Australia.....

"Canuck" wrote in message


Oh shut up! (In case you didn't get that, I was kidding). It was so
cold
my lens froze and the battery in the camera gave out after only a few
minutes. January and February here are pretty miserable. I tried using the
camera with my gloves on but couldn't manage so I took them off. The
windchill was just too strong and I had to scoot back into my car to thaw
my
hands.



Hey Nick, the thought of temperatures like that are just something that we
can't even comprehend. I was talking once to Gordon in San Diego
and asked him something about winter in California. I could hear the
blank stare in his voice as he said "W i n t e r ? Hmmmm, I've heard of
that once..."

Cold for us - at least where I am, is where it'll get to a point or two
overnight or maybe as low as 10C during the day. I've been living in
this current house for 23 years and I've seen snow once, FIVE flakes over a
20 minute period one morning. Every family in the street took their
kids outside to show them what it looked like. Some of us older
folks are still talking about the blizzard of '91.

We have recreational ski fields that appear in the east for a short time,
like Brigadoon, but just like the other 'snow' it's hideously expensive and
just as addictive.


Up until now, I'd always believed that it's easier to keep warm than it is
to get cool, you just need to wear more clothes. If inanimate objects
break or important fluids freeze up, then maybe warmer is better.


For some days, I get to work on building rooftops - luckily, I get to
politely decline the high work on hot days, galvanised iron sheeting will
easily remove skin at 40+, not to mention, sunburn, heat stress and
de-hydration.






Feel free to send some of that warmth up here and if you run into Clark
(Swamp creator / guru) say hi for me! I absolutely love his comic and have
recommended it to our newspaper here. I think it would be fantastic if
they
started carrying it. I ordered a ton of stuff from the website and all the
books as well.

Are you watching the tennis? I'm a tennis nut and former player. I almost
turned pro at one point. I couldn't believe the oncourt temperature was
almost 60 C the other day!!! How the heck do you play in that???? The
hottest match I ever played it hit somewhere around 45 C which was brain
melting and draining. The other guy cramped first and I won .... and then
collapsed in the shower.



The tennis ? No, at one point we had two networks solidly broadcasting
their own coverage for most of each day - different games too.


Luckily, I was watching a third network, which was all cricket - now there's
a man's game, no overpaid Frenchmen or Spaniards there. In case you're
wondering, Australia - after being the world's number one cricketing nation
for the last 15 years, humiliating all in our path - we're now getting our
hats handed to us firstly by India and currently by South Africa.
Had to happen of course, its not healthy for any country to dominate a sport
by so much for that long.

However, betwixt you 'n me, given a choice of winning everything and
getting your noses rubbed into it, I think I prefer winning.





Take care,

Nick (still defrosting).


While you thaw, here's another of my father's slides from Woomera.
This was shortly after the RAAF received the first of its C-130s, which
they've flown ever since. The last I heard, they'd celebrated over
600,000 hours on the type without a major incident, injury or significant
damage.

You might say they're not trying hard enough - but spending most of the time
away from mountains and snow has got to help.






--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

This picture is printed in reverse, Crew door is on the left side of the
acft.

"Dutch" wrote in message
.. .
This picture is printed in reverse, Crew door is on the left side of the
acft.



D'oh, I've been looking at that picture for over thirty years and never
spotted that. Thanks.


I'm sure there's a name for that, don't want to think about it.




--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

"Dutch" wrote in message
.. .
This picture is printed in reverse, Crew door is on the left side of the
acft.

That happens when film is developed in the southern hemisphere.

"Dave Kearton" wrote in message
...
"Canuck" wrote in message


Hey Nick, the thought of temperatures like that are just something that
we
can't even comprehend. I was talking once to Gordon in San Diego
and asked him something about winter in California. I could hear
the
blank stare in his voice as he said "W i n t e r ? Hmmmm, I've heard
of
that once..."

Hi Dave! I know what you mean. Being right smack in the middle of the
continent means we get a very cold winter and fairly hot summers
(sometimes). Still, I don't think it has gotten above +35 C or so recently.
When I was in Europe a few years back, it was +38 C or +40 C every day. I
just wasn't used to that kind of heat and I also sunburned quite badly
despite using sunscreen and so on. I couldn't wait to get back to Canada.

Cold for us - at least where I am, is where it'll get to a point or two
overnight or maybe as low as 10C during the day. I've been living
in
this current house for 23 years and I've seen snow once, FIVE flakes over
a
20 minute period one morning. Every family in the street took
their
kids outside to show them what it looked like. Some of us older
folks are still talking about the blizzard of '91.

We have recreational ski fields that appear in the east for a short time,
like Brigadoon, but just like the other 'snow' it's hideously expensive
and
just as addictive.

Up until now, I'd always believed that it's easier to keep warm than it is
to get cool, you just need to wear more clothes. If inanimate
objects
break or important fluids freeze up, then maybe warmer is better.

I agree with you. I find cold easier to tolerate than heat. You can only
take so much off!

I wonder if you would even know what a block heater is. Our cars are
equipped with a block heater. We plug our cars in when it gets this cold so
that they will start. My car has a battery blanket too to keep the battery
functioning better and for easier starting.

