Victorian Fires - Just Pray

We are a long way from the bushfires in Victoria, with weather totally different. Parts of Victoria had maximum temperatures around 47C [117F] over the past few days, the highest EVER recorded. We are actually likely to be having local floods today across many parts of the Northern Territory, as well as in north Queensland and the NW of Western Australia.

The bushfires in Victoria are just awful, even by Australian standards where summer bushfires are a regular issue in much of the southern states, each summer. I cannot even hope to emulate the material on so many of the commercial media web pages, with images often contributed by those most affected, or at least by those who got out.

See - http://www.abc.net.au/ or http://www.news.com.au/ as two major media outlets with vivid stories and photos; if not obvious, search on Victorian bushfires.

As of Monday morning there have been over 100 deaths, about 800 houses totally destroyed and countless other lives and houses devastated. It seems obvious that these figures will rise significantly as authorities reach areas previously cut off. Think of the army of volunteers as fire authority staff, Red Cross assistants and so on who are there helping, and the countless stories of those who were lucky to survive. They do have a bit of deprecating humour, typically Australian............but they will suffer, when the tragedy hits the brain. It might be hours, days or weeks, but realisation will come. I speak as a cyclone victim and survivor and can feel for them.

They need some help............think of them and offer a silent prayer.

And wonder about the idiots or the deranged who may have actually lit the fires in some cases - it seems the authorities are serious about high level prosecutions - manslaughter or similar in a number of situations.

The Kingfisher

It is a wet, monsoonal, squally shower sort of day......very typical of monsoonal weather. There is a cyclone brewing up in the Indian Ocean, floods in Queensland, and terrible, terrible bushfires in Victoria. Typically an Australian summer!

We have had a visit to the yard from a kingfisher today. A very pretty bird, and there must be quite a few around the area, for I have seen a number of them recently along the Rapid Creek cycle path, in the trees and on the ground. Our family has always recognised a semi-resident king fisher......which has been christened "Kerry", but this one is smaller and maybe a first time visitor to the yard.

We have a large resident population of birds in the garden, including a lot of honeyeaters of various types, even with a few local cats, including our own at times. My view is that the local houses with pools, water features in the garden and similar facilities actually encourage birds, in comparison to the unwatered areas that would be there with the former native vegetation. It also helps that we are about 100m from a permanent creek.

Exercise Junkie

I am coming out............yes, I am a bit of an exercise junkie. I really enjoy my afternoon swim training. And I am getting a bit serious.

There is the joy of chasing the black line and the graceful feeling of water sliding past your body, especially if travelling a bit fast doing freestyle, and really developing a rythmic side movement of the body as you twist from side to side, swimming down your arm. No one can get you unless they come to the end of the pool. NO......music [ although that is optional these days], mobile and regular phones, e-mails, noise, and at least where I train, not too many people in a lane.

There are some serious open water swims coming up here from about June, including the Pee Wees to the Trailer Boat Club swim - about 2.4km open water across Darwin Harbour. Are there sharks? Well, the common answer here is that, no there are no sharks.......the crocodiles ate them. But seriously, they check the area and with a few hundred swimmers entered, there is a fair bit of protection around.

These types of open water swim are becoming very popular around Australia with many now in SE Australia in the summer time. Just don the budgie smugglers and away you go. [ Budgie Smugglers aka Speedos, swimmers, togs, cozzies, racers, nylons, lycras; those skimpy ones worn by Olympic swimmers in previous Games - except that many are, like me of a different, older, more mature generation......and women too!]

Back to the training.......it is finally starting to make a difference. I have put in some hard metres in the pool , some tough interval swim sessions and at the gym on weights and strength training, and training times and interval periods are coming down. Everyone has good sessions and definitely not so good training sessions, for all sorts of reasons; with work for many being a seriously interfering factor in training.

No luxury of being a full time athlete, although these days, surprisingly, many mature age competitors [retired] are able to train.....and they do.....virtually full time. Most, though, do work or run a business, and putting in the training can be an effort. BUT.....getting organised does help!

It is still many weeks to go to June, but recent results are heartening. I won my age group last year; I would like to do well again this year.

