Monday 26 September 2011

Snake! What to do, What not to do.

We have a snake at our place right now, somewhere...


Eastern Brown Snake

Yesterday afternoon a lady visiting our neighbor over the road knocked on the door and let us know she had spotted a brown snake sunning itself in our driveway as she drove up to park opposite. Of course the snake sensed the vibration of the approaching vehicle and made itself scarce straight away. 

I have no idea where it is now but there were some worthwhile things to do around the place to lower the risk for us and our neighbors.

I've been keeping an eye out for him but haven't spotted him yet. Based on the description I've got him figured for either an Eastern Brown or a King Brown snake.

This morning early I got out the beast, my big 4 stroke motor mower, and attacked all the salt bush and undergrowth along the drive, in the native plant quarter of the yard and down the bottom of the back yard. Chances are if he was still around this morning he's long gone now. Snakes don't like noise much. I fixed the side fence up to give him less ways to get about the place and generally tidied up the yard to remove any nice snake hiding places.

We have double blocks either side of our place that are fairly overgrown with salt bush, native grasses and wildfowers so I suspect he's been camped out on the left side property as there is water there and an old derilict cottage to give him a place to hunt mice and nesting birds.

The do's and the don'ts of snakes:
There are some simple enough rules to follow with snakes. Do stand still when you spot one. They have a really short memory and will soon forget you are there. If you've got a camera with you now is a great time to grab a shot but don't try to get closer or move around to get a better angle.

Don't try to hit him with a stick or a broom. Don't chuck things at him trying to kill him or scare him away. A snake will not just rock up to you and bite you. He will bite you if you give him a reason. Don't try to pick him up. Back away from the snake very slowly after you have stood still for a couple of minutes and leave him well enough alone. He's not interested in you he's just getting some sun or looking for prey or water.

A good Australian Snake website, including some stories about snakebite: http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian_snakes.html#whatshouldido


Common or Eastern Brown Snake Pseudonaja textilis
brownsnake1brownsnaked1The Brown Snake may be found all over Australia. It has extremely potent venom, and although the quantity of venom injected is usually small, this snake causes more snakebite deaths in Australia than any other. Sudden and relatively early deaths have been recorded. Its venom causes severe coagulation disturbances, neurotoxicity, and occasionally nephrotoxicity (by a direct action of the venom), but not rhabdomyolysis. The Gwardir is also known as the Western Brown snake, and the Dugite is a spotted brown snake found in Western Australia. All need brown snake antivenom. See also Venom Supplies brown snake pagesAVRU brown snake info (Eastern BrownDugiteGwardar, and treatmentAustralian Reptile ParkWikipedia. Some more local pics:



King Brown or Mulga snake Pseudechis australis
kingbrownkingbrowndThe king brown (or mulga) snake is found in all arid parts of Australia, and has the greatest venom output, with neurotoxic, coagulopthic and myotoxic actions, but of relatively low toxicity. It has a strongly defined dark crosshatched pattern on its scales, and is more related to the black snakes than the brown. The king brown needs black snake antivenom. See also Venom SuppliesAVRU Mulga page.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Japan have Found a New Wind Turbine Design to Take The Lead

Japanese Researchers Crack the Turbine Stall Issues Using Vortex Design



In the wake of the nuclear disaster in Japan there is some good news emerging from the battling nation. University studies on vortex patterns and the effect they have on wind energy have resulted in the development of the wind lens.

The lens is a simple funnel designed to encircle a relatively otherwise standard turbine and cause downstream eddies to form vortex energy to drive the turbine to far higher energy production. This phenomenon is also known as the venturi effect.

The University is claiming 2 to 3 times the energy production at optimum wind speeds over standard turbine machines. They have also developed an interesting honeycomb array platform for ocean deployment. Winds are far more reliable offshore than on land.

