Happy New Year

Fireworks, parties and drinking are the hallmarks of a Melbourne New Years Eve party. The city is alive with people and the police are out in force looking for action. The public transport system runs late to take the party-goers back home en-mass.

Around the suburbs, individuals let off illegal fireworks and numerous local parties are held. I pity the emergency services as inevitably the unlucky and stupid make the doctors, nurses, ambulance people and police lives hell. So here's to all our service personnel. May they have a relatively quiet and peaceful end to 2008

Lets all celebrate the coming of the new year. This year it is time for belt tightening and a reassessment of investments(ie bemoaning the losses and hoping the companies will regain part of their value in 2009).

In Melbourne the hot weather approaches, though this year it seems that New Years Eve will not be a scorcher unlike previous years. Perhaps it will rain and refill the water tanks that are being increasingly needed for the vegie garden.

So to anyone who reads this post, may you have health and happiness. Wealth and "interesting times" as per the chinese proverb can wait for another year. Cherish the small things in life that make it sweet - chocolate (free trade stuff of course) and a good book to read while sitting on the beach. Cheap (if books is sourced from your local library) but worthwhile. Also keeping me employed for the coming year

Monster Crash from U-Tube

This is a great wrap up of the Market Crash. Some people are just sooo clever!!

Christmas Greetings

Red and Green are the traditional colours of Christmas. In Australia the grey-green of the Gum trees give the eye something softer to look on over the harsh glare of the sun. At this time of year we also see flocks of pink and grey Galah parrots to enjoy as they flock over the gum trees. With the continuing drought many more birds seem to be venturing into the city environment so we also see flocks of Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos as well as the Magpies, Honey-Eaters and Rosellas.

They make quite a racket at times. A bit like Parliament question time discussing whether Australia is in a recession or whether we will spend the surplus and get into debt. A bit like the Victorian State Government explaining its solutions to the state's water problems to the people of Northern Victoria.

The current water situation in Victoria hasn't been relieved by the heavy rains over the last week. It will be interesting to see if the North-South pipeline being constructed from the Eildon Dam to Melbourne will ever carry much water. Eildon storage is at 22.71% capacity at the moment, down from 24.6% at the same time last year. Taking water from here is going to be difficult to justify but so will be making 3.5 million Melbournians take stringent water cuts.

It's a pity one cannot transport recalcitrant Melbournians to communities already on stage 4 water restrictions or more to teach them to be community minded and learn what their grandmothers did in times of poverty.

Melbournes water supply is also very low and will continue to drop as we head into summer. So here's to all the Galahs and their noisy chatter. Nature will continue to push us in the right direction, eventually!

I'll just go yell at the teenager to have a 3 minute shower, while looking at our water bill to see if we meet the new target of 155 litres of water per person per day. At least with the installation of water tanks we can still water the garden.

"How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer" documentary

What a great documentary! The idea that six degrees of separation links everyone in this mad world of ours is both an inspiring and somewhat frightening concept. This documentary, screened on ABC TV 1 (Aunty) on Tuesday 28th Oct 08, gave a fascinating insight in to the science/maths involved as well as a real example to ponder. Download the episode here (part of the Future Makers series).

40 packages were distributed around the world with participants required to send one to a Harvard Geneticist. 3 made it to him through links with 6 steps.
What the documentary didn't discuss was exactly what happened to the rest and how does that affect the theory of networking. So Aunty, please a follow-up doco.

Other sites of interest to six degrees of separation include the Oracle of Bacon and the Charity Site set up originally by Bacon following the oracle's success.

Now back to the books - Am reading the latest "Artemis Fowl" before the teenager can get his hands on it.

Wall St Financial Crisis

Try this Cartoon from Live Leak re the Financial Crisis. Puts a humourous twist on the problem

Spring Reading

I've just finished Carol Off's "Bitter chocolate" a fairly comprehensive expose of the world of cocoa growers and the multinationals who produce chocolate. Carol makes a compelling case of third world corruption and first world greed and complicity in that corruption. Child slavery in cocoa plantations, ecological wreckage of rainforest and multi-million dollar profits for the rich and powerful.

