Here's one of the images:
For the full story and more pictures click here.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
NASA Pictures - International Year of Astronomy
To celebrate 400 years since Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens in 1609, NASA is releasing never-before-seen view of the turbulent heart of our Milky Way galaxy.
Here's one of the images:
For the full story and more pictures click here.
Here's one of the images:
For the full story and more pictures click here.
Court Ruling - Drinkers Need to take Responsibility for their own Actions
THE High Court has dramatically shifted the responsibility for drunken actions on to the individual, ruling that the nation's publicans have no general duty of care to protect patrons from the consequences of getting drunk.
Read the full story here.
Very pleased to see this. I do believe that publicans (and similar) shouldn't continue to serve alcohol to someone who is observably drunk (i.e. laying on the floor unable to get up) but it is good that the responsibility has been put back onto the individuals.
Read the full story here.
Very pleased to see this. I do believe that publicans (and similar) shouldn't continue to serve alcohol to someone who is observably drunk (i.e. laying on the floor unable to get up) but it is good that the responsibility has been put back onto the individuals.
Useful Website
The difference between COLD, SEASONAL FLU and H1N1 SYMPTOMS.
Based on this I've only got a seasonal flu not H1N1 (I've been feeling really bad for the last couple of days) going to try and get a Drs apt today as diagnosing yourself from a website isn't probably the smartest thing to do.
Based on this I've only got a seasonal flu not H1N1 (I've been feeling really bad for the last couple of days) going to try and get a Drs apt today as diagnosing yourself from a website isn't probably the smartest thing to do.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
New Products
This has possibilities (for us women) but I don't think it is available for purchase in Australia yet.
Wow .. Nudibranch Photos
Apparently Nudibranchs (mmm, why isn't that "es"?) are sea slugs which come in a brilliant array of colours.
Check out more photos here.
Check out more photos here.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Fun on the Range and Family Life
Saturdays are a busy day in our lives. Both girls do Little Athletics which starts early. You have to be there for an 8am start and as we live 25mins away it's often challenging getting everybody up and ready for it!
While I think Little Athletics is great for the kids we're not too stressed about it, so when my youngest had a birthday party also on Saturday morning we let her leave Little Athletics and go to it.
This week the programming was a bit strange and after my eldest sitting around waiting for her first event for an hour and a half (all other age groups had been called) I went and had a talk to the club manager - who spoke to the co-orindators and it seemed that they had forgotten to program that age group! Anyway she got called for an event shortly afterwards.
My husband took my youngest to the birthday party at 10 and then came back to the oval. By 11.45am my eldest had only done three events - one of which was the 70m where she came 2nd (which for her is great!).
My husband needed to pick up my youngest around 12 and I needed to leave by then also to get to the range in time for the trainees. We heard the co-ordinators say that they thought the program would run for another hour and half at least so I asked my eldest if she minded missing her last two events (100m and discus) and to come up the range with me. She was okay with that so we went home, got all the equipment and headed for the range.
This week I had four trainees. Two were on week 3 of the training course, one other on week 5 but we've not seen him at the course for a month or so and the other on week 4. Of the four one of them was a women. It's great to have women in the training course. This week we had two - I had one in my group and the Chief Instructor had one in his (he also had seven other students - four newbies and four on week 2 of the course).
Basically, the training course is nominally 12 weeks. During which time we cover a number of competencies. We run this course however on a rotating basis and base the actual topics we cover on the people that turn up for the day. Therefore until the students arrive we never know exactly what we are going to do or what equipment we need.
Once I knew which students I had, I decided to focus the session on starting and shooting positions. We had done some the week before (mainly loaded and holstered starts), so we reviewed those first and then moved onto the unloaded starts; starts where you retrieve gun from a prop; and then kneeling / sitting and prone starts.
We had practiced the "facing up range" starts the previous weeks too but as one of the students hadn't done these before we reviewed these again starting both loaded and unloaded.
The "going prone" position is always the least favourite amongst the students but as I said to them, at least it wasn't raining and I did put down a plastic mat over the gravel!
During the course my husband arrived to pick my eldest up and she was not happy. She had been sitting on the range watching the trainees and didn't want to leave. I had a quick chat with her and after promising her that we could come up on Sunday and she could shoot then she was okay about going.
We used about 65 rounds on the training range before moving to the competition stages for a practice. Five stages had been set up for the shoot and there were two squads shooting. The other group of trainees had already moved onto a stage as well.
The two free stages were only stand and shoot stages rather than a stage which involved movement. We had done this type of stage the week prior and I particularly wanted a stage where the trainees had to move about and do mag changes, so we decided to wait until the other group of trainees had finished with their stage.
While we were waiting I suggested to the trainees that they started to plan their shoot. There were 13 paper targets and 4 poppers (two small, two large) on the stage with five different shooting positions. Each of the trainees had four magazines and only 35 rounds. As our mags are 10 round mags I suggested that they share the bullets around their mags so they can time their mag changes to their advantage.
I was really pleased with how they shot the stage. All of them had planned their mag changes well (do them while moving rather than static) and apart from one student who had troubles with the poppers no one shot the gun dry at any time.
