Wednesday 30 September 2009
US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre information 30.09.09
ABC Radio reports that Samoa has been hit by a tsunami this morning after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. Initial waves sightings are reported at 1.3 metres and higher.
From the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre:
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1856Z 29 SEP 2009
THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
... A TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH ARE IN EFFECT ...
A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
AMERICAN SAMOA / SAMOA / NIUE / WALLIS-FUTUNA / TOKELAU /
COOK ISLANDS / TONGA / TUVALU / KIRIBATI / KERMADEC IS / FIJI /
HOWLAND-BAKER / JARVIS IS. / NEW ZEALAND / FR. POLYNESIA /
PALMYRA IS. / VANUATU / NAURU / MARSHALL IS. / SOLOMON IS.
A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR
JOHNSTON IS. / NEW CALEDONIA / KOSRAE / PAPUA NEW GUINEA /
HAWAII / POHNPEI / WAKE IS. / PITCAIRN / MIDWAY IS. / CHUUK /
AUSTRALIA
FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS BULLETIN... IT IS FOR
INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME.
Casino set for railway revolution
Moving freight by rail rather than road ... how sensible!
CASINO is on the cusp of a railway renaissance, with a development application to build a $10 million rail terminal about to be lodged with the Richmond Valley Council.
The terminal, which will be built on land next to the Casino Saleyards by the end of 2010, promises to reduce road freight by 150 trucks per day.
The Northern Star reports:
The terminal will connect to the main rail line and from there freight will travel to destinations and ports around Australia.
With the capacity to load two 750m long trains or a single 1550m train, it is expected one short train will depart for Brisbane daily and one long train will head southward to Sydney or Melbourne every two to three days.
Phillip Imrie, the Sydney-based engineer behind the proposal, said the terminal represented the future of freight in Australia.
An industrial estate will form part of the terminal. From there, businesses will be able to load goods directly onto waiting trains.
The Casino branch of the stockfeed company Riverina currently brings in more than 100,000 tonnes of grain and protein from Northern NSW and South-East Queensland every year by road.
“A facility such as this would give us access to southern grain markets which are currently cost prohibitive by road,” branch manager Col Shelton said.
Stage one of the terminal will employ 10 to 20 people on a full-time basis, although more will be working during the construction phase.
Mr Imrie said the terminal was likely to attract new businesses to Casino and this would bring more jobs.
Richmond Valley Council general manager Brian Wilkinson said the council was very keen to see the proposal go ahead and supported the overall concept.
Source: The Northern Star
Calf confusion or why the little bull loves fence posts
A heifer died two days after giving birth to a large bull calf, so I ended up with a poddy to raise.
I am pleased to say that he is going well, if a little bit confused.
He is being bucket fed and to avoid mess at feeding time I have drilled a hole in a stable wall which the milk teat goes through.
This works really well, except he now has a wood fetish.
Fence posts are fully examined to make sure that there are no teats and since the teat is black rubber the car tyres are of great interest to him.
To give him a more balanced view of the world I have been taking him out into the paddock and introducing him to the aunties (cows), this is working beautifully.
Each morning Arnold Bully the calf and I wander into the herd where I do my best cow impersonation.
Over the last week I have managed to have him accepted into the herd kindergarten.
This is where cows leave their older calves in the care of others and go off and feed; the calves play, have naps and generally learn how to be cows.
This is brilliant.
He has the whole day out with the herd and comes home to his stable at night.
The problem for me is it is now my turn to look after the kindergarten kids - help!
Shame Rudd Shame: government gets a fail on pension increase
State government housing authorities and community housing are lining up to take a bite out of the Rudd Government $60 per fortnight base pension increase for single pensioners.
What I think of the Rees Government is of course unrepeatable in polite company.
Tingle, Smith and Borsak think a name change will make the Australian Shooters Party more palatable to the electorate?
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that The Australian Shooters Party now has a new name - Shooters and Fishers Party or just plain Shooters and Fishers for short.
If I remember correctly, at the 2007 federal election this party received less than one per cent of votes cast and it has certainly been on the nose recently due to the conduct of Robert Borsak in New South Wales.
When it comes to hunting, elephants would have to up there with the whales as iconic untouchables for many Australian voters and the overseas hunting trips taken by Borsak almost guarantees a poor voter turnout if he stands at the next federal election.
I suspect that this has something to do with the name change and attempt to widen its base - but I don't think Tingle, Smith or Borsak remember the old adage of a leopard and its spots.
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Cybersquatting on photographs: one form of identity theft on the Internet
One hears a lot about identity theft these days and the need to protect personal online information, but what one doesn't hear about that much is the use of photographs of real people to represent other people who are using the Internet to promote or sell either themselves or saleable items (sometimes through use of a fictitious online persona).