Monday, March 29, 2010

What's happening in Templestowe and the surrounding area

A collection of news items from the internet.

Bulleen
There’s beauty in small numbers - St Timothy’s Anglican Church
Early Childhood Teacher - Bulleen
 
Doncaster
Barriers to Westfield Doncaster’s evacuation plan exposed
Building-site thieves attack off-duty cop
Autumn Family Fair - Holy Trinity Doncaster

Eltham
Residents reclaim inner city
Building bridges over a cultural gap
Few happy as voters' eyes turn to water works
Bricklayer
Satisfy your belly laugh

- Kelvin Eldridge

Sell your excess items for free using MyTreasure

You can now sell your excess items using MyTreasure for free. The program has always been free, but required you to use your own free space on the internet, or to pay for hosting from me. I decided to make things much easier and simply provide free hosting.

Now you can download MyTreasure, get your list of items together and then request a username and password to use with MyTreasure and I'll set up the free space for you to use.

How can selling my items be free when everyone else is charging to advertise my items, or charge base listing fee and then a commission?

The answer is the MyTreasure page you create includes advertising. For those who wish to participate in Virtual Profit Sharing (it is free to join Virtual Profit Sharing) you can enter your Virtual Profit Sharing code and if people click on the ads and subsequently buy from a Virtual Profit Sharing partner, you get a share of the profit. So not only do you get free advertising to sell your excess items, but VPS members also get another way to get some money.

Now is the time to get some cash for those excess items you have laying around the place taking up space. Download MyTreasure and get stated. You may just end up raising enough money to pay for your next well earned holiday. That's what I call treasure.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Special - $10 off meals over $15.

On Wednesday we decided to go out for dinner. By coincidence I was also adjusting the search engine for the 3108 postcode area and the Shoppingtown Hotel wasn't showing. When you start to use Google's search facilities at this level, you start to see Google isn't great, but for me Google is a good starting point to help locals find local products and services and as I find a better approach I'll use that instead.

I updated the search engine (the Shoppingtown Hotel uses two web addresses) and I noticed when I went to the site the page had a special at the right. The special was $10 off a main meal for meals over $15. I printed off four copies of the voucher and we trundled off to the Shoppingtown Hotel, which is over the road from Shoppingtown.

I was a bit apprehensive with the voucher. They did say one per person, but I've been caught before. I had a voucher for the Keg in Doncaster Road many years ago from The Entertainment Book supplied by the local school and it said buy one main meal and get the second mail meal of equal or lesser value for free. We bought two main meals and two children's meals. When I got the bill it didn't look right so I asked them to explain. They took a child's meal as the second lower priced meal. I'd been to the Keg on a number occasions, but that was the last time I went to any Keg. So needless to say I'm now always waiting for the catch. To the credit of Shoppingtown Hotel they took the four vouchers without question.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. The atmosphere of the Shoppingtown Hotel is lovely and the place has changed a lot since I was last there. They had renovated and the renovations look great. I had a prawns main meal which was excellent. It worked out at around $16 with the discount, which to me is a great bargain for prawns. The total bill was around $51 for a family of four plus a round of drinks.

The special runs from March 15th to March 31st 2010. You can get to the voucher from the Shoppingtown Hotel's site. Search for the hotel using the search engine on the JustLocal 3108 postcode page.

Other hotels listed in the area participating in the promotion are: Cherry Hill Tavern, Doncaster Hotel, Eltham Hotel and the Manningham Hotel. All hotels are part of the AHL Group. I also noticed the AHL Group has set up a site to promote their offers. The site is http://www.greatfoodgreatvalue.com.au/ and is worth checking out .

Bon appetit.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Friday, March 26, 2010

Single blog for Templestowe, Eltham, Doncaster, Doncaster East Templestowe Lower and Bulleen

I've now merged the blogs for the postcode areas around Templestowe plus Bulleen. There is a lot of work maintaining the blog and having the posts in a single blog means everyone can see what is happening in their area as well as the adjoining post code area. This will save a considerable amount of time enabling me to share more information to more people.

The blog menu item for each JustLocal postcode page will now point to this blog.

- Kelvin Eldridge

What's happening in Templestowe

The following are happenings which relate to Templestowe.

Interested in court action with D-Mack?

One of these post-track winners could be your new pet

Excavator Operator & Truck Driver

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Eltham area

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Doncaster

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Doncaster East

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Bulleen

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Templestowe

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Templestowe Lower

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

News update

I thought this article was a bit sad.

Family claim Patrick Hearn left home to die because euthanasia is illegal

- Kelvin Eldridge

Windows XP SP2 support ends July 2010

I recently heard that Windows XP support ends July 2010 so I decided to investigate. As it turns out it is Windows XP Service Pack 2 support than ends in July 2010. That means for those using Windows XP SP2 there will be no more updates or security updates.

