Hervey Bay Gossip

This is about more than the boost you get from eating some chocolate.

Yesterday a 39 tonne turbine was lifted into place at the Isis Central Sugar Mill as part of a project between the Mill and Ergon Energy to generate 65,000 megawats of electricity from the waste remaining after cane has been crushed. The new plant will not be finished in time for use during this season but should be ready before the crush in 2006.

It seems that south east Queensland is in for another summer of blackouts as the two local suppliers struggle to keep up with the demand for power. Unfortunately the infrastructure just isn’t there to cope with peak demands from a growing population that depends uses more and more power for air conditioners.

Both Ergon and Energex have reported to Parliament that they are years away from reaching adequate performance levels.

Yep, Hervey Bay is on the front page of the Courier Mail today.

It seems that one young resident decided that seeing Mum was a bit off colour he would take himself to school … in the family car. The 7 year old managed to get as far as the school before he lost control and crashed into the gutter.

If you’re planning on walking on any of Hervey Bay’s beaches in the next couple of days then it will pay to either wear shoes or keep a good watch on where you’re walk.

Your intrepid scribes were out walking on Scarness Beach yesterday afternoon and found several fresh blue bottles spread along the beach. I think that it was at a similar time last year that the beach was littered with the nasty little critters so it certainly will pay to watch where you’re going for the next couple of days.

If you can’t beat them then it might be time to join them and add some deep throbbing bass to your computer’s speakers or sound system.

Here is a little collection of black bits that she-who-must-be-obeyed added to her computer a couple of weeks ago.

She assures me that the only reason she added it was to increase productivity but personally I think she might have come to some arrangement to keep the neighbours entertained with some of the music that was considered ‘heavy’ back when we were less than sane teenagers.

Of course, you don’t have to go to the exteme that the boss has - although the Logitech system that you see here costs something less than $200 if you buy it from Fraser Coast Computers. But if you want to improve the sound that comes from your computer then you can do it for less than $100 - just check out the current specials that Rick is running down at Fraser Coast Computers.

It’s interesting to see how other parts of the world see us here on the Fraser Coast. It’s not hard to understand why you sometimes see headlines like this from a publication in Bray, Ireland:

“Life in Oz is Always a Holiday”

over an article about what the region has to offer.

It’s a hard life living up here on the Coast but someone has to do it

Apple has launched its Australian iTunes Music Store and now you can legally download individual tunes and video clips right onto your computer. The Australian site gives you access to over one million songs and over one thousand music videos.

Prices are reasonable too, songs will set you back just $1.69 or $16.99 for a full album. Music videos cost $3.39.

And don’t be fooled, iTunes is part of Apple but they certainly do cater for PC users too.

You will find the Australian iTunes Music Store here

ABC Wide Bay continues to run it’s photo detective series and their latest offering is a football team from around 90 years ago.

It may be that the photo was taken in the Rockhampton area but that is not guaranteed so why not pop over and see if you can recognise any of the fearsome footballers in the team.

The link you will need is right here

If you’re looking for something different to do with the family this weekend why not join in the Zonta car rally this weekend?

It’s definitely not about getting from point A to point B faster than anyone else but it is about having fun and testing the observation skills of everyone in your car.

The rally starts from Seafront Oval at 10am on Sunday and there is a $20.00 entry fee for each vehicle. The theme of the rally is Halloween so decorate your car and come dressed for the event.

An early morning storm that descended on Hervey Bay yesterday leaves us in no doubt that we’re moving into the storm season again.

While the rain and lightning can bring unpleasant consequences and minor irritations I don’t think there is a better place to be to experience the power and beauty of the world that we live in. We might have to take added precautions to protect ourselves from the electrical storms that regularly roll over the city but then we are rewarded with images like this: