Interesting things too

"...Anyway, all the time on your hands, and when not surfing, thought about giving uni a go?

Serious. Seen it before. Seen the positive results. Hard work but worthy. And more oldsters there is healthy. Get in quick before universities as we know them are destroyed (well, if we keep voting in Lib governments)."

facto's best post ever, from a pretty low bar admittedly....

good advice, and agree on the 'oldsters' bit

though I reckon blowin would struggle with the classes in conformity that is contemporary uni

... learn to game the system (like everyone else) and he'd be dangerous...

a good dangerous

"... got an idea for a website. Anyone clued up on the process ? I was thinking along the lines of suggesting my idea and then going surfing, whilst my partner developed it. They’d occasionally show me their work and I’d okay / pooh pooh their work to date .

Who’s keen?"

you stole my idea

unfortunatly I'm looking for the IT geek hamster component as well...

Hey Blowin if you're not at work you should be at uni you certainly have the capacity for it I think you would thrive we all need to keep growing in our lives at some level or area.

I think you have mentioned you are a carer (more power to you) if so heavy engagement in some thing else would possible help the emotional load.

Agree Sypkan re "good advice, and agree on the 'oldsters' bit"

LNP are trigger happy...

Oz PM (God) ...has a bash!
https://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0010/689689/nma.img-ci2003103...

Oz PM (God) Bodyline Blow...The nation is in mourning today!
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/TotalThoroughIchneumonfly-size_restricted.gif

Few million lifetimes later...[Jobz 4 oafs] We vow to serve God's Green Limousine
http://www.cpaml.org/web/uploads2/233438.png

Demigod PM ("That's the Ejection Seat Button - Mr PM!")
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/93f240d2df4ec1c5b7c026e9873ed8a9

False Prophet ("That Money belt looks like it's bringing on a sweat...Mr PM!")
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7de426555271d55fe69035bb816328f673b28f2a/...

Hawaiian (Voodoo God) $250m Shark circles his Austrian roast.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7484023/ScoMo-touches-America-a...

Hawaiian Chief Smoko (God) puts out Bushfires with a $trillion defence Movie Reel.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-05/scott-morrison-criticised-for-pol...

My wife showed me this on Facebook today. I thought it was interesting. Take it however you like ...Not saying people dont have to clean up their act as it is always a good idea to do so.
TODAY - 13th JANUARY, 81 YEARS AGO WAS KNOWN AS ‘BLACK FRIDAY’
On this day, Eighty-one years ago (13th Jan 1939) with temperatures above 110°F (45°C) across Victoria and the state in drought, bushfires consumed 3,700 buildings across the state, 71 lives were lost and 5 towns completely destroyed- never to be rebuilt.
The Royal Commission into ‘’Black Friday’’ concluded;
“There had been no fires to equal these in destructiveness or intensity in the history of settlement in this State, except perhaps the fires of 1851, which, too, came at summer culmination of a long drought.
‘’At midday, in many places, it was dark as night. Men carrying hurricane lamps, worked to make safe their families and belongings Travellers on the highways were trapped by fires or blazing fallen trees, and perished. Throughout the land there was daytime darkness’.’
“The speed of the fires was appalling. They leaped from mountain peak to mountain peak, or far out into the lower country, lighting the forests 6 or 7 miles in advance of the main fires. Blown by a wind of great force, they roared as they travelled. Balls of crackling fire sped at a great pace in advance of the fires, consuming with a roaring, explosive noise, all that they touched.‘’
‘’On that day it appeared that the whole State was alight.”
NB : Every child in every Australian school should be taught about the events of ‘Black Friday’ 1939 to give them an understanding and appreciation of the extreme danger of the Australian bush.
However keeping them ignorant of Australia’s bushfire history makes it far easier to radicalise them and recruit them into the Climate Cult.
As Orwell noted;
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

Oooohh....the cultists will surely respond to that...

ie ...How dare you suggest that such a fire has burnt before . Gods wrath ....ummm, sorry ...the wrath of the Climate * has never before been felt so strongly...etc etc

* Climate = God. Previously there was no pronoun.

