Thursday, May 24, 2018


Honeysuckle Creek near Canberra uses a number of dishes to record deep space and is operated by the CSIRO  whilst it is a NASA establishment - or so I believe.  Earlier, a number of space missions were tracked.
 
From Sky Lab is image either of the Northern Lights or the Southern Aurora. If the orbit of Sky Lab was investigated one might be better able to identify this amazing sight.


Wednesday, May 23, 2018


Tonight is Stargazing and a world record attempt supported by ABC media and groups of citizen astronomers all over.  Clouds will be most unpopular.

Honey Suckle deep space monitoring centre has a visitors centre and things to see from NASA.
A set of images from space was splendid.  It is presumed this image is of stars above the non-flat earth.

Monday, May 21, 2018


A little quirk is found on the main street in Sunnyside.  From time to time rolling stock come right into the suburb and cross to enter the UGL works. Does it amuse the motorists?
 This time Genesee & Wyoming coal wagons make another appearance, shunted by little Hercules in yellow! 
How is it determined if any wagon has a 'square wheel' that needs fixing, it is said that any noise from a noisy wagon is detected by sensors. Is that done to overcome negative reactions from the public?
  ....Genesee....Tennesse.....The Genesee River has many features and a lengthy history and one origin of the word has it related to Seneca... ...then there is Heracules...Hercules.....



To and from outer space

Thursday, May 17, 2018

From a train in motion is seen another diesel engine and the name is a bit surprising but the G & W company operate is in many countries after a string of mergers and takeovers. So it is just another coal mover....they are here from all over as there is little time to lose and a lot of carbon to burn.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018


 Home construction.  Mid May 2018 and house is occupied, eight months after building began. The last four months saw a succession of tradesmen disappear inside then finally the front yard finished in the last few weeks.
  How will we catch up and overcome the housing shortage if building is as slow as this example, however, some explaination probably exists in this instance.
 Builders have their ways and designing, council approval processes, fine tuning, guess work, all at snails pace and then construction in fits and starts is all perfectly normal and part of the mystery and confusion or so it seems to an outsider.

Sunday, May 13, 2018


 Tearing down and building up. DJs car park was turned into a pile of rubble by this morning. Corner of King and Perkins. Apartments are planned for the DJs store and the facade, corner of Hunter and Perkins, will be kept standing. 
A workman and myself recalled dining on the top floor of David Jones, the departments, in the foyer,  recording your weight on the scales with an attendant who wrote out the weight. Looking back, my weight remained stable despite the delicious cashews - warm and salted - from Darrell Lea.

Building the cottage in January 2018 after four months.  The exterior ?plaster extends to the ground and the windows are done - work which was completed well before January leaving it at the lock-up stage, it seems   Many builders, if not all, close up shop for several weeks over Christmas.  


Saturday, May 12, 2018

Building a cottage.  7 Nov 2017......the exterior walls and gutters are in place into the third month.

Mothers Day eve at supermarket, will it be mauve, pink or green and this was only half of the   displayed. 



Friday, May 11, 2018

 Building a home...16 Oct 2017...the exterior is 'wrapped' in green insulation material and the roof is tiled, Roof perimeter has a 'fence' to protect the roof tilers from falls. Black tiles would seem to absorb summer heat more than some.   A pile of scrap has grown.

 Homes are designed with various measures to reach a required score suitable to overcome hot or cold weather and to save energy using thick insulation in walls or ceiling or under floor, concrete areas as a heat sink, suitable building materials and reflective colours, window features and placement, solar, appropriate sized eaves, best use of aspect - and other measures.  

Thursday, May 10, 2018


Building a house.  Three weeks later, 10 Oct 2017 and the frame is done.
The house is relatively high off the ground.  More recently, the whole city had the flood zones mapped which regulate how high the ground floor must be off the ground.
 The zones are estimates as flooding has not necessarily been recorded in some areas. Several years ago a number of suburbs were flooded in a major storm the likes of which cannot be recalled in our time. Regulations exist about coping with a flood even a large kitchen bench legally acting as a safety zone it has been said.

Wednesday, May 09, 2018

 Anatomy of construction.  A cottage is begun, photographed mid September 2017.  On or within the  foundations, large white polystyrene blocks are laid to support the concrete floor. The concrete floor is left for a while to 'cure'.
Regulations govern the size of the area between the fences and the house and the size of an open area and of parking space. This one probably has rear access from a laneway.
Finally, timber has arrived for the next step. 




Monday, May 07, 2018


Make a farmer happy.  Prevent pears from being lost from our food supplies.  Currently pears are for sale for very little cost. Grab a whole lot and cook them up or hold until they ripen soft and juicy.
The fruit is easy to cook, unripe, peeled or unpeeled, quartered or halved, cored or not, water, some sugar, cinnamon, cloves or whatever, maybe a splash of alcohol and heat all this up quietly bubbling along.     