Take a look at this news video for further details:




Thursday 22 September 2011

New Solar Power Generating Technology Is Coming




Okayama Solar Absorbers Use “Green Ferrite” to Generate Super-Cheap Electricity from Heat

This could be the big breakthrough I've been expecting for a couple of years now. I have been reluctant to install a bunch of PVE panels on my roof given it's basically 30 year old technology. I wrote about that here:
http://www.squidoo.com/cling-film-solar-cells-could-lead-to-advance-in-renewable-energy-

It makes a great deal of sense to harness the thermal energy of the sun and not just the light. The point of view I've always held is that you will gain more from installing thermal collectors than PVE, dollar for dollar invested. In other words, install a solar water heater before you look into PVE investment. In fact this can be done with ridiculous ease at very low cost: http://www.squidoo.com/real-free-energy-honest-build-a-solar-batch-heater-

I have a great deal of admiration for the tenacity and intellect of the Japanese, It looks like they may lead the world again in technology development. If this pans out PVE technology will be obsolete.

There is so much energy available in solar radiation as thermal energy it simply makes sense to learn how to harness it as well as the visible light spectrum. I don't know about the x1000 claim, that may well be media hype, but otherwise this study sounds promising.
I'm more hopeful than ever right now for a new roof made entirely out of collector coated Aussie colorbond corrugated steel, that is the ideal outcome for me.


Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/13imq)

Okayama Graduate School of Science and Technology is one of many developing solar cells and batteries, but its research team, led by one Professor Naoshi Ikeda, has a unique approach. Instead of silicon, currently the standard component in solar cells, the Okayama team is using an iron oxide compound it calls “green ferrite,” or GF. Professor Ikeda has gone so far as to claim his product will produce 100x the amount of energy as a traditional silicon solar cell.
Part of the increase in energy production would come from the infra-red spectrum — solar cells do not currently convert heat into electricity, but apparently the green ferrite has that capability. Professor Ikeda speculates that any area collecting waste heat (the ceiling of your kitchen, for example) could serve as a home for a GF solar cell.

The team’s goal is to create a battery capable of generating 1KW of energy for 1/1000th of the cost of a traditional silicon solar cell, which comes out to about 1000 yen ($12 American) per GF cell. The GF cells, which currently use green ferrite in a powdered form, should also allow for some flexibility in solar panel shape, which means they could be wrapped around things like chimneys or telephone poles. As the early tests have been fairly successful, the Okayama team is hoping for a usable product by 2013.

Source | Picture: MSN Sankei
Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/13imq)

Top 15 Best all Time Australian Music Hits

Australian Music at it's Best


G'day thanks for dropping by, here is a compilation of the 15 greatest all time Aussie music hits to entertain you. This was a tricky list to compile, I spent a lot of time deciding what to include and what to reject. Even sorting the final selection into an order was interesting.



I've settled on this list as I believe it best represents the music of Australia to a wider audience beyond Australia. If you're from overseas you should be familiar with many of these hits, although there will be a few you've likely never heard here too, I hope you enjoy listening to the short excerpts in this music video.

15 You're the voice - John Farnham

14 Reckless (don't be so) - Australian Crawl

13 What's my scene - Hoodoo Gurus

12 Holy grail - Hunters & Collectors

11 Take me back - Noiseworks

10 Need you tonight - INXS

9 Thunderstruck - AC/DC

8 Sounds of then (this is Australia) - GANGgajang

7 Beds are burning - Midnight Oil

6 Am I ever gonna see your face again - The Angels

5 You shook me all night long - AC/DC

4 Working class man - Cold Chisel

3 Great southern land - Icehouse

2 Downunder - Men At Work


1 Khe Sahn - Cold Chisel


Wednesday 21 September 2011

Breakthrough in wind turbine technology makes cheap energy




Wind energy production below 4 cents kW/h competes with coal and gas. 

Great news for Australian mining sector.
US company Boulder Wind Power has come up with a turbine design which produces electricity at or below $0.04 per kilowatt-hour. This puts wind in direct competition with fossil fuel power generation. The company has come up with a generator design that does not require the scarce metal dysprosium. This metal is very expensive and has been the stumbling bock for wind turbines as well as electric vehicles.
The scarcity and cost of rare earth metals are the choke for a clean future at this point. Luckily for Australia, the most resource rich nation on the planet, we are second only to china when it comes to rare earth reserves. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/goodbye-fossil-fuel-dependence-hello-rare-earth-dependence.php
The design also requires less structural steel than traditional turbine construction and does not require expensive laminated steels. No doubt the new design does use some form of rare earth metals, just not dysprosium. The mining corporation Molycorp, Inc. has announced plans to invest in Boulder Wind Power.

So there is no doubt they are positioning as a supplier to reap the rewards of this expanding energy industry sector. Having solved the need for the rarest earth metal, this technology should see a marked increase and expansion in the use of permanent magnet turbines around the world. This is big news, the director of the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory is all over this story, giving it big ups.
Well Molycorp, keep your eyes wide open would be my advice. Because once BHP Billiton get involved in this market your market share will look like chook food compared to a whole bullock spit roast.


Tuesday 20 September 2011

DIY Solar Hot Water How to Build a Solar Batch Water Heater

Building your own Solar Water Heater
Can be cheap, fun and very worthwhile.

 Solar Batch Water Heater

It's not all that difficult to build your own Solar Batch Water Heater and the results are well worth the time and effort. Free hot water from the sun is an awesome thing, particularly when you consider the energy savings and the significant amount of money you can save on your power bills. These water heaters are also sometimes referred to as Bread Box Solar Water Heaters or even the complex sounding name of Integral Passive Solar Water Heater.

All you really need are some basic carpentry skills and tools, a tank that doesn't leak, some black paint, some shiny builders foil, a sheet of tempered glass, a pile of insulation, some timber and some sheet exterior cladding. There are lots of ways to optimize your Solar Batch Water Heater project, but really all you need is a tank with the cold water fed to the inlet in a well insulated box under glass pointed at the sun and you'll definitely get at least some hot water for free from the outlet. 

The idea is you take that heated water and connect it to the inlet of your existing conventional water heater, that way when the sun doesn't shine the existing appliance will heat your water just like it always did. On the other hand when the sun is out the water being fed through the system can quite likely be hot enough that the thermostat does not switch on your electricity or gas to heat the already hot water. It's a simple reliable system and fail safe too.

 Batch solar water heater diagram


That is the greatest strength of the Solar Batch Water Heater, it has zero moving parts, no controllers, no microchips, no circuitry, no pumps or other mechanical devices to fail in service. A well built Batch Heater can last for 25 to 30 years without any major problems.

I would strongly advise getting a licenced plumber involved for the plumbing connections to your batch heater but beyond that, the rest you can do in your shed or backyard in a couple of days once you have gathered the materials. 

Now if you are thinking about giving this a go yourself I'd suggest at the least you read through some of my more in depth posts to get a solid grounding in the theory and practical application of Batch Solar Heaters. They can be found Here, also here and here. The first article also contains a video of yours truly describing the system fully and discussing some of the plumbing considerations to ensure you are safe.

A final word of warning, don't mess with hot water plumbing if you have no idea what's going on. Stored energy is dangerous when it's played with by amateurs.





Monday 19 September 2011

Giant Guide Dog Tours Regional NSW, Headed for Broken Hill

Gulliver the Giant Guide Dog is on Tour from Sydney to Broken Hill


 Giant guide dog

A guide dog 4.3m high is doing a tour across NSW to educate towns and communities about the role Guide Dogs NSW/ACT plays in helping people with crook eyesight in regional areas. He is spreading the message that there is help available in the bush and the outback.

When Gulliver gets to Broken Hill on the 29th of September he will have completed an epic 10,000 km tour across most of Eastern Australia. More than a third of people with visual impairment live in regional and rural areas. After completing his visit in the Silver City the giant guide dog is off to South Australia to continue spreading the message to outback people.

Western NSW regional manager Ben Schwarz says:
“Like Gulliver on his travels, our instructors travel to wherever our free services are required. Guide Dogs come to you - your home or workplace, be that in town or an outback station. Teaching you how to find your way around your particular environment is our top priority.”

You don't have to be completely blind to get some help. Part of the purpose of the big tour is letting regional people know they should seek help early to avoid related problems like fall injuries and depression.

“Our free mobility services can help to reduce these problems and improve your independence and quality of life,” said Mr Schwarz.

“Our instructors are local people who understand the challenges facing those in regional and rural areas,” said Mr Schwarz. “Our services are tailored to meet your needs, so if your problem is night vision, we will work with you at night.”

For more information about Guide Dog services contact them in Orange on 02 6362 6625, or visit www.guidedogs.com.au, Facebook, or Twitter.

Handwash Dishes More Efficiently with a Dish Draining Overhead Cabinet

Save energy and effort in the kitchen
Let the dishes dry themselves!


Little know outside of Finland is the Dish Draining Cabinet. It's a simple idea really, after hand washing the dishes normally we then grab a tea towel and dry each item individually before putting it away. The other method is to leave all the dishes stacked in a rack on the draining board of the sink.

My better half really hates it when I don't finish the job and dry the dishes, put them all away and leave the kitchen benches and sink clean and bare. This fantastic Finnish Invetion could be the ideal solution to the problem.

The dish draining cabinet is a simple cupboard that is mounted above the kitchen sink normally. It combines the normal appearing exterior of an overhead cabinet with draining racks instead of solid bases to each compartment.

 dish drying cabinet


A bloke from Finland called Maiju Gebhard invented the "astiankuivauskaappi" in the 1940's. At the time he calculated that the average amount of time drying dishes by hand throughout a lifetime was a whopping 30,000 hours.

Probably not commercially available outside Finland, But any half capable DIY type could soon enough bang up a dish drying closet with an old kitchen cabinet and a few wire racks.


You can see more photos here and here. You can go and read about the dish draining closet on Wikipedia, If you're really exited about this, become a fan of the astiankuivauskaappi on Facebook. You can also see the setup in use in Italy.

Sunday 18 September 2011

Broken Hill Makes it Onto the Top 10 Domestic Assault List



Broken Hill Police kept busy with domestic violence:


A Broken Hill police officer says he is not surprised the outback city is in the top 10 areas for domestic assault in the state, and the real rate could be higher, as many incidents go unreported.

The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research indicates that Broken Hill was ranked the seventh highest local government area in New South Wales for reported domestic violence during 2010. The bureau says 166 incidents were recorded in the outback town and adjoining district last year and that 19 out of the 20 top areas for reported domestic assault were in regional or rural New South Wales.

Detective Inspector Mick Stoltenberg says people are reporting domestic incidents in Broken Hill but more needs to be done.

"Over the last few years the focus of our command has been increasing the amount of reporting of domestic crime, bring it out from behind closed doors so people can get the support and protection that they need," he said.

I really think the solution here is about addressing the behavior behind the battery, education and social opinion are worthwhile enough demotivators for this pathetic and cowardly behavior, but way more needs to be done. If the government are serious about controlling the sectors of society responsible for the bulk of violent crime then they need to better deal with the binge drinking, the drug abuse, the family issues and the ingrained attitudes of the poorer rural Australian sector.

A ruthless but certain solution in my opinion would be to make certain social security payments simply cannot be used to purchase alcohol. Distribute these financial supports as vouchers for food, rent, and essential services and a huge chunk of the problem will disappear.


 domestic violence

Detective Inspector Stoltenberg also says:
"A lot of western parts of NSW have suffered with centralisation, which has led to higher rates of unemployment, with that comes financial issues, alcohol, just a lot of pressures that are applied upon people. It's pointless having our young children growing up thinking that it's okay for mum and dad to beat the hell out of each other."

He says Broken Hill police are working with children but more need to be educated to break the cycle of violence in the home.

"Just trying to get the message out about that this type of offence, or offences, just aren't on, about breaking that cycle,"


Good on ya Mick and good luck. It's a bugger of a job you blokes have got and I'm bloody glad you're there for us.

