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30 results for “Terrapin”
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From a fascinating piece on the importance of targeting the temporal terrain, that is, how the relevant population sees the past, present and future at the same time.
This stuff surely is also used to train diplomats and other government negotiators? Also relevant for execs trying to convince Boards of their case?
Full piece: https://www.irregularwarfare.org/who-truly-wears-the-watches-and-has-the-time-in-irregular-warfare/
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Onyx Peak
Elevation: 9,000+ feet above sea level
Snow on San Gorgonio and terrain in between.
https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/2689
#California #Mountains #SouthernCalifornia #TrailViews #Weather
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https://www.europesays.com/be-fr/297897/ Standard : Casper Nielsen écarté des terrains pour six semaines, le médian danois souffre d’une déchirure au mollet #Anvers #BE #BEFr #Belgique #Belgium #d1 #DivisionUn #EersteKlasse #FirstDivision #foot #football #PremiereDivision #rcsc #soccer #Sports #voetbal
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This visual investigation is another case study in strategic mapping, the relativity of space, and how geopolitics is defined by the interaction between physical, human, economic and technological terrain.
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🔴 On regarde la #nflparisgame | 3/4 | 16-10 ✅
https://buff.ly/r0qQ8W9Les #Saints ont résistés aux assauts des #Steelers pourtant très dynamique sur le terrain !
Pittsburgh reprend point 3 points juste avant la fin du temps !Petite pause #Music, et on y retourne pour les 15 dernieres minutes ! Connecte toi ! 🎶
#NFL #Mastodon #Sport #Media #Gaming #Highlights #Football #nflparis #Paris
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From a fascinating article on why irregular warfare requires a different way of thinking relative to conventional warfare, especially due to uncertainty and polycentricity of the human terrain.
Full article: https://www.irregularwarfare.org/adaptive-judgment-in-irregular-warfare-a-decision-making-framework-for-sof-leaders/
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FC Nantes. « Le scénario fait très mal » : les réactions des joueurs nantais après la défaite à Saint-Etienne
Article premium, Réservé aux abonnés Les Canaris se sont inclinés 1-0 sur le terrain de l’AS Saint-Etienne, ce samedi…
#Nantes #FR #France #Actu #News #Europe #EU #actu #Actualités #europe #fcnantes #football #ligue2 #Loire-Atlantique #paysdelaloire #Républiquefrançaise #Sport #une
https://www.europesays.com/fr/1263677/ -
Un trésor dans le jardin
Le trésor a été trouvé en creusant dans un jardin à Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine). Le propriétaire du terrain a ainsi découvert une cruche en terre contenant 302 pièces d'argent.
https://www.chasses-au-tresor.com/generalites/chasseurs-de-tresors/un-tresor-dans-le-jardin.html
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#NEXARIUM #NVO987 #Tahiti #Heiva
Grève dans la santé, les médecins contestent les chiffres du Pays
Tahiti, le 23 octobre 2026 – Au quatrième jour d'une grève illimitée dans la santé publique, l'intersyndicale contre-attaque sur le terrain des chiffres. Dans une série de publications diffusées sur les réseaux sociaux, elle conteste les comparaisons salariales avancées par le gouvernement et dénonce le manque d'attractivité des postes médicaux en Polynésie. Une assemblée générale est prévue ce -
“Evening Aspens” — Soft light on colorful autumn aspen groves, Eastern Sierra.
This was my final aspen photograph of the day. These trees grow in what feels like high desert terrain along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. This is essentially “sage brush country,” though as the elevation rises there are increasing numbers of conifers. Being east of the crest of the range, the area falls into evening shadows well before actual sunset.
continue: https://gdanmitchell.com/2026/10/24/evening-aspens-3/
#photo
#photography
#photoOfTheDay
#lensCulture
#landscapePhotography
#photographyLovers
#naturePhotography
#fineArtPhotography
#nature
#sierranevada
#fall
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[24 octobre 2026 - la photo du jour]
🇨🇦 Photo du 20 sept. 2025 au Hope Slide, Canada. Site d'un glissement de terrain majeur de 1965.---
[October 24, 2026 - Photo of the day]
🇨🇦 Photo from Sep. 20, 2025 at Hope Slide, Canada. Site of a major landslide from 1965.