My next book is "Growing up Asian n Australia" edited by Alice Pung of "Unpolished Gem" fame. So far so good with excellent short essays on the perils of being different in Australia in the 1950's - 70's. So far my chocolate purchasing has been reduced as I read this book but I wonder how long I can go without the wonderful melt-in-the-mouth stuff. Especially after sitting in the sun whilst reading. Its a pity there isn't a fairtrade bar of chocolate to be fond in my local shopping centre.

During the dark days of winter I watched an intriguing series on DVD which is screened by PBS with regard to environmental concerns called the e2 series. Topics are as diverse as wind energy, micro loans to Bangladeshi women, Biogas digesters and sustainable living and much more. You can download them at http://www.e2-series.com/. Well worth seeing and emulating.

Now back to the weed infested garden! Time to do some work!

My Electricity Bill

Global meltown in credit markets. The Bush administration is bailing out private enterprise and mortgaging American taxpayers for years to come. On ABC TV's Q and A last night we saw Peter Costello talk about how much better the prudential regulation is in Australia. I remember reading, in the Financial Review I think, that when politicians tell you that the banking system is safe, then thats the time to be very careful with your money.
Lets hope the financial credit squeeze will not totally derail various governments attempts to do something about the environment and global warming. The only hope I had of any decent change process was if the governments and people of Australia were wealthy enough to manage the cost of the changes necessary.
Having just seen my electricity bill for the winter months I have seen an increased cost, and this is happening without any cost input due to carbon emissions trading.
And yet we see in the September 2008 Choice Magazine article "Solar panels: counting the real cost" how much further the electricity price must rise to make photovoltaics a real option for the average housholder like me. My house is well sited to provide excellent solar gain for a PV system but I can't afford it just yet. I have been waiting for 14 years so will have to wait another 10 or more I would imagine.
By that time my current solar hot water system will definitely need replacing.

However, many consumers also have the ability to mange their costs a bit (say no the that new DVD for example) and spend more on their utilities. So perhaps this credit squeeze and the increasing burden of debt on households might make some people think a bit more about their spending . Perhaps pushing them into more sustainable patterns. Here's hoping.

Spring is here!

Yeah! finally the days are lengthening, bulbs are flowering and sadly the grass has risen enough to be mowed again. Though to call it grass is somewhat a misnomer as the weeds outnumber the real grass. The lack of watering over the last few summers, due to water restrictions has seen to that.
The Magnolia tree has bloomed and now is covered in new green leaves. The hyacinths are just about to finish, as are the daffodils. My lovely Camellia's are also nearly finished their flowering as are some of the Azalea's.

My Plum tree is flowering, though rather lopsidedly as the "other half" got carried away when pruning it in July. However, neither the Persimmon Tree or the Ginko tree are showing any signs of bud burst or leaf.
One of the joys of Spring in Melbourne is the antics of the swooping bird population. I haven't been attacked by a Magpie yet, though my son on bicycle has. The Masked Plover's have raised a chick and annoy us with frequent warning cries and constant dive bombing when anyone approaches.

And to top it off the water tanks are completely full. Summer here we come!

Winter and warming

After almost a week of foggy, crisp mornings and brilliant sunny days we know in Melbourne that winter has arrived. Aeroplane flights were delayed several mornings this week but we are extremely lucky to be living in an area where such great weather is normal in winter.
The wood stove (with triple burn technology) has been used to great effect this week and there is nothing like sitting in front of a warm fire and reading a good book.
This weekend I'm starting "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian" by Marina Lewycka as part of the book club I belong to. Its only a short book so I'll expect to complete it by the end of the long weekend.
What are you doing these wintry nights?
While watching ABC TV last week I was intrigued by the story on power generation in Woking, UK. It just shows you that one person can make a difference. The change from one polluting technology (greenhouse gases) to a far less polluting technology is possible when someone is committed and passionate about the problem. For those interested here is the website http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2244790.htm.
And it seemed to use previously known technology and cost less.

Easter Holiday in New Zealand

March is a lovely time to visit New Zealand. We spent a week between Napier and Rotorua having plenty of fun in wineries and thermal areas. One was a delight to the senses, the other an amazing assault on the nose but awesome and fun all the same.

Napier is world famous for its art deco buildings as well as the many fine wineries surrounding the town. We had a delightful lunch at the oldest winery, the Mission Winery in its fine chapel eating area.

