Bath Dog

"You are not thinking of bathing me are you?" 
Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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The Rumor App "Secret" is Spreading Across the English Speaking World

Rumor mongering is on its way to the tech world. An app initially established in the US is being rolled out in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland. The app called "Secret" allows people to spread rumours, innuendo, their feeling about things, and accusations about the behavior of innocent people - anonymously. Of course praise can be offered, but is will probably be praise with a small "p".

Apple has offered the app for some time. Google is about to launch it as well. Apparently, there is a voracious appetite for the app in the US. The opinions will be kept among your friend list. However, it is commonplace now for users to accept absolutely anyone who asks to be a new friend.

The app contains a weird option. A warning pops up telling people that the view they are about to make could be defamatory. This is laughable. Users generally ignore such warnings and turn them off. Lives will be destroyed by this app and legal cases will emerge everywhere. Freedom allows people to give their views but not at the expense of innocent victims.

Apple has a small market place. Google is huge. If this app becomes mainstream like Facebook and Twitter, it will change societies across the world, making telling lies the thing to do. A lot of suffering will be caused by this.

Something is going on in the Google Play Store. The company is doing something to regulate apps. Why have all the BBC apps been removed by the store? The BBC has a strong impact internationally, yet all its app are no longer available. Only a few third party UK audio and video apps are left. Perhaps these will be removed soon.

Getting back to the main issue: in the US 75 per cent of Secret's users return regularly to the same topic. This is frightening. Rumors will not only be established they will modified and distorted as just about everyone comes on board. This will make WikiLeaks look like child's play - there is no onus on proof.

Users in the US have become addicted to Secret. A staggering 90 per cent return to the same conversation, opening the app up to ten times a day. Gossiping over the garden fence has returned in a new way to the current age - seemingly in a nasty way.
Internet by Ty Buchanan

Dog Gossip

"Are you sure about that?"
Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
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Queensland Anti-Bikie Laws are Challenged

The Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, is carrying out a "pet" policy that appears to be solely his own. Remember, John Howard and Kevin Rudd were shown the door by voters for pushing out pet policies, ignoring advice from cabinet. Campbell Newman thinks voters will thank him at the next state poll for clamping down on the freedom of bikies.

Under the new rules police are hounding bikes out of the state. This is forcing police in those states to take action as well. It is certainly contagious. Freedom of association has clearly been limited and the laws don't make any sense. If each of two brothers belong to two different bikie clubs they cannot associate socially. This is a restriction of human rights.

The government is interfering in the freedom of the judicial system. Judges have criticized the new laws. Severe language is used in the legislation. An Offence are named "Vicious Lawless Association". Furthermore, a "defendant" has to prove his innocence, not be proven guilty.

The government has written the laws so a minister can expand a law at his own whim. This is very bad government, dictatorial even. Vicious Lawless Association carries a mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison. Members of bikie clubs in other states have been arrested and charged while on vacation in Queensland. The legislation can be expanded to cover workplace, sporting and recreational clubs, including political parties that a government wants to suppress.

Stefan Kuczborski a member of Hells Angels had lodged a High Court challenge against the freedom of association restriction.  A woman has been arrested for going with her husband because she was dressed in bikie gear. The main target of the legal challenge is that the government has broken the constitutional code of separation of powers by making judges bring down mandatory sentences.

In Australia constitutional challenges are won and lost by the political bias of judges on the panel who are appointed by changing federal governments. Decisions tend to be very close with split outcomes possible. The fear is that the legislation is implicitly supported by both leading political parties and this will sway the decision of High Court judges.
Politics by Ty Buchanan

Dog in Human World

"This is how humans see the world."
Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
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Give that Kat His Codeine Man!

People are throwing tantrums about being refused addictive pills from pharmacists. This comes at a time when the federal government is setting up a system of "policing" morphine based medications. If patients are frustrated by over the counter tablets what are they going to do when refused prescriptions?

Codeine is the drug of choice for most. Because it is freely available and not officially restricted one can understand the frustration when a sale is refused. It is not much use for pharmacists to call police. Giving people police records is going to make them more antisocial.

Telling people not to use Nurofen Plus for a headache is stupid. The public thinks, "Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot take?" - and rightly so! Pharmacists are not trained to deal with the public. They only learn chemistry, mostly irrelevant at that in today's prepacked world.

Monitoring purchases is a silly idea. It is another layer of costly bureaucracy that the public must pay for. If they are that serious then have it prescribed by a doctor, who now write scripts for extra strength, forte, codeine. That will take the pressure off pharmacists and put it on the doctor. GPs will not thank pharmacists for that.

Pharmacists know that having all codeine put on prescription will reduce sales so they are not calling for this. They want more talk. Yes, talk always helps - if you really want a solution that will reduce sales.

At the moment chemists are judging codeine buyers by the way they are dressed. Put on a suit and you can have as many codeine tablets as you want. I always thought pharmacist are a bit "thick". This confirms it.
Health by Ty Buchanan

Dog Pose

"How long do I have to stay like this?"
Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan
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A New Mineral Called Putnisite is Found in Australia

Minerals are classified into species like animals. You would think that all minerals had been identified by scientists. This is not the case. A completely new mineral has been found in Australia at Polar Bear peninsula, Southern Lake Cowan. It is named after the two scientists who discovered it, Christine and Andrew Putnis based at the University of Münster in Germany.

Putnisite is now among the 4,000 known minerals. It was found on the surface of Lake Cowan in Western Australia. The mineral is composed of tiny 0.5 mm diameter crystals in volcanic rock. Its crystals are square and in a range of colors: white, pink, purple and dark green. The mineral is composed of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, sulphur, calcium, strontium and chromium. It glistens as light can penetrate the substance.

Unlike other minerals which belong to families similar in structure, putnisite is unique. Nature joins things together to form minerals. Scientist did not believe a blend of these bases could be joined together as a unit. Researchers are clearly not as clever as nature itself.
Mineralogy by Ty Buchanan
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Cat Hide and Seek

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"I found you!"
Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
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Drone Lands on Athlete - Injuries

Companies are announcing delivery of parcels and takeaway food by drone. This is all advertising bling. It cannot possibly happen. Strict aviation rules will apply and this will completely rule them out. They are too dangerous. Imagine one landing on a crowd of people. Its rotors would cut flesh everywhere.

At the moment there is no restriction on their use in most countries because not many are in use. As accidents happen there will be strong calls for limitations on who can fly them. An athlete in an Australian triathlon was hit by a drone carrying a camera. She suffered lacerations to her
head. The owners of the drone said he was not hurt. In other words they denied responsibility. The first thing that must be implemented is insurance for these "flying attack vehicles". Wire protectors covering the rotors is another option. Part of a propeller was stuck in the runners head. To say she was making up her injuries is rubbish - she had three stitches.

The owner of the machine said that the drone had been hacked. This is not possible as few knew a drone with a camera was going to cover the event. Another problem is the question of licencing. The person flying the drone had a licence but the company who hired him did not. This is a gray area in the law. Oddly, the controller held a plane flying licence which does not cover drones.

CASA the official aviation authority is investigating the incident. Apparently many drones have crashed with few being reported. They are powerful machines and can quickly leave a controllers line of sight. Accurate landing software does not exist. A GPS or radar type landing system is absolutely necessary as soon as possible. Until this is done all drones should be banned from highly populated areas.
Technology by Ty Buchanan
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