What are you listening to?

[renaeden]

The rain.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

The rain.

I take it you get a lot of rain where you live??

[renaeden]

The rain.

I take it you get a lot of rain where you live??

It's been a surprisingly rainy winter. I'm not used to it! Maybe the sunny cold days are yet to come but for the next week it's showers.

In summer it's usually a different story. We can go more than a month without rain.

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

The rain.

I take it you get a lot of rain where you live??

It's been a surprisingly rainy winter. I'm not used to it! Maybe the sunny cold days are yet to come but for the next week it's showers.

In summer it's usually a different story. We can go more than a month without rain.

Perth has a Mediterranean climate.

On the other side of the country we are having one of the worst droughts ever. It has barely rained over the past couple of months.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

In summer it's usually a different story. We can go more than a month without rain.

 

Most places I lived go several months without rain.

In California it's not uncommon to have 6 months or more without rain.

Honestly I don't know why they classify the Perth area as Mediterranean climate because most Mediterranean climates are fairly dry.

Perth gets a shit ton of rain in comparison, it's almost subtropical weather.

[renaeden]

Where does California get its water from?

If that happened here there would be water restrictions and people moaning about how low in water the dams are (that's where the metropolitan area gets its water from).

[Yuri Bezmenov]

Where does California get its water from?

From the Sierra Nevada, Cascade and a few other mountain ranges. Most of their water is from snow melt (as it is here too). They have an elaborate aqueduct system to bring it all to L.A., San Francisco and the other major cites. Here in Oregon, we simply live where all the snow melt water naturally is because we're not stupid.

If that happened here there would be water restrictions and people moaning about how low in water the dams are (that's where the metropolitan area gets its water from).

The same thing happens to California whenever a drought hits. They barely have enough dams for 40M people which is why they can't grow anymore. This latest drought showed the limits of their infrastructure.

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

The Mediterranean climate in Perth is, I would imagine, similar to the Mediterranean climate in Southern Italy (for example). You have the Mediterranean weather patterns but with a reasonably high rainfall.

Los Angeles version of the Mediterranean climate is, I would imagine, similar to the Mediterranean climate in Northern Africa. On the edge of the Sahara. Semi-arid.

I lived in a European city for a year that was a mixture of Mediterranean and alpine climates. I'm guessing that there are places in California and adjoining states that are similar. So basically we had beautiful, dry summers that were never particularly hot, and cold snowy winters.

Funniest thing was encountering a couple of English backpackers while I was walking home through an old part of the town late at night.

English backpackers: Oh look, there's someone.... Excuse me, do you speak English.
Me: Yeah, sure (in Australian accent).
English backpackers: (speaking slowly like I'm stupid and barely understand English): CAN YOU TELL US WAY TO OUR CHEAP ASS HOTEL.
Me: You just go up there, round the corner, and you're there (pointing them in the right direction, speaking English like Steve Irwin or Paul Hogan).
English backpackers: Hvala Lepa (meaning thank you very much in the local tongue).
Me: No worries!

[renaeden]

My first stepdad (who is English) told me that Perth was like Spain. He'd never been to southern Italy.

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

They say Spain is pretty, though I've never been. But Daniel says it's the best place he's ever been. I haven't been to Perth either, but I've been to Adelaide (also a Mediterranean climate) a few times and also to Italy a few times. In terms of temperatures and rainfall, Perth is pretty similar to Southern Europe generally. Adelaide is drier, with terrible heatwaves in Summer and colder winters.

[renaeden]

Yeah it gets really hot in Adelaide, so much so that I would never live there.

Places I've been in Australia are Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane and Toowoomba. Would live in Toowoomba, I like it there. It is susceptible to flash flooding though.

[Lestat]

Toowoomba is  also host country for its own species of tree funnelweb, the Toowoomba funnelweb, One f the genus Hadronyche.

Would love one as a pet, don't think I've ever seeb Hadronyche in the exotic pet trade before,

[Lestat]

And listening to family guy and american dad on TV, whilst playing the game Fallout-tactics, hearing the crackling purr of revving  barrels as a 7.62mm minigun spins up to spit out a hail of torso-ripping gory death and a storm of flying giblets, hammering into a sniper who'd had the cheek to survive the sterilization of a hostile city invasion needing to be pacified the HARD way.

