"Alright! Who did it?"
A Rethink Is Needed on the Elderly
Those involved in the aged care industry call for more money from government. Despite money being ploughed in and the rate of pension being increased it still isn't enough. But we need to take a close look at what is going on in the world. European countries are cutting back on pensions and health care, saying that governments cannot afford it. Perhaps residential aged care will always be unsustainable. Indexing of current payments will only keep up with inflation, and it appears the Government will not even do that.
In ages passed the family cared for the elderly. Aged parents spent their day sat in the armchair by an open fire. They got bread and cheese if they were lucky and they certainly didn't enjoy an income. Too infirm to work their daily tasks involved caring for the toddlers in the family. They were seen as assets not liabilities.
Society has changed. Many adult children today do not even visit their parents. Child care is sourced privately. But these same children do not take kindly to parents mortgaging the family home and living better in old age. This is unfortunate. Perhaps the Government is too paternal. It seems in Europe that reality has put a check on welfare. Maybe a return to old ways will be forced on us.
In ages passed the family cared for the elderly. Aged parents spent their day sat in the armchair by an open fire. They got bread and cheese if they were lucky and they certainly didn't enjoy an income. Too infirm to work their daily tasks involved caring for the toddlers in the family. They were seen as assets not liabilities.
Society has changed. Many adult children today do not even visit their parents. Child care is sourced privately. But these same children do not take kindly to parents mortgaging the family home and living better in old age. This is unfortunate. Perhaps the Government is too paternal. It seems in Europe that reality has put a check on welfare. Maybe a return to old ways will be forced on us.
Court Decisions Are Ridiculous
It seems that you can get away with anything if you put up an absurd defence. A woman was charged for driving her car without light while the car had a flat tyre. The woman's defence was that she had taken the sleeping drug Stilnox earlier and she couldn't remember driving. Being interviewed by police was also out of mind.
Remember the weird claims made when Prozac was first brought onto the market? You don't hear anything bad about Prozac today. The same thing will happen for Stilnox. If the drug is so dangerous it would not have been allowed onto the market at all. It is just convenient to have something to blame for strange behavior.
The Court found in favor of the woman. It must be said when reviewing court decisions that the government puts weird people in charge of courts. Magistrates and judges continue to give lenient sentences despite pleadings by police and the public. They are certainly a law unto themselves. Indeed, many judges believe that they are above the law. They see the separation of powers as an avenue to become dictators which gives them the right to make absurd decisions.
Remember the weird claims made when Prozac was first brought onto the market? You don't hear anything bad about Prozac today. The same thing will happen for Stilnox. If the drug is so dangerous it would not have been allowed onto the market at all. It is just convenient to have something to blame for strange behavior.
The Court found in favor of the woman. It must be said when reviewing court decisions that the government puts weird people in charge of courts. Magistrates and judges continue to give lenient sentences despite pleadings by police and the public. They are certainly a law unto themselves. Indeed, many judges believe that they are above the law. They see the separation of powers as an avenue to become dictators which gives them the right to make absurd decisions.
"You blew off didn't you?" 
"If someone doesn't adopt me soon, I'm going to break out." Keviin Rudd Will Lose the Next Election
Will the Labour Government mess up the new broadband investment like it has the roof insulation scheme, new housing for Aboriginals and building of new medical clinics? There was no mention of the planned new broadband network in the budget. Worse than this there was a "secret" hit in the budget on those who use liquid gas to run their cars.
The roofing scheme was a disaster. The Government ignored knowledge from New Zealand about installers being electrocuted when putting in foil insulation. Why did they do it? It seems Kevin Rudd just decides to have something done and then delegates. An efficient leader follows through and monitors what he instigates.
Aboriginal housing is another area not monitored. Only a few houses have been built despite millions already spent. And Aboriginals dearly need housing, with many sleeping under the night sky in the outback.
Medical clinics is another problem where a lot has been spent and little has been done. Only two clinics have been constructed. In rural regions people need medical services now. not in two years time.
It looks like Kevin Rudd is about to make history - a party losing office after only one term in government. He has himself to blame. In the last election he promised so much. Yet, he has not performed. The opinion polls show what people perceive is happening. The country is like a ship drifting on the high seas with the captain sleeping off a drinking session below deck. Furthermore, the new tax on mineral companies is a mistake. It will not change the way polls are going. Australians know how important the exportation of ore is to the overall economy. Rather than gaining support people are "ho humming" this tax grab. It is certainly perceived as a tax grab because people do not see mineral companies as rip off merchants. They provide works and help the balance of payments position.
Kevin Rudd can announce that he is hurt by having to postpone the Emissions Trading Scheme, but he chose to put it on ice. The Government could have tried to get it through the Senate again. It seem Kevin Rudd has shot himself in the foot by promising much and delivering little.
Julia Gillard should be preening herself and getting ready. Soon the Labor leadership and possibly control of the country's future could be in her hands. Unfortunately, she will have to spend some time in opposition first.
