Australia’s Heat Continues

So we’re well into January, now and Perth has now started climbing back up. Well, it did on Wednesday and Thursday, but today is a much cooler day – almost mild at 30-ish.

The fires still go on in NSW and Victoria, however, and my heart goes out to those affected. At work I spoke to someone who’d been allowed back to the their house only to tell me that they’d just had a warning the fire had turned and was heading for them again.

I don’t think, even with the years I spent in the Swan Communications Brigade, I can even imagine how horrific it must be to live through something like those fires. Everything I’ve seen through social media and through Ch 24 (Australia’s ABC) are devastating enough to watch. To experience must be far worse.

I will say I am quite disgusted at those scammers who have created donation platforms to scam people out of money and cause money to be diverted from the Bushfire victims.

I will also say that I am officially astounded at the outpouring of support – including monetary – being sent our way. We are a tinderbox and the world is noticing. I just wish certain people in Australia would put aside greed and realise that something needs to be done. As a meme on social media implies – if we clean everything up and nothing happens, we don’t have egg on our faces, we have a beautiful world to live on. If we don’t clean everything up and climate change is allowed to continue, we – well, we might not be here.

I just hope that our amazingly diverse state does not experience the hell that NSW and Vic have and are still living through.

I noted that a photo that talked about the vegetation regrowth was from a fire in Kulnura. I checked the fire map and found that Kulnura had not been impacted last year. I kept watching this month and noticed the fire keep heading towards Kulnura, then by yesterday it had backed off. I was pleased to see that an area I’d been following was safe.

On a different note, I have again been invited to sit on a panel in GenghisCon. As the panel does not start until 6pm, we’ve decided to stay at the hotel that night and enjoy luxury for a change – in other words, going down early tomorrow to sit by the pool all afternoon, then go to the panel, then tea. Ah. Not sure if I’ll even take the laptop!

So next week, I will do my best to impart the fun I had on the panel! Escapism Teaches us how to Escape. Like I don’t write that?