StooJ on March 27th, 2009

Dear Australia Post
I’m sorry no one was in receive our parcel last week. You thoughtfully left a card with information on how to pick it up from your parcel depot, complete with a little map.
Which caused me no little confusion. In Melbourne, there are several streets with the same name. So when I see a [...]

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StooJ on February 13th, 2009

One thing I’ve loved since Ubuntu 7.10 is the gnome weather applet built into the clock. Not only do you get a quick idea of the weather at your home location, but I also have the times and weathers of a couple of other places of interest (Aberdeen in Scotland and Alice Springs)
Today the weather [...]

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StooJ on February 11th, 2009

It’s difficult for a scottish lad to comprehend the scale of destruction here. 450,000 hectares of land burned. Death toll hits 180. And there is more to come.
Evan Davie has put together a map to track the fires.

Living fairly close to the centre of Melbourne, we’ve been well out of the calamity that has struck [...]

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StooJ on February 5th, 2009

Our application got accepted! We move into the new place this weekend, and I’ll try and take some photos. It’s not going to look like much, but it’s our own place which is the main thing.

Continue reading about A place to stay

StooJ on February 1st, 2009

One slight disappointment with Australia so far is that I haven’t really seen too many “Australian animals” yet. By “Australian”, I mean ridiculously deadly and absolutely terrifying. In fairness, I have come across a kangaroo standing in the middle of the Hume Highway while we came blearily along it on our way from Canberra to [...]

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StooJ on January 31st, 2009

More flat-hunting today, and another application submitted. Gin is doubtful, but I really hope this one goes through. Great location in the south-side, fairly near to the markets and handy for trams. There’s a great pool nearby too and the beach isn’t too far away. It’ll be great to get a place of our own [...]

Continue reading about Fingers crossed for a new flat

StooJ on January 30th, 2009

Melbourne still struggles under an oppressive heat, although it cooled of a little this evening. With all the air-conditioners and fans being abused throughout the state, the power grid has started a programme of rolling blackouts. Areas of the city get their electricity cut off for around an hour at a time to reduce overall [...]

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StooJ on January 29th, 2009

Although Gin & I are staying in a pretty nice place just now, we’ve realised that we both want to have somewhere to ourselves. So, I’m house-huntin’.
Having never lived in a big city before, I’m not sure how Melbourne compares to other places so this may be the norm: 15 minute viewing windows.
We find a [...]

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StooJ on January 28th, 2009

It is probably appropriate that the inaugural Australian post will be about the HEAT.
Anyone in Scotland will undoubtedly be aware of the temperatures here this week; since they have all been following the tennis rather closely.
When I talked about Australian temperatures in Scotland, I was often treated to a disbelieving look of “nowhere gets that [...]

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