Jump to content
Science Forums

Australia


Recommended Posts

I used to catch Yabbies as a kid.

Now they are endangered?

**** what are we doing to this planet!

Yabbies share sharks' 'sixth sense'

Study team researcher Mr Blair Patullo said that like the great white shark "one of the biggest predators on the planet", yabbies use electroreception to hunt prey.

 

"We have provided the first evidence that yabbies 'listen' to electrical fields for their survival," Blair said.

 

"All animals make small electrical signals when they swim but to detect them is a powerful ability because it enables animals to 'hear' predators and prey, before they are seen or even smelt.

 

"It makes sense that yabbies would also listen to these signals, but despite much evidence in vertebrate species, until now there was no evidence in the simpler invertebrate animals."

 

Blair explained that listening to electrical signals could help the yabby detect a nearby tadpole to capture a meal; a predatory fish for a fast getaway; and a fellow yabby for companionshi

Velocity

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A good FREE science resource/newsletter

Velocity

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That said, while we have had really dry and what seems warm weather, we had one of our coldest Febs in a long time ??

 

Hi Jay-qu,

 

And that's one of a few crazy things going on in Australia at the moment.

 

Nation's coins set to overtake face value | NEWS.com.au

 

THE size and composition of some of Australia's coins may have to be changed because of the soaring cost of copper and nickel.

 

This year, the metal value of the 5c, 10c and 20c coins will overtake their face value for the first time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do you set up a backyard smelter.

Any suggestions?

 

This is ironic or sad or . . .?

Dream Day First Home

 

Download full version

Try Dream Day First Home for free! (68.8MB)

Buy full version

$19.95

>>Buy and decorate a new home!

About.com - Games

 

In USA we have banks lending to people who are poor credit risks, being caught out, and going broke.

The Federal Reserve Bank is putting interest rates down (Directed to no doubt by that master economist Pres. Bush).

Recession and foreclosures are looming.

 

In Australia we have banks lending to people who are good credit risks.

The Federal Reserve putting interest rates up (being independent of Government and full of good thinking economists).

Recession and foreclosures are looming.

 

So what is going on?

Why is neither USA or Oz's model/thinking/approach working?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully, the last person out remembers to turn off the Opera House lights

Richard Glover

March 8, 2008

Page 1 of 2 |

 

DESPITE this week's headlines about the exodus from Sydney, there must be someone who wants to move to our town. For instance, David Hicks is quite keen. Yep, in order to enjoy living in Sydney, you just need the right point of comparison. For instance, five years being tortured at Guantanamo Bay.

 

For everyone else, the experience of living in Sydney can be a little underwhelming.

 

According to a poll this week, one in five Sydneysiders is considering leaving town, driven mad by the pure hassle of living here. The other 80 per cent are presumably just waiting for the F3 to clear so they get a fast run north. Hopefully, the last person out remembers to turn off the Opera House lights and to close down that stupid desalination plant.

. . .

For all that, perhaps it's time to be positive and count the good things about Sydney, its politicians and its people. Here's a first attempt:

