Category Archives: News

Everything Open 2024, Gladstone

The Everything Open Conference, in 2024, was held in Gladstone Queensland, and I was able to go and make a presentation on ESPHome:

Free your mind and your devices will follow, using ESPHome.

It was a most enjoyable time exploring topics covering Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) topics, including some of the social and inclusivity issues.

The videos of the conference will be made available at some stage.

The Everything Open 2025 Conference will be held in Adelaide, so watch out for the announcements (and subscribe to the Linux Australia mailing list).

COVID-19 in Mawson Lakes and Parafield

Public Service Announcement

The Department of Education, South Australia has issued the following anouncement (Link) this evening – Sunday, 15 November

Mawson Lakes School and Preschool will be closed on Monday 16 November following SA Health advice that a student who attends the school is a close contact to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

People who need to self-isolate will be contacted with further instructions.

A thorough clean of all relevant areas will be carried out. Parents have been notified.

From the South Australian Govenment Website (Link), concern has been expressed regarding anyone visiting the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

Anyone who was in the LMH emergency department between 5.30 pm Friday 13 November and 4.00 am Saturday 14 November who has not been contacted by SA Health should self-quarantine immediately and contact the SA COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787.

In addition, anyone who was at Parafield Plaza Supermarket on Thursday 12 November between 10:30 am and 11:30 am should monitor for symptoms and get tested as soon as symptoms appear.

The local Councillor for the City of Salisbury, Beau Brug is covering these announcements on his Facebook page – here

If you think you may have been exposed or have symptoms, a Popup Testing Site has been set up at Parafield Airport. SA Health Facebook

Updates

Monday, 16 Nov 2020 – The event is now being called the “Parafield Cluster”, and now has 17 cases.

Contact Tracing details from SA Health – Includes locations (eg. shops) and services (eg. Bus services) with details of where and when contact with the virus may have occurred.

Affected locations (check the above site for specific times):

  • Elizabeth Vale, Lyell McEwin Hospital
  • Elizabeth, The Aquadome
  • Mawson Lakes, Mawson Lakes School and Preschool
  • Salisbury Downs, Thomas More College
  • Parafield Plaza Supermarket
  • Port Adelaide, Hungry Jacks
  • Anglicare SA Aged Care Facility, Brompton
  • Yatala Labour Prison
  • Salisbury Bus Interchange
  • Salisbury City Fruit Bowl
  • Elizabeth Shopping Centre, Harris Scarf
  • Hollywood Plaza – Surgery, Woolworths, Star Discount Chemist
  • Mantra on Frome
  • Enfield, Ekam Indian Groceries, Enfield Plaza
  • Mawson Lakes, Mint Leaf Lounge
  • Adelaide, Bus Stops – Internode, Grenfell St; GA1/GA2/GA3 near Train Station
  • Adelaide, Metro Convenience Pty Ltd, Waymouth St, Adelaide

Monday Evening, 16 Nov 2020 – Additional locations:

  • Ingle Farm, Coles, Ingle Farm Shopping Centre
  • Pooraka, On The Run, 126 Bridge Rd
  • Woodville South, Woodville Pizza Bar, 1/58 Woodville Rd

Tuesday, 17 Nov 2020 – Additional locations added, see contract tracing page for times:

  • Parabanks, Namaste Supermarket
  • Eastwood, Adelaide Eye and Lase Centre, 215 Greenhill Road
  • Edinburgh, SA Structural Steel, 5 Kaurna Ave
  • Elizabeth, BigW
  • Fulham Gardens, Community Centre – Festival of Lights Function
  • Findon, Woolworths
  • Gepps Cross, Spotlight
  • Mawson Lakes, Foodland
  • Parafield Gardens, Martins Road Family Medical Practice (Podiatrist)
  • South Plymton, Jai Shiv Fruit & Veg Shop
  • Kurralta Park, Coles, 153-164 Anzac Highway
  • Hollywood Plaza, McDonalds, Target

Stopping unwanted Paypass Purchases

The other day my phone (a Samsung S5, no, not the edge) started beeping at times when I was holding it. This began expectantly, and after a week of these obscure notifications, I tracked it down to when the phone was being placed next to my wallet. An App that I recently installed turned on the Near Field Communication (NFC) features on my phone, which ment that it was now registering my credit cards when they got close enough, through the outside of my wallet.

After turning of the NFC feature on the phone, I had a quick google on ‘RFID Card Shield’ and came up with a card sleeve (see picture) that works quite effectively.

The sleeve is made up of several layers of aluminium foil, for strength and cut to size, and wrapped in gaffatape.

 

Not sure why our particular location has been left out of the NBN rollout information (see image). Last month we received a generic notice saying that we may see the NBN doing work in our streets, so there is some confusion out there about this.

It looks as though there is a high-tech force field (a dome?) over our suburb which is keeping the NBN out.

 

The Advertiser – Clothes theft in ram raid

From the Adevertiser, Saturday, May 9 2015, page 33:

“Clothes theft in ram raid: A stolen car has been used to ram-raid a Mawson Lakes business.

Police were called to Main St, about 5am yesterday, after reports of a car reversing into the building. Two men stole the clothes from the business and fled in a white Holdern Commodore, registration VGT-453”

Link

Hosting of New Websites

MawsonLakes.Org is pleased to announce that we will be hosting two websites for the Mawson Lakes community.

  • Mawson Lakes Community Church
  • Monstersale – A fundraiser for the Mawson Lakes Community Church.