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• Canon 40D Review … NSWF as contains sexual references and some fowl language.
  by chasingsooz

  Firstly I have to say that I had my new 40D unpacked in a flash. The hardest part of putting it all together was working out how to get t…

  Firstly I have to say that I had my new 40D unpacked in a flash. The hardest part of putting it all together was working out how to get the strap on … I was never a girl guide so I am not good at knots and had to call out for help. The second hardest part was installing the software as it conflicted with something else on my computer. We are still not sure exactly what and the Canon techies seem to have no idea either. I read the first page of the instruction manual and carefully ticked all the boxes, making sure that all the parts were included. Then I got so excited that I skipped the rest of the manual and rushed down to our local duck pond to have a play. It was a hot summer’s day and I wasn’t the only one out having fun. The ducks were extra frisky, prancing and preening and spreading their wings. / / Within an hour I had used all of the memory in my camera and shot over 960 pictures. When my husband asked me what happened, I sheepishly replied that the ducks were having sex and it was really quite exciting. There was so much that I didn’t know about the process and I learnt so much. Then I pointed to the three ducks and explained that two of the ducks were boys because they were strutting their stuff and vying for her attention and the third duck was just a slutty girl who made her back go flat in the water like a surfboard so they could just climb on board. I thought I had got some really cool “nature” shots but sadly, snow white feathers flare on black polluted water so the shots didn’t turn out too well. Perhaps I should have read past the first page in the manual. ROFL Here are some more of the shots from the pond using my 17-85mm lens. / Today was the second day with my new camera and what a big day it was. Firstly we had the big rally in the city – The Walk Against Warming, which is something we have participated in as a family since its inception. Then it was off to the water again .. this time a dog park near the beach. Thankfully no dogs were mating but when I was bending over to take a close up of a starfish, a small black dog rushed under my camera and licked the lens. Luckily Ben (from Fletchers Fotographics) has made me put skylight covers on the lenses for protection. Thanks Ben.:-) Here are some shots from the rally … / And of the beach/city … / / I am going to learn a little more about my camera before I start loading shots into my gallery. As I am such a busy body, I already know that I need a longer lens. I am yet to try out the macro lens that I also bought and will blog about it on another day. Right now I have cramping in my right hand and need to give it a rest. So far I am having an absolute ball with the Canon 40D and learnt so much. Sadly I haven’t learnt anything about the camera but I do know an awful lot about ducks. Cheers Sooz

• Climate change and the Photoshop Competition
  by Kelly McGill

  I’m not big on competitions. Never have been. / But I feel strongly about climate change, so thought I’d ‘make’ a photo (the first time I…

  I’m not big on competitions. Never have been. / But I feel strongly about climate change, so thought I’d ‘make’ a photo (the first time I’ve ever done so much Photoshop work!) and enter it into the Infinate Future Chaos comp. Here’s my entry.. Rather than concern myself with winning (but hey, lets face it, that would ROCK) I also hope a message is delivered along with my image and what I am trying to say. If we all make small changes we become part of large change – and I for one like the planet we have and wouldn’t mind seeing it stick around for a bit longer … Ask yourself what small changes can YOU make. Cheers / Kel P.S Ironically the beach in this shot is the Friendly Beaches on Tasmania’s East Coast. Not so ‘friendly’ now eh? ;-)

• Earth Hour
  by seventeen

  Ok all you Bubblers, tomorrow night you shall have the night off from your screens. Talk, sing, play an instrument, go for a walk, read a…

  Ok all you Bubblers, tomorrow night you shall have the night off from your screens. Talk, sing, play an instrument, go for a walk, read a book by candle light. Turn off your electricity and join the world in Earth Hour 60 minutes, Saturday 29 March 2008 from 8pm to 9pm “Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.” PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD…

• Top-end climate and seasons...
  by Tony Middleton

  After many months of the land baking in extreme heat, the land being parched of all it’s moisture – every plant and animal is pushed to i…