When I first heard about Windows XP support ending it implied people would need to update to Windows 7. From what I read Windows XP Service Pack 3 support will continue to 2014. Upgrading to Windows XP SP3 is the most cost effective option.

Some people will opt to upgrade to Windows 7. Given the high cost of purchasing Windows 7 upgrade software, I often suggest people review their computer system. Since Windows 7 would be included with a new computer, it is often prudent to delay a purchase and then purchase a new computer and use the money that would otherwise be spent on the Windows 7 upgrade software and put it towards the cost of a new machine. For example the retail price of Windows 7 Professional (the version I suggest for business) retails at $399. Spending that amount of money on a machine which may be reaching the end of its life may not be a good investment.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Monday, March 22, 2010

What's been happening in Bulleen

I decided to do a quick search of the internet and see what what has been happening this year in Bulleen. Surprisingly most of the articles were for the Bulleen Boomers. I would have expected to find more news for the Bulleen area.

Police stumble on drug lab while responding to call at Bulleen house

Sales Account manager job in Bulleen, VIC 3105 ( Sales:Sales Manager )

Curious takes on cubism

- Kelvin Eldridge

Doncaster East Noodle Box loyalty program

A while ago I joined the Noodle Box loyalty reward program. I never once thought anymore about it, except to present the membership tag for scanning. At my last visit to Noodle Box they asked me if I wanted to use some of my points.

As it turned out I'd built up around 280 points and a regular meal was worth 200 points. I was quite pleased to have picked up some dinner for half the price. I decided to work out what the reward program is worth.

The 200 points is for $200 of spending. A regular meal is worth around $12. That means the loyalty reward program is equivalent to around a 6% discount. That's not a reasonable discount.

My favourite Noodle Box meal is Nasi Seafood. I wonder which meals others enjoy.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Apple Tasting Festival

The Heritage Fruits Society presents Apple Testing Festival at Petty's Orchard on Sunday 28th March from 10am to 4pm. Click here for more information.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Free Buses To Anzac Day Commemorative Services

The Premier John Brumby said veterans and war widows could travel for free on Victoria’s public transport network on April 24, 25 and 26. Click here to read the announcement.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Best venues for lunch around Templestowe/Doncaster area

I stumbled across this newsletter from the Probus Club of Templestowe Valley Inc and one thing in particular caught me eye. Thirty five people responded to a survey on what they felt about the various lunch venues. It isn't often we get to hear the feedback from 35 people on what they think about local venues.

The top three were:

1. Warrandyte Hotel
2. Doncaster Hotel
3. Ivanhoe Hotel

Perhaps next time I'm looking for a place to lunch I might give the Warrandyte Hotel a go. Congratulations to the Warrandyte Hotel for ranking so well.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Templestowe Park Tennis Club Open Day

On Sunday the 21st of March Templestowe Park Tennis Club is having an open day from 1:00-4:00pm.

Activities from 1:00pm will include Free Coaching, Ball machine, Speed Gun, Prizes & Giveaways, Cardio Tennis Demos, Personal Training Demos, HEAD Racquet Demos.

Everyone welcome.

Location: Corner Porter Street and Hawtin Street, Templestowe

- Kelvin Eldridge

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Blogs by people in Templestowe

Remember when blogs were all the rage. Now most people are using social networking sites to interact with family and friends. Blogs weren't really suited to that role as they tend to be largely one way.

Blogs however are a great tool for those starting a small business. They are free and enable business owners to quickly and easily share information on their products, services and anything of interest to them.

I decided to hunt around and see who in Templestowe had a blog and found the following. It really is quite interesting the read about the journey of others.

Christina Taking care of business


Absolutely JUNK

Shutter Bug

Alma's News

Stefanie

Jeremy Wong

Enjoy,

- Kelvin Eldridge

What's happening in Templestowe

Today I noticed the following items for Templestowe.

Off-duty police officer Detective-Inspector Kim West stops robbery

Tutor

- Kelvin Eldridge

Friday, March 12, 2010

Property update: Templestowe

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Doncaster East

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Doncaster

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Templestowe Lower

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Bulleen

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update: Eltham

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Property update

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Down Under Cellars at Eltham Village

It was just by chance that we went into Down Under Cellars at Eltham Village. We needed to pick up a pack of four cruisers. To our surprise they were on special for $11.99. The normal price is $12.99. That's cheaper than the price of over $14 paid recently in Doncaster.

If you're in the area it might be worthwhile to do a price check on a few items you might buy. I don't know how their other prices compare, but the item we purchased had better pricing.

Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following property has recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Property update

The following properties have recently been listed.
Happy home hunting.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Tip when buying from the Apple online store

I had previously checked some Apple software in the online store and noted the cost was $29.99 USD. I later went back to the online store and noticed the price was now $44.95 AUD. The difference was I had gone to the www.Apple.com site first and the second time I went to www.Apple.com.au.

Given the Australian dollar is worth around .90 USD, that means buying from the US site offers a saving and since the software is a download, it really shouldn't make a difference. I went ahead and purchase the software for the total price of $29.99 USD.

I later received confirmation of the purchased but was a bit surprised to see Apple had now added tax of $2.47 USD. To me that doesn't seem right, but for the amount I'm not going waste time following it up.

The total price by buying from the US Apple store rather than the Australian Apple store was $38.85. That's around a 14% saving, which isn't a bad saving.

The following are the details of the purchase which I made on the 7th of February.

Software 29.99 USD
FX FEE AUD$ 1.03
Price $35.91 AUD

Tax 2.47 USD
FX FEE AUD$ 0.07
Price $2.94 AUD

Two things to be careful with when buying overseas from Apple is the tax isn't stated and the exchange rate isn't the rate we see quoted in the press. We get a bit less and I normally allow around 6%.

Overall I'm pretty happy I gave the overseas purchase a go.

Kelvin Eldridge

Monday, March 1, 2010

JustLocal is now trialling local property listings

I've now added to the Templestowe, Templestowe Lower, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Eltham and Bulleen postcode pages, a link to a page showing the latest properties listed in the area. Select Real Estate For Sale to go to the page listing the local properties. If a property interest you, click View to go to the selling agents site and the property.

If you're interested in a local property, it makes sense to check out the agent's information. Currently however agent's don't generally have a strong presence on the internet, so agents have to also forward their information on to one or more other advertisers at considerable cost to home sellers. Now if you're looking for a property by searching for the address in Google, you'll often find our page first in the results. A single click will then take you directly to the agent's page for the property and I feel that is the best place to find all the information the agent wishes to share.

If you or someone you know is thinking about selling a property, you're welcome to contact me and take advantage of the free market appraisal and recent property sales report I've organised with a leading independent real estate group. Should you wish to sell your home, I've also organised a no risk advertising approach. Your information will be passed onto the agent and they or an agent from their group will contact you.

However, it doesn't matter who you decide to sell your property with the agents I know or not. I'll still provide a link if the agent you select has a suitable page, so others can easily find your property using Google.

The trial for local real estate listings will run for the next 3-6 months. If you find this service to be of value I welcome your feedback. My aim is to provide services you find of value and I'll only know if you let me know either by using a service I provide, or by writing to me.

May your next home be the home of your dreams.

Kelvin Eldridge

JustLocal is now trialling local property listings

I've now added to the Templestowe, Templestowe Lower, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Eltham and Bulleen postcode pages, a link to a page showing the latest properties listed in the area. Select Real Estate For Sale to go to the page listing the local properties. If a property interest you, click View to go to the selling agents site and the property.

If you're interested in a local property, it makes sense to check out the agent's information. Currently however agent's don't generally have a strong presence on the internet, so agents have to also forward their information on to one or more other advertisers at considerable cost to home sellers. Now if you're looking for a property by searching for the address in Google, you'll often find our page first in the results. A single click will then take you directly to the agent's page for the property and I feel that is the best place to find all the information the agent wishes to share.

If you or someone you know is thinking about selling a property, you're welcome to contact me and take advantage of the free market appraisal and recent property sales report I've organised with a leading independent real estate group. Should you wish to sell your home, I've also organised a no risk advertising approach. Your information will be passed onto the agent and they or an agent from their group will contact you.

However, it doesn't matter who you decide to sell your property with the agents I know or not. I'll still provide a link if the agent you select has a suitable page, so others can easily find your property using Google.

The trial for local real estate listings will run for the next 3-6 months. If you find this service to be of value I welcome your feedback. My aim is to provide services you find of value and I'll only know if you let me know either by using a service I provide, or by writing to me.

May your next home be the home of your dreams.

Kelvin Eldridge

JustLocal is now trialling local property listings

I've now added to the Templestowe, Templestowe Lower, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Eltham and Bulleen postcode pages, a link to a page showing the latest properties listed in the area. Select Real Estate For Sale to go to the page listing the local properties. If a property interest you, click View to go to the selling agents site and the property.

If you're interested in a local property, it makes sense to check out the agent's information. Currently however agent's don't generally have a strong presence on the internet, so agents have to also forward their information on to one or more other advertisers at considerable cost to home sellers. Now if you're looking for a property by searching for the address in Google, you'll often find our page first in the results. A single click will then take you directly to the agent's page for the property and I feel that is the best place to find all the information the agent wishes to share.

