Happy Spring!

It's the first day of September here, which also makes it the first day of Spring. Unlike the rest of the world, our seasons are exactly three months in duration, starting on the first of the month and finishing on the last day of the month, three months later. For me, having grown up in this system, it all makes sense. For others (who haven't), it makes no sense at all, having arbitrary seasons, but I prefer it to having to take a guess at when the season will start!

So for all the Aussies out there - Happy Spring!

I woke up before dawn this morning (and if truth be told, dawn is only just happening as I write this, around 6am), and it just felt like spring.

I suddenly have this big urge to go and drink cuppas on my deck and watch the world wake up; go for long morning walks with the dog (an almost impossible occurence, given the way he plays up on the lead), and have all the windows and doors flung open, the curtains drawn back, and the music turned on!

IT --- IS --- SPRING --- !!!

It's been a long and cold Winter for us this year, so Spring is extra special, as it means that it will start to warm up soon, and we can start putting the jumpers and extra blankets away. Normally I love Winter - it's the time to be cozy, but this year it just seemed to never end (not made any better by three bouts of the flu either!), so Spring is a very welcome friend just now! I'm not so looking forward to Summer, though, unless it's not our usual hot sort :-)

Time for a Spring Clean, me thinks!

:-)

This is an automated message....

Due to cold weather, this office is shut for the duration....

(Also, I have the flu, so I'm not much up to thinking or typing...)

Free Education For All

I've been keeping myself busy lately, sorting out repairs to computers (mine included - grrr), but also in the pursuit of finding a free education.

I like the idea of a free education. It makes me believe that the world isn't all bad, and that there are still people out there with all-emcompassing compassionate little hearts who give a damn about the poor and weary who are too broke and too tired to cope with a paid education.

Granted, it might not get you a degree, or a high school education, but then again, it just might.

Despite living pretty much on the other side of the planet from everywhere else, I've been enjoying attending lectures at Yale University (in the good ole' US of A), going to public lectures in London, England, working on my maths skills with the help of the wonderful professors at Cambridge University, also in England, and working out how to study properly with the University of Southern Queensland (not all that far from where I live, actually).

Of course, I've not actually left the comfort of my own warm little house to do any of this. Yale University (among others in the States) offer lectures for free online. They are old cached versions from a couple of years ago, but they come with video, audio, lecture notes, and in some cases, even exams. Among other universities offering free lectures is Utah State, where I am currently doing a Classical Drama subject (based on Greek Drama), and I am finding it very enjoyable indeed.

The beauty of these freebie lectures is that there are no time constraints. You can do a lecture, and then not touch it for six months if you like, or you can make yourself stick to a basic timetable, and plough your way through a subject. Granted, you don't get any accreditation from most of the universities (although I seem to remember that a few of the American unis are willing to accredit you if given proof that you have passed a particular subject).

In my travels, I've also been looking at the copious amount of free educational sites for those of us who wish to give Home Schooling a go. While I don't have kids (yet!), I've always been an avid fan of this schooling option (preferring to Home School myself for a lot of my adult years, and being somewhat Home Schooled by my family as a child, while still attending regular school).

One of the options I have discovered to be quite enjoyable for Home Schooling is the large amount of free games to be found online. Today I was playing with two art-based games. One that I am 'playing' at the moment involves the usual 'hidden object' style game, but at the end of each level you get to see a painting, and find out a bit about the master who painted it.

Other games are based on well known novels - Around The World In 80 Days, for example. Still others teach you about mythology from various countries; historical moments of great significance feature in others, and then there are games that take you to various cities and teach you about those places.

It seems that there are free educational options out there for all age groups - from infants right up to 100+.

There are times when I truly love the internet!

Someone really needs to check before broadcasting.....

Beginning May 31st, we have "Cool As Clint" week, which is all about bombarding us with Clint Eastwood movies on Fox Classics, one of the channels offered on Foxtel, my pay TV provider here in Aus.

Unfortunately, though, nobody bothered to check to see if the screen shot above actually reads as "Cool As Clint" and not something far worse, before broadcasting!

Oh! For the days of proofreaders and their ilk!