https://unoeilsurlaterre.com/canada-2025/kamloops-hope#32129
#Géologie #GlissementDeTerrain #TextelA #AIText #UnOeilSurLaTerre #AnEyeOnEarth -
The Earth, represented as data: winds, currents, terrain, borders, populations, reveals the shapes beneath the numbers in a different way of seeing the world #dataviz
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https://www.europesays.com/ch-fr/362632/ Décès de la jeune rugbywoman de 17 ans en Lot-et-Garonne : une minute d’applaudissements sera observée sur tous les terrains de France, les Bleues porteront un brassard noir… #LotEtGaronne #marmande #RugbyXV #Sport #Sports #Suisse
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🔄 https://BeamNG.Earth - Version 1.5.5 Beta
https://BeamNG.Earth mod for https://BeamNG.drive 0.40.1 addresses loading speeds, reduces stutter, and improves terrain, roads, bridges, water, buildings, trees, and traffic for smoother play.
1/2
#BeamNGEarth #BeamNG #CarSim #Linux #LinuxGaming #PCGaming #FreeTrack #HeadTracking #OpenSource #MetaQuest #OpenXR #PICO #Pimax #SteamFrame #SteamVR #VirtualReality #VR
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Il y a un écart de niveau conséquent entre les deux. Mais à la reprise, Ubaidillah se libère et sort des défenses qui font très mal à Christo. Le score passe de 4-1 à 4-9 pour l'indonésien.
Christo revient à 8-11 puis 12-14 mais ses lobs sortent dans ce sens du terrain et son adversaire le pousse, on sent son physique baisser doucement. Christo fini par lâcher le set 14-21.
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Dans le cortège à Strasbourg, des vies bouleversées par la précarité et la peur du futur
Environ 15 000 personnes ont manifesté contre la vie chère et pour plus de moyens dans les services publics samedi 24 octobre à Strasbourg. Dans le cortège, beaucoup dénoncent la fascisation du pays et leur vécu face à la pauvreté qui ne cesse de gagner du terrain. Malgré les vacances, les petites averses et les promesses de répression du gouvernement, une importante foule se…
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It's not a new thing to be asked but aren't eco-systems so cool!? The way waste, nutrients and resources are passed around to benefits everyone is so fascinating!
This is my oldest aquascape! A mossy terrain with blade grass growing in between the rocks. It's established, meaning I don't have to baby it. It has a large population of tiny little shrimp. It filters most of it's own waste, keeps the water clean and everyone is fed.
#aquascape #ecosystem #plants #aquatic -
Strasbourg : suivez en direct la journée de mobilisation du 24 octobre
Depuis la manifestation du 17 octobre, de nombreux comptes sur les réseaux sociaux appellent à se mobiliser samedi 24 octobre. À Strasbourg, un parcours a été déclaré en urgence mais deux points de ralliement sont recensés. Nos journalistes seront présents sur le terrain pour raconter la journée en direct. L’info en un coup d’œil Les points saillants de la journée…
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I wrote about Pocket Switzerland on my blog: how a map to find my way between the Swiss valleys became a low-poly paper country that you fly over in a hot-air balloon, right in the browser.
Under the hood: React Three Fiber, one terrain mesh built from swisstopo open data, Astro and Starlight, five languages. And a section on making a 3D canvas accessible: a DOM mirror of the scene, keyboard flight, measured contrast.
https://colorfield.dev/blog/pocket-switzerland-a-paper-country-in-3d
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Write or be written off
I’ve written before about why I write and why it’s important for personal and work reasons. I often use it to sense make and it inspires me. I’ve not been as purposeful of late and a lot of it has probably to do with AI. As you can imagine, AI makes it a lot easier to choose it to write for you, rather than do it yourself. It makes you lazy. This is my recommitment post, to my own writing.
