[Adrian]

Just so I can ascertain what level of interest the zoom meeting on Sunday 29th Nov will generate….

Can you please mark this post with a “Thank You” if you hope to join us on-line.

[Adrian]

Vale Iso!
The happy time has arrived when no one is in enforced COVID-19 ISO anymore.
Though the old normal is far from being re-established, things have normalised themselves somewhat. Certainly compared to 6 months ago when we launched the Friday ISO Zoom meeting.

Over the last few months we have demonstrated that the new video conferencing technologies like Zoom can be used to network within TgR. We have had some good distracting conversations whilst the black clouds of COVID rolled past outside.

So, I’m closing down the weekly ISO Meeting night – in the hope that we will never need it again.

In its place I’m prepared to host a monthly Zoom networking time-slot….if enough people drop in. Shoot me a message (through Tgr) if you are interested in an occasional monthly Zoom meeting – and when would suit you.

[Adrian]

I have some disturbing news to share with readers of these forums.

I received reports at the weekend that it had been announced that I had been transported from Sydney back to the UK in a sailing yacht. Of course it was obvious to anyone of sound mind that this was a fabrication. At the time I was sailing on Pittwater in a stiff NE breeze. This was a wind that might have allowed me to sail to Melbourne (though no sane person would want to do that), but it was completely unfavourable to launch on an extended passage north to England.

It is well documented that extended periods of sensory deprivation can cause people to loose touch with reality. So it is not surprising that some of our Victorian members, having been locked down for weeks, are starting to hallucinate. I know you will all join with me in extending our thoughts and prayers to Rosemary and hope she makes a quick and full recovery.

Don’t be lulled into believing the fake news. The T shirts are on sale all round town this week.

On returning to Terra firma I decided to act quickly, and lined up some of the best doctors I could find to help Rosemary through this difficult time.

I also took an unannounced joy ride round town to show everyone I was still well and in charge.

I know you will all join with me wishing Rosemary a rapid return to reality. It is really important that we don’t allow her to relapse back into her delusions of power.

So I hope that everyone who has Rosemary’s best interests at heart will join her next Friday in the Zoom meeting room and show our loving support.

See you all there on Friday….

Same password as always, same times as always…

[Adrian]

And Ben Fordham had an interview with the PM today as well..

in part he asked…

Quote:

Fordham: The Liberal Senator Claire Chandler is being dragged before the Anti-Discrimination Commission in Tasmania because she said women’s toilets are designed for people of the female sex and should remain that way. Is there anything wrong with what she said?

Prime Minister: No, that’s commonsense. And I would urge a more commonsense approach on how some of these agencies operate. I mean, the Tasmanian one has had form on other issues in the past. I think people just expect commonsense in these areas.

[Adrian]

Caroline wrote:

On the other hand Claire Chandler a Liberal senator from Tasmania is against the idea and against use of toilets and change facilities by those she just calls “males” wanting to use female facilities.
She was being interviewed by Ben Fordham on 2GB this morning

I somehow don’t think 2GB is going to see things our way in a million years…

Ben Fordham has slammed the backlash surrounding a controversial opinion expressed by a Liberal Senator.

Tasmanian Liberal Senator Claire Chandler has been referred to the Anti-Discrimination Commission after she wrote: “You don’t have to be a bigot to recognise the differences between the male and female sexes and understand why women’s sports, single-sex change rooms and toilets are important.”

Ms Chandler told Ben Fordham they are “commonsense views shared by the majority”.
She was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement upon her conciliation session with the commissioner.“I certainly don’t want to be silenced on these issues,” she said.

Ben Fordham said.

Quote:

“What a joke! We’re supposed to live in a country that welcomes free speech and encourages a difference of opinion, not one that stomps all over you just because you say that female toilets are meant for females!

[Adrian]

A reminder that we are still meeting on-line on Friday night at 8pm (AEST).
Would be good to see a few new faces….

Join Zoom Meeting
us04web.zoom.us/j/5624120884?pwd=TTJGbWd…b0VTN1hXeWZzYmJQUT09

Meeting ID: 562 412 0884
Passcode: 7MWN0z

[Adrian]

Caroline wrote:

“manufacturing issues” are the cause. Whatever that means.

The company probably found it was more profitable to make hand santiser.