Plane Crash in Darwin

Not as spectacular as the recent large passenger aircraft crash in New York but still a big event locally in Darwin.

Shortly after take off around 0830 today, a pilot had to make an emergency landing on a coastal beach near East Point, Darwin. Just after takeoff, the plane lost power and then was ditched very successfully just off the beach.

All 6 passengers and pilot are uninjured, and they walked ashore from shallow water just off the beach. Most believe the pilot did a fantastic job........missed the residential areas. At least here the flight path off the main runway does go to the west over vacant land and then over the water, so he has had to get the plane around and back to the beach to land.

We have large tidal ranges here in Darwin and the light aircraft is now being drowned by the incoming tide.

This is definitely the story of the day locally.

Coolest Capital City Today [well, nearly]

Quite a change for Darwin.......almost the coldest Australian State capital city today, with Brisbane just a part degree C tad cooler.

Rubbish you say.........Darwin is a hot place! It is, but all the southern cities are in what has been described as the heat of the century, with many places recording temperatures above 45C, Adelaide a maximum the other day of 45.7C, the same in Melbourne today, and still more days to come of very hot weather. Most of this week has been very hot, with temperatures on every day above 40C, across all of southern Australia. Even Hobart in cool Tasmania has had hot weather. This period has broken high temperature records going back about a hundred years or so.




Darwin has had relatively cool and mild days of around 29 -30C with monsoonal showers, and occasional sunny periods, with a modest west to north west strong breeze........typical monsoonal weather, and nights around 23-24C. Nights have been the killer in southern cities this week with minimum temperatures in some places of 33C......that is a hot night, and usually breeze less.

The hot weather in the south has caused havoc with electricity supplies [and of course air conditioners], train lines have buckled, asphalt on the road is melting, and those poor people cannot cope.

Poor things.........come to the tropics and see how you like the build up period in October and November. Wimps!

The New Residence

It has been raining consistently in our region now for over two months. And keeping dry in wet weather is always a priority.


So when the opportunity came to acquire an all weather dog house, the purchase was made. No fans or air conditioners, but a truly tropical dog house with one open end and open weave shade cloth on the other........plus a special edge flap to keep the rain off the sarlon shade cloth. Just a flow through ventilation system. The canvas is very waterproof.


Dear dog was at first somewhat mystified at this strange contraption, but a short period on the chain adjacent to the new residence and in she went. It is actually just a waterproof canvas cover, bolted to the existing sarlon shade cloth dog bed, a bed she already used a lot anyway.


I am not convinced that with the windy storms we get here that it will actually be a dry bed, but hey.......it is better than getting a decent drenching!

Gas to Go

Darwin is slowly but surely becoming an export gas hub. Seriously large export gas, and a few export oil projects are now either completed or being planned for Darwin.

Currently operating is the Conoco Phillips plant which exports gas to Japan. Coming soon - well, in a year or two, but planned to commence construction next year [2010] is the Inpex plant that will process gas being piped about 800kms. As well, a newish project in the Bonaparte Gulf is almost finished. This will supply gas to Darwin for electricity generation.

The vessels used for export are huge gas supertankers. Awesome. The following photos were taken this week, luckily, as the flight left Darwin, it was full tide and the ship was steaming down the harbour. Darwin city above the wing.

Enjoy the photos!

It's Australia Day

Happy Australia Day to all Australians.

And, Happy Republic Day - for all Indians too.

And to complete the trifecta - Gong Xie Fatt Choy [ Happy New Year - it is also Chinese New Year!]

Speedy Forklift

One thought these stories were the preserve of the NT News, but no, it seems NZ has its share too. Enjoy the story, and laugh.

A mistake on the part of New Zealand police has seen a forklift booked for speeding at 119km/h on a highway.

According to Invercargill-based Lindsay Carrying, the company received a notice asking it to identify the driver of a vehicle which was supposedly clocked speeding on the State Highway 1 at Waikane, near Invergargill.

The assistant manager checked the vehicle fleet against the registration number, as one does, matching it with a Toyota forklift.

The forklift has a top speed of 19km/h, and never strays far from the depot.

