GMC small Generator sets (for camping and emergency power)

You'll all be aware of those small Generators now available for as little as
$98 at Bunnings and at various other Hardware stores throughout WA etc

Marketed under several apparent brand names including "GMC" and "Diesel"
(yep !), GMC URL LINK they are a Chinese clone of an old Yamaha design (I've seen them
still available new, for about $795) Sometimes the decals list them as 750
watts and sometimes 850 watts. But it seems they are all the same in major
construction. Minor variations occur like For some the 12 volt battery
charging circuit connects with screw thread terminal posts, while other
models have a special 2 pin socket (a suitable plug and cable is supplied to
fit)

Recently a friend I know bought one even cheaper than that, (it was an ex-display model that needed some minor
fixing), and recently I bought one too (it's seeming ever more likely that my mains electricity supply will be cut off by "Western Power" due a a dispute with my meter reading which they refuse to resolve, even though, by my calculation, I'm actually $15 in credit, on my electric bill !). Perhaps other folks have also
bought one for camping or during power outages/storms etc ?

I's researching this model of small Generator on the wwweb, and came across a bunch of forum
postings from some 4wd and camper type folks ,sorry can't remember the url
exactly.

The general consenus is that these are fine and work well, almost on a par
with similar sized, name-brand Gensets costing more than $1,000. The produce mains voltage of aome 240 volts AC, and have a second circuit that provides low voltage DC to charge 12 volt car batteries.

WITH ONE PROVISO..........the low voltage ("car battery charging") circuit
is stated to be 14 volts and 8 amps maximum current, however some folks on that forum have
found this to be poorly regulated, ie somewhat approxiamate. (in some cases, a higher voltage, which therefore allowed an excessive current to flow)

The warning is basically DO NOT use the low voltage charging circuit to
charge small batteries eg Motorbike batts, and do not leave it to charge car
or deep-cycle batteries for longer than an hour or two at the most. (unless you keep a check on them, such as using some kind of voltage or current meter, and checking that the battery is not becoming over-heated)

If you want to charge batteries "properly" then plug a normal home car
battery charger into the mains voltage output, and this will provide a more
regulated charge, Note that small home chargers only put out 2 or 3 amps,
larger models 4 to 6 amps, so many hours is required to totally re-charge a
totally flat battery...........so try not to let them go fully flat in the
first place, plus it's bad for their longterm lifespan.

Using the GMC Generator's inbuilt 14 volt system for Charging car batteries which are fairly flat, for short periods of time is
not a worry. So if you are stranded at your campsite with a flat car
battery, then it'd be fine to use the built in charging circuit and in half
an hour or an hour your car battery should be replenished enough to start
the car again

I checked the voltage output of mine, and although my test-meter is old and
not 100 % accurate, it seemed to be plenty alright, both on the "14 volt"
circuit and on the mains voltage circuit

The instructions with the small gensets indicate that you cannot use the 14
volt charger output and the mains output at the same time, as the low
voltage circuit breaker will trip.

Now this seems to be wrong, certainly if you are running only light mains
voltage loads, well within the generator's capability, you'll probably be
able to use both outputs at the same time. I have done some brief tests on
my genset and this is also the case as detailed by posters on that forum I
read yesterday

If you have one of these small gensets or are thinking of buying one,
remember that they WILL NOT run large current draw appliances like fridge,
freezer, wash machine, kettle Microwave ovens etc. (remember that a
so-called "600 watt" power microwave oven takes nearly 1200 watts input
mains power to achive it's rated output of 600 watts of radiowave power)
These little generators WILL run an angle-grinder (which with a
metal-cutting disc could be useful if you need to cut your way through a
high security door or a locked gate, to evacuate an area say or cut an
injured person from a crashed car........A metal-cutting disc will do in mere seconds what would take ages
with a hand-hacksaw) They will also run most hand powertools that you might
need around your campsite or when doing emergency house repairs after a
storm say. However do not expect them to run an electric chainsaw, and
definitely NOT even a small home arc-welder (that would require a generator
of about 6 times the size ! )

A warning comes with them re running sensitive electronic equipemnt like
computers but I think they just print that for legal reasons as most
electronic things nowadays have a power supply designed to smooth out power
irregularities.

The GMC branded ones as sold through Bunnings state a 30 day, no quibble,
money back guarantee. Now assuming that. at least *some* (even just very
few) customers return them as such, then I'm guessing there must be a
stockpile of returned units (certainly not looking like new anymore, perhaps
missing their carton etc), perhaps sold off cheaply on an as is where is
basis ?????????

cheerio

Fandomedia, comments from Ju (convener) and Chuck McKenzie (Guest of Honour)

This first comments are from Ju and the 2nd comment from Chuck are lifted in toto from a webpage. Here for your convenience so you don't gotta go lookin' for 'em !

Note that the url weblinks within this posting will probably not work, you'll have to seek out the original webpage (which is linked to in my previous 'blog entry anyway) and then click on them from there directly.

FROM JU.....


It happened.... Fandomedia 2005 was a success... measures of success for me were, less about break even and more about new people turning up to the convention for the first time ever. People whom usually avoid conventions turning up and telling me how much they enjoyed themselves, how much they laughed. Having the venue staff join in the games after finishing work. Having the venue staff give me a -really- late check out because i hadn't had much sleep all weekend. Having the -entire- con attendees for Sunday singing happy birthday to me *cries*

I'm all a bit emotional.... 12 months of my hope and determination went into Fandomedia 2005. Time spent hoping I could achieve what i set out to do. Time spent working towards it all coming together as I'd planned.

