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S&M

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    Things I don't like

    in General Chin Wagging

    Posted

    I don't like going to the gym, it's boring and tedious and downright hard work. But I also don't like not going to the gym because I feel guilty about not trying to lose weight and also because I'm paying a small fortune in membership fees. I see it as a lose-lose situation. :mf_rosetinted:

    The Australian Thread: Part Nineteen

    in MFC International

    Posted

    I agree on the matter of the heatwave being a natural cycle. And I agree that it's worsened due to the vast amount of emissions that we're pumping into the atmosphere.

     

    Ok, so this is from Wikipedia, but I daresay it's fairly accurate still.

    The day of the Black Thursday fires - February 6, 1851 - reportedly had temperatures of around 47 °C (117 °F). (But no records to prove so)

     

    On the day of The Black Friday fires - January 13, 1939 - temperatures had reached 45.6 °C (114.1 °F).

     

    On the day of The Ash Wednesday fires - February 16th, 1983 - temperatures had rose above 43 °C, with winds of up to 110km/h and relative humidity plunging to as low as 6 per cent.

     

    And now The Darkest Day fires (which they keep referring to them as) on February 7th, 2009 temperatures reached 46.4 with winds gusting up to 82kmh.

     

    Prior to each tragedy Victoria experienced the highest temperatures ever recorded, and a drought. I think we then go through a cold and wet season. But I may be wrong about that. Does anyone know??

    Wait, Ash Wednesday wasn't a highest recorded temp day. But it was hot. I remember that summer.. :sweatdrop:

     

    Anyway, the period of time between the first 3 fires is 88 years, then 44 years, and now 26 years. And considering that between 1983 and 2009 we have severely increased our atmospheric emissions (Is that the correct term?) it makes sense that the time frame decreased greatly. I assume that, at this rate, we'll be looking at these similar conditions in 14 years.

    But this is just a theory I'm rattling off.

    That's an interesting observation. The space of 158 years is pretty small in terms of measuring temperature trends but it's interesting to see what can happen in even that short a time.

     

    There's a freight company that's organising to take any goods from Orange down to Melbourne for free... the truck drivers are going ot drive for free as well...

    I think that's awesome, especially since it solves the main issue with donating goods: the fact that it costs money to transport them. :thumb_yello:

    The Australian Thread: Part Nineteen

    in MFC International

    Posted · Edited by S&M

    Sorry I don't mean to sound like a massive greenie or something, but it IS because of climate change. Very obviously. Yes, some fires were started by arsonists, but during the RIDICULOUS heat wave (because they are sick freaks, not by coincidence), and the fires were SO devastating because of the ridiculous heat wave. And the ridiculous heat wave is due to climate change, as are the floods in the north.

    If there was no climate change then it wouldn't have had the weather extremes and the fires, even if they were still lit, wouldn't have been as uncontrollable.

    Temperatures may be going up slightly, but who's to say it isn't just what happens naturally? Not saying that emissions haven't affected the world, but it could be part of the natural cycle of the world...

    OkD has raised a very good point. Teegs is right in that it's possible that the climate change we're experiencing might be in part due a natural cycle but no one can reasonably deny any longer that the process has been greatly accelerated by the vast amount of emissions that we're pumping into the atmosphere and have been doing so since the industrial revolution. Increased temperatures of fractions of a degree may sound 'slight' but in ecological terms they are huge. What it comes down to is that every single one of us is partly responsible for climate change because we're all gas and electricity and product consumers. It's not just the arsonists or even the anti-back burning greenies who compounded the effect of the recent bush fires.

     

    On the matter of back burning, though, I must add that some forested areas can act as water catchments and attract rain so the back burning of some areas can be more damaging than beneficial. So on the subject we should be wary of making blanket statements like 'back burning = good, anti-back burning greenies = bad'.

     

    I'm so annoyed at myself for giving all my clothes to the op shop like a week ago. Dammit. now they are going around tyring to collect clothes and things for those that lost everything :tears:

    Donating clothes, food and physical items is indeed generous and useful for the bush fire victims but only to an extent - what they really need is money. Transporting clothes etc. costs money and that money might be better used rebuilding their homes and livelihoods. :thumb_yello:

    The Australian Thread: Part Nineteen

    in MFC International

    Posted

    Since yesterday the official death toll has gone up to 173 with more than 50 people still unaccounted for. The number of homes destroyed has passed 750 including several entire towns. The amount of land affected is now more than 3,000 square kilometres. Who knows exactly how many animals have been affected either. *sigh*

    Appleman, apples, cats, donuts, sarcasm, wizards (kind & fine), and WHATEVER part 5

    in General Chin Wagging

    Posted

    Fangurls turned sour apples are welcome. I used to be one of them.

    Me too. It wasn't until I was canceled on that I snapped out of it.

     

    bigchill.jpg

     

    A popular avatar in summer 2007.

     

    avatar958_4.gif

    :sad: @ the photo. :sneaky2: @ Mika and/or his management circa mid-2007. :bow: @ the avatar.

     

    I think this applies more to being a Mika fan than to Mika per se.

     

    I am starting to regret becoming so heavily involved because I see it turning into something I don't want to be a part of at times. No matter how much overinterest I take in Mika I am, at heart, a casual fan in the sense that I don't relate to the unrealistic demands I see people placing on him.