According to the police, the speeding notice was a mistake and should be disregarded. That was easy......but it is not always that easy to convince the police it was not what they say it was!

Crocodiles Nearly Always Feature Here - But the Shark Did It This Time

The local newspaper is a bit of a rag. Definitely not the upmarket big city dailies characterised by " The Australian", "Sydney Morning herald" or "the Age", or even droll Adelaide with "The Advertiser".

However, the NT News seems to make a mark with regular headlines about crocodiles, drunks in the street, rampaging buffaloes, and similar esotoric notable and noble mind developing themes.

On January 12 it may have scored a notable double in the newspaper headlines - "man stalked by croc but bitten by shark". Yes, the past few days have seen a number of shark attacks along the east coast, and a number of people have been hurt, with one teenage girl very savagely mauled. But just to spice it up for local consumption we have to have a crocodile involved.

A few days ago someone caught a small [ 1.2m] crocodile near an infamous Territory watering hole........the Noonamah pub. Not particularly notable at this time of year when small crocodiles can walk big distances overland. But to have a local, while on holiday interstate, get bitten by a shark ......well it's a double whammy. Especially after the guy had been fishing on a river's edge near a large croc. That is a bit of a no-no here; you are dicing with death when crocodiles lurk in most rivers.

Watch this space - the NT News front page - a crocodile will be back soon! Will not be upstaged by a shark!

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/01/12/26415_ntnews.html is the article.

Frogs and Crocodiles Suffer Too

Increasing amounts of oestrogen are getting into the environment. Mostly via effluent, and effluent reuse. Some also through the food chain, with man [ and women] at the top. A lot via use of the contraceptive pill, both inadvertently, and by disposal via the sewer.

We are probably not doing ourselves a lot of good, overall.

But when oestrogen effects are the subject of an article in the mainstream press, then maybe it is time to be more mindful of the issue.

It is a thoughtful and thought provoking article.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24891709-7583,00.html

and definitely worth reading.

We are lucky, living in a relatively smaller city. But for cities where their sewer is the next cities drinking water, what a mess!

New Marine Parks in the Pacific Ocean - Has President Bush been Converted?

The actions of the US Government and of its current President have often been at odds with conservation and related issues. The whole eight years of his presidency have seen numerous significant fights and brawls over conservation related problems from oil drilling areas to water. This recent move is a definite back flip.......but it is in the middle of the Pacific in a little populated area, and probably of absolutely no concern to almost all of the citizens of the USA.


BUT..........it is to be a major, major marine park, of world class size. Nearly as big as Texas they say.


President George W. Bush on Tuesday January 6 will create three new marine monuments in the Pacific Ocean to protect the deepest place on Earth, some of the last pristine corals and sanctuaries for vanishing marine species. Definitely better late, than never!


The three monuments — in the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, the Rose Atoll off American Samoa and remote islands in the central Pacific — cover 195,280 square miles, the largest protected area of ocean.


Conservationists and the White House declared a new era for protection of unique and endangered places in the ocean, opportunities of scientific discovery and an important effort to protect some of the last places where the ocean still looks like the abundant world of centuries or even thousands of years past.


The Marianas Marine National Monument will protect the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth — deeper than Mount Everest is high and explored for the first time only in 1960. The three monuments also protect corals and the ecosystems that include large migratory, resting and feeding sea birds, and endangered animals such as sea turtles.


"To me and the president and first lady, one of the things that really affected us in learning from the scientists is these locations are truly among the last pristine areas in marine environments on Earth," White House Council on Environmental Quality chairman James Connaughton told reporters Monday. "This is a huge day for marine conservation." "The president has given the world a Texas -sized gift," said Diane Regas , manager of the ocean program at the Environmental Defense Fund .


Joshua S. Reichert of the Pew Environment Group said it had taken more than a century to start to protect unique places in the ocean in the way that America has protected its treasured places as natural parks on land.


In 2006, Bush also protected 139,793 square miles in the Papahanaumokuakea Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument . In all, Bush has protected more of the oceans than anyone else in the world, Reichert said. The Marianas Marine National Monument will include the Mariana Trench and a string of volcanoes and thermal vents that create a harsh but thriving ecosystem. The area is also home to 300 species of stony corals and some of the highest fish abundance and diversity in the Mariana Islands, Connaughton said.


