I don't know if anyone is still reading my journals after all this time, but if you are I'd like to ask a favour, especially from railroad enthusiast furs.

Those of you who have been following me for a while will be aware that I'm very fond of the Pennsylvania Railroad GG1, which is why I created a character based on the locomotive class.

I joined a Facebook group called "We Salute you GG1" https://www.facebook.com/groups/899.....1633/?ref=gysj

Most of the people on the group were very polite, welcoming and mature. Some were old enough to have worked on the railroads when the GG1s were still in use. I was chatting on the group with them, learning a lot about these fascinating old locomotives. (There was only one jerk named Ralph A Heiss who kept heckling me, because he didn't like the fact that I'm a furry).

Then a few weeks later, with no notice or explanation, I was removed from the group AND completely blocked. Even though I never did anything rude or disrespectful to anyone there. I tried to get in touch with two of the admins. The first one never replied. The 2nd one said that he didn't know why I was removed. When I asked if he could please return me to the group he replied "I'll try to pull a rabbit out of a hat." That was weeks ago, and he never replied again even after I tried to contact him once more.

*** HERE'S THE FAVOUR I'M ASKING ***

1) Sign up to their group (you'll need to give an explanation of why you like the GG1)

2) DON'T mention that you're a furry.

3) ** BE POLITE! ** Don't give them any excuses to remove you. Don't let Ralph A Heiss or anyone else provoke you into an argument.

4) Say something nice about my fursuit on the post in their group (whoever the bad admin is, they will probably delete the whole post eventually, but take advantage while you can)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/899.....7423636246634/

AND / OR

4) Add a comment in one of the posts I started (below), asking why Sebastian isn't posting any more.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/899.....7506281316634/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/899.....7508274916634/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/899.....7489714171634/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/899.....7481310931634/


Thanks guys!!

SURPRISE! My new fursuit is out - GG1!

I'll be posting more photographs over the next few days.

https://au.yahoo.com/finance/news/b.....044727447.html

Posting this because I know many furs who were upset at Toys 'R' Us going out of business.

2018 is nearing an end, and I've been so busy with work and so sick with worry over work that I've hardly gone near Furaffinity.

News: I received my first full-body fursuit earlier this month, but some adjustments are needed so parts of it are going back to the maker temporarily. The identity of the character will remain a surprise until the suit is fully wearable at events.

There appears to be an evil-genius super villain somewhere in New South Wales who has invented a weather machine. We're experiencing winter weather here in the middle of summer!!!

Thanks to the demanding job I'm in I barely have any time to even visit FA. I don't know if inactive accounts are eventually purged, but just to be on the safe side I'll post this:

M*E*R*R*Y C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S E*V*E*R*Y*O*N*E!!!

Wishing you all the best for a prosperous 2016 (and hopefully an end to this damned recession).

A reminder that "Hug a locomotive day" (unofficial) is a couple of weeks away. 26/10/2015
This also includes the hugging of model locomotives. I'm hugging a scale 1:1 model in the video
https://youtu.be/aYs7wK5T0OA

Sorry I haven't been around as much on FA over the last few months. I started falling behind in my attendance here starting with the FurDu weekend.

Good news: I've been confirmed permanent in my new job.

Bad news: The job is *very* demanding, and worse still we're entering the busiest time of the year, so I'm afraid my absence here is going to be prolonged. :(

I'm back from FurDu 2015

I'm also exhausted.

Following in the footsteps of  snackish here:

1) Have you been to FurDU before?
Never, but for years I've been promising to meet some friends up that way so this year is the year! It may also be a one-off, as I can't afford this kind of travel adventure very often.

2) How long will you be on the Gold Coast?
Just gonna be there for the con.

3) Where are you travelling from?
Sydney!

4) How are you getting there?
Flying foxaroo via the Flying Kangaroo (That's Qantas for those of you not familiar with their slogan).

5) Are you staying at the con hotel?
I'm staying at the con hotel. Want to be able to change in and out of my fursuit easily and not have to worry about leaving items unattended in the headless room.