I did have to pull two of the students up on having their finger on the trigger while moving or doing a mag change but that was it. Muzzle direction was good and they coped well with moving backwards and doing mag changes while moving both left to right and right to left (skills we had practiced the week before).
Great fun was had by all but as we had waited for the other group of trainees to finish we didn't get off the range until after 5.30pm. By which time the cold beer in the clubhouse was looking very good.
On Sunday I took my daughters up to the range to have a go with my friend's air pistol and the 22 winchester. Both shot really well and had a great time. I was really impressed at how patient they are about lining up a good shot before pulling the trigger. I didn't get any photos this time as my new camera died last week :( and I am waiting on a replacement (it was still under warranty).
After the shooting and a hot dog at the club house we came home and my eldest had an assignment to finish.
While I think Little Athletics is great for the kids we're not too stressed about it, so when my youngest had a birthday party also on Saturday morning we let her leave Little Athletics and go to it.
This week the programming was a bit strange and after my eldest sitting around waiting for her first event for an hour and a half (all other age groups had been called) I went and had a talk to the club manager - who spoke to the co-orindators and it seemed that they had forgotten to program that age group! Anyway she got called for an event shortly afterwards.
My husband took my youngest to the birthday party at 10 and then came back to the oval. By 11.45am my eldest had only done three events - one of which was the 70m where she came 2nd (which for her is great!).
My husband needed to pick up my youngest around 12 and I needed to leave by then also to get to the range in time for the trainees. We heard the co-ordinators say that they thought the program would run for another hour and half at least so I asked my eldest if she minded missing her last two events (100m and discus) and to come up the range with me. She was okay with that so we went home, got all the equipment and headed for the range.
This week I had four trainees. Two were on week 3 of the training course, one other on week 5 but we've not seen him at the course for a month or so and the other on week 4. Of the four one of them was a women. It's great to have women in the training course. This week we had two - I had one in my group and the Chief Instructor had one in his (he also had seven other students - four newbies and four on week 2 of the course).
Basically, the training course is nominally 12 weeks. During which time we cover a number of competencies. We run this course however on a rotating basis and base the actual topics we cover on the people that turn up for the day. Therefore until the students arrive we never know exactly what we are going to do or what equipment we need.
Once I knew which students I had, I decided to focus the session on starting and shooting positions. We had done some the week before (mainly loaded and holstered starts), so we reviewed those first and then moved onto the unloaded starts; starts where you retrieve gun from a prop; and then kneeling / sitting and prone starts.
We had practiced the "facing up range" starts the previous weeks too but as one of the students hadn't done these before we reviewed these again starting both loaded and unloaded.
The "going prone" position is always the least favourite amongst the students but as I said to them, at least it wasn't raining and I did put down a plastic mat over the gravel!
During the course my husband arrived to pick my eldest up and she was not happy. She had been sitting on the range watching the trainees and didn't want to leave. I had a quick chat with her and after promising her that we could come up on Sunday and she could shoot then she was okay about going.
We used about 65 rounds on the training range before moving to the competition stages for a practice. Five stages had been set up for the shoot and there were two squads shooting. The other group of trainees had already moved onto a stage as well.
The two free stages were only stand and shoot stages rather than a stage which involved movement. We had done this type of stage the week prior and I particularly wanted a stage where the trainees had to move about and do mag changes, so we decided to wait until the other group of trainees had finished with their stage.
While we were waiting I suggested to the trainees that they started to plan their shoot. There were 13 paper targets and 4 poppers (two small, two large) on the stage with five different shooting positions. Each of the trainees had four magazines and only 35 rounds. As our mags are 10 round mags I suggested that they share the bullets around their mags so they can time their mag changes to their advantage.
I was really pleased with how they shot the stage. All of them had planned their mag changes well (do them while moving rather than static) and apart from one student who had troubles with the poppers no one shot the gun dry at any time.
I did have to pull two of the students up on having their finger on the trigger while moving or doing a mag change but that was it. Muzzle direction was good and they coped well with moving backwards and doing mag changes while moving both left to right and right to left (skills we had practiced the week before).
Great fun was had by all but as we had waited for the other group of trainees to finish we didn't get off the range until after 5.30pm. By which time the cold beer in the clubhouse was looking very good.
On Sunday I took my daughters up to the range to have a go with my friend's air pistol and the 22 winchester. Both shot really well and had a great time. I was really impressed at how patient they are about lining up a good shot before pulling the trigger. I didn't get any photos this time as my new camera died last week :( and I am waiting on a replacement (it was still under warranty).
After the shooting and a hot dog at the club house we came home and my eldest had an assignment to finish.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Interesting New Law
Found this on news.com.au today. I guess it is like all legislation - you hear some of the details but not all. I knew that there had been changes to the Family Law Act to give de facto and same-sex couples additional "rights" I didn't know that these changes also applied to mistresses.
$100k payout for jilted lover in Victoria
A CHEATING husband has paid his former lover more than $100,000 under Australia's new "mistress laws".
