h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The coronial stuff - it's all part of developing OHS policy and safety rules. I pick through the residue of people's lives, looking at how they died and why. We use this information to support our case for imposing regulations.

It's sad that we have to use it, but the way things are, Business won't accept regulation unless we can prove that people are dying because of the shortcomings of their workplaces - and that the cost of providing safe workplaces is economically justifiable. ( That's the bit that really makes me sick...)

When you put it like that, it sounds awful.
Are the families of these dead people aware that their loved ones life is being scrutinised for this purpose?

Maybe we better move on to another subject i suddenly feel

Yes, it is awful. So you can see why I keep trying to garden, even when there's no water and the whole city's just a dustbowl. It's the best possible escape.

There's a different subject just over there...





I've had a lovely relaxing weekend - I cancelled my attendance at something this evening, basically because I just didn't want to go. I'm sick of going to things just because people want me to be there. There was nothing in it for me apart from small talk with a group of people I don't know all that well, and then a long and expensive taxi-ride home after the buses have stopped running. Is it so wrong for me to limit my exposure to people?

I don't think it's wrong at all. Why go to something just because it's expected of you.
I'm a bit like that myself, especially when it comes to the annual 'christmas' do. It consists of a meal out at some sub-standard restaurant, which serves a set menu for that time of year. Followed by small talk, usually work related becuase we have nothing in common with each other and would'nt socialise under normal circumstances. I'd rather pluck my nails out than sit through another one of those meals.

I'm a bit of a loner anyway and see no reason to change. I'm happy with my own company. Does that make me eccentric?

If you are happy limiting your exposure to people, thats all that matters.

I'm always happy to limit my exposure to people. They're everywhere, like a plague, and I don't recall ordering this many of the blighters...

So yes, I do sometimes have the overwhelming need to have a people-free weekend. Plants are much better things to have around. The same goes for a comfortable couch and a TV too. I appear to have inherited this approach to life from my mother and grandmother and it never did them any harm.

I quite agree, plants are much better to be around and have that calming thereputic effect

I used to be a very social person, always out clubbing and meeting friends. It's old hat now and i opt for the quiet life, which suits me far better.

I go back to w**k Saturday, oh joy! I havent told them yet, but i'm even more limited as to how much i can do for the time being. This is probably going to go down like a lead balloon, but theres not much i can do about that.
Next Tuesday, i go back to the hospital to see the specialist. I'm hoping he will be able to do something to clam this flare-up down.

I adore the quiet life.

Having said that, I now find that I have a house-guest next week. So much for solitude.

It rained last night. We got at least 4mm... A pathetic amount, but a whole lot more than we've had for weeks.

Good luck with the return to work, and with the specialist. I hope they're both low-pain experiences.

We had rain too, so much rain in fact that i had to go out and stake a few plants up

I'm not looking forward to my return to w**k, i'm worried i won't be able to cope with it being our busy season. I'll find out soon enough.

The Callistemon i bought must have settled in, it's putting on lots of growth and more flower buds. I'm so pleased i let myself be tempted to buy it. I was told to cut off the dead flower heads, as this will encourage the plant to bush out and flower more, it seems to be working.

Hows things with you?

I'd advise not cutting off *all* of the dead flower-heads. They're a feature of the mature plant; in some species the seed capsules stay firmly affixed to the branch for years. But yes, pruning most Australian native plants provokes enthusiastic re-shooting. The more you prune it, the more aggressive and triffid-like it'll get...

My last garden in Adelaide had the stump of a callistemon in it when I moved into the property. This tree had been recently cut down to six inches above the ground (by some environmental vandal who'll be getting a severe taunting from me if we ever meet). Rather than remove it, I left it to see what would happen. Four years later, when I moved out, the tree was 10 feet high and flowering like mad.

Things here are good apart from the lack of rain. It's the official last day of Autumn; in the entire season we've had 60ml of rain. That's about 2.5 inches. Our average rainfall for Autumn is 146ml. It's been ten years since we had that amount of rain. I'm no longer sure that the drought will break one day.

For 'ml' read 'mm'.

I was thinking while the Callistemon is still small, pruning to make it bigger would be a good idea. I would like a large sgrub evenutally, but i will leave a few of the flower head on there. I don't think they will grow so quickly or as large here as they do in their native country, but i'm hoping.