6) Who are you rooming with?
One of my friends from up north.

7) Who will you be hanging around with?
Primarily there to see  wererstritchy and  redtailfox both of whom I've been wanting to meet for at least half a decade.

8) What are your major plans for the con?
I'm trying not to make plans but to just enjoy the time there with other furries. My job is a killer, so believe it or not being with furries is what's "normal" for me. About the only achievement I'm aiming for is to have photographs taken of myself alongside  redtailfox - Two foxaroos, that would be amazing beyond imagination!

9) Anything you really want to happen during the con?
I want everyone there to have a safe and enjoyable experience and for there to be no incidents, physical, legal, PR, or anything. Hope everyone abides by the well-being of everyone else, and that no anti-furs intrude where they're not wanted.

10) Anything you really want to avoid during the con?
Just hot weather - this foxaroo has very warm blood, and that's one of the reasons I wouldn't ordinarly travel up north.

11) Are you fursuiting/costuming?
Taking my partial fursuit of Michael Sauerpüss, my foxaroo (https://www.furaffinity.net/view/13207922/). Damn I need a better fursuit though, but Sebastian Sauerpüss (https://www.furaffinity.net/view/15923791/) is going to be horrendously expensive if I ever decide to go ahead with having a fursuit of him made up.

12) Are you an artist or dealer?
Neither. I'm a writer and photographer. I do however want to learn to draw, but I have minimal spare time for practicing.

13) Are you doing anything outside of the con?
Going to church on the morning of my day of worship, so you wont see me on the con site during that time. Hey, I normally go to Fox Valley church - that's gotta be the coolest name ever for the church of a furry christian.

14) How can I find you?
If I'm not in fursuit then look for an overdressed, overly formal greymuzzle. Hopefully that will help me to stand out from all the young furries.

15) Do you like hugs?
From fursuiters, YES! From humans, depends how much I trust them.

16) Can I have a drink with you?
At a table, sure!

17) Can I grab dinner with you?
Not sure.

18) Can I photograph you?
In fursuit, most certainly. Out of fursuit, why would anyone want to? :-P

19) Can I tag along with your group?
I'm not really expecting to be in a group, but I guess it might be possible. Emphasis on the "might."

20) Anyone you wish was coming, but isn't?
Uncle Kage and Jenner, since the loss of my job meant missing the past two Confurgences (Australia's main convention).

21) Got a Convention Badge for the event?
One made for me by  snackish and the one I've applied for via the FurDu website.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/2659429.....ght-on-camera/

I'm still in my job, just barely. Being dyslexic makes learning *any* kind of job difficult and this is a *very* difficult job. Right now I'm very worried about whether or not I'll be able to *keep* this job if I can't get more familiar with it. The first busy season begins in January and I'm nowhere near up to speed. My probationary period ends in March/April, so I have yet to see if I'll be straight back into unemployment then. I sure hope not.

Surprisingly (in a good way, not a bad way) there's still people following me here on FA. I'm afraid there will be very little activity from me here for the foreseeable future.

Conventions:
I'm booked in to attend FurDu (www.furdu.com) next year (this will be my first time there) and of course being a Sydfur I'll be at Furjam (www.furjam.org) each year. Like last year however I'll have very little energy - the job is taking it all out of me. Confurgence (www.confurgence.com) - Can't make it, sorry.

Artwork from other furs
I have 1 commission I'm waiting on.

Writing
No-go; I just don't have the drive to do any writing.

Early last week I was viewing a page from Furaffinity on my iPhone when all of a sudden the avatar images stopped loading about halfway through. Now I can't get *any* images to appear from FA on my phone, other than the advertisements.

That was early last week, and the problem hasn't improved, even after switching my phone off each night. I can only view images if I have the direct link, but this is catch 22 because I'm unable to reach the direct link since you need to click on the image in a gallery in the first place.

The problem has essentially made my phone useless for viewing Furaffinity at all. I don't know whether the change has been on the FA website, or in my phone. Maybe my phone has reached a limit for the number of images it's able to load or something? Can the cache be purged or something? It's an iPhone 4.

 dhlawrence1985 has tagged me for the OC Meme (I presume this is an abbreviation for "Original Character").

RULES :
1. Pick one of your OCs.
2. Fill in the interview as if you were your OC.
3. Tag four people to do this meme!
4. Tell people that they been tagged with a link from your journal

OC picked: I nominate my character GG1, the electric locomotive turned Iron Horse. Let's see how well this goes.

(Warning: Mild adult themes)

1. What is your name?
Gina Gertrude One, AKA GG1


2. Do you know why you were named that?
My name was taken from the class of locomotive that inspired the game character where I originated. My friend Michael suggested the names Gina, Gertrude and One in order for me to fit into society after I became flesh & blood.


3. Single or taken?
Currently single, but looking for someone to share my life with. Although my mind is computer-driven my body has proved to have... certain needs.


4. Have any abilities or powers?
Alien nanites in my body enable me to heal wounds faster and reject infections. By concentrating I can also signal them to temporarily revert me back to my original form, which looks similar to a metal Trojan horse. It's less mobile than walking on two legs, but highly resistant to damage. In either form I have Bluetooth connectivity, and my anthro form also has a USB socket on the back of my neck which allows me to interface directly with computers. When plugged into vehicles that are suitably equipped I can drive them with exceptional speed and maneuverability. Then there's the simple fact that as a computer I have a photographic memory with perfect recall, and never miss the slightest detail in anything I see or hear. Lastly my computer is able to perfectly diagnose the state of my organic body, and has heightened control over my body functions, even my heart rhythm and lung capacity. I chose to switch off my ovulations as they didn't seem to serve any immediate purpose.


5. Stop being a Mary Sue!
That would be correct only if I were based on the author who created me. However my personality was inspired by a number of sources including the original GG1 locomotive, Dr Who's K9 and the Cyberdyne Systems 101 Terminator.


6. What's your eye color?
My iris colour is yellow.


7. How about hair color?
Dark brown.


8. Have you any family members?
Within the virtual reality game where I was created there were other locomotives which would be considered my brothers and sisters. I also "gave birth" to a new class of locomotive which was a hybrid taken from my blueprint and a locomotive of a different class. Outside of that game I have no family. I am unique.


9. Oh? How about pets?
I have no pets.


10. That's cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don't like.
As an artificial intelligence there were no established parameters to tell me what is likeable or unlikable. However I have slowly learned the concepts of disliking extreme heat & cold, odours that inhibit breathing (especially tobacco smoke), and my motherboard is vulnerable to strong magnetic fields. I would classify all of these as dislikes.


11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?
I have opted to spend downtime designing new software, studying and developing engineering systems, and accumulating general science knowledge. My friend Sebastian Sauerpüss also introduced me to the practical application of physical intimacy.


12. Have you ever hurt anyone in any way before?
Within the virtual reality game I was a combat locomotive, therefore it was my duty. Outside of the game I have been caught up in various capers with my friends Michael and Patrick, and have had to apply reasonable force to lawbreakers including terrorists.


13. Ever… killed anyone before?
Within the virtual reality game multiple times. Outside of the game not as yet. I am required by law to offer a fair warning before the use of reasonable force. Should a situation turn deadly and members of the public be endangered by offenders I may be required to act quickly, and in extreme situations it may not always be possible to apprehend a dangerous felon or terrorist alive.


14. What kind of animal are you?
Equine, most closely related to the Arabian breeds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_horse . However my fur coat including golden stripes and Pennsylvania Railroad logo are incorporated into my genetic code. If I were to give birth my offspring have a 1 in 4 chance of having the same or similar fur patterns.


15. Name your worst habits.
I tend to be very formal in my inter-personal relationships, even with my closest friends. This was a great hindrance the first time I proceeded to explore intimacy.


16. Do you look up to anyone at all?
I owe a great deal to my friend Michael Sauerpüss, without whom I would never have been more than a piece of software designed to be a NPC in a game. He has also assisted me to integrate myself with society.


17. Are you gay, straight, or bisexual?
I am heterosexual.


18. Do you go to school?
No, most of my learning is achieved via my USB port. It's not entirely dissimilar to how those people in the Matrix films received their training. Socially I learn by interaction, the same as other people, however my lack of imagination and reliance on logic are a hindrance in this regard.


19. Ever want to marry and have kids one day?
Marry affirmative, as I would like to share my life with a partner and I have desires for intimacy. However I have not as yet ascertained a need to procreate.


20. Do you have fangirls/fanboys?
I appear to have attracted at least some male fans.


21. What are you most afraid of?
I have no fears. On at least two occasions I was in the cabin of runaway trains and accepted that final shutdown (death) may have been the outcome. Fortunately it was possible to halt those trains with minimal damage.


22. What do you usually wear?
I dress appropriate to the occasion, whether it's casual or formal. Outdoors I often dress in a modest blouse, slacks and a jacket.


23. What's one food that tempts you?
I have not yet developed food preferences beyond the need of basic sustenance. I maintain a balanced diet.


24. Am I annoying you?
I have no concept of annoyance.


25. Well, it's still not over!
Affirmative. Thirteen questions remain.


26. What class are you (low class, middle class, high class)?
My occupations indicate that I fit into the working class.


27. How many friends do you have?
Michael, Sebastian, Patrick, Kim, and a few other people.


28. What are your thoughts on pie?
Pie charts are an effective visual aid for displaying percentages.


30. Favorite drink?
Water. It is required to replenish the fluids in my body.


31. What's your favorite place?
Other than the internet I like to be on railroads, whether driving a train or as a passenger.


32. Are you interested in anyone~?
Sebastian was the first man I was intimate with, however he has not expressed interest in a long-term relationship.


33. That was a stupid question.
I have no parameters for assessing the relevance of these questions.


34. Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean?
I have no parameters for setting a preference.


35. What's your type?
Physically fit, highly intelligent and effective at communication. Keen insight into social situations to compensate for what I lack. Skilled at exploring a relationship intimately.


36. Any fetishes?
None determined at this stage, unless you count the fact that the first time I was intimate with a man we roll-played being locomotives in order for me to better comprehend the experience.


37. Seme or uke?
I have no understanding of those terms.


38. Camping or indoors?
I have no parameters for setting a preference. Camping though would tend to limit my internet access.


39. Tag People!

 TRAIN ,  Veluriel ,  wererstritchy ,  RedtailFox

I'm back in the workforce. So no more need to worry about Centrelink and their delusional minset, and utter lack of any constructive help. I was very fortunate to have a former colleague who took pity on me and referred my resume to his HR office. They have me a 1 month temp job, and from there I applied for a permanent role in another department and here we are. It annoys me so much that all the time & effort I put into actual job searching was just a complete waste and the only way I was able to get back in was through networking. Typical. It's not what you know it's who you know. Goodness knows what I'll do if this job doesn't actually work out.

On Tuesday I go into sign the contract for the new job and then starting right away there's a month of intensive training before I begin working.

The job is in the finance industry again, but that's all I can say. The exact title of my job I have to keep a guarded secret, because like my previous job I'll be handling a lot of very confidential information.

Make no mistake - it's going to be a stressful job. There will be tight deadlines and high pressure, so I make no apology for all the future LJ posts about my blood pressure. I recall a highly apt cartoon from my childhood once with a man standing at a crossroads reading a signpost with just two signs: "Soul-destroying unemployment" and "Soul-destroying job." I'll take the money and the slightly better self-esteem.

So that's that. So long as I can make the grade I'll be able to keep my apartment, visit supermarkets on the railway instead of for 90 minutes, eat properly, not be bothered by Centrelink, and among other things be able to attend furry events in time.

Whether or not I'll be able to resume developing my own art skills is entirely uncertain. For the time being I need to take everything one day at a time.

A friend of mine studied advanced robotics at the University of Technology Sydney. Today he sent me the below article:

BionicKangaroo – energy-efficient jump kinematics based on a natural model
http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/13704.htm

I can't get over how much it looks like something invented by Aperture Science.