Truth be told... it really did... but the atmosphere was beyond anything i'd hoped for, truly amazing. I laughed till i cried so many times it wasn't funny - my guests ROCKED!!! i LOVE you all so much!!! Thank you to various partner people whom let me borrow their beloved's for a weekend :)

Fandomedia 2005: Comedy, was spent in laughter... 65 people became members and the convention made a small surplus. Fandomedia 2006: Hunger was launched and well received!! For those whom are interested I am keeping hold of the promotional membership price until November 30 2005, you'll need to tell me the quote on your badge as the price is only open to con-goer's from this year :)

So now after months of enforced silence (which has been KILLING me.....) I can now announce:

Fandomedia 2006: Hunger
"Starving for morsels of media, what do you crave?"
Guest of Honour: Marianne De Pierres (author of the Parrish Plessis series set in post apocolyptic australia - check out the first book Nylon Angel at planetfantastic
Local Guest of Honour: Lyn Battersby (winner of Tin Duck for "Memory of Breathing" and editor of ASIM Issue 11)
Fan Guest of Honour: Elaine Kemp (long standing member of the fan community, convenor of Swancon 30, nanowrimo-maniac, art show coordinator... the list truly does go on)

My darling f-list, I'm not kidding nor exaggerating when i tell you: I HAVE THE PERFECT GUESTS for HUNGER.

I have so much more to say... but initially there's not much more to tell.

Many thanks first and foremost to kae_dash my beloved whom supported me all the way through...

To utopos and akire_yta for taking the dirty work off my hands and just... making things happen :) Like media, quotes and lunch :)

To maharetr, ascetic_hedony and buoy_wonder for salving my sanity throughout the weekend, plying me with cuddles, alcohol or space any time i needed it...

To my guests for being amazing!

To _fustian and strangedave for wrangling and pushing the line for me... making my voice be heard.

To [info]dalek_boy, the_angriest, Simon O., cheshirenoir, generalissimo_k, illiadic for letting me bounce ideas, possibilities and suggestions to you so much.

More about what the con was like for me, and what I got up to, next post...


Mmmmmmful dreams...

FROM CHUCK ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ...

Dear Ju,

May I take this opportunity to rave (once again) about Fandomedia 2005? May I?

I just wanted to let you know that I had absolutely *the* best time, and would go so far as to say it may well be the best-run convention - and certainly the most enjoyable - I've *ever* been to. From the moment I arrived in Perth, I was treated like one of the family by everyone I met. Nothing was a hassle, nothing was a fuss, and - it seemed - nothing was too good for the Guest of Honour! You and your extended band of faithful minions made my stay absolutely perfect, and I thank you and them sincerely for your warmth and generosity.

The atmosphere at the con itself was fantastic - everyone bright and happy, with attendees entertained as much by the programming as by the rabble-rousing in the hotel bar afterwards - and I lay the blame for this fully at your feet; where many con organisers play the role of Timekeeper or Adminstrator, you were very much the Host, mingling with the crowd in order to ensure that everyone - guests and attendees alike - were happy and comfortable at all times. It's a role you play perfectly, and it really 'made' the con.

Only after the convention had drawn to a close was I made aware that - despite things having appeared to flow without a single hitch -there were in fact some problems occurring behind the scenes. However, again like a good Host, you were obviously able to deal with these issues professionally, without bringing them to the notice of the con crowd, and thus not negatively affecting the atmosphere.

Honestly, I would happily go on in a similar vein for many, many pages, but for the fact that it might begin to sound as though I'm laying it on with a trowel. Therefore, I'll conclude now with the greatest single compliment I feel I can give you and Fandomedia - that in attending, I met new friends (including yourself) whom I hope to keep for the rest of my life, and that I will definitely be doing my damndest to make it back to Perth again - budget permitting! - to see them all again, con or no con.

Once again, thank you so, so much for having me, and I can't wait to see you all again. I can't imagine how you could possibly make Fandomedia 2006 any better than F05 - but knowing you, you will!

Love, hugs and kisses,
Chuck McKenzie

Visit The Official Chuck McKenzie Infosite at http://members.optusnet.com.au/chuckmck1/ for all the Chuck-related news that's fit to print (and quite a bit that isn't). The Official Chuck McKenzie Infosite: the only infosite maintained entirely by NASA-trained chimps.

FANDOMEDIA comedy-scifi convention review, Nov 2005

Over this last weekend, the 19 and 20 of November 2005, another very successful "mini-convention" was held.

Perth, Western Australia has had the annual "Swancon" for some 30 years, plus a range of smaller mini-conventions has been held over the past few years.

Again it was held at The Emerald Hotel a most excellent establishment, being a smaller hotel with cheaper convention room hire rates (for the organisers) and cheaper residential rooms upstairs (for those fans opting to stay overnight on the premises) than most other city hotels.

Previously the site of 3 "Borderlands" and last year's "Wasteland" conventions, plus last year's "Swancon".

I spoke to Ju Landeesse (known as "the hyperactive bundle of bounce" that organised this latest 'con) briefly on the Sunday morning and already more than 60 humans had been through the door, and the 'con was certain to more than break even (any small surplus remaining is donated back to "WASFF" the duly incorporated not-for-profit umbrella organisation which over-sees conventions in WA)

So, for those that missed the event, let me tell you just some of what went on there.

Chuck McKenzie was the guest of honour, I think he comes from Melbourne way, he was on many panels detailing how he got started in writing amongst other stuff. A good fun guy to listen to, along with....

Simon Haynes was the local guest of honour and he was also full of good stories to tell. I caught his reading some of his Hal Spacejock story and it was very funny indeed. (remember that the theme of the 'con, was about comedy, within the scifi genre)

The large downstairs lounge acted as the fanlounge hangout and gaming area. Yep Rob Masters was there with Alicia and their huge plastic crate of various games (boards/cards/dice etc). I took part in a couple of games myself, being the "monochrome chess" (all the pieces are the same colour) and the Pirate game.

Ju or one of her minions were happily taking membership payments for next year.....yep, Ju wants to go through all this over again !

FANTASTIC PLANET, a new scifi specialty bookshop in Shafto Lane (Central Perth) had a table of assorted books for sale, staffed by SwanCon regular Elaine, and Sally was on the "ASIM" (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine) sales table ASIM URL LINK, doing her bit for the cause, as she so often is, at almost every 'con.

Another table, and I'm sorry I cannot recall their name, had a demonstration of their interactive CDRom set up. Their interactive creation was available for just $5 per disc, a bargain to be sure.

Although this was intended as a "mini-con" ie smaller than the annual "SwanCon", there were still 2 panel streams most of the time, plus a video-room ran part-time on both days, (an excellent achievement for any small 'Con). The video-room, although only part-time had some real gems among the items shown. Several pilot eps from brand new shows only just released in the USA (eg SUPERNATURAL and THRESHOLD). Plus real rare curiosities like the pilot ep of the un-released/cancelled series GLOBAL FREQUENCY

Some items I missed myself include "The Slash Hour Of Power" and "Muppets and Comedy" so your guess is as good as mine as to what went on there. One of the reasons why I missed some of the panel items, was because I was elsewhere, such as............

Actually the success of the organised video-stream probably played a part in the "incomplete success" of my own extra-cirricular activities.

Side-note. Remember about ten years ago when Queensland state police kicked a house door down, then burst inside shouting and screaming obscenities, then held loaded and cocked guns at the inhabitants heads (in contravention of state firearms saftey laws), only to discover later that they had the wrong address, they'd meant to raid the house next door. When questioned later on television, the Qld Police Minister refused to admit that it was a utter cock-up from arsehole to breakfast-time, and insisted on referring to the botched raid incident as "an incomplete success".

Well I took along my spare vcr and had some videotapes available to play upstairs in my room, for after the official programming items had finished on Saturday night. However the start of the official videoroom screenings was delayed somewhat and ultimately finished just after midnight (I know 'cause I's there watching some great stuff !) however by that time, most folks were ready to catch some sleep at least and there was no call for me to play anything. Oh well, about half of the stuff I'd brought along, had already turned up on the official videoroom program anyway !

I left just prior to the end, as the wrap-up ceremony was starting (I had to run to catch 2 buses, and they're a lont time apart on Sundays) but I understand that the crowd present sang happy birthday to Ju (the main organiser).

Here's a link which will hopefully ptovide some info on next year's planned event. FANDOMEDIA 2006

Recent blog entries lost FOUND OK NOW

this is a test, as 2 previous entries seem to have disappeared OK all alright now, panic over, they seem to have appeared, but with a 24+ hour delay.

My Fandomedia review, not here yet but coming soon

The title says it all really

Sorrry run out of time today, will try to get it sorted tomorrow

cheers

SCUMBAGS SATTERLY's REAL ESTATE agency Corrupts WA TELETHON house auction fund-raiser

This weekend, saw the WA state's annual Telethon fundraiser for the children's hospital in Perth, as televised on Ch 7 in Perth and GWN in WA state country areas.

Now I don't watch this program generally, but did see the last half-hour or so, as I was watching for the program following to start.

A regular event is the Telethon House auction fund-raiser. Held live on air, and with statewide tv coverage, including substantial televised promotions before the auction, and the auction itself. A house is built each year, the land, materials and labour all being donated by various suppliers and companies. Therefore the house cost is "free" and all money raised at auction goes into the Telethon coffers

As such, the house is (or *could* be, and arguably *should* be) auctioned on a "No-Reserve" basis.

Now although I didn't see the auction component of the Telethon itself, there seems to have been something seriously screwy about this most recent auction.

As the Telethon was concluding, they babbled and waffled and generally spewed shite from their mouths and pitifully announced that they could not tell the audience what price the house had ultimately been sold for, and how much it had benefitted the Telethon appeal, because apparently the auctioneer hadrefused to allow the sale to be confirmed to the highest bidder......

Der, say what ! They went onto say that the auctioneer was negotiating with the 5 highest bidders.

Der again, say what again !

All I can say is that, my understanding of an auction-without-reserve, is that the highest bidder gets to buy it, at the price he bid. I feel sorry for the guy that made the winning bid and was then apparently denied the property, unless he was prepared to enter a further, extra-auction bidding war, with another 4 or 5 of the auctioneer's Yobbo mates, whom he rapidly rounded up to drive the price up more !

Note that the highest price bid was somewhere in the region of $700,000 anyway, certainly putting the Telethon fundraiser home far and away out of the reach of normal people.

You know there's something pretty scumbag about the whole principal, of auctioning of a luxury type house, which is a very "exclusive" event. A far more "inclusive" way would be to RAFFLE the house off in a lottery with tickets at say $10 each, that way many many more folks could have a chance of being involved in this major aspect of Telethon fundraising.

I have always been highly suspicious of the auction system as used for house and land sales, and this is only made worse by laws which allow owners to make *dummy* (pretend) bids on their own properties (even though they have zero intention of buying them off themself, etc)

This latest debacle re the Telethon fundraiser house......ggrrr .....all I can say is I hope the highest bidder gets the house at his original winning bid and if necessary he sues the real estate agent conducting the auction, to make him honour his original winning bid, at the winning bid price (not some higher price that the auctioneer plucked out of thin air, then somehow forced on him, later, after the event)

*IF* the house IS auctioned, but with a "reserve" then how can they possibly justify a reserve on a "free" house. They can't claim there was a "poor turnout" or etc, as it's always televised and always huge. Surely the highest price bid, is the property's true, and maximum value.....on the day, and the place should goto that bidder, whatever that price might be.......even if it's a bit less than what the Chardonnay sipping, Camargue driving auctioneer reckons he'd like it to sell for !

AUSTRALIAN TERROR SUSPECTS recently arrested

It's been all over the tv news, a few days ago some 19 suspects were arrested in Melbourne and Sydney. One suspect was shot and injured during his capture, curiously he had worked as an actor and played a minor role in a tv police-crime drama series years before.

It is reported that they "had enough chemicals stockpiled to possibly make 15 bombs" (note the extreme vagueness, NO mention of what the chemicals were or the actual quantity)

Mmmm, let's see, so compared to say one gallon of petrol (gasoline) being plenty enough for a decent sized bomb, when put all together, these 19 people had the equivalent of one large family car (a good ol' Aussie Falcon or Commodore) with a single tank full of petrol.

Or perhaps every one of the 19 of them, had a car, but they all had even less than one gallon of petrol left in each car, maybe ?

I once heard that "one gallon of petrol, under *Optimum* conditions, has the explosive power of 22 sticks of Dynamite". Now that seems a bit much to me, although note that it does have to be "optimum" conditions to get that result. But even if it's only 10% accurate, then it'd mean that every gallon of petrol would still equate to 2 sticks of dynamite. I dunno if "dynamite" means the old fashioned type which cowboys used 100+ years ago as depicted in old movies, or if it means the more modern "Gelignite" sticks.

Anyway, in the fullness of time, when these latest suspects get their day in court, it'll be interesting to note if they had anything more than a tank-full of petrol in their possession eh !

BUTIA PALMS transplanted into large tubs

Sunday was a great deal of huffing-and-puffing,and a lot of bangin' my face
into foliage, as I extracted 2 large-ish young BUTIA palms, (exact species unknown) bulging from their 20 litre pots
and put them in 2 big plastic tubs I's given recently.
Actually the pots they came out of were made from farm chemical containers
with their tops hacked off, so were about 16 litres total capacity, even
less than 20

Now normally I avoid chemicals as much as possible, anything more than
household detergent, let alone concentrated farm chemicals, but sometimes I
find old "wetting agent" or "marker foam" type containers. These products are required by
farmers to mix with their other chemicals before doing big
sprayjobs, yet these particular chemicals are just "dish-washing detergent"
but in a special extra-biodegradable formula that is harmless to plants

Anyway these "Butia" palms now had some fronds totalling upto about 3 m
length and obviously "floppy" to at least 3 m wide. (as they are growing in
a not-full-sun position, they have very long "petioles" (the frond
leaf-stalk before the frond-leaf itself) At the thickest part of the palms (Their bases) they were not quite the
diameter of a dinnerplate, but still that pretty much entirely filled their containers (if
grown in full sun, the "petiole" part would be almost non-existant, giving a
much more "compact" top of the plant, for any given butt diameter at the base).

I could have cut through these plastic containers and got the palms out easily that way but as I
have other young palms coming on that will soon need bigger pots I wanted to
save them, so I carefully used a wooden scrap of timber to "drift" the pots
off by hitting with a hammer, while lying the palms down on their side
(after having trussed the palms up so they wouldn't be flopping about
everywhere) It was still a bit of a chore, but I got it done eventually. (and, more the miracle, without injury to myself or the palms)

Butia palms do not have the vicious "will-impale-you-thru-to-the-bone" long
spines that Phoenix (Canary and date) palms do, but they do have small blunt "wait-awhile" spines near
the base of the petiole. So during re-potting I often got hung up some then
had to free myself before continuing. Note that spines vary in size between Butias

The 2 large tubs I's using to re-pot them into,are made from cut up old 200 litre thick plastic
drums. These are used by commercial food and industrial places, (for concentrated cordial extracts etc) they had
already been cut down and used as giant pots in the past, but I drilled some
extra drainage holes in them anyway. One tub was over half of it's original height,so somwhat larger than
100 litres and one slightly smaller. But still that meant that both took many many buckets of dirt I had to and
dig up to fill the blighters. (excluding the existing palm root-ball of some 16 litres size) Later they both got good topdressings of several buckets each of
fresh chooky doo-doo which these palms like as fertiliser. (Note fresh chicken manure is very very strong fertiliser, it is NOT suitable for applications to Citrus trees at all, or for many palms and some other plants) Now these Butia palms
can stay in these tubs for probably 5 years at least, certainly until their
trunk at the base reaches full adult size (about 2 feet dia for this type of
palm) Although they'll weigh close to 100 kg, at least if I *do* end up
moving to Perth sometime in future years say, then they could still be wrangled
onto a trolley and taken with me, then later, bust the pots off the bottom and
drop them into a hole in the ground as an instant "advanced palm" that would otherwise cost many hundreds of dollars to buy. However
even while in these big plastic tubs, the palms could easily give full loads
of (edible/yummy) fruits (Butias are able to fruit at a young age, well
before the crown of leaves even acheives full size). Around the palms, I have planted various non-hybrid seeds, of Watermelon and Rockmelon. So long as they sprout and get started ok (they do only get dappled sunlight) They can spill over the edge of the big tubs, then vine away across the nearby ground, into areas of more direct sunlight. Normally hereabouts the problem, in the Summer half of the year anyway, is *too much* Sunlight and heat !

I's Googling for an appropriate BUTIA URL LINK and the first page I came aross was for a North Devon (UK) plant nursery where they have had Butias growing outside for several years Their page includes a small photo of a small potted specimen (I knew that several specimens were growing outside in absolute waterfront locations on England's South coast, ie the UK mainland's least frosted areas. Note that when in NZ this last Winter I saw even seedlings of Butia growing outside with no protection, at a specialist garden centre TEXTURE PLANTS. Although The giant Canary Date palm is sometimes used as a large specimen tree around Christchurch NZ, in the past Butia has not been. Textbooks have indicated that ieven adult palms would not tolerate the Winters there, however if even seedlings survive outside with no protection, clearly a re-think is necessary.

Oh I noticed yesterday while on a brief visit, that petrol in Perth was $1.19 litre for regular unleaded. Last time I bought some locally, last week, it was $1.33 for premium.

cheers



Patsy..... "So, is killing *Not* wrong anymore ?"
Trudy..... "We don't have to worry about Right and Wrong anymore, ZOOT
decides for us"
.....THE TRIBE ep 2:49

SYDNEY LANE COVE TUNNEL COLLAPSE Sylvester the Robot rescues Tweety-Bird

I's going to make a relavent entry then found someone had already let their fingers do the typing, so I lifted this from a public newsgroup. Hopefully I have entered the url links right, to be click-easy.

A BOMB squad robot has made a mercy dash to rescue a pet bird trapped in
the Sydney unit block teetering on the edge of collapse.

About 50 residents were evacuated early on Wednesday when a section of
the Lane Cove Tunnel project caved-in, leaving the building cracking
apart and hanging over a gaping abyss.
In the emergency rush, bird-lover Karen Bruce forgot to take her
three-month-old cockatiel Tweety, leaving the bird trapped as the sole
living creature on the site.