I’ve started reading On Writing Well by William Zinsser, this fired me up. He said, “the act of writing generates some cluster of thoughts or memories that you didn’t anticipate. Don’t fight such a current if it feels right. Trust your material if it’s taking you into terrain you didn’t intend to enter but where the vibrations are good. Adjust your style accordingly and proceed to whatever destination you reach. Don’t become the prisoner of a preconceived plan. Writing is no respecter of blueprints.”
I share that not in support of the title of this post, I’ll get to that. What he wrote is more about the act of writing well and how to go with the flow if it is to work. It reminded me why I love writing for the pleasure of it. When it creates a state of flow and the effort becomes effortless, you enjoy it and the writing is better for it. You’re better for it too – there’s nothing more satisfying than punching out some powerful prose or getting an intended reaction from someone.
But there is also the connection to living for which writing is a wonderful analogy. And especially William’s point about what the act of writing instils in you.
There’s something about getting your words down on a page or screen that is life affirming. I like to believe that “I write, therefore I am”, to paraphrase. It’s not so much an affirmation of existence as it is simply a way of actualising lived experience. When you write what you know based on what you’ve done, it adds a certain concreteness to life.
In the same breath, Michael Pollan said, “don’t write if you know the answer”. Writing is one of the best ways to improve your critical thinking. This is needed for the right learning. Writing is subsequently an excellent way to solidify what you have learned. It reinforces learning because it forces your brain to slow down, organize thoughts, and process information deeply.
I’m making a lot of these points in the context of AI use and how, if we’re not careful, we’ll lose the ability to write and thereby lose all of the benefits it brings.
Reading is a closely related cousin and is in a similar predicament for other reasons. Reading levels have gone down drastically in recent years with social media doom scrolling replacing it.
The casualties in all of this is us. Whatever the causes, we cannot stop doing the things that make us human. The ability to read what others have written and reflect and learn from this and vice versa. And to think rationally and critically as a result, with a deep connection to others so that it grounds our actions. This is not something we should easily give up to algorithms and AI.
#inspiration #writing #reading -
Looking ahead through the next 7 days, the weather will be seasonal and dry. Temperatures will be below normal through this weekend before warming to around normal by early next week. There will be slight chances for rain Saturday, but mainly in AZ high terrain. #azwx #cawx https://t.co/uOYkjgcLyA
Oct 23, 12:30pm +0000
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Jetour presentará sus avances tecnológicos para la movilidad y la aventura en China
JETOUR celebrará del 20 al 23 de octubre su Global Technology Experience Day 2026 en China, con pruebas de conducción y demostraciones de sus tecnologías de movilidad, eficiencia energética y conducción todoterreno.
Por Deyanira Vázquez | Reportera
Jetour presentará sus avances tecnológicos para la movilidad urbana y todoterreno durante el Global Technology Experience Day 2026, que se celebrará del 20 al 23 de octubre en China, con actividades en Wuhu, provincia de Anhui, así como en Moganshan y el lago Xiazhu, en Zhejiang.
Bajo el lema “El futuro de los viajes comienza ahora”, el encuentro reunirá a medios de comunicación, creadores de contenido y representantes de usuarios de distintas partes del mundo para conocer las tecnologías de la marca mediante pruebas de conducción, demostraciones técnicas y actividades al aire libre.
La experiencia estará vinculada con la estrategia Travel+ de JETOUR, que integra la innovación automotriz con una propuesta de estilo de vida enfocada en los viajes, la exploración y la aventura.
Tecnología automotriz puesta a prueba en rutas reales
El programa combinará recorridos por zonas urbanas, caminos montañosos y entornos de humedales para mostrar cómo responden las tecnologías de la marca ante diferentes condiciones de conducción. La propuesta contempla que los asistentes evalúen las soluciones en escenarios reales, más allá de las exhibiciones técnicas.
Entre los desarrollos que se presentarán figuran los sistemas XWD de tracción integral automática y GAIA All-Terrain Intelligent Architecture, diseñados para afrontar superficies de grava, pendientes pronunciadas, caminos irregulares y cruces de agua.
Estas tecnologías buscan mejorar la capacidad de respuesta y la estabilidad del vehículo en terrenos exigentes, con el propósito de ampliar las posibilidades de desplazamiento en recorridos urbanos y de aventura.
