Today is Australia Day :)

So a bit about the language:

(click to see full-size)

6.3 magnitude earthquake hits New Zealand's north island

Luckily no serious damage or injuries.

The only casualty has been an Eagle from the Hobbit films which fell from the ceilling at Wellington airport.

READ FULL STORY

Bushfire season: alerts and warnings

Remember when we talked about LEAVING EARLY and STAYING TO DEFEND THE HOUSE earlier in the course?

This is what such alert looks like:

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Bushfire WATCH AND ACT for Brabham in the City of Swan

Sunday 19 January 2014 - 6:58 PM

ALERT LEVEL:
A bushfire WATCH AND ACT has been issued for people in Brabham in the City of Swan.

• The alert level for this fire has been downgraded.
• There is a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is approaching the area and conditions are changing.
• You need to leave or get ready to actively defend.
• The fire is burning in bushland / farmland between Harrow Street, Lord Street, Park Street and West Swan Road in Brabham.

BUSHFIRE BEHAVIOUR:

• The bushfire is moving in a north easterly direction.  
• It is contained and not controlled 
• The fire perimeter is 3.2 kilometres long.  
• Firefighters are expecting the wind to change from a southernly direction to a north easterly tomorrow morning.  This means homes in the north east of Brabham may be threatened by the fire. 

WHAT TO DO:

• If you are not prepared or you plan to leave, leave now if the way is clear.   
• If you are well prepared and plan to actively defend your home, make final preparations now.
• Do not rely on mains water pressure as it may be affected. If you have access to a water tank and plan to defend your home, start patrolling with your hose and put out spot fires.
• If you are not at home, do not try to return as conditions in the area could be very dangerous. 

SAFER PLACE:

• Your safest option may be to visit family or friends who live away from the area.
• A relocation centre has been Altone Park Recreation Centre.

You can follow the alerts for WA HERE.

A Time Lapse Showing Just How Hot Australia Is Right Now

Australia is trapped in a heatwave right now. Traditionally temperate Melbourne is headed for a top of 41 degrees C today. Cool and calm Adelaide is heading for 46 degrees, and seaside Sydney is headed for 40 degrees. Someone decided to demonstrate what that really means on the streets, showing how fast a chocolate would melt on the footpath. This video was taken yesterday in Melbourne at 3pm, when the temperature was still sitting at an unseasonable 42 degrees Celcius.
The normally sturdy Lindt Ball sits on the pavement for seconds before it begins to break down due to the heat. Within three minutes, what once was a delicious treat is a puddle of hot, brown muck on the ground.
If you drop your Lindt chocolate in this heat, you’ve got three minutes to pick it up before it becomes liquid.
Stay safe out there, Australia. Drink plenty of water and stay cool.

source: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/01/a-time-lapse-showing-just-how-hot-australia-is-right-now/

H & J: Humour and Jeopardy

As you remember we still have to catch up on "HUMOUR" - I'll be doing the presentation, so relax ;)

The class about Indigenous culture will be moved to next week, so we're jumping straight into:


The letter "J". It stands for Jeopardy ;-)


Australia is a dangerous place to stay alive ;-)

Watch this humorous clip by our old friends The Scared Weird Little Guys and try to note down as many threats that await you in Australia as you can.



 
Being precautious tourists, you may also want to find out how to protect yourselves and what to do if you get bitten or stung.

Click on the signs below to learn some useful tips.









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... as has the heatwave.

Temperatures expected to soar across the country as heatwave shows no sign of cooling.

And the bushfire season has truly started...

Devastating blaze razes at least 27 homes east of Perth.

H: Hobart, History, High culture, Humour and generally "How to be Australian"

Just three topic this time, because one is bound to take us a lot of time ;-)

TIMELINE

You can have a look at the timeline above as we're going to start with a short overview of the part of Australian history that we've covered so far.

But most of what we'll be talking about is still somehow linked to Tasmania - Van Diemen's Land. So click on the clip below and let's go to Tassie ;)

1. Hobart - two clips from one of my favourite You Tube travel channels - Overlander:

 

 

2. High Culture

HARBOUR BRIDGE

and

3. Humour:
- gallows humour
- anti-authoritarian
- self-depreciating






















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