Health Insurance

I just found out that the bill, increasing the income threshold for Medicare Levy Surcharge, has not been passed yet. The agreement has just been achieved and the bill is to be voted on. As a result of negotiation, the new thresholds will be $70,000 for individuals and $140,000 for families.

A good, not-for-profit, health insurance provider is GMHBA. They have recently introduced a minimum package – Bronze Hospital Young Singles Start Package. This is an addition to what is now Silver Hospital Young Singles Start Package. It used to be only Young Singles Start Package. :)

Other useful links, related to GMHBA health insurance, are the list of participating hospitals and member services page.

Comparison of extras on different plans for Victorian residents.

Just for reference, here is a list of approximate costs for dental services in Melbourne – Melbourne Dentist Fee Schedule (Vic).

30 Degrees

Today we went to Werribee. As soon as we arrived, Roger and I found a cash shop open near the station so we went to have a look. There I decided I'm getting a camera. I should probably have it next week.
Then we rode through Werribee to the West. There is a nice path next to a creek. That one continues on the Federation Trail. We were at the very beginning of the Fed Trail but we then went further West. We cycled on the highway (yes, here you CAN cycle on the highway) and ended up climbing across the fences and pushing our bikes across the agriculture fields.
On the way back to Werribee, cause we decided to go back in order to reach the park south of the town, we came across the B-24 Liberator site. This is the only B-24 Liberator in the world. There is a hangar where volunteers are assembling the airplane from original and engineered parts. The place looks totally out of this world. There should be quite a few photos from that visit.
The project is very interesting. Lots of people donate parts, engine, or work on restauration of the original parts and are assembling the aircraft. The whole thing started sometimes in 1988 when the remains of a Liberator were found somewhere in the jungle. The completion of the restauration work is expected in 2010. The airplane is an amazing sight. The look inside it leaves a pretty claustrophobic feeling. I could not believe how small the space was and the seats were tiny in today's standards.

After that we rode on the Federation Trail. Took some nice photos of the Australian outback. The grassy plains, gum trees... That's what I'll remember of Australia later. Certainly won't miss the city and the jam that much.
The wind was quite strong so we decided to back on a train and use the time more productively. I'm going to try to read the remaining 300 pages of the .Net book today. :D

News from the Front

Not much new development. I mean, things are appearing but it takes time to finalize them.

At work, we don't have to work Saturdays any more. We don't have to work *every* Saturday, that is. Now we are going to have a roster where we work 4 days the first week and then 6 days the alternate. That's OK. In fact, I'll see how it goes but it sounds OK.

Still haven't reserved the ticket. Will look to do that on Monday. There are some interviews coming but those should not interfere with the flight plan.

Today is the end of this working week. The plan for Sunday, tomorrow, is to go to Werribee. There appears to be a nice park with a castle. Roger will bring the camera so there should be some nice photos from the ride. It's not that far so we could cycle back towards the city along the coast.

Got a refund from Metlink. In return for 5 x daily ticket, they gave me back two 5 x weekend daily tickets. :) Now that I have both days off on every other weekend, these will get used faster. I could use them to go to Frankston or Sandrigham on weekends. Those places are quite far from the city and beaches are wonderful.

The market fell more than looks real in the graph. People start mentioning horror stories about loans, obligations, ruined investments, etc. Well, I never thought debt was a good thing and I'm glad I do not have any obligations in that regard.

I'm reading some reference book on software development. It has sections on software engineering with .Net, SQL Server, UML, XML, and design. It's a good reference book and a refresher for all the technologies above.

Changing Geopolitics

Business Spectator - Geopolitics turned on its head

Ha, the current financial crisis will have adverse effects on the world's geopolitical scene. I didn't expect this to happen so suddenly.
In effect, this may mean that I came to Australia only to witness the fall of western civilisation (I dramatize, of course). But, really, soon I might be looking for a working visa to some other country, I never suspected of going to. :))
Or I might just go home and live happily ever after.