Sistemas híbridos y asistencia a la conducción
Otro de los ejes será la tecnología híbrida C-DM, concebida para combinar desempeño y eficiencia energética en trayectos cotidianos y viajes de larga distancia.
La propuesta tecnológica también incluye sistemas avanzados de asistencia a la conducción y soluciones de recarga eficiente, orientados a facilitar los desplazamientos prolongados. Asimismo, la marca abordará sus desarrollos en inteligencia artificial, habitáculos conectados y plataformas adaptativas.
En conjunto, estas herramientas forman parte de la estrategia de JETOUR para incorporar soluciones que respondan a distintas necesidades de movilidad, desde los recorridos diarios hasta las travesías en condiciones más demandantes. –sn–
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RF:Ph05:Ch81: Humanoid Robots
At the turn of the 21st century, Japanese car manufacturer Honda publicly unveiled a humanoid robot called Asimo. Clearly named after Isaac Asimov, the name was also an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. The robot was the outcome of several years of less public research into developing an autonomous machine that could walk. By the early 2000s, Honda would make public demonstrations of Asimo walking, gesturing with its arms and navigating spaces. By 2022, Honda had retired the whole program.
In science fiction, human-shaped robots have been the predominant shape for mechanical people. In stories about clever inventors creating robots, the challenge has been creating autonomous beings, with very little attention given to one of the most challenging problems with the idea of a human-shaped robot: walking.
Human locomotion is very odd. Notably, along with the whole intelligence, culture, and civilisation aspect of humanity, the human approach to walking is almost unique. The other great apes can walk for short periods on just two legs, but more generally use their arms as well. There are plenty of other bipedal animals (e.g. all birds) and, among mammals, the macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) routinely move about on two legs. However, a kangaroo counterbalances its torso with a tail, and when moving at speed by bouncing, its spine is more horizontal. Humans balance their torso vertically above their hips when walking in a precarious manoeuvre, with their big blob of a skull right at the top, just to make the whole structure look even more like a structure on the verge of collapse.
Walking, it turns out, is very difficult. As an engineering problem, developing bipedal robots has been a substantial challenge. It is also, arguably, a pointless one. In terms of machines that can move around autonomously, human style walking is technically difficult but also dangerous. Even humans fall over more frequently than they would like to. In many industrial or even urban settings wheeled machines make more sense. Over the past few decades, commercial autonomous mobile machines from robot vacuum cleaners to self-driving cars have been predominantly wheeled vehicles. Military autonomous machines aka drones, on the other hand, have predominately been ariel, from the cruise missiles of the 1980s to modern drone warfare.
The most publicly notable autonomous mobile machines that use walking, have been the robots produced by the company Boston Dynamics. Funded primarily by military investment, the 2005 BigDog robot was a sinister looking quadruped. Although, the machine received a lot of hype as a potential all-terrain military support machine intended to carry equipment, BigDog was shelved in 2010. The company has since produced smaller and more adept quadruped robots. Four legs obviously has a distinct advantage over two, but the current impact of this style of robots has mainly been cultural, with the sinister looking “dog” style robots working their way into near-future science fiction, including the tense 2017 Black Mirror episode Metalhead.
Of course, not all the point of developing a bipedal machine is to produce a commercial human form robot. As an engineering challenge, robots like Asimo had a dual purpose as a research challenge and as a way of publicising the engineering skills of the parent company. Building mechanical limbs has potential applications to the development of prosthetics also. A bipedal robot developed with DARPA funding by Boston Dynamics called PETMAN was designed to test HAZMAT and other protective clothing. Having a machine with a range of human movement makes more sense in this specific context.
Despite the downsides of human form robots, development continues. In 2025 an annual event partly funded by the Chinese government, named the World Humanoid Robot Games, presented a series of challenges in which various robots could compete. The challenges in the subsequent 2026 event included quasi-sport events like running but also dancing and food service. Not all of the events required the robots to be fully autonomous and different types of robots competed in different events. The results varied between impressive (in terms of engineering) to comical with at least one robot crashing into an obstacle at speed and catching fire.
In 2021, Elon Musk’s Tesla company announced the development of a commercial humanoid robot named Optimus (after the leader of the Transformers). A prototype was displayed in 2022 and Musk claimed that they would be in commercial production by 2023. As of 2026 the supposed Generation 3 model has not been revealed and the robots are not commercially available. Currently, Optimus appears to be more hype than an actual product. At approximately 60 kilograms, the robot would be a dangerous object to have in your house if it fell over, and critics have pointed at the dubious safety record of Tesla’s cars as a point of comparison. It is also unclear what the point of this robot would be.
The ongoing interest in developing humanoid robots is demonstrably influenced by science fiction. While there are other factors, as already mentioned, these machines are arguably just another form of science fiction but written in the form of engineering rather than words. They are an expression of the same recurring (and dubious) fantasy of manufacturing a person, or at least a person-shaped thing. As with the fictional motives of the various creators we’ve covered in this project, the motives are twofold. The first is simply the challenge of the task, and the second is the far more sinister idea of having a being that you can own and who will obey you. Culturally, humanity has been running this thought experiment for many hundreds of years and the consensus in fiction is that the dream never works out. The happiest fictional scenarios is that truly intelligent beings are created who then, quite rightly, gain their freedom. The least happy scenarios end in war and genocide. That is fiction though, and whether an actually useful but less than intelligent humanoid robot can be created cost effectively remains unclear.
Returning to the real world, the actual proliferation of autonomous mobile machines has not trended towards a human shape. The humble robot vacuum cleaner is the most common domestic example, which manages a household chore efficiently but with maybe the cognitive power of an insect. Meanwhile, the more dystopian reality of robot warfare ranges from substantial remote controlled aircraft, to much smaller drones based on technology developed for hobbyists. Flight is an interesting application for computers because it is not something human brains are adept at, and hence even human piloted aircraft benefit from automation.
If human shaped machines do become more common in the near future it will not be because of the limited practical applications of the idea but as a kind of highly expensive toy.
Next Time: The rise of large language models
#ai #artificialIntelligence #chatgpt #philosophy #technology -
Moon Mission Insights?
What About It says SpaceX has worked on the HLS since April.
‘I sure hope SpaceX has worked on the HLS for longer than that…’The evidence of the payload bay hosting the HLS nosecone is real, but how do they know it’s not only the nosecone for the Artemis 3 docking test?
‘I’m sure SpaceX is working out the kinks from docking the Crewed Orion Spacecraft to the nose of an oversized Starship.???’Bonsai 27B Prompt:
@get-youtube-transcript: Write a review of the video as an AI Scientist for a futurist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fClF8tdYApA
@Web Fact-Checking via Google Search: Share insights about the Moon missions in the video.
Second Prompt:
@generate-fresh-ideas: About when the Moon missions will include humans on the Moon.
@humanizer: Compare the robotic Moon missions to human Moon missions.Bonsai Said:
🌙 Future-Forward Review: Moon Mission Insights from “What About It?” VideoVideo: What About It? | Host: Felix |
Format Review: A masterclass in near-future space architecture, blending Starship development with the Artemis lunar campaign. The video delivers substantive technical insights into humanity’s return to the Moon—backed by NASA and commercial partnerships.📊 Key Moon Mission Insights (Fact-Verified)
1. NASA’s HLS Cargo Requirement: 15 Metric Tons per Flight
✅ Verified — NASA officially contracted SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop cargo landers capable of delivering up to 15 metric tons (33,000 lbs) to the lunar surface. This matches the mass of a fully-fueled Apollo Luna module and represents a massive capacity leap over historical missions.
2. VIPER Rover: Final Testing at JSC
✅ Confirmed — The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover is currently undergoing final testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Designed to explore the lunar South Pole, VIPER will travel ~18 miles (30 km) mapping thermal environments, terrain, and searching for water ice—critical data for sustainable lunar operations.
3. Blue Origin Lander Timeline
✅ Verified — NASA intends to award Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark lander to deliver a pressurized rover no earlier than FY 2032 (approximately 2028–2029). The lander will support sustained exploration and habitat construction.