If you or someone you know is thinking about selling a property, you're welcome to contact me and take advantage of the free market appraisal and recent property sales report I've organised with a leading independent real estate group. Should you wish to sell your home, I've also organised a no risk advertising approach. Your information will be passed onto the agent and they or an agent from their group will contact you.

However, it doesn't matter who you decide to sell your property with the agents I know or not. I'll still provide a link if the agent you select has a suitable page, so others can easily find your property using Google.

The trial for local real estate listings will run for the next 3-6 months. If you find this service to be of value I welcome your feedback. My aim is to provide services you find of value and I'll only know if you let me know either by using a service I provide, or by writing to me.

May your next home be the home of your dreams.

Kelvin Eldridge

JustLocal is now trialling local property listings

I've now added to the Templestowe, Templestowe Lower, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Eltham and Bulleen postcode pages, a link to a page showing the latest properties listed in the area. Select Real Estate For Sale to go to the page listing the local properties. If a property interest you, click View to go to the selling agents site and the property.

If you're interested in a local property, it makes sense to check out the agent's information. Currently however agent's don't generally have a strong presence on the internet, so agents have to also forward their information on to one or more other advertisers at considerable cost to home sellers. Now if you're looking for a property by searching for the address in Google, you'll often find our page first in the results. A single click will then take you directly to the agent's page for the property and I feel that is the best place to find all the information the agent wishes to share.

If you or someone you know is thinking about selling a property, you're welcome to contact me and take advantage of the free market appraisal and recent property sales report I've organised with a leading independent real estate group. Should you wish to sell your home, I've also organised a no risk advertising approach. Your information will be passed onto the agent and they or an agent from their group will contact you.

However, it doesn't matter who you decide to sell your property with the agents I know or not. I'll still provide a link if the agent you select has a suitable page, so others can easily find your property using Google.

The trial for local real estate listings will run for the next 3-6 months. If you find this service to be of value I welcome your feedback. My aim is to provide services you find of value and I'll only know if you let me know either by using a service I provide, or by writing to me.

May your next home be the home of your dreams.

Kelvin Eldridge

JustLocal is now trialling local property listings

I've now added to the Templestowe, Templestowe Lower, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Eltham and Bulleen postcode pages, a link to a page showing the latest properties listed in the area. Select Real Estate For Sale to go to the page listing the local properties. If a property interest you, click View to go to the selling agents site and the property.

If you're interested in a local property, it makes sense to check out the agent's information. Currently however agent's don't generally have a strong presence on the internet, so agents have to also forward their information on to one or more other advertisers at considerable cost to home sellers. Now if you're looking for a property by searching for the address in Google, you'll often find our page first in the results. A single click will then take you directly to the agent's page for the property and I feel that is the best place to find all the information the agent wishes to share.

If you or someone you know is thinking about selling a property, you're welcome to contact me and take advantage of the free market appraisal and recent property sales report I've organised with a leading independent real estate group. Should you wish to sell your home, I've also organised a no risk advertising approach. Your information will be passed onto the agent and they or an agent from their group will contact you.

However, it doesn't matter who you decide to sell your property with the agents I know or not. I'll still provide a link if the agent you select has a suitable page, so others can easily find your property using Google.

The trial for local real estate listings will run for the next 3-6 months. If you find this service to be of value I welcome your feedback. My aim is to provide services you find of value and I'll only know if you let me know either by using a service I provide, or by writing to me.

May your next home be the home of your dreams.

Kelvin Eldridge

JustLocal is now trialling local real estate listings

I've now added to the Templestowe, Templestowe Lower, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Eltham and Bulleen postcode pages, a link to a page showing the latest properties listed in the area. Select Real Estate For Sale to go to the page listing the local properties. If a property interest you, click View to go to the selling agents site and the property.

If you're interested in a local property, it makes sense to check out the agent's information. Currently however agent's don't generally have a strong presence on the internet, so agents have to also forward their information on to one or more other advertisers at considerable cost to home sellers. Now if you're looking for a property by searching for the address in Google, you'll often find our page first in the results. A single click will then take you directly to the agent's page for the property and I feel that is the best place to find all the information the agent wishes to share.

If you or someone you know is thinking about selling a property, you're welcome to contact me and take advantage of the free market appraisal and recent property sales report I've organised with a leading independent real estate group. Should you wish to sell your home, I've also organised a no risk advertising approach. Your information will be passed onto the agent and they or an agent from their group will contact you.

However, it doesn't matter who you decide to sell your property with the agents I know or not. I'll still provide a link if the agent you select has a suitable page, so others can easily find your property using Google.

The trial for local real estate listings will run for the next 3-6 months. If you find this service to be of value I welcome your feedback. My aim is to provide services you find of value and I'll only know if you let me know either by using a service I provide, or by writing to me.

May your next home be the home of your dreams.

Kelvin Eldridge