Winemaker

It was advertised on Steam ($5.99)I literally laughed out loud when I saw it...

This has to be the funniest thing... Reality is often stranger than fiction. http://www.goat-simulator.com/

A bit more local news for you on this... A scaled back search for MH370 continues off the WA coast after the Australian Transport Safety Bureau declared that in its professional judgement... “The search zone could be discounted as the final resting place of the missing aircraft. The signal detected by the Curtin University team has since been correlated with another underwater listening station, run by the United Nations' Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organisations,140 kilometres off Cape Leeuwin. “Soon after the aircraft disappeared, scientists at CTBTO analysed data from their underwater listening stations south-west of Cape Leeuwin and in the northern Indian Ocean. They did not turn up anything of interest,” Dr Duncan said. “But when the MH370 search area was moved to the southern Indian Ocean, scientists from Curtin’s Centre for Marine Science and Technology decided to recover the IMOS acoustic recorders located west of Rottnest Island." Although only one of the two acoustic recorders was recovered, Dr Duncan said analysis of the recordings picked up a significant low-frequency noise. “Data from one of the [Rottnest] recorders showed a clear acoustic signal at a time that was reasonably consistent with other information relating to the disappearance of MH370," Dr Duncan said. “The crash of a large aircraft in the ocean would be a high energy event and expected to generate intense underwater sounds.” "We sent the data to search authorities and I got a phone call at 3am in the morning so they were definitely interested in it." Dr Duncan said the timing of the signal (consistent with the disappearance of the aircraft), the fact that it was a long-distance event and the north-west direction of the frequency were the three factors that gave researchers hope the noise may have been caused by MH370. “It has since been matched with a signal picked up by CTBTO’s station south-west of Cape Leeuwin," Dr Duncan said. “A very careful re-check of data from that station showed a signal, almost buried in the background noise but consistent with what was recorded on the IMOS recorder off Rottnest. “The CTBTO station receives a lot of sound from the Southern Ocean and Antarctic coastline, which is why the signal showed up more noticeably on the Rottnest recorder. “Using the three hydrophones from the Cape Leeuwin station, it was possible to get a precise bearing that showed the signal came from the north-west. But Dr Duncan conceded there were large uncertainties in the estimate and that it was "not compatible" with satellite "handshake" data transmitted from the aircraft, currently considered the most reliable source of information. "We don't know if it is related to the aircraft, we only have circumstantial evidence of that, whereas the information they have from the satellite handshake data they do know is from the aircraft, so that's a very big difference," he said. However Dr Duncan said the data had attracted significant interest from search authorities, and would likely be used to focus the search area. He described the discovery as "tantalising". "They've been encouraging us considerably to keep on looking at it and to refine the numbers. I've been over to Canberra to talk to them and we continue to have a very close relationship with them," Dr Duncan said. "They've provided us with some financial support as well for us to be able to continue working on it and they feel the same way that we do about it. "It's sort of tantalising, it's sort of something that 'whoah, it could be something really useful but' there's these other factors that say maybe it's not." "I think, you know, a low percentage [that the noise originated from MH370], maybe 10 per cent or something like that but it's really hard to put numbers on something like that. "In underwater acoustics you never really know what you're listening. This is another example of that. "We haven't given up on it. In the fullness of time we will be recovering other loggers that we have scattered around the country that we think have only a very low chance of having recieved the same event. But we will have a look at that data. "This is such an incredible mystery, and we find ourselves in a unique position to be able to contribute to hopefully solving it. "There's a large number of families who have no idea what happened to their loved ones. If we can do anything that will help them then that's something that will be really worthwhile." MH370 departed Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8 bound for Beijing, carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 14 nations, including seven Australians. It would never arrive at its destination, with Malaysian air traffic control losing contact with the aircraft less than an hour after takeoff. While the initial search area focused on the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, it quickly shifted to the coast of Western Australia, with authorities focusing on a 319,000 square kilometre area of the Indian Ocean 2,600 kilometres south-west of Perth. But the search is now effectively on hiatus, with no aircraft and just one ship, a Chinese survey vessel, actively searching for MH370 after ATSBU discounted the search area, when acoustic pings, thought to be from flight data or the cockpit voice recorder of MH370, were detemined to have come from another, man-made source. However, the federal government has still pledged $89.9 million over two years towards the search in the 2014 Federal Budget.

