Unfortunately it's not to be. There's a dreadful fire in southern Victoria on the famed Great Ocean Road, a favourite holiday destination at this time of the year. At least 50 homes lost so far, and it's heading toward the resort town of Lorne. My niece and her two young children who live in Anglesea are staying the night in Melbourne rather than trying to get home. Longer story - but it's very close to home for them. Lorne is less than 30km east of Anglesea and the fire is currently heading east.
Feliz navidad from the town of Boquete in the mountains of western Panama, a tourist/farming/ranching community. This is a land of eternal cool spring-like weather and daily rainbows in the dry season. It is the home of many expats who have come here to spend their last years or hopefully - decades.
Thank you for your contributions to debunking denialist blather and propaganda, Sou.
When contemplating our relative insignificance I wonder about our ability to actually contemplate the vastness of our Universe. The fact we can decide to say we do not know or comprehend will do me. Regards Bert
Bert, I didn't download your image because I have a terrible internet connection, but I've seen the LMC from South America and it is magnificent. I've also had the incredible good fortune to be a professional astronomer for my whole adult life, which gives me the privilege of thinking about the rest of the universe pretty much all the time.
I long ago came to the conclusion that we're pretty much stuck with the planet we've got, and that we'd better not screw it up. That's one reason I lurk on these boards (largely on the guardian) and try to do my bit to fight off outrageous nonsense.
Just pipped you Sou - we had 36C, with 30-50km/h breezes in the afternoon that really sucked the moisture away. A lot of lawns and hay stubble turned crispy brown in hours, and I had to hose the horses down three times - they're not used to such high temperatures in our corner. Usually we don't resort to hosings or swims for the equines until late January...
With an hour of Christmas left I'm waiting for the thermometer to drop below the 26C where it's stubbornly hovering, so that I can go to sleep. It's doing my head in, as someone whose first few Christmases were white!
Anyway, happy festive season everyone! See you on the other side.
It got hotter here as the day progressed, Bernard - the car reported 38C later in the afternoon. Still a very pleasant day unless you were living or holidaying at Wye River or Lorne (see my other comment).
It's the warmest Christmas Day we've had for a long time, but not as hot as earlier this week.
Not a good start to the summer fire-wise - and the hotter months are still to come.
Ugh, no thanks. I'm happy to hand the baton back to you!
Given that we're almost halfway from the equator to the pole, these temperatures (and higher, and which are all too common over the last few years) are wreaking havoc on a lot of agriculture, horticulture and ecology, especially with the relatively meagre 500 mm of rain that we've had this year to date.
"Pleasant" for us is anything below the mid twenties. Too much of your "pleasant" and we'll start losing* species and crops left, right and centre.
[*Some are already on the way out. It's just a matter of time. :-( ]
Thanks for all your work this year Sou, and I hope your family get home safely. I hope this year the world has turned a corner towards sorting this threat out, though I doubt it. Let's hope that when the history of this carbon disaster is written it has a positive outcome, and people like you get a small mention!
Happy Christmas everyone and especial thanks to Sou for the astonishing amount of work put into this project over the last year. Greatly appreciated :-)
Happy holidays Sou, and thanks for all the great effort you put in over the past few years to help keep the forces of un-reason at bay... well, as much as that's possible.
Sorta OT, but it has rained for all but two days this entire December here in jolly ol' Ireland. And we haven't had a single frost day all year. It's the New Normal, doncha know.
I am missing commenting here terribly: over at the Guardian every climate change denier sockpuppet is parroting the line that we can never ever possibly have exceptional flooding because some houses are built on flood plains.
Today we had our first snowstorm in Montreal, and the temperature was only slightly above the monthly norm. Tomorrow we get our first cold snap. In a couple decades this will be normal I guess -- depressing for winter sports fans like myself.
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Have a peaceful and happy Christmas Day with your loved ones, Sou.
ReplyDeleteThank you George. You too :)
Delete+1. And one without bush fires.
DeleteUnfortunately it's not to be. There's a dreadful fire in southern Victoria on the famed Great Ocean Road, a favourite holiday destination at this time of the year. At least 50 homes lost so far, and it's heading toward the resort town of Lorne. My niece and her two young children who live in Anglesea are staying the night in Melbourne rather than trying to get home. Longer story - but it's very close to home for them. Lorne is less than 30km east of Anglesea and the fire is currently heading east.
Deletehttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-25/towns-evacuate-as-bushfire-burns-near-great-ocean-road/7054028
The fire up my way is now said to be contained, thankfully.
Season's Greetings from Devon, UK. And a Merry Christmas to all!
ReplyDeleteEat too much Pavlova, read a good book, get sunburned playing backyard cricket, take your chances with a dodgey prawn cocktail from the RSL...
ReplyDeleteThank you Sou. Happy Christmas and merry New Year from Blighty.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the good work and for providing sceptical people with the information they need to assess the quality of the blog posts at WUWT.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your well deserved sunny Christmas break.
Hope Sou and all the rest of you have a safe and happy Xmas.
ReplyDeleteSeasons Greetings from Montana! As Tamino says...I'll continue to do what I can come hell or high water. Expect both
ReplyDeletehttp://tamino.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/hell-and-high-water/
Keep up teh good work!