  After many months of the land baking in extreme heat, the land being parched of all it’s moisture – every plant and animal is pushed to it’s limits of existance in this volatile climatic region.But like all seasons, they slowly change and the first showers and storms begin to form – isolated and somewhat benign in nature at first. Though this soon changes as the build up season gets into full swing and the heat and humidity is at it’s peak. The thunderstorms become more frequent and sometimes more violent and often dumping very heavy rainfall in short periods with cooler refreshing outflow winds temporarily providing relief from the stiffling heat and humidity…though once the storm clears and the sun returns the added moisture at ground levels sends the humidity skyrocketing again. / Wetlands begin to become rejuvinated remarkebly quickly again as all plants and animals look to make the most of this high speed growing and breeding season before the dry returns. Before it does though is the all mighty wet season with daily downpours, winds and little sunshine… This leaves the vast wetlands of the top end once again in full splendour of the annual floods. Access becomes very limited but what a majestic sight it is. This dramatic climate dries as quickly as it explodes and once again the top end will experience many months of cloudless skies as the cycle continues. take a glance at my relevant photograph that inspired me writing this piece… / http://www.redbubble.com/mybubble/works/edit_image/22722

• Is it hot where you live?
  by Kelly McGill

  Spare a thought for the folk of Marble Bar in Western Australia. With days forecasting between 45 and 48° .. imagine how they would fee…

  Spare a thought for the folk of Marble Bar in Western Australia. With days forecasting between 45 and 48° .. imagine how they would feel! link Check out their minimum temps .. and here in Hobart people complain if it’s 19 at night :)

• Australia. we are feeling for you.
  by Jim Caldwell

  SYDNEY (AFP) – Heatwaves, less rain and increased drought are the likely prospect for Australia, according to a new report on climate cha…

  SYDNEY (AFP) – Heatwaves, less rain and increased drought are the likely prospect for Australia, according to a new report on climate change which the agriculture minister said read like a “disaster novel”. / / The report, by the Bureau of Meteorology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, found that the world’s driest inhabited continent is likely to suffer more extreme temperatures due to climate change. It said that exceptionally hot years, which once occurred every 20 to 25 years, were more likely to hit every one or two years. And the hotter weather could begin as soon as 2010. Agriculture Minister Tony Burke said the assessment indicated that the risk of drought would double, as would the area of Australia declared to be in drought. “Parts of these high level projections read more like a disaster novel than a scientific report,” he told reporters. “What’s clear is that the cycle of drought is going to be more regular and deeper than ever.” The report is part of a government review of drought policy. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the report, which found that the area of Australia having an exceptionally hot year could increase from just under five percent to as much as 95 percent, was “very disturbing”. “The analysis shows that the extent and frequency of exceptionally hot years have been increasing rapidly over recent decades and this trend is expected to continue,” the report concluded. Rainfall, which has been falling since the 1950s - partly due to climate change - is also likely to decline with southern Australia and the southern island of Tasmania among the worst affected, it said.

• Australia's bats aren't doing well in the new heat?
  by Dave Sandersfeld

  Temperature peaks killing off flying foxes / By Charles Clover, Environment Editor / Last Updated: 6:01pm GMT 27/11/2007 Scientists …

  Temperature peaks killing off flying foxes / By Charles Clover, Environment Editor / Last Updated: 6:01pm GMT 27/11/2007 Scientists say that mass die-offs of Australian flying foxes, among the most dramatic recorded, show how the survival of whole species could be affected by climate change. / Roosting fruit bats / On Jan 12 2002, when temperatures exceeded 108ºF (42.9ºC) in New South Wales, 3,500 flying foxes or fruitbats in nine colonies were found dead. Most of these were the tropical black flying fox. Since 1994 some 30,000 flying foxes have been killed by 19 similar events, with most of these being the temperate grey-headed flying fox, according to Dr Justin Welbergen of Cambridge University. There was little evidence for die-offs before 1994, the scientists found. Temperatures have risen on average by 0.74ºC on average over the past 100 years. The higher susceptibility of females and young to higher temperatures can have a serious effect on breeding populations, according to the paper published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B. advertisementStefan Klose, co-author of the paper, said: “In a very dramatic way we see the outcome of extreme climate events that are predicted to increase as a result of climate change by the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change. “These animals are simply not able to cope with higher temperatures and so they die. They are the seed dispersers for Australia’s rainforest so the ecosystem effects could be very considerable.” /

