Victorian bushfire appeal scams

SCAMwatch is warning consumers wanting to contribute to the Victorian bushfire appeals to be on alert to ensure they are not taken in by scammers.
Victorian bushfire appeal scams

Rebuild starts now for 7,000 homeless

Victorian Premier John Brumby says rebuilding schools will be the first priority as the state recovers from the killer bushfires which have left 7,000 people homeless. More than 1,800 homes and three schools are now confirmed to have been destroyed in the bushfires but this morning the status of a fire burning outside the town of Healesville was downgraded to 'alert' from 'urgent threat'.
Rebuild starts now for 7,000 homeless

Alert levels raised as embers threaten Healesville

Victoria's bushfire threat has increased again this morning, with the town of Healesville to the north-east of Melbourne under the threat of ember attack. The CFA's Mark Glover says the fire is about one kilometre from Healesville.
Alert levels raised as embers threaten Healesville

How to Stop Picking Your Nose

Do you have a habitual need to pick your nose, even to the point where you have started excusing yourself for doing it in public?! It is time to stop this unhygienic and less-than-pleasant-to-view habit right now. It starts with accepting that you have a nose-picking habit and then being determined to arrest it right now.
How to Stop Picking Your Nose

BUSHFIRE WEATHER

Australia has a history of severe bushfires. Such tragedies as the Ash Wednesday fires of February 1983 (71 deaths in Victoria and South Australia), the Tasmanian fires of February 1967 (62 lives, more than 1400 houses and buildings lost) and the New South Wales bushfires of 1994, place bushfires high on the list of Australia's natural disasters.
BUSHFIRE WEATHER

Q. What does the Oxford Dictionary of English have in common with Harry Potter, A-Z Maps, and anything written by Terry Pratchett?

A. They’re all in the list of ‘Top Ten Most Stolen Books in the UK’!
Q. What does the Oxford Dictionary of English have in common with Harry Potter, A-Z Maps, and anything written by Terry Pratchett?

The First-Timer's Guide to Building a Computer from Scratch

If you've never done it before, the idea of building a computer from the ground up can seem very intimidating—but it's one of the most satisfying projects a tech enthusiast can take on.
The First-Timer's Guide to Building a Computer from Scratch

Bushfires in Victoria, Australia - The Big Picture

The state of Victoria in southern Australia has recently been hit with hundreds of bush fires during a record-breaking heatwave - temperatures well above 38°C (100°F). Unfortunately, these fires have proved to be the deadliest in Australian history, with at least 166 deaths reported so far. The fires mostly appear to have been started by lightning - however a few appear to have been arson, and are under investigation - entire towns being declared crime scenes. Twenty-four fires are still burning, and authorities warn that the death toll will likely rise.
Bushfires in Victoria, Australia - The Big Picture

How to Take Portrait Photographs: 7 steps (with video)

Have you ever felt that you have far too many "snapshots" of your family, and want a more professional-looking photograph to hang on your wall? Or perhaps you've been roped in to take a photograph for your company's magazine or website. Whatever the reason for wanting them, you don't need a photo studio and a ton of expensive lighting and camera gear to take portraits. With intelligent use of your equipment, thoughtful framing and due attention paid to lighting, anybody can take good portraits. Here's how.
How to Take Portrait Photographs: 7 steps (with video

Up to 1 in 5 dead in Marysville: Brumby

Victorian Premier John Brumby says surviving residents are still being kept out of the town of Marysville to shield them from the horrifying scene in their former home.
Up to 1 in 5 dead in Marysville: Brumby

Victorian bushfire survivor, Sam the koala, a global star

SAM became the most famous koala in the world when firefighter David Tree stopped to give him a drink amid the devastation. Pictures of Sam, who turned out to be female, travelled around the globe and featured in major newspapers including The New York Times, London's The Sun and on CNN. The image provided a much-needed picture of hope in a week filled with news of despair. Yesterday Sam was recovering in Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter.
Victorian bushfire survivor, Sam the koala, a global star

Forensic crews try and identify dead

Forensic crews are trying to identify those who died in the Victorian bushfires, while more than 20 major fires continue to burn.
Forensic crews try and identify dead

I now understand the word 'firestorm'

We were inside the house and the noise outside was incredible. Sparks and embers were bashing up against the roof and the windows, the fence had caught fire, the woodpile against the house caught fire.
Then the windows started exploding — it sounded like a 747 taking off. It was broad daylight but it went dark because there was so much smoke and stuff — it just went dark.
I now understand the word 'firestorm'

People died doing exactly what they were told to do

For all our preparation, it was pure luck that my family survived. (Philip Chubb is associate professor of journalism at Monash University).
People died doing exactly what they were told to do

Victorian fires update

To follow up our post on Sunday, and with the tragedy in Victoria continuing, we've updated our map of the Victorian fires to incorporate the latest available satellite imagery from the Modis Rapid Response project at NASA/GSFC. You can toggle the button "Show Imagery" to see their most recent satellite imagery of some affected parts of Victoria. The small red polygons indicate that a fire is still burning (as at the time indicated beneath the map — 20 hours ago at the time of posting this).
Victorian fires update

Australian bushfires from above

NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of southeastern Australia today—the smoke from the deadly wildfires there is plainly visible from Aqua's orbit 440 miles (705 kilometers) above Earth.
Australian bushfires from above

Bushfires – We Need your Mobile Phone Chargers

Do you have any spare mobile phone chargers? Bushfire victims need them urgently. Updated with contact information.
Bushfires – We Need your Mobile Phone Chargers

Death toll approaching 200, almost 1,000 homes destroyed

Firefighters are battling 25 bushfires across Victoria, with Premier John Brumby saying he expects the death toll from the disaster to exceed 200 people.
The official toll stands at 173 dead with more than 50 people still missing, thought to be dead, making it the country's worst bushfire disaster.
The blazes have burnt through more than 3,000 square kilometres - entire towns were wiped off the map within 24 hours at the weekend.
Death toll approaching 200, almost 1,000 homes destroyed

Bushfire toll climbs

The death toll in the Victorian bushfires now stands at 131, police have confirmed.
Bushfire toll climbs

Victoria's bushfires | Strathewen destroyed

On Saturday afternoon, there were 200 people living in the rural town, which is north of Melbourne.
By the end of that night, it is believed about 15 per cent of the population - or about 30 people - perished.
Many houses in Strathewen and Arthurs Creek have police tape across their front gates, an ominous sign of what lies inside.
Victoria's bushfires | Strathewen destroyed