For some days, I get to work on building rooftops - luckily, I get to
politely decline the high work on hot days, galvanised iron sheeting will
easily remove skin at 40+, not to mention, sunburn, heat stress and
de-hydration.

The tennis ? No, at one point we had two networks solidly
broadcasting
their own coverage for most of each day - different games too.


Luckily, I was watching a third network, which was all cricket - now
there's
a man's game, no overpaid Frenchmen or Spaniards there. In case
you're
wondering, Australia - after being the world's number one cricketing
nation
for the last 15 years, humiliating all in our path - we're now getting
our
hats handed to us firstly by India and currently by South Africa.
Had to happen of course, its not healthy for any country to dominate a
sport
by so much for that long.

What can you do? Outsourcing/globalization at work! I don't know if there
is an organized cricket league in Canada or for that matter even a
disorganized league! It seems like an interesting game but I have no idea
what the rules are or how the scoring works. Occasionally, BBC World will
have some coverage but since I'm unfamiliar with the game, I'm not really
sure how things work. In Canada, hockey is the most followed/popular sport
followed by football (American football.... not soccer). Lately, baseball
has become more and more popular and is getting quite a following
here....and baseball is really just an adaptation of cricket.

As for tennis, Australia has had quite a few champions on both the men's and
women's side and you have a great heritage there along with one of the most
important tournaments on the calendar. I would love to go and see the
Australian Open some day. In fact, I'd love to do my own Grand Slam and
visit all of the majors sometime during my lifetime.

Take care for now and thanks for the great pictures!

Nick

"Canuck" wrote in message
...

"Dave Kearton" wrote in message
...
snip
Luckily, I was watching a third network, which was all cricket - now
there's
a man's game, no overpaid Frenchmen or Spaniards there. In case you're
wondering, Australia - after being the world's number one cricketing nation
for the last 15 years, humiliating all in our path - we're now getting our
hats handed to us firstly by India and currently by South Africa.
Had to happen of course, its not healthy for any country to dominate a
sport
by so much for that long.

What can you do? Outsourcing/globalization at work! I don't know if there
is an organized cricket league in Canada or for that matter even a
disorganized league! It seems like an interesting game but I have no idea
what the rules are or how the scoring works. Occasionally, BBC World will
have some coverage but since I'm unfamiliar with the game, I'm not really
sure how things work.

In Canada, cricket is an immigrant's game. I think Ontario has leagues with
clubs largely made up of the folks from South Asia and the Caribbean
(http://www.ottawacricketclub.ca/memb...ember=Current). In Ottawa, the
"flannel fools" have a cricket pitch and pavilion on the grounds of Rideau
Hall (http://www.gg.ca/visitus/ovcc_e.asp). As sports clubs, they are among
the oldest in Canada.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

In message , Dave Kearton
writes

snip

Luckily, I was watching a third network, which was all cricket - now there's
a man's game, no overpaid Frenchmen or Spaniards there. In case you're
wondering, Australia - after being the world's number one cricketing nation
for the last 15 years, humiliating all in our path - we're now getting our
hats handed to us firstly by India and currently by South Africa.

Does that mean we will get the Ashes back this year?

Had to happen of course, its not healthy for any country to dominate a sport
by so much for that long.

However, betwixt you 'n me, given a choice of winning everything and
getting your noses rubbed into it, I think I prefer winning.





Take care,

Nick (still defrosting).


snip

I once worked with a girl from Toronto. She hated winters in England
because although not as cold as at home, they were comparatively damp.
We get lazy winds off the North Sea, the kind that can't be bothered to
go round you, they go through you instead.
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

"Peter Twydell" wrote in message
...
In message , Dave Kearton
writes

snip



Does that mean we will get the Ashes back this year?



snip


Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!




Interesting question, it looks like your team is in even more disarray than
ours, who's your captain this week ?





--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

A likely emerging talent for Australia in cricket is David Garness out
of NSW. He's 14 right now and and already played some games with adults.
Being a Yank, I have near zero grasp of the game and the league
structure, so can't provide much more detail. But seeing as he's going
to be my step-son in about 7 weeks, I reckon I've got some learnin' to do...

Which brings a question, going to be in Cootamundra between April 25 and
May 7. A trip to Temora is planned, as well as Canberra. Any other
aviation sights worth seeing in the general vicinity?


Jon

On Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:55:07 -0800, Jon Anderson wrote:

A likely emerging talent for Australia in cricket is David Garness out
of NSW. He's 14 right now and and already played some games with adults.
Being a Yank, I have near zero grasp of the game and the league
structure, so can't provide much more detail. But seeing as he's going
to be my step-son in about 7 weeks, I reckon I've got some learnin' to
do...

Which brings a question, going to be in Cootamundra between April 25 and
May 7. A trip to Temora is planned, as well as Canberra. Any other
aviation sights worth seeing in the general vicinity?


Jon

When you say you're coming to Canberra, I assume you're going to be doing
a tour of the ANZAC Hall at the Australian War Memorial, as well as the
Aircraft Hall itself (which you have to pass through on your way to the
ANZAC Hall). If you're lucky the Treloar conservation and storage annexe
might be open to the general public as well.