Bushfire Visit Barwidgee Creek Mt Stanley - Some photos

As some of you know my Uncle was caught in the middle of the Black Saturday fires. He and my Aunty were very lucky not to be hurt and their farm house was saved even though there was extensive damage to the farm. Below are some photos from a visit over easter to give an idea of what happaned.


A photo from behind their farm house in Barwidgee looking south west. the tree line is over 500m away and was the direction the fireball came from. It moved that fast they only had time to make it to the back porch. The hill is normally covered in trees but it is now bare as most trees were turned to ash.



What is left of the tractor. Note the non existent tyres except for the radial wires.


Looking East from above the farm house. None of the trees in this area have come back to life.


A little up the Mt Stanley Road, about 4km from the Yackandandah Rd turn off. Note the closeness of the trees to the road. There were a few accidents on this road as locals fleed the inferno chasing them down the hill.

If you want to know more or see more pics I can do a subsequent post with maps.

Connex Customer Feedback

Police investigate Flinders St bashing video

Geraldine Mitchell
April 08, 2009 06:57pm

A SHOCKING video of a commuter being allegedly bashed by a train driver at Flinders St Station is being investigated by police.The footage was taken on a mobile phone by 13-year-old Mitchell Smith as horrified passengers looked on. The man allegedly attempted to board a Craigieburn train about 3.30pm on Tuesday before getting into an argument with the driver.

The driver then allegedly left his cabin and followed the passenger to the platform where he repeatedly punched the man violently on the ground.

"He was just continuously hitting him,'' he said. His mother, Maree, was also horrified. "I couldn't believe the arm action of the man continuously just belting him,'' she said.

Connex has stood down the driver while the incident is investigated and has handed over CCTV footage to Victoria Police. Connex managing director Alan Chaplin said the serious nature of the matter led to the decision to immediately suspend the driver from duty.

"There will be a full investigation by us and the police,'' he said.

"We will await the results of our investigation before deciding what further action should be taken, but I can assure our customers incidents like this are extremely rare.'' Mr Chaplin said Connex would also consider other measures it could introduce to reduce the chance of any such incident happening again.

A spokesman for Acting Public Transport Minister Tim Pallas did not comment on the incident only confirming that a thorough investigation was underway.

Nothing like a bit of customer feedback.

WTF 22 - Cum Fly With Me

Helicopter pilot allows porn star to perform sex act on him while flying
April 8, 2009

A US judge says a commercial helicopter pilot videotaped in a sex act while
flying over San Diego committed gross negligence and cannot have his licence back.

National Transportation Safety Board administrative law Judge William R. Mullins upheld a Federal Aviation Administration order revoking the licence of David Martz after a hearing on Tuesday.

Martz had no comment after the ruling.

A passenger was videotaping when Martz let an adult film actress perform a sex act on him during the 2005 flight, and an edited version eventually became public.

The judge watched the unedited tape in chambers and took testimony before his decision.

Martz testified that his actions were unwise and he's much more responsible now.

AP

The judge watched the film... How many times?

WTF 21 - I hope there were no speed bumps?

Teen travels across Europe strapped under bus
April 7, 2009 - 6:20AM

An Afghan youth survived a 30-hour journey from Athens strapped underneath a bus, only to discover that he had arrived in Poland and not his chosen destination Italy, border guards said on Monday.

"The man, aged 19 years old, was hidden near the gearbox, attached with a belt," Elzbieta Pikor, spokesman for the Polish border guard, told AFP. Polish transport mechanics had discovered him as they were checking the bus.

"Italia?" the young man asked as he emerged from his hiding place after the 2,800km journey.

In fact, he had arrived in Nowa Deba, southern Poland, having picked the wrong bus, another from the same line having left Athens for Italy.

"He was exhausted, frozen and starving, but in good health," said Pikor.

The would-be immigrant had travelled through Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia along the way, the gear cable scratching his face every time the bus changed gears.

He was carrying no papers and gave his name only as Yahiya, saying he was from the Afghan capital Kabul.

He will be kept in a Polish detention centre pending a decision on his request for refugee status.

Amazing what lengths people will go to in the attempt for a better life.

Bingle Effect Continues

The Effects Continue

Hamilton stripped, McLaren deny lying

April 3, 2009

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has denied that Lewis Hamilton lied about an incident at the Australian Grand Prix after the Briton was stripped of his third place result.

The world champion was fourth in the Melbourne race when Toyota's Jarno Trulli passed him under safety car conditions on lap 57 last Sunday.

The incident earned the Italian a 25-second penalty, which saw him relegated to 12th, with Hamilton promoted onto the podium behind the Brawn 1-2 team of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.

But after a hastily arranged hearing in Malaysia on Thursday, the sport's governing body ruled that the Briton and his team deliberately provided misleading information on the circumstances leading to Trulli's penalty.

WTF 20 - Nothing to do with Newspapers

So I was driving along Moreland Road this morning on the way to work and I spot a guy walking along the footpath smoking a cigarette.

Nothing too strange I hear you say. Nope not at all except he was wearing a hospital surgical gown, and nothing else!

WTF!

He was well over a kilometres from the nearest known medical institution so I am buggered if I know what he was up to!

I hope he enjoyed his smoke!

Best of April 1st

RESIDENTS have woken to find their cars wrapped in cling wrap in an April Fool's Day stunt that swept inner-city Melbourne.

The cling-film bandits struck at popular shopping precincts, outside railway stations and in sought-after residential areas, tightly wrapping cars in the plastic wrap.

At least 28 cars were reportedly wrapped including one vehicle in Clarendon St in South Melbourne, another on Domain Rd, South Yarra, Church St, Richmond and again at Clifton Hill railway station.

heraldsun.com.au found about six cars that had been wrapped in plastic film early this morning on Victoria Pde in East Melbourne.

Motorist James Rzan said it was a bizarre sight so early in the morning.

"There was a Holden ute outside Coles in Clarendon St that has been wrapped from top to bottom, even the tyres, the bonnet and the doors,'' Mr Rzan said. "I think somebody has lost their marbles, it's one out of the box for sure.'' The note on the ute said: "Happy April Fools Day love Evie''.

Police media Sen-Constable Melissa Seach said the wave of cling-wrapping was not being investigated by police because there had been no damage to vehicles. Police spokeswoman Julie-Anne Newman said it was unclear how many cars had been hit by the prank this morning.

Well done Evie! nice touch leaving scissors to let people un wrap their cars.