  • 1. Ample free parking is offered every day at large parking stations. These are named the M5 and the M4.
  • 2. By spending future education budgets on the Olympics, we've helped create a prosperous industry building crappy school demountables.
  • 3. The raw sewage flowing across the floor at Bathurst hospital has led to the cancellation of all surgery.
    This means local authorities have as yet been unable to hire the Butcher of Bega, which must be a plus for locals.
  • 4. Just as the London Underground now offers free poetry in each carriage, so are Sydney commuters entertained with large posters featuring creative writing.
    Here it's called the train timetable.
  • 5. By providing poor public transport, we force young people to drive to work, thus providing a much needed fillip to the fluffy dice and nodding-dog industries.
  • 6. Windsor Road now moves so slowly during the afternoon peak there's been a big reduction in serious car crashes.
  • 7. Small and interesting bars are effectively banned, thanks to large political donations from the Australian Hotels Association.
    This is a good thing, as it helps Sydneysiders resist temptation from the devil in the form of conversation, good food and live music.
  • 8. Due to draconian water restrictions, every Sydneysider now has an excuse for not washing the car.
  • 9. The threat of losing your house, due to high rents and mortgages, helps motivate you to get out of bed every morning, making it easier to go to work.
  • 10. Due to local government corruption, the city's surveillance industry is now world-class, with many council offices containing more bugs than a Bondi backpackers.
  • 11. Thanks to the city's rugby league players, and their enthusiastic attitude to drinking and fighting, there's always someone beefy to stand behind when shots are fired in a nightclub at 4am.
  • 12. Our cramped buses furnish the opportunity to get closer to our fellow citizens - in particular their armpits.
  • 13. Wall-to-wall government advertising, especially before elections, allows plenty of time to make a cup of tea when watching commercial TV.
  • 14. And spending $1.9 billion on an unnecessary desalination plant has brought an immediate end to the drought - praise the Lord and Morris Iemma.

.

.

. . .More at

Hopefully, the last person out remembers to turn off the Opera House lights:doh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So what is going on?

Why is neither USA or Oz's model/thinking/approach working?

 

Hi Michaelangelica,

 

In a nutshell the most profits derived from the global financial market machine are gained by sucking the grease out of faulty bearings so much of the entire financial market has changed to exploit these political, legal and ethical deficiencies. In the USA they have been extracting their grease from the smarmers in government while in Australia they get it direct from the people with the assistance of our smarmers in government.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two economies

 

By jquiggin | March 11, 2008

 

The Australian economy is still booming, but the shadow of the global credit crisis is growing longer every day. Some items

 

* Most observers now agree the US is in recession

* With negative real interest rates in the US for terms up to five years (you can actually buy negative-rate inflation-protected bonds) commodity price inflation seems bound to continue. This is good for the Oz economy while it lasts

* It now seems clear that someting like half of all subprime mortgages will eventually go into default (many have already been foreclosed and 20 per cent are currently delinquent

Two economies at John Quiggin

 

Check out the "Sub prime -How bad is it?" hypography thread

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has SA melted yet?

How many records have you broken?

 

We (Sydney NSW et al) are finally getting a summer (March!!??)

 

I hope you Guys don't get the bushfires of yesteryear.

 

 

Yes, we've melted!! The past couple of weeks have seen the days around 40oC and the nights in the 20s. Apparently it's been about 70 years since we've had that many days in a row when the temperature is over 37oC.

 

But relief has arrived! Check out the forcecast for the next week. We all might get some sleep now.

 

 

 

So far we've had no major bush fires, but the recent weather is similar to the weather before the Ash Wednesday bushfire so the CFS crews have been on full alert.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rabbit fish down under?

Apparently it's a good thing...

 

While rabbits continue to ravage Australia’s native landscapes, rabbit fish may help save large areas of the Great Barrier Reef from destruction.

 

The reason, say scientists, is the same in both cases – both rabbits and rabbit fish are efficient herbivores, capable of stripping an area of vegetation. However, in the case of the Reef, it is the vegetation that is the problem – and the rabbit fish, the answer.

 

“When a coral reef is weakened or damaged through human activity such as climate change or pollution or by a natural disaster like a cyclone, the coral will usually recover provided it is not choked by fast-growing marine algae,” explains Professor David Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University.

 

“The problem is that over the years we have fished down the populations of fish that normally feed on the young weed to such a degree that the weed is no longer kept in check, it can now smother the young corals and take over. This is called a phase-shift, and the chances of corals re-establishing afterwards are usually poor. If the weed takes over, you’ve lost your reef.”

Butterflyfish decline ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water-bloody hell Rabbit fish!

How could you make a Akubra hat out of them?

 

Monomer Adelaide has the record now for the hottest longest spell of any State capital city.

