Lizzard becomes Dragon

My journey; self discovery, experiences and existence.

[lizzardtodragon]

Home page, part of the Internet Classics Archive

What a sweet find.

Text and downloads of classical literature.

[lizzardtodragon]

Help raise £2500 to empower Yoyo to become self sufficient as she becomes self employed and expands her menu at her soup shop called Bear and Dear

Weʼre raising money to empower Yoyo to become self sufficient as she becomes self employed and expands her menu at her soup shop called Bear and Dear. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

I agreed a microloan to start Yoyo on her path to create Bear and Dear.

Now we are looking for support to help her expand and make a stable income.

Any support is greatly appreciated.

[lizzardtodragon]

My letter to the Premier of Queensland

​Hello,

I felt like I should just send you a quick email regarding the taxpayer funded handouts to the billionaire Adani family and the shockingly short sighted attempts to push on with this extraction of outdated fossil fuel extraction.

Globally we know know that around 80% of all fossil fuel reserves need to remain unburnt to prevent catastrophic climate change.

The entire Galilee Basin project it seems is pretty much defunct if this is the case.

You will be risking taxpayer's money on what may in all likelihood become a monstrous stranded asset.

It seems like such a huge waste of money which organisations such as 350.org clearly illustrate is not in the interests of the Australian citizens whose tax dollars you are squandering. I'm sure that schools, hospitals and other sensible infrastructure and personnel are locally much more sought after. I think it is only around 7% of voters that support this handout to the billionaires.

Obviously there are other concerns too where this project will ultimately lead to the deaths of millions of people through unclean air in the countries it is burnt in, whilst increasing the likelihood of rising sea levels and increased ocean acidification as well.

Plus the fact that the company is corrupt and is facing charges in other countries for various criminal activities.

Then we also have to contend with the fact that these handouts and the ridiculous loan will all disappear into the shadow banking industry and vanish off shore and maybe never be repaid.

We know that China and India are buying less coal. The market for this type of extractive resource is shrinking.

It is quite a tally of negative impacts that will be added to the legacy of the Queensland elected representatives.

One can only hope that they see sense and can actually look to the future in terms of our lifetime and our children and grandchildren and of those of our international family and and stop propping up these archaic projects that benefit no one in the long term.

Thanks for your time in reading this;

Zach Tybalt

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/22/earth-day-scientists-warning-fossil-fuels-

Earth day: leading scientists say 75% of known fossil ...

www.theguardian.comThree-quarters of known fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground if humanity is to avoid the worst effects of climate change, a group of leading scientists and ...

http://nb.tai.org.au/back_qld

Let's back Queenslanders not coal companies - The ...

nb.tai.org.auEvery dollar QLD spends on handouts to the coal industry is a dollar that can't be spent on schools or hospitals. Add your name to back QLDers, not coal companies:

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/just-7-per-cent-of-voters-want-the-government-to-invest-in-adani-mine-poll-20170521-gw9k4g.html

Just 7 per cent of voters want the government to invest in Adani mine: poll

www.theage.com.auA new poll ReachTEL poll has found just 6.8 per cent of people support the idea of using public money to support coal mine projects such as the Indian mining conglomerate's controversial Carmichael proposal.

[lizzardtodragon]

So it happened, though it feels somewhat unreal still.

Landed in Bangkok and shared a taxi with another traveller from Europe into the city. I’ve heard stories of drivers over here but witnessing the mult-ilane changing and city driving in the back of a high speed taxi was eye opening. Seems a bit like luck of the angels, patience and bravado all rolled up into one hyper real version of Mario Kart.

Already in such a short time my experience has been illuminating. Huge expressways with billboards, car dealerships for the likes of Lamborghini, ornately painted lorries and hot old busess with communters vying for space on the road whilst motorbikes zip in and around and the wrong way and even onto the pavement.

Alien smells, strange looking food and how unexpected the humidity is all conspire to make me feel like I am somewhere different.

Different is good.

I am not sure what I want from Bangkok. It is really just a stopover before my travels commence further afield. I am not really a city person, I would rather appreciate the countryside than go shopping and buy things I have no need for. 

Even in just this first day I feel like I now have some unanswered questions about myself and what I want so I hope that being here can teach me something over the next few days before I venture.

[lizzardtodragon]

Airports seem to be a no man's land of consumable goods and over priced food. Reminds me of a flight to Lanzerote where there must have been about five announcements trying to sell food, jewelry, perfume, phone cards and finally a donation to some charity. Maybe like upmarket motorway service stations where they try to leach every last penny out of you like a sort of financial vampire.

[lizzardtodragon]

The Jump Off

Well roughly two and a half years after I landed in Tassie I will finally be leaving the state.

My first summer season has drawn to a close and whilst it has had moments of shere insanity combined with leisure and peaceful tranquility it is a great relief to finally be moving towards another transition.

I now have four months or so during my winter ‘off’ season and I feel like I have reached the jump off point for the very reason I left Scotland.

Whilst Tassie has been an adventure of sorts and it has been rewarding with the projects and endeavours I have been invoved with I didn’t set out to become a bushwalker and tour guide. In part I left to get outside of my comfort zone so in that regard it was an excellent destination. Learning new things, manual labour, humping packs across country and having responsibility for large groups of people and working long days to earn the coin for this next phase.

It feels like there are two faces of my next venture; one is the void of the unknown where I jump off and trust that things work out without having any frame of reference for what happens next; the other is the total freedom of four entire months with no dealines or expectations or demands and feels completely liberating. Trepidation probably being the best word right now.

[lizzardtodragon]

Clean Chicken: Never Hatched or Slaughtered

Bay Area startup Memphis Meats says it has developed the world’s first chicken strip grown from self-reproducing cells.

Not totally sure about the term clean meat but it’s great to see this avenue broadening.

Wonder if they can get halal and kosher certification? :)

[lizzardtodragon]

Few more pics of some of the places I get to show off to my guests.

[lizzardtodragon]

More interactions and spots for the guests to come together to enjoy and appreciate the magic of Tasmania.

[lizzardtodragon]

Some of the sweet spots I get to take guests over the summer.

Welcome to my office :)

[lizzardtodragon]

A few of the places I frequent around Tassie this summer

[lizzardtodragon]

Few of the vehicles I’m driving about Tasmania for the three different companies I currently work for.

[lizzardtodragon]

So I still have two left that I guess need to be next to impossible to find. :)

Watch this space.

[lizzardtodragon]

So the idea was simple; they just had to work out the location purely from my rather crap photo.

Some of the places we frequented a lot but a few were obscure and were never found by my buddy.

Some were maybe never found and others were discovered by non-participants. :)

[lizzardtodragon]

A friend I sent that last link to sent me this.

Interesting that this issue may now soon be realised.

I think that ultimately the national grid concept will fade away and we will have the ability to generate and store electricity locally.

Then we wont waste so much transporting it over long distances either.

[lizzardtodragon]

Silicon will blow lithium batteries out of water, says Adelaide firm

An Adelaide company claims to have developed a silicon storage device that costs a tenth as much as a lithium ion battery to store the same energy and is eyeing a $10 million public float.

Possibly behind a paywall if you have read other articles on their page.

I found this which sounded promising.

I like the fact they are an australian company as I think solar and this hot hot country should make excelent bed fellows.

[lizzardtodragon]

Musings January 2017

What I didn’t expect from pursuing a move to employment based on outdoors work was that I would interact with so many people on a day to day basis.

My focus had been passing the Adventure Guide course, both the knowledge based exam questions but also the physical aspect of a fairly new activity to me having never undertaken a multi day hike previously.

Now I find myself with new people everyday and from all walks of life and a range of ethnic or cultural backgrounds.

I am grateful as it is allowing me to develop skills relating to public speaking, group dynamics and group control whilst learning about people’s home country and a little of their way of life. At the same time meeting some beautiful genuine people.

The additional bonus is I get the share the environment in Tassie I’ve grown so fond of and have learnt so much about.

An unexpected bonus to being a driver/guide in this season of work in Tasmania.