Pondering that Orwell quote as we approach Australia Day..

Oh my god ! no! I'd never heard of that. Has anyone told the universities? Or the csiro?? We must inform them now! Surely this is a secret information and any whistle blowers will be sack for there views. We must spread The Word for the children and to save the innocent whistle blower who will surely lost his job.

Who comes with me!? This is a crusade we must fight.

The truth will be out there now. Because of us my comareades! Becaus of us.

Unprecedented *

* Unprecedented media response.

Blowin! You comes with me right my comaraderey? You and me we resxue the whistle blewer and tell this troth to the world. There was bush fires befor! They must know what we know but now they do not. Indo he nose too

T

VB ....I’m assuming that you are currently incapacitated with a form of temporal social retardation which has rendered you incommunicado.

Yes, I agree. There is no historical precedent for this fire due to historical record being within a generation or four , but we shouldn’t let that dictate our hyperbole !

Not whilst we think that headlines should override our desire for truth and factual accounting.

I'm not an expert so I'll shut the fuck up and listen to those who are,

said no dickhead on the internet ever.

I’m no expert, but I’ll never acknowledge the media for the usual hyperbolic , issue peddling exaggerators they are said every cultist ever.

If the SMH headline says worst ever , literally ever , , without any proof whatsoever , then I’ll defend that claim to the death and what’s more - I’ll be prepared to socially ostracise anyone who dares suggest otherwise ...said every cultist who had zero regard for historical fact ever.

Similarly, don’t tell me that traffic congestion seems to be getting worse worldwide because here is a photo of a bridge on a day in Los Angeles in 1937.
I think you must agree that proves it.
So, can you PLEASE spare me your traffic congestion cultism.

Here's a photo I took of Blowin recently.

In the words of Joe Bjelke-Petersen, a snake swallows the elephant in the room and then flogs a dead horse.

Nice jacket Blowin although I prefer your flowing blonde mane.

Come on , Andy ....not you too ?

It’s not enough to say that humanity is fucking the planet , now we’ve got to cede to every unsubstantiated byline promulgated by the media ?

Sure , the fires were hectic. I dare say that I experienced them more closely than yourself , but now I’m a heretic if I don’t explicitly state that these were the worst fires that the East coast has EVER experienced ?

Please.....

PS Maybe I misread your post in light of VB’s efforts ?

The flowing blonde mane is short and getting more patchy than I really want to acknowledge. I went surfing in Indo a few weeks ago and got cooked by the sun on my expanding scalp. Couldn’t surf without a hat since.

Age shall not weary them ....nor thinning hair condemn.

But what’s left of it still goes blonde as fuck....you should see how white my pillow is each morning !

PPS Great form from Fonzie in that shot. Knees bent , relaxed posture. It’s obvious he’s going to clear that shark to anyone familiar with the practice.

Hats are naff but way better than the alternative.

Don't get me wrong, generally speaking the media makes my skin crawl.
For example:

"Huge rain bomb forecast gives hope to exhausted firefighters - but the downpour will be so heavy it could cause LANDSLIDES"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7879977/Bushfires-Heavy-rainfal...

But to the point, fixating on that little sliver of language does you no credit.

Do you honestly think so ?

I’ve been giggling at the fooling- no one , hat brigade for years. Now I’m contemplating the self delusion myself.

Not that bad....yet.

You know somethings up when your hair starts to cast individual shadows on your scalp.

I'm pretty sure that surfing ability decreases by around 33% if you wear a hat in the water.

It's scientifically proven :)

What ?

You mean that little sliver of language delineated by the difference between reality and unsubstantiated, fear mongering , unit shifting hyperbole ?

AKA the truth .

Mate , just a bit of proof that the fire was unprecedented in the last 5000 years . Produce that and then I’ll have no qualms when the media - who are utterly untrustworthy every other day of the week - tells me that this is LITERALLY the worst fire EVER .

The question for you , Andy , is ...why do you think less of me for not swallowing this unproven bullshit wholeheartedly ?

Are you privy to reams of historical evidence that I’ve not been made aware of ?

No ?

Then why are you not just non-committal ? Why not just say .”...yeah , these fires may not be provably the worst fires ever , but they’re bad enough to be a wake up call for everyone “ ?

You know why ? Because we are creating a New God . And a New God must be stronger than the Old God.

It’s fucking weird , Andy.

This is about more than just temperatures or lack of rain.

Nah, a lot of people are freaking out and for good reason, and the media are just doing what they do.

You seem to be setting up a strawman instead of focusing on the problems at hand.
Potential hyperbole is lame but if you fixate on that you’re going to hate and reject everything around it.
It ain’t the main game.

Rubbish.

I aren’t hating and rejecting anything except the lies and hyperbole. My whole point about the cult is when people get upset because I don’t mindlessly swallow the utter shit being peddled as fact and which is somehow immune to question.

For some reason I’m not allowed to say ...” Wait a minute , these aren’t necessarily the worst fires ever . “ That’s not setting up a straw man , that is the obvious truth.

Please tell me why everyone loses their shit when I say this ? Genuine question. Crew take it to mean that I’m spawn of Satan. It’s fucken weird.

And don’t tell me that when an issue is this big that the truth isn’t important. Who the fuck got that train of thought a guernsey ?

Morning Blowin,

I don't know what the fuck article got you so strung out as to latch onto a the importance of the literal definition of the word ever in your crusade against the media.

But you did show me again why I don't believe you accept climate science, when you said "There is no historical precedent for this fire due to historical record being within a generation or four , but we shouldn’t let that dictate our hyperbole !"

Im sitting here on my fucken phone and Googled paleo fire Australia. And you know what came up?

Using the Paleorecord to Evaluate Climate and Fire Interactions in Australia
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.earth.35.092006.14...
That's an older article so nothing about this year but it explains how they get a fire record going back tens and even hundreds of thousands of years. Would that kind of thing be proof enough for you?

Cos you know what they use that data for? climate science. And you accept that right?

Have a read anyway. It's clear about the uncertainties but don't confuse the lack of hyperbole with lack of knowledge.

As I said I don't know what the fuck article got you all steamed up but maybe someone somewhere does know something to suggest this season was the biggest.

Blowin please, 2000 houses have been burnt down when did that last happen in the last 5.000 years?

It's a pointless argument as it doesnt change the present reality as the fires are unprecedented since records have been kept including I suspect the oral indigenous history.

But if you want to be so definitive in language then it probably rules out many of your own declarations.

And put the fag out.

VB ....the link you provided is referring to general trends of fires in Australia and the macro effects on varying time scales . It does not address scale of individual fires at all.

Language is important. If the fire is constantly referred to as unprecedented or the largest fire in Australia’s history it creates the impression that a fire of this scale has literally never occurred. This is not something that can be stated with any fact.

I’m constantly telling people that the current drought is the driest in recorded history-177 years - but I’m not going to say that this is the worst drought that Australia has ever seen , because there is no proof of that occurring.

Language matters. It doesn’t matter to the point that we need to go toe to toe about it , but I’ll gladly pick holes in the constant media hyperbole if I think it deserves it.

If you want to make the ridiculous leap from my stating that the media is going full retard hyperbole to climate denial then go ahead. It just says more about your lack of nuance than anything to do with myself.

I Focus....I don’t smoke . Never have.*

* Pot excepted.

Anyway....even I’m bored of this now.

Arguing over hypothetical headlines you made up is boring.

But you missed the point. The fire record is much longer than you think. As is the drought record. If you don't accept the paleo data for those then you aren't accepting climate science... Cos guess where those pesky climate scientists get theire data from?

And the other point... Maybe just maybe the author of this hypothetical headline that pissed you off so much, maybe they could have spoken to a paleo fire expert who said, yeah there's nothing in the record as big as these fires. I know there's been budget cuts in the media and stuff but I'm pretty sure they still have phones they can use to talk to people.