Saturday 17 September 2011

Australia defeated by Ireland in RWC2011



 Ireland beat the Wallabies

Well I'll be absolutely buggered, The Green men, Ireland have defeated the Wallabies in their pool C match today in New Zealand. This is the first serious upset in the Rugby World Cup for 2011. Ireland put the boot into Wallabies and not a shamrock in sight! Oh dear...

The Wallabies have a winning record against Ireland they have won 20 of their 29 match ups. When this match was drawn for RWC2011 Australia were the hot favourites on paper. It is true that these two countries have produced some epic matches during the last few years. This time was certainly no exception.
AUCKLAND, 17 Sept. - Ireland go to town on Australia's Rugby World Cup hopes with a 15-6 victory in their Pool C game at Eden Park on Saturday night. Australia have one of the slickest, most experienced backlines in the tournament but they failed to deliver the goods, the Irish got home on the merit of four penalties and a drop goal before a crowd of 58,678.

As much as full back Kurtley Beale tried to weave his magic, Ireland stood firm with solid battering defense that effectively shut down the flamboyant Wallaby running game.

"It was the performance we knew we had in us," said Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll.
"You could swear you were in Dublin with this crowd and it was our job to give them something to cheer about."

If you are interested in the Rugby World Cup 2011 I have a full site of information, articles and news posted up over at Squidoo, please take a look: http://www.squidoo.com/rugby-world-cup-news

Friday 16 September 2011

Japan vs All Blacks, World Cup Rugby

You've gotta take yer hat off to the Japanese.

They played with spirit and dignity and managed an intercept try against the Black machine, plenty saki tonight boys!

 Japan build up hope, sizing up the All Blacks before kick off

Japan rugby team face the All Blacks Haka

Please go and visit my Rugby World Cup 2011 News site: http://www.squidoo.com/rugby-world-cup-news
If you would like to build some demotivators yourself head on over to Cheezburger: http://cheezburger.com/Builder

The score? All Blacks 83 Japan 7.

Insulating and shading your home

Insulating and shading your home:

"The hold no punches, no BS guide to Insulating, shading and weatherproofing your home.

Taking the time to insulate, address the shading and paying some attention to weatherproofing your house can save a great deal of money off your heating and cooling costs. Many sources in Australia claim anything up to 45 per cent overall savings. Making an effort to minimise the amount of heating or cooling energy you spend keeping your home comfortable in our extremes of climate will also naturally reduce your contribution to global warming.

shadesails on a house
Shading is vital in the summer months.


Well thought out placement of trees, both deciduous and evergreen, and often most suitable of all, fast growing natives to shade the north western side of your house in summer can save a great deal of energy. There are many inexpensive and attractive ways to make your home more comfortable and all you need to do is look around for ideas."

To read the rest of this no nonsense guide head over to my Squidoo lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/insulating-and-shading-your-home

Thursday 15 September 2011

Canberra | Climate Reality

Canberra | Climate Reality:

Australian politicians in Canberra are already scratching collective heads and parrying for position in order to milk votes from the Australian voting public over the issues presented by climate change. The vast bulk of Australia is already arid or semi arid and water restrictions are a part of everyday life for most east coast Aussies. In the last three decades droughts have been more severe and longer lasting than ever before in recorded Australian history. We have also seen an exponential increase in the intensity of, and risk to lives and property from bush fires.

Meanwhile off the north Queensland coast climate change poses very real risk of calamity for the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef environment in the world. The reef is home to an amazing diversity of life. More variegated and profuse than anywhere else on earth, with thousands of species of fish, corals, plants, birds and marine mammals. Sadly it only takes a small rise in ocean temperature to cause the corals to shut down and die. The whole ecosystem would collapse in short order from there.



 map of Australia superimposed with Australian flag graphic
Australia

This article links to the Climate Reality Project, 24 presenters, 24 timezones 1 message. With nearly 4 million viewers as I write this post this is a message for the world, locally, wherever you are.

 clownfish on the great barrier reef
Clownfish, Great Barrier Reef QLD Australia.                                                                                                        hakamike.com




