It's just past 1:00 pm down here and the clouds are thickening yet again. Awoke this morning to the usual heavy rain, then in the space of time it took to have two cups of breakfast, watched the weather shift to bright sunshine, then heavy showers, a brilliant rainbow and back to partly cloudy skies. At this moment it's nearly 25 degrees C (77 F) and remember... it's winter. Still, I'd trade a few degrees for a lot less rain. Even the locals are starting to whinge already.

This afternoon I'll finally get to see Ken's fuel flow bench in action, as Mark Brew and crew are coming down to test a system for a South Australian racer. Since we still haven't even bolted together our fuel system, the educational curve should be significant. The boys pull in on time and soon have the system up and running and impressing the heck out of us with its data gathering capabilities. The time passes quickly and the sun is down long before they're done, but no one is leaving until things are right. Great way to spend the afternoon and the test session has definitely given us lots of food for thought and discussion.

After closing up the shop for the night, Ken and Tracey invite me up to the house to watch an Aussie movie on the VCR -- "The Castle". While it was a smash hit downunder, it opened in theatres in the USA last weekend to minimal success. After watching it I'm mystified why it didn't do better overseas. (The answer probably lies in a lack of promotion and marketing by the distributors). The movie really was a joy to watch; very, very funny, yet ultimately delivering a serious message that wasn't obscured by the humour. Trust me, if you get a chance to see it, do so. It is well worth it and the humour can be appreciated by non-Aussies as well as the folks downunder.

We finish off the evening with a quick session on the internet; check the e-mail and find a few new messages, but nothing of any great significance, except the usual "get rich quick" spam scams and an invoice from my service provider for this website. Better "action" that one before they pull the plug on ol' Thunder, eh? Then it's time to check out the latest doin's at Horsepower Heaven and see what Mr. Pfister has been up to lately.

Yikes!! Double Yikes!! Seems there isn't much reason to come home after this downunder adventure... as there won't be much (if any) of a home to return to. Bikers moving in? Drywall, door and ceiling repairs? Sounds like a lot of people having a very good time at my expense. Just remember to turn out the lights.... assuming any are left... when you leave. Thanks for having a bit of fun with me Larry.... you are joking, aren't you??