I think its fair to assume its the worst fires ever as most fires ignition is caused by man in some way, take us out of the factor and you have much less fires no matter conditions.

Lowest rainfall ever or worst drought though, yeah that one would be much more debatable.

I don't think it's about 'a hypothetical headline', there's literally been hundreds of real ones ...or statements at least....

When I first heard... 'unprecedented' weeks ago, my first thought was ".. define unprecedented fucker..."

after weeks of this, I'm still left thinking...

what does that even mean?

now I don't mean to pick on craig and ben, but they are the residdent weather dudes here, with weather dude degrees and stuff. yet, until challenged, they were throwing around 'unprecedented' in an unprecedented fashion ...just like most of the media....

then when challenged, they both seemed to go looking for some sort of accepted definition.

now, aside from making the whole thing appear terribly whimsical, (and showing you can support any position with some shit article on the internet), to me, that just displayed a distinct lack of critical thinking. a distinct lack of critical thinking that is now throughout all of politics. ...cooperative? ...colluding? ....tribal? ...cultish?

"... Language is important. If the fire is constantly referred to as unprecedented or the largest fire in Australia’s history it creates the impression that a fire of this scale has literally never occurred. This is not something that can be stated with any fact."

language is important indeed

(oh fuck, now i sound like an IP minion (cultist))

but it is important, especialy in science, there are accepted terms of reference, hence everyone arguing over indo's mate saying "...there is no link..." blah blah blah versus "....there is no direct* link..." blah blah blah

language is important

especially when you've already lost (squandered) the trust of a large part of the public

hati hati benchongs

Problem:

This thing is way larger than anyone has yet realised. even for the poor basterds that have lost the lot, their hell has just begun

forests, animals, stock, businesses, houses, tourism, food, lives, communities, gone

this will be a mammoth rebuilding project that will take years if not decades, truly a 'nation building' opportunity as they say

this will all be done in a backdrop of climate change versus 'the greenies' blaming. when really we all need to look at how we may possibly have contributed to this unprecedented disaster. yes unprecedented ...disaster.

I have a friend, a greeny at heart, your classic sea change/tree changer, without the yuppy wealth factor. very engaged in a particular fire riddled community, quite concerned about the talk getting around town, some want blood, whilst others want bongos. neither of these positions is particularly helpful in the current context, and the latter, is just a bit fucken dumb. I was surprised who they sided with, at the end of our conversation, on balance, after much nuance...

reducing this to a climate change versus fuel load argument where everyone must fall in line is not going to win this argument. the media/entertainment apparatus breathlessly arguing that this is unprecedented in no uncertain terms with nothing to back it up is just preaching to the converred, again...

Opportunity:

with disaster comes opportunity. there will be massive opportunities with such a massive rebuilding exercise. opportunity where we could fundamentally change how we do stuff. for example, people are going to be homeless for years, (if I was an investing man, I'd be pumping money into caravan and camper companies right about now). to deal with this, we could be rebuilding these towns with a focus on localised renewables and storage, setting up portable power and wi-fi set ups for people to rebuild their lives around. infrastructure that will serve us now, and well into the future. rather than rebuilding the already previously broken model, again...

just my hair brained idea, I'm sure someone's got better ones, but you get the idea...

Smoco:

smoco clearly takes a different view.

he's coveniently concentrating on the 'unprecedented' use of the miliary he so wisely oversaw, and the possible evolution of ideas, whilst changing as little as possible

I reckon he'll also be looking to find opportunities for his business mates, with high energy solutionns, and the chance to clear as much land as possible. optimising protectative hazard reduction burning business opportunities, surroundiing and including, farmland, state land, parks land, the great dividing range...

there's much more at stake than a climate change versus denial argument

but here we are, reduced to yet another either/or argument by the media

all stand up and yell!

resume positions

Edit deleted

Duplicate deleted

My interpretation of what I see weather, environment, and event wise, are more extreme weather occurrences. It also seems I general the climate is trending to be warmer.

Our actions nationally have a relatively minor impact on a global scale. That doesn’t reduce our degree of responsibility however. It remains the same as any and all other players.

