I saw that, and was pleased also to see that those temperatures are not expected here. We're still very wary about venturing to one of the beachside suburbs for dinner on a hot night.
Kuruman and I were in Invagiggle yesterday ... 20C was a far-off dream. Fortunately the restaurant where we were meeting had a fire burning (I wasn't wearing thermals. Well not on the bottom half. TMI Basically my rule is thermals if less than 20C).
It did get up to 17 after the clouds cleared around 3:00 p.m., but was sitting around 14 untill then.
I'm watching News Breakfast on the telly while up looking after a dog who had an operation yesterday. The TWU Secretary Michael Kaine was introduced for a discussion, and I was disappointed not to see something like this.
Kuruman and I were in Invagiggle yesterday ... 20C was a far-off dream. Fortunately the restaurant where we were meeting had a fire burning (I wasn't wearing thermals. Well not on the bottom half. TMI Basically my rule is thermals if less than 20C).
Mine is more like "if below 20 Celsius, wear pants." I can't remember if I've told @Piglet about the time I saw an ambulance cart away an elderly gentleman in Stornaway who had collapsed due to the heat. It was a balmy 25 C.
(Of course, the gentleman in question was wearing about three inches thickness of tweed all over his person.)
I think I "Happy New Year"ed on the old thread, but no harm in repeating!
I got boosted on Monday, and last of offspring got done yesterday. We're in self-imposed family lock down to make sure we can get away to Thredbo next week without taking the plague with us, or having to stay home. The family that were coming with us have fallen foul of young adult partying, with 2 positives and the rest in close contact isolation. So, just the 5 of us and one significant other rather than 13 all up.
Peak lawn growing season here in Sydee - raining, warm, humid. Will be mowing again today - if fact, right now before it gets too warm.
Not quite as far from the Equator as me then (currently about 56°N).
Zappa and I have occasionally had genial discussions about the optimal degree of latitude; mine would be anything above about 55°, and his ... wouldn't.
I think I discovered that about 15 - 0 degrees from the equator is my optimum. Beyond 15 and you start getting into that silly winter nonsense. And those other seasons. Reprehensible.
19 latitude does not have winter. Some locals might say otherwise, wrapped up in beanies and woollens at about 20 degrees in July (usually at around 5am) but all we have is summer, very summer and very very summer. I think you’d cope, Zappa.
Do you know how your First Peoples divided the year into seasons?
Where I am there are six seasons, some to do with wildlife available for food.
Thinking with great sympathy of Western Australia in those temperatures. Terrifying.
@LatchKeyKid older pre-colonial seasonal calendars relied on cosmology as well as seasonal signs for planting or hunting. I'd love to know more about hemispheric differences: here the nomadic Khoi spring would begin with digging up edible onions before green shoots appeared but guided by the ant-lion star sighted at dawn. The winter rains would be signalled by the weeks or month of 'star death' when the night skies would be obscured by smoke from wild fires and morning mists.
@Zappa will be applying for a transfer to WA. Onslow has just equalled the hottest reliably-recorded temperature for Australia at 50.7degC. Nearby locations at Roebourne and Mardie reached 50.5degC. Just a pleasant summer afternoon in the Pilbara.
It’s also one of the safest places to be, since the borders remain closed. How I wish we were there with Rexory, Adampater and co!
How is the Novak Djokevic Affair playing out in Australian press etc.?
The Minister and his advisors have made a real mess of things is the general impression. But an opinion commonly expressed is that we don't really want someone in the country who has not taken the very small steps required to minimise covid risk. That's the general line at coffee over the last few days. We read the papers very rarely.
@LatchKeyKid older pre-colonial seasonal calendars relied on cosmology as well as seasonal signs for planting or hunting. I'd love to know more about hemispheric differences: here the nomadic Khoi spring would begin with digging up edible onions before green shoots appeared but guided by the ant-lion star sighted at dawn. The winter rains would be signalled by the weeks or month of 'star death' when the night skies would be obscured by smoke from wild fires and morning mists.
This is the calendar of a neighbouring region Ngunya Jargoon
Just heard from my daughter who lives in the Far North of NZ about the volcano in Tonga. Those poor people.
Daughter says they've been told to stay off the beaches where they are , grandchildren are in their long summer holidays so will be unimpressed....
Stay safe southern hemisphere Shipmates!
My son in Opotiki says they have a tropical cyclone warning for the East Coast and Bay of Plenty as well as the possible tsunami from the Tongan Volcanic Event. But they have good civil defence warning systems, off-shore buoys measuring wave height, etc
I have been monitoring the news and am grateful there is no hint of it coming this far south. Since the quakes we have tsunami warning sirens here, which I hope never to hear again except at the beginning and end of daylight saving when they are tested.
We are on tsunami warning. No sirens installed in Oz AFAIK. I think at 5km inland, on a hill, and with hills between us and the sea we are sufficiently well protected.
I have been monitoring the news and am grateful there is no hint of it coming this far south. Since the quakes we have tsunami warning sirens here, which I hope never to hear again except at the beginning and end of daylight saving when they are tested.
I was wondering how you might get on. IIRC, Christchurch is reasonably flat, but you'd need a quite a wave to get far inland
The floor of the Cathedral (city centre) isn't far above sea level - less than 20 feet if I recall correctly (it's still being rebuilt so I can't go and check it out).
My house isn't in the most dangerous zone, but in the next most dangerous. If I hear the siren I'll put Aroha in a cage and get a lift inland with the neighbours - if they're home. The woman next door suggested it last time the sirens were tested. I think part of the problem is that both rivers, the Avon which flows through the city centre and the Heathcote are tidal for a fair way - the Avon until close to the city, the Heathcote for further inland than I live.
If no one with a vehicle is home then I either go further inland or head for the Port Hills, which is counter-intuitive as in would mean walking towards the sea. I probably should go and talk to someone in the City Council or Civil Defence about the best strategy.
Last time a friend came and picked me up a 2a.m (because there was dithering at civil defence about whether we should evacuate or not), but he ad to drive over 3 bridges to get here, which could be a danger in itself. For an earthquake the advice is to evacute if it was a strong one - which is a weird because a small one may feel strong if the epicentre is close or the quake is shallow.
20.3 feet, although another site says 20 metres, which I'm fairly sure is wrong, both from memory and because we weren't using metrics when it was built,
Madame thinks that 20.3 feet would be correct. She remembers one of the rivers running through a park/riverbank we walked along and says it was not far below us. We'll be remembering you.
A more urgent worry here at the moment is that omicron is now in the community. A Managed Isolation worker in Auckland has tested positive, but so far none of his close contacts have. He has apparently done all of the Right Things so my fingers are firmly crossed. I know it will happen at some time, but if it held off until the 5 to 11 year olds were vaccinated it would make things a bit easier, especially in Auckland where they have endured so much time in Lockdown.
On Tuesday (payday) I'm searching out a Tongan Church or community group. I haven't forgotten that the Kingdom of Tonga made a donation to Christchurch during the earthquakes. Such generosity from a small country moved me at the time and now there is an opportunity go some small way towards acknowledging their gift.
@Zappa will be applying for a transfer to WA. Onslow has just equalled the hottest reliably-recorded temperature for Australia at 50.7degC. Nearby locations at Roebourne and Mardie reached 50.5degC. Just a pleasant summer afternoon in the Pilbara.
It’s also one of the safest places to be, since the borders remain closed. How I wish we were there with Rexory, Adampater and co!
We will see how long that lasts, if McGowan sticks to his guns and opens the borders 5 Feb. We are currently all in masks again because of five local cases. I know ... five! But Omicron is entrepreneurial, it doesn't need much to work with, and its productivity returns are off the scale. I am not sanguine. Particularly as our premier doesn't appear to think our enormous budget surplus should be going into anything like hospitals and public health. God knows what he is going to do with it. I imagine some kind of glass receptacle a la Squid Game that he fills up with notes and ogles.
Haven't seen rexory personally for awhile, but I did catch up with AP not long ago.
Zap should totally come to WA! You know you want to. It doesn't get any hotter.
We are on tsunami warning. No sirens installed in Oz AFAIK. I think at 5km inland, on a hill, and with hills between us and the sea we are sufficiently well protected.
Yay< i don't have to find a Tongan church, the Mayor had said that there will be collection points in all the local libraries for money to be collected for Tonga.
I think both the Australian and NZ airforces have sent planes to survey the damage, and then international aid will follow.
Zap should totally come to WA! You know you want to. It doesn't get any hotter.
There was a thin sniff of it happening a few years back but was deleted, so to speak. Though to an often-cold part as it happens.
No, we're here amongst the icebergs for the duration now, I think. But we've got Jacinda. And Chris (Hipkins: the wonderful COVID-response Minister who looks about twelve but is doing a phenomenal job ...) and Ash[ley Bloomfield] who walks on water most of the time.
I guess I'll put up with a few sealions and penguins ...
Holiday Pt 1 in Thredbo has been great fun, heading direct to Part 2 at a beach location north of Sydney on Saturday. One of the 2 other families booked in for that annual event is down with the pestilence, so negotiating a potential replacement. Shame the weather forecast is for rain.