It was left to the un-named robot (perhaps "Sylvester"?) today to rescue the caged bird from Ms
Bruce's unit that is above the section that suffered the most damage.


URL LINK



PICTURE

AIRLINES COMPLICIT in the tragedies of Sept 11 2001 ?

Sunday evening on Australia-wide on Channel 7 network in city areas and Prime-GWN in country areas, was the new docu-drama......
THE FLIGHT THAT FOUGHT BACK
(United Airlines Flight 93, Sept 11 2001)

Now firstly I must start off by declaring I have nothing but admiration for those passengers on board who tried so valiantly to take back control of this airliner. Even though their efforts ultimately failed, costing the lives of all on board, they prevented their aeroplane from being used as a deadly missile. Remember that in the hijack attacks of Sept 11, the number of people killed on the aeroplanes was "comparitively" small. The biggest loss of life was caused by the impacts, fires and collapse of the buildings concerned. The loss of the 45 or so aboard Flight 93 that day is tragic, yes, but their actions likely saved the lives of hundreds of others. We can only guess at what exists such as "Heaven", "God" and "the HereAfter", (as these things are a matter of indiviidual faith for us all) but I surely hope that God has a special place in Heaven for the passengers on board (and a special place in Hell, for the Hijackers).

The program, made just earlier this year, was surprisingly engrossing. A sorta docu-drama it included actual sound recordings from the mobile phonecalls made from the plane, plus reconstructions of what is thought to have happened, using actors, obviously. It was a bit like watching an episode of the hit tv series "24" as it had some narration by Keifer Sutherland aka "jack baeur" (golly how he had time to do this as well, I'll never know, I mean there's only 24 hours in a day, eh ! )

There was comment and recollection from relatives of the passengers, and some technical info provided by qualified pilots etc.

However after having seen this program, there are some BIG questions that need to be answered........and currently no-one on Earth seems even to be asking the right questions, so here I'll stick my neck out and do it.

Now flight 93's take-off was delayed by some 40 minutes due to heavy aircraft traffic ahead of it, so this aircraft could not be hijacked nearly simultaneously with the other 3 planes that were hijacked that day.

It is now known for an absolute fact that before Flight 93 was hijacked, Airline control had sent a text message to the pilots computerised communication system, and the text message HAD been recieved and read by the pilots on board.

From my memory, The message read something like this ...

"Beware of Cockpit intrusion, 2 hijacked aircraft have just been crashed into NYC World Trade Center buildings"

Only AFTER the pilot had recieved this text messag, and responded back to the airline's command, was the cockpit door volunteerily opened from the inside and the hijackers given control of the plane.

WHY, OH WHY, OH WHY, OH WHY ?


Now we know that the hijackers promptly knifed someone to death, perhaps they stood outside the cockpit door and threatened to knife someone if the captain didn't open up.

But for frell sake, after having been warned that IF HIJACKERS ENTER YOUR COCKPIT, THEY WILL TAKE CONTROL AND CRASH THE PLANE INTO A BUILDING KILLING ***ALL*** ON BOARD, why oh why oh why would you volunteerily allow them in.?

We know from when the passengers did finally storm the cockpit, that it took the efforts of several big burly men, pushing the food-cart as a battering-ram, many many attempts to bash the door in.

The lives of all on board could have been safe if, when confronted by hijackers demanding entry to the cockpit, The Captain had simply announced to ALL onboard over the public speaker system

"would the attempted hijackers currently hammering on the cockpit door with their bare fists please lay down their knives and return to their seats to await arrest by cops when we land, and would several big burly guys come forward from Coach section, including the Federal agent on board, the Judo champion, and the ex-police officer please stand gaurd over them, and if necessary, encourage them to co-operate.....the use of Deadly Force is authorised by me, if they give you a speck of trouble or do not comply immediately, we will be landing in a few minutes at the nearest airport where a full contingent of armed police will meet the plane.."

and further "the pilot and co-pilot wish to express their regret for the person already knifed to death lying in the aisle, but we'll be FRELLED up the RING-GEAR with a Broomstick Sideways, if we're going to open this cockpit door for any reason on Earth at any time before we land, and give these Hijackers our aeroplane, KNOWING FULL WELL that they're going to fly it at full speed into a building killing everyone on board and many more besides"

The program did say that the cockpit voice recording WAS NOT being made public because it was the subject of ongoing legal action. (Although it had been played in private to families of the passengers, who gave the reconstruction their recollections of it). You gotta wonder if someone is going to hold the airline to account for the actions of the pilot and co-pilot on board that day. Note that the program did say, that the believed that both the pilot and copilot had been killed almost immediately that the hijackers had entered the cockpit

Sept 11 was a terrible tragedy on so many levels, but Flight 93, even moreso, because it seems that this aircraft was volunterily and willingly given over to the hijackers without a fight, even AFTER the aircrew had been told what the Hijackers would do with it !

Once again, to those passengers on board who refused to stay seated as told to by the Hijackers, and who refused to comply with Hijacker's demands, like a bunch of woosy six year old girls, as official airline policy dictates......I salute you. You *almost* UN-Hijacked your plane successfully, and for that attempt, you are to be commended most highly.

Actually as an aside, you know all this extra airline security nowadays is pretty un-necessary, and there's no good reason why passengers shouldn't be allowed to carry small knives manicure scissors and nailfiles etc onto planes like the used to be able to, prior to Sept 11. As I see it, every aeroplane now comes already equipped with a full complement (of 50 or 100 or 300 whatever) of "volunter, will-fight-to-the-death Citizenry-Air-Marshalls". Anyone trying to hijack a plane nowadays is going to have to get through near every single one passenger first.

THIS UPDATE ADDED Monday 5 Dec 2005. It's recently been announced that soon US airport security screeners **WILL** be commencing to re-allow the carrying onto planes of nailfiles, small scissors etc. Yep, yet again, the Government and powers-that-be etc have admitted that I, good ol' Catherine, was 100 % correct in the first place ! It's good to know that the new US's, unlimitedly cashed up mega-beauracracy "The Department Of Homeland Security" (sic) have seen the error of their ways and is now supporting my 'Blog (in this particular area at least, if nothing else !)