Moving forward:
How can individuals behave to do their own small part towards a more sustainable use of resources?
How can we influence our governments to adapt to a rapidly changing global context (politically, climatically)?

The reality is the next 30 years from a climate perspective are already programmed. We can expect to see more of the same. How can we survive? How could we thrive even?

I don’t see adaptive thinking unfortunately in our current leaders. Just more of the same political machinations. Their behaviour reflects and causes the left/right bullshit dialogue we see in these threads and others.

I wonder where our next generation of leaders are coming from? There is a vacuum waiting to be filled. I hope they can lead in a more hope-filled and less divisive way (as Ardern is trying to)

Here is a good summary that separates the science from the alarmism:

https://static.berkeleyearth.org/pdf/skeptics-guide-to-climate-change.pdf

This seems as good a place as any to share this.

https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/terra-australis-australia/1808-rum-reb...

A day all cockroaches can be truly proud of! Beats that other stuff, yes?

"There is something in the Australian psyche that craves punishment. Perhaps it is in the fact that White Australia began as a penal colony. Perhaps there is a deeper thread of inferiority and submission in the British settlement.

Whatever it is, the society we have is an orderly one – deeply so. We created the myth of the larrikin so we might feel less bad about our deference to power. He is a sort of court jester who makes the draconian more comfortable."

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/editorial/2020/02/15/respect...

uh uh huh uh uh you said penal

What an unsurprisingly tiresome heap of steaming shit that article turned out to be.

Yet another attempt to castigate the Australian public disguised by employing the collective “ Australians “, although as always , it’s painfully obvious the author refers to neither themselves or the reader but to the lumpen proletariat which consists of basically anyone of a differing political viewpoint to those who would subscribe to such a shitty wank rag as The Saturday.

The pretentious collective of circle jerkers who make up the editorial team and wider readership have three seperate and entirely conflicting opinions on Australian culture dependent on the context.

1/ In the context of immigration/ multiculturalism the opinion is that Australians have no unifying culture. Their world was just a bland palette of no distinct flavour whatsoever until various imported cultures introduced much needed social diversity. The Australians in this context display no characteristics or virtues which could possibly be construed as representative. The point being that there is no such defining classification as being Australian and therefore Australia has no legitimate culture which may be displaced.

2/ In the context of indigenous Australians the view on Australian culture is that it is aggressive, domineering, violent and sinister. Continuously oppressing anyone of a different heritage or skin colour . The Australians in this perspective are avaricious and covetous. Proactive and restless in their determination to rule and thieve. Violence is eternally simmering just underneath a thin veneer of hatred.

3/ In the context of Australians viewed as a stand alone point of discussion the culture is presented as meek , compliant, fearful and eager to be oppressed by authorities of any stipe. Australians are weak willed and led by the nose. Our unifying characteristic is spinelessness, complacency and an overarching desire for quiet comfort under the wilting gaze of a ruling elite.

So it’s option 3 getting a run today . And it’s the usual utter drivel with all kinds of specious statements presented as self evident truths and the author then indulges their fiction by expanding on it as though the initial serve of bullshit wasn’t enough to trigger a gag reflex in anyone with half a fucking clue.

Examples ?

“ There is something in the Australian psyche that craves punishment.”
“We created the myth about the larrikin so that we might feel less bad about our deference to power “
“Elections are routinely run on law and order because the giving up of rights is broadly popular.”
“For a country unused to good government we are enthusiastic about its overreach.”
“Surveillance is a comfort in this world. The federal government campaigns on it . “
“ The government has put bureaucrats in uniform and turned departments into quasi military outfits. They know this is popular. “
“It is the premise of the mass incarceration of First Nations people.”
“Occasionally the law impedes our desire to be controlled.”
“ Drug dogs are hugely ineffective but make us feel safe “
“ The small quantities of marijuana they take off the streets ....remind us of our own willingness for submission. “
“ The comfort Australians feel about punishment is that it will be a particular class of people who are punished : the indigenous, the poor , the mentally unwell.”

