Genghis Khan in Manly

Baghdad was invaded in 1258 by the Mongolian army under Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Khan. They plundered the “mother of all cities” for its accumulated wealth above the ground and took it back to Mongolia. (They didn't know about the oil.)
To break down the walls of Baghdad they needed large objects to throw against them. The centuries-old date palms, which produced abundant fruit, were all cut down and catapulted into the city. Soon it was occupied and plundered of its wealth. Much of it was burnt down. (source: Jack Weatherford)
The Mongols were nomadic plunderers. They did not respect the ancient fruit trees. Nor did they understand plant cultivation. The intention was to take the goods and move on, not to stay in their conquered lands.
The mentality of Genghis Khan is becoming dominant around here. Land is cleared of its plant wealth for short term gain. Buildings are bulldozed to make way for quickly-erected bunkers. Gardens are disappearing under concrete. National parks are burnt to ensure profits. Views are cut through bushland to increase property values.
When the job is done and the profits have been taken, it's time to leave the scorched earth and head up the coast for a “sea change”. The process starts again in new-found land.

Dobroyd Head

Dobroyd Head today, past the McMansions (smashed into the bush, Olympic pools, then sold on completion). The fire (as reported before) was there primarily to secure the real estate. The official rhetoric argues, that it is for flora regeneration. Mysterious are the very large clearings and very wide trail-blazed paths running to (new?) lookouts. Previously the 'bush' had been 'impenetrable' at these sites. I remember times when the queer community was driven out of the area on the grounds that 'they make paths in the bushes everywhere and take their clothes off..' Now that the area is securely annexed by families, the access trails get larger and more plentiful, the bush has to be burnt down more often and in the end it ends up as just another dog loo.

Despite it all:
Black Cockatoos circling the blackened areas, calling the rain!
Melaleuca nodosa (Ball Honeymyrtle) in full 'ball', small communities, dense.
Actinotus helianthi (Flannel Flowers) smelling nicely out of their wooly cushions.
Olearia Tomentosa (Heath Daisy?) changing from blue to white.
Eriostemon Australasius (Pink Wax Flower)

Four-lane thoroughfare shopping vs trees

Shop-owners protested against humanising the Fairlight drive-through shopping area. A park and corridor of trees, planned by Manly Council would enhance shopping in this cement-burnt bit of an intersection. The four-lane thoroughfare could get 'tree-lined footpaths'. Our household will never shop there again, if usability and sustainability is resisted by a few stakeholders. Friends and community in the area can be convinced too.

Sounds of the ocean and 'the bush' composed by you

Compose your own beach & bush sounds. Enter via 'coastal spaces', then mouse over the ocean window and design your own authentic Australian/Pacific sound-scapes. There are more in 'insect spaces' or 'European city spaces' too to play around with.

Manly Mayor's Messy Message

The weekly message from the Manly Major, Peter MacDonald, has been unreadable for the last few months, when opened with a Mozilla or Firefox browser. It probably has never been readable. The lines of text sit on top of one another. It is however readable with Internet Explorer. The Mayor goes to the trouble of writing a weekly report, but is let down by those who provide IT services.
Sydney Water is similarly poorly served. Their reporting form for illegal water use is completely jumbled when viewed with these other commonly used browsers.
Where is the professional web development?

Death machines o.g.

Ploughed through the pulp news of the old media (SMH). Nearly every second whole page car ads and then a 2 x 2 cm article: a 3 year-old-boy was killed by a 4WD. Elsewhere the modified 'monster truck' was described by a road safety officer as a 'death machine'. Now they quibble how much 'modification' is ok, not whether all 4 WDs are much higher than normal cars, blocking the view of all pedestrians, cyclists and other car drivers.
Meanwhile, the 2x2cm notices will continue, the poles along the roads are getting denser and denser floral arrangements. (This needs a Google map hack!)

So in the future if I come across these road kills, I'll remember the killed and maimed here:

• 3 year old human being died from actions of a 4 WD driver, Oct. 2005
• 20-month-old girl is in a critical condition after being run over by the 4WD driven by her father, Oct. 2005 (ABC News Online)
  

Sand

When seeing beautiful beaches turned into highways in Australia one could wish for dry quicksand. All the smelly, dangerous vehicles (4WDs) are just swallowed up and disappear.There is more on this possibility here and here.

In the absence of motor vehicles the dry sand dunes can be heard 'barking' or 'singing'.

Bag snatching with sub-urban combat vehicle

Bag snatching gets a new meaning. A 4WD rammed the door of an inner city shop and grabbed handbags. The ram raid car is infamous as a 'getaway car'. (SMH)

While the US military is working on the 'killer car'. Australians are pondering if it is worth getting fuel efficient vehicles. (SMH)

More on 'sub-urban combat vehicles'
Update 081005: re fuel efficient vehicles. Just back from the beach and realised, why small fuel efficient cars are not on here:
where will the

• hunting dogs & poodles sit?
• the golf clubs?
• the surfboards?
• the double/triple decker prams?
• the many bulging plastic bags?
• the throw-away tricycles?
• the get-fit beach-parade alu-bike?
• etc.

Whitewater feeds

Whitewater restaurant has the best quality food and atmosphere in Manly at the moment. The concept is right and there is even a web-presence. Rare in Manly! Petit serves, but fresh and high quality. Our favourite (at the moment)
One day local government will remove the road seperating the eateries and the beach, plant perfumed shrubs and let people sit BY the beach.
22102010 Update
Change of mind as the quality of food and service has changed. We and our friends have been taking our local $$ elsewhere.

Inefficient plunder of the oceans

Fish caught with 'hi-tech' methods has a wastage rate of 80 %. This 'by-catch' of marine wildlife, including dolphins and sea turtles is 'dumped'. The 'solution' of fish farming has other down-sides: "In addition to problems with pollution and disease, for every kilogram of fishmeal fed to farmed fish, only half a kilogram of fish is produced."
via Guardian Unlimited

Who believes in water restrictions?

On the Labour Day public holiday I saw 2 people in a nearby street washing their cars with hoses. One was washing the inside of the motor. The hose was left running in the gutter while the engine was being lovingly caressed by hand. When there is no water left for drinking, will these people remember the joy of washing their car with the last supplies? The illegal use of water for this purpose catches on. Some do it in the dark. Each neighbour follows the example of the next, seeing that the law is rarely enforced. The fine is only $220 anyway. Still it doesn't rain. Bush fires have started. Where will the water come from to fight the fires when summer starts? Yet in a pamphlet from Sydney Water called “Go slow on H2O” which I picked up in front of Manly Library it is still recommended to use a trigger nozzle when washing a car, despite that any use of hoses is illegal for this purpose. Illegal use of water can be reported using this form.

Manly Jazz Festival

The last day of the Manly Jazz Festival today.The music was a bit biased to the 30s to 50s genre. Free jazz or fusion were out. Some bands performed between pneumatic drills and their own genny (billowing fumes and acoustic pollution). One of the 'roving bands', named 'Viva' had a lot of vital force.
Garbage everywhere, mostly 'fast' food & drinks stuff. Yob-mobiles circling the event like 'Mad Max' in search of that cost-free space. A packed beach with a summer temperature.