Cities in Disgrace

I recently re-read the Cities in Flight series of novels by James Blish.

The stories have not aged well they are particularly misogynistic and colonial.

Blish also worked for the Tobacco institute and died of lung cancer - poetic justice.

 

Harlequin

 

The cotton harlequin bug is fascinating in close-up.

Strawberry Flowers

 

In spring the flowers bloom and the the insects visit them.

Great Radio

 

My favourite radio. 

Accurate digital tuning.

Sensitive reception - from Brisbane I can receive all the Australian 50kW AM transmitters. Some I have to wait till late at night.

Good sound - from the 100mm speaker.

Extended battery life - from 4x D cells.

I used this radio when travelling as I can remove it from the RF interference in the caravan power systems.

Canali

 

Like Mars, my home is is covered with canali.

My home is on a slight slope and water flowed from the neighbours house under mine then to the shed (flooding it) and out the back corner of my property.

Formerly in the wet season the doors within my home would stick. I guessed that the moisture around the house stumps was lifting the house and so the doors were no longer swinging true.

My solution was to under take civil engineering works steering water away from under the house and guiding it passed the shed. 

I built embankments to gather the water from the neighbours yard and steer it to the backyard. I also built a Grand Canal under the house for the times of heavy rainfall to take overflow from the embankment directly from the high side of the house directly to the low side without pooling.

Investigating the shed, I found an old trench across the front to divert water. So I cleaned this out and reinstated it. I added a weather strip to the shed door to keep the water out.

The doors no longer stick in the wet season. And the shed flooding is minimal.

Caravan Improvements #3

 

I added a gas fuse between the gas bottle and the caravan appliances. It can also be used to detect gas leaks.

Caravan Improvements #2

 

Simple but effective - a level glued to the frame. But I did make a mistake - when the frame is level the bench inside the caravan is not quite level so I must compensate.