• Environmental action required NOW!
  by Frank Stillitano

  Hi all, The Australian Government will soon announce its greenhouse gas pollution reduction target for 2020. This critical decision wi…

  Hi all, The Australian Government will soon announce its greenhouse gas pollution reduction target for 2020. This critical decision will affect us all and your voice needs to be heard! Please visit both the following websites and fill in the very brief online forms to send a letter to various MPs voicing our concerns. Who on earth cares WWF Australia

• Latest News about the Climate Crisis Treaty...
  by Curtis Bard

  Dear Curtis, In less than forty-eight hours, I will step onstage at the UN Climate Conference in Bali. With me I will bring hundreds o…

  Dear Curtis, In less than forty-eight hours, I will step onstage at the UN Climate Conference in Bali. With me I will bring hundreds of thousands of messages demanding that a visionary global treaty be completed and brought into effect by 2010. If we want to solve the climate crisis, together we need to demonstrate the broad public support for action. That’s why it’s vital that you sign our petition right now by visiting: http://climateprotect.org/standwithal Over the past few months we’ve taken many positive steps towards uniting governments worldwide around the goal of solving the climate crisis. Just over a week ago on December 3rd, Australia’s new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was sworn in. His first formal act in office was to ratify the Kyoto Treaty. This was a clear demonstration of Australia’s priorities. Yet this progress has not swayed the Bush Administration. With thousands of delegates gathered in Bali for the UN Climate Conference, this is our last chance in 2007 to show the world how serious the American people are about ending the climate crisis. That’s why it is so vital that all of us join together and demonstrate the political will of our country. Only two days remain before I deliver your messages to the delegates meeting in Bali. Over the past few days more than 173,963 people have added their voices. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to demonstrate your support for a visionary global treaty to end the climate crisis. Sign our petition, then reach out to everyone you know and ask them to sign today by visiting: http://climateprotect.org/standwithal Your activism and enthusiasm for this cause inspire me every day. Thank you, Al Gore

• Climate - WE can CHANGE!
  by wondawe

  I’ve put together a small website and video which conveys my vision for our evolution on this planet. I believe that climate change prese…

  I’ve put together a small website and video which conveys my vision for our evolution on this planet. I believe that climate change presents the significant challenge that is needed in order for humans to rise beyond themselves, and nations to recognise their common mutual interest. We respond best to an inspiring challenge – we’ve been to the Moon, after all. But now we are all connected, and our evolved response to climate change offers the opportunity for us to address much of what is wrong with our current human climate. It may sound like a lofty goal, but I envision that the simple responses set out in the movie can set in motion a chain reaction. Its an inspiring vision for us to stand for, united – and is hope-based. I was originally going to produce this work as part of the Vision Statements I create (see my YouTube site), but was further inspired by Easy Being Green’s competition. It has encouraged me to really put my vision ‘out there’, and I will be incredibly rewarded if it touches many people, and has a big impact on their lives. Winning the competition itself would be a major bonus, as it would strongly support me in creating and distributing more of such visions, teaching people to envision and create their own… the multiplier effect. I would be so happy and grateful to put the competition winnings towards an upgraded camera (a digital-SLR) so that I may capture even more images of the world’s beauty, with a tool that unleashes my creative visions. You can see it (and help avoid Global Warming) at www.wondawe.com

• Exhibition of Antarctic Images - Wild in Wonderland
  by Interstellar Images

  For anyone in lovely Melbourne, I will be exhibiting my images from Antarctica throughout the month of March. After undertaking a ma…