 

Two useless bits of info on Oz

21% of the world's poker machines are in Australia.

 

One in three Australians take a sleeping pill every night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water-bloody hell Rabbit fish!

 

:)

Let's hope they're nothing like the Monty Python rabbits!

 

21% of the world's poker machines are in Australia.

 

Really? Where did you get this statistic from?

One in three Australians take a sleeping pill every night.

 

Really? Why?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:)

Let's hope they're nothing like the Monty Python rabbits!

Happy Easter

 

Rabbits are not that popular in Oz as they have helped kill 50-70% of indigenous flora and fauna.(They make good Akubra hats)

Bright British hunters! Talley Ho!

 

 

Really? Where did you get this statistic from?

The ABC Radio, my source of all impeccable information, like the internet.

 

 

Really? Why?

UM. . .their husbands are dead drunk and snoring?

um. . .TV is boring?

um. . .its a legal government subsidised drug?

 

Many Ozzies "chucked a sickie" for St. Patrick's Day on Monday.

some families have a 50 year tradition of doing this.

 

Thursday 20 March 2008

 

Listen Now - 20032008 | Download Audio - 20032008

Mad crocs and Englishmen

 

The British media and its hunger for weird aussie animal stories. We're joined by three UK correspondents Downunder.

Media Report

(audio)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems to me that Labor is in power everwhere, not because labor is so good, but that Lib/Nats are so bad

This is the latest disaster in NSW

Lib farce: MP outcast by own party

Rejected … Scott Morrison.

Photo: Andrew Taylor

 

 

FACTIONAL wars within the NSW Liberal Party have descended to a new low with a promising federal MP prevented from joining his local branch by right-wingers.

and the racist "How to Votes " story is not over yet either

The Rudd Government will push ahead with an inquiry in a bid to claim higher-profile Liberal scalps after police launched legal proceedings against five men who will be charged under section 328 of the Electoral Act.

 

Each faces a maximum penalty of a $1000 fine but Labor wants to see where the leaflets were produced and who paid for them.

 

The Herald understands police asked the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to consider a series of charges, including inciting racial vilification and publishing a false and misleading document, but they were told the Electoral Act was not strong enough.

Lib farce: MP outcast by own party - National - smh.com.au

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This will convince the Yanks that Australia is bright red.

Myer makes retail history with paid parental leave

Australia's largest department store will be the first of the country's major retailers to offer paid parental leave.

By Rachael Brown

Myer expects high use of the parental leave provision, with female employees accounting for 81 per cent of its work force (file photo).

Posted 9 hours 15 minutes ago

Updated 9 hours 11 minutes ago

 

 

Govt applauds move

 

Federal Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, says it makes good economic sense and she hopes other businesses will follow suit.

 

"Most employers will tell you at the moment that they're in a war for talent, that they're looking to attract and retain the best staff," she said.

 

"I think that family friendly provisions like paid parental leave are very attractive... particularly people who are thinking about starting a family in the next few years."

 

She says the Rudd Government has referred the issue of paid parental leave to the Productivity Commission, and she expects its report in February.

 

"We've asked to look at the costs and benefits of paid parental leave and the best way that it could be achieved," Ms Plibersek said.. (abc)

Myer makes retail history with paid parental leave - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Intersting interview with PM Rudd on 7.30 report tonight

Rudd jets off

The 7.30 Report - ABC

ALI MOORE: You've also committed to an increasingly activist Australian international policy with creative middle power diplomacy. What is

a middle power and how much clout does it have?

 

KEVIN RUDD: Well, a middle power obviously is a country of reasonably economic substance and we're about the 14th or 15th largest

economy in the world.

. . in pure military terms I think we're about the 11th largest investor and military expenditure worldwide. So that affords

you a certain grunt.

So Oz hypographers more 'grunt' please to bore everyone else in the world stupid oi, Oi, OI, GRUNT

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...