Phil's Birthday

Yes, you are reading correctly, if you've noted that this update was submitted less than a week after the last LOL! I have a good reason though - we celebrated my brother Phil's 53rd birthday last Tuesday, and although I remembered a little late to grab a pic (the cake was already cut) there was still time to grab a few moments of that time onto video to share with you all.

A health report first, though. Since the last update, Mum has seen a heart specialist, spent a day and a night in hospital while being transfused with two bags of blood, and survived an Echocardiogram (Echo). And, after all that, she is definately feeling better than she did before it all, so it seems all worthwhile . . . though the specialist who did the Echo immediately made an appointment to see us on Monday to explore some avenues we can take to improve her health and quality of life. Thanks, as usual, to all of you who have been sending your love and support :)

OK, here's that video. A few moments in the life of Phil Ackland on his 53rd birthday. You will see Harley there (Phil's son) getting into the chocolate cake, and Mum looking pretty well and doing a few wheelies in her wheelchair. Phil is the main focus naturally, despite the knife waving at the end and the warning (blocked out by some Benny Hill music) not to put it on YouTube (LOL!), and I even managed to get a few seconds of Alison (Phil's mother in law), who usually avoids camera lenses like the plague :)


Incidentally, I took the video above on my new phone, a Nokia N97. My Telstra plan expired, so it was time to look for a new phone and a better plan than the one I had had with Telstra ($80/month for a phone & $80 worth of calls). After a couple of weeks of research on what was available with all the features I wanted on it, it came down to choosing between the Apple iPhone and the Nokia N97, and . . . after reading one comparison after another that indicated the N97 was superior in just about every way . . . and the fact that iPhone were behind in production and there would be a wait of a month or more . . . and the fact that Vodaphone (whose coverage has now reached 96% of the population) had the N97 free on a plan that included 1GB data, 100 free text messages and a cap of around $550 worth of calls - all for $80/month . . . the choice was very easy :) With it's 5MP camera sporting quality Carl Zeiss Tessar optics and twin LED flash, it will mean that I have a camera at the ready for decent pics far more often than I used to, when it meant lugging around a bulky camera bag to do so. (Anyone want to buy a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-18??? It's a fabulous camera LOL!) Anyway, here'a a pic of the N97 . . . ciao for now :)