[Adrian]

The Estradot shortage is currently reported on the TGA website
HERE

To quote:

Quote:

26 August 2020

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has been notified of a current shortage for all strengths of Estradot (estradiol) hormone replacement therapy (HRT) transdermal patches due to manufacturing issues. The shortage is expected to continue until July 2021.

Estradot HRT patches are used for short-term relief of symptoms associated with menopause.

In order to reduce the impact of this shortage on patients the TGA has authorised the supply of five overseas-registered products under Section 19A of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. These products are similar in strength to the Australian registered Estradot patches that are in shortage.

The TGA has since become aware of a delay in the availability of some strengths of the overseas-registered product. In response, we are issuing Serious Shortage Substitution Notices for Estradot 25 and Estradot 100 patches. The notices specify substitutions that pharmacists are able to make for patients with a prescription for Estradot 25 or Estradot 100 patches. The notices allow Estradot patches to be replaced with the same strength of either Estraderm MX or Climara patches.

….etc……

[Adrian]

There is no need to wear a mask when you join our weekly Zoom meeting. And you can sit as close to the camera as you like – no need for social distancing.

Join us for an hour of pleasant conversation.
For those who can’t remember what conversation is – it was an old fashioned way of communicating that we practiced before we had to keep away from each other,

Join Zoom Meeting
us04web.zoom.us/j/5624120884?pwd=TTJGbWd…b0VTN1hXeWZzYmJQUT09

Meeting ID: 562 412 0884
Passcode: 7MWN0z

[Adrian]

Can’t recall what the joke was but it must have been funny!

[Adrian]

I hit the wrong button – the password is unchanged for tonight!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/5624120884?pwd=TTJGbWdqZHdSb0VTN1hXeWZzYmJQUT09

Meeting ID: 562 412 0884
Passcode: 7MWN0z

[Adrian]

JeniSkunk wrote:

my internet bandwith failed quite comprehensively, after the evening’s chat restarted.

Zoom is a great improvement on the video chat applications we had 10 or so years ago. Most of the time it seems to work for people, and the quality of the chatting can be pretty good. But those technology gremlins, whilst well papered over by Zoom, are still lurking just under the surface.

Bandwidth is the pre-requisite for a good chat experience as Jeni found out 2 weeks ago. Without a good internet connection there is no way Zoom can give you good video. If things get a bit jerky then try turning off your video camera (a button somewhere with a camera icon on it) and just chat in audio. That often can help whilst the guy next door uses the NBN to download his porn for the weekend.

Another gotcha is audio. By default zoom starts up with your audio muted (and your video turned off). You have to click on the buttons to start your camera and to unmute your microphone. I’d tell you where the buttons are – but Zoom in its wisdom decided to put them in different places on different devices….but look around your screen and you will find them.

The first time you connect it is worth clicking on the link to “test your audio” before actually entering the meeting. If we can’t hear you (and possibly you can’t hear us) then it can be difficult to help. There is a text chat as part of the zoom client (look for a button labeled chat). You can contact the other attendees by typing us a text message and seeing if we can help.

For the time being I propose to carry on running the lockdown schedule of a meeting every Friday. But if if you want this opportunity to chat to be there to enhance our post-COVID social opportunities – then you need to actively support it and put those technology gremlins to bed.

[Adrian]

JeniSkunk wrote:

I was laughing like crazy when you took the pic,

One never needs to apologize for enjoying yourself!

[Adrian]

Still working on taking a group photo….it’s so much harder to get everyone to smile at the same time in a virtual meeting…

[Adrian]

Thanks for the update….here is a short abstract for the day when the NYT removes the article from its free website,

Quote:

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday finalized a regulation that will erase protections for transgender patients against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies, a move announced on the four-year anniversary of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando and in the middle of Pride Month.

The rule, which does not differ much from a proposed version released last year, is part of a broad Trump administration effort across multiple areas of policy — including education, housing, and employment, as well as health care — to narrow the legal definition of sex discrimination so that it does not include protections for transgender people.

The Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law often known as Obamacare, established broad civil rights protections in health care, barring discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in “any health program or activity” that receives federal financial assistance.

The Obama administration interpreted the provision about sex discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of “gender identity.” Under the original 2016 rule, health care providers and insurers would have been required to provide and cover medically appropriate treatment for transgender patients.