Evaporative cooling

Evaporative cooling for hot arid climates.   Evaporative cooling:

An evaporative cooler is the ideal economical way to cool homes and businesses in hot dry climates. Far cheaper to run than refrigerated air conditioning, evaporative coolers are also known as swamp coolers, desert coolers and wet air coolers are a simple solution to desert zone cooling needs."

 evaporative cooler installed on roof

This is my recently installed roof mount evaporative cooler. The reverse cycle spit system has now been permanently switched off at the fuse box, we just don't need it now. I'm really pleased with the significant saving that showed up on the power bill for last summer compared to the previous years when we were relying on the split system and an old window mounted evap unit.

Please head over to my Squidoo lens for the whole story: http://www.squidoo.com/evaporative-cooling

Wednesday 14 September 2011

And God said "Let there be time for chilling out"

God decided after getting stuck into all that creation and stuff it was time for a breather. 

And that is how the smoko break came into being. God, being God already knew that all His beautiful work on the creation gig was only destined to be debunked in a few thousand short years time by a bloke called Darwin. So anyways, he just chilled for a while till he started getting all matey matey , kill yer firstborn with Abraham, but that's another story of course...

So because he was God, he decided is was a good plan to pop down to earth every coupla hundred years to chill out once in a while and let it slide, no point getting all fire and brimstone all the time. When he was here recently having a breather from all that God stuff, the paparazzi were right onto it! These amazing shots lay bare the God of earthly vacations:


God asks adam to pull his finger


funny strip of pictures with God engaging in leisure activities

Make sure you head over to Cheezburger to see more Memebase and check out the Troll Face lols!

Bessell, the outback renovator.

G'day there, this is a yarn about my good mate and neighbor Bessell. This bloke is a king amongst the do it yourself crowd, the undisputed heavyweight champion of renovation in my humble opinion.
Bessell is a Painter and Decorator by trade, but he could just as well be a licenced builder, steel engineer or a cabinetmaker given the extent of work he has undertaken and the attention to detail he shows.

 Bessell

A man has to love what he does in order to do it exceptionally well and Bessell obviously loves renovating, the amazing transformation of his home over the years is a testament to his dedication and hard bloody work.
I often sleep in on the weekends and wake to the sounds of grinders, drills, air compressors or nail guns. It is fascinating just watching his progress and seeing the current project coming together bit by bit.

 Old dump

newly renovated exterior

Take a look at the lounge room, from outback traditional crap decor complete with the old cast iron fireplace  and soot stained walls to a room wide hand crafted entertainment unit done in selected timbers and lacquered to perfection. Every room in the house has undergone this transformation. He's not done yet either, even while I'm sitting here in my warm office typing this story on a very cold winters morning Bessell is hard at it on his hands and knees grouting tiles in his bathroom.

 old lounge room

 new loungeroom joinery

Bessell constructed these huge carport areas single handed. This was no kitset shipped with instructions, he designed it and built it entirely himself one piece at a time. What's more amazing is the bulk of this work was completed through the months of December and January a couple of summers ago. The temperature was often above 40 degrees during the day.

carports

The saying is a Man's house is his castle and I reckon for Bessell this is true for sure, His love for fine work and dedication to detail is a bloody credit to him. He shows an unusual restraint for a renovator too, most gung ho DIY types wont pay for a tradesman, they "Know better". Bessell is smart enough to know where to draw the line, he has engaged a licenced Electrician and a licenced Plumber where warranted in the course of his work to ensure the job complies with the relevant Australian Standards and this ensures he is covered in the event of a need to claim on his home insurance should something go wrong with the wiring or plumbing. Most homeowners don't realise they void their insurance cover if they carry out work they are not licenced to do. Top job Bessell, my place could use some of your attention when yer done, I want to extend out the back but the Missus wants to go out the driveway side... Strike me days!  






Tuesday 13 September 2011

Flash Mobs


What is a flash mob?

A flash mob or flashmob is an activity of performance art or social experiment which occurs when a group of people all converge suddenly and seemingly at random upon a pre determined public place and dance, sing, or otherwise act in unison in a performance for a short time before dispersing as quickly as they gathered.

Flash mobs are organised via mobile phones, email, and predominantly using social media platforms. Sometimes these performances can occur with little to no rehearsal or preparation prior to the event.

Head over to my article at: http://www.squidoo.com/amazing-flash-mobs


A flash mob gathering doing it's thing
A flash mob in action


Richie McCaw Tribute


This post is dedicated to the best Rugby Union openside flanker in the world today, Ritchie McCaw. A player who shows incredible skill and experience on the Rugby field every time he runs on.


Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw was born on the 31st of December in 1980 in Oamaru, North Otago. Ritchie is a New Zealand professional Rugby Union player, and is the current test captain of the New Zealand All Blacks. He plays in the openside flanker position for the All Blacks, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams.

Ritchie McCaw the best openside flanker in Rugby today

McCaw is considered the best player in his position, with his demonstrated ability to anticipate play, to turn over possesion at the breakdown with prolific regularity, to tackle with authority and adapt to the referees ever changing rulings being widely considered as some of his key attributes. Richie is also pretty handy at scoring tries, and is skilled at arriving at the breakdown quickly and with frightening regularity if you are unlucky enough to be the man on the ground. He has created more possesion turnovers than any other flanker in the game, past or present.

He was raised in rural North Otago, before moving to Dunedin in 1994 to board at the Otago Boys' High School. In 1999 he moved to Christchurch to study at Lincoln University and was selected in the national under-19 rugby union team. The following year he played for the Under 21s and Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship, before debuting in 2001 for the Crusaders in the Super 14.






Sunday 11 September 2011

Puss In Boots - "He's So Legendary..."

Puss In Boots - "He's So Legendary..." - YouTube:

The big worldwide trending topic on twitter right now is Puss in Boots, I don't really know why, but the videos are pretty cool on Youtube.  So here ya go you can check em out without having to go searching.







Friday 9 September 2011

Not Many Cities

Not Many Cities: "Christchurch New Zealand, survives over 8,500 earthquakes with spirit!

Not Many Cities is a moving tribute to the resilience of Cantabrians who have lived through over 8,500 quakes in the past year.

This remake of famous Christchurch rapper Scribe's double platinum record Not Many celebrates the strength, the courage, the pride and the incredible spirit of the people of Christchurch and Canterbury.


a picture of Christchurch city

I have friends who live in Christchurch and their forebearance and resilience is amazing, it just never seems to stop shaking there at all, this map I produced will give you some idea of what they live with daily. The map plots every earthquake near Christchurch in the last 14 months of a magnitude greater than 4.5, as you can see it's been fairly shaky there.

 map of Chch quakes

The Rugby World Cup 2011

Rugby Union at it's best!

This page is a guide to and a companion site for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.




20 teams from around the world will meet in New Zealand starting on the 10th of September 2011 to fight it out for the greatest trophy in Rugby: The Webb Elliss Cup.

It's the home side the New Zealand All Blacks who are going into this contest as the top rated side. They are under great pressure to take the trophy after poor showings at the last couple of Rugby World Cups.

Can they do it? Not if the Australian Wallabies or the South African Springboks have any say in the matter. Don't forget that both England and France are likely to make a strong showing too!"

Here is the link to the huge Guide and companion site The Rugby World Cup 2011:


This video is my own compilation, it is also by far my most popular Youtube post ever, I'm pretty chuffed about that ;-)




Thursday 8 September 2011

New Zealand

LakeHaweaDSC01039DSC_0012DSCF3490IMG_1225OntheWaytoMt.Cook (19)
PA120072sae24Milford_SoundLakeWanakaLake MathesonMoeraki
Franzjosef 2CATHEDRACape Campbellraglan1allblackslogoraglan3
mountains-1Autumn TreesCastlepoint NI NZCastle Hill SI NZPiha rocksCows and Surf

New Zealand, a set on Flickr.

How beautiful is this place, I wish we'd hurry up and win lotto so we can afford to go back and live there again...