Operation Safeguard

The all-day news had someone on saying they've named one of their aid efforts for the country towns affected buy the floods Operation Safeguard.

I had the totally silly mental image of Safeguard, Vector Prime's minicon, running around (or flying), helping out, carrying stuff here and there, beeping annoyedly at the muck in the floodwaters, and it getting in his gears.

(Vector is probably off teleporting people and supplies in.)

Hope there' no more threats to the Gateway

It may not be a roadway I use much (I have used it only twice in the last year, and both of those were directly related to my recent trip), but the Gateway Motorway, and the bridge of the same name is one of the major arterial roads through Brisbane. The Gateway Bridge crosses the Brisbane River a way downriver from the City.

Actually, I'd say it is the major arterial line heading north.

It's also the main road when one is heading from the southern suburbs to the Airport, which is why I've used it recently.

So why am I talking about the Gateway? The Battle to Save the Gateway Bridge.

To summarize: A large (and I mean very large) piece of river walkway from the city riverside broke free to be washed downriver. Tugboats got into a tricky fight with it to keep it from ramming into the Gateway Bridge's pylons. The Bridge got closed about three times while they were struggling with the walkway.

It's okay now, the walkway has got through and is heading out into Morton Bay, but it makes one think of how easy, in a situation like this, how easy it could be for all north-south travel to be totally cut. The only other way north - through the city itself - is already cut off, so they have to protect the bridge.