If you want to see weird animals go visit Australia. Most animals are spread throughout the world but Australian marsupials stay strictly at home on this "lost continent". Two hundred kinds of marsupials live only in Australia the kangaroo being the most commonly known.

When the platypus was first taken to England scientists of the day said it was a hoax, a made up animal. The koala seemed to be a cuddly bear. Unfortunately wild koalas can be very nasty and do not take kindly to being picked up. So aligned to its environment, the Tasmanian Tiger soon became extinct with the arrival of Europeans.

Besides marsupials, other creatures make life difficult for people living on this continent. Red back and funnel web spiders are dangerous. The box jellyfish also causes much pain to humans. Small animals have died from their sting. Don't let the presence of these put you off from a visit to this great country. Oh, I nearly forgot; crocodile lives up north.

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Dog View

"What do you think of the view?"

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Economic Theory No Longer Applies

For the first time economic theory is being challenged by the Internet. Economics has always put forward the premise that the consumer was all-knowing, in that the "going price" for products was known. Of course, in the past this has been a lie. The demand curve was absolutely false. Buyers did not know where they could get the best price.

Now, potential buyers can go to a store, try on a particular brand of clothing to find the correct size, then go and buy it on the Internet. Some shops are charging for such browsing. This will only drive consumers away to another store.

There isn't much doubt that there are too many stores in the market selling the same goods. This is a problem caused by local councils allowing shopping center development even when it is contrary to local planning laws. Councils are too easily influenced by cashed-up big business.

As chain stores move into populated centers of rural areas the future looks bleak for the corner store. The days of local monopolies of one grocery store, one fruit shop, a chemist and a fishmonger are well and truly gone. It is no wonder the majority of small startups fail.

We cannot turn back the clock. The consumer is currently very informed about price if not quality. Economics never did include quality into its theories. It cannot easily be defined.  With oligopolies taking over small rivals economics is no longer relevant. It cannot be applied any more. The idea that prices fall to clear the market of "surplus" products was never real world practice. Shops have always operated on a percentage mark-up.

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Cat Fish Bowl box

"Why can't we have a fish bowl like other homes?"

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Google Dictates Word Use in Dictionaries

Google won a court case in Australia stopping others from using words similar to their trade name, for examples, boogle and doogle, etc. It seems Google is still intent on ruling the world over use of language.

It is interfering with Sweden's intention to put a word in dictionaries. The Swedish version of the word "ungoogleable" is "ogooglebar" and is widely used. Google says it should not be in a dictionary as it is because part of the word "google" is a registered trade name. This is silly consider the word "hoovering"is in the Pocket Oxford dictionary. How much more power does Google want? It already has too much influence on societies.

Google is not complaining about the word's inclusion. It wants a reference to Google being a trade name added to the definition. Sweden decided to leave the word out altogether. Google wants the word "Google" with a capital "G" shown , apparently to gain free advertising.

Swedish authorities point out that language has no bounds particularly when it comes to taking trade marks into new words.

Google said it intended to keep the company great. Does it means something like in Great Britain? A look will show the British Empire is long gone. No attempt to save it helped. The French tried to stop the franglais of English words like "le week-end". It failed.

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Cat Occasion

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The Impact of Peak Oil

It seems that we have pushed the peak oil period further forward by obtaining coal seam gas from just about everywhere we look. Fracking does damage the environment and the current freedom for the gas companies could be curtailed.

When peak oil is reached the impact on Australia's rural areas will be significant. Supplies of oil will fall and prices for the scarce commodity will rise. Farmers use advanced machinery to sow, plant and harvest food crops. If governments set priorities then agriculture will have to be given precedence over private use. Transport will be next in line.

There are two aspects of transport. Movement of food is very important, but as people will not be able to freely use their cars they will opt for public transport to get to their places of employment.

People will have to live with limited mobility as they did in the days of the horse and buggy. A day out will be a luxury. Economies will go into recession as trade slows down. Perhaps people will turn to other sources of energy like wood. This will not be sustainable. Stricter and clearer laws will be needed to control activities. Rationing will not be a choice. It will be absolutely necessary.

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Dog Driver

"Get out of my way!"

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New Solar Power Station in Western Australia

Australia goes its own way in lower carbon power generation by opening a solar-diesel power station, the world's first, in Western Australia. Solar panels track the sun during the day. The station is built in a location that holds the record for the most days of maximum temperature. Use of the solar panels will lessen greenhouse gas emissions by 1119 tonnes a year.

the local Aboriginal community is fully supportive of the power plant in the Pilbara. Aboriginals named it Pippunyah, the name of the river nearby. Funding came from the Federal Government in its renewable remote power generation program via the Office of Energy in Western Australia.

It is unfortunate that solar power generation had to be combined with fossil fuel generation. Even getting natural gas there would have been better than diesel. It seems there is no perfect solution to the pollution problem. New systems only seem to meet requirements half way.

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Bee Gee Dogs

The Bee Gees

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The Guilt of the Kill - Slaughterhouses

When you eat meat do you feel guilty about the early death of the creature? You probably believe that because someone else killed it you are without guilt. Buddhists are careful not to step on a blade of grass - those who really follow the Faith. It must be remembered, however, that even plants are alive, so there is no way you can avoid taking a life to obtain food.

