced of course living in Melbourne.
Bigger bay, bigger bridge bigger crooks
and maybe even bigger bridge, but not even wanting to go there wouldnt
know.
We've also got bigger mouths. Ask and Sydney sider. Thats why our
restaurants are so much better....


LOL. I used to upset my Sydney born spouse by saying that if you HAD to
live in a city then I'd choose Melbourne over Sydney because it was easier
to get around, but I no longer say that. Having spent 2 days in Melbourne
recently in 40degree heat, I'd give it a wide berth too and choose Hobart.

As far as Cessnock goes, its reputation is well known here. Thats where we
sourced our crims. We got the best gardeners from there as well.
Theyre great with hydrophonics... The Police are most impressed.


Surely you jest!!!!!! Victorian police wouldn't be the least bit impressed
by a few lads from Cessnock growing a few herbs. The Vic cops are more
impressed by being involved with violent murders of crims thereby cleaning
up the Melbourne streets.



FarmI 29-07-2008 02:52 AM

Potatoes
 
"terryc" wrote in message
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:25:06 +0000, John Savage wrote:


Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool.


Sydney? I wondered why Farm1 was dissing *Cessnock*! :-)


I'll take Cessnock over Sydney any day.


So would I and I'd never diss Cessnock.



Jon[_5_] 29-07-2008 11:39 AM

Potatoes
 
FarmI wrote:
"Jon" wrote in message
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:25:06 +0000, John Savage wrote:


Sydney is NOT a boring cesspool.
Sydney? I wondered why Farm1 was dissing *Cessnock*! :-)
I'll take Cessnock over Sydney any day.

Ask some of the g*ys about boring...
Its the boring capital of australia.
I'm prejudiced of course living in Melbourne.
Bigger bay, bigger bridge bigger crooks
and maybe even bigger bridge, but not even wanting to go there wouldnt
know.
We've also got bigger mouths. Ask and Sydney sider. Thats why our
restaurants are so much better....


LOL. I used to upset my Sydney born spouse by saying that if you HAD to
live in a city then I'd choose Melbourne over Sydney because it was easier
to get around, but I no longer say that. Having spent 2 days in Melbourne
recently in 40degree heat, I'd give it a wide berth too and choose Hobart.

As far as Cessnock goes, its reputation is well known here. Thats where we
sourced our crims. We got the best gardeners from there as well.
Theyre great with hydrophonics... The Police are most impressed.


Surely you jest!!!!!! Victorian police wouldn't be the least bit impressed
by a few lads from Cessnock growing a few herbs. The Vic cops are more
impressed by being involved with violent murders of crims thereby cleaning
up the Melbourne streets.


Well this is a gardening area...All this murder and mayhem involves who
can grow the most exciting items to market.
The Cops themselves are cleaning themselves up lately....
Always a few weeds in the system...
The problems are sometimes in their hierarchy. You wonder how they get
there...But theyre being weeded out. Christine Nixon is a most
impressive weeder...


terryc 29-07-2008 02:19 PM

Potatoes
 
On Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:39:53 +1000, Jon wrote:


The problems are sometimes in their hierarchy. You wonder how they get
there...But theyre being weeded out.


Well,I don't know about Vic plods, but NSw plods were characterised to me
as "Always looking for someone to blame". So it hardly encourages
an atmosphere of openess.


Jon[_5_] 29-07-2008 10:27 PM

Potatoes
 
terryc wrote:
On Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:39:53 +1000, Jon wrote:


The problems are sometimes in their hierarchy. You wonder how they get
there...But theyre being weeded out.


Well,I don't know about Vic plods, but NSw plods were characterised to me
as "Always looking for someone to blame". So it hardly encourages
an atmosphere of openess.

That is standard deceitful human nature.
I read a book on the Sydney police enqiury fro mthe local library and it
really opens your eyes about the drug scene and attitudes and how the
crime stats are worked out. No arrests no crime etc.
I wonder how many innocents they put away.
But it would be interesting to read it again.


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