A walk on the Marine Parade to view the gardens and wild stony beach is also a favourite.


Rotorua, with its smell and thermal wonders is a must see for all tourists. Although the geyser needed some soap to start it going, it was spectacular. And the thermal pools and craters were both smelly and steamy.

My Book Life

One of the joys of working in a library is that I am surrounded by so many books as well as having an endless supply of readers to talk to about the books they read, liked and disliked. I can keep up to date with the new publications as well as hear about old favourites and past best sellers which may no longer be published.

One of the frustrations of course of working in a library is that you never have time to do any reading while working. It is a busy, fast moving environment with lots of kids, teenagers, senior readers, computer and database queries, plus the odd technology problem or three.

To relax at home though with a book is one of the great pleasures of life. One can transform into the princess, the intrepid adventurer in Lord of the Rings, the great crime sleuth or spy as you try to guess the outcome in any Minette Walters, Agatha Christie and John Le Carre.

So here to the humble book. May it not be replaced by a computer screen anytime soon.

As this photo of the Cardiff Library shows - books are art, architecture and soul food.

Book Crossing

Have you ever seen a book lying on a park bench, airport lounge seat or in a shopping centre - just waiting to be picked up by someone anonymous to be taken home and read? Then you may have just witnessed or been part of the Book Crossing phenomenon.Specially labelled and wrapped free books are just waiting to be picked up and read, then left for another lucky person to read. No other tricks or problems with this. Check out the Book Crossing website to see what books have been released near you and join up if you wish.

I "found" a Book Crossing book a couple of months ago, have read it and am now waiting til my next holiday before I release it. In an airport somewhere perhaps. Lets hope that the security guards don't mistake it for a bomb, even though its clearly labeled.
After all its a book about winning a Nobel Prize!

Frog Hollow @ Dawn

Frog Hollow is a man made wetland with several linked ponds filtering the water from the Eumemmerring Creek. The original wetland was cleared and drained some 30 or more years ago and now has been "replaced" leading to a great increase in water bird life. Its a great place for an early morning walk (with camera and tripod of course).

Free Rice and Learning New Words

If you are interested in learning news words and testing your own understanding of words in the English language then try out the Free Rice Web site.

For each word you get right, 5 grains of rice are donated by the sponsors through the UN World Food Program to help alleviate poverty. Your benefit is to increase your knowledge of words and their meanings if you "play" regularly. Or just to have a bit of fun. Particularly if you are in a family like mine where the other members of the family tend not to play word games because they know they'll get beaten.

Moment to make you smile

This morning, on the way to my local supermarket, I saw an elderly couple waiting for the bus. The were well dressed with the lady wearing an attractive skirt. What made me smile was that they were dancing on the footpath, practicing their waltzing or foxtrot. Obviously seizing the moment and enjoying their early morning.

So lets hope they also enjoyed their trip as I enjoyed seeing their enthusiasm.

Australia Day Celebrations ,Melbourne

Taking advantage of the free open day at Victoria's Governors house, here are some photos of the residence, inside and out. My "other half" commented that some of the furniture and fittings seemed a bit worse for wear and needed some maintenance and replacement.

Greenstone Jewllery

Here are some examples of Pounamu or Greenstone Jewellery. A the colour of most Greenstone varies from a deep green to almost black green. Jade tends to be a lighter, whiter colour. The following article on Greenstone's mineral composition from the New Zealand Encyclopedia gives a concise discussion of the mineral composition and Maori legends around the stones. (note the 1966 date of the encylopedia articles)

Welcome to my book and travel log

One of the perks of life is being able to travel occasionally to the great areas of the world. My last trip was to the west coast of the USA to take in the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. On the way there, we also sampled the delights of LA, Disneyland, Universal Studios and Las Vegas.

I am now planning the family trip to wonderful New Zealand. We intend spending most of our time in that world famous Art Deco city, Napier. But we also have a little time for a side trip to Rotorua. Unfortunately a blog cannot convey the stench of that unusual geothermal town but hopefully a few pictures and descriptions will describe what it is like.

So here's to our Easter Holidays. May they roll on quickly.

But for now here is part of our life at home - a balmy evening at Melbourne docklands.