SillyDog701

[Antony]

My usual 7-hour commute back to school took 13 hours,

Your new 4WD is slower than then BMW?

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[Don_HH2K]

What new 4WD? I still have the BMW (sadly), no need to jump to conclusions.

Well, I guess you simply ignored the part where I said the extra five hours were spent going just fifteen miles.

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[Antony]

What new 4WD? I still have the BMW (sadly), no need to jump to conclusions.

I thought you told me you were getting a new AWD or 4WD car. I guess I was wrong then. And sorry for the previous comment then.

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[Don_HH2K]

I only said I was thinking about it, I never said I bought one.

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[beanboy89]

After getting nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in a little less than two weeks, my area has gotten quite a bit of flooding. All of the rivers and creeks in the area have been at or are above flood stage.

I've gone out the past two days to get a first-hand look at some of the worst-hit areas all within about a 10 mile (16 kilometer) radius of my school.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39922162@N ... 510232723/

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[James]

I've been reading about the floods. I hope your family is okay.

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[Antony]

I hope your area is fine, and you are not being locked in.

To be honest, from your photos, they aren't that bad compared to Queensland's version. In many areas, flood water can go above 1 metre easily.

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[Antony]

It had been unusual high temperature in Sydney in the last two days.

Unlike beautiful Boston and picturesque Quincy, hot weather comes with some very unwelcome visitors: cockroaches, particularly the large dark brown ones. Killed a few yesterday.

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[James]

Can't you call Pest Control and have them spray and take care of the killing for you?

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[Antony]

True. We called some before, they do kill quite a fair bit, but they don't work that well.

Apart from the big black/brown ones, we do unfortunately have quite a fair bit of German cockroaches (the smaller ones). The pest control told us to get some very strong baits(*), and we reduced the German cockroaches a lot.

(*) translates to the most expensive one on the market (not available from regular supermarket).

Speaking about insect baits, chemicals etc. Few years back, we had rats problem. (What do you expect? This is not beautiful Boston/picturesque Quincy.) After trying a few different rats poisons, we ended up with the most expensive one which works the best.

The moral of the story: (to Don's refusal to believe,) brand does matter! Prices also indicate the quality or effectiveness.

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[Antony]

Another very hot day for Sydney today.


And the Blue Mountains area has bushfire again.

In comparison, the weather in reputable Rochester and picturesque Quincy are just nice and cool and no danger of bushfire.

I did not have aircon on today (this can be translates to: Antony is poor), instead, I used the Dyson Air Multiplier bladeless fan today. It is indeed the best fan I've ever had.

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[beanboy89]

Antony will be happy to hear we will be getting some "beautiful" snow tomorrow for the first time this season. The forecast is for 4-8 inches (10-20 cm). October is quite early for snow here; the first significant snow here is usually around December.

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[Antony]

White Christmas starts early this year for you. How nice.

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[Antony]

From Sunrise this morning:
A new United Nations report has linked man-made climate change to extreme weather, including heatwaves, floods and cyclones. The report has been three years in the making and is the largest study into how much climate change affects weather extremes.
It's found the record hot days will increase around the world while droughts and heavy snowfall will become more frequent and intense.
Also reported in Sydney Morning Herald.

Beautiful Boston and picturesque Quincy are known to have plenty beautiful snow, not unbearable heat. Which translates to heaven-like place: no annoying and biting insects. In comparison, Australia is known as sunburn country, with plenty of droughts and floodings.

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[Antony]

This picture from news tells all.



When temperature gets high, beaches are packed. Unlike Don's beautiful Boston where people are expecting winter wonderland for Christmas.

The mercury soars to 34°C (93°F) in Sydney, 11° hotter than average November temperature.

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