Bird flu detected at central Victorian egg farm | theguardian.com
"Bird flu has been detected at an egg farm near Meredith in central Victoria, but authorities are yet to determine if it is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain."
"On a fair day in 1838, barely two years into Queen Victoria’s reign [...] a young, confident and handsome Mississauga Ojibway chief named Kahkewaquonaby [...] came knocking at the doors of Windsor Castle dressed in his finest leather from head to toe and asked to make an appeal to his Sovereign. The door was opened and tea and sympathy were offered. [...] The Queen promised to look into the request and in due course the deeds were handed over."
So despite climate change, Australia's federal government has just committed an extra $3.25 billion into building a toll road and a 20-lane freeway widening.
"Pouring an extra $3.25 billion worth of federal funds into Melbourne’s North East Link is a good use of taxpayer money, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted, despite the project’s cost doubling just a few months ago.
...
"The North East Link – which includes 6½ kilometres of tunnels – will stretch from Bulleen to Greensborough. It will widen the Eastern Freeway by up to 20 lanes.
"Allan revealed in December that the 10-kilometre toll road had more than doubled in cost since it was first announced.
"The toll road was initially budgeted at $10 billion and reassessed in 2019 at $15 billion. But the government revealed last year that the updated cost estimate was $26 billion."
Victoria: Hundreds of patients died after catching COVID in Victorian hospitals, new data shows
Almost 1 in 10 patients who caught COVID in hospital died.
Documents obtained by ABC News under Freedom of Information laws reveal at least 6,212 patients caught COVID in hospital in 24 months — 3,890 in 2022 and 2,322 in 2023. Of those, 586 died — almost 6 per week, on average — with men dying at a higher rate than women (11 per cent vs 8 per cent).
Did the #TrenthamSpudFest today, now I need a good sleep. What a brilliant day, town was packed with people. I stuffed my face, bought lots of spuds, merchandise, chips, lemon butter and more. What a great festival. Get to it tomorrow!
#StreetArt from #Benalla#Victoria#Australia
I like Sofle's concept of painting on all surfaces of a carpark.
My favourite was Melanie Caple's Ned Kelly contemplating
"#Batteries the biggest player again as renewable records smashed in #California, reach 156 pct of load
Last week battery storage became, for the first time, the largest supply source in the evening peak of what is one of the world’s largest grids. On Tuesday, it discharged more than 6 GW for the first time, providing up to a 25 per cent share of supply, and was the biggest provider on the grid for two hours."
"#Battery storage in #Victoria continues to displace gas as a provider into the evening peak, with more than 200 MW of battery output on Saturday night, and zero from the state’s peaking gas generators. Battery storage often supplies more into the evening peak than the gas generators, particularly at lower peak prices."
Do you live in a #ShareHouse in #Victoria#Australia ?
My friend has a PHD student researching share housing and would like to speak to you if you wanna.
New at my Patreon... I attended an exhibition in which the works were all made from Lego bricks - some depicting animals, some whimsical, and some disturbing:
Making plans for #MothersDay.
I'm taking Mom out for weekend of fun & pretty sights. Butterfly Gardens, on West Saanich Rd, offers free admission for all Moms on Mother's Day. We will go there, after family brunch at home. We're going to drop a crab trap at a small dock in Sidney before Butterfly Gardens & check it a few hours later. We'll visit a nature park for walk & have picnic eats by the seaside. We'll go feed some goats, after picnic. Then go check my crab trap & hopefully catch a few 😊
Do you & your Mom love #art?
Maybe you'll both fancy #FreeArtTours for #MothersDay weekend?
It's self guided, so you can enjoy at leisurely pace.
The annual Hills to Shore #Artists Tour is Sat. and Sun. May 11th and 12th, 11 am to 4 pm. This free, self-guided tour on Mother’s Day weekend features 18 artists and 9 studios in #GordonHead, #MtTolmie and #CadboroBay.