Note that it's recently come to light that it was actually a direct result of the formation of The Dept Of Homeland Security, that caused the previously excellent FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Authority) to be downgraded and basically "gutted". .....and it was directly because FEMA had been so thoroughly gutted, that it's resposnce to the hurricane Katrina in New Orleans was so poor. Independant commentators have warned that, Changes announced recently, intended to improve FEMA, will actually make the situation very much worse !

GUANTANAMO BAY DAVID HICKS vs Melbourne Cup Mayhem, the Sun-sets on Sunrise before 7 am today !

The "Melbourne Cup" is Australia's biggest annual horserace, running
continuously for over 100 years

It's called "The race that stops the Nation" but coming from NZ let me
assure you it is actually "The Race that stops TWO Nations" as NZ stops for
it too.

Ch 7 Network have the broadcast rights this year, so obviously they're gonna
make the most of it, the have obviously paid licence fees of some kind etc.
Ch 9 Network therefore only have un-official coverage rights.

Since having WIN country channel available recently, in the mornings at
breakfast time I surf between the Ch 7 Network's SUNRISE show as broadcast locally
by GWN and the Ch 9 "Today" show on WIN.

This morning I awoke to the sound of rain on the roof (here was me thinking
it'd be a dry day, because that's what the forecast was for) and turned on
the telly about 6.59 am to find the Ch 7 Sunrise show getting the wind-up, 2
hours earlier than normal.

Yep, its been pulled off air early today to allow for the Melbourne Cup
coverage. Golly how much of a "lead-in" do they need for a track report etc
before the big race. Yeah they have a fashion parade and some other items
too, but come on, in Eastern States time, that means that the morning
"Sunrise" show as pulled off-air a full 7 hours (closer to 8 ?) before the
actual horse-race. Come on get real, 7 hours !

Even here in WA where we are 3 hours behind the Eastern States timezone, the
normal finish time of the Sunrise show would still have been some 2 hours
(nearly 3 ?) before the start of the race. (Normally WA tv programs are
broadcast on a delay behind E.S. but for major sporting events such as this
horserace, we get live coverage.

Now neither the Ch 7 "Sunrise" show nor the Ch 9 "Today" show are anything
special to write home about, but they're a good enough watch over breakfast
and do sometimes feature interesting items and interviews relating to Ch 7
or Ch 9 tv shows respectively.

So at breakfast today I saw no "Sunrise", and with the rain about, no
'sunrise' either. I *had* to watch the Ch 9 "Today" show throughout. Still
it has some "un-official" races to keep folks in the Melbourne Cup mood.
The Ferret Race has already been held but I think that the Shetland Pony
race is yet to run. Note added later, the outright favourite "Makybe Diva" made history by winning, for her, her third Melb Cup win. The results and end secs were played during the 12 noon news on telly.

I'll *try* NOT to see the race when it runs (sometime around 12.00 pm WA time I
think) .......it'll certainly be repeated all throughout all the news
bulletins tonight, and comment about who wins and who doesn't, will probably
displace any real news, like about the Vietnames-born Australian citizen on
Death-Row in a Singapore Jail and poor Aussie DAVID HICKS, held in
Guantanamo Bay concentration camp for the last 4 years, because he was
caught in Afghanistan with a bag of dirty laundry. (NO gun, NO bomb, just a
backpack of dirty clothes ! )

Last night's highly respected 4 CORNERS current affairs program covered
the case of this Australian citizen, who's been soundly shat on by our Prime
Minister. (For those who don't know, "4 Corners" was the program who's
expose' brought down a corrupt and downright evil Queensland state
government some years back) David's father related what he'd been told by
his son, when he was allowed a short visit with him awhile back. It was
detailed on the docu last night that David was sexually abused by the US
military after he was turned over to them (by other Afghani Muslims, in
return for a US $ 1,000 reward.) David's due to go before a specially
convened US Military Commission on November 18. Without even the rights of
a "normal" court martial. There's a famous case, fully documented, (sorry
the name escapes me, but it's been made into movies and books) from the Boer
War days in South Africa (late 1800's ?) where an Aussie soldier was "fitted
up" and used as a patsy, then carted off and executed. Later the truth came
out, but of course by then he was dead, eh. ( ADDED LATER BREAKER MORANT URL LINK ) Legal experts use his case as a
prime example of how the normal court-martial process can be corrupted to
give a pre-determined outcome, no matter what the actual evidence.
......and poor David Hicks will be getting an even lower standard of
"procedure" than that. (I won't call it "justice" or "due legal process"
because, independant legal experts, assure us that it will be neither.) 4
Corners last night said he was the first Guantanomo inmate to be tried, as
he was being used as "the token white male". He's a white-European race
Westerner ( a recent convert to Islam, although he can only understand
Arabic language at a very basic level), and the US Military wanted to show
the world it "was being fair" by NOT targetting non-Westerners. Note David
Hicks is one of the very few (perhaps the ONLY) white-European still being
held at Guantanomo. Note that last night's program also gave some details
on the only other Australian being held there (he was finally released
without charge earlier this year and returned home to freedom in Australia.
Mumdoo Habib (sp?) was a father of young children, arrested in Pakistan
(nowhere near any fighting) where he was checking out Islamic schools for
his Melbourne-born kids future. Once back in Australia he detailed how the
US Military how "rendered" him, that is, transferred him temporarily to
Egypt, so that he could be tortured with electric shocks and water
immersion, (but with American "plausable deniability"). This link should go directly to the full text transcript TRANSCRIPT

cheers






Check out my 'blog....oh hang on, you're here already !
http://kiwicatherinejemma.blogspot.com email xenaATagnDOTnetDOTau

Patsy..... "So, is killing *Not* wrong anymore ?"
Trudy..... "We don't have to worry about Right and Wrong anymore, ZOOT
decides for us"
.....THE TRIBE ep 2:49

RE-AFFORESTATION the SCOTTISH ISLES, European BEAVERS, George's Guantanomo Concentration Camp, and Ephesian Bedouins. Nukes, Gay Marriage and the KKK

Sometime in my lifetime, I'd actually love to go up north
of Scotland to the Shetland and Orkney islands and do some
"re-afforestation" there. Golly you like a challenge eh Catherine, I hear
you say. I don't know anyone up that way, but some of Dad's rellies came from up that way, like 100+ years ago. And Mum used to tell us tales of her early childhood in the Scottish Hills (later moving to London, in time for WW2) Yes I know the islands'd be windswept and cold, but from what I've seen on
tv the life for inhabitants there could be very much improved. (This segment Added later....some folks are already working on it, full details at the very end of this posting but here's a link, you need to scroll about halfway down the l-o-n-g page ORKNEY NATIVE TREES )

The
southern areas of NZ although milder in some ways even than Cornwall UK, are
swept by winds that come unfettered across the sea direct from Antarctica,
as such, farmers and horticulturists in NZ well know the benefit of
windbreaks

I'm sure some perrenial hardy bushes and small trees can be found which
would grow well up north of Scotland. I'm not an expert in cold climate
plants but there's undoubtedly many little known....in the Northern
Hemisphere anyway, varieties from Southern NZ and Southern Australia, Tasmania and
VIC-NSW alpine areas. Plus plants from Canada and Alaska, if the natives of
Scotland and "neighbouring" Norway can't cope. Once even a small
windbreak of bushes is established, then taller bushes and trees can be
grown within that partly sheltered areas. Grazing area, lost to farmers by
land and fencing taken up for the windbreak-hedge can be more than
compensated for by the increased grazing within the sheltered area, and
less stock losses due to bad weather. OK I've waffled enough on that. Obviously preserving what little still exists of the original native tree, shrub and groundcovers, but often imported plants can be used to great advantage, BECAUSE they "grow like weeds". Although my "studies" have been informal, I have spent many years growing, what in many cases are considered "weed" species, as a first step to planting in difficult and degraded areas. (Here in inland WA I use CASTOR OIL Ricinus, and ACACIA ITEAPHYLLA for quick growing windbreak shrubs Used as "Pioneer" species, those foreign plants can later be removed, whether it's in 5 years time or not for 200. Too much vegetation and "weeds" can always be cleared away, whereas if land is eroded down to the bedrock, not much grows, eh. CHAMAECYPARIS NOOTKATENSIS from Alaska would seem to me worth a try, as a fast growing evergreen conifer, (well fast -er than those islands endemic natives) that "should" cope with conditions on Scottish Islands, and could be a valuable windbreak and pioneer, while other more slowly growing endemic native species are getting going. Maybe
I'll never get up there, maybe someone's already doing that, maybe the
area's unsuitable, however even just considering the area of "Great Britain"
there are vast areas, like "The Yorkshire Moors" which was once "The
Yorkshire Forest" which was cut down and never re-planted or allowed to
regenerate. Ditto with areas all throughout the British Isles including Scotland too. You could argue that barren windswept Moors are "picturesque" in their own way
but I'd rather "picture" a forest running freely with deer and beavers. Did you
hear they are having another try at re-introducing beavers which were hunted
to extinction in England and Scotland centuries ago. The near identical
European beaver, a fair bit different to the North American variety, still
lives in several places in inland Europe so a small colony has been
introduced to an area of England called "Cotswalds" I believe.

There's another area I'd like to go plant a forest on, eroded hillsides in what would now be Turkey-Syria. Called "Ephesus" it's been inhabited since Biblical times ("Pauls letter to the Ephesians") Previously the slopes where thickly forested by Mediterraneans Oaks and other forest trees. They were felled EN MASSE and intitally the crops (wheat etc) were quite good sustaining large communities around the coastal edge. But as the trees deep roots died out, the soil eroded down silting up the natural harbours and they crops faded as the soils got thinner and thinner. Eventually eroded down to pretty much the BedRock, unable to sustain any fixed population, anything more than a handful of wandering "Bedouin" tribesmen with small herds of sheep and goats. Unfortunately even that small amount of grazing stopped any kind of re-growth. So nearly 2,000 years on, nothing's improved. They gotta keep out the sheep and goats for a few years, start by planting "pioneer" species (often = hardy small bushes with strong roots) then get full sized trees going later on. Yeah well I probably won't get to Ephesus anytime soon either !

Look don't panic about USA "going to hell in a handbasket" too
quickly. But some concern for the longer term future could be in order. Some folks reckon that India and China are the next "power-house" nations to come online

I have heard some commentators draw parallels between the USA and the fall of the Roman
Empire. It also sucked in resources from all over the (known) world to prop
up it's beauracracy and over-sized Military machine. Until it couldn't sustain itself, and fell to bits. Whether this is exactly going to happen to the US in future is
conjecture but many people reckon that after leading the world (economically, and in civil rights and freedoms and good democratic principles) for a
century, it has had its heyday and is on slippery slope downwards

Concern must be voiced about the so called "Patriot Act" (great name, who
could fail to support that ! ) which came off the printing presses at 4 am
and was voted on and passed UN-READ by the politicians by 11 am the same day......only one guy
refused, the member for somewhere around Wisconsin.

Guantanomo Bay is an appalling situation and whereas England's Prime Minister Blair insisted that UK
citizens be either charged with real offences in a real court or sent home
promptly, (and they were all subsequently sent home), the 2 Aussies have been held. One I think was
released (not long ago) but the other has now been there for over 4 years, and what can he
look forward to, a rigged trial in a kangaroo court, and no "real" true
justice and legal process, and Aussie Prime Minister little Johnny-the-Jackboot-Howard, being such a "brown
noser" to Prez Bush he won't say boo. When asked recently why he wouldn't
push for the young Aussie bloke "David Hicks" to be returned to Australia, he
said something like "but he hasn't committed any offences under Australian or
Afghani law that we can prosecute him for"........for frell sake, that's a
reason for insisting that he be returned home, NOT for insisting he be held in
a concentration camp somewhere beyond the reach of normal American or International
law ! Only a few years ago, the Yanks would have been the first to
grizzle about prison camps, and kangaroo courts without real justice, now
they're the perpetrators of it ! And talk about "WMD" they have the
biggest arsenal of anyone in the world. Hello "The pot calling the kettle *black*."

There's a docu in limited cinema release now ("Blowin' in the Wind"), about how US "depleted uranium" tipped
weapons are spreading a long lasting contamination across the world
wherever the yanks use them, like in Iraq and Afghanistan, and even where
they are fired for training purposes, like in Australia with joint training exercises with
Aussie soldiers

Didn't they learn the lesson in Vietnam wher "Agent Orange" (referred to as
a "de-foliant" but basically a wide-acting plant poison to kill off the poor
villagers food and tree crops) later found to cause horrific birth defects
for many years onwards, not just for the "natives" (whether they be
"friendlies" or "enemy") but also for US servicemen (soldiers etc) who
became contaminated as they moved through poisoned areas, later returning
home to America to father terribly deformed babies. 30 years on "depleted
uranium" weapons look like doing the same but many times worse, and with a
dangerous radioactive life of goodness only knows how many centuries. Still
I bet the US based Nuclear power industry is laughing all the way to their Swiss
bank accounts as they've found a groovy new way to get rid of their waste
products. The US Army will pay to buy them off you, then fire them willy-nilly all 'round the farmlands of some of the poorest people on Earth.

I think that the hard right wing religious so called conservatism of the US
varies from state to state and areas within. In some areas, it might not be so manifest. I'm guessing that California is a bit more easy-going than some other areas. But Remember that the Klu Klux Klansmen
of just a few years gone by, where, in the own minds, just good old God-fearin'
Christians. But to them it was ok to beat "Niggers" (sic) to death and lynch them
or tow them behind a car until they died, and even a White woman who had
sex with a Negro could expect to be severely beaten up by any Klansmen that
found out. I have considerable fears for the future of US society as it
becomes more and more impacted by an increasingly well resourced (cashed
up) and organised, ultra-right-wing hard-line Christian element. Any minorities, even Christian "minorities" might well find themselves more and more marginalised. Look at how Prez Bush managed to make the last election turn on such minor issues like "Gay Marriage" rather than on the far more substantial issue, of him going off to start World War 3 on so obviously false info that it amounted to a deliberate lie. (Blind Freddy could see that the "evidence" didn't amount to a hill-of-beans, unfortunately even the best of the United States and British media, being the useless sacks of shit that they are, simply swallowed the propoganda and lies hook-line-and-sinker). And hey, just a minute, What is even meant by "gay marriage"? Well I reckon that for the most part it'd be strictly "civil" and "legal" matters such as one long term life-partner being able to sign papers when their partner is hospitalised after a car accident, or inheriting a share of their pension/superannuation scheme should they die. It doesn't necessarily mean a traditional "church wedding" (note the traditional English/European wedding pretty much only dates from the early to mid 1800's anyway) Even if the various USA State/Federal laws allowed "gay marriage" then surely which ceremonies they'd allow in their own Church/Synagogue/Mosque would be at the discretion of the individual Pastors/Reverends/Priests/Rabbis/Imams etc So those who would be offended simply wouldn't allow such ceremonies to take place in THEIR Holy Place. Well that's my opinion anyway. Again we come back to the subject of "pieces of paper" which Governements control or control access to, and which are needed for .....crossing International borders, healthcare, pension and inheritance entitlements etc

Here's a bunch of info I just discovered, apparently keen volunteers are doing good things all throughout the British Isles, including Orkney and Shetland Islands, using seedlings from what few native stands of bush and forest still exist.

Orkney Native Trees
The woods of Orkney have been in retreat for around 5000 years, probably as a result both of climate change and human activities such as burning and stock grazing. Today the islands are almost treeless and exposed to salt spray, with only one tiny tract of true relict woodland surviving: Berriedale on the island of Hoy, the most northerly natural woodland in the British Isles. Its only companions are scattered trees and small groups in steep gullies and ravines, areas of low willow carr, and aspen clinging to the cliffs overlooking Scapa Flow. Berriedale, although no more than a couple of hectares in size, is still a "remarkable and atmospheric woodland",(60) with birch, hazel, aspen, rowan and willow, and "a dense understorey of Roses and Honeysuckle and a ground flora of tall herbs and ferns".(60) Ungrazed since 1984 when it was acquired by the RSPB, natural regeneration is now beginning to take place - albeit at a slow pace because of Orkney's very short growing season. Since a single fire could easily wipe out the entire wood, seed is being collected and planted out in enclosures and gullies elsewhere on the reserve.

The Orkney Islands Native Tree Restoration Project is overseeing the creation of new small woodlands on "up to 50 sites",(61) totalling at least 20 hectares. Along with the work of the new Orkney Native Plant Network in propagating trees, shrubs and wildflowers, these new woods, sheltering along the line of a burn or in the lee of a hill, should become seed sources themselves in turn - thereby safeguarding the unique genetic material of the Orkney woods. Beyond this, "it is very likely that the stimulation of local interest and the increasing availability of native plants will lead to the ongoing planting of many other sites... well into the 21st century".(62) Volunteer opportunities are available at Berriedale and with the Restoration Project.(63) Orkney Islands Native Tree Restoration Project

Jenny Taylor
3 Manse Lane
Stromness
Orkney KW16 3BX
Tel: 01856 851322

James Plowman
RSPB
Ley House
Hoy
Orkney KW16 3NJ
Tel: 01856 791298

Shetland Community Woodlands
Alan Blane
Shetland Amenity Trust
22-24 North Road
Lerwick
Shetland ZE1 0NQ
Tel: 01595 694688

(Similar to the Orkney Project, but in an even more hostile setting.)



cheers



In 1896 50% of ALL registered cars in the U.S. were wrecked in ONE DAY!
On that same day... there were NO reported Truck Accidents anywhere


Patsy..... "So, is killing *Not* wrong anymore ?"
Trudy..... "We don't have to worry about Right and Wrong anymore, ZOOT
decides for us"
.....THE TRIBE ep 2:49