Basically everything this muppet has said is proper garbage. There is not a shred of reality to anything they have to say.

The author really should at least get their story straight- Do Australians want themselves punished or everyone else ? We are obviously very conflicted over who should be getting the lash for carrying a $20 bag of pot ...ourselves or the dastardly blackfellas or those evil poor or perhaps even the “ mentally ill “ who all Australians hate to their core .

But it’s not an attempt at telling the truth. The whole piece can be summarised as : Australians are weak and bigoted . They love to be treated like dirt because deep down they know it’s all they deserve. Again, the author is not implying themselves or the reader. It’s just a pleasant little hate wank for the inner circle in order to convince them that THEYRE different and smarter than the masses.

Contempt porn for those who secretly hate who they turned out to be as individuals. It is the playground ideology of trying to pull down those around them so that they don’t feel so small rewritten for the set who thinks an appreciation of words of multiple syllables makes them a Star Bellied Sneech.

Embarrassing stuff . Wouldn’t expect anything less from you Facto. Read you like a very thin book with very large print.

Well said blowy,

My sentiments exactly, I only wish I could write it as succinctly as you,

Wow. Triggered much, cobber? Such a negative reaction and subsequent flight of fancy!

But why?

We're a conservative voting nation. We've been doing it more often than not nationally for the last 71 years.

We must like whatever they sell. Their ideology appeals.

Is this a surprise?

And for those more revolting types, how's the article above that? Jan 26th! A very Sydney-esque coup d'état! Worth celebrating?

"Saturday paper + Opinion" in the website address.

Like unwrapping a wine bottled wrapped in Xmas paper, no surprises.

"What an unsurprisingly tiresome heap of steaming shit that article turned out to be."

Wouldn't comment as to the psychology around the reasons why but many of the points (draconian) are true particularly law and order, mandatory sentencing comes to mind.

"Like unwrapping a wine bottled wrapped in Xmas paper, no surprises."

Grange or Buckfast?

"Policing is political. An ugly triangle links the tabloid media to the police force and the police to government. All benefit each other."

And yes I Focus, there's an argument with this here?

"...an unsurprisingly tiresome heap of steaming shit..."

... if it looks like a duck... looking pretty quack quack form the bit I can read and blowin's breakdown, looking a bit goony whine too...

"There is something in the Australian psyche that craves punishment. Perhaps it is in the fact that White Australia began as a penal colony. Perhaps there is a deeper thread of inferiority and submission in the British settlement.

Whatever it is, the society we have is an orderly one – deeply so. We created the myth of the larrikin so we might feel less bad about our deference to power. He is a sort of court jester who makes the draconian more comfortable."

pretty funny putting white australia policy and craving punishment in the same thought bubble, the irony is lost on the writer I guess

who came up with this larrakin line? that shit's getting trotted out everywhere, and I call it utter bullshit. aussies are loveable larrikins across the world, adored due to their looseness with stuffy social conventions and rules. this comes from growing up in a loose environment where there may not be a copper for hundreds of miles, where you learn to fix shit,, fend for yourself, create rules at a community level, sort your own shit...

but authors like this clown miss all that, in their rush to impose some concept of an inner city melbourne utopia onto the rest of australia. they miss the independent spirit, the bush mechanic ethos, the sort your own shit thinking...

and the 'fuck the authorities' thinking, the we don't need you breathing down our throats with laws to function over here thinking. no apparently we crave punishment, overlords and deference of power

get fucked, seriously how do these people hold their positions? they haven't got a clue

the self loathing is strong with this one...

and it's so obvious these clowns are missing the whole point, because their answers to everything are the same; more education; more legislation; more nanny state crap; more mind control; more control of hate 'speach'; more pc-ness; more social engineering generally...

who's the gimp seeking control?

and once again, the intellectuals are blaming the constituents for their love of port adelaide

Port Adelaide the region? Or the council suburb? The federal and state electoral division?

It's the strongest and longest held Labor seat in South Australia. So that's why they're part of your problem?

Is there a problem?