Dispatches from the sunburned wastelands

I know, I know, I haven't been keeping the blog up to date. I promise I'll try to post more. A new year's resolution, if you will. The last few weeks have been eventful, on a personal basis. The Little Monster has had several ear infections, and when we finally went to see the specialist ('only' a six week wait - funny how fast that seems, after two years in Aus), the LM decided that enough was enough, and threw a spectacular "wobbly" as the ozzies call a tantrum. And he's not even two yet. "Not to worry," the receptionist told me, "mine was worse: I couldn't leave the house with him for a full year, between his 2nd and 3rd birthdays!" I can't wait.

Mrs B set sail for the Coral Sea this afternoon, from the far northern port city of Townsville, in Northern Queensland. The Coral Sea is on the other side of the Great Barrier Reef. She will be spending the next two weeks doing research on shallow water spectra reflectance (that's remote sensing-talk for: what happens to the sunlight once it reaches the surface of the ocean, and how can we make use of that knowledge?). They will be sailing for two days (!) due east, before reaching the first of the sample areas...Here's a Google Earth location map of the area:

I'll occasionally report on my mental state, all alone with the LM...

Posted by HannesB at 8:11 PM Comments