Wonderful journey

Mars landing

A man-made machine landed on the planet Mars safely this week, after a 711 million kilometre journey from Earth. Pictures it has taken have already been seen on the internet, and the robotic space traveller is already digging into the red planet to test for the possibility of past or future life there.

What a wonderful journey this has been.

I can accept there has been plenty of time for a steady progression of skills to allow NASA to make the rocket systems, and the "mechanics" of interplanetary journeys (relatively) reliable, but it's the mathematics of the trip that excites me . . . all those millions of kilometres on a roundabout course and landing "just where X marked the spot!"

The pity is that so many will be so little impressed with this latest demonstration of Man's vision and determination. These days, the value of science is increasingly under-rated (here in Australia at least)and that's a shame.

As for me - I just hope I'll still be around when they land a man (or woman) on Mars and I'll be able to cheer again for people "using the brains they was borned with!"

And also: Please note that Australia's Tidbidbilla telescope people were, as usual, a vital part of this last great expedition.

Positivity

We had a bit over two inches of rain, here, a week or so ago!

Now we've had four or five days of perfect (if you ignore the chilly nights), wind-less, sunny days and, with the farm season nicely opened and household gardens well and truly watered, locals are starting to broaden their conversations to things other than "that bloody drought".

The dams around Adelaide are still near empty, the household water (pumped from the river) is way too salty, and the irrigators can no longer irrigate. But two inches is a start - and the forecast is for more rain tomorrow. You'd be amazed how just a little bit of rain can raise morale.

"There's nothing like a sunny disposition to wipe away the clouds!" That's what my Grandma used to intone whenever she found me sulking, and I suppose she had the right idea. So I'm going to be cheerful now. I'll "look on the bright side" as I "count my blessings." I'm going to have a positive attitude about the future, too.

But I'm not going to hide from the facts of life. The more of us who recognise the problems around us, the more chance we have of organising change for the better.

Even oldies like me have the right to a grumble, every now and then.

Anyway, I'm about to watch my team (Australian Rules football) go for its fifth weekly victory in a row. I'm feeling very positive. Grandma would be pleased.

We should worry!

I used to be an optimist, but that confidence is wearing thin.

When I was a youngster, pleased with life as it was then, I was sure that advances in science would make our world wonderfully happy by the time I was "old". Now, I admit to growing disappointment over the "state of almost everything, almost everywhere!"

That's casting the net a bit wide, perhaps, but any readers in Hindustan, Khazakastan, Burma and a hundred or so other places should "wear it" if the cap fits.

Here in Oz, over the past three generations, we've near-enough killed our major river system. simply through lack of care, and bad judgement in electing our politicians.

Successive governments have allowed irrigators and selfish state administrators to plunder the Murray River system to the stage where many farm communities are facing ruin within months.

Our new leaders say they recognise the problem as urgent and they're "taking steps to fix it", but that they don't expect major change within 10 years - by which time it will be at least eight years too late.

If we don't die of thirst, then we'd better soon start buying horses and carts for transport, seeing we're paying $1.60 per litre for petrol now, with $2 forecast before the end of the year and with diesel costing 25pc more.
Our petrol price is set according to the Singapore rate, no matter than most of our oil comes from Australia's Bass Strait. Of course Federal and State governments reap billions of dollars from excise, and we can't expect them to sacrifice any of that to keep their voters in business, can we?

In the meantime we're still helping the US in its efforts to "install democracy overseas" at the point of a gun (and I know the situation's more complicated than that, but the point stands.

We've had a growing health crisis here for years. Hospitals, through maladministration and inadequate financing, have had their waiting lists grow steadily. Only the private health insurance schemes (part government funded) have kept the system going. But now, our Federal leaders have changed a subsidy system, meaning more pressure on public hospitals and higher fees from the insurers.

All this and we have cities burdened with failing utilities, largely because State governments have cut maintenance in things like water and power services, so they can use the profits elsewhere.