Feliz navidad from the town of Boquete in the mountains of western Panama, a tourist/farming/ranching community. This is a land of eternal cool spring-like weather and daily rainbows in the dry season. It is the home of many expats who have come here to spend their last years or hopefully - decades.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your contributions to debunking denialist blather and propaganda, Sou.
Happy Solstice related holiday, everyone! Into the new year...
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas one and all!
ReplyDeleteA happy Christmas from SW Florida, where it's much too warm for December.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your energy Sou you have earned a break.Merry Christmas from Nova Scotia, Canada where Christmas Day is to be sunny and 10C.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sou for all you have done this year. The Large Magellanic Cloud is high at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteIt has taken a lot of nights and work and here is the result. 43MB
http://d1355990.i49.quadrahosting.com.au/2015_12/LMC_6P_MosaicM.jpg
Here is an image labelled using Atrometry.net 20 MB
http://d1355990.i49.quadrahosting.com.au/2015_12/LMC_6P_Label.jpg
When contemplating our relative insignificance I wonder about our ability to actually contemplate the vastness of our Universe. The fact we can decide to say we do not know or comprehend will do me. Regards Bert
Bert, I didn't download your image because I have a terrible internet connection, but I've seen the LMC from South America and it is magnificent. I've also had the incredible good fortune to be a professional astronomer for my whole adult life, which gives me the privilege of thinking about the rest of the universe pretty much all the time.
DeleteI long ago came to the conclusion that we're pretty much stuck with the planet we've got, and that we'd better not screw it up. That's one reason I lurk on these boards (largely on the guardian) and try to do my bit to fight off outrageous nonsense.
Thank you for the wonderful photograph, Bert. It is the best Christmas present :)
DeleteMerry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you Sou from fridged Montana. Unlike most of the USA, we actually have snow on the ground!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas from flyover country. At least we can boast a white Christmas this year -- take that, El NiƱo!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your good wishes.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful day here today. 33C and sunny. Not too hot and not too cold.
Merry Christmas everyone.
ReplyDeleteJust pipped you Sou - we had 36C, with 30-50km/h breezes in the afternoon that really sucked the moisture away. A lot of lawns and hay stubble turned crispy brown in hours, and I had to hose the horses down three times - they're not used to such high temperatures in our corner. Usually we don't resort to hosings or swims for the equines until late January...
ReplyDeleteWith an hour of Christmas left I'm waiting for the thermometer to drop below the 26C where it's stubbornly hovering, so that I can go to sleep. It's doing my head in, as someone whose first few Christmases were white!
Anyway, happy festive season everyone! See you on the other side.
It got hotter here as the day progressed, Bernard - the car reported 38C later in the afternoon. Still a very pleasant day unless you were living or holidaying at Wye River or Lorne (see my other comment).
DeleteIt's the warmest Christmas Day we've had for a long time, but not as hot as earlier this week.
Not a good start to the summer fire-wise - and the hotter months are still to come.
Ugh, no thanks. I'm happy to hand the baton back to you!
DeleteGiven that we're almost halfway from the equator to the pole, these temperatures (and higher, and which are all too common over the last few years) are wreaking havoc on a lot of agriculture, horticulture and ecology, especially with the relatively meagre 500 mm of rain that we've had this year to date.
"Pleasant" for us is anything below the mid twenties. Too much of your "pleasant" and we'll start losing* species and crops left, right and centre.
[*Some are already on the way out. It's just a matter of time. :-( ]
Thanks for all your work this year Sou, and I hope your family get home safely. I hope this year the world has turned a corner towards sorting this threat out, though I doubt it. Let's hope that when the history of this carbon disaster is written it has a positive outcome, and people like you get a small mention!
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas everyone and especial thanks to Sou for the astonishing amount of work put into this project over the last year. Greatly appreciated :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays Sou, and thanks for all the great effort you put in over the past few years to help keep the forces of un-reason at bay... well, as much as that's possible.
ReplyDeleteSorta OT, but it has rained for all but two days this entire December here in jolly ol' Ireland. And we haven't had a single frost day all year. It's the New Normal, doncha know.
I am missing commenting here terribly: over at the Guardian every climate change denier sockpuppet is parroting the line that we can never ever possibly have exceptional flooding because some houses are built on flood plains.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteToday we had our first snowstorm in Montreal, and the temperature was only slightly above the monthly norm. Tomorrow we get our first cold snap. In a couple decades this will be normal I guess -- depressing for winter sports fans like myself.
Sou,
ReplyDeleteOTT - but maybe worth a visit. One Fed MP going the full denier with awesome incompetence.
https://www.facebook.com/CraigKellyMP/posts/472141116313861
FFS, who prepared this rubbish for Kelly? It reeks of corporate marketing propaganda, with the scientific ignorance disguised only to the ignorant.
DeleteThis sort of demonstrably false public disinformation should be a crime, especially when the disinformer is an elected member of government.
Maurice Newman is at it again, too:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/28/climate-sceptic-maurice-newman-says-world-leaders-embracing-junk-science
Yes, but Newman is well-known to be a raving loony. Does it really matter what he says?
Delete