  For anyone in lovely Melbourne, I will be exhibiting my images from Antarctica throughout the month of March. After undertaking a massive fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis through my trip to Antarctica in December 2006, which gained some major corporate sponsorship and a subsequent exhbition at Federation Square “On Shaky Ground” in July 2007, this is the opportunity to re-exhibit my work. Exhibition opening: / Sunday 2 March 2008 / from 2pm Drinks, nibbles and DJ tunes will be provided :) Where: / White Rabbit Record Bar / 176 Bellair Street / Kensington VIC / (opposite Kensington train station) All images will be for sale and will be on display for the month of March. I hope you can come along :) Stellar

• It's All Just Lovely, Ain't It?
  by Gary Walker

  I’m sitting here in the comfort of a beautiful home built in the Vermont Hills, surrounded by nature and beauty. The fact that many of t…

  I’m sitting here in the comfort of a beautiful home built in the Vermont Hills, surrounded by nature and beauty. The fact that many of the trees round here pre-date the white man barely enters my mind. Nor does the knowledge that plenty of the trees around here and neighbouring states, particularly toward the coast, are under 100 years old and stand on ground where once mighty trees stood. They were felled by the white man 200 years ago and that barely registers either. Perhaps it should though. By virtue of you being able to read my Notes I know that you are using electricity generated, primarily from non-renewable sources or through nuclear processes. I’m a westerner, I’ve enjoyed all the trappings and benefits that being a westerner brings, I have a car, I have a home with electric light, I often eat food that has been transported 1000’s of miles for my benefit, often having been grown by people living simple and, by our measures, uncomfortable lives. I flew to the US by Boeing 777, my carbon footprint is truly massive and will never be erased. So I can’t write this as an eco-warrior, as a man with a clear conscience. Up here in the hills you need a 4×4 to get around. We’re in a Jeep Cherokee, one of the few 4×4’s that as a self-confessed petrol head and lover of engineering I do actually like. Other considerations aside I’m more of a sporty 2 seater or luxurious swift saloon kind of guy. Up here in the hills a 4×4 is essential. I look around the American highways and see enormous behemoths, 4×4 pickups with 4 seat cabs weighing two tonnes or more consuming gasoline at a prodigious rate. The US tax regime and fuel driven economy means that currently they pay $2 plus a little a gallon – back home we pay, for the sake of argument, £1 a litre. If my conversions are right and without using a calculator, that’s some say £4.50 a gallon in the UK compared to £1.00 here. Just like the Chelsea Tractors back home there are plenty of guys in New York and Boston that drag around town, dropping Billy-Jo and Dwight off at school in the mornings. Soccer Mom’s rushing around consuming gas likes there’s no tomorrow. Substitute Porsche Cayenne, BMW X4 and Toyota Landcruisers for the American equivalents. Barely ever seeing mud and snow really these vehicles are the ultimate expression of consumerism gone crazy and disregard for the world’s limited resources, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. There’s even some vehicles tooling around London now which don’t have to pay congestion charges because they are dual powered – a massive technical innovation which is somehow justifying their presence on the road, driven by the rich to avoid taxation – look at the manuals and you’ll see they’re just so much window dressing allowing those massive Western egos to be massaged. Your cheap flight to the South of France, your quick trip to Dublin or Amsterdam. My flight to Vermont. The annual pilgrimage to Ibiza or Florida and Disney Land. Well, it really needs to be wake up time for everybody. Last year I holidayed in the South of France, I can’t claim this to be fact, but I heard it from a French man so it must be true. As a family we visited the Roman Amphitheatre at Nimes, a classic structure and one of the best preserved in the world, it has stood for some 2000 years I guess. I was told that last year this architectural masterpiece, for the first in it’s history, flooded, it happened twice in one summer. When we drive into Brattleboro we pass through Newfane and en-route drive by a ski-lodge, a large wooden building with a ski lift next to it. It looked a little run down, I guessed it needed a little TLC and a spruce up. Oh no I’m assured, that place hasn’t been used for years, the snow never gets this far down the hill anymore. I’m pretty sure that Vermont hasn’t sunk 500 feet in the last ten years, so it must’ve been the snow line that’s receded and like my hair it doesn’t seem to be rushing back. Our planet’s only small and like a giant plague