Adventure Ausrama Blog

It seems some scientists fall into the trap of believing they are "all knowing" and they know the truth about things. Professor emeritus William Romoser says he has photographic proof that creatures like bees and reptiles exist on Mars. His areas of specialty are viruses in arthropods, and entomology. He suggests that he can see fossilized remains and living things on the Mars' surface. Just how he can differentiate a fossil from "skeletal' remains in less that perfect low resolution photos is a mystery. His prize "fact' is in a photo of the Mars lander's track. He sees something like an insect. To most people it looks like a stone. Human beings have evolved to put order into what is seen. That is why the ancients saw animals in the stars of the night sky. The propensity to make sense of patterns is called pareidolia. It could be said that it is when scientists take their work home with them. Examining the same animal in the laboratory...

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Science: the latest meteorite give insight into formation of the solar system Scientists are interested in a space rock. The meteorite crashed into the Australian outback a year ago and has unique features. It is currently in London undergoing tests and will eventually be returned to the Museum of Western Australia. The meteorite is small, only as big as a tennis ball. Because its trajectory was tracked its origin is known. This is unusual: of the 50,000 meteorites that have hit the Earth over the last 200 years  the sources of only 10 have been ascertained. Tracking of the meteorite was carried out by Curtin University, London's Imperial College and the Ondrejov Observatory in the Czech Republic. The point of impact was only 100m from the projected point. Meteorites are the oldest rocks being 4.5 billion years old. Critical information about the formation of the solar system will be gained. ◆ Science by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal ...

SOCIOLOGY It was believed that the Romans were the peak civilization of the time and their toileting methods were hygienic. A quick look at the after toilet cleaning mop used by all would suggest otherwise.  It was a stick with a lump of sponge tied to the end. A tale, tale sign during Roman times was the increase in parasites. In the Iron Age they were virtually nonexistent. Fleas and mites were prevalent on all citizens of Rome. Whipworm and roundworm lived comfortably in their bodies. Getting the "runs" was routine. We know this because parasites survive for centuries in human faeces from ancient latrines and soil where the pelvis area was in human remains. Why did the Romans fail. Note, there were no tomatoes around to add natural MSG to meals and make it tastier. The Romans made their own MSG. It was a fermented fish sauce called garum. However, this made humans prone to tapeworm. Not only that, they fermented raw sewerage to enhance food. Worth a menti...

There is nothing worse than parking in a shopping center car park, doing your shopping, then coming out to find another driver has reversed out and scraped your rear "bumper" A compulsory radar reversing system should be introduced for all vehicles. VicRoads is doing something about this. Their maintenance fleet has been fitted with radar-based reverse braking technology. The main target is not vehicle damage: it is injuries to employees who are hit when trucks are reversing. No less than 18 workers were struck from 2003 to 2012. The system detects anything directly in the reversing path of a vehicle. All new motor vehicles are now fitted with such technology in Europe, the US and Japan. Where is Australia with regard to this? It can prevent injuries, save lives and last but not least stop unwanted damage.  Insurance companies could even offer lower premiums as a result. VicRoads will share its trial data with others involved in the transport industry. I...

We are moving toward a safer driving future. It is not just the development of driver-less cars. Special highways will have to be built for these, so it some time away before it is in common use. Just how "hoons" are going to get their fix with no risky overtaking existing anymore is anyone's guess. No, it is all the research going into improving existing vehicles. Bosch Australia is working on a system whereby people walking behind a car will automatically trigger the brakes on a reversing vehicle. One company is already going ahead and selling its own version that can be fitted to older cars. Considering rear beepers have been on cars for years would the average driver buy the product? It would be easier to modify existing beepers to apply the breaks and have an override switch. Then, I am only a consumer not a developer. How do I know what I want? It would be useful if a toddler could be detected in a driveway for example. The family car market could certai...

The Internet has disrupted the security of ordinary money. The economic system controlled by the banks for centuries is now under threat. Bitcoin is an example of new money. Its mere presence in feared by the banks. Money, or at least its value, depends on people having faith that it can easily be exchanged for different goods. In Germany before WWII security in money was severely challenged. There was rampant inflation, so much so that people had to push barrow loads of  cash to a shop to get a loaf of bread. New money is everywhere: PayPal has taken the banking world by storm. These bank-like services are being offered by Google, Apple and eBay. To get Followers on Twitter, many sites are offering seeds. Though the websites deny trading for followers, this is exactly what it is. Google's Wallet is really a bank service. Smartphones can be swiped in store terminals to buy goods. The problem is most money does not really exist it is just recorded in books as they used...

There is not much doubt that the majority of Australians believe judges to be too lenient in sentencing. Drivers have been convicted of dangerous driving and homicide and have been given suspended sentences. Premeditated murderers have had to serve only five years in jail. It seems once judges get their positions they favor convicted criminals. No wonder state governments are looking at legislation to force courts into tougher sentencing. The South Australian government is planning new laws to limit the use of suspended sentencing. Chief justice Chris Kourakis claims this is interfering with the independence of the legal system vis-a-vis government and the executive. But if judges do not sentence and meet public expectations intervention is necessary. Serial offenders are given a slap on the wrist and are released to continue their illegal behavior. Some even laugh their way out of court. Intervention is also needed to have the criminal history of suspected offenders known a...

Authorities and individuals need to be careful about adopting a lauded new invention because a new concept can be a real furphy. Dean Cameron developed a sewerage system that was claimed to be the greenest yet. Biolytix won the 2007 Asia Innovation Award, