Some years back,

maybe seven or so, we planted a number of pineapple tops in the garden.

Only a couple of them managed to take root, & for the time since then, only the leaves grew. We'd given up the idea of them fruiting.

Then, late last year, November-December, a flower appeared in the center of the plant to the right of the garden path, & gradually has taken on the familiar pineapple form.

& even later in December, the plant on the lefthand side of the path, perhaps prompted by the nearby activity, launched into bloom.

Am unsure, but I think they take about six or so months to get to the point of harvesting.

Broadband, mobile outages in wake of Queensland floods.

"Telstra has flown techicians in to repair a flood-damaged fibre optic cable between Gladstone and Bundaberg in Queensland that it says "carries much of the state's communications needs".

The telco said that severe flooding in Colosseum, about 72km south-east of Gladstone, had damaged the coastal cable. The flooding is caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

"A repair crew has arrived in Colosseum by helicopter to attempt repairs on the damaged coastal cable and begin restoring services," a spokesman said.

"All restoration efforts will be weather dependant, but the team is in the process of running cable in an attempt to reinstate services."

A cable near Harlin that could usually act as a backup has also been damaged by flood waters.

"To date, poor weather conditions and flood levels have prevented technicians accessing the second damaged cable north of Harlin," Telstra's spokesman said.

"As the weather clears, technicians will attempt to access the area by helicopter or road with the help of local emergency services to begin works."

The cable damage, together with widespread power outages, led to landline and broadband services being cut in Mackay, Freshwater, Cairns, Rockhampton, Townsville, Mount Isa and Gladstone, Telstra indicated.

"Many 2G, 3G and 4G mobile services throughout Central and Northern Queensland have also been impacted," it said.

While it had a crew working on the Colosseum cut that was impacting fixed services, the carrier hoped to be able to restore some 3G services using a transmission route via Darwin."

itnews

30 hours this time...

& overall, it's an increasingly strange weather event, that keeps being greeted by the phrase "unprecedented." It's still going, moving down the coast, in New South Wales now, dumping many millimeters of rain & accompanied by extremely strong winds.

Australia Day / Invasion Day / Some Sort of Reconciliation Day

For many Indigenous Australians, today marks the 75th anniversary of the fight for Aboriginal rights and recognition.

In 1938, a large group of Aboriginal people gathered in Sydney at a protest they called The Day of Mourning.

The Indigenous demonstrators demanded full citizen rights and equality, and the protest was the beginning of the organised Aboriginal civil rights movement.

Today, 225 years after the First Fleet arrived, the Aboriginal and Australian Flags have flown together on top of Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time.

Today, the heavy rain

has moved away, but the results of the 520 mm of rain that has fallen over the last three days are extremely evident. Much of the communication infrastructure—internet & cell—was down for nearly 24 hours & has only just come back up; there's an inland lake around the south & west of the city; the major highways south, west, & southwest are all closed with washed out bridges, washed away road, or just too much water over the road to get through; the airport is closed/open/closed/open/closed, though I just heard a plane come in; & the usual stream of gawkers on the streets leading down to the lagoon at the bottom of our street (which is now cut off there) is making getting out difficult.

& the snakes escaping the floodwaters are still to come . . .

350mm of rain

in the 24 hours to 9 a.m., the wettest day here since 1939......

It may be a bit late this year,

but the monsoon trough has finally reached us. 120mm — 4½ in — of rain overnight.

geographies: Morinish

Stage 6: The Great (Media Tarts) Race

A re-elected President is always sweet meat!!

This first stage of the new year is being judged by members of The Academy. Some amongst them

have cast their vote in favor of the alliterative Bono / Barack Obama. Others have gone for the rhyme of

Dalai Lama / Obama.

There is no clear winner. A second round of voting will have to be held; but now The Academy members are arguing over whether it should be constructed in limerick or in haiku form.

Bono is heard muttering offstage "Next time I'll get photographed with Yoko Ono. That'll fix the fucking fuddyduddies!"

why I like proboscis monkeys

Cicerone: A guide who shows the antiquities or curiosities of a place to strangers

How inventive!

A monkey
with a / prominent
proboscis

is called
a / proboscis
monkey.

Yesagyo

In publication terms

November & December were quite prolific months for me. I've listed the November pubs previously. Below is the December list. & I've seen proofs for a couple of things coming out in January.

ditch

3 a.m.

Cricket Online Review, v8 i2

Mascara #12

Fact•Simile #8

Counterexample Poetics

Tip of the Knife #11

Offcourse #51