As I mentioned over on Little Elijah, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revised its Child Growth Standards to replace standards that have been in use since the 1970s. These old standards were apparently based on a small number of children from the USA and provided a measure of growth for formula-fed babies, who apparently grow much faster than babies who have been breastfed.
So, for over 30 years, parents around the world have been pressured to fatten up their babies to meet this standard that in the end seems to me to have been unreliable and unrepresentative. Who knows how many babies over this period of time have been over fed to meet this "ideal", setting them up for any number of health problems in the future? I wonder if there any plans to see if the level of obesity in the Western world can be linked in anyway to things like this...
The WHO report has once again got me thinking about "scientific fact". Ultimately in my opinion, science and scientific fact is just as much a social construct as any other field of human endeavour. I understand the concept that scientific thought is supposed to be developed as part of a trial and error process, building upon the work of predecessors. Good science should be not so much an assertion of truth but a demonstration of what is likely and what has been proven to not be true at a set point in time.
So much research is built upon "black boxes". By black boxes I mean something that has been accepted as true and therefore no longer needs to be explained or justified. For example, you might argue that 4x4 = 16 without having to previously prove that 2x2 = 4 because this is already readily accepted. I don't really have a problem with the concept of black boxes. It's an efficient way of expanding upon previous thought without having to do it over.
However, just how is something black boxed in the first place? Generally, it would appear that for something to be considered credible, it needs to be published in peered journals as well as be accepted by a broader component of the scientific community. I am usually uncomfortable at the thought of something being left up peer assessment as I feel that its a process that is vulnerable to self-reinforcing behaviour. I think it's just human nature that you will agree with something that you already believe and will be more critical of something that you don't believe. I fail to see why scientists who do peer review are considered to be immune from this. They're still human after all. If something isn't acceptable or palatable, it's less likely to become a black box in the future.
Anything radical or new is likely to be met with great skepticism at first, and while it might eventually become accepted canon, for a period of time it would not be considered to be "fact" or "true". I can only imagine how theories like Chaos Theory or String Theory were greeted.
Of course, the key concept here is theory. Science is meant to be about theory - hypotheses and either disproving the hypotheses or proving that for now, they hold up. Too many times these theories are dressed up as facts and treated as the truth by the wider population.
The other thing that bugs me about science is that you can't take research on face value. Further judgments need to be made about who has conducted the research, who has overtly funded the research and who has covertly funded research. Is the researcher dependent on funding grants from a particularly body or organisation? Could a fear of offending the funding body (whether it be a government, corporation, NGO or some other source) and losing a source of funding influence the outcome, consciously or unconsciously? Research supporting global warming funded by an environmental NGO is just as suspect as research against global warming funded by a consortium of energy utilities or oil companies.
Maybe I'm just rambling but fact and truth aren't all they are cracked up to be...
-s
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Book learnin'
Being back at uni part time while working full time and raising a brand new bundle of joy is proving difficult but worth it. So far in my introduction to programming course, I've averaged 97.5% for my first two assignments (which are worth 12% each). In my introduction to telecommunications subject, I got 25/25 for my first assignment (25%) and 29/30 for the first exam (14.625% out of 15%).
If I keep this up, in three to four years, I'll be the proud owner of a coursework Masters in IT from ADFA. W00t.
-s
If I keep this up, in three to four years, I'll be the proud owner of a coursework Masters in IT from ADFA. W00t.
-s
Sunday, April 23, 2006
No sign *sniff*
Still no Nano. I'm beginning to fear someone has swiped it. At least I've got a serial number and I can ring around local Cash Converters and see.
I miss it so.
I miss it so.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Anyone seen my Nano?
I've lost my iPod Nano, and I'm not happy about it. I put it down somewhere and now I can't find it at all. I had about a week of podcasts waiting to be listened to (I've been kind of busy at the moment) but now I can't find it anywhere and I've got more podcasts backing up waiting to be transferred over.
I knew I loved my gadgets but I never really thought I'd be this lost without one. *sniff*
I knew I loved my gadgets but I never really thought I'd be this lost without one. *sniff*
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Fingers? I don't need no steeeenking fingers!
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, it was around -5°C this morning when I was walking to walk.
I thought my hands were a bit cold this morning.
I thought my hands were a bit cold this morning.
Friday, June 25, 2004
Net No Friends
I have come to the conclusion that my online presence is zero and I have no friends.
Despite the fact that just about every geek and his hard drive has one, I have yet to be graced with an invitation to join either Orkut or gMail.
Just because I don't use any sort of IM software and I don't spend any time on IRC or forum boards (not geeky ones anyway - I don't think KvR counts), does this mean I should not be welcomed by the warm embrace of online geekdom? Apparently, online geekdom is reserved for those geeks who spend the majority of their time online.
Sometimes life is so unfair.
(Edited 25-6-04, 20:27, to fix some links)
Despite the fact that just about every geek and his hard drive has one, I have yet to be graced with an invitation to join either Orkut or gMail.
Just because I don't use any sort of IM software and I don't spend any time on IRC or forum boards (not geeky ones anyway - I don't think KvR counts), does this mean I should not be welcomed by the warm embrace of online geekdom? Apparently, online geekdom is reserved for those geeks who spend the majority of their time online.
Sometimes life is so unfair.
(Edited 25-6-04, 20:27, to fix some links)
Thank you QANTAS
Just a brief note to publicly thank the Qantas staff who were working at the customer service desk of the Canberra Airport Departure Lounge on Wednesday morning. I was heading up to Brisbane for my grandmother's funeral to be held that afternoon but unfortunately there were lengthy delays due to fog surrounding Canberra. The Qantas staff did everything they could to try and get me to Brisbane in time to make the funeral, including finding me a Business Class seat on a different flight that, if everything went to plan, would get me to Brisbane in plenty of time.
Unfortunately it was not to be. There were several more delays and I only just missed the service. Qantas did all they could though, and I certainly appreciated the efforts of their staff, who made a very stressful day just a little bit less stressful.
Thank you Qantas.
(post edited 25-6-04, 20:18, to fix some links)
Unfortunately it was not to be. There were several more delays and I only just missed the service. Qantas did all they could though, and I certainly appreciated the efforts of their staff, who made a very stressful day just a little bit less stressful.
Thank you Qantas.
(post edited 25-6-04, 20:18, to fix some links)
Sunday, June 20, 2004
In loving memory
Eileen Doecke (1928-2004)
At around 11:30 this morning, after a long battle with cancer, my grandmother passed away. She'd been sick for quite a while so it certainly did not come as a shock, but there's an emptiness inside me all the same.
I made a quick trip back to Brisbane this week to visit her as I knew her time was rapidly approaching. Unfortunately I was not able to spend very much time with her at all as she wasn't up to receiving visitors in hospital. I think that both physically and mentally she had had enough, and it seemed to me that all she wanted was some peace.
Nan has always played an important part in my life as she and my grandfather lived in the same house. She was always around when I was growing up. I wish that I had been able to spend more time with her in the those last few months. There were so many things that I wanted to say. I wanted to thank her for teaching me how to read when I was three, bribing me with butter scotch lollies. I wanted to thank her for helping me learn my 12x table, bribing me with chocolates (there's a bit of a theme there, I will admit). Most importantly, I wanted to say that I loved her and appreciated every little thing that she had done to encourage and support me over the years.
I kept putting off flying back to Brisbane to visit her. Work was busy. I didn't want to miss playing soccer on the weekends. It just seemed like there was never a convenient time. Unfortunately, when I made the time, I had left my run too late. I guess the price I will pay is that I will always wish I had gone back home sooner, while there was still pleny of time.
I know that my Nana was not perfect (her two daughters would attest to that). Like all people, she had her faults. However, I will choose to remember her as a kind woman who helped instill in me a love of learning and knowledge, who was interested in the lives of her grandchildren, a woman who loved her garden and her pet dogs(spoiling them rotten in the process, but always out of love). She will always be my Nan. She will always live on, and I will cherish the memories that I have.
Saying goodbye is often the hardest thing to do.
Goodbye Nan. You're in a better place now (wherever that may be).
At around 11:30 this morning, after a long battle with cancer, my grandmother passed away. She'd been sick for quite a while so it certainly did not come as a shock, but there's an emptiness inside me all the same.
I made a quick trip back to Brisbane this week to visit her as I knew her time was rapidly approaching. Unfortunately I was not able to spend very much time with her at all as she wasn't up to receiving visitors in hospital. I think that both physically and mentally she had had enough, and it seemed to me that all she wanted was some peace.
Nan has always played an important part in my life as she and my grandfather lived in the same house. She was always around when I was growing up. I wish that I had been able to spend more time with her in the those last few months. There were so many things that I wanted to say. I wanted to thank her for teaching me how to read when I was three, bribing me with butter scotch lollies. I wanted to thank her for helping me learn my 12x table, bribing me with chocolates (there's a bit of a theme there, I will admit). Most importantly, I wanted to say that I loved her and appreciated every little thing that she had done to encourage and support me over the years.
I kept putting off flying back to Brisbane to visit her. Work was busy. I didn't want to miss playing soccer on the weekends. It just seemed like there was never a convenient time. Unfortunately, when I made the time, I had left my run too late. I guess the price I will pay is that I will always wish I had gone back home sooner, while there was still pleny of time.
I know that my Nana was not perfect (her two daughters would attest to that). Like all people, she had her faults. However, I will choose to remember her as a kind woman who helped instill in me a love of learning and knowledge, who was interested in the lives of her grandchildren, a woman who loved her garden and her pet dogs(spoiling them rotten in the process, but always out of love). She will always be my Nan. She will always live on, and I will cherish the memories that I have.
Saying goodbye is often the hardest thing to do.
Goodbye Nan. You're in a better place now (wherever that may be).
Friday, June 18, 2004
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Freezing My Tits Off For Love - The Australian Idol Experience
As most of you would know, my wife has quite a gift with music (she sings, plays piano and violin and when she feels like annoying me, "Everybody Hurts" by REM over and over again until my ears bleed) and she has a healthy confidence in her ability as a performer. Yay. More power to her. However, this story is not about her, her talents or her time in Sydney. This story is mine.
We drove up to Sydney on Saturday 29 May. I had played soccer that afternoon, where we beat Canberra City 4-1. It had been a tiring afternoon as I was only just starting to return to full fitness after a mysterious knee injury (first they feared that I had torn cruciate ligaments, which is season-ending, then they thought I had torn cartilage, which no longer seems the case and now they put it all down to inflexible muscles) followed by a tear in my quad. Still, we won so it was all good. Helen had taught her piano student in the afternoon while I was busy being a winner (and adding an own-goal/slight deflection to my tally - three goals this season and it's not even quite half way through) so after a quick meal, we were off in the car and headed to Sydney.
The drive itself was fairly uneventful. I didn't take first shift as the decision was made that since I had driven through Sydney a couple of times, I was the best man for the job. The fun started once we hit Sydney proper.
Driving in Sydney sucks. Big time. Despite assurances from a friend who grew up there, it's a bitch to navigate around. Lanes appear and disappear without notice. One way streets come out of nowhere and no one drives like they give a fuck whether you survive on the road or not. With a minimum of screaming, arguing and offensive finger gestures (and that's over which page we were supposed to be on in the map of Sydney), at about 8:30pm we finally arrived at the Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, where the auditions were going to be held the next day.
After parking the car in the Convention Centre underground car park and carefully noting where we parked (and carefully noting the $20 we would be paying to get the car back out again), we set off in search for what we knew would be a fucking huge line. We wandered all over the Centre looking for a long line of hopeful wannabes. We couldn't find a line anywhere. We walked around the Centre, looking everywhere and still couldn't find a line. We guessed where it would have to start in the morning, but there was still nothing there. Turns out that was because we were blind. The line was right in front of us, right down at water level. We had missed it and got confused because there was only about 50 people there at most. Not quite believing our eyes, we checked with our friendly neighbourhood dude in a black suit and walkie talkie who confirmed that it was indeed the Idol line. Woo. We would be able to get away early the next day.
Helen staked out her spot in the line and I was sent out to find food. That discounted McDonalds straight away and pretty much ruled out the Starbucks nearby as well. After about 10 minutes of searching, I found a Wok on Inn that served take-away, so dinner was sorted fairly easily in the end. I was now in desperate need of a coffee. I did a lot of soul searching, swallowed my pride and my principles and got a Starbucks coffee. I felt so unclean and dirty, but as a former smoker and now hard-core caffeine addict, I'm used to feeling like that. At roughly 9pm, I settled in the line next to Helen. The Wait Had Begun.
To Be Continued....
We drove up to Sydney on Saturday 29 May. I had played soccer that afternoon, where we beat Canberra City 4-1. It had been a tiring afternoon as I was only just starting to return to full fitness after a mysterious knee injury (first they feared that I had torn cruciate ligaments, which is season-ending, then they thought I had torn cartilage, which no longer seems the case and now they put it all down to inflexible muscles) followed by a tear in my quad. Still, we won so it was all good. Helen had taught her piano student in the afternoon while I was busy being a winner (and adding an own-goal/slight deflection to my tally - three goals this season and it's not even quite half way through) so after a quick meal, we were off in the car and headed to Sydney.
The drive itself was fairly uneventful. I didn't take first shift as the decision was made that since I had driven through Sydney a couple of times, I was the best man for the job. The fun started once we hit Sydney proper.
Driving in Sydney sucks. Big time. Despite assurances from a friend who grew up there, it's a bitch to navigate around. Lanes appear and disappear without notice. One way streets come out of nowhere and no one drives like they give a fuck whether you survive on the road or not. With a minimum of screaming, arguing and offensive finger gestures (and that's over which page we were supposed to be on in the map of Sydney), at about 8:30pm we finally arrived at the Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, where the auditions were going to be held the next day.
After parking the car in the Convention Centre underground car park and carefully noting where we parked (and carefully noting the $20 we would be paying to get the car back out again), we set off in search for what we knew would be a fucking huge line. We wandered all over the Centre looking for a long line of hopeful wannabes. We couldn't find a line anywhere. We walked around the Centre, looking everywhere and still couldn't find a line. We guessed where it would have to start in the morning, but there was still nothing there. Turns out that was because we were blind. The line was right in front of us, right down at water level. We had missed it and got confused because there was only about 50 people there at most. Not quite believing our eyes, we checked with our friendly neighbourhood dude in a black suit and walkie talkie who confirmed that it was indeed the Idol line. Woo. We would be able to get away early the next day.
Helen staked out her spot in the line and I was sent out to find food. That discounted McDonalds straight away and pretty much ruled out the Starbucks nearby as well. After about 10 minutes of searching, I found a Wok on Inn that served take-away, so dinner was sorted fairly easily in the end. I was now in desperate need of a coffee. I did a lot of soul searching, swallowed my pride and my principles and got a Starbucks coffee. I felt so unclean and dirty, but as a former smoker and now hard-core caffeine addict, I'm used to feeling like that. At roughly 9pm, I settled in the line next to Helen. The Wait Had Begun.
To Be Continued....
Monday, June 14, 2004
Stupid browsers
Don't you just love it when your web browser crashes, losing everything you just wrote in a text box? I know I sure do...fucking IE.
Of course, I don't normally use IE. I've been a Mozilla man for ages now (since 1.0 I think). However, Mozilla has been crashing fairly randomly lately, along with a number of other programs. As I was also unhappy with how I had partitioned my hard drives, I figured that it was about time that I started anew with a fresh Windows 2000 install. This would force me to backup all the important stuff and also allow me to let go of all those things I had installed but never got around to using (VST plug-ins and various demos being the main culprits here).
