State of the map

Interesting updates on OpenMap resources - state of the map -
and some of the people leading the open source map commununity.

Picohydroelectric Power

Very interesting for generating power to charge cell phones etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_hydro

Australian summer

So its been a long way, and a long time and I am officially upside down. Life down under in Australia seems to be amusing, if you can afford it that is. Gulmohar and champa are ubiquitous.
Champa (or Franjipani) in Sydney

On the whole summer in Eastern Australia, Queensland to be specific seems gentle, warm and tropical. The work culture at the university on the other hand reminds me more of Switzerland!

Having seen my first Koala, Kangaroo, Laurikeet (rainbow coloured parikeet), Emu, Dingo, Ibis and Australian Pelican, I am totally happy. Given that however most of the larger animals were in a "sanctuary"- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary- which is actually a zoo, I guess I still want to see if there are some in the wild too.

Dingo's for instance are ferocious looking dogs descended from the Indian wolf. Dingo, the 'dog' descended from the Indian Wolf

So the adventure goes on. And the german summer much as it might have ended, has lead to the February summer of Easter Australia. More on this soon.