6:00 am:   The bloody weatherman was right, it's raining very heavily this morning and the day looks like a possible write-off. Even though the temperature is a balmy, by my standards, 22 degrees (72 F) already, the rain really does dampen my spirits. Oh well, time to drag myself out of bed and hook up the intravenous coffee connection and get charged up for another day. An hour later, the rain has stopped, for now, the sun is out and the wet streets are starting to steam already.

There's just no end to my amazement over the weather down here... and I still have to keep reminding myself that this is winter. In fact, this is the equivalent of mid-November, season-wise, back home. If the temperatures do ever drop we might have a small problem; there's no heat whatsoever at Dave's townhouse. It's got a serious-sized air conditioner, but it's not reverse cycle, and there's nothing, other than the stove in the unit to provide any heat. No fireplace, no furnace, no baseboard heaters, nothing. Only in Queensland, eh?

Arrive at Ken's at 9:00 am with the skies clearing, the sun high in the sky and the day looking much more promising. Let's start working the phones and getting in some of the other supplies we'll be needing when the race car arrives. A drum of methanol, lengths of steel tubing, hose and tube fittings, flourescent light fixtures, wiring, etc. All delivered right to the shop within a day. With everything spread out down here in a 50-mile strip from the north side of Brisbane down to Coolongatta on the south, driving around to all the shops to pick up these supplies would be a two-day job. Pick up the phone, make a few calls, then sit back and watch it all arrive. Too right!

Next project on the agenda is scheduling a meeting with OBM Customs Brokers to see just how easily and cheaply (hopefully) we can clear the container. A one-stop service, OBM will handle all the details, from clearing customs, arranging release of the container from the wharf and delivering the container to Ken's shop on one of their "Swingloader"s. Rarely seen in North America, the swingloader is a 20 or 40 foot trailer with a pair of booms (on either end) which will lift the container off the flatdeck and place it on the ground. Although the fully loaded container only weighs about 20,000 pounds, this system sure beats hiring a truck and mobile crane -- at nearly twice the cost.