It's amazing anything has survived with the lack of rain over the last few years. Our weather does'nt seem to be improving at all, we still have far to much rain and not enough sun. I guess there will never be a happy medium for any of us eh!

I dream about reliable weather. I wonder if there's any real prospect of it...

There was a forecast of good rain here, but most of it evaporated before it hit the ground. I'm depressed about this. Even more depressing - I keep checking the fridge but the breakfast fairies still haven't put anything interesting in there. You just can't get good help these days.

I've not been around much recently, i've been moonlighting on another message board.

I dunno what it is about breakfast fairies, they just don't want the work these days

We've actually had a weekend of nice sunny weather It's becoming a rare thing here this year.

The Callistemon is flowering it's head off, despite all the rain. I might look into getting another one at some point, though it would have to be a different colour. I'd quite like a pink one, if i can find one.

I tend to forget that there are other message boards.

A week (nearly) away from this site did me good; I neeed some thinking space.

Red callistemons are the most robust; the pink ones are probably just as strong really, but they tend to be recent cultivars so I'm not used to them being big, established plants. The yellow ones tend to be slower-growing. I prefer the red, because that's what I'm used to. In some of the older parts of Adelaide they're used as street trees; they can make a very striking avenue.

I'm a little tired of hootoo just now, i'm sure that will improve but not yet.

I havent actually seen a pink callistemon in the leaf so-to-speak, but i saw one in a magazine and it was very pretty. I'm not even sure if i will have room for another one, my flower beds are pretty full as it is. Still, there is always the possibility that something will pop it's clogs as they do sometimes. In which case i might do a serious search for a pink one.

It's hard for me to imagine Callistemons as avenue trees, that must be a fantastic site The best we get here are the flowering cherry trees, which when in blossom look good for a day. Then it either rains or we get strong winds and the whole lot is gone.

Mature callistemons are just gorgeous things, especially in full flower. They make up for so many native plants being so subtle and understated. And of course when the flowers start to come apart the ground beneath becomes a red carpet...

There are a few cherry trees around Canberra; they're not bad. Once upon a time there was a prunus-lined street in Adelaide; there was a wide median strip so that was planted with prunus too. It was quite startling. Unfortunately, the trees seem to have reached the end of their lifespan and they've been replaced with eucalypts. In a few decades from now they'll look good, but it won't have the same feel as a purple avenue.

An avenue of Callistemons sounds wonderful.
Years ago the main trees that were planted in avenues was Elm. The we got dutch Elm desease which wiped alot of them out. Prunus was seen as an alternative, but personally i prefer the Elm.

Do Eucalyptus make good trees for streets? Somehow they just strike me as being to airy with no substance. Thats what they grow like here anyway.

It depends on the eucalypt. Some are small and straggly, others are tall and bushy, others are best described as 'majestic'. Some of the smaller flowering gums are good. But there's a drawback to all of them - in dry weather, eucalypts drop limbs. This plays havoc with parked cars and things. Eucalypts should be planted a decent distance from houses too.

The Tasmanian bluegum should be kept out of the home garden - it can grow a metre in a fortnight. Dad planted one once; a couple of years later it had to come out. It was about 50 metres tall at that point and sucking all available moisture out of the ground.

Good grief! I thought the only thing that grew that fast was a Russian vine! I can't even picture a tree growing that fast. There have been a few problems with Eucalyptus here in the past year or so. Because of all the rain we have been getting, the Eucalyptus are getting odoema (sp?) which is a result of them taking up too much water that bursts the vessels in the leaves. The leaves are left with raised black spots all over them, i'm not sure how long term that damage can be, but it can't be good for the trees. I don't think there is any danger of Eucalyptus dropping their limbs here, it's far to bloomin wet!

The poor things will probably drown... Maybe a Swamp Gum, Snowgum or River Redgum would cope, but most of the others need dry spells.

I'm prepared to believe that climate change is well and truly happening. This has been a strangely warm Winter so far - only one night below zero centigrade - the average June has about 14 of them. I have no idea what will happen now. If frost isn't such a problem, but it doesn't rain, will I have to hand-water over Winter now? H'mmm.