Episode 93 - Funeral for a turtle
Finally, after a four month hiatus, Dao and Mitch get together to solve all the world's problems.
Post-Lockdown Shenanigans, Bizarre Marine Biology, and Backyard Fires
After a long hiatus caused by COVID-19 lockdowns, the podcast is finally back in person. No more clunky Zoom calls with phones propped against salt shakers—just straight, unfiltered banter back in the studio.
Here is the breakdown of everything covered in the latest episode:
The End of the "Ring of Steel"
Living just outside the infamous Victorian lockdown perimeter meant having the freedom to ride dirt bikes and BMX bikes while the rest of the state was stuck indoors.
Mental Health Realities: Even with access to the outdoors, months of isolation took a heavy toll on everyone's mental health.
Checkpoint Battles: Navigating daily police checkpoints in hi-vis work gear just to head home, while dealing with mask fatigue and endless public restrictions.
Bizarre Biology: Lobster Communication
Forget normal chit-chat—the host dropped a jaw-dropping marine biology fact mid-episode:
Eye-Peeing Lobsters: Lobsters actually communicate by urinating directly out of glands near their eyes. The resulting chemical signals in the water pass messages to other lobsters nearby.
[Lobster A] ---> (Pisses from Eye Glands) ---> Chemical Signal in Water ---> [Lobster B Receives Message]
Family Life: The PV50 and a Tragic Turtle Funeral
Family life kept moving during lockdown, complete with some classic parenting triumphs and heartbreaks:
The Modded PV50: Upgrading a classic PW/PV50 with a 60cc big bore kit and proper foot pegs for the kids to ride—taking the power from a whopping 2.0 hp to 2.3 hp.
Sandy the Turtle: Buying a tiny, expensive 50-cent-piece-sized turtle for a 5-year-old, only for it to fall ill and pass away a month later.
The Backyard Burial: Navigating a young child's first encounter with grief through a formal backyard funeral service instead of a standard toilet flush.
Wild Games & Pranks
Vortex in the Head: A newly invented backyard game where kids wear helmets while running away, and the dad tries to hit them in the back of the head with a vortex football. Bafflingly, putting Blue Tack in the whistle holes keeps it totally silent for a stealth attack.
The Stolen Stairs Prank: A local renovation prank where a brother convinced the host that a neighbor from two doors down had walked off with the house's front timber steps while they were detached.
Backyard Fire Disasters & DIY Repairs
The Pioneer Bay Blaze: Burning off scrap construction timber on a windy Sunday night turned into a full-scale emergency response with three fire trucks rolling down the driveway.
The Mattress Incident: A past incident involving throwing an old crib mattress into a fire, creating a massive plume of jet-black smoke across the neighborhood.
Trackside Mechanics: Riding a 125 two-stroke so hard at the track that the radiator mount snapped off—repaired on the spot using cable ties, old rope, and a metal bulldog clip.