     

    I don't expect him to meet me or write a blog for me 3 times a day or reveal details of his works in progress to prove that he cares about his fans. He makes albums. I buy them. I buy concert tickets. He performs. That's where our relationship starts and ends and no matter how many times he sends me champagne it is sheer folly to think otherwise.

     

    I have been critical of Mika because I see him or his organization dropping the ball on simple things that would help him succeed or at least fulfill some commitments they made when they purchased MFC. Sometimes the complaints I hear from fans appear to be motivated by their own selfish desires, much of which is just generally getting attention from him in order to feel special.

     

    As the casual fans have drifted off the tone is beginning to change. People who tend to beg, use emotional blackmail or other desperate measure to get Mika's attention or make demands on him...their voices are now louder and it's starting to rub off on others. It's become the norm to expect things of this man that no one should expect and to moan loudly if you don't get it.

     

    I don't think Mika is influenced by this when it comes to making music, although it's hard to say because the last time he made an album he didn't have any fans.

     

    But I think he is definitely influenced in his internet presence and that's going to become more of an issue once his website is launched. He also appears to be succumbing to fan pressure at the gigs and the more he gives the more people want to take.

     

    I think Mika should stick to his guns and do what he wants when it comes to making music, his website, whatever. I think it's a mistake to cater to a couple of hundred people no matter how big their mouths are because they are not representative of his wider audience and they are especially not representative of his potential audience.

     

    Mika asked J&Y to guest blog because he had certain ideas about what he wanted to do with his blog and that seems to have quickly fallen by the wayside as people reacted negatively to their blog entry. I think Mika should just do what he wants to do and he will attract the kind of audience that appreciates what he's doing. This philosophy served him well when it came to making LICM and I think it should apply to any project he's involved in.

     

    Everyone was attracted to this boy who rhetorically asked if he should be like Grace Kelly and if he starts catering to the whims of others, even his fans, he will no longer be that artist.

    Hear hear, couldn't have said it better myself. :thumb_yello:

    The Australian Thread: Part Nineteen

    in MFC International

    Posted

    How awful. :sad: I'm not surprised, though, since today was officially Melbourne's hottest day on record. The high winds aren't helping either.

     

     

    City swelters, records tumble in heat

     

    * Hamish Townsend

    * February 7, 2009 - 1:56PM

     

    Melbourne's all-time weather record has been broken and the city is sweltering under the twin effects of high temperatures and hot north-west winds.

     

    The city hit 46.4 degrees at 3.04pm - the hottest day since the Bureau of Meteorology started keeping records after the building of records mysteriously burnt down 150 years ago.

     

    The previous record was 45.6, set on January 13, 1939 - a day otherwise known as Black Thursday.

     

    "I've got a massive spreadsheet here of maximum temperatures and it doesn't mean anything any more. The whole thing's gonna have to be rewritten," BoM senior forecaster Terry Ryan said.

     

    "Most places around the state will break all-time records."

     

    The town of Avalon, 50km south-west of Melbourne also broke its hottest-day record, reaching 47.9 degrees at 2.50pm.

     

    Wind gusts of up to 82kmh have also been reported at Melbourne Airport, where it was a sweltering 46.8 degrees at 3.03pm.

     

    Other top temperatures around the state include 47.6 at Hopetoun airport (2.30pm), 47.1 at Geelong airport (2.40pm), 46.8 at Laverton (2.41pm), 46.4 at Longerenong in the Wimmera (2.30pm), 46 at Mildura (2.35pm) and 46.3 at Swan Hill (2.30pm).

     

    The temperature also topped 45 at locations including Horsham, Nhill, Scoresby and Stawell.

     

    Melbourne's peak also breaks the previous February record of 43.2, set on February 8, 1983 - remembered by many as the day of a massive dust storm.

     

    Today's record is also hotter than Ash Wednesday, on February 16, 1983.

     

    Relief, however, is on the way with the cool change reported to have passed through Warnambool and Port Fairy in Victoria's south-west.

     

    This should put it on target to reach the city about 6pm, Mr Ryan said.

     

    Temperatures are expected to drop by around 15 degrees in the first hour, though little rain is expected.

     

    No relief from the wind is expected at all as strong gusts, albeit from the opposite direction, will accompany the cool change.

     

    Source: http://www.theage.com.au/national/city-swelters-records-tumble-in-heat-20090207-80ai.html

    Appleman, apples, cats, donuts, sarcasm, wizards (kind & fine), and WHATEVER part 5

    in General Chin Wagging

    Posted

    IMG_2388.jpg

     

    We were on our way to pick up Christine and head off to watch Lykke Li at a gig when our car suddenly swerved on a ramp off the highway. Our wheel just about came off - not the tire even, but the whole axle snapped and we lost control of the car. It was rush hour too. We are still wondering how we managed to avoid hitting any other cars and get the car to the right of the shoulder. Oil spilled everywhere because we think the axle burst into the oil pan. We sat in the tow truck and could not leave the scene until either the fire department or MTO (Ministry of Transportation) truck absorbed the slick oil (made it less dangerous), and clean it up to be less dangerous for other drivers.

     

    Hope everyone had a better day than I did.:boxed:

    Oh my goodness. Is everyone alright? What ended up happening?

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