The Pacific Remote Islands National Monument will include coral reefs surrounding Kingman Reef , Palmyra Atoll, Howland, Baker and Jarvis islands and Johnston Atoll and Wake Island , home to nesting sea birds and migratory shore birds, corals with hundreds of fish species and endangered turtles.
Rose Atoll Marine National Monument , a remote area off American Samoa , is a "tiny but spectacular" coral reef area also known for rare birds, including petrels, and reef sharks and parrot fish. Humpback and pilot whales and porpoises are frequently found there as well, Connaughton said.


Commercial fishing and recreational fishing will be forbidden within 50 miles of the islands.


Connaughton said scientists gave strong support for going well beyond the three-mile zone, but "much less foundation for going beyond 50." Recreational fishing permits will be considered on a limited basis. The Mariana Trench area will protect the deep ocean, but not the fish in the waters above the rim of the underwater canyon. The protection also means no mining for deep-sea minerals. Studies showed that minerals are not likely in the conservation areas, Connaughton said.



The agreements will protect research and indigenous practices. The military will continue to operate in the monuments.


Scientists say the world's oceans are under assault from overfishing, fertilizer runoff that leaves dead zones, and both warming and acidification as a result of carbon dioxide releases from fossil fuel burning.


Connaughton said there's a bipartisan consensus in favor of better ocean conservation. The bigger agenda will include efforts to end overfishing by 2010, restore money for ocean research and re-examine energy and minerals development and navigation so that conservation isn't thwarted.


Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of the Ocean Futures Society and son of famed sea explorer Jacques Cousteau, said in a commentary in The Modesto Bee in October, which also was sent to the White House to support the idea of new monuments, that while 72 percent of the Earth is covered by water, "much of its vitality today is threatened." "Ninety percent of the world's large predatory fish are now gone, while pollution and habitat destruction have touched virtually every major body of water," he wrote. "But we are at the frontier of a clear understanding of how to stop the damage as we restore and protect these vital areas and resources, and we have before us the opportunity to protect a truly unique marine ecosystem."

The USA should receive world wide accolades for this declaration.

More marine parks are needed around the world, although Australia has a few. They are nearly always controversial, as most impact on a few entrenched parts of both industry and even recreational users of the area. BUT.....it has been clearly shown that large protected marine areas act as a nursery for many marine creatures and these often move out into adjacent non protected areas, particularly more mobile species - fish, sharks, rays etc.

Hopefully this new area will be protected from illegal fishing, now a significant problem across all of the Pacific Ocean, along with its associated marine imperialism, often emanating from Asia, and directed at the small Pacific island nations.

It might just send a message that the marine areas of the pacific need more protection.

ON THE WEB
Photos and facts from Pew
Information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on ocean acidification and global warming

An Awesome Monsoon

The current monsoon burst has been quite special.

While not delivering monstrous amounts of rain in Darwin, the areas about 400kms S have received some big daily falls - 200mm or thereabouts in a few places. That is a serious amount of rain! The north Kimberley has also had a few days with similar amounts, and there are many flooded roads and rivers.


The map photo is not as heavy as last nights cloud cover.......possibly showing a few signs of moving on east. But with the monsoonal cloud almost covering all of Queensland and a big chunk of the NT and NW WA, rain has been widespread.


You can see multiple storms and rain along the Indian Ocean coast of WA. But the monsoonal cloud is moving east, and maybe weather will ease slightly over the next few days.

The size and scope of the monsoon cloud band is stunning. It covers maybe 30 % of Australia, including all of Cape York, and was even larger 24 hours ago.

This link takes you to the current image :http://www.bom.gov.au/products/national_radar_sat.shtml

Bromeliads - Beautiful, but at times DEADLY

I am sure you all know the pineapple. Even the expression - "the rough end of a pineapple" and where one may place it, may be familiar. Pineapples are the fruit of a bromeliad. And yes, there are both rough and smooth pineapples - nominally referring to their leaves. Many other bromeliads also have spines, few others have edible fruit.