WA’s announcement that the border isn’t opening on 5 Feb, while not unexpected, is a bit of a blow. MrCurly Senior is going down hill with dementia and Mrs Curly Senior is not coping very well. I’d be heading over 3 times at least this year under normal circumstances. Letting it all sink in at the moment.
I plan to brighten the mood with one last walk among the snow gums later today.
Very sorry to hear the family news. It may sound cruel, but the faster Mr Senior's descent, the better for him and everyone else. Judging by seniors in our family, the descent is very unpleasant but once the vital stage, and memory goes, is reached all is very well. Prayers for you all.
WA’s announcement that the border isn’t opening on 5 Feb, while not unexpected, is a bit of a blow. MrCurly Senior is going down hill with dementia and Mrs Curly Senior is not coping very well. I’d be heading over 3 times at least this year under normal circumstances. Letting it all sink in at the moment.
Very sorry to hear this, curls. If I can help, please PM me.
Very sorry to hear this, curls. If I can help, please PM me.
Thanks DK. Curly Sister has first half of this year off as long service leave and along with her cute new puppy is going to be with Dad frequently so Mum can have some worry-free time at golf, bridge, etc. After being in denial for a while, appropriate care from geriatrician is now in place.
Cloudless, cool and slightly breezy at the top of Australia today. Did part of our favourite walk (Dead Horse Gap), did a few "why not?" lift/gondola rides and sent some of the party home (so they can play cricket tomorrow) so Mrs Curly, Little Miss and I will be here for our last night.
While I am sad that a holiday to see our shipmates in WA remains a distant dream (like the holiday to New Zealand) I wish it might have been possible to close borders in Qld. We are having a Clayton’s lockdown with Covid ripping through the community. Being in a state or country holding out to avoid it coming in at all would be a relief.
Poised to rip through here any day now ... I have to head to the Other Island this week and am not looking forwrd to being on a flying petrie Dish on the way home (ferry on the way north, and I always find an open deck on those ... last northward crossing the winds became unbleievably strong, and the crew forgot to shut level ten down, so Kuru and I had a ball on the top deck, unable to stand unassisted, watching the world go by).
Safe travels Zappa, and I hope things at the other end go as smoothly as possible,
I got caught out with the speed of the announcement here, but at least the furry member of the household has sufficient food and my toes won't be nibbled. I have enough too, but it will probably be a bit boring.
Comments
Kuruman and I were in Invagiggle yesterday ... 20C was a far-off dream. Fortunately the restaurant where we were meeting had a fire burning (I wasn't wearing thermals. Well not on the bottom half. TMI
It did get up to 17 after the clouds cleared around 3:00 p.m., but was sitting around 14 untill then.
Surely even you'd find 50° a tad on the warm side - that's where the dial on my oven starts!
Mine is more like "if below 20 Celsius, wear pants." I can't remember if I've told @Piglet about the time I saw an ambulance cart away an elderly gentleman in Stornaway who had collapsed due to the heat. It was a balmy 25 C.
(Of course, the gentleman in question was wearing about three inches thickness of tweed all over his person.)
I got boosted on Monday, and last of offspring got done yesterday. We're in self-imposed family lock down to make sure we can get away to Thredbo next week without taking the plague with us, or having to stay home. The family that were coming with us have fallen foul of young adult partying, with 2 positives and the rest in close contact isolation. So, just the 5 of us and one significant other rather than 13 all up.
Peak lawn growing season here in Sydee - raining, warm, humid. Will be mowing again today - if fact, right now before it gets too warm.
mr curly
Do you know how your First Peoples divided the year into seasons?
Where I am there are six seasons, some to do with wildlife available for food.
@LatchKeyKid older pre-colonial seasonal calendars relied on cosmology as well as seasonal signs for planting or hunting. I'd love to know more about hemispheric differences: here the nomadic Khoi spring would begin with digging up edible onions before green shoots appeared but guided by the ant-lion star sighted at dawn. The winter rains would be signalled by the weeks or month of 'star death' when the night skies would be obscured by smoke from wild fires and morning mists.
It’s also one of the safest places to be, since the borders remain closed. How I wish we were there with Rexory, Adampater and co!
The Minister and his advisors have made a real mess of things is the general impression. But an opinion commonly expressed is that we don't really want someone in the country who has not taken the very small steps required to minimise covid risk. That's the general line at coffee over the last few days. We read the papers very rarely.
I have an idea!
This is the calendar of a neighbouring region Ngunya Jargoon
Daughter says they've been told to stay off the beaches where they are , grandchildren are in their long summer holidays so will be unimpressed....
Stay safe southern hemisphere Shipmates!
I was wondering how you might get on. IIRC, Christchurch is reasonably flat, but you'd need a quite a wave to get far inland
My house isn't in the most dangerous zone, but in the next most dangerous. If I hear the siren I'll put Aroha in a cage and get a lift inland with the neighbours - if they're home. The woman next door suggested it last time the sirens were tested. I think part of the problem is that both rivers, the Avon which flows through the city centre and the Heathcote are tidal for a fair way - the Avon until close to the city, the Heathcote for further inland than I live.
If no one with a vehicle is home then I either go further inland or head for the Port Hills, which is counter-intuitive as in would mean walking towards the sea. I probably should go and talk to someone in the City Council or Civil Defence about the best strategy.
Last time a friend came and picked me up a 2a.m (because there was dithering at civil defence about whether we should evacuate or not), but he ad to drive over 3 bridges to get here, which could be a danger in itself. For an earthquake the advice is to evacute if it was a strong one - which is a weird because a small one may feel strong if the epicentre is close or the quake is shallow.
A more urgent worry here at the moment is that omicron is now in the community. A Managed Isolation worker in Auckland has tested positive, but so far none of his close contacts have. He has apparently done all of the Right Things so my fingers are firmly crossed. I know it will happen at some time, but if it held off until the 5 to 11 year olds were vaccinated it would make things a bit easier, especially in Auckland where they have endured so much time in Lockdown.
On Tuesday (payday) I'm searching out a Tongan Church or community group. I haven't forgotten that the Kingdom of Tonga made a donation to Christchurch during the earthquakes. Such generosity from a small country moved me at the time and now there is an opportunity go some small way towards acknowledging their gift.
A shopkeeper in Onslow was on the news tonight saying, "50 degrees? I'm originally from Scotland and we don't often get that kind of weather there".
If we're talking 50° C, the rate of occurrence in Scotland = 0. If 50° F, normal most of the time (today is a high of 6° C ie not bad for January).
We will see how long that lasts, if McGowan sticks to his guns and opens the borders 5 Feb. We are currently all in masks again because of five local cases. I know ... five! But Omicron is entrepreneurial, it doesn't need much to work with, and its productivity returns are off the scale. I am not sanguine. Particularly as our premier doesn't appear to think our enormous budget surplus should be going into anything like hospitals and public health. God knows what he is going to do with it. I imagine some kind of glass receptacle a la Squid Game that he fills up with notes and ogles.
Haven't seen rexory personally for awhile, but I did catch up with AP not long ago.
Zap should totally come to WA! You know you want to. It doesn't get any hotter.
I trust all ended up ok?
I think both the Australian and NZ airforces have sent planes to survey the damage, and then international aid will follow.
There was a thin sniff of it happening a few years back but was deleted, so to speak. Though to an often-cold part as it happens.
No, we're here amongst the icebergs for the duration now, I think. But we've got Jacinda. And Chris (Hipkins: the wonderful COVID-response Minister who looks about twelve but is doing a phenomenal job ...) and Ash[ley Bloomfield] who walks on water most of the time.
I guess I'll put up with a few sealions and penguins ...
Also - Dr Ashley Bloomfield the Director-General of Health - I second Zappa's opinion about him doing a brilliant job under pressure.
A bit cooler here too, 25,
after a week of unbearable humidity. Booster vax done today, so far no side effects.
WA’s announcement that the border isn’t opening on 5 Feb, while not unexpected, is a bit of a blow. MrCurly Senior is going down hill with dementia and Mrs Curly Senior is not coping very well. I’d be heading over 3 times at least this year under normal circumstances. Letting it all sink in at the moment.
I plan to brighten the mood with one last walk among the snow gums later today.
mr curly
Very sorry to hear this, curls. If I can help, please PM me.
Thanks DK. Curly Sister has first half of this year off as long service leave and along with her cute new puppy is going to be with Dad frequently so Mum can have some worry-free time at golf, bridge, etc. After being in denial for a while, appropriate care from geriatrician is now in place.
Cloudless, cool and slightly breezy at the top of Australia today. Did part of our favourite walk (Dead Horse Gap), did a few "why not?" lift/gondola rides and sent some of the party home (so they can play cricket tomorrow) so Mrs Curly, Little Miss and I will be here for our last night.
mr curly.
I got caught out with the speed of the announcement here, but at least the furry member of the household has sufficient food and my toes won't be nibbled. I have enough too, but it will probably be a bit boring.