Australia - Interesting Things

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Interesting things abound about Australia. It is a unique continent being isolated from the other land masses for millions of years. Animals have evolved with unusual behaviors. The cute, tiny Antichenus gets so high on testosterone that the little fellow doesn't eat or drink. He mates until he dies.
antichenus
The ugliest fish live in the deep sea off Australia's coast. They have large eyes, a necessity where light is almost total nonexistent.  Land creatures have evolved where some beauty is required to facilitate mating.  living in the darkest depths means seeing your mate is not so important, but large eyes, huge jaws and venomous spines are.
Australia's ugliest sea monsters
Tourists and locals know about the deadly creatures living here. Oddly, Funnelweb spiders are not dangerous to dogs, cats, mice, lizards or snakes. An unlucky human can die if bitten by this spider.  Muscles in our bodies fibrillate.  Unsynchronized contraction of heart muscles can kill us.
Bundaberg is the home of the world's oldest tagged turtle. X23103 is a flatback turtle. The tag was put on in 1976 and she has been tracked ever since. The old lady continues on her way at the age of 60 years.
X23103 oldest  tagged sea turtle
Europe is well known for its stinging nettles. Children try all ways to stop the painful sting. Australia has the little known Gympie-Gympie stinging nettle. If its large leaves are just touched by human skin a part of the leaf breaks off and embeds itself so that it cannot be removed. It is a painful reminder to steer clear of it.
Image result for gympie gympie stinging plant
Forget Brazil and the rest of South America, Australia has the last remaining regions of wilderness. Cape york on Queensland is virtually untouched native vegetation. It has mangrove swamps, wetlands, tropical raingforests and eucalyptus wooded savannahs, home to ancient wildlife.

cape york wilderness
The longest "range" of volcanoes stretches down the eastern seaboard from Queensland's Pinnacle Rock all the way down to Melbourne. It is three times longer than the Yellowstone National Park volcanic track in the U.S.
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 Science by Ty Buchanan 
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Cat Can Fly

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cat flies over logs
"Like in Tibet!  No monks melt snow don't they?"
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CAT SNOW FLYER
#cat #floats #meditate #trick #clever #logs #snow #jump #air
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Household Robots Not Here Yet

technology
SOCIOLOGY
Despite the advances in artificial intelligence, useful robots are a long way off. Humans can do limitless things, whereas robots can only do one thing well. They cannot have the broad perspective. So don't hope to have a "Maisy who washes the dishes and cleans the house anytime soon.
Businesses want to profit from new technology. However, adapting quickly to advances in artificial intelligence is difficult. The business that shows the way will be the winner. Those who follow will have to pick up the scraps. The leading business will have moved on to something else.

The time is approaching when the first damaging, even fatal, decision is made by a computer. It could be a major disaster. Artificial intelligence is not sentient: it does not feel any harm it does. Machines can now learn both good and bad. To a computer everything is equal. Give a robot a conscience - that will be a great leap forward!
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Sulking Dog

funny animal upset dog
"I am not sulking!"
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DOGS DO NOT SULK!
#sulk #sulking #dog #unhappy #upset #angry #walkies #not #look #eyes
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Guaranteed Minimum Income is Fairyland Stuff

SOCIOLOGY
Many in Australia are calling for a guaranteed minimum wage whether a person earns it or not. If a low paid job for say 30 hours a week is below this minimum then the state will top it up. This sounds fair at first instance, but there is the problem of government income to pay for this and the world economic environment that thrives on low wages.
Guaranteed income in Australia
If every country in the world did it, the system would be viable. Unfortunately, humans are greed driven. We are nice to each other. This in only to a degree, however. Man is torn between egalitarianism and competition. The Star Trek world where only those who want to work abandon their sloth and actually go to work is far off in the future.

When I was young the dole was quite high. It was meant for times between jobs to maintain family income. Indeed, in England those who paid more tax got a higher rate of unemployment. This was definitely not egalitarian. The Australian benefit has fallen way behind the cost of living - the lowest in the OECD. It is only food money now. Forget putting a roof over you're head. It can't be done, unless you are female with eight dependent children.

The question has also been made about voting rights. If you have no abode you do not have the right to receive unemployment benefits nor can you vote in elections. The marginalized get more marginalized.

Paul Keating, ironically a Labor politician, brought in compulsory superannuation with the aim of virtually eliminating the old age pension. This concept has gone by the board now with a series of conservative governments messing around with the rules to reduce accumulation of capital for retirement. The idea of allowing drawing of superannuation to purchase houses was an idea to 'feel the waters". It was quietly dumped.

There has always been a pool of very poor people to fuel economic growth. They are essentially needed for manual or repetitive tasks to generate income for the already rich. The poor do drive the world economy even today. If this pool did not exist, consumers would have to pay a higher price for goods. It would make for a better world to live in.
 Sociology by Ty Buchanan 
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