Article Text (excellent pictures not included):
===============================
BionicKangaroo – energy-efficient jump kinematics based on a natural model

With the BionicKangaroo, Festo has technologically reproduced the unique way a kangaroo moves. Like its natural model, it can recover the energy when jumping, store it and efficiently use it for the next jump.

http://youtu.be/mWiNlWk1Muw

echnical implementation of a unique form of movement

On the artificial kangaroo, Festo intelligently combines pneumatic and electrical drive technology to produce a highly dynamic system. The stable jump kinematics plus the precise control technology ensure stability when jumping and landing. The consistent lightweight construction facilitates the unique jumping behaviour. The system is controlled by gestures.

Festo paid particular attention to the mobile energy supply on the artificial kangaroo. For this purpose, the team even developed two different concepts – one with an integrated compressor and one with a mobile high-pressure storage device.

(There’s still no strong news on my job hunting efforts. I’ll post when there’s a development there. At present I’m commencing a few weeks temporary work. That’s all)

Back in July  KeenyFox posted a humorous picture inspired by the commonwealth games depicting one of the female contestants suffering a wardrobe malfunction (https://www.furaffinity.net/full/14105843/).

Kenny’s illustration reminded me of a series of 60 second cartoons that had been on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation back in 1982 when the commonwealth games had been held here.

The mascot for the ’82 games was “Matilda” a kangaroo flyer (female), and one of the highlights of the games opening ceremony had been the driving in of a gigantic statue of the character.

The ABC’s cartoons served a more humorous purpose, portraying Matilda as aspiring to be a games entrant despite a lacking of skill in any field. At the time of the games I was a mere 12 years old and very taken by the character. Ok, I fell in love with her and I’m certain she was one of the initial influences in my later becoming a member of the furry community.

After describing the character to Keenyfox I contacted the ABC via their website hoping there might be a slight chance that at least one of these 60 second cartoons survives in the archives. I received a quick reply asking why I was interested, and I explained the desire to relive this childhood memory, as well as wanting permission to have at least a still image that I can show to you guys. 30 days later there had been no further communication from the ABC and I asked if any action was in fact being taken by them. This was the reply I received on Friday:

“I had forwarded you request to a colleague but this may have been lost.”

The rep also advised me to use Google Image searching to look for the character, which if you try yourselves will produce only images of the mascot statue and not a single one from the cartoons that appeared on the ABC.

Pathetic, and very unprofessional. It also doesn’t didn’t even answer my question as to whether they’re actually looking into the archives or just fobbing me off (as I expected they would). If anyone wants to hurry them along by submitting their own request here’s the online form:

http://www.abccommercial.com/librarysales/contact-us

Ask if “Any copies exist of the 60 second cartoons of Matilda the Kangaroo, the 1982 commonwealth games mascot as appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation .”

In the meantime I’ll try to describe some of the cartoon sequences from my childhood memory, for which I can give no assurances of accuracy I’m sorry.

Sequence #1
Matilda is in her kitchen, holding a frypan on the stove. A rissole or something similar is sizzling in the pan. The radio is playing commentary on a tennis match.
Matilda becomes excited at the commentary. While flipping the item in the frypan she suddenly holds the pan like a tennis racquet and swats the rissole(?) like a tennis ball. The scene fades into her daydream and she competes energetically in a tennis match.
The scene fades back to Matilda’s kitchen, the walls of which are now splattered with eggs. She blushes and hides the frypan behind her back.

Sequence #2
Dressed in sporting gear Matilda attempts a pole vault. As she leaps from the ground her pants drop off. In mid-flight she realises her compromising state, and jumps back to retrieve her pants and her dignity. She pulls her pants back on and then has a momentary expression of relief, just before the pole falls back and clobbers her on the head (I can’t remember if she saw stars or anything). She looks toward the audience, blushing.

