A big thank you ACT Police

More accurately, thanks to a particular constable in the ACT Police. While it would be inappropriate to mention names, this constable went out of his way to help me by doing something he didn’t need to do.

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So, last week, I wrote about a theft from a storage unit I rent. It was broken into and some of my possessions were stolen. I contacted ACT Police during the week and I spoke with the case officer responsible. I explained what was missing and provided a description. I followed it up with an e-mail which described the items along with receipts and other evidence of ownership. I mentioned to the case officer that I hoped to replace one of the items with an official duplicate. This struck a chord with him and as a result, he contacted the relevant government authority, explained my situation, and sent me the information I needed to arrange a replacement. I’m very grateful for this constable’s generosity in going out of his way to assist me. I’m now going through the process of trying to obtain a duplicate for the stolen item. Once I get the duplicate I’ll be storing it somewhere else.

Apart from one incident when I was a teenager, my experience with Australian and international law enforcement officials has been extraordinarily good. In both the Northern Territory of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, I’ve had the privilege of working with law enforcement officials many of whom are commissioned, some forensic scientists, and those working in other technical areas. Some of the Australian Federal Police personnel I’ve worked with have done outstanding work, especially in the fields of disaster victim identification (DVI) and forensic science.

Northern Territory police are known for a no nonsense laid back attitude. At least in the period when I was working with them common sense always prevailed and there was never a need to muck around. I remember being taken to a crime scene once and asked for an opinion on how to resolve a problem. The sergeant made a quick call to base and within an hour my recommendation was implemented.

The one poor experience I’ve had was when I was a teenager. It involved a modified car, the daughter of an assistant commissioner, and a pistol. No crimes were committed but I certainly learnt valuable lessons.

What have I watched this week?

The Final Table

A friend on Twitter, viz., Kate, suggested I might like Netflix Original The Final Table. It’s sort of like Master Chef and Iron Chef combined. The show’s producers have Master Chef experience and the show itself looks like it has the production quality and uses the concept of operations of Iron Chef.

Chefs from several countries compete in pairs and cook the cuisine of what the American producers assume to be the top cuisines of the world including Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India, the United States of America, Italy, Japan, and France. I note the cuisines of China, Indo-China, Australia, all the African countries, and large parts of Europe aren’t considered.

The show is produced in Los Angeles and there is a heavy North American bias which should come as no surprise. That said, it is entertaining and to a degree educational.

I’m always impressed by the visual appeal of modern cooking and this show doesn’t fail to deliver. 

I’ve now watched all of series one and I’ve seen who wins the series. It wasn’t a surprise really. It was inevitable. For Australian readers, there is a good Australian connection.

What have I listened to this week?

A Star Trek podcast I listen to, viz., Dork Trek reviewed my favourite Deep Space 9 episode, viz., “Trials and Tribble-ations”. This is one of the most fun episodes in the Deep Space 9 series. Across the franchise, the story of tribbles features in TOS, TAS, DS9, ENT, and DIS. Apparently, tribbles were inspired by the rabbit population explosion in Australia. I wonder if in a future series of Star Trek a biological control method will be employed to rid the galaxy of tribbles. For non-Australians, we’ve had a long history of using biological agents in an attempt to control exotic pests. Cane toads (Bufo marinus) were introduced in an attempt (it failed) to eradicate the cane beetle. The Myxoma virus and Calicivirus have both been used to reduce rabbit numbers (rabbit numbers returned to plague numbers).

If your interest has been piqued, please note that Dork Trek is NSFW. There’s a lot of swearing and ribald banter. The hosts are US based, have been long-time friends with one another, and have been podcasting about Star Trek for something like seven years I think. They hope to start a Law and Order podcast sometime soon if they can raise the funds.

Rain

We’ve had a few days of drizzle in Canberra. Some other places have had a little rain too.

I miss monsoonal rain. In my opinion, real rain is rain that hurts 😂

What have I eaten this week?

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I went to a meeting on Tuesday which was held at Rydges Capital Hill and there was a doughnut wall. Unfortunately, I didn’t shoot a photograph but it was a portable wall covered in wooden pegs on which doughnuts were hung. It looked very impressive when it was full of colourful icing covered doughnuts.

Yummy Lummy this week

Last night I cooked slow cooker beef brisket with mashed potatoes. 

Christmas memories

At work, someone resurrected the inflatable Santa Claus which spins around.

Sadly it did not end well for Santa. I expect it will not be making a return next year.

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Final thoughts

• What has your experience been with law enforcement?
• Do you like rabbits? I think rabbit tastes nice in a stew.
• How are your workplace Christmas parties going?

Why would someone put me on PETA’s mailing list?