In the first known case of its kind in Victoria, the Melbourne businessman was sued under changes to the Family Law Act - which gives rights to people in de facto relationships and same-sex marriages, the Sunday Herald Sun reports.
Legal experts say the case, prompted by the end of an affair of more than 20 years, will strike fear into the hearts of philanderers nationwide.
The woman, who has not been named for legal reasons, said not only did she deserve the money, but others should follow her lead.
"I gave him the best years of my life," she said.
"He always told me he would look after me, then he left me. I had committed myself fully to him for all those years and it just came to a dead end.
"He behaved like a gentleman toward me throughout our relationship - except at the end - and now he has been a gentleman again by doing the right thing.
"I saw our relationship as a loving companionship.
"He got a lot of relaxation away from the stresses of his business life. When he came to me he did not have to worry about business.
"And I provided him with a lot of moral and emotional support.
"So this is also about giving our relationship a validity. It is a recognition that I have added something of value to his life.
"Now I am beginning to come to terms with life again. The money provides me with a security in my later years.
"This law has made a difference for me, so hopefully it will make a difference for others like me."
The lawyer for the woman who took the action said his client "Mary" (not her real name) started the affair with "Tom" (not his real name) more than 20 years ago, with the pair enjoying a close bond throughout the period.
"Many marriages don't last that long," the lawyer said.
Mary accompanied Tom on several overseas and interstate trips and she often joined him at dinner functions.
"They had a mutual commitment to each other and Tom promised he'd look after her. But he was married and still is married."
Though Mary worked and had her own home, Tom also gave her a monthly allowance running into four figures.
The pair - now pension-age - had regular sex and Tom showered her with gifts, the lawyer added.
But Tom ended the affair this year.
Mary said she was devastated at being dropped.
Then she learned of the law change and her legal team sent a letter of demand - quoting the new legislation - to the man.
"It settled (out of court) within weeks," her lawyer said.
"If it had not been for this law, my client would have been abandoned, left on the scrap heap.
"This is an acknowledgment that if you are in any substantial relationship, each party has a level of commitment to each other."
The new federal laws for maintenance and division of assets for de facto couples, mistresses and same-sex couples came into effect on March 1 and any disputes are heard by the Family Court or the Federal Magistrates' Court.
The laws give some mistresses, as well as de facto and same-sex couples, the same rights as married couples.
A mistress wanting maintenance or a pay-out had to prove the couple had a long-term relationship, a sexual relationship, financial dependency, a commitment and a public recognition of the relationship, Mary's lawyer said.
$100k payout for jilted lover in Victoria
A CHEATING husband has paid his former lover more than $100,000 under Australia's new "mistress laws".
In the first known case of its kind in Victoria, the Melbourne businessman was sued under changes to the Family Law Act - which gives rights to people in de facto relationships and same-sex marriages, the Sunday Herald Sun reports.
Legal experts say the case, prompted by the end of an affair of more than 20 years, will strike fear into the hearts of philanderers nationwide.
The woman, who has not been named for legal reasons, said not only did she deserve the money, but others should follow her lead.
"I gave him the best years of my life," she said.
"He always told me he would look after me, then he left me. I had committed myself fully to him for all those years and it just came to a dead end.
"He behaved like a gentleman toward me throughout our relationship - except at the end - and now he has been a gentleman again by doing the right thing.
"I saw our relationship as a loving companionship.
"He got a lot of relaxation away from the stresses of his business life. When he came to me he did not have to worry about business.
"And I provided him with a lot of moral and emotional support.
"So this is also about giving our relationship a validity. It is a recognition that I have added something of value to his life.
"Now I am beginning to come to terms with life again. The money provides me with a security in my later years.
"This law has made a difference for me, so hopefully it will make a difference for others like me."
The lawyer for the woman who took the action said his client "Mary" (not her real name) started the affair with "Tom" (not his real name) more than 20 years ago, with the pair enjoying a close bond throughout the period.
"Many marriages don't last that long," the lawyer said.
Mary accompanied Tom on several overseas and interstate trips and she often joined him at dinner functions.
"They had a mutual commitment to each other and Tom promised he'd look after her. But he was married and still is married."
Though Mary worked and had her own home, Tom also gave her a monthly allowance running into four figures.
The pair - now pension-age - had regular sex and Tom showered her with gifts, the lawyer added.
But Tom ended the affair this year.
Mary said she was devastated at being dropped.
Then she learned of the law change and her legal team sent a letter of demand - quoting the new legislation - to the man.
"It settled (out of court) within weeks," her lawyer said.
"If it had not been for this law, my client would have been abandoned, left on the scrap heap.
"This is an acknowledgment that if you are in any substantial relationship, each party has a level of commitment to each other."
The new federal laws for maintenance and division of assets for de facto couples, mistresses and same-sex couples came into effect on March 1 and any disputes are heard by the Family Court or the Federal Magistrates' Court.
The laws give some mistresses, as well as de facto and same-sex couples, the same rights as married couples.
A mistress wanting maintenance or a pay-out had to prove the couple had a long-term relationship, a sexual relationship, financial dependency, a commitment and a public recognition of the relationship, Mary's lawyer said.
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