A.C. Flory's Blog, page 139
August 11, 2015
Should Australians demand a new flag?
The flag at the top is the current flag which ties Australia to Great Britain. I don’t like that. I also don’t like the aesthetic. It is not distinctive, but it is ugly.
By contrast, the second flag is the current Aboriginal flag and the one I would like to represent us to the rest of the world. It shrieks ‘the sunburnt country’ and the past we share with the First Australians. No one looking at that flag could mistake it for anything but the Australian flag. And it is beautiful.
We Australians did not have the courage to own Waltzing Matilda as our National Anthem; I hope that sometime in the near future we will have the courage to own our shared heritage by adopting the Aboriginal flag. I think that would be a better sign of respect than a handful of dry words in the constitution.
Am I alone in this?
Meeks
Filed under: My soap box Tagged: Aboriginal-flag, Australia, boring, distinctive, flag, the-sunburnt-country
August 7, 2015
Empire of Angels [from Two Steps From Hell]
I have loved the music of Two Steps from Hell for a few years now, and it was perfect for the soundtrack to Vokhtah, but for Innerscape I needed something softer and more romantic. Enter Jo Blankenburg and the start of another love affair with music.
Unfortunately, as the mood of a story changes, so must the music that underscores it. That is why this latest phase of the Innerscape story [yes, I’m at it again] sent me hunting for new music, and I found it right here:
The composer, Thomas Bergersen, is actually one half of the music writing superteam of Two Steps From Hell, but in this solo album he lets his softer, more romantic side loose, and I couldn’t be happier. In fact, there is even a track in 3/4 time [waltz time]. As soon as I heard that track I knew this new album was for me.
I hope you like it as much as I do. :)
Meeks
Filed under: Music Tagged: Empire-of-Angels, EPIC, Innerscape, music, Thomas-Bergersen, Two-Steps-From-Hell, writing
August 6, 2015
Writing and the Unsung Heroes: Enter the Expert
Your jaw will hit the floor when you read how much research DV puts into her books. And while you’re being amazed, why not give this latest Leine Basso story a try? If it’s anything like the previous ones, Cargo will be a very fun read!
Originally posted on DV Berkom Books:
How many times have you watched a movie in a theater and actually stayed through the credits? You know, when stuff like “Best Boy Grip” or “Assistant to Mega Star” or “Star Stalker Head Buster” is listed on-screen? With all the films adding extra scenes at the end these days, it’s almost mandatory.
The sheer number of people required to make a movie always amazes me. The idea’s hard to wrap your head around, right? What? They need that many assistants for what’s his face because he rocks his inner diva better than a Kardashian?
Well, it got me thinking (be afraid) about what goes into writing a novel. Novelism (okay, not a word, but it should be) does not always involve the solitary wordsmith slaving away in a garret in Paris with only a flagon of wine and five-year-old cheese to sustain her. Oh, contraire, mes amis (and yes…
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Filed under: Uncategorized
August 5, 2015
A [small] flood with big consequences
Warrandyte is a very hilly area, and my house is near the crest of a hill so even heavy downpours simply flow away from us. See exhibit A to the left.
Thanks to my poor photography, the land in the photo looks flat, but it’s actually very steep. If you click on the photo you will see a much larger version in which you can just see the roof of the house down the bottom of my block. That should give you some idea of the actual lay of the land.
Unfortunately, even a well-placed block cannot compensate for owner stupidity [mine]. Explaining what I did wrong will require a few more pictures :
This first photo is of the area leading to my firefighting pumps. To protect them, I had a pump-house built. Nothing wrong with that. To further protect them I had a wall built in front of the pump-house with an earth berm on the other side [the idea is that fire will rush up the hill and be deflected over the pump-house]. Also not a bad idea, especially as I had an ‘agi’ pipe laid to carry away any water that might flow into the pump-house area.
So what went wrong?
Well, late last year I had this idea of laying flat paving type stones in front of the the pump-house. My reasoning was sound; every north wind deposited heaps of eucalyptus leaves and branches in front of the pump-house. This debris was not only a potential hazard during a fire but also a real pain to clear. [I’d originally covered the ground in a layer of big pebbles, and you can’t sweep pebbles].
Long story short, I thought the drainage in the area would not be affected if I simply placed paving stones on a thin bed of sand…
I was right, and I was wrong. Light showers drained away without any dramas, but as I discovered to my horror, two days of solid, pouring rain just collected in the pump-house area as if it were a very big bucket.
I don’t have any pictures as it was 2am and I was too busy bailing water with a bucket to remember my camera. To give you some idea though, I was wearing gumbies [knee high rubber boots] and the water reached above my ankles.
When bailing was not having an appreciable effect, I tried pulling up the paving stones in the pitch black… Needless to say I eventually gave up and went to bed.
Since that awful night I’ve pulled up the pavers and dug up most of the agi pipe to check if it was working. It was. See exhibit C below:
[Note: agi pipe is agricultural pipe that has holes or slots cut into it. The idea is that water seeps in through the holes and then flows away through the pipe]
So what went wrong? The sand, that’s what. I’d used very fine sand and it basically just clogged up. Water did seep through but very slowly, and so when the flood happened, the water could not drain away fast enough.
Digging all this out has been a back-breaking job, and I still have not been game to test the pumps, but I think they’ll be okay. -fingers crossed behind back- Once I finish, I’m going to hire in someone to install a grate the full length of the agi pipe [in front of the pumps]. Then I’m going to get the rest of the area properly concreted. I shudder to think how much it will cost, but DIY got me into this fix in the first place so I’m not game to learn concreting as a hobby.
Anyone else with DIY horror stories? Please tell so I don’t feel quite so alone [and stupid]. :(
Meeks
Filed under: bushfires [Australia] Tagged: agi-pipe, DIY, earth-berm, fire-fighting-pumps, flood, pump-house, Warrandyte
August 2, 2015
#istandwithadam
This post says it all. #IstandwithAdam too.
Originally posted on Anne Lawson:
If you live in Australia the chances are high that my heading will make sense to you, even if you live in the non-Aussie Rules Football states or you don’t follow any of the football codes. If you are overseas let me take a little time to explain.
I was going to post about mutton birds and about dogs and ladders, but I am compelled to write in support of Adam Goodes. The other subjects will keep.
Adam Goodes is an Aboriginal man who is, rightly, very proud of his heritage and takes a stand against racism. He was the Australian of the Year in 2014. He is a very talented football player and has won the Brownlow medal, the AFL’s Best and Fairest award, not once but twice! He comes across as a thoughtful, intelligent person who wants to use his status to do some good.
Not a person who would…
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Filed under: Uncategorized
July 26, 2015
How to make an egg sandwich…if you’re a robot
Was literally eating my muesli when I stumbled across this gem – two robot arms making a rather odd egg sandwich:
Off to work. Happy Monday.
Meeks0.
Filed under: Uncategorized
July 23, 2015
A steampunk submarine?
I love all things tech, even weird tech, and the star of Candy Korman’s post today is perhaps the weirdest I’ve ever come across.
‘The Duikboot model was based on the innovative design for a submarine by Antoine Lipkens and built of copper, brass, iron, lead glass and rope by Olke Uhlembeck in 1835/40.’
The steampunk submarine was never built – for obvious reasons – but just the thought of it makes me smile. There’s a picture of it on Candy’s blog and I strongly suggest reading the whole thing:
http://www.candysmonsters.com/steampunk-summer-moment/#comment-2793
I hope this makes you smile too. Cheers,
Meeks
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Candy-Korman, Dutch, model, museum, Steampunk, submarine
July 22, 2015
Libraries as publishers?
The Windsor Public Library [in Canada] may be the first [?] library to create paperbacks for Indies, but I suspect it won’t be the last. And I’ll be at the head of the queue when my local library gets a POD machine!
Wondering what I’m talking about? Follow the link below to read about a very forward thinking library that is doing print-on-demand [POD] for it’s members:
And before anyone mentions the name ‘Createspace’, I know, we can all create POD versions of our books on Amazon. But…
while Createspace may be very reasonably priced, the postage to Australia is not,
and nothing beats the convenience of going to your local library and having a real person solve problems for you, in real time.
I don’t know when POD machines will come to libraries in Australia, but I for one can’t wait. Just think, if I managed to publish one book per year, I’d have Christmas presents solved for life. ;)
cheers
Meeks
Filed under: On Writing Tagged: advantages, Canada, library, machine, new-tech, POD, print-on-demand, Windsor
July 16, 2015
Old companies recycling their business models and making a profit
July 13, 2015
The making of a Katana – the traditional way