No worries there... Hope it's getting a bit cooler over there in the west. Have heard it's been a stinker this summer

Welcome back CJ

It would be great if you can let us know just where the "Toowoomba" in NSW is as I would love to visit it. We visit the blue mountains regularly as we have relatives in Oberon. I've looked on all our maps and can't find it. Maybe you're thinking of Katoomba?? BTW if you google "Toowoomba" it will show you the one in QLD only but I guess there is the chance that their maps are not up to date Cheers

The question about lorries is an interesting one... I originally come from Western Australia, where they are usually called trucks except for the large English migrant population( W.A. has the largest percentage in Australia) of whom some would still use the word "Lorry". Having lived for the last nine years in New South Wales, I've been surprised to hear the term Lorry(usually trucks smaller than articulated vehicles) used quite often here. So it seems that no matter where in Australia we live, because of our close ties and sometimes high population percentage of folks from the "old country" It certainly seems plausible that the term could have been used. I've been to Toowoomba in QLD.... never heard of one in NSW..... though there may be one Cheers

I wonder if CJ takes his vacation in drag......... http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2uwb7mG6m1ru1dd3o1_1280.jpg

December must be getting a tad warmer than normal there this year.......

Sad to see the devastation of the fires there and the loss of those brave firefighters lives. Unfortunately we also live in a very fire prone area so our thoughts are with the people there. Glad to hear that CJ is OK though

I would go even further and say that Grundig was extremely helpful to the boys in the area of communications and tracking.... The so called cartel lackey seemed to have been involved with law enforcement and though Customs have some links to law enforcement In Australia, they are a federal agency and apart from the federal police most law enforcement is a state responsibility. The one time that federal police seem to be mentioned in connection to Grundig is when they all helped the boys with communications and regarding the tracking of bridget.. A cartel mole would certainly not be helping the boys in any way whatsoever. An employee of that type of organisation would realise just how long their reach was and how they treated betrayal...

The story certainly doesn't indicate that Grundig was a cartel employee

Now that the boys charter business is a probability I wonder if they'll get a charter in Oz from a"spikey" Melbourne gentleman needing a relaxing break???? If they took lots of umbrellas with them, they could write a book about it.... The title could be Fifty Shades of...... ooops I think maybe another "James" has done that one LOL Cheers Chris

A wonderful ending to an extrordinary and satisfying tale Thanx so much CJames and team for a rolicking read. The journey has been filled with drama, thrills and love. Can't wait for the epilogue but the completed story is a triumph!! Thank you!!!

Oops!!! I forgot It's still December.... My Bad!!!

I posted this in early May... (Posted 06 May 2013 - 09:40 PM Hmmm its ominous that Ahab's last quote in Moby dick was... "to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee" He was then dragged under by his nemesis, which later destroys all the whaling boats,crew and the Pequod. I'm sure CJ has a Whale of an ending planned... oooops!!) Far from being anachronistic, I think Melvilles tale is one of the worlds Great stories and will always remain relevant and contemporary... Just my opinion though If the Whale is a "type" of The Atlantis and crew and Ahab with his accomplices are a "type" of Bridget and the cartel Then CJ's epic story may be heading for a similar ending....

The Title is actually a quote from Moby Dick.... I think Wrath of Khan may have "borrowed" it

Aardvarks of course were used by the Australian military (often called by another name though)

With the long wait doesn't it qualify as this....http://publishersearch.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/cliffhanger.jpg just a thought

Don't know about Trevor in Summer Triangle but here's C.J. in "Winter Triangle" http://www.imageafter.com/image.php?image=b3_landanimals004.jpg

Methinks more clues are in the prologue again.... Stormy weather is alluded to but not seen (a light northerly chop is mentioned about the sea conditions) at the beginning of the story, The launch of space shuttle Atlantis is a major occurence at the time and deception about the condition and whereabouts of a certain catermeran... The current situation sees... Stormy weather (Severe Hurricane), The landing of Space shuttle Endeavor (not mentioned so far but definitely happened around the time of Deans landfall) and confusion about the whereabouts and condition (Well confusion as to how she will escape the storm) of another certain catermeran... Rachel, in the prologue heads South East... if we're following suit maybe the Atlantis goes the other way... South West I believe it was mentioned that their salvation could lie in that direction....

LOL That'd be 1.07 metres in Oz

Well ya know... I thought that the proposal was pretty good but that has all gone by the wayside now and to be honest a lot of the maps don't show the Banco Chinchorro... I believe there is a popular honeymoon resort round about where the hurricane makes landfall... At least It'll be topical that they all die there...

Its actually a reserve area called Sian Ka'an there is small settlement on the point of the peninsula called Punta Herrero and the bay is called Bahia Venustiano Carranza The area is in green There are two bays but I think the northern one is a bit too far north... http://geo-mexico.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/map-yucatan-peninsula.jpg

Hurricane Dean made landfall about 40 miles N/W of Chetumal in Mexico... There just happens to be a bay at that location that could provide some shelter from the eastern edge of the eye.(if they are still travelling at the western edge) A large peninsula juts out to the North East and if the Atlantis could get behind it then perhaps they would have the necessary shelter to survive the land fall...