they seem to be everywhere. In the downstairs shower this morning. Departed soon after this was taken but where too?
Category Archives: General
A young visitor
In the back yard this morning waiting for breakfast to pass by. More info on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis
My Canon G9 is disassembling
Rain has it’s uses — a vine covering our sheds is bursting into bloom.
Sometime this week I noted that the front panel on the G9 is parting from the body leaving a gap that invites dust and moisture. Can’t remember when I bought it but it has been an excellent still and video camera. But time has made it slightly redundant, especially the manual focusing feature — very primitive.
Will have a look at the Panasonic GX-1 today — main criteria are changeable lens (they have Leica lens’ options) and manual focusing.
Bromeliads
Bromeliads are common here at Xanadu — here are a few examples. Many are considered noxious weeds in Florida because of their mosquito breeding potential.
More on Bromeliaceae at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromeliaceae
Easter lily
Australia Day – 2012
Twenty-two degrees C, light rain, humidity 93 per cent at 8:00am – just another Sydney summer day. Great conditions for the garden which is alive with flora and fauna.
And on another matter
For great oratory check out Obama’s State of the Nation speech at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLYphVUutTs
A late hydrangea
A single, subtle bloom outside the back door.
Something clicked in both of us this week and gardening has resumed – principally weed clearing from the vegie bed. The worm farm is producing many litres of ‘worm tea’ and weeding precedes distribution. And there are barrow loads of manufactured soil from the compost bins to be spread.
Stop the Loss – Coalition
Well worth adding your name. You might also consider not shopping at a Woolworths owned business — they own the most poker machines in Oz. See the excerpts below and the links.
Woolworths started to expand into liquor businesses with the acquisition of Dan Murphy’s in 1998. By 2001, the BWS chain had been established. With Queensland licensing laws dictating that retail outlets must be operated by a hotelier, Woolworths moved into the hotel industry in 2005 in a joint venture with experienced hotel operator Bruce Mathieson, purchasing hotelier Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH). Later in 2005 the ALH Group expanded its portfolio to 250 hotels by acquiring the Taverner Hotel Group and the Bruce Mathieson Group. The ALH Group is 25% owned by Bruce Mathieson and 75% owned by Woolworths. Statistics provided during the acquisition of the Taverner group showed that over one third of sales are made up of gaming/poker machine takings. The number of poker machines owned by Woolworths and Bruce Mathieson after ALH acquisitions was 10,722 (2006). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworths_Limited
This link is particularly interesting – Woolies have been deforesting Indonesia. Some more up-to-date info.
Woolworths is Australia’s largest owner of poker machines (13,480 machines) and the largest seller of tobacco and alcohol. http://www.ethical.org.au/issues/?issue=16.
But I see from this that Wesfarmers (Coles) also own 3000 machines. And Aldi, where we do most of our grocery shopping, is guilty of “…sweatshop labour, worker exploitation, and palm oil supply chain”.
Our new fish tank
We have spent the week tinkering with our new fish tank — the Fluval Edge Aquarium Fish Tank. It all began when Beryl bought me a Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens) which spent several days in a one metre jar. The next stage was responding to Frances’ request to check out, on the web, her new tank for Jimmy and this led to the uber-spiffy Fluval Edge. It arrived two days later but Patipan (our B. splendens) had to have his new water conditioned which required buying a container of Ph Up to change it from 7.0 to 6.5. Then sub-strate for the plants to root in and gravel and rocks and a heater and a magnetic glass cleaner (to get rid of the bubbles under the top glass) and plants and Blue Neon Tetras (Paracheirodon innesi) and a yellow sucker fish to keep him company. Much water was sloshed about the dining room as we adjusted the aesthetic before we were able to sit down and watch our new entertainment system.
Here’s a video of the effort — The Fish Tank
Our fish
Dirk Bracegirdle and Lady Eugenia and King Billy conquered the desert and discovered the lost city by Coopers Creek (according to Michael Cathcart on the ABC). In honour of this awsome feat we named our fish after them and today they are showing off. Unfortunately King Billy expired due to the hardship of the journey so isn’t present on today’s video.