Adventure Ausrama Blog

After more than a century of independence, we still have to put up with being stigmatized by the English as filthy colonials. This dates back to the time when England faced its first loss in the game of cricket to the ex-convict upstarts. An obviously "honorable" English woman actually burned the bails from the stumps in heartbreak at the humiliation. Aussies can always put on a posh accent at a barbecue for a laugh at the poms. You see, an Aussie who adopts this accent, and some do particularly on the ABC, loses a few mates and wonders why. As Ian Chappell the famous Aussie cricketer said to many English opposition players, "Have you had your monthly bath yet?" Though we sweat a lot because of the hot climate Australians do not smell. A shower every morning is part of the culture. The highfalutin Royal Geographical Society is treating Australians like dirt because a deal they had went bad. It holds a set of paintings by Thomas Baines done on his v...

Are we becoming too accepting of drug use? When a business advises its customer that intensive drug tests are about to happen it makes one wonder. Is this taking customer service too far? The flight crew on Jetstar, the Australian cut-price airline, told passengers to flush drugs down the toilet because there would be sniffer dogs and inspectors when they landed. Jetstar said it was just a joke. Passengers took it seriously and it is not known if some avoided arrest. There was a rush to the toilet after the announcement. Apparently, this isn't the first time this has occurred. Jetstar admitted that such warnings are routine. This undermines its claim of a joke. Is their apology sufficient? Surely a change in company culture is needed. Drug taking is a drain on the health system. Continuous use does damage the body despite what many users claim. Being blasé about it is certainly not the thing to do. Responses on Facebook were overwhelmingly supportive of t...

The weather is changing everywhere. It is not only getting hotter and more humid, i.e., rain; it is also getting colder in some places. The climate is erratic. It is all over the place. Peak summer in Australia is December and January. There is snow in the Australian Alps. This is unheard of. A cycling event on the weekend could be postponed. Once every summer there is a very small snow "shower", but that is usually it. This year is different. The snow is getting heavier and it is in the low areas where they never get snow in summer. It is 20 cm deep in some areas. Weather forecasting is improving, however. Snow was predicted a week ago. Summer tourists are arriving and they are not bringing winter clothing. Hopefully, the weather will improve and local income will not be affected as tourism is the regions major industry. Climate by Ty Buchanan http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure-...

Bull ants do not feed during all daylight hours. Observation has shown that they feed at twilight. When the sun is brighter for longer for example in summer, or there is no cloud cover, bull ants forage for food later in the day. When the sun is darker, earlier, they search for food sooner in the day. It was believed that all insects fed according to circadian rhythms, but this does not seem to be the case. Activity in the nest was affected by cloud cover. Outside activity that involves feeding occurs at twilight. Obviously, they are feeding during these short intervals to avoid predators: most animals that eat ants would be inactive at twilight. Tests were done at ANU in Canberra. Bull ants were put in containers where diffused light was altered. It was found they only fed when the light was set at a particular low level. Evolution does take some winding paths. This shows though that evolution develops in a rational way. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.t...

An outspoken man has died with little fanfare and hardly a report in the media. Yet this man spoke out about injustice in Australia all his life. His name was Arthur Murray. Australians once lived longer than people anywhere else  - the white people that is. "Blackfellas" died young and they could not even vote. Aboriginal men were hired at very low rates of pay in outback cotton fields. Arthur worked with them. Pesticides were dropped directly on top of them, planes flying so low the workers had to quickly lie face down in the mud. The white pilots didn't care. In 1973 thousands of dead fish floated in the Namoi River, killed by pesticides. Arthur had had enough. He went on strike with other Aboriginals. Five hundred disgruntled men marched through the center of Wee Waa. The local newspaper said they were radicals. They were called boongs and niggers, though many had vomited in the fields after spraying and some suffered from permanent coughing. Their tents we...

"You think you're so big don't you?" http://vistacomputersolutions.blogspot.com/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos

Australians love their beer - really love it. So when going into space it is wise to get "space certified" beer while on board. Saber Astronautics Australia is working with 4 Pines Brewing Company to get their beer registered as satisfactory for space. The beer will be tested in low gravity by weightless parabolas. Taste and drinkability are paramount. In a low gravity environment human taste is reduced in sensitivity. The way carbonated liquid responds is also an issue. Oddly the Australian brew being tested is not the usual lager. It is stout. This has more flavor. Gas will float around in the liquid in the stomach being released in what is called a wet burp. The beer will be expensive because of the limited market. Space beer has been made by the Japanese using barley seeds grown in the International Space Station, but that was for earthly consumption. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/Advent...