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My Dog Toy

"A toy just like me."

Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan

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Private Health Insurance Fiasco in Australia

The government intends to ruin Australia's private medical insurance system. With privatization Medibank Private Health Insurance will become like all the other funds. The Commonwealth bank was once owned by the government It is now just another bank.

At the moment Medibank has two "branches". One (Medicare) refunds part of the fee charged by specialists, blood tests and various bills from hospitals. The other is a private health insurance fund. There is a problem here, however. Medibank and Medibank Private are both registered names held by the federal government. How can a public company and a private company use the same business name?

One of these will have to change its name. People are being offered shares in Medibank Private. How long can this be allowed to continue? Isn't it illegal? Future shareholders must be told what will be done about this. A change in name will have a disastrous affect on the value of shares.

There is no doubt that Medibank Private is subsidized by government. Share values will fall as it becomes just another private fund. Surely investors can see this - maybe they are too thick to understand. Medicare, Medibank: what's the difference?

Health by Ty Buchanan

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Working Dog

"It's a dog's life."

Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan

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Banded Stilts Water Bird Always Finds the Water

As soon as inland rain arrives at Australian lakes, the banded stilt water bird makes its presence felt as well. It somehow knows that the rains have started from several hundred miles away. This useful ability determines their way of life.

They don't hang about long. Rainfall will be limited so they move on to the next fresh rains spot. Birds were tagged with satellite transmitters. One bird flew directly to a saline wetland 1,000 miles away in two days. Another bird got there four days later, but the destination for both was the same.

Banded stilts do not have to migrate for improved feeding conditions. Their inbuilt system allows them to always find water. Why don't other birds do this? Obviously, evolution is "hit-and-miss". Animals develop abilities purely by chance. This is why evolution is successful. Animals move into niches that line up with their attributes.

Science by Ty Buchanan

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Beached Beaked Whale in Australia

Many animals have not been seen for a long time. Indeed, it is not known whether they have become extinct. Some, of course, live in places not usually visited by humans. Recently a beaked whale was washed up on a beach Australia. It is rare and lives deep in the sea.

The actual species cannot be verified by manual examination of the body, Part of the body will be sent to the Australian Science Museum in Sydney for DNA tests and X-ray scans to determine the correct species.

Not much is known about beaked whales because they live so far down in the sea. Only stranded and beached specimens have been found. They do come to the surface to breath but do not linger there for very long.

Many scientists have never seen a live beaked whale. A beaching of this kind is very rare indeed. Parts of the body will be thoroughly examined to shed more light on how the mammal lives. We will never know everything about fellow animals. The more we know the better.

Science by Ty Buchanan

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Newspaper Monkey

"What do humans see in here?"

Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan

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Door Cat

"Yeah, close the door on your way out."

Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan

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Australian Blog★
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Australia Makes Quantum Computer Chip Breakthrough -Twice!

Australian scientists are still working feverishly toward producing a quantum computer. Two kinds of qubits, the building clocks of a quantum computer, have been made. Silicon is the base material which is the normal chip mineral.

Below the silicon base, atoms are the working parts. They are the storage medium. More data can be manipulated than in traditional computers. The error rate for quantum computers has been dramatically reduced.

Because two teams have made different chips and working computers, it means major production is imminent. Silicon is plentiful and relatively cheap so cost is not a major problem. There will be a rush to make a working computer and mass produce it.

The two systems are different. One uses an embedded phosphorus atom, the other an artificial atom. The Dzurak chip can be made in existing factories as it imitates normal transistors. Both chips can hold memory for 30 seconds which is sufficient to do complex work. Obviously one system will be adopted. Which chip will it be?

Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan

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Loaf Dog

"I'm just loafing around."

Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan

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Australian Blog★
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Millions of years ago kangaroos were much different than they are today. The sthenurine kangaroo once dominated Australia. It became extinct only 30,000 years ago when the maga fauna era ended. They were two meters tall, much too large to hop. It is surmised that they walked like humans.

Their face was flat and they looked like a rabbit with a large tail. They were a side branch of the kangaroo family. The main line continued to become modern kangaroos. Procoptodon golliah grew to three meters tall and weighed about 240kg.

Scientists had assumed that they hopped like modern kangaroos. The most obvious conclusion is usually the best, but in this case it was wrong. Their bone structure points to them walking. Having a large tail was a bonus: it improved balance.

The mega fauna period has been painted as a time of happy giants. For humans it would have been frightening. These oversized creatures would have been difficult to hunt. Indeed, humans probably had a policy of keeping their distance. Just because most did not eat meat does not mean they weren't dangerous.

Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan

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