It had been so long since I had had to install anything major in the way of system updates that I had forgotten just how fucking big Windows Service Packs are and just how dial-up unfriendly these monsters can be. SP4 required a 35 MB download that was going to take over 4 hours. I scrabbled around looking for some of my old PC World cover discs and found one that had SP3 on it. After installing that I figured that I would have saved myself a heap of time. Turns out I saved maybe an hour, if not less. The SP4 download had been reduced to 28 MB which would take 180 minutes to download. 20 minutes later and it still says it's going to take 180 minutes to download. Fucking service packs.
If anyone's got an easier way of doing this, I'd love to hear it.
-s
Of course, I don't normally use IE. I've been a Mozilla man for ages now (since 1.0 I think). However, Mozilla has been crashing fairly randomly lately, along with a number of other programs. As I was also unhappy with how I had partitioned my hard drives, I figured that it was about time that I started anew with a fresh Windows 2000 install. This would force me to backup all the important stuff and also allow me to let go of all those things I had installed but never got around to using (VST plug-ins and various demos being the main culprits here).
It had been so long since I had had to install anything major in the way of system updates that I had forgotten just how fucking big Windows Service Packs are and just how dial-up unfriendly these monsters can be. SP4 required a 35 MB download that was going to take over 4 hours. I scrabbled around looking for some of my old PC World cover discs and found one that had SP3 on it. After installing that I figured that I would have saved myself a heap of time. Turns out I saved maybe an hour, if not less. The SP4 download had been reduced to 28 MB which would take 180 minutes to download. 20 minutes later and it still says it's going to take 180 minutes to download. Fucking service packs.
If anyone's got an easier way of doing this, I'd love to hear it.
-s
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Random rambling time...
Just trying out a new template. Not quite convinced yet, although it does look better than the last one I was using. I think the columns are of weird sizes though. Looking at the template code they appear to be hard coded to pixel width. I've always preferred to use percentages, but it's been so long since I played with HTML that percentage values for column width are probably no longer standards compliant.
I'll have to have a play around with them later and see if I can find something I like.
-s
I'll have to have a play around with them later and see if I can find something I like.
-s
Friday, June 11, 2004
Complete absence of Idol Update despite promise.
World shocked (despite the fact that no one reads this)
More at 11...
Um, the promised update on the Idol experience (or "Freezing my Tits Off for Love - the Australian Idol Experience" - I haven't decided which title is catchier) obviously hasn't happened yet. I'm slack, I know, but it's not like there is anyone reading this to get on my case about it. I'll do it soon. I will. Honest.
Random link time - XT HQ EnergyXT rocks! This little piece of software is a whole buttload of fun. One of the best things I ever bought. Actually, I got it free because I was a registered owner of it's predecessor Massiva (a screenshot of which can still be found here). Demo is almost fully functional (won't reload saved .ext projects until registered) and that alone is fun to play with. Go on, you know you want to.
More at 11...
Um, the promised update on the Idol experience (or "Freezing my Tits Off for Love - the Australian Idol Experience" - I haven't decided which title is catchier) obviously hasn't happened yet. I'm slack, I know, but it's not like there is anyone reading this to get on my case about it. I'll do it soon. I will. Honest.
Random link time - XT HQ EnergyXT rocks! This little piece of software is a whole buttload of fun. One of the best things I ever bought. Actually, I got it free because I was a registered owner of it's predecessor Massiva (a screenshot of which can still be found here). Demo is almost fully functional (won't reload saved .ext projects until registered) and that alone is fun to play with. Go on, you know you want to.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Monday, May 31, 2004
And we're live....again.
After spending 12 hours in freezing cold conditions at Darling Harbour, lining up for Australian Idol auditions (no, I didn't sing - I was the moral support), my immune system finally packed it in and insisted that I get sick (more details on the Night of the Living Frozen coming soon). So here I am, enjoying a day off work (after sleeping for 13 hours) and using the time to download some new drum kits for my shiny DR-008 *drool*. Of course, the kits have been RARed up together into megadownloads (the smallest is around 18 megs, the largest I've seen so far clocks in at well over 200) and I have crappy dial-up (pair-gain on a RIM :( ) so it's taking a long while. Seemed like a good opportunity to fire fire up the ol' blog again, especially now that there is a nifty update via email function (maybe this is old news but I don't get out much).
Hmm, the dryer has just finished so I better go fold up some laundry. Yep, I sure know how to live it up on a sick day.
After spending 12 hours in freezing cold conditions at Darling Harbour, lining up for Australian Idol auditions (no, I didn't sing - I was the moral support), my immune system finally packed it in and insisted that I get sick (more details on the Night of the Living Frozen coming soon). So here I am, enjoying a day off work (after sleeping for 13 hours) and using the time to download some new drum kits for my shiny DR-008 *drool*. Of course, the kits have been RARed up together into megadownloads (the smallest is around 18 megs, the largest I've seen so far clocks in at well over 200) and I have crappy dial-up (pair-gain on a RIM :( ) so it's taking a long while. Seemed like a good opportunity to fire fire up the ol' blog again, especially now that there is a nifty update via email function (maybe this is old news but I don't get out much).
Hmm, the dryer has just finished so I better go fold up some laundry. Yep, I sure know how to live it up on a sick day.
