restoring old machinery

Forest fires, 2009 to February cannonball through many townships, north of Melbourne, Australia not only scarred the countryside, but also the awareness of all Australians equally.

Fierce power of nature often taken for granted and occasionally we have to remember how small we are in the grand scheme of things. With wind speeds reaching 100 miles an hour, the fire decimated acre after acre of pristine bush, destruction property and left nearly 200 dead and over 6,000 wounded. All within a matter of just 24 hours.

Today, only 6 months later, the nature is once again showing his incredible power. Much more impressive than the 1,200 degrees Celsius storm that hit the towns of Kinglake, Kilmore, Wandong, Marysville, Whittlesea, et al. It's the incredible power of nature's capacity to regenerate. While humans are struggling to recover and restore their lives, nature is persevering with his own pace charcoaled replacement vegetation remains lush green.

Forever to be known as Saturday Black, the giant that destroyed over 2,200 houses and decimated 330,000 hectares (820,000 acres) of land is now once again the focus of discussion. While the fight remaining shrubs to regenerate and grow back, now faces its most feared adversary. Humans.

Heavy machinery is currently preparing a new wave of destruction through the lifting of Bush tree good with the bad and leaving a bad taste in the throat of many locals. On the eve of the interim report Royal Commission on the fires, the marchers filed through the town of Kinglake in an effort to voice their concerns about the indiscriminate destruction.

While many believe that the trees should remain, others want to ensure that another Sabbath Black never be repeated. Many of the new procedures are currently under review and about to be put in place to prevent chaos, confusion and miscommunication that occurred during the fires in 2009 February. The Royal Commission was relentless in his attack on the Victorian fire authorities and has presented 51 new recommendations, including a renewal of early warning systems and changes in the "stay or go" policies.

Hopefully we can never see the chaos and destruction again, but with another summer of Australia towards us and with predictions of similar models, if not worse weather in the summer before, we can only hope and pray that the lessons learned can be helpful in saving lives, property and bushes.

Restoring Forgotten Lunar Orbiter Images

Antique Tractor Bible: The Complete Guide to Buying, Using and Restoring Old Farm Tractors (Motorbooks Workshop) $29.95 This completely illustrated volume contains helpful advice on choosing a brand and model, plus an explanation of how the tractor’s basic systems work. 300 illustrations….