Snow in August!

Greetings dear reader,

first off I'd like to apologize for the blatant lack of new entries, but on the bright side I've got a couple of things saved up to share with you guys (this being the first).
As you most assuredly are well aware, it is currently winter in Australia and now and then snow falls in higher altitudes within the state of Victoria. So as a birthday treat I allowed myself a tobogganing trip to Lake Mountain, a small skiing resort close to Melbourne. The resort is situated near Marysvville, a small town which was badly hurt during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. Only one building, the bakery (picture) survived the flames.
The trip was university-organized, and there were about 30 fellow international students (and one family with child) indulging in the sledding. Unfortunately there was no fresh snow, so most of the sliding happened on icy remnants of artificial snowmaking, but it was a joyous experience none the less. The sleighs are not your typical wood-made christmas-type childhood sleighs (which were very popular when I was a kid), but instead more like flat plastic slide boards.

Although tobogganing is fun, it does not quite capture the same thrill of actual skiing which is why I might return next winter for some proper downhill activity (provided I saved enough money to afford the ridiculously high lift pass prices). That's it for now folks, catch you later!

Cheers
Jan

Melbourne shaken, not stirred

A few hours ago, just before 9pm an earthquake with a Body-Wave (mb) magnitude of 5.3 occurred ca. 120km ESE of Melbourne. According to the webpage of the Sydney Morning Herald the biggest quake in a century rocks Victoria.
Here the data as being released by the GEOFON Program GFZ Potsdam:

Region:	Near SE Coast of Australia
Time:	2012-06-19 10:53:30.2 UTC
Magnitude:	5.3 (mb)
Epicenter:	146.20°E 38.26°S
Depth:	10 km
Status:	M - manually revised

After the initial uneasiness, we soon realized that all was fine and no real damage had been done, but it was an interesting experience to say the least. Alright, enough action for the night, time to go sleeping.

See ya (hopefully)!

God save the ... holidays!

G'day everyone! Although technically the Queen of England's date of birth is on April 26, every second Monday in June each year within Australia (except for Western Australia and Queensland)has celebrated as a holiday in compliment to her majestys' birthday since 1788 (and for 111 years of independence). Furthermore this year Qu. Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee as monarch just one week before June 11th.

Fortunately this year's long June weekend had some really nice weather on Monday, which is a rare sight during winter in Melbourne (generally a very cloudy sky). The result — pictures:

Top left to bottom right: (1) Swanston Street in Melbourne Central with tram (usually loaded with people during rush hour), (2) Yarra river (viewing westward), (3) Part of Melbourne Skyline (looking NE), (4) St. Pauls Cathedral, (5) Flinders Street (train) Station, (6) State library of Victoria.

In other news the first poll is done and seeing as there is a general desire for a'couple more infos, I'll try my best posting some more in the near future. Hope you're all well. Have an awesome weekend!
Cheers
Jan

How would you make Melbourne a better place?

Found this on an internet forum the other day, and just had to share it:

(source:  www.reddit.com/r/funny)

Mozart meets Jazz

Hi Y'all,

Iwaki Auditorium in Melbourne
(source: http://www.whitehat.com.au)

The Melbourne Iwaki Auditorium, named after a former Japanese conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, holds a free concert every other weekend which is broadcasted live on ABC Melbourne on the radio.

Joe and Zoe performing at Iwaki Auditorium
(source: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/)

Last week pianist Joe Chindamo and violinist Zoe Black performed a few Jazzy arrangements of classic pieces such as J.S.Bach's Air on G string. It was a lovely performance, and if you want to check it out just click the link here and it will send you to the episode on ABC's website.

You might have noticed a few changes on the right hand side of the blog - amongst other things I now have added a poll! This seemed to be an applicable way to get some feedback from you (my dear readers), as your imput matters to me. If you have specific requests or want to talk something away you can always leave a comment below every entry.

Have a good Geek Pride Day!
Jan

Come by, say hi

Greetings everyone,

just wanted to give a quick update on my new home in Melbourne. It is a two-floor house fairly close to campus (about 30mins via public transport, which in Melbourne terms is close) in the district of Kensington. I live there with two befriending Chinese people: one of them working, the second one studying as an accountant at RMIT university (the other university in Melbourne).

The Pictures above show (top left to bottom right): (1) Apartment from outside, (2) my room, (3) the living room, (4) the kitchen, (5) the garden behind the house, (6) the owners' chicken. I'll introduce my roommates another time. Have a good Sunday!,

Cheers
Jan

And in todays episode of "Fun with Flags" ...

... we have the Melbourne city flag!

Melbourne, nowadays the capital of the state of Victoria, Australia was established in 1835 by John Batman (yes Batman, an identically named suburb still exists today).

Four images representing the main activities of mid19th century Melbourne grouped around the red Saint Goerge cross (a Christian martyr and patron of England). The Cross contains a red-golden crown symbolising the city's monarchal affiliation to the English royal dynasty.
The four images (starting from the top left and proceeding clockwise) are a fleece hanging from a ring (wool shearing), a bull (livestock breeding), a three mast-ship (shipping) and a whale (if you hadn't already guessed, it is whaling). The flag reoccurs within the city's coat of arms. Until next Time!

Cheers
Jan