Many other bromeliads have exquisitely beautiful flowers and / or marked leaves. They can be grown in many parts of the world, but are probably seen at their best in the tropics or subtropics. The range available in Hawaii is very broad, Florida has a wide variety available, as is the range seen in Thailand, and some other parts of Asia. Even tropical Australia has an extensive range available. They are hardy, and tolerant of both overwatering and drought, but thrive best generally in modestly irrigated conditions. But there are some even found in near desert, semi arid conditions.


Spectacular in flower, these specimens are in the front garden in pots. But, once flowered, the plant usually dies, spawning a vegetative pup from the base.










They can be deadly.......some have spines and a few have awfully serrated stiff spiny leaf edges.......definitely to be avoided.



I know they can be a problem, as I developed septicaemia from a broken spine in the finger going septic and infecting the tendon sheath, with an operation to clean it all up and a further five days in hospital . Finished up with a seriously damaged hand that took about a year to repair and enable use of the fingers again. So, take care with them. Avoid the spines!


Would massed plantings along a fence deter intruders? Maybe not, but it sure would give them a hard time of it.



BUT.......do admire the plants. The range is enormous. A quick look on Google images will show a wide range of multi coloured leaves and flowers. And they really take minimal time to manage.

Selecting the Right Person for the Job - Especially Teachers

We have all seen great staff, and we almost certainly have seen abysmal, horrible, could not care less staff. So why are staff selected in the first place? And what does it say about the employing organisation / business?

This issue is explored in some depth in a recent Malcolm Gladwell article available here:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/12/15/081215fa_fact_gladwell?printable=true

In the examples he uses two or three very dissimilar areas but one - school teachers - is a critical one for most families. Personally I do not think I am teacher material - and do not desire to be one, but I most certainly have had a few good teachers. They are memorable, and effective.

We all have had both good and bad teachers. And most parents hope that their children have "good" teachers. But what is a good teacher?

The article attempts to explore this issue in some depth and to point out why good teachers are vital. But finding and selecting good teachers is not an easy or even a tangible process. Do you agree with the points made that having better teachers and paying them appropriately is more cost effective than almost any other option in the field of education, and that class size is a bit of a furphy? I spent time in vary large classes while at school and never felt disempowered......maybe the teachers were much better or just more dedicated. But read it and think!

Malcolm Gladwell has form as a distinguished writer - as author of The Tipping Point.

This article is an excellent read and particularly pertinent in Australia as we approach a new school year. It is also an interesting option to ponder as regards indigenous education in Australia, a topic being considered in a more serious manner across especially northern Australia. How can society ensure that "good" teachers are available in numbers for this important task? There are other difficulties in that field, but getting and retaining good teachers is essential - for that task as well as for all schools.

Local Fauna

Parrots are a significant part of the Australian bird fauna. And none probably as ubiquitous as the galah.

These grey and pink parrots are great talkers in captivity, and long lived. They seem to be everywhere across Australia, and can be the biggest problem to grain growers......they eat the seed when it is sown, and then eat the seed once the crop matures, expecially for sorghum and millets.

But today it is very wet [60mm of rain in about 2 hours] and they were seen scavenging by the roadside........eating some local grass seeds.

They can be a pest on the road, and I must confess to having hit a few in motorcars, and even the odd broken windscreen. They tend to suddenly fly off the roadside, invariably one or a few heading across the road into the path of the traffic.

They did that almost immediately after the photo!

Cyclones are Ugly

Cyclones are ugly creatures. A heart and soul of their own, and intent on causing as much havoc as possible in as short a time as possible.

Cyclone Billy seems to have by passed Australia. A Christmas present we could do without.

But looking at the composite radar image tonight, Christmas night, with the Cyclone now at category 4, I am very glad it did not visit for Christmas.

When the image shows a distinct dot at the centre you
can be assured it is an intense cyclone. Cyclone Billy has that and a very well organised peripheral structure also indicative of a well organised intense cyclone. This is even more notable on the recent infrared satellite photos of the region.

Lets all be content that it seems to be heading out to sea away from the Australian coast. It is a nasty beast!