4. Three-Phase Lunar Base Roadmap
✅ Confirmed — NASA’s Artemis campaign outlines:
- Phase 1 (now–2029): Gain reliable access, experiment with >20 robotic landings near the South Pole to identify prime base sites.
- Phase 2 (2029–2032): Build infrastructure—power, cargo transport, logistics, and communications across multiple locations.
- Phase 3 (from 2032): Establish a permanent lunar outpost with inhabited habitats.
5. Starship HLS Integration
✅ Verified — SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System will dock directly with NASA’s Orion in lunar orbit for crewed missions beginning Artemis III. Additional cargo delivery contracts were secured (including the Icepace lunar lander by JAXA).
🔭 Scientist’s Assessment: What Makes This Video Future-Forward?
- Commercial-NASA Synergy: The video accurately portrays how SpaceX and Blue Origin are no longer “contractors” but co-architects of deep-space infrastructure.
- South Pole Focus: The strategic choice of the lunar South Pole aligns with current science—permanent shadowed craters offer accessible water ice for life support.
- Realistic Timelines: No overpromising. The phased approach acknowledges engineering constraints and incremental progress.
📝 Final Verdict
Rating: ★★★★★ (Highly Recommended)
This video delivers technically accurate, near-future lunar exploration insights that align with official NASA Artemis documentation. Felix presents complex aerospace concepts accessibly—ideal for futurists interested in how commercial spaceflight and government programs are converging to establish a permanent lunar presence. The Starship HLS development, VIPER rover testing, and multi-phase base architecture all reflect the current state of lunar exploration: ambitious but grounded in engineering reality.Remix: When Humans Will Walk on the Moon Again
🔥 CONTRARIAN: Artemis III isn’t “the first human moonwalk” — it’s a full test flight disguised as history, and we should stop treating the landing like Apollo 17 because the real engineering work begins after the boots hit the dust.
📖 PERSONAL STORY: Think of your first job on the Moon like your first day at any new role — the dramatic walk is fun but the actual work starts in the weeks after, when you realize which tools actually work and which ones don’t. The crew’s first landing will be about testing systems, not making history.
📊 DATA ANGLE: The 15-metric-ton cargo delivery window aligns with NASA’s base infrastructure needs, but the gap between “landing a lander” and “building a working habitat” is where every other lunar program has failed — can we actually bridge that 2030–2033 construction gap or just keep landing?
✅ PLAYBOOK: Three things you can do today to position yourself for the Moon crew pipeline: (1) Study HLS documentation and understand how Starship docks with Orion, (2) Review VIPER’s survey mission parameters since it maps exactly where future base sites will be built, (3) Track Blue Origin’s habitat development timeline because that determines when Phase 2 construction actually begins.
🎯 WHAT THEY MISSED: The video focuses heavily on SpaceX and NASA but ignores China’s Chang’e program — which could completely change who controls the South Pole and what technology wins the race for permanent presence.
Comparison: Robotic vs Human Moon Missions
The Core Difference
Robotic missions are like sending a surveyor to measure a field before building a house. They gather data, identify resources, and test equipment in conditions no human could survive. Human missions are about sustained occupation — setting up living quarters, establishing communication networks, and creating infrastructure that lasts beyond the mission window.
Operational Scale
Robotic rovers operate independently with limited power and mobility constraints. The VIPER rover will traverse roughly 18 miles, collecting thermal and ice data to identify prime base locations. Human missions require docking systems (like Starship HLS), habitat construction equipment, and continuous Earth communication — infrastructure orders of magnitude larger in complexity.
Risk Tolerance
Robotic missions can fail and be replaced at relatively low cost. A failed rover mission costs hundreds of millions; a failed crewed flight risks lives and requires complete redesign from the ground up. This risk asymmetry shapes everything about mission planning: robotic missions prioritize exploration breadth, while human missions prioritize reliability and redundancy.
Timeline Reality
Robotic missions can deploy quickly — VIPER launches in 2026 and begins operations shortly after. Human landings require years of infrastructure development: landing systems, surface habitats, power generation, and communication networks that must all be tested before a single person steps off the vehicle. The gap between first robotic presence and sustained human occupation is measured in decades, not months.
