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Thread: Should I Make The Change
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26th January 2019, 03:12 PM #31SENIOR MEMBER
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- Oct 2015
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- 575
You'll be set then. Lots of pine plantations around Traralgon.
And coal smoke.
And dust
And soot
At least hazelwood is shut, a staggering difference in air quality.
And afaik the smell from the paper mill is a thing of the past.
(visit the valley regularly, grew up in Morwell and my mum and brother still live there)
Russ
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26th January 2019 03:12 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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17th March 2019, 01:41 PM #32
I have been in Traralgon for almost 2 months. I have been flat out with work. I scored a job as a woodworking/metalworking teacher at the local high school. I have been trying to get two workshops up and running after being negelegted and abused for years. None of the machines work, there are no tools except boxes and boxes of nails and claw hammers. The kids having nothing to do so they spent their time hammering nails into workbenches took me a week to pull them all out. There was so much rubbish in the both workshops that it took 10 ute loads to remove all of wood scraps, failed woodworking projects, car motors and scrap metal. At the same time I need to teach, develop curriculum and learn all the bureaucracy of teaching. The staff are nice and supportive. The kids are a mixed bag.
I am living in a really nice spacious & modern house. I have a double garage for my woodworking, a large shed that I want to convert into a metalworking workshop and a second smaller shed that I use to store my beer brewing gear all for less then what I paid in Melbourne.
The town is nice, it has all the big shops & services. Once a month a there is farmers market which is nice however very expensive (so I look for the most part). Folks are friendly enough, strangers on the street say hello. I live on the other side of town but it takes a 10 minute drive to get from home to work.
The negatives are that fruit and vegetables are expensive. Variety is limited. There is no ethnic food. Coffee is substandard and costs a fortune $5.5 for a medium watery latte. Take away food is bland and tasteless. The paper mill smell is still a problem depending on the which way the wind is blowing. You go outside and this bad smell fills the air, its hard to describe its a cross between organic waste and synthetic chemical smell. Then you can look out towards Loy Yang and the coal power station. Looking at the sky you can see this grey cloud even on clear days, follow it down towards the horizon the cloud splits into 6 columns gushing from the chimney stacks. So the air quality is worse than living in the city.
Then their is the intergenerational poverty this place has a very much the wrong side of the railway tracks. As a teacher I see kids, from both sides. La Trobe valley has 4 times the states domestic violence rate, and double the states murder suicide rate. A large number of my kids have apprehend violence orders on their names.
Once I get a car I will be making regular trips to Melbourne so that I can stock pile dried fruit, cheese, coffee, beans, nuts, pasta, Asian sauces/pastes, tofu, spices, meat etc etc..
I will try to last 3 years, give it enough time to safe some money and get myself on a more solid economic footing. Beyond that I am not certain.
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17th March 2019, 07:30 PM #33SENIOR MEMBER
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- Oct 2011
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- Langwarrin
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- 952
Hopefully after a bit if time you may discover a couple if gems as far as food outlets go, and fingers crossed if the manual skills classes take off then some of these wayward teenagers will discover a love for something other than running amok - and that will be thanks to the hard work of a diligent teacher that spent a week pulling nails out of old work benches.....
"All the gear and no idea"
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17th March 2019, 09:55 PM #34GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Mar 2018
- Location
- Sydney
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- 1,166
PM me your postal address and your coffee desires and I'll send you a care package to tide you over.... I have a batch sitting here ready to go from my last roast I did a few weeks ago.
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18th March 2019, 09:54 AM #35
Poundy has it right!
Use Woolworths home delivery, or failing that Amazon! OR ring a good cafe/deli in Melbourne and have them stuff a box full of your favourite things
Never too late to learn to cook!
edit: Thumbsucker, your Location is still Melbourne
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18th March 2019, 08:12 PM #36
My hope is that time over the coming years I can build the technology subject up. My hope rests with the year sevens. Getting them enthusiastic and committed to the subject. Seeing that there is a future in design, jewellery making, craft, architecture, industrial design, interior design and furniture making. At the moment it is seen as a dumping ground for the "special" kids on their way out of school. I had a punch up today in one of my classes. A female aid in the middle with two kids throwing wild punches, a second aid needed to step in to pull them apart.
The year sevens in metal are doing pewter castings that they are turning into brooches, rings, key chains, etc etc... In wood they are learning to carve a wooden spoon using gouges and spokeshaves. Really basic projects but I think they are working well as introductions to both mediums as I only have them for 1 term not a semester. I trying to get the year 8's to built a post and rung foot stool. Some will make it, some will not. It is a balancing act, make it interesting, make it a learning experience, build skills and make it challenging.
I will post some photos in a few weeks.
woodPixel I am a good cook. My first job was as an apprentice chef many years ago. I suppose that is part of the problem, also living in the ethnic heart of inner north of Melbourne, if I lived off McDonalds than I would not have a problem.