mankind is changing the landscape and consuming all around. Take a Petri dish and apply the gel a scientist would use to culture a bacterial growth, place a couple of varieties of bacteria on the gel, close the lid, leave it in a warm place, come back in a few weeks and see what’s left. Over time the little groups of bacteria will multiply and make their way across and about the gel, the bacteria will consume the goodness in the gel and as their little colonies swell they will start to consume each other, ultimately one bacteria will probably flourish, the others will disappear as they are consumed or simply die away as they can’t compete. After a while only one species of bacteria will remain, perhaps a little subspecies will appear here and there. Ultimately you’ll go back to that dish and open it up to find it empty, some detritus bereft of life and nourishment will litter the base of the dish, with no means of escape and no resources left all the bacteria are gone, all the nutrients disappeared converted into inert and valueless molecules, fit for nothing but the bin and not worthy of your microscope. I sit as rich westerner in the comfort of my own home, enjoying my i-pod and i-phone in my i-centric society. Meanwhile across the earth in the massive human economies of the Far East and Asia there are countries teeming with millions of people, striving for the same. Pumping out goods to be consumed cheaply by rich westerners, these massive nations filled with little people like you and me, all hoping that one day they can afford the MP3 players they’re making and the t-shirts and trainers we are wearing, and why shouldn’t they. Who am I to deny them the comforts I so enjoy and why should they not strive toward the comfort I have. They will and of course they must. There’s a little less room for us all but we all deserve a bit of it. It all comes at a cost and the waste we and they produce is leading to massive change the like of which the Earth has not seen before. There was big news recently that the largest breakaway of ice within mankind’s history has taken place. I saw that Al Gore’s film has been slated for having 9 errors. I’ve watched documentaries where scientists claim that the movement of CO2, it’s release and reabsorption has all happened before. A basic knowledge of the Earth’s history shows that in the past it has moved between being a very cold place and a very warm place. The sea and areas beneath it releasing and absorbing CO2 on a massive scale. This is all natural and we are not making a difference. Well, it’s never happened as quickly as we see it happening now, there has never been the level of particulate pollution in the sky as there is now, it’s not all about the Ozone layer you know, we’ve created so much “dust” (for want of a better scientific term) that arguably if we now reduce our CO2 production we may cook or freeze ourselves anyway just because the very air itself is so laden with matter that it already shades the earth. I fear that I’ll be leaving behind a planet charged with difficulty and strife for the next generation and maybe only a few more beyond that, before we are all clamouring for the last bits of land, the last few resources, the last cool place to rest, the last dry place to build our homes. What difference does one person make, well none at all, but if we can all do our little bit, then at least we might be able to leave when it’s our turn to knowing we’ve tried and if we all do it, it might make a difference and at least leave a little bit for our fellow man and importantly leave something for our children and theirs and theirs beyond. So I’ll fly home, but maybe next spring I won’t come back here, but I’ll take a train to the Scottish Highlands instead. I don’t buy water in a plastic bottle that’s been poured from a tap in France or Spain and travelled a thousand miles for me to pour over my head. I don’t buy Granny Smiths grown in the States and flown to me in perfect condition, packaged in polystyrene and cling film. My quick Italian beauty is up for sale, partly because she is Italian and prone to mood swings, but mostly because although I love her, there’s more efficient ways for me to travel. I’m looking for work which will allow me to travel either only small distances or at least make the long journey by mass transportation and more efficient systems. I cook less warmed foods, my DVD player does not have a standby option, if I’m not in the room, then I turn the light off, I use less water (if it’s yellow, let mellow – if it’s brown, flush it down), I shower daily, but use the bath only on special occasions ;). My friend here told me of an Indian saying that grew up in the early days of the white man’s invasion of this paradise; The Indian stays warm, sat around a small fire / The white man stays warm, collecting wood for his large fire Peace and love Gary / xxx first published on Facebook, 12th October 2007