I got this little mystery that's bugging me.

Late last year I got rear ended. The car was repaired under insurance. When I got it back, there was a black thing left on the console. I thought it was a trailer thing (the tow bar was repaired - I am not much of a car guy).

A few weeks after, I was surprised there was no windscreen fluid. I was even more surprised when I couldn't fill the reservoir - it poured out underneath. Thought the accident must have cracked the reservoir, but it turns out the entire washer pump was gone.

I checked insurance and asked if the repairer did work on the front of the car. I felt an idiot just asking it - I got rear-ended. They said they didn't touch the pump.

Cynical part of me thinks there's a black market, but the pump is only $50. I was about to order it and realise it's the part on my console.

I installed it today, it all worked fine. It must be the repairer who took it out - it didn't drop on the road or hang off the harness. But why would they?

@caity I'm glad SEQ Water opted for fluoridation.

A fair few years back we put in a brand new fluoridation plant for a council further north. They are a painful little thing - sealed room with "air lock" access, finicky controls to make sure every goes right, lots of money spent.

They mothballed it after a year when council decided to stop fluoridation. Even at the time, the talking points around the technical issues were all resolved or well controlled, but the same points continually pop up in the debates.

There is a real philosophical question of whether the role of the water authority is just to treat water so it's harmless to people, and if the government should direct action for the greater public health. That's a political issue, not an engineering issue - don't want to wade into that.

But it's a hollow feeling see something you worked hard on getting thrown in the bin, especially when it works perfectly fine and costed taxpayer plenty of money.

I have one of those old school Hills Hoist which I love. The crank mechanism though had been clunky even back 10+ years ago.

I had this plan to refurbish it from way back, but I wasn't sure if I can handle the weight of the hoist when I strip it down.

Today I had a look again, and it's the first time I noticed there's a hole for oiling the mechanism which I've never noticed before.

I'm an engineer, ladies and gentlemen. Don't trust engineers to be practical.

I have a flower pot next to my desk to serve as a reminder of my failure in horticulture. I have never been able to maintain a plant for more than a couple of months in it.

But in the last few weeks, I have once again forgotten my deficiencies and decided to try growing some Pansies. They were selected by the kids committee, and my only criteria was that they must be edible by Guinea Pigs.

The plant seem to flourish but I am now seeing aphids. My youngest with the full gravitas of her seven years on Earth tells me I need ladybugs. I told her since I didn't have any on hand, I'll just have to use tweezers.

Let's see how long these flowers last.