Dog’gone - it’s in the Cupboard!

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DAY 437


The night was very windy, and cold, yes I said cold! Well not really compared to back in the UK, but cold for Australian standards and too cold for us sun worshipers, we have not felt this cold in a long while.

I was up at 7.00am and sat and watched the news again this morning, Susan was heard crashing about and soon put an appearance in after getting ready for work.

I had done some emails to people that needed catching up with and at around 08.16 Susan put her final piece of toast in her mouth and announced that she was off to work.

Caroline and myself sat down and started to talk about our day and opened the door to let rocky out, however whilst calling Misha’s name, no little dog appeared. Caroline asked me if I had seen the little dog and I had earlier but not for a while, Caroline walked around the house calling Misha’s name, but alas no dog.

We both walked around the house looking for Misha, under the beds, in the garage, the garden then all around the cul de sac, calling her name, but still no dog.

We rendezvoused back in the house with still no sign of the dog, we have to formulate a game plan, so we went back in the garden, concerned as sometimes sick animals go and hide, although we knew that she was perfectly fine when earlier, but it was necessary to look high and low which we did, but still no dog.

We sat down and went through everything, we were concerned that Misha, may have sneaked out with Susan when she opened the gate earlier, to go off to work, Caroline phoned Susan to ask if she had Misha with her just in case she was taking her to the vets and Susan confirmed that she did not and was quite sure that Misha had not sneaked through the gate with her.

Susan said she must be there somewhere, so we set about searching again, starting with the bed rooms on the top floor, calling her name, but still no sign, I asked “Rocky” to tell us where his little friend was and he unfortunately just looked at me and barked.

We go downstairs still calling her name and I walked in to the kitchen and opened the door to the Larder (pantry or food cupboard) and just as I did a little white dog just wandered out, oh deep joy we have found her! Doggone it she was in the cupboard all along, Misha was pleased to see us and jumped around with excitement. The funny thing is that all the while we were calling her name, she did not let out a single peep, I wondered why she did not bark, or was she happy that she was shut in with all that food?

We text Susan to let her know that panic was over and that Misha has been found, Susan thinks that she must have accidentally shut the little dog in when she made her breakfast. Still at the end of the day as long as she has been found, that is our only concern.

At about 09.30 The phone goes and it is Jodie from Hays, she tells me that the electrical contractors she has spoken to have no requirements as yet, but things may change, but she does say that a Consulting Engineer would like to interview me tomorrow and she will send me the details over.

We head out to Tidbinbilla, an aboriginal word derived from the word Jedbinbilla which otherwise means “a place where boys become men”, or is that just an excuse for where men can play with big boys toys!

We came here last time we were in Canberra, Tidbinbilla is the Deep Space Communications centre that is still part of the Nasa program and communicates with Odyssey and Spirit the Mars Rovers and was active at the time of the Apollo Missions in the 60’s, its prime objective was to support the missions and is one of only 3 deep space complexes the other two are the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex located in Spain and the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in the United States.

The communications dish (DSS-43) is a 70metre dish constructed in 1976 and extended in 1987, It is the largest steerable parabolic antenna in the Southern Hemisphere, she is a woppa.

Inside the museum there is all the planetary stuff and lots of very good exhibits, they also have a genuine Mars Rover that is about the size of a small car and I would guess the value in research and development must head towards the billions of dollars.

The exhibition has changed a little, since we were last here it looks like there are some new exhibits and more information to read. We sit and watch a video that was not showing last time, in fact it is quite impressive.

They describe life in space for the astronauts, including the food and keeping fit, oh and even how they go to the loo, the only thing that I hope is that the loo’s here are normal and not like the ones that they have in space!

We sit down for a coffee in the Moon Rock Café and discuss what we have seen including the various other radio telescopes and sites of scientific interest, such as Parkes, Wee Waa, Siding Springs and Carnarvon.
After a bite to eat, we head back into Canberra and on the way discuss how to spend the rest of our afternoon.

So we head to the Australian War Memorial as there was far too much to see in one day and we want to finish that one off, but before we go to see the special exhibition on Love and War there were other areas to see first.

Part of the exhibition focused on more recent wars such as Vietnam and Iraq, the exhibits are impressive, we wander into one area to find an Iroquois helicopter (Huey) set down in a field with a backdrop of film showing a war ridden area around it. I jump as the sound of machine gun fire rattles around the room, the noise of the helicopter, you can feel the downdraft from the blades, you want to crouch down to avoid the blades as they thump the air, there is shouting and the noise is deafening we are in the battlefield with the soldiers, it somehow feels so real, but now we can see the video rolling.

It is so very well done, it is a must see if you are in Canberra, we head into the Love and War exhibition, but as we walk around our mobile goes off and its Chris from Hays who is phoning for Caroline, he wants to ask her a few more questions about the contract position she has been pursuing, I hand the phone over to Caroline and so not to disturb anyone else we walk outside and head back to the truck.

Chris needs a little more information for the employer, so Caroline discusses it with Chris and then when we get back does some notes to submit, so no decision as yet, but that means she is still in with a chance it is 50/50 and right now purely depends on a particular skill set.

An uneventful evening followed, Caroline carried out some job research and typed up the blog.

We watched the Batman Movie, Dark Night, with the Late Heath Ledger, this was sadly his last movie, before he died, and it is an absolute classic, we watched transfixed until the end then it was time for bed.

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Photos

Move
The War Memorial people were cross when Caroline pushed the tank out of the way

Original
Nasa Mission Patches

DSS-43
She's a Woppa

Propeller
Of HMAS Brisbane

Parliament Building
In the Back Ground

One Fitty
Yes One Fitty,that is whatit is called, this long range Patrol vehicle