Protest Middle East Conflict Brisbane

Anti Israel protest in George street Brisbane yesterday.

Sydney 2008: Coldest October Day in 30 years

Earthquake India Region

An earthquake registering 6.7 on the richter scale has struck the Andaman Islands in the India region.

The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) has issued a “Green Earthquake and Tsunami Alert” for India.

The “green alert” indicates a low humanitarian impact, however the GDACS automatically generated the alert in light of the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.  

Updated reports here now show the magnitude of the quake as 6.1.

View the  ”shakemap”.

The Hub

The Hub

Originally uploaded by The Dull Fig

Great day in Brisbane today

The rain in South East Quensland (SEQ) has cleared and today was yet another great day in Brisbane. Needless to say, it was morning coffee outside in the winter sun—always delighful.

I attempted to record the natural sound of wildlife to accompany the image to the right, but I made the silly mistake of using my LG phone to do so—it didn’t work. Next time I’ll do the sensible thing and use my voice recorder—hopefully that will do the trick. (Natural sound recorded 13/06/08 with voice recorder—Olympus) Natural Sound A sunny day in Brisbane

As you can see by looking at my garden, the trees are looking rather thirsty. We have had severe water restrictions in the South East that have prevented us from watering our gardens. The recent rain was a nice relief.

For those wondering how the water levels in the dams in SEQ fared during the recent rain, you’ll find the information you need here.

Graphs at the SEQ Water website show the water level of Somerset Dam at approximately 89% full, Wivenhoe at approximately 24%, North Pine Dam at around 35% with the combined supply at 39-40%. It seems we still need lots more rain.

Petrol prices continue to change almost daily

Petrol prices go up—Petrol prices go down

The price of petrol at 9am at my local today was 140.9; by 3.30pm the price had risen to 150.9.

The cheapest petrol I saw this week was at the Aspley Shell. It was as low as 128.9, but that was only for those holding a 4c per litre discount shopper docket.

Needless to say, the rate of customers through the Aspley servo did actually burst the station’s seams, which caused a spillage of waiting cars, ten deep, on to the busy Gympie Road .

By the following day the servo’s tanks were dry. Forced to close, the station had to lie in wait for the tankers to arrive with the much needed refill that would later sell for 155.9.

The fluctuations of petrol prices in Brisbane are definitely regular and dramatic.

Morning coffee in the sun

The rain has cleared, which means it’s time for morning coffee in the sun. As much as I love the rain, I also enjoy taking time out to relax outdoors with my morning coffee.

In Queensland, we can only do this for a couple of months in the year. The summer’s blazing heat is very restrictive because of the high temperatures and the strength of the UV rays.

These guys, below, worked hard this morning while I took a break to sip on my brown brew in the brilliant sunshine.

Friday 30th May—Ouch!

I can’t believe it’s Friday again, let alone that it’s already the end of May. At the moment, I’m busily researching topics on journalism and social networks, hence another trip to the library at QUT’s Carseldine campus this afternoon. I’m working on a couple of conference papers and a journal article. With the exception of the journal article, they will all be finished by the end of June.

More details on the conferences to follow.