Tau

joined 1 year ago
MODERATOR OF
 

The BoM is predicting snow above 1000m tomorrow morning, which means there's a good chance of seeing snow in parts of the Brindabellas you can drive to. Conveniently it happens to be Sunday tomorrow too so there's actually a chance for most people to be away from work.

I wouldn't recommend taking a 2wd up past the end of the tar on Brindabella Rd on a snow day (not that it can't be done, but I'm not going to tell strangers to do it) but if you only have access to a 2wd Corin Forest might get some natural snow in the morning.

Edit: Went up this morning and saw one actual snow flurry around 1700m, some sleet down to ~1500m and plain old rain below that. Bit of a misleading forecast IMO, I guess there is a chance of it getting better for snow later in the day (I have seen that happen before) but in terms of snow this morning wasn't worth heading out for.

 

The ACT government has confirmed the territory's first case of avian influenza has been detected at a Canberra farm, which has been quarantined.

Biosecurity authorities said the virus was brought to the ACT from New South Wales via the transporting of eggs and associated materials for commercial grading.

They said the territory was "well positioned to respond to this event, which is localised to a single property".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Must have been pretty chilly - I'm out of town at the moment but I was looking at the forecast the other day and thinking it was looking like good weather for snow in the Brindies.

 

The annual winter solstice nude swim in Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin saw a record 399 participants.

A total of $67,000 was raised for Lifeline Canberra by this year's event.

Event organiser Ben Johnston says people's generosity despite the ongoing cost of living crisis is amazing to see.

 

A sculpture based on the ancient story of a snake eating its own tail has arrived at the National Gallery of Australia.

The gallery commissioned Ouroboros by Lindy Lee to celebrate its 40th birthday, and getting it from Brisbane to Canberra took almost a week.

Ouroboros, which is designed to last for at least 500 years, is expected to go on display to the public in October.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

I don't really care about the cafe, shop, or cultural displays but it'd be good to have the observation deck again (ideally free this time, but I don't like my chances).

 

Telstra and the ACT government have agreed to work together on a plan to refurbish and reopen Canberra's iconic Black Mountain Tower.

The Telstra Tower closed to the the public in 2021 after tourism operators labelled the state of the site an "embarrassment".

Telstra plans to refurbish the tower in a way that celebrates Ngunnawal culture, and expects to have a cafe, shop and observation deck when it reopens.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago

Yes, it's amusing to think of him going to what have been a fair effort to catch a lyrebird all to find it probably went straight back down the hole after it'd been lugged up to the top.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It is indeed a surprisingly big hole, worth the short walk if you're in the area with some time for sightseeing.

 

Nestled among gumtrees on the side of a hill in a national park east of Canberra is a gaping hole that was once at the centre of one of Australia's most elaborate fraud schemes.

The geological formation known as the Big Hole is 100 metres deep and 35 metres wide.

Located in Deua National Park, it is thought to have formed about 50 million years ago when the roof of a cave collapsed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'd be thinking something like 30mm hardwood tri quad to create a sloping transition (ideally something reasonably close in colour to the floor). Leaving a vertical edge on the inside seems too likely to end up with stubbed toes at some point.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 weeks ago

It's one of these things that logically you know must happen occasionally (and I've even seen pictures of it) but still doesn't seem right.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 weeks ago

I am impressed the shark got it out again and didn't end up with a permanent internal echidna spine collection.

 

Researchers from James Cook University were tagging marine life on the northeast coast when the 3m tiger shark they caught vomited up a dead echidna.

Nicolas Lubitz, a PhD candidate who studies marine predators, said he could only assume the shark gobbled up the echidna while it was swimming in the shallows off the island, or travelling between islands, which the animals are known to do.

 

The ACT Legislative Assembly has voted to make voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legal in the territory from November 2025.

Access will be limited to adults with a condition that is advanced, progressive and expected to cause death and who are approaching the end of their life.

The operation of the scheme will be monitored by an independent oversight board.

 

The Green Shed will close today, marking the end of an era for its owners Sandie Parkes and Charlie Bigg-Wither.

After more than 35 years, the duo say they will miss the people and the extraordinary finds along the way.

Vinnies will take over the contract for the waste management business from tomorrow.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

It is a bit of an odd name really. I suspect it's due to a combination of their size, many having some orange colouring, and their habit of making off with your fruit come night time.

 

Fruit tree netting that can entangle flying foxes and birds is now banned in Canberra backyards, with residents facing fines of up to $800 if caught continually using it.

The ACT government introduced the ban to protect native wildlife which can get caught up in large-gauge netting, causing serious injury or death.

Netting must now be wildlife-friendly with a mesh size of 5mm by 5mm or smaller, and there should be no gaps for wildlife to enter from the ground or above.

If your finger can fit through the mesh, then it is considered unsafe netting.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

To be fair, Canberra didn't score that highly on anything else so the overall score was considerably lower.

 

Canberra is the second-best city in the world for quality of life, according to the latest report by the Oxford Economics Global Cities.

The quality of life measure encapsulates the wellbeing and satisfaction of a city’s residents. The indicators used to rank each city include life expectancy, income per person, income equality, housing expenditure, recreation and cultural sites, and internet speed.

Canberra was ranked behind just Grenoble in France and was the only Australian city ranked in the top 10 for quality of life

 

Canberra's pill testing service CanTEST has found N-pyrrolidino protonitazene (NPP) in brown granular powder presented for testing.

It's the first time the synthetic opioid — thought to be 25 times stronger than fentanyl — has been detected in the ACT.

CanTEST has issued a red alert community notice warning NPP carries a high risk of fatal overdose and there is no safe level of use.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

It does seem to get consistent usage - I think it'd make a lot of sense for the commute if you lived along the route and worked normal hours in the city. The increase in development was also noticeable - Flemington Rd has a lot of housing built along it now which would have been at least helped along by the presence of the light rail (I expect a lot would have been built regardless, but maybe not as quickly).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

You're right that I wouldn't recognise an unknown word/phrase, but since train announcements are operating in a limited context and I'd be seeing people respond by getting off the train at multiple stops you'd hope I'd figure it out before too long.

This is of course assuming I know some of the language and can recognise basic words such as their equivalent of passengers, going in completely blind would be a real mission (just as it would be coming here with absolutely no English).

view more: next ›