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Archive for March, 2009

Pathfinder Expedition at Mt Selwyn

Mar 31

Posted by Lachlan in News, Without Sidebar | 2 Comments

On the weekend, Pathfinders from across SNSW met at 3 Mile Dam for their annual “Expedition”. The Expedition is a hiking event, and there are 3 grades. Clansi and I were leaders for a group of girls doing A-grade, the hardest level. I carried my camera and gps receiver, and so you can experience the hike through an interactive map of our journey below.

After leaving Canberra in the late afternoon, we arrived at Registration after dark on Friday night. We quickly donned our packs, received our instructions and started hiking in to 4 Mile Hut. Being dark meant that we missed out on the views, but it did help avoid sunburn. After a few hours hiking we found the campsite and went straight to bed.

Saturday morning was crisp and clear, and we had a fairly relaxed start. After eating exotic breakfasts and packing up our gear, we walked down to a small waterfall north of the hut. Our primary destination for the day was Tabletop Mountain, which we summitted mid-afternoon. After enjoying the views, we continued on to set up camp near Broken Dam Hut. Finding water was a bit of a challenge, but after a short walk we got to a nice little waterfall.

On Sunday we set off on a cross-country short-cut back to the track. The girls navigated very well, and we found the track easily. After retracing our path to Mount Selwyn skifields, we took a slightly different route back to registration. It was not a particularly strenuous weekend, but it was heaps of fun.
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Skyfire 21

Mar 25

Posted by Lachlan in News | No Comments

On Saturday night Canberra enjoyed the 21st annual Skyfire fireworks show. This event is sponsored by Canberra’s 104.7 FM radio station, and is held on Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of Canbera. The fireworks show lasted for 21 minutes, and it was a great opportunity to take some photos.

We headed down to the Rond Terraces (the grass at the bottom of Anzac Parade) with heaps of friends, and enjoyed a picnic while some Navy guys showed off in a helicopter. Just like while waiting for the Australia Day fireworks, the Army’s Red Berret precision skydivers did a jump. Instead of landing in the lake, this time they touched down right on the shore in front of the crowd. Read the rest of this entry »

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Big Canberra Bike Ride

Mar 9

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This morning Clansi and I joined hundreds of other cyclists on the 25 km Big Canberra Bike Ride. The weather was overcast but clear and dry, and the temperature was typical Canberra autumn: perfect for cycling!

We rode down to the “Rond Terraces” on the north shore of Lake Burley Griffin, where the ride started. It headed north up through the central eastern suburbs of Canberra, and turned around at Dickson. We made good speed down Northbourne avenue and over to the south side of the Lake. After circling around and climbing part way up Red Hill behind Parliament House, we crossed back over the lake on Kings Bridge and finished at the start point. By the time Clansi and I had ridden home, we had done just a bit more than 30 km.

It was a fun event, and a bit of good exercise. Additionally, it was a fantastic occasion for me to try out my new geotagging tricks. Read the rest of this entry »

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Renewable Bioenergy is more viable than I thought

Mar 4

Posted by Lachlan in Changing the World, Tech | No Comments

Last night I attended the most recent of the public lectures in the Australian Academy of Science’s series “Australia’s Renewable Energy Future”. Dr Steve Schuck, Manager of Bioenergy Australia, spoke about biomass as a renewable energy source. His presentation slides are available, and are worth looking at if you want more details.

Bioenergy is chemical energy stored in biological systems. an obvious example is wood, which can be burned for heat (for example). Burning biomass like this does release carbon into the atmosphere, but it is carbon which has only recenly been captured from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. This is fundamentally different from fossil fuels, which release carbon that has been out of circulation in the biosphere for a long time.

Bioenergy makes up about 11% of the global energy consumption. Systems range from internal wood combusting fireplaces used for heating individual homes, all the way to massive powerstations that supply electricity and heat to cities. One of the largest biomass-capable powerstations in the world is the Avedøre-2 power plant in Copenhagen, which is able to “supply district heat to about 180,000 homes and provide electricity consumption for 800,000 households.” Read the rest of this entry »