The roofing scheme was a disaster. The Government ignored knowledge from New Zealand about installers being electrocuted when putting in foil insulation. Why did they do it? It seems Kevin Rudd just decides to have something done and then delegates. An efficient leader follows through and monitors what he instigates.
Aboriginal housing is another area not monitored. Only a few houses have been built despite millions already spent. And Aboriginals dearly need housing, with many sleeping under the night sky in the outback.
Medical clinics is another problem where a lot has been spent and little has been done. Only two clinics have been constructed. In rural regions people need medical services now. not in two years time.
It looks like Kevin Rudd is about to make history - a party losing office after only one term in government. He has himself to blame. In the last election he promised so much. Yet, he has not performed. The opinion polls show what people perceive is happening. The country is like a ship drifting on the high seas with the captain sleeping off a drinking session below deck. Furthermore, the new tax on mineral companies is a mistake. It will not change the way polls are going. Australians know how important the exportation of ore is to the overall economy. Rather than gaining support people are "ho humming" this tax grab. It is certainly perceived as a tax grab because people do not see mineral companies as rip off merchants. They provide works and help the balance of payments position.
Kevin Rudd can announce that he is hurt by having to postpone the Emissions Trading Scheme, but he chose to put it on ice. The Government could have tried to get it through the Senate again. It seem Kevin Rudd has shot himself in the foot by promising much and delivering little.
Julia Gillard should be preening herself and getting ready. Soon the Labor leadership and possibly control of the country's future could be in her hands. Unfortunately, she will have to spend some time in opposition first.
Your Body Runs Without You
The human body runs on its own. Think of the times your mind is working on a problem and during the evaluation process your body is continuing with daily routine tasks. It happens every day. You reach a conclusion on the mind problem and then wonder have I had a cup of coffee? Oh yes, you have - you can still taste it.
Your body can do things totally out of your control that really "bug" you, like teeth that hurt, hiccups, stitch, pins and needles or cramp.
Some get a headache or painful teeth when they eat or drink something cold. This is due to sensitive nerve endings in teeth. You can use special toothpaste that takes months before it becomes effective. In the mean time stay away from cold things.
Hiccups is caused by eating and drinking too fast, or taking in air. It can also be caused by becoming suddenly nervous. The only real known cure it to take beta blockers. Though you have to wait until the medication takes effect.
A stitch occurs during exercise when your body tries to tell you that is enough. Stopping the strenuous activity will "cure" the malady.
Pins and needles happens when the blood supply to nerve endings in the limbs is constricted. Get up and move around then normal feeling will return to the "dead" limb.
The cause of cramp is unknown. Dehydration and being unfit are not factors - well hydrated supremely fit sports people get afflicted with it. Spasmodic constricting muscles hurt. The only thing you can do is wait for them to settle down - perhaps more beta blockers.
Your body is a complex machine. Look after it. Service it well. The model you have has its own quirks. Just learn to live with them.
Your body can do things totally out of your control that really "bug" you, like teeth that hurt, hiccups, stitch, pins and needles or cramp.
Some get a headache or painful teeth when they eat or drink something cold. This is due to sensitive nerve endings in teeth. You can use special toothpaste that takes months before it becomes effective. In the mean time stay away from cold things.
Hiccups is caused by eating and drinking too fast, or taking in air. It can also be caused by becoming suddenly nervous. The only real known cure it to take beta blockers. Though you have to wait until the medication takes effect.
A stitch occurs during exercise when your body tries to tell you that is enough. Stopping the strenuous activity will "cure" the malady.
Pins and needles happens when the blood supply to nerve endings in the limbs is constricted. Get up and move around then normal feeling will return to the "dead" limb.
The cause of cramp is unknown. Dehydration and being unfit are not factors - well hydrated supremely fit sports people get afflicted with it. Spasmodic constricting muscles hurt. The only thing you can do is wait for them to settle down - perhaps more beta blockers.
Your body is a complex machine. Look after it. Service it well. The model you have has its own quirks. Just learn to live with them.
Australpithecus sediba Is Not an Ancestor of Man
The Announcement that skeletons found in South Africa belong to a new species is premature.They were found in a cave near Johannesburg. The "new species" was named Australopithecus sediba. It was claimed to be the "rosetta stone" into the past. They were also the most complete skeletons ever discovered. The creatures walked upright, had long arms and powerful hands. Unfortunately, they were small brained.
Paleoanthropologists not involved in the find say the name chosen is just a "wastebasket" category. They are not ancestors of Man. Furthermore, some animals in the species could have had larger or smaller brains. It could still be transitional in evolution to Man, but very distant.
It may fit into Homo. Perhaps it is a sister species to Homo habilis. The brain size of Australopithecus sediba is the same as Homo floresiensis, the Hobbit, of Indonesia. The features in sediba are similar to those in other Homo species. Paleoanthropologists put very early finds in Homo. Sediba is not so unique as to have a lineage of its own. Indeed, Australopithecus africanus is older than sediba and africanus does have unique lineage. Sediba is too primitive to be a direct ancestor of Man. Older Homo species have features more like Man that sediba.