Sequence #3
Again out on the sports field Matilda attempts a hammer throw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_throw). She twirls around and then disappears into a blurred cartoonish whirlwind. Again her pants come loose and fall out of the whirlwind onto the ground below. Matilda’s face then pokes out of the bottom of the whirlwind. She gasps, retrieves her pants and then both withdraw back into the whirlwind just before she releases the hammer. In a crouched down position she watches it fly away and land. Now my memory here isn’t clear on where the hammer landed, but the result was clearly disappointing because the sequence finishes with Matilda bursting into tears.

Normally I don't post non-furry related items on FA unless I can include something furry (Eg: Being photographed in fursuit in front of historic trains). However this is a monumental event. The Australian Railway Historical Society in Canberra ACT (our version of London Eng, Ottowa ON, Washington DC, Berlin, Paris, etc) have recently finished restoring New South Wales Railways steam locomotive 6029 to running order. Below is a video of her trial run.

http://youtu.be/NImBrqECYlU

6029 is a Garrat class locomotive; a unique articulated design where the boiler & cabin section has no driving wheels but sits elevated between the tender and water tank, under which both have sets of driving wheels. This has a number of advantages including greater traction particularly around curves, and having a lower weight-per-axle ratio which means they can operate on tracks that otherwise would not be able to permit such a heavy locomotive (Australian track standards have always been mediocre compared with the UK & Nth America).

...or to put it another way... she's a bloody big beast of a locomotive!

The video footage is excellent, and also shows off some native bushland of the region.

The whistle sound is impressive, but I do still prefer the whistles on Nth American locomotives though. I also have no idea why they're running her tender first. Maybe they wanted to go faster on the return trip?

I like how they took a spare locomotive along just in case, and the NSWGR 44 class *is* my all time favorite loco (an Alco DL-500B).

(Just quickly, there's still no good news on the job front for me. I've applied for over 70 jobs since I was made redundant and have only had 3 interviews, 2 of which were just agencies wanting to know more about me. Thankfully I've had a little bit of temp work, but my savings are still going down nonetheless. I can't last like this.)

Courtesy of  battyden I was temporarily able to forget my unemployment woes for the whole of yesterday as he drove we two furs (and 1 fursuit) up the Blue Mountains to the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum at Thirlmere.

If you're a rail enthusiast in New South Wales, this is one place you must visit before you die.

We had a fantastic time. First we spent over an hour on a photoshoot with myself posing in my partial in front of the rolling stock, followed by a 40 minute ride on the historic excursion train, then we shadowed the train by car taking more film footage.

Photos to be posted shortly, then I'll need to edit the film and upload to YouTube.

(I hope all these codes work - it's been ages since I posted a journal entry and I've forgotten many of these)

Today they announced a "reorganisaiton" of duties at the office where I work and most distressingly mine is one of the roles being made redundant.

This means I wont be commissioning any artists or travelling to any furry conventions until I'm in a stable, full-time job again.

It also means goodbye to my hopes and dreams of emigrating to Canada, as I was hoping that when I could afford the move I'd be able to transfer to one of the offices the company has over there.

As I keep saying over and over, I wish this damned recession would hurry up and end.

Below is an article from Jan 2013 that I've been trying to find again for a while and tonight I finally hit the right tags in Google. *EVERY* artist and photographer should read this. While the majority of furries respect the artwork of others, there are people in the world who just don't give a damn.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/te.....118-2cx6x.html

This is why I put "Please do not distribute" in transparent lettering on most of the artwork in my gallery. It's more than a message; the presence of the lettering in the middle of the image means that the image becomes unusable for unauthorised publishing.

So slease *DO* distribute the above news article. By all means I encourage you to re-post it in your own journals.

Not furry-related, so I apologise but it's hard to believe there could be anyone so stupid that they would try this.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/2108.....freight-train/

YouTube: http://youtu.be/djPt3k8Je5U

Miracle survival: Woman's 'unbelievably stupid' leap onto freight train

Police and train drivers say they are amazed by a video obtained by 7News showing a woman jumping from a station platform on to a passing freight train.

The woman survived despite slipping between carriages and having a train weighing thousands of tonnes pass over her.

On Wednesday 28th December, 2011, just after 11pm at Springwood Station in the Blue Mountains, two friends were waiting for the last train home when a freight train appeared.