Thanks for the offer poundy. Are you pro roaster? I have my little stove top coffeemaker. I tend to like dark roasted coffee the way the arabs have it.
Gabriel I have been told that the local wines are good, and I am sure that when I get a car to around to visit some of the towns in the area, and hopefully find some fine food. I am told that there is allot of Venison going around. Hunting and guns is big in this part of the world so I am looking to see if I can score some in the future.
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18th March 2019, 08:47 PM #37
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18th March 2019, 09:17 PM #38
Born in Warracknabeal grew up in Wangaratta, then Melbourne
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18th March 2019, 09:26 PM #39.
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- Feb 2006
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- Perth
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Sounds like some good projects going with those kids,
My limited Middle east experience is that while it varies a lot most only lightly roast their coffee beans. In fact quite a bit of the so called "coffee" I had there was made with a mix of mildly roasted and green beans - it was like drilling a brew made from straw. The most highly roasted coffees I've seen are roasts by old school Italian espresso roasters. Like the coffee being roasted in the 1960s' - shiny glossy black roasts - aromas and tastes of burnt toffee and charcoal.
Most of the best coffee roasters will deliver. They're expensive but if you want to try some of the best coffee in Australian then look up Five Senses coffee. They started in Perth but have Roasters in Melb. I've been a customers of theirs for 25 years - used to go through 4kg a month at my place but in the last few years are down to 2.5kg.
BTW if you are worried about air quality have a look at these consumer level PM2.5 dust meters (They PM2.5 stands for Particulate matter 2.5 microns and smaller)
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Househol...5724dbdf2bc728
There are cheaper ones but these actually give something close to the right answers, they even display up to 10 microns although the 5 and 10 micron ranges are a bit low.
You can also use it in your wood work classes.
Just don't put it near a high level dust source like a WW machine or power tool - this will kills it. Keep is at least 1m away from any visible dust stream.
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18th March 2019, 09:40 PM #40
BobL, how good is that particulate metre! Amazing. I'm grabbing one, maybe two.
Thanks also for the coffee roasting place. We are big drinkers and looking to find something that's not in a packet.
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19th March 2019, 11:46 AM #41.
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- Feb 2006
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- Perth
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- 27,791
I did a review of that meter when I got mine in 2018 - my description starts at post #138 in tis thread and full review is a few posts past that one
Developments in Dust Sensor tech
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19th March 2019, 12:47 PM #42GOLD MEMBER
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- Mar 2018
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- Sydney
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No I'm a "passionate home roaster with a coffee hobby who has a larger than normal group of coffee drinking friends". I roast every few weeks (slightly more often than once a month) and send beans to friends and family around the country (although largely just work colleagues and close friends). Far from a pro-roaster, even if I have a commercial coffee roaster that I run in my backyard (random ebay purchase from MANY years ago). But I roast and many people seem to like it. I did a swap of coffee for some pen blanks a little while ago, so @Ironwood may chime in and comment. My roasting is more suited to espresso and filter preparation as it's (significantly?) lighter than what I'd expect dark-roast and stove-top imply, but you're still welcome to have some if you'd like. @Woodpixel, happy to send some your way too if you like (plus I can give you Canberra recommendations if you want). I like Five Senses too, although it's been a few years since I've drunk their coffee (pre their Melbourne opening I think). These days if I want a change I tend to go to a company in Newcastle, Josie Coffee, who have some great coffees especially if you're into unique single origin coffees in filter perparations...
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19th March 2019, 06:17 PM #43
Poundy sent me 1/2 kg of his Xmas blend and a kg of his January blend.
My machine is a DeLonghi Perfecta, a fairy automatic machine but still makes a passable coffee. I found the Xmas blend to be excellent, family and friends who tried it, all commented positively. I would be happy to drink that coffee for the rest of my life. The January blend wasn’t as good, but still far better than the Vittoria Oro beans that I had been previously using, and several steps up from the pod coffee that I also drink.
I am currently using some beans that I got from my favourite coffee shop @ $60 kg, the Xmas blend I would rate higher than these beans.
I am by no means a Barista, but I can tell Poundy knows his stuff.Brad.
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19th March 2019, 08:15 PM #44
Thanks for the information on some interesting coffee rosters. The Crompton Road from Five Sense sounds like my cup of coffees.
My local arabic shop in Coburg used to sell an Aden roast from Yemen. Very chocolaty and full bodied, not to acidic. A former house mate used to work at Seven Seeds in Melbourne and they had some interesting stuff.
Poundy I will PM you. I am not sure what I can swap for an exchange. I have some interesting woods.
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19th March 2019, 10:10 PM #45.
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- Feb 2006
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- Perth
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I finally found something useful to do with the mountains of coffee ground we generate. I used to put them direct onto the lawn and they used to just disappear in a couple of days but according to the green thumbs the coffee grounds will turn into better compost by adding something with more nitrogen so after a big of research I add dog poo (two dogs - small back yard) in a compost container as this solves two problems at the same time.
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