Lillydale - Eltham

On Sunday I cycled through beautiful areas from Lillydale to Eltham. The terrain is hilly. Lots of trees, pastures, farmlands and large houses. Definitely to be repeated in the summer.
Kudos to iGo as it has excellent maps. Even dirt roads are there and path finding works excellent.
I need to draw this route on Bikely when I find the time.

Other than that, I'm looking for plane tickets for January/February.

Home Decoration

Home... how good that sounds.
I've started to look for nice software to help in home decoration. I thought there must be, by now, some good and free software that does the basic thing almost everyone needs.
The post with links and my opinions is at http://alensiljak.blogspot.com/2008/10/free-home-design-software.html
So far, I like the best Sweet Home 3D. It is open source, runs via Java Web Start so is available almost everywhere, and can import 3DS and OBJ models. The last part means that you can find lots of models for 3D Studio or other modeling programs on the Internet and use them in your design. The software itself comes with enough elements to get you started. It contains some very nice features.
There are two windows - one displays the plan, where you draw stuff, and the other is a 3D view of the model. The 3D view can be either Aerial or Inside view.
There are just enough features to do whatever I wanted to do. The overall feeling while using it for about 15 minutes was great. I don't even feel the need to check out other programs out there.

New Low for ASX S&P 200

The new low of 4400 has been hit over night. the index is back up to 4600 at 11am, one hour after trading started.
The news seems to be panicky and it is interesting to read the comments.

Belgrave

Went to Belgrave today. The day was beautiful. 20 Degrees temperature. The train ride takes an hour from the city. Puffing Billy station is right next to the Met station. The rail actually continues, which is really amazing to see.
The real ride starts at 11:30 and is worth visiting. Only that ride goes all the way. The other rides go only half way and miss all of the wooden bridges that are located at the second half of the rail.
The full ride takes 2 hours each way. I expect to go for this ride one of the next weekends.

I visited Dandenong Ranges National Park and walked through some tracks there. The scenery reminded me of home and the mountains I used to walk through. Except I didn't push my bicycle at the same time. :)
The day was great. My legs are shaking and I felt so sleepy that I look forward to enjoying an afternoon nap.

Apart from that, the good news awaits at home. The US bailout plan has been agreed upon and set to President Bush for signature. The markets are to shoot up tomorrow. More on that at the Finance Blog and other news at my regular blog.

Plans for Sunday

Mmm, Sunday is tomorrow and I'm looking at the map. Where could I go this weekend? The interesting areas are green on the map. :) I believe the choice this time will be Belgrave line. The one that goes as far east as the trains go. The final station is at the foot of Mt.Dandenong. Right across the road is the Puffing Billy train station. I'd very much like to get a ride on that train. It was recommended to me long time ago, on one of the first weekends I've had a bicycle in Australia. But, because of the rail works on the line, I couldn't get there that very weekend.
So, the forecast is about 20 degrees during the day and sunny. Sounds perfect for a ride.

Footy finals are on. Actually, just finishing. It seems I'll have to go through a sea of footy fans on my way home. :S

Markets

All I do these days is watch this roller-coaster of the news related to financial markets. The news popping up are in such a contrast that they don't make much sense. Isolating the noise, though, tells me this could be the bottom of the fall and things should be easier from now on. That's in the markets, though. The practical effects in the real world are only starting to show. The slowdown in economic activity is starting to result in the things like recession in New Zealand, house prices predicted to fall in Asian financial centers because the financial institutions will start laying-off people, unemployment on the rise, etc.
Here in Australia these effects can be felt almost immediately. This is not quite the case with Eastern-European markets. Those are getting more tied to other markets but not yet in a significant way. Therefore, the effects of the turmoil in those markets don't have as much effects on the happenings there.

Well, having no news about other things, that's all I can entertain myself with. These must be historical moments. Some say things like this happen once in a lifetime. So, it's interesting to follow through.
Otherwise, I'd be most happy to receive a call from a recruiter but that just doesn't happen. A temporary thing would (will) be approval of my next leave so then I'll have a break again. In which case the length of the recruitment process will not look as bad as it does now. Anyway... Every month spent here takes me closer to my life goals and I'm trying to get used to that feeling.