Paleoanthropologists not involved in the find say the name chosen is just a "wastebasket" category. They are not ancestors of Man. Furthermore, some animals in the species could have had larger or smaller brains. It could still be transitional in evolution to Man, but very distant.
It may fit into Homo. Perhaps it is a sister species to Homo habilis. The brain size of Australopithecus sediba is the same as Homo floresiensis, the Hobbit, of Indonesia. The features in sediba are similar to those in other Homo species. Paleoanthropologists put very early finds in Homo. Sediba is not so unique as to have a lineage of its own. Indeed, Australopithecus africanus is older than sediba and africanus does have unique lineage. Sediba is too primitive to be a direct ancestor of Man. Older Homo species have features more like Man that sediba.
Caterpillars Are Changing into Butterflies Earler
Climate change is making butterflies more violent. They are coming out 10 days earlier than they used to in spring. The change has been caused by a 0.91ºC increase in temperature in Melbourne. All species that interrelate with the Common Brown butterfly (Heteronymph Merope) breed earlier as well.
A group of academics funded by the Australian Research Council has researched this issue. Members of the group studied caterpillars bred at the old and new temperature in the laboratory and noted the changed. Observation of the butterfly in the wild has confirmed that caterpillars are changing into butterflies earlier.
If butterflies are coming out sooner then other insects must doing this as well. This means that crops will have to be planted earlier in to be fertilized by insects. People in cities do not understand the importance of pollination on food crops.
A group of academics funded by the Australian Research Council has researched this issue. Members of the group studied caterpillars bred at the old and new temperature in the laboratory and noted the changed. Observation of the butterfly in the wild has confirmed that caterpillars are changing into butterflies earlier.
If butterflies are coming out sooner then other insects must doing this as well. This means that crops will have to be planted earlier in to be fertilized by insects. People in cities do not understand the importance of pollination on food crops.
The Hobbit a Small Human on Flores Is Proven
Many people have written off the "hobbit" find as being just a joke, a sad hoax played on society. However, finding tiny "humans" is, apparently, real. Most scientists have accepted it though some still scoff at the whole issue without looking into it.
In 2004 archaeologists in Indonesia found skeletons, not fossils, skeletons of small human-like creatures who lived on the island of Flores as recently as 18,000 years ago. While humans spread around the world, these small "humans" carried on hunting pygmy elephants and other local species in isolation. Flint flakes found in million year old volcanic sediment show hobbit activity there a very long time ago.
The question is - When did the early humans leave Africa? Considering Man left the continent no more than 100,000 years ago why did other excursions of early man end in extinction? At least one group survived long enough to enlighten us about the numerous times humans left Africa. Evidence from bone structure shows that the hobbit descended from an earlier type of human than the small-brained Homo erectus which left two million years ago.
Spending time considering how hobbit came to be on Flores is quite irrelevant. Whether they went by boat, raft or just walked when a land bridge appeared, they got there and thrived.
In 2004 archaeologists in Indonesia found skeletons, not fossils, skeletons of small human-like creatures who lived on the island of Flores as recently as 18,000 years ago. While humans spread around the world, these small "humans" carried on hunting pygmy elephants and other local species in isolation. Flint flakes found in million year old volcanic sediment show hobbit activity there a very long time ago.
The question is - When did the early humans leave Africa? Considering Man left the continent no more than 100,000 years ago why did other excursions of early man end in extinction? At least one group survived long enough to enlighten us about the numerous times humans left Africa. Evidence from bone structure shows that the hobbit descended from an earlier type of human than the small-brained Homo erectus which left two million years ago.
Spending time considering how hobbit came to be on Flores is quite irrelevant. Whether they went by boat, raft or just walked when a land bridge appeared, they got there and thrived.
Fossilised Eggshells Are Ideal for Extracting DNA
Jurassic Park is getting closer to reality. Australian scientists have managed to get DNA from fossilised eggshells of extinct birds. The Team warns though that bringing ancient creatures back to life is a long way off. Particles of fossilised eggshells from Australia, New Zealand and Madagascar were used in the research.
A target species was the Moa bird which lived in New Zealand into the 18th century. Another was the Elephant Bird extinct in Madascar during the 17th century. Older bird were also worked on: the New Zealand Duck, Australian Owl and an Emu which was 19,000 years old. In work on older fossils, results did not come up with usable DNA.
Techniques used were the usual reduction of sample and polymeras amplification. These were very short pieces of DNA obtained from minute samples. Eggshells were found to be even better than bones and hair for storing DNA.
A target species was the Moa bird which lived in New Zealand into the 18th century. Another was the Elephant Bird extinct in Madascar during the 17th century. Older bird were also worked on: the New Zealand Duck, Australian Owl and an Emu which was 19,000 years old. In work on older fossils, results did not come up with usable DNA.
Techniques used were the usual reduction of sample and polymeras amplification. These were very short pieces of DNA obtained from minute samples. Eggshells were found to be even better than bones and hair for storing DNA.
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