"I am not a dog!"
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✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan ✴
Foot in Your Mouth Prime Minister
Our beloved Australian prime minister has put his foot in his mouth yet again. I don't believe that I have experienced such a pig headed, mislead person who has gained the highest position in the land before.
He has weighed into the debate of Western Australia's intention to close down remote Aboriginal communities, despite the first Australians being born and bred there. It is a case of whites controlling the lives of black people because Caucasians dominate power and authority in Australia.
Western Australian governments of both persuasions have a history of being bigoted toward Aboriginals. There have been cases in the past of whites buying votes at state and federal elections by giving Aboriginals alcohol. This is despicable behavior.
Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, has said that aboriginals should be forcibly moved to cities because they are a drain on the welfare system. He believes that they will fill job vacancies that do not exist in built-up regions.
Apparently, living where you are born is a life-choice. What nonsense! Where are Aboriginals going to get the large amount of money required to make such a major move to cities? And without immediate employment, welfare will still have to be paid. It is impossible to pay high city rents on unemployment benefits.
It should be noted that many white Australians choose to live in remote places so they can more easily get long-term welfare benefits. Indeed, they choose to get in the "tiny" and go fishing every day.
✴ Politics by Ty Buchanan ✴
Accident Cat
"I'll just try this - what, wut, but, but, but, but!"
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✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan ✴
Something New - An Australian Moth
Yes, we have something new for you! Aenigmatinea glatzella is a new moth that is very primitive indeed - a living dinosaur in fact. It is in a new family of its own. With its feathered wingtips and specs of purple and gold it is certainly unique.
A new primitive moth in over forty years, it is something to get excited about. This new moth was found on Kangaroo Island, a place that people regularly visit, yet it remained unknown until now. Be sure though that many more will be found by motivated naturalists.
The moth's ancestry goes back to Gondwanaland. It is extremely short-lived: leaving the cocoon, mating and dying in a day. This is why it was not observed by previous researchers. It is only a centimeter long.
DNA analysis shows that moths and butterflies have a complex evolution. Enigma moth has no tongue. Moths and butterflies developed tongues later, probably more than once independently. More moths will be found because it is believed that over 10,000 moths and butterflies are not yet named.
✴ Evolution by Ty Buchanan ✴
New Glasses "Cure" Color Blindness
It is not known how many levels of vision there are: There could be billions. Every human being and animal for that matter sees the world differentially. It was believed that all people are the same. We are not. Shades of color can be divided into finer and finer degrees. At one end are the color blind. At the other are probably the most skilled painters.
As we age, like taste our vision of the world fades. It is so gradual: we do not notice that the number of colors we see has diminished. Special glasses have been made to change shades of color into fine levels of black. gray and white. This works well in that color blind people have got through the "Ishihara" detection test for this malady.
It may be possible to improve perception of gray spectrum shades. Perhaps even detection of colors can be increased. This is for the future though. For now the new spectacles have had a great impact. Adult men have been brought to tears when the glasses are first put on.
Color blindness is the most common congenital malady in humans. It is partially gender specific. Most sufferers are men. Color is not totally absent for these people. They can see specific colors when they are bright. It is like being able to play music "by ear". The shades disappear when there are lower faint realms.
There is no doubt that some color people are not good motor vehicle drivers. Reading road signs is a problem. Even seeing brake lights becoming brighter when a vehicle in front brakes is difficult. At the moment there is discrimination against elderly drivers. There are calls for them to take tests every year. No doubt if this does happen then there will be calls for the color blind to be similarly tested. This will be unfortunate.
✴ Technology by Ty Buchanan ✴
The Young Need to Change Their Attitude to the Elderly
There is a lot of talk about the percentage of elderly people in the population increasing as time goes on. It seems rational to suggest that they should stay in the workforce. Unless there is legislation to force young Australians out of the "desk" jobs and into manual labor, this will not happen.
As one gets older the body lets you down. You no longer have the stamina to keep going, on a production line for example. Persistent pain that you have to live with is also a problem. Chronic illness can only be treated, not cured. Where do you draw the line between keeping someone at work who is clearly sick or sending them home? When an elderly person says, "I can't do that anymore", maybe they can't.
If you are young good health is taken for granted. You heal quickly and continue to enjoy life. For many, to be old is to be sick. Medical specialists do refuse treatment to the elderly because it is seen as a waste of money, notwithstanding the fact that a new knee or hip would make life less painful.
The whole structure of society will have to change to keep the elderly employed. Young people have the feeling that a "mature" person should work as hard as an employee in their twenties. A significant proportion of the young believe that the assets of the elderly should be taken by the government and spent on them, even though retirees worked hard in their younger days to buy homes.
We will need a Star Trek world where people choose to work not for financial gain but to benefit others. Such a world is too utopian to be believed. It is not the elderly who need to change, it is the young. Respect and consideration of the elderly is not something the young understand.
✴ Technology by Ty Buchanan ✴
New Species of Seadragon Found after 150 Years
While new animals are regularly identified, all species of seadragons were thought to be known. Indeed, it has been 150 years since all were classified. A surprise was on hand for Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Western Australia Museum. A new type of seadragon was found off the WA coast.
A sample had been in a lab untested since 2007. The latest DNA testing system enables new kinds of creatures to be singled out. Named Phyllopteryx dewysea, the new seadragon is bright red in color. This is an ideal color for camouflage in deep water.
No one expected a new type, so it remained undetected until the new technique made 5,000 X-ray slices of the sample. The Ruby Seadragon has a distinct skeletal structure. It increases the number of known seadragon species by 50 per cent, because there were only two other kinds of this mysterious animal previously.
✴ Technology by Ty Buchanan ✴
Solution to Bee Die-Off?
It is not widely known just how important bees are to maintain our food output, let alone to increase it as demand strengthens. There are so many mysteries to why bees are dying off across the world. Many theories are put forward. Unfortunately, there are few answers to the problem.
Plants synthesize chemicals that attract select species of pollinators. Other substance also deter potential attackers. Herbivores have been real pests to plants for millions of years. Eating the leaves can kill plants. Insects have evolved to go where plant toxins drive herbivores away.
All nectar is not the same. If toxins can drive away herbivores, beneficial elements could attract bees as and when the insects needs it. A study infected bees with a gut parasite. One group was fed on sucrose while another group was given secondary compounds from plant nectar. The amount of parasite infestation was greatly reduced in the group which consumed secondary compounds.
✴ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan ✴
Flying Dogs
"We always have such fun together, buzzing here, bouncing there."
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✴ Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan ✴
New Peacock Spider Species in Australia
The discovery of new species in Australia is no longer a surprise. However, it is extremely interesting. Jumping (peacock) spiders, Salticidae, are the largest family of the Araneae. Peacock spiders are so called because of their bright colors.
Two new species have been identified. They are named Skeletorus, Maratus sceletus, and Sparklemuffin, Maratus jactatus. The former is black with white stripes and some blue in the background. It does look like a skeleton. Sparklemuffin is blue with a unique red pattern.
Peacock spiders jump and dance around showing off their colorful abdomens. Due to prevalent predators males need to be seen by females to successfully breed and continue their existence. They have adapted well and have diversified into many types.
✴ Science by Ty Buchanan ✴
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