And, through all of this rapidly developing crisis, our new Treasurer boasts about the record national budget surplus, as interest rates rise, jobs are lost and national morale droops.

Why, for the nation's sake, can't they spent the surplus (our money) to solve at least some of the problems?"

It is true, I believe, that we get the quality of government we deserve.
Our generation, through lack of interest and through laziness, looks to leave a disappointing legacy.

I wonder how I'd have gone in government?

Going "bush" for Mother

We went bush for Mothers' Day, today - an afternoon spent with our daughters' children and their "parents-in-law", plus Dave (the husband of one of the aforesaid daughters of the parents-in-law).

Now, if you've sorted that out, take another peek at the nice little creek above - your typical SA country stream. typical reflections and gum trees, just an idylic bit of Oz.

It won't, theoretically, be there in a couple of months. It'll be five stories under the surface of a reservoir, designed to serve the expanding northern suburbs of Adelaide, and so we continue to reshape our country.

Never mind though, I can't think of a satisfactory alternative to this storage, that will suddenly appear at the foot of Dave's property. All we need is a decent bit of rain to fill the dam(n) thing, and there isn't much prospect of that, so the weathermen say!

Anyway, we had a lovely time, four mothers were suitably impressed with cards, flowers and (from the children) suitably slobbery kisses.
And the youngsters had a lovely, dirty time in and around the creek on this benign Autumn day.

In the thrall of Krall

My best friend told me about Diana Krall, about a year ago. "She's Canadian, a blond, she plays jazz piano like she invented it, and sings like an angel. Go get the CD" he said.
So I bought her new CD, and then a video of her in concert, in Paris. I'm playing it now, and it's hard to concentrate on typing.
So that's a tip for you, if you like music in general and good jazz in particular.
I hope you gain as much pleasure from music as do I. I like listening to almost all kinds of music, from classics to jazz, with the exceptions of "rap". Our house is seldom without a tune, and our CD collection covers a broad spectrum.
I dream, sometimes, that my sight has gone, along with my hearing. What an awful world that must be, with nothing much to do except think!
Not that I'm really worrying. As well as our sound system, our household goods include an electronic piano, a portable keyboard, a flute, two harmonicas and a tin whistle.
Neither of us are much more than enthusiastic amateurs, but we have a lot of fun trying!
But now, with Ms Krall in full flight, I'm off to watch, as well as listen.

Zoos - Mixed feelings

We took our 5-year-old grand-daughter to the local zoo a couple of days ago, and it rained. It was OK for the flamingo, of course, because he was in a shelter.
Any zoo is a wonderful mine of information, source of knowledge and entertainer of children.
During two hours of scattered 5-minute downpours we saw birds a-plenty, mongooses (mongeese?), lots of apes, a black bear, tiger and a couple of sea lions. It was good that we saw kangaroos, wallabies, emus and a wombat - all of which prove that even the animals are a bit different in Oz.
It's good that the zoo people in Adelaide have been able to provide roomy "real life-like" settings for most of their bigger exhibits, and the general setting there is vastly better than when I visited as child.
But the bear, while we were there, trod a constant, well-worn path into his den and back to one point a few metres out. Not much fun for him.
The tiger, in a spacious setting of realistic "jungle", paced steadfastly up and back along the back fence.
Then there were the two sea lions, swimming interminable circuits of a circular pool that looked about half a metre deep and about 10 metres across - This for animals built to range widely, designed for speed and agility.
Now, I might have the wrong idea. It could be that these big animals were not stressed, or bored, or at all unhappy. It could have been near feeding time, with them demonstrating the stress we all tend to show when we "just can't wait" for a good feed.
I know that good zoos (and ours is one) are considered vital for the preservation of many species, as well as good at entertaining and educating we humans. I know that great efforts are made to keep the animals fit and happy.
But I can't help wondering how we'd feel if kidnapped by an interplanetary visitor and exhibited in his zoo.