My early experience with the National Broadband Network
Me with new glasses 
Me on Saturday morning 
Me on Sunday in Brisbane Prisma App
I recently wrote how the National Broadband Network (NBN) would become available to me in the flat I rent. The connection service would be fibre to the building with the existing copper wire connection from the NBN box in the basement to the wall socket in my flat.
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My connection appointment was scheduled for Thursday afternoon which meant I had to take Thursday afternoon off and work from home. I’d received text messages and e-mails reminding me it was critical for me to be home so the NBN connection technician can access the NBN box in the basement as well as my living area to ensure the system works.
NBN Screenshot 
NBN Screenshot
So on Wednesday afternoon at 5 pm I received a call from the NBN connection technician who asked if I will be home Thursday morning. I explained that I had to rearrange my day to get away for the afternoon so I could be present between 1 and 5 pm. I had arranged this many weeks in advance. The technician explained he was doing a few connections in my building in the morning and didn’t wish to return in the afternoon just for me.
My sphincter started to clench and I explained again, I’d received text messages and e-mails pointing out my appointment was in the afternoon and I had made arrangements so he could have access to my flat. The documentation is clear that someone over 18 years must be home during the appointment window, “Someone over 18 must be present for the entire duration of the appointment (this may extend beyond the technician arrival window)”
I cannot imagine anyone could conceive that the extension beyond the arrival window would include extending the time before the arrival window.
So the NBN connection technician tells me that he doesn’t need access inside my flat. All I need to do is set up the new Telstra Smart Modem™ Gen 2 in the morning and leave it turned on.
So when I got home, I read the instructions, and assumed with the 4G backup, it should work straight out of the box even if the NBN wasn’t switched over. Not surprisingly, it worked. The connection via 4G was poor because the signal strength where I live is poor, but still it worked and in fairness to Telstra’s 4G network, it’s on a par with its ADSL2 service for downloading and superior to ADSL2 for uploading.
On Thursday morning, I sent a text message to the NBN connection technician and wrote that I had left the modem connected and turned on.
I arrived home in the afternoon and the first thing I did was plug in an ethernet cable into my MacBook. I turned off the Wi-Fi on the modem and then MacBook and ran an Internet speed test. I was getting 45 Mbps download and 15 Mbps upload. It worked. It worked!
On Friday morning the real test came. Apple had sent out iOS and MacOS updates. Normally to undertake a software update on an iPhone, iPad, and MacBook can take the better part of a morning. The updated software was downloaded in minutes. These were nearly 1 GB for the iOS devices, and 2.5 GB for the MacOS device.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had what I would call a good IT experience. I’m now on the NBN and I’m thinking about how to take advantage of this.
What have I watched this week?
Star Trek: Discovery
The Red Angel
The identity of the Red Angel is revealed. This episode starts with the funeral ceremony for Lt Commander Airiam. We also get to see Michael Burnham die momentarily.
Perpetual Infinity
Burnham gets to meet her mother again and we see Philippa Georgiou in a great fight scene.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou is outstanding. I’m also a fan of Jayne Brook who plays Admiral Katrina Cornwall
Star Trek: The Original Series
Mudd’s Women
Television has come a long way since the 1960s. Mudd’s Women though tells a story of perpetual youth and how beauty is more than skin deep.
It’s been interesting to get some of the
LAW & ORDER
I finished watching season 6 which ended with the death of Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid. One of the great things about the Internet age is that fans can find out things like why a character may have been killed off. Kincaid was played by Jill Hennessy who apparently wanted to be written out rather than be typecast as an uptight lawyer, however, she thought she would be disabled and not killed in the car accident which ended the season.
In one episode while Jill Hennessy was playing Kincaid in a LAW & ORDER spin off (Homicide: Life on the Street), Jill’s identical twin, Jaqueline, played Kincaid but was not credited which seems odd.
My Husband won’t fit
Kate Walsh and her TV recommendations
Kate from Twitter recommended this show to me this week.
Check out “My Husband Won’t Fit” on Netflix
It’s a Japanese TV show and it requires no imagination to work out what it’s about. I’ve watched one episode so far. It was a little slow paced but the acting is good. It’s in Japanese with English subtitles so it requires extra focus to watch this. I can’t take it in while doing other tasks like I can with many other TV shows.
What have I listened to this week?
No Such thing as a Fish
I listen to Anna, Andy, James, and Dan every week. They host a comedy show where each of them share what they think is a fact. Sometimes I’m not sure about the veracity of what they’re sharing, but no matter what, they are always funny. In last week’s episode, episode 261, Anna was mentioning that in her week’s reading she had been focusing on rectovaginal insemination of cattle. This is one of the funniest shows the team has done (in my opinion). I was in hysterics.
Last week’s show started with the sport of gurning. You need to check out this Tweet to get a better idea of gurning.
Anna also mentioned she is one of the special ten per cent of the population who is positive for the Gorlin sign. Unfortunately, there appears to be no photographic evidence of this.
The news on radio
Andrew Forrest and a plastic premium
Fortescue Metals chairman Andrew Forrest is a prominent Australian business person. He’s called for taxation on plastic products in an effort to turn plastic from a waste product to a commodity. It’s his view that if a plastic bag, a plastic bottle, a plastic wrapper were worth something after its been used, the plastic recycling industry would become profitable.
It’s an interesting notion. Rather than being dumped into
Serious Eats
Special Sauce: Tommy Tomlinson
In this week’s show Ed Levine speaks with Tommy Tomlinson about his weight and his process for losing weight. Tommy at his peak was >200 kilograms (for Americans, Liberians, and Burmese, multiply that by 2.2).
Tommy is a journalist who has been overweight for most of his 55 years. His view is to take his weight loss slowly. As a sports journalist, he speaks about a long baseball season and if a team can win 2 out of 3 games, his aim is to “win” at consuming less calories than he burns two thirds of the time.
What have I eaten and photographed this week?
This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them.
The Owl Statue on Monday morning 
Oven-baked two-mustard flavoured cheesy salmon pastry parcel. Served with broccoli. Cooked at 250 °C (480 °F) for 25 minutes. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #salmon #cooncheese #mustard 
Oven-baked two-mustard flavoured cheesy salmon pastry parcel. Served with broccoli. Cooked at 250 °C (480 °F) for 25 minutes. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #salmon #cooncheese #mustard 
The Owl Statue on Wednesday morning 
Pressure cooker corned beef 🐂 and super spicy 🌶 quinoa rice 🍚 Cooked by steam under pressure for 20 minutes. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #cornedbeef #pressurecooker #quinoa 
Pressure cooker corned beef 🐂 and super spicy 🌶 quinoa rice 🍚 Cooked by steam under pressure for 20 minutes. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #cornedbeef #pressurecooker #quinoa Me on Sunday in Brisbane Prisma App 
Me, with a coffee on Tuesday morning 
Blueberry muffin and coffee 
The Owl Statue on Tuesday morning 
The Owl Statue on Tuesday morning 
Two-mustard flavoured salmon and Udon noodles. Served with broccoli and chilli 🌶 Udon noodles, cauliflower, and broccoli in boiling water for 6 minutes before being stir-fried with chunks of raw salmon and dollops of Dijon and Wholegrain seed mustard. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #salmon #mustard #udonnoodles 
Two-mustard flavoured salmon and Udon noodles. Served with broccoli and chilli 🌶 Udon noodles, cauliflower, and broccoli in boiling water for 6 minutes before being stir-fried with chunks of raw salmon and dollops of Dijon and Wholegrain seed mustard. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #salmon #mustard #udonnoodles 
The Owl Statue on Monday morning 
Leftover pressure cooker corned beef and quinoa rice 
Toasted Coon cheese roll with coffee for breakfast 
Baked super spicy 🌶 cheesy Udon noodles 🍜 with corned beef 🐂 Cook the tinned corned beef and noodles in boiling vegetable stock with curry powder for 6 minutes. Add chillies and chilli flakes with Coon cheese 🧀 and then bake at 200 °C (400 °F) until the cheese is golden coloured. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #cornedbeef #cooncheese #udonnoodles 
Baked super spicy 🌶 cheesy Udon noodles 🍜 with corned beef 🐂 Cook the tinned corned beef and noodles in boiling vegetable stock with curry powder for 6 minutes. Add chillies and chilli flakes with Coon cheese 🧀 and then bake at 200 °C (400 °F) until the cheese is golden coloured. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #cornedbeef #cooncheese #udonnoodles 
Honey on sourdough toast 
Honey on sourdough toast NBN Screenshot NBN Screenshot 
Chocolate muffin and coffee 
Telstra Gen 2 NBN Modem with 4G backup 
KFC 🐓 with coleslaw. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #kfc #smashedavo #takeaway 
KFC 🐓 with coleslaw. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #kfc #smashedavo #takeaway 
KFC 🐓 with coleslaw. #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #kfc #smashedavo #takeaway 
Coffee and work 
Sugar coated pastry scroll and coffee 
Chicken sandwich 
Yummy Lummy’s curry puff. Super spicy 🌶 cheesy curry corned beef 🐄 in puff pastry served with steamed cauliflower and broccoli 🥦 Tinned corned beef sautéed with curry powder and chilli flakes. Cooled and then wrapped in puff pastry with Coon cheese and baked for 20 minutes at 200 °C (400 °F). #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #cornedbeef #cooncheese 
Yummy Lummy’s curry puff. Super spicy 🌶 cheesy curry corned beef 🐄 in puff pastry served with steamed cauliflower and broccoli 🥦 Tinned corned beef sautéed with curry powder and chilli flakes. Cooled and then wrapped in puff pastry with Coon cheese and baked for 20 minutes at 200 °C (400 °F). #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #cornedbeef #cooncheese 
Yummy Lummy’s curry puff. Super spicy 🌶 cheesy curry corned beef 🐄 in puff pastry served with steamed cauliflower and broccoli 🥦 Tinned corned beef sautéed with curry powder and chilli flakes. Cooled and then wrapped in puff pastry with Coon cheese and baked for 20 minutes at 200 °C (400 °F). #yummylummy #foodphotography #foldio #hypop #cornedbeef #cooncheese Me on Saturday morning 
Me on Saturday morning 
The Owl Statue on Saturday morning 
Protecting KFC 
Saucepan on an induction hob 
Udon noodles and tin of cream of mushroom soup 
Udon noodles draining after cold water rinsing 
KFC skin 
Mixing bowl with cream of mushroom soup and shredded KFC 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables ready for the oven 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables ready for the oven 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables ready for the oven 
Benchtop toaster oven cooking the meal 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables partially cooked and waiting for chicken skin 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables with crispy chicken skin and tomatoes 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables with crispy chicken skin and tomatoes 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables with crispy chicken skin and tomatoes 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables with crispy chicken skin and tomatoes 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables with crispy chicken skin and tomatoes 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables with crispy chicken skin and tomatoes 
KFC, Udon noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and frozen vegetables with crispy chicken skin and tomatoes 
Leftover KFC with peppers and cream cheese 
Leftover KFC with peppers and cream cheese 
Leftover KFC with peppers and cream cheese Me with new glasses 
Abandoned shopping trolley | Australian Communications and Media Authority 
Me at the Belconnen Police Station on Sunday morning 
The Owl Statue on Sunday morning 
The Owl Statue on Sunday morning 
The Owl Statue on Sunday morning 
The Owl Statue on Sunday morning 
A GREEN trolley out in the wild sans lock and chain. How did this get past the ACT Government rules and regulations for the enslavement of trolleys? 
Margaret Timpson Park 
Me at Lake Ginninderra South on Sunday morning 
Poached eggs and avocado at Stand By Me in Lyons. 
Salmon and tuna box for Sunday lunch
Yummy Lummy this week
I bought a 21-piece bucket of KFC on Friday night and I finished the breasts last night when I combined them with some Udon noodles and a tin of cream of mushroom soup. I peeled the skin off the chicken first so they could be made crisp in the oven as I cooked the meal.
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Final thoughts
- Do you have access to the National Broadband Network yet? Is it worth it in your opinion? Are you waiting for 5G?
- Do you listen to comedy podcasts? What is your favourite podcast? What would you recommend?
- Does your weight bounce around a lot?
- Would you like to see plastic recycling? Would having to pay extra for things so that plastic can be recycled worry you?
Good timing before I read your post I was in the telephone to my service provider about NBN and was told I don’t need to connect. I am exempt for some reason. Glad yours working well G.
Thanks, Sue. It’s a remarkable difference between what I had and what I have 😃😃😃
So do you access the NBN with an ethernet cable or wireless? It sounds like a new world for you 😀
I think your new glasses make you look Mr Younger 😀😀
Thanks Mabel. I feel like the glasses make me look more Asian 😳
The modem is connected to a wi-fi router. I’ve turned the wi-fi off on the modem itself because I have everything organised in terms of passwords with the router. I do have an ethernet cable from the modem to my laptop for a fast connection though. It’s really useful to do it this way.
OK, seriously, how did Netflix just recommend ‘My Husband Won’t Fit’ to me today? Has it linked it to people who watch Discovery??
Either way, I blame you for not being able to watch TV and do something else at the sametime, because subtitles.
Glad the NBN worked out. My theory remains 100% accurate. The slower your internet pre-NBN the faster it is after, and likewise, the faster your internet pre-NBN, the slower it is after.
😂😂😂 Happy to take the blame.
I’m LMAO thinking of all the other bloggers I follow who may now get a recommendation to watch “My Husband won’t fit” 🤣🤣🤣
I just hope the quality of the NBN connection I have stays the same.