Recently, Australia temporarily stopped the export of live cattle to Indonesia. ABC television showed a documentary showing cruelty to animals during the slaughter process. Some people have pointed out that cruelty takes place at Australian abattoirs.

Humans need food. Meat has more energy than any other food product. It is no wonders we consume it in massive amounts. Perhaps we cover up the guilt by calling cattle "meat" very early on in the slaughter process. For example, dead unprocessed chickens are called "whole bird products".

Feeling guilty about taking a life is a religious value. When something is dead it is just that - dead. If you do not believed in a hereafter that is the end of it. When a lion takes down its prey the pain endured by the victim is not a consideration.

Perhaps this double standard is due to people keeping pets which become part of the family and owners think that they must have an afterlife too. In evolutionary terms we are only just out of the savage stage. Neanderthals are widely accepted as falling into this category, though evidence shows they were just as advanced as us. Spearing an animal must cause pain, but to survive we must do it.

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Lead Dog

"He always takes the lead."

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No Women Please: It's Magic

When was the last time you saw a female magician perform? You will say "never". This is a phenomenon little understood. For some reason women hardly ever choose to become magicians. All magical societies may as well declare themselves men-only organizations.

Some blame the history of witch burning for this outcome. However, witch burning hasn't been done for centuries. A female in an act is commonly perceived to be the magician's assistant. This idea is entrenched and is more likely to be the cause.

When most organizations were initially founded it was in the time of male dominated secret societies. This could be a factor. Another theory is that conjuring is somehow akin to maths. Boys prefer maths much more than females. Indeed, it has been found that members of school maths and science clubs will also be members of magic clubs.

The suit commonly worn by magicians is also a turn-off for females. Perhaps they feel that an audience will not accept a skirt or dress. Magical societies will surely be the last bastion to fall in the feminine revolution, perhaps when we first see a magician wearing a skirt - unless he/she is Scottish.

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Burpy Cat

"Burp!"

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Dogs Are Smart, Just Like Humans

Humans aren't that special. It was once thought that people were superior to chimpanzees because humans had feelings and showed love. We all know now that chimps do have these propensities. Other animals weren't even considered in the "advanced" creature stakes. Time has shown that many animals use tools to find food.

Pets such as dogs tend to mimic their owners. They say you grow like your partner and if your companion is a dog then the dog copies you, and heaven forbid you copy the dog. So strong is this bond that dogs will actually give up food rewards to do what their owners do.

Researchers had two groups of pet dogs. Their owners went on hands and knees and opened a sliding door with their heads and closed hands. One group of dogs was rewarded for opening the door. The other group was reward with food for not doing what their owners did. All dogs opened the door after their owners - foregoing the food reward.

Clearly dogs learn like humans. They copy. Dogs in the test were of many breeds, so intelligence was not a factor. Furthermore, what does a dog do when it sees a human yawn? Think about it. It yawns of course.

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Hot Dog Roll

"Did I hear someone say the word 'food'?"

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Bushmeat Trade Is Depleting Natural Forest

Bushmeat is not just a problem in Africa. Asian countries have the same problem, as the demand for meat from wild animals increases. Taking animals from tropical forest changes the whole ecosystem. It is common sense really. As the number of creatures feeding on vegetation and other animals decline there is an abundance of vegetation growth and remaining fauna.  More growth kills off food for these animals.

While some plants increase, others decline.  Even the amount of vegetation not consumed can fall.  Uneaten vegetation crowds out growth for all, so saplings do not grow tall. Plants need animals to disperse seeds. Consequently, the variety of plants falls.

Just two decades ago the Lambir Hills National Park in Sarawak was pristine. There was an abundance of animals and trees. Now all the large animals have been killed off by hunters after a profit.

Once such dramatic change occurs there is no way back. The large animals will not breed back to original numbers. The damage also impacts on remaining animals who find their usual food source is no longer plentiful.

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Bigger Dog Door

"You told me you were going to make this door bigger."

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EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement Is Pointless

Negotiation between Thailand and the EU for a Free Trade Agreement in isolation from other Asian countries seems odd to say the least. What possible gain could there be for the EU? Yes, Thailand could flood the EU with cheap products thus helping European consumers, but the EU needs more jobs now to lift their economies out of recession. It seems counter-productive.

Another thing is Thailand will have to abide by EU rules which are very draconian and arbitrary in some respects. The EU is a bureaucracy out of control. Microsoft had to pay millions of dollars in compensation for not pushing rival search engines enough. This really doesn't make sense, with Google shipping its Chrome only Android.

Thailand allows cheap generic drugs to be sold to its citizens. If it wins a Free Trade Agreement this will have to end as medications fall under the umbrella of EU intellectual property rights. Paying more for drugs will reverse all the gains made in Thailand's health system.

The EU is ignoring public opinion and plans to extend patent terms for drug companies from 20 years. This will mean monopoly prices extend for much longer in EU countries and other countries will FTAs. Thai people are against any agreement that ends the supply of cheaper drugs.

Thailand exports food, plastic and rubber. It doesn't need the machinery and electrical appliances the EU exports. The question must be asked - Why is the EU bothering about getting a FTA with Thailand? There will be export gains by Thailand at the expense of a more expensive health system.  There appears to be no benefit to the EU.

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Ship Comes in for Dog

"Has my ship come in yet?"

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