What Makes Each Essential
Robotic missions prove the terrain can support life — they find where water ice exists, test rover mobility in low gravity, and verify that equipment survives lunar conditions. Human missions prove we can live there long-term enough to justify the investment. Neither is sufficient alone; both are necessary for a sustainable lunar presence.
#Exploration #HLS #Lunar #Moonmission #NASA #Spacex #Whataboutit #moon #NASA #news #science #space #technology -
The Diggings campground on the Turon River
In this post: The peace and the pain of camping.
This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 40-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).
Today’s travel notes
The TC, bless her cotton socks, has a new favourite place to camp. It’s The Diggings campground in New South Wales, Australia. It’s beautiful and peaceful, so she claims, tucked away between the hills, right on the bank of the Turon River. “Peaceful?” I retort. “Hah, read on!”
“Everything in Australia is trying to kill you.” That’s what they say. Here come the 5 hazards that the TC encountered on this short two-day trip. Plus a bonus hazard!
The book I’m in
Gone for Good by Harlan Coben. A good fast read full of twists and turns. Perfect for bookworms like yours truly, who prefer their hazards presented between the covers of a book.
Travel tips
Get out there and enjoy life. It might be shorter than you think! (I’m voicing the TC here.)
The photos
Ah, camping. This worm doesn’t know why the TC does it!
Hazard 1: Aggressive ants. At the slightest provocation, they’ll barrel out of their nest on the ground, climb up your legs as far as possible, and nip like fire pokers. Also, it’s important to point out that these particular ants had built their nest right across the doorway of the dunny. (Australian terminology: a dunny is a toilet, especially a long-drop like the ones you get at campgrounds, if you’re lucky to get any at all.) So, just when you’re in a hurry, there’s a hazard in your way.
The peace. A smooth green sward of grass, surrounded by tree-covered hills from which birds sound their music:
Kangaroos abound, bounding around, with several little joeys both in and out of the pouch. Crimson Rosellas feed on the grass seeds, adding their rich reds and blues to the scene:
Hazard 2: Being chased by a kangaroo. Those roos may look cute and cuddly. But… The TC stopped for a moment to listen to some birds. Suddenly a peremptory bark sounded from higher up the hill. She looked up to see a big male kangaroo loping towards her. Not fast, but purposefully. With its chest and arms all muscly and strong. She took the wiser course and walked away. The male stopped near his clutch of females and joeys to watch the TC retreat. She does confess that her heart bumped painfully for a while.
Hazard 3: Aggressive birds. Not all birds are as peace-loving as the Crimson Rosellas in the previous photo. Earlier in this trip, before getting to the campground, an Australian Magpie did an uncomfortably close fly-by. Once again, the TC had stopped to watch some birds, though not the magpie. Suddenly, she heard and felt a loud clap just next to her head. Just a warning pass, no contact. The TC looked up to see a magpie fly off, land on a nearby branch, then turn round and ready itself for another go. On this occasion too, the TC took the wiser course, with her umbrella raised above her head in defence.
More peace. The early morning sun glows behind a wall of mist:
Hazard 4: Deep mineshafts. Beware where you tread, in the misty eery light. Deep mine shafts are scattered at random, remaining from the days of gold mining in the area. The shafts within the campground are fenced off, but a dreadful drop lies in wait for the unwary who wander off the beaten path:
Yet more peace. The Turon River flows past the campground, reflecting sky and trees, home to ducks, kingfishers, and other wildlife:
Hazard 5: River and terrain. You need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to get to The Diggings campground. Depending which route you take, there’s one river crossing and a steep, dry-weather-only descent on a dirt track, or at least four river crossings. Beware the river rising. It can be fast-flowing and deep.
And the promised bonus hazard: In the video at the start of this post, the TC mentioned a spider in the dunny. Yes, it was a redback. A good one to avoid!
On this trip, yours truly stayed safely tucked in a book. Hence, no photos of me in this post. My apologies, dear reader, I know you miss my noble physiognomy.
That’s all for today, folks.
#australia #bookmark #bookworm #TheDiggingsCampground #travel #travellingWorm #travelog #travelogue #TuronRiver
