Earth Hour plus
26 March 2011

Just when you thought the path was safe!

Beside the path are seen ancient inscriptions.

More of the path to certainty.

The Path

University of Newcastle is in a bushland setting and acres of local plants and trees enhance the environment and is in line with a plan for a natural setting won at the start up of the campus. Roads and paths take you along hills and gullies and through areas of uncleared bushland among the widespread built environment.
Unique landscaping included some permaculture ideas with arrangments of rocky watercourses complete with a succession of small holding ponds. Lawn mowing became unnecessary. However, at last count it was seen that severe pruning and clearing had upended much of those plans. Visibility was a problem no doubt.

The Hunter Building at the University of Newcastle is not shown to advantage yet it has style and while it appears unobtrusive it has a number of levels around courtyards and has interesting twists and turns and is a mini-university all under one roof.

About 1971 the Teachers' College occupied stage one of this site which after a few years became known as Newcastle College of Advanced Education with Griff Duncan as the foundation principal. In 1985 the last links with the Union Street site were severed.
A multitude of buildings were developed and another change of name to the Hunter Institute of Higher Education came about but was in vain. After 40 years of teacher education and an enrolment of over 4000 a White Paper governmental policy led to amalgamation with the University of Newcastle, next door, in October 1989.

The Hunter Institute at Tighes Hill showing a small part of the campus which, as a branch of Technical Education, covered the industrial careers of those into steel and riverts and more.
Newcastle University had its origins there and when it moved to its present site the union building, to the right in photo, was retained by the Tech college, so it was the first tech to enjoy such a facility.
The educational experts are in a debate provoked by a new English Grammar text. One writes: there is absolutely no evidence that knowledge of grammatical terminology ...leads to an improvement in students' written communication...but we are concerned if they can't use those categories of words appropriately. (the Australian 16 June 08)
Where will these cultural wars end! How will we learn proper English?
I just discovered a topic about the use of articles and count and non count nouns and it is suggested there is a continuuem of sorts to consider. One could try and sort it out sometime soon.

The Chinese and others gave a rousing welcome to the Olympic Torch as it reached its destination in Canberra.
Just a jump to the left..... lets do the time warp again.... had we joined in the Long March?
As if uplifted by Bruch's First Violin Concerto, orchestrated crowds responded with song and flag waving. It was powerful.
Overnight, busloads of students from Sydney and Melbourne etc had arrived to witness the Journey of Harmony and naturally were full of fervent sentiments.
The Tibetan supporters were shunted to one side and a standoff was controlled by police who stood between the vitriolic shouters and the chanters.
My compatriots were few and far between and the air was tinged with alienation (or is that from Canberra itself) but one could enter into the spirit and chat with a number of the visitors; sip Chinese tea tasting; enjoy very very good singing from the Samsung Choir; see drumming and dancing by a clever Chinese troupe and leave before Shannon Noll took to the stage.
No, its not The Great Wall Of China!
























Above: Monash Student with sign. No mobiles?

7.35am/5 degrees C says the ABC Media: an early start was appropriate due to the spreading road closures for the relay to take place and for a day of exploitation.

For things Chinese, an old film, 55 Days At Peking, (now Beijing), for all its faults, has a sense of history and is entertaining - up to a point. Made in Spain in 1963 the celestial throne room still has a commendable air of authenticity. The grand tale of the Boxer uprising probably has its inaccuracies and revisionism yet gives us an insight into the glorious past. The first half is best, there is no sex and there is a type of violence and one scene is something of a predecessor of Kill Bill.

HOME SWEET HOME

How much heating and cooling does your home require? Good design comes into this as well as useful information about building materials and home construction.

These small model houses have detailed monitoring done 24/7 and are wired up so as to measure certain variables such as the environmental effects and the insulative properties.
It is only fairly recently that energy efficient housing has become mainstream. The positioning of the house and windows, insulation and wide shady eves are among some of the factors that go with energy efficiency .

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

Here is the entrance to the main library at the University of Newcastle. The whole campus is pleasantly set among tall trees and greenery where quiet and peaceful outdoor spaces can be found as well as somewhere to have that last cigarette.

Russian translation. Thanks to P and C.
Вход в центральную библиотеку университета в Ньюкасле. В университетском городоке, привольно раскинувшемся среди могучих деревьев и вечнозелёных кустарников, легко найти уютную поляну для отдыха или уголок, чтобы выкурить сигарету в перерыве между занятиями.

Native grasses go very well in any garden