Hecta's Thunderheads for Christmas

The wet season is awesome. Majestic displays of heavenly firepower, towering thunderheads late in the afternoons, deep grey skies layered in deepening shades with the dark grey of rain often at the bottom.

While the last few days have been relatively drier, with little rain, the thunderheads still build late each day. Hecta is alive and well!

Hecta - a derivative from hectapascal - is the name given, by the Met bureau, to the regular build up of heavy monsoonal storm clouds most days across to the north and west of Darwin on the Tiwi Islands.

Where would we be without rain? And at this time of the year, the rain brings cooler relief from the heat and stifling humidity of the day.

Christmas 2008 v Christmas 1974

By Christmas morning in 1974 we were drinking Galliano out of the bottle and using a gas stove on the back of my work panel van underneath the mess that had been our home. Yes, the annual reminder of Cyclone Tracy, which literally blew Darwin away on Christmas Day 1974.

Lots of funny stories and lots of heartbreak. We were relatively lucky, as our house while a write-off was still partially intact, but many others including some friends had their entire house and everything in it blown away.......literally, and all that was left was floorboards and the toilet bowl! And there were many like that around town, especially in the area of the northern suburbs of Darwin.

The town was evacuated, and many who left, never returned. The city was declared a disaster zone, and effective control was passed to the military in effect, at least for a brief period. We did not evacuate, and as we then had a 13 month old baby, life was at times, very interesting. A time for people to come together to help each other, to cope with the trauma and drama of the event and, as many Australians seem to do, to also crack a few jokes about the event.

It was a turning point for Darwin in modern times. People who remained wanted the town to be rebuilt and to be something better. Those who left did not have that view. Simple things.......even the gardens around houses were better after the cyclone; a deeper and improved community spirit.

Many of those still around the city do have issues with the screech of tearing sheet metal. That was an awesome noise during Cyclone Tracy, as it was usually followed by a wall or a house blowing away after the roof tore off.

There are some intriguing pictorial displays around Darwin with the NT Museum display a very much visited area. Ask Google for more information.

But Christmas 2008 is much more sedate. Cyclone Billy is now a Category 4 system, but heading out to sea off WA so probably will not cause trouble. A friend in Broome was headed off for a cyclone party just after it blew by there on the 23rd......but at a Category 1 level, and offshore.

Merry Christmas to all. Remember those less fortunate than you. While our table was replete for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, with fine china and a snowy white tablecloth, not everyone is that lucky.

Golf Hazards

I am not a golfer, although I do spend a bit of time on golf courses looking at how the grass grows.

Asians in general terms love to play golf. I have not seen a lot of fun in chasing a little white ball.....it is more fun to go surfing, snorkel, swim or even ride a bike.

And at times golfing can be a hazardous pursuit. Would one be believed if, after arriving home from playing golf, you were able to tell family that you lost more than a ball or two on the golf course?

The sign says it all...........and at a very prestigous golf course in Singapore. Definitely a need to be careful while playing golf.

Cyclone Billy Arrives

Not only do we have the monsoon front deep over the Northern Territory, now we have our first [ well second actually but first, Anika was near Christmas Island, a long way out to the west] cyclone of the season - Cyclone Billy.

Looks as if areas around the NT /WA border area will be the recipients, although it is Category 1, and winds are only at 100kms/hr, so far.

Darwin has a lot of squally, windy rain tonight, but nothing seriously problematical. Just a typical monsoonal night, with wind and rain!

There are a few people we know in the area where the cyclone is heading, but this is a fairly low key cyclone .....so far. One thing you learn about cyclones, is that they are unpredictable.

Let us hope all is well for those much closer than us.

The image is copyright Bureau of Meteorology, and off their website, with the image from the Wyndham radar.
http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR072.shtml

It updates regularly.....and will be doing that tonight. I am sure the forecasters will be also watching it closely.

The Monsoon is HERE

If you have never lived in a monsoonal climate, it may not gel but if you have you will know what I mean. Weeks, and months of dry weather, lately a few storms and very hot and humid with quite trying still conditions.......and then........the wind starts blowing from the opposite direction.