It rumbled through the station between about 15 and 20 kilometres an hour.

The pair watch the train and have a discussion before she does the unthinkable - she jumps onto an open carriage. [Ozfoxaroo note: It's a WAGON not a 'carriage', stupid journalist!]

From one angle you cannot tell whether she has landed safely.

Her friend looked shocked as he paced the platform, not knowing if she survived.

The reason is obvious when the train finishes passing through the station a minute later.

The woman is lying motionless between the tracks, and her friend feared the worst.

Finally she moves, rolling over and getting back on her feet, and unbelievably she is alive, and walks over to the platform as another witness offers help.

Bleeding and shaken, she is treated by paramedics and taken to hospital while police piece together what happened.

They conclude by looking at two different angles of the CCTV that she jumped and fell between the carriages.

She then managed to not only keep herself between the tracks but also underneath the bottom of the passing carriages.[Ozfoxaroo note: Wagons, not carriages]

Officers were stunned by what they describe as her stupidity, and the fact she survived.

They could have charged her but chose not to.

"This girl has probably learned a lesson the hard way, she could have been killed or seriously injured," Detective Inspector Mick Bostock said.

7News understands she needed stitches in her head and back, but was released from hospital the next day.

"It's an offence for someone to touch a passing train or attempt to touch a passing train, so to actually try and jump on a moving goods train is very reckless and i wouldn't recommend it," Mick Bostock said.

Amazingly, this story has a happy ending but so many others that are like it do not, and it is the innocent train drivers who are left to pick up the pieces.

Dave Mathie has driven trains for 40 years, and says the odds of surviving this are next to none.

"I am absolutely stunned that a) anyone would consider doing that and then having done it survive it, that just takes my breath away," he said.

"[Chances of] survival would be a million to one."

Mathie says dealing with suicides and incidents like this are the worst parts of his job.

"I have got to say that the two that I have been involved in, you don't think about it every day but you do get flashbacks," the Rail, Tram and Bus Union's Dave Mathie said.

It is a pain that can take a lot longer than a few stitches to heal.

I'm very pleased to say that during my half-yearly performance appraisal I was able to set the record straight on a few things. Not *everything* mark you, but at least things didn't get any worse.

I've been able to make some headway explaining to my team leader that dyslexia is a real thing. That it means more than just spelling mistakes, and that when I have difficulty comprehending information it's NOT due to innattention. Also that when I have difficulty speaking it's not because I'm trying to talk too quickly.

We'll just have to see if the lesson holds. I'm still going to be looking out for other jobs to see what is out there.

My highly talented friend DesertRatPhelios who normally posts on Deviantart at http://desertratphelios.deviantart.com/ is now also here at Furaffinity:

 desertratphelios

DesertRatPhelios is the genius behind the below artwork in my gallery:

Michael Sauerpüss contemplative : http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10772228/
Ziegfried and Noree, on the steps of Fox Valley church redrawn: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10404005/
(Original of the above : http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10389467/ )
Wedding at Fox Valley Church redrawn : http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10404005/
(Original of the above : http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10403978/ )

I blew it.

 battyden and I went up to the Rail Transport Museum at Thirlmere. I had hoped to have some photos taken of myself in fursuit (partial) hugging the locomotives up there. The temperature high recorded today was 34°C. Not comfortable weather for fursuit wearing, but that wasn't the problem.

I dragged my fursuit all the way from North Sydney to meet Batty at the city limits. At least I thought I had. Only when we arrived at the museum and I tried to change into it did I realise that I'd done a Malcolm Fraser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcol.....rousers_affair) and misplaced the trousers... again! Same mistake I made at this year's furjam. The clothes I'd worn for the journey were unsuitable; faded blue denims and a short-sleeved green plaid shirt - couldn't wear those with my partial of Michael the Foxaroo.

Dammit.

Batty and I resolved to re-visit during winter. Not only did I ruin fursuit photo opportunities but there were no steam locomotives running due to the strictly enforced fire ban.

So... NEXT YEAR!