I’ve have a reasonable number of older posts, which are half written that I never got around to completing.
Instead of deleting them, I’m going to finish them off so they make sense and publish them.
I hope we can hit 88 miles per hour or it might get messy.
Today Avinash Kaushik, a web analytics advocate tweeted about some incredible macro insect photos.
After looking through them, while some of them are quite scary and odd looking – they are spectacularly beautiful at the same time.
The super close up shots of the eyes are incredible, the colours on some of the spiders and flies, coupled with the detail in their anatomy.
If you’re not squeamish, I recommend you explore Thomas Shahan macro insect photos on Flickr.
Way back in August 2005, I stumbled across an amazing site that had fantastic photos of espresso being made – it was without a doubt porn for coffee lovers. Today I’ve come across another site, art in my coffee which is dedicated to latte art.
For those that aren’t familiar with latte art, its the process or act of decorating a freshly made espresso with a hand crafted pattern. The pattern can either be made through the pouring action of adding the milk to the cup or a combination of the former and some additional tools such as a fork, knife or spike.
One of my favourites on there so far is a dragon, however the same artist has an amazing array of creations which you can view on his own site, Vulcan & The Unicorn.
In the past, I’ve written about how to merge in traffic and today I have another similar road travesty – not demerging from through lanes of traffic into additional lanes in an appropriate manner.
There isn’t a road rule that I’m aware of that says, if you are exiting or turning and an additional lane is provided that you must do so as soon as possible. In the majority of cases, drivers will pull into the additional lane provided as soon as it becomes available according to the shape of the road or the line markings – but from time to time you come across people that don’t do that.
While travelling west bound on the Smith Street Motorway on the back end of peak hour traffic, a driver wanted to turn right into Parklands Drive. As they approached the two newly added turn right lanes, they indicated their intention with ample time but when it came to actually change lanes – they were particularly tardy.
That wouldn’t be a problem if they’d kept up the same speed as the through traffic but they had already begun to break, slowing in traffic accelerating to 100kph down to a little under 60kph. As you can imagine, everyone in the right most through lane braked quickly and the long stream of traffic compressed directly behind me until the driver finally left the right lane and joined the two turning right lanes.
The moral of this particular story is simple, if you’re demerging from through traffic into additionally added lanes – do so as early as possible. If the road and traffic conditions permit, consider demerging at whatever speed the through traffic is doing and braking within the turning right lanes. If that isn’t possible, slow down only as much as you have to while in the through lanes and complete the braking in the additional lanes.
Follow those simple driving tips and your fellow motorists will have a much smoother commute and think the world of you for being considerate.
In the latest case of Australian border security relating to illegal immigrants and people smugglers, 78 Sri Lankans were rescued from their sinking boat that illegally entered Australian waters four and a half weeks ago. They were taken aboard the ship Oceanic Viking, with the intention of being taken to the Australian detention centre on Christmas Island however were in the end taken to an Indonesian detention centre to have their refugee claims processed. This was meant to be a standard exercise, it has happened many times before however in this instance the Sri Lankans refused to disembark the Oceanic Viking.
The previous Liberal government, lead by John Howard were criticised by the opposition heavily at the time being overly heavy handed. It was unconceivable at the time that we’d set up a detention centre for processing and essentially hold the refugees captive until their claims were processed and they’d either be granted refugee status or sent home packing. Now that the Labor government is running the show, they are now being criticised by the Liberal party for being too soft however in the grand scheme of things, little has changed.
In the latest incident, we’re seeing the asylum seekers refusing to leave the Australian ship that saved their lives after their boat was sinking. During the last four and a half week ordeal, the Sri Lankans have threatened or have gone on hunger strikes to have their case heard – essentially blackmailing the government into action.
I appreciate that it is a very delicate situation, most Australians couldn’t possibly understand the conditions or environment they were living under which would cause an individual or an an entire family to uproot and head to a foreign land in a tiny boat but how the latest case has panned out just doesn’t feel right. The Australian government has now set a precedent, act like a child and stomp your feet and the government will bend to your will and give you what you want. In my opinion that isn’t the right message to be sending at all, not to the illegal immigrants or to the filthy people smugglers who bleed them for what limited wealth they have and more.
I understand that Australia is a geographically large county with a small population and appreciate that we certainly have the space for individuals and families seeking refuge here after leaving their home lands, but the Australian government must be in control of our borders and its security. We certainly can’t leave the doors wide open or we’d be flooded by illegal immigrants, but we certainly cannot close the door either.
Australian citizens have said they don’t want the door closed and that we should and want to help these people. However, there is a clear undertone from what I’ve heard and read so far that suggests that while we want to help – we also want to be protected. Clearly the challenge is going to be balancing those two desires but I find it increasingly difficult to justify saying no to someone that is fleeing their country for their own peronal safety and a better future.
What’s the answer?