Saturday, February 01, 2003
Things have certainly settled down in Canberra over the last week or so. There were one or two high alerts mid-week as the mercury hit 40, humidity was just a fond memory of balmy Brisbane summers and the wind couldn't make up its mind whether to gust at 40km/h or at 80km/h and often decided to do both within seconds of each other. Still, on Friday I saw a clear blue sky for the first time in over two weeks. I never thought that I would this happy to just be able to see more than 50 metres ahead of me.
H and I went for a tour of the more devastated areas of Canberra on the Australia Day holiday. We went for a walk in the Once Were Forests in the hills behind Chapman (the second most trashed suburb). The hills are black as far as the eye can see. A lot of the trees appear to still be there (we'd never been there before so we have no reference points) but all the ground is jet black and covered in a shed load of dust and ash and various other bits of debris and detritus.
I noticed a couple of weird/freaky/the coolness of nature (in a "You go, girl" type of way). The heat must have been incredibly intense in the firestorm because even the boulders I stood on were flaky and felt like they were about to crumble under my weight (I know I've chunked up a bit in the last few months but I'm not that fat yet!). The walking paths through the Once Were Forests are basically untouched. The dried and dying grass moping in the cracks and hollows still has the slightest touch of green, the path is still a compressed, dull (and definitely unburnt) brown and there is a real sense of "Well, hey, I don't know what all the fuss is about - came nowhere near me"). Finally, natural culverts and drains are full of bright splashes of green grass, most likely due to run off from people desperately saving their homes. It looked terribly out of place, and very nearly disrespectful. On the other hand, it was incredibly uplifting to see just how easy it is for things to return back to normal.
After checking out the Once Were Forests (and looking at some of the rubble and devastation from up high), we walked back to my car and decided to drive over to Duffy (number one trashed suburb). We started driving down Darwinina Terrace. The houses all looked like they'd escaped the worst of it so I concentrated on watching the road. All of a sudden, I looked up and there was nought but empty shells were people's homes had once been. It was a humbling experience.
Some of the roads into Duffy were sealed, so we parked the car nearby and went for a walk along one of the worst hit streets, Eucembene Drive. On side of the road is where the houses are supposed to be. The other side of the two-lane street is totally ACT Pine Plantation forest, which is right up to about a metre away from the side of road. Pine trees in plantations generally stand about 20-30 metres tall. These trees were also on a slight rise. As we walked past pile after pile of brick, rubble and ash, we stared in awe at what was around us. Looking at how close the pine plantation is, and how burnt out it is, I don't blame the residents for running for it. The reports on the day of the firestorm said that the fire was crowning in the trees (crowning means the flames had climbed up the trees and burning freely in the forest canopy) and were also burning up to 20-30 metres higher than the treetops as well. I'd been thinking in the week before that maybe people had themselves to blame a little bit for their house burning down. I'd learnt over the past few weeks that the vast majority of house and property loss occurs after the fire front has passed (which rarely takes more than a minute or two) and that the houses are burnt down by unchecked embers. After looking at the height of those trees and their proximity to the local residents, I'd have got the fuck out of there too. No question at all.
The devastation in Duffy seemed so arbitrary. One house sat there, virtually untouched. The houses to each side weren't there anymore. The three houses behind weren't there either. In fact, two more houses behind them weren't there as well. What kind of insanity prevailed to leave that house standing, I can't even begin to imagine. I now understand why some people felt guilty that their house was spared.
Although we didn't live in the suburb, and I felt like an intruder and a ghoulish sightseer the entire time, I feel it was necessary for the two of us to see it with our own eyes. Without witnessing the devastation and destruction, there is no doubt in my mind that I would never have really comprehended it. How could you? Sure, there have been many pictures on TV and in the papers, and I've read many "survivor stories" in the paper on local Canberra community journals. Some of those stories were incredible, but I still didn't understand. Now I think I do, if just a little.
H and I went for a tour of the more devastated areas of Canberra on the Australia Day holiday. We went for a walk in the Once Were Forests in the hills behind Chapman (the second most trashed suburb). The hills are black as far as the eye can see. A lot of the trees appear to still be there (we'd never been there before so we have no reference points) but all the ground is jet black and covered in a shed load of dust and ash and various other bits of debris and detritus.
I noticed a couple of weird/freaky/the coolness of nature (in a "You go, girl" type of way). The heat must have been incredibly intense in the firestorm because even the boulders I stood on were flaky and felt like they were about to crumble under my weight (I know I've chunked up a bit in the last few months but I'm not that fat yet!). The walking paths through the Once Were Forests are basically untouched. The dried and dying grass moping in the cracks and hollows still has the slightest touch of green, the path is still a compressed, dull (and definitely unburnt) brown and there is a real sense of "Well, hey, I don't know what all the fuss is about - came nowhere near me"). Finally, natural culverts and drains are full of bright splashes of green grass, most likely due to run off from people desperately saving their homes. It looked terribly out of place, and very nearly disrespectful. On the other hand, it was incredibly uplifting to see just how easy it is for things to return back to normal.
After checking out the Once Were Forests (and looking at some of the rubble and devastation from up high), we walked back to my car and decided to drive over to Duffy (number one trashed suburb). We started driving down Darwinina Terrace. The houses all looked like they'd escaped the worst of it so I concentrated on watching the road. All of a sudden, I looked up and there was nought but empty shells were people's homes had once been. It was a humbling experience.
Some of the roads into Duffy were sealed, so we parked the car nearby and went for a walk along one of the worst hit streets, Eucembene Drive. On side of the road is where the houses are supposed to be. The other side of the two-lane street is totally ACT Pine Plantation forest, which is right up to about a metre away from the side of road. Pine trees in plantations generally stand about 20-30 metres tall. These trees were also on a slight rise. As we walked past pile after pile of brick, rubble and ash, we stared in awe at what was around us. Looking at how close the pine plantation is, and how burnt out it is, I don't blame the residents for running for it. The reports on the day of the firestorm said that the fire was crowning in the trees (crowning means the flames had climbed up the trees and burning freely in the forest canopy) and were also burning up to 20-30 metres higher than the treetops as well. I'd been thinking in the week before that maybe people had themselves to blame a little bit for their house burning down. I'd learnt over the past few weeks that the vast majority of house and property loss occurs after the fire front has passed (which rarely takes more than a minute or two) and that the houses are burnt down by unchecked embers. After looking at the height of those trees and their proximity to the local residents, I'd have got the fuck out of there too. No question at all.
The devastation in Duffy seemed so arbitrary. One house sat there, virtually untouched. The houses to each side weren't there anymore. The three houses behind weren't there either. In fact, two more houses behind them weren't there as well. What kind of insanity prevailed to leave that house standing, I can't even begin to imagine. I now understand why some people felt guilty that their house was spared.
Although we didn't live in the suburb, and I felt like an intruder and a ghoulish sightseer the entire time, I feel it was necessary for the two of us to see it with our own eyes. Without witnessing the devastation and destruction, there is no doubt in my mind that I would never have really comprehended it. How could you? Sure, there have been many pictures on TV and in the papers, and I've read many "survivor stories" in the paper on local Canberra community journals. Some of those stories were incredible, but I still didn't understand. Now I think I do, if just a little.
Monday, January 20, 2003
Briefly updating events…
A great big thank you to everyone who rang or SMSed us over the weekend to see if we were okay. We are fine, well away from danger and really appreciate your thoughts and concern.
So far, authorities have confirmed that 402 houses have been totally destroyed. Over half of those houses were in the suburb of Duffy which at last count had lost 219 houses. Many more homes are estimated to have been damaged in some way.
The latest word about my friend in Duffy – it turns out his house survived the fire storm although many other houses in his street were not so lucky, nor was the BP petrol station that was on the corner of his street.
Canberra, famous for complaining about nothing and everything, is living up to its reputation. There have been murmurings in the media about the emergency services being ill prepared and dropping the ball on this. Similar sentiments have been echoed around the office today. Personally, I think it is possible that everyone was under prepared, and it is also entirely possible that someone, somewhere, fucked up big time. However, I also think that this fire storm would have wreaked a hell of a lot of havoc anyway. The events of the weekend to me illustrate the price you must be prepared to pay if you want to surround and permeate your urban areas with bush land. If nothing else, Canberra will be a lot better prepared next time and I would be surprised if something like this ever happened again.
Apart from all of that, there are fires still burning around the ACT, although everything is apparently under control. Once again, the smoke cover is quite heavy and I’m not enjoying the prospect of walking home from work soon.
If anyone is curious and wants to see what else is happening with the bush fires, visit the Emergency Services Bureau ACT Bushfire Status page. It’s updated several times a day at the moment, but obviously that will drop off as the fires slowly die off.
A great big thank you to everyone who rang or SMSed us over the weekend to see if we were okay. We are fine, well away from danger and really appreciate your thoughts and concern.
So far, authorities have confirmed that 402 houses have been totally destroyed. Over half of those houses were in the suburb of Duffy which at last count had lost 219 houses. Many more homes are estimated to have been damaged in some way.
The latest word about my friend in Duffy – it turns out his house survived the fire storm although many other houses in his street were not so lucky, nor was the BP petrol station that was on the corner of his street.
Canberra, famous for complaining about nothing and everything, is living up to its reputation. There have been murmurings in the media about the emergency services being ill prepared and dropping the ball on this. Similar sentiments have been echoed around the office today. Personally, I think it is possible that everyone was under prepared, and it is also entirely possible that someone, somewhere, fucked up big time. However, I also think that this fire storm would have wreaked a hell of a lot of havoc anyway. The events of the weekend to me illustrate the price you must be prepared to pay if you want to surround and permeate your urban areas with bush land. If nothing else, Canberra will be a lot better prepared next time and I would be surprised if something like this ever happened again.
Apart from all of that, there are fires still burning around the ACT, although everything is apparently under control. Once again, the smoke cover is quite heavy and I’m not enjoying the prospect of walking home from work soon.
If anyone is curious and wants to see what else is happening with the bush fires, visit the Emergency Services Bureau ACT Bushfire Status page. It’s updated several times a day at the moment, but obviously that will drop off as the fires slowly die off.
Saturday, January 18, 2003
The power is surging every now and then. The air is thick, burnt and nearly unbreathable at times. The sun has been blood red for days. Today things got much, much worse. Canberra is burning.
When we drove into Canberra down the Barton Highway on Sunday afternoon, we noticed plumes of smoke rising from the hills surrounding the ACT. I wasn't too concerned. After all, bush fires are around this area every summer. Apparently, the week before, there had been some severe electrical storms. The plumes of smoke indicated the aftermath of the occasional lightning strike. The last 12 or so months have been very dry in this area of the country. Like much of the rest of the country, there has been unseasonably low rainfall. Unlike Brisbane, Canberra generally has quite low levels of humidity. Add the two together and you've got a tinder box just waiting to be struck.
The plumes of smoke got bigger and by Monday afternoon large parts of the city were covered with a blanket of oppressive smoke as the fires in the Namadgi National Park raged on. Every wind change seemed to bring more smoke. We were pretty lucky, we thought, because the smoke was so thick that it settled like fog below our third story unit near the centre of Canberra.
Over the course of the rest of the week, the smoke got thicker and more pervasive. A rare change in the direction of the wind would bless the region with some brief respite from the lung clogging gunk that floated in the air.
The garden city, the "Bush Capital", has been it's worst enemy today. Embers, floating in the strong winds, have been drifting on to all the high points in the south and west of Canberra. These high points are largely in small tracts of parkland, surrounded by suburbia - houses, schools, hospitals, playgrounds, small suburban shopping strips - the daily bump and grind. Suburbs in the outer-south west literally back on to bush land. This afternoon and this evening, those suburbs are much smaller than they used to be as houses are burnt to the ground and the fire-front storms it's way towards the Woden valley area and the Inner South (where we live in our comfortable middle-class unit, smack bang in the middle of two of the finest restaurant districts in the nation's capital), following a path laid out for it by parks and nature reserves.
When I was buying some beer this afternoon from the local bottleo, I bumped into a friend with his partner. They were looking a bit worn out and stunned. I'd heard reports that the fire was somewhere past the outskirts of Canberra and they looked as stressed as I thought they should be. Turns out they had just left home, taking only what they were wearing and leaving one car behind. It had been raining coals and embers and was pitch black when they left. They are now staying at another friend's place a couple of blocks down the road (which was where they were heading). Their suburb, Duffy, was right in the line of fire. Dozens of houses in Duffy have burnt to the ground. My friend's place was only two or three blocks from bushland. No one is expecting their house to be there when they go back tomorrow. Everything gone.
Suburbs only 10-15 minutes drive from here are burning. As I type, I'm blowing ash of my keyboard as white flecks sneak through the fly wire in my window. Suburbs in the north-west area of Canberra are also threatened, with dozens more homes nothing but shells. Areas to the north and south of Canberra are threatened with towns like Cooma and (the nearly in Canberra) Queanbeyan face long nights of waiting and hoping.
It's bizarre that a major city, the nation's capital of 330,000 people, is facing the prospect of losing entire suburbs, with a handful more well in from the edges suffering considerable damage. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm freaking out just a little bit. This is something you see on the news, happening to Sydney or Adelaide or somewhere else. It's not something where you sit all afternoon, listening to local AM radio, waiting for constant updates and desperately hoping that friends and work-mates are okay and that no one is seriously hurt. It's unsettling to say the very least.
In case anyone is wondering, we're alright where we are. We're quite central in Canberra and there is very little parkland or nature reserves near us. What little there is is right next to Lake Burley-Griffin, which means there is no shortage of water or manpower if the unthinkable should happen.
If only everyone else could say the same.
When we drove into Canberra down the Barton Highway on Sunday afternoon, we noticed plumes of smoke rising from the hills surrounding the ACT. I wasn't too concerned. After all, bush fires are around this area every summer. Apparently, the week before, there had been some severe electrical storms. The plumes of smoke indicated the aftermath of the occasional lightning strike. The last 12 or so months have been very dry in this area of the country. Like much of the rest of the country, there has been unseasonably low rainfall. Unlike Brisbane, Canberra generally has quite low levels of humidity. Add the two together and you've got a tinder box just waiting to be struck.
The plumes of smoke got bigger and by Monday afternoon large parts of the city were covered with a blanket of oppressive smoke as the fires in the Namadgi National Park raged on. Every wind change seemed to bring more smoke. We were pretty lucky, we thought, because the smoke was so thick that it settled like fog below our third story unit near the centre of Canberra.
Over the course of the rest of the week, the smoke got thicker and more pervasive. A rare change in the direction of the wind would bless the region with some brief respite from the lung clogging gunk that floated in the air.
The garden city, the "Bush Capital", has been it's worst enemy today. Embers, floating in the strong winds, have been drifting on to all the high points in the south and west of Canberra. These high points are largely in small tracts of parkland, surrounded by suburbia - houses, schools, hospitals, playgrounds, small suburban shopping strips - the daily bump and grind. Suburbs in the outer-south west literally back on to bush land. This afternoon and this evening, those suburbs are much smaller than they used to be as houses are burnt to the ground and the fire-front storms it's way towards the Woden valley area and the Inner South (where we live in our comfortable middle-class unit, smack bang in the middle of two of the finest restaurant districts in the nation's capital), following a path laid out for it by parks and nature reserves.
When I was buying some beer this afternoon from the local bottleo, I bumped into a friend with his partner. They were looking a bit worn out and stunned. I'd heard reports that the fire was somewhere past the outskirts of Canberra and they looked as stressed as I thought they should be. Turns out they had just left home, taking only what they were wearing and leaving one car behind. It had been raining coals and embers and was pitch black when they left. They are now staying at another friend's place a couple of blocks down the road (which was where they were heading). Their suburb, Duffy, was right in the line of fire. Dozens of houses in Duffy have burnt to the ground. My friend's place was only two or three blocks from bushland. No one is expecting their house to be there when they go back tomorrow. Everything gone.
Suburbs only 10-15 minutes drive from here are burning. As I type, I'm blowing ash of my keyboard as white flecks sneak through the fly wire in my window. Suburbs in the north-west area of Canberra are also threatened, with dozens more homes nothing but shells. Areas to the north and south of Canberra are threatened with towns like Cooma and (the nearly in Canberra) Queanbeyan face long nights of waiting and hoping.
It's bizarre that a major city, the nation's capital of 330,000 people, is facing the prospect of losing entire suburbs, with a handful more well in from the edges suffering considerable damage. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm freaking out just a little bit. This is something you see on the news, happening to Sydney or Adelaide or somewhere else. It's not something where you sit all afternoon, listening to local AM radio, waiting for constant updates and desperately hoping that friends and work-mates are okay and that no one is seriously hurt. It's unsettling to say the very least.
In case anyone is wondering, we're alright where we are. We're quite central in Canberra and there is very little parkland or nature reserves near us. What little there is is right next to Lake Burley-Griffin, which means there is no shortage of water or manpower if the unthinkable should happen.
If only everyone else could say the same.
Saturday, November 02, 2002
Lots has happened but because I don't update frequently I don't remember what. However, I do sign a new lease on Monday, to take effect on 4 December. Woo! Although I'll be forking out a small fortune in start up costs etc, I'll finally be able to fulfil my dream of living the "professional couple/inner city/yuppie lifestyle". Woo! x2
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Time for a Super-Happy-Mega Update!
I'm back from week long visit of irrigation areas and the irrigation industry. It was a lot of fun, very interesting and very informative, but by God I was glad it was over by the end. I was prepared to bludgeon to death with a blunt instrument almost every other person on the trip. Once again, my hatred of people in general has been reinforced. Let's face it, people suck.
Anyway, for this trip we made our way down to Shepparton to examine water use efficiency in the Goulburn-Broken catchment area. We spoke to a wide range of people including state government statutory authorities, local landholders, land care groups and local industry. Half of us also spent a day over the border in Finley, NSW to see how they do things there (Hint: very differently). All in all, I learnt a lot about water use, and how much this drought really is making people suffer, and how much it costs financially.
Still waiting for the third unexpected emailer. Come on you slack bastard...
I spent last Saturday checking out 2-bdrm units for me and the girl to live in next year when she moves down. Unlike last time I looked, I saw quite a few nice places. Unfortunately, they're now all gone or are available now, which doesn't suit me at all. I need places available soon, not now. I can't afford all the extra rent otherwise. The real estate agent I spoke to today (who works for the nice people at Independent Real Estate) was very helpful and helped tee up a viewing of a place that doesn't come on the market until the end of November. This place is nice, and I hope after I see it from the inside it'll prove to be even nicer. Fingers crossed, I may have next year's accommodation sorted very soon.
The Underworld CD is definitely most fantastically awesome. It's even better the second and third times around. Buy it. Trust me. Of course, if you are familiar with my taste in music, you may want to have a test listen first :)
Got a third "piece" (copped a bit of flak for calling an instrumental a song - apparently a song must have words - whatever) up for anyone's listening pleasure. It's a 60sec work in progress. Sweet Helena
It's not much right now, but I plan to gradually work on it and make it an entire piece.
I'm back from week long visit of irrigation areas and the irrigation industry. It was a lot of fun, very interesting and very informative, but by God I was glad it was over by the end. I was prepared to bludgeon to death with a blunt instrument almost every other person on the trip. Once again, my hatred of people in general has been reinforced. Let's face it, people suck.
Anyway, for this trip we made our way down to Shepparton to examine water use efficiency in the Goulburn-Broken catchment area. We spoke to a wide range of people including state government statutory authorities, local landholders, land care groups and local industry. Half of us also spent a day over the border in Finley, NSW to see how they do things there (Hint: very differently). All in all, I learnt a lot about water use, and how much this drought really is making people suffer, and how much it costs financially.
Still waiting for the third unexpected emailer. Come on you slack bastard...
I spent last Saturday checking out 2-bdrm units for me and the girl to live in next year when she moves down. Unlike last time I looked, I saw quite a few nice places. Unfortunately, they're now all gone or are available now, which doesn't suit me at all. I need places available soon, not now. I can't afford all the extra rent otherwise. The real estate agent I spoke to today (who works for the nice people at Independent Real Estate) was very helpful and helped tee up a viewing of a place that doesn't come on the market until the end of November. This place is nice, and I hope after I see it from the inside it'll prove to be even nicer. Fingers crossed, I may have next year's accommodation sorted very soon.
The Underworld CD is definitely most fantastically awesome. It's even better the second and third times around. Buy it. Trust me. Of course, if you are familiar with my taste in music, you may want to have a test listen first :)
Got a third "piece" (copped a bit of flak for calling an instrumental a song - apparently a song must have words - whatever) up for anyone's listening pleasure. It's a 60sec work in progress. Sweet Helena
It's not much right now, but I plan to gradually work on it and make it an entire piece.
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