We have had a light but insistent NW to W breeze over the past 2 days, and since Sunday, high cloud and overcast conditions with a little rain. From about lunchtime yesterday, the rain started. Around 70mm [ 3 inches] since then overnight.


And it is still raining gently, but VERY insistently. I was going to do some serious flying today in a light aircraft, but only got as far as a flight around the airport before the weather closed in, earlier today. And it was very wet below.


The monsoon is HERE.


Overcast, cool [25C] - compared to the past few weeks of 33 - 36C, and a welcome change. Rain brings life and didn't the green frogs have a great time last night and today as well, singing very loudly about how great the rain is.


Current weather map :

The dense cloud across northern Australia is the monsoonal front.

photo off the national radar image from www.bom.gov.au at 1200 local time Darwin.

The Monsoon is Coming

This is a fantastic photo /radar satellite image from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, just a few minutes ago.


Shows dense monsoonal cloud south of Timor and long cloud tail streaming to the SE across Australia, with heavy rain in Victoria. Just a fantastic photo image.

Big Moon Rising

Tonight is the biggest moon of the 2008 calendar year.

For a monsoonal climate, and we have had a few near monsoonal showers today, it is overcast and quite cloudy, but still the moon will rise in the east.

And it has come to pass that the clouds have eased, and the moon appeared among the palm leaves ........

Then emerged from behind the leaves........colours are unusual but real. NOT the typical large yellow globe you expect in the tropics, so vivid in the drier months.

Black Cockatoos - Paraparap

Yes.....it is a palindrone, the call of the red tailed black cockatoo. Or that is how the local aborigines transliterate the sound.

Still reasonably common around Darwin, this flock were sitting happily in a large eucalypt near the airport.

They are large and very regal.


The sound is also the name given to one of Darwin's suburbs, but often shortenend to Parap.

Solar Power for Alice Springs

It is a small step, but it looks as if it will happen.

Alice Springs is to have a modest sized solar power station. The NT government has dressed it up as providing 1800 MW hours of energy per year, but in reality that is but 5MW per day, and not the instant rating more commonly seen when one speaks of a power station, eg 200MW for a conventional power station.

It is very modest..........but a significant step.

The local energy authority has been quite reluctant to move towards alternative or green power, so this seems a positive move.

Full details here: [more spin from Government] http://www.projectlink.com.au/IndustryNews/4015.html

For a city in the centre of Australia with a low rainfall and plenty of sunshine, solar power does seem a natural. Worley Parsons a large engineering company has proposed building a series of large solar thermal power stations for mining projects in remote areas. It is a well thought through concept, and the first one is planned for 2009/2010.

By the way, a solar photovoltaic system is currently being installed on the CrownePlaza Hotel in Alice Springs, and will provide about 85% of all power for the hotel.

Let the sun shine on the Alice!

Updated Options for Women

Many women enjoy the option to enhance their attributes, naturally or cosmetically. Some use enhancements offered by lingerie. To the male observer, some of these actions create positive interest, others negative.

There has been a considerable numbers of words written about women who wear the burka, hijab or whatever local name is used. Some are complimentary, many are not. Most observers see it as shapeless. But maybe not.

Wearing the burka often comes to personal choice, unless you live in a country where women may not have that choice. I have no comment on that.

But there are a few cartoonists who think the subject does offer reasonable options in offering an alternate view.

The following cartoon appeared in some Australian papers recently. Many commentators believe there is a revolution occurring among women in those areas, even while wearing continuing to wear the burka!

More Poinciana Colour

I think this year has been an excellent one for the poinciana tree flowering display. This photo was at the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, and so beautifully framed by two beauty leaf trees [ which are actually on the opposite side of the road].

Just spectacular!

Battle of the Sounds - Frog Style

With due acknowledgment to the cartoonist.............except that it has been sooooooo quiet lately around our house. There is little rian this month so far, and the frogs are quiet!

Magnificent Orchid

This orchid flowers about every 6-8 weeks most of the year, and the flower spray lasts usually 2-3 weeks.


It is just magnificent! This was taken about 2 weeks after it first reached full flower this flowering.


I guess I must be tending it in a right and proper manner!