Saturday, May 05, 2018

A curious looking moth flew in well disguised on a portion of old brick.  Was this coloured brick purposely chosen? 
There is talk of a big decline in numbers of insects think of bees under threat when the growth of many food crops is ever dependent on their presence.  We hold the record for extinction of species.  Timeless life forms known and yet unknown wiped out for ever. Diversity is crucial. The web of life.
No matter, the government is making cuts to the work force that is concerned with these mere matters of extinction.

 

Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Fishing Boat in Port of Newcastle, one of many workplaces this May Day.  A place for an expert - it is full of hazards.

There is always a surprise in store.  The Jakarta Post Indonesia, today writes of a proposed May Day rally of considerable size in that city.
The following explaination is about the traffic arrangements and definately best left to local knowledge.  A similar report appeared last New Year's eve.....the street names are impressive.....what a day it will be....


JP/Jerry Adiguna)
The Jakarta Police plans to reroute traffic on some major roads of the city in anticipation of the annual May Day rally.
The rally, which police expect will be joined by some 30,000 workers, will be concentrated in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta.
Traffic at the Palace and the United States Embassy from Jl. Hayam Wuruk to Jl. Majapahit will be directed to Jl. Juanda. Meanwhile, motorists driving along Jl. Lapangan Benteng will be directed to Jl. Pos.
"From Jl. Gunung Sahari to Jl. Dr. Sutomo, we will direct them to go straight to Jl. Senen Raya. For the opposite direction, from Jl. Senen Raya to Jl. Budi Utomo, we will direct them to Jl. Gunung Sahari," Jakarta Police traffic director Sr. Comr. Yusuf said on Monday, as quoted by tempo.co.
He went on to say that drivers heading from Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur to Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara would be directed to Jl. Perwira. Meanwhile those heading from the Senen junction to Gatot Subroto Army Hospital would be directed to Jl. Senen Raya - Wahidin.
Drivers coming from Jl. Cikini Raya heading to Jl. M. Ridwan Rais will be directed to Jl. Kwitang Raya. On the other side, those heading from Jl. Kebon Sirih will be directed to Jl. Kwitang Raya.
For motorists heading from Jl. Sudirman to Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat will be directed to Jl. Kebon Sirih, while those coming from Jl. Abdul Muis heading to Jl. Museum will be directed to Jl. Fachrudin and vice-versa.

 
  • Safrin La Batu


Turn back crime – Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. M. Iriawan gives a report on the police’s handling of criminal cases in 2016 during a press conference on Thursday. (Antara/M.Agung Rajasa)
The Jakarta Police are set to deploy around 20,000 personnel to secure New Year’s Eve celebrations in areas across the city.
Police personnel will be on standby in several locations, including two busy public areas, namely Ancol in North Jakarta and the Car Free Night area along Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman in Central and South Jakarta, respectively, on Saturday evening.
“We are going all out [to secure the celebrations],” Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan said on Thursday.
The police will not be alone in this task as Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto has previously said that military personnel would also be on standby in areas across the city to secure the festivities.
(Read also: City to reroute traffic for New Year's Eve celebration)
Separately, Jakarta Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah said five stages would be erected along the car-free zone, starting from the Bank Indonesia traffic circle on Jl. MH Thamrin to the Semanggi cloverleaf highway area on Jl. Sudirman. The Car Free Night event will run from 5 p.m. on Saturday to 2 a.m. on Sunday, he said.
Andri added that traffic rerouting would be conducted in the following areas:
  • Traffic from Jl. Hayam Wuruk to Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat will be rerouted to Jl. Juanda - Pasar Baru -Gunung Sahari, or to Lapangan Banteng - Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur - Tugu Tani.
  • Vehicles from Jl. Veteran Raya to Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara will be directed to the Harmoni area - Jl. Suryo Pranoto, or to Jl. Gajah Mada.
  • Traffic from Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur to Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara will be rerouted to Jl. Perwira - Jl. Adipura - Pasar Baru area - Jl. Gunung Sahari, or to Jl. Veteran Raya - Harmoni area - Jl. Suryo Pranoto, or to Jl. Gajah Mada.
  • Traffic from Tugu Tani to Jl. M.H. Thamrin will be rerouted to Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur - Jl. Perwira-Pasar Baru.
  • All vehicles heading toward Jl. M.H. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman both from the east and west part of the areas will be turned back.
  • Traffic from Cawang to Jl. Sudirman will be rerouted to Jl. Senopati, or in the Slipi direction.
  • Vehicles from Slipi to Jl. Sudirman will be directed to Cawang - Jl. Rasuna Said, while traffic from Jl. Pattimura and Jl. Sisingamangaraja will be rerouted to Jl. Gatot Subroto or to Cawang. (ebf)