And the roar of flamethrower napalm bursts, and the the thump of combat shotguns firing slug and flechette antipersonnel rounds in full on bursts right in the faces of some uppity gangbanger thugs, Just getting busy recovering the lkes of browning M2 .50 cal autocannon rounds and cannons, laser and plasma rifles firing hissing bolts leaving the enemy gurgling out a last scream as they are liquefied into a puddle of gooey pink slime and ashes as laser bolts whip through the air, the sound of grenades being thrown into foxholes to flush out the enemy with incendiary grenades and acid filled grenades, then more screams as anyone coming out rushes straight into the path of a squaddie packing a flamethrower in one hand and a plasma pistol in the other, the odd sawing noise as ripper chainblades bite through armor like it were paper to chew up the insides of the enemy at close range, Messy and vicious as hell but damn effective. Looting assault rifles, Steyrs, the odd rocket launcher, lower end combat shotguns for sale back at base and the quiet, stealthy running of a massive dirty great bloody mutated lizard trooper, who happens to be my pack-mule for her massive physical strength and carrying capacity as well as my grenadier, damn touch despite being totally unable to use firearms or any other than  weapons covering her fists using an electrically and kinetically charged spiked metal gauntlet to rip the enemy apart at close quarters whilst throwing plasma grenades, turning the enemy to slop piles as  the plasma charge vaporizes the flesh from enemy bones.

And the thumpthumpthump of browning .50cal M2 autocannon fire spraying crowds of enemies if any are left standing after the hail of laser and plasma fire and grenades, both thrown and 40mm grenades fired from multiple men with launchers.

[Lestat]

'Ftthht-fizzzzzz' as I crack a can of ice cold coke. Not the sugar free or diet crap. The proper  stuff, mmmm hhmmm good.

[DirtDawg]

Enjoying my vinyl, I found this treasure I had not heard in a while, Steppenwolf, Second and followed by Monster.

Anyway, as I was sitting out on my back deck (yep I have a secondary turntable in the garage piped out to my massive PA system that stands as my summer time backyard stereo, holding the reins tight, since it was not yet six AM) puffing my pipe, sipping my coffee and affirming my existentialist skepticism I came across this song (once again) and arrived almost instantly at the notion that this song is just as important as it was almost fifty years ago when I first heard it.
So I went to find it on youtube so I could share it with all my "friends" here.

Nice bluesy thing but I am also posting the lyrics in case you get lost in the music.  Not to get too hissy pissy here but why the fuck is Steppenwolf NOT in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame or at the very least John Kay who wrote most of the songs, like "Born To Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride"
and a great number of other great songs?

Anyway, enjoy!


Starin' at the boob tube, turnin' on the big knob
Tryin' to find some life in the waste land
Fin'ly found a program, gonna deal with Mary Jane
Ready for a trip into hate land
Obnoxious Joe comes on the screen
Along with his guest self-righteous Sam
And one more guy who doesn't count
His hair and clothes are too far out
While pushin' back his glasses Sam is sayin' casually
"I was elected by the masses"
And with that in mind he starts to unwind
A vicious attack on the finest of grasses
Well it's evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don't step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don't be such an ass, Sam)
Well, it will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You're so full of bull, Sam)
All will pay that disagree with me
(Please give up you already lost the fight, alright)
Misinformation Sam and Joe
Are feeding to the nation
But the one who didn't count counted them out
By exposing all their false quotations
Faced by a very awkward situation
This is all he'd say to save the day
Well it's evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don't step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don't be such an ass, Sam)
Well, it will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You're so full of bull, Sam)
All will pay that disagree with me
(Please give up you already lost the fight alright)
You waste my coin Sam, all you can
To jail my fellow man
For smoking all the noble weed
You need much more than him
You've been telling lies so long
Some believe they're true
So they close their eyes to things
You have no right to do
Just as soon as you are gone
Hope will start to climb
Please don't stay around too long
You're wasting precious time
Starin' at the boob tube, turnin' on the big knob
Tryin' to find some life in the waste land
Fin'ly found a program, gonna deal with Mary Jane
Ready for a trip into hate land
Obnoxious Joe comes on the screen
Along with his guest self-righteous Sam
And one more guy who doesn't count
His hair and clothes are too far out
While pushin' back his glasses Sam is sayin' casually
"I was elected by the masses"