Other things - there's been a series of somewhat bizarre advertisements being broadcast on the telly recently, all involving animals in some shape or other. For the most part, they've been for Bank West, one of the bigger State-run banks (in Western Australia). Each State in Aus seems to have their own bank - Bank of NSW, Bank of QLD, etc.

My favourite Bank West ads have been the flower in its pot, singing (badly), with animal onlookers, and the red squirrel ad, where he talks about squirrelling away all his nuts(!)

Given we don't actually have squirrels (let alone the British Red), it's an odd choice for selling banking to Australians, but it's terribly cute, and I like it.

But my all time favourite is the one I saw last night for Cadbury Chocolate.

If you go to this link, you can watch it in all its smoothy goodness:

http://www.aglassandahalffullproductions.com.au/index.php

(Make sure you have the sound on!).

That's me for today - got stuff to do. Toodles....

It's been a busy few weeks....

I finally finished my university subject at the end of February, and managed to pass all my assignments, although nowhere near as well as I would have hoped.

I'm struggling currently with what feels likely to be a bout of 'flu, or at least an early Autumn cold. I know I seem to be far more tired than I should be most days, but perhaps that has something to do with worrying about my silly dalmatian, who recently underwent surgery on his nether regions for stones in his bladder (poor boy).

He's okay now, however, but we are still awaiting the results of some tests on the stones to see what part of his diet caused them in the first place.

So on to other news. I joined a book club today. Or rather, the woman at my local library who sets up the book clubs up here rang me to say they had a vacancy for one of the book clubs that meets during the day. As it is only one day every three weeks, I felt that even with my limited energy, I could manage that! So this Friday, I go to my first meeting. Should be interesting, at the very least.

Apart from worrying about university and my dog, I've not really been doing much of late. We've been having floods again. Like most Queenslanders, I am thoroughly sick to death of the sight of rain now, and look forward to a cold and crisp Winter (preferably dry).

Anyway, stuff to do.

It's raining, it's pouring.....(you know the rest!)

Just a very brief blog entry (at 4.30am!) to say not a whole lot, but mostly because it's been all of about half a month since my last one, and I thought I should try and blog AT LEAST once a month!

Anyway, short version of my life:

1. I've been busy with this and that (work and/or study-related)

2. I've been stressy because of the rain (I should expect rain, given it's the stormy season here in Sunny Queensland where it seems to rain more than any other country on the planet, or at least, that's how it feels). It's been flooding down behind me again, and once again I've been cut off from all manner of civilisation, except what can be found online or on the telly.

3. My cats have survived almost an entire summer outside in their cat enclosure, despite one of the velcro twins having his bleeding nose thing going on again. Grrrr.

4. The mad dalmatian who I call my own, has been having "let's see who can bark the loudest at the stupidest of things, oh and in the middle of the night too" contests with the ring leader of the two Border Collies who lives next door. She eggs him on, and he says "I'll take your bet, and raise you..."

So there you go. Now I'm off to do more work and/or study...

Aftermath of Australia Day - past and present...

I was looking yesterday for a picture of the Aussie flag for my blog entry about Australia Day, and in my travels I came across an absolutely fantastic Brisbane blogger. His blog for yesterday was about the 1974 floods. Given I was only 5 months old at the time (so a month older than I am in my blog photo), I don't rightly remember the flood well :-)

Also my family was living in a little country town outside of Ipswich at the time, so we weren't actually in Brisbane. What I'm getting around to saying is that while I have grown up all my life with stories of the flood of '74, and I knew it was in January, I wasn't actually aware of the fact that it also coincided with Australia Day that year.

Anyway, the blog entry is here:

http://www.yourbrisbanepastandpresent.com/2010/01/australia-day-floods-1974.html

It is well worth a read for lots of reasons. It has some wonderful photos of Brisbane, both past and present, as well as a very good history lesson or three!

Having had a good (but quick! - I promise to go back for a more in-depth gander soon) look, I came across some other links from his sites, but one I will post here for Ceramix's benefit. Perhaps it will help him understand some of the things I come out with on occasions. I know the Aussie lingo is unique, and so I offer up a website with some absolute doozies from the Aussie culture:

http://www.wallabydown.com/slang.html

Anyway, it's going to get up to 34 or so today (that's Celsius, guys), so I'd best get on with things before it gets too hot.

Enjoy your day!