Preliminary Trip == Shoreham Foreshore

 

This weekend we took off for a preliminary trip to the the Shoreham Foreshore Park, on Westernport. We did the trip to just to iron out any bugs we might have prior to our big trip to the Flinders Ranges in April.

All up the park was pretty basic. The amenities looked like they could do with a good refresh. No powered sites. Yet there was a charm. It was reminiscent for me of Wilsons Prom. Heaps of bird life, Koalas above us in the trees. The sites were not on top of each other as you would get in a normal caravan park. Yep I'd go back. It seems as if the park itself is still a bit of a secret!

Rate it: 7/10

 

The Volkswagen Bluemotion so far has performed pretty well, its fuel usage even pulling the podtrailer is still 5.6 literes/100km, very good really. I expect on even longer distances to be better. I actually think the computer in the Golf actually over estimates the fuel usage so I'm going to calcuate this manually on the big trip.

The other thing I was worried about was the towing and braking. I had a horrid experience with my Ford Falcon towing a small pop-up caravan which had no brakes. The podtrailer with electric brakes is really good. I don't really feel anything behind me even with sharpish braking.

 

 

 

 

Alaska, Sue Saliba

Alaska, Sue Saliba

There were three reason that I picked up this book:

1. Alaska, one of the last of the great wildernesses.
2. A continuation of my reading theme of young adult literature
3. Sue Saliba, a local to Phillip Island, who I've meet a couple of times

At first I struggled with the book, I couldn't get my head around no CAPITALS. It actually made reading difficult. I knew there was some literary reason but it wasn't until I reflected that there was some turmoil for the reader (At least myself) having not capitals; much like the main character, Mia.

Like a good movie a book which keeps you thinking about it after it has finished, is good. There were many themes which got me thinking; the idea of trying to escape a bad situation only to find that there is no escape, even thousands of miles away; compromises and what is worth fighting for and what isn't. It brought up questions in my own life, asking the same questions about what is important and how much I'd fight and how much I'd let pass by.

There where also some great quotes in the book:

"you can't have beauty without danger..."you can't have life and absolute safety"

Its very reminiscent to the quote but Whilliam Shed "A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. "

Its a good book, like I've written; it had me thinking afterwards. It has that feel of a book where the author was deliberate with every word; a precious commodity in todays literature. Even if at time it seemed a bit flowery.

4/5

 

Dragon Keeper trilogy by Carole Wilkinson

 

I've just completed the Dragon Keeper Trilogy by Carole Wilkinson; Dragon Keeper, Garden of the Purple Dragon and Dragon Moon.

It is teenage fiction, I'm reading it because I'm catching up. Re-discovering its magic. I havn't read this age related fiction for 20 years.

What I like about this series is where it is set. China when it was ruled by emperors, and had soldiers guarding the great wall. Usually when dragons are involved they are a Tolkien world; my imagination always has me thinking of a European landscape and customs. Not eastern.

The book remined me of my childhood in Bendigo where we had the giant Sun Loong dragon which was made in China. It has triggered a bit of curiosity about Chinese Dragons and some of the legends about them. There is obviously a lot which we in the Western cultures don't know.

 

The Trilogy; It's good. I can imagine myself either reading or discussing element of it with my girls. Short chapters which are full of excitement, suspense and puzzles.

The thing that I liked most was the end, which was was left open; maybe there are still dragons out there....

4/5

Ken Smith vs Greg Hunt

I often read, and I'm amazed at the difference of opinion between Ken Smith State government representative currently in power and the speaker of the house and Greg Hunt Federal representative in opposition; in matters regarding Bass. Amazed because they are both in the liberal party!

The environment::

Ken Smith:: Climate change "agnostic"

Greg Smtih:: "Convinced" of the science.

Development Ventnor::

Ken Smith:: Happy for it to go ahead (ignoring locals)

Greg Hunt:: Actively lobbied against it.

24 Medical clinic::

Ken Smith:: From this weeks Phillip Island advertiser didn't think Phillip island needed it.

