The monthly operation of the cameras was also tripled from 7000 hours to 21,000 hours the government says to reduce the number of road deaths. That hasn't happened.

But now there's been some sort of backpedal with Transport Minister Andrew Constance saying 1000 new signs will go back on the roads to warn drivers of their obligations to stick to the speed limit but they won't be in front of the speed cameras.

It's unbelievable the revenue the government is reaping from our region since the signs have gone. The camera that's saving so many lives in Woodward Street in front of Elephant Park has stung 381 drivers $59,221 this year while last year when the signs were there it caught only 31 in three months more who paid $6780 in fines.

Molong Road is another huge earner, pinging 585 drivers $94,797 this year while last year it caught only 87 who were fined $15,619. Leeds Parade brought in $23,669 from 141 drivers while last year the camera there caught only 19 who paid $3,973 in fines. Cargo Road at Nashdale earned $25,133 from 73 drivers compared with six last year who were fined $1203.

Another 123 drivers on Escort Way were fined $29,521 compared with 16 last year who coughed up $5329.

Dubbo's Wingewarra Street is another cash cow with 527 drivers caught and fined $82,579. Last year only 38 broke the law and paid $6711. Macquarie Street Dubbo trapped 56 drivers for $8562 compared with four last year who were fined $643.

Bathurst seemed not to have cameras in the city itself but one at Kelso made up for that with 587 eastbound motorists fined $88,333 and 244 going west were hit $37,632.

This compared with fines last year of $14,596 and $11,483. Removing the signs? Revenue raising or what?

Is it spring or what? Wattle, our national floral emblem, is coming out weeks early in the Orange district with Wattle Day not until September 1.

It would have been right on cue if Wattle Day had stayed on August 1 where it had been celebrated in NSW since 1916 because that enabled the Red Cross to send the earlier flowering Cootamundra Wattle overseas during the war and give it to homecoming servicemen and women.

It's interesting to note the men's hockey final between Australia's Kookaburras and Belgium at the Olympics was played at the same time Thursday night as the rugby league match between Newcastle and Brisbane.

The TV ratings showed the hockey had an audience of 1.087 million viewers while the rugby league didn't rate in the top 20 TV shows.

Saturday's night match between the Panthers and Melbourne attracted 266,000 viewers in 19th place while the Boomers basketball team playing at the same time hauled in 921,000 while winning the first basketball medal in 65 years.

What's that about rugby league being our most popular game?

As another birthday flew by it was time to have a closer look at Mena, my birthplace that's just been sold for a record $2.6 million. Standing outside and wondering whether to go in I told a young bloke walking by: "I was born in there when it was a private hospital ..."

"Oh, were ya," he says in an uninterested voice before scampering away.

Still on the footpath, I thought better of going through the gate into a place sacred to me. It's, like they say, better never to go back...

If you like shooting stars then tonight and tomorrow night the Perseid meteor shower, one of the best of the year, will light up the sky.

The tiny bits of debris shed by the comet Swift-Tuttle in past centuries will slam into earth's upper atmosphere at 59.5 kilometres a second creating a light trail. It's this hot trail that we'll see from around 11pm in the north.

A little boy in Big W goes up to a checkout assistant and says: "I've lost my dad, can you help find him please?"

"What's he like?" says the assistant.

"Beer and football," says the boy.

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