Greg Hunt:: From this weeks Phillip Island advertiser, actively meeting with locals and is fighting for a 24hr medical clinic.

It is confusing to say the least. All I can hope for is Ken Smith to retire; It would probably be best for the Liberal Party. Then maybe we can get a representative who "represents" people on Phillip Island.

iBookstore and Amazone Kindle bookstore

Yesterday I was checking out the 'Australia Lonely Planet', I got it from the library and thought that it would be a good reference. Until like all these books they go out of date.

First I checked out 'Book depository"', my first preference for a physical copy. Cost $23.65. Not bad considering this includes postage.

My next option was iBooks which is my prefered option. I'd like to keep my books in the 'Apple ecosystem' Cost $39.99, I nearly choked!

I thought I have a look at the kindle book store. Cost $16.49, a fair price.

Then there is google books. Nothing available as an ebook...

 

What is it with Apple and books? I can understand why they charge a premium for there products but when they are competing with others why can't they be at least close? Over double the price of Amazon books is just not good enough. I'll just keep looking through my borrowed copy from the library and take notes.

 

Geoffrey Blainey, A short history of the 20th Century

 

Geoffrey Blainey, A short history of the 20th Century

A few random thoughts on the book::

I like Geoffery Blainey's books. I've read a few now; I like his broad sweeps, yet his ability to pick out small details.

Beyond a doubt in my mind the most influential and shaping event was communism. Even if communism didn't last, some of the ideals did. Fair working conditions, employment, a health system for those who need it, equality between sexes. The struggle with the west brought about huge jumps in technology for weapons and space exploration.

Communism birth and life was brutal. It wasn't communisms ideas which let it down; rather corruption and power of leaders. Implementation of the ideals of communism were flawed.

It would appear to me that out of the history of humanity, the 20th Century had the most going on. It certainly had the first of the 'World Wars' where death was in the millions for the combatants as well as civilians. The worlds populations have been the greatest. Technology with the birth of computers, rockets, nuclear power, planes, telecommunication. All of these have been revolutionary. I would suspect what happens afterwards will be more 'Evolutionary'.

My only criticism would be the inclusion of the New York attacks on the twin towers. I actually think that on scale of disasters be them man made or not; it was small. The American response was large; and worthwhile reporting; but both events are outside of the 20th Century.

4/5

Blogsy Vs BlogPress

I've been writing my blog now on my iPad for a couple of months. Prior to that I just used a Macbook with Safari. The iPad has become increasingly my "PC" of choice, due to its form size and portability.

Safari:: Unfortunately with Safari on the iPad the option of uploading pictures is shaded. I have yet to find a a way around this option so that I can put photos straight from the iPad onto the blog. Otherwise just for text its alright. The other major downfall is that you need to have an active internet connection.

Blogsy App:: This is my tool of choice. Some of the positives are

• What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) is pretty accurate
• Some niffty ways to hyperlink text
• You can write your stuff without an active internet connection
• Development appears pretty active, there is always seems a new version every couple of months

Blogsy does though have its downfalls..

• You have to upload your photos to Picarso or other photo sharing program.
• You cannot directly add your photos from your camera libary to the blog site.
• You have to allow location sharing to add a image to your blog (I find this rather intrusive)
• The development of lots of new versions means it can be a bit buggy at times.

BlogPress App::

I used a long while on my iPhone, but I found it a bit of pain to blog on a phone. But I've been using this app again since the iPad.

BlogPress main pluses for me are image management.

• You can add images direct from your iPad camera.
• They don't ask for an image location.

But it does have its problems

• hyperlinks, they are messy and complicated.
• Not as pretty. WYSIWYG isn't quite there, if at all.
• Doesn't seem to be actively developed.

So While both apps have there ups and downs I pretty much use Blogsy unless I have images. Then I use BlogPress. If there is a bit of writing, I use BlogPress to upload the photos, save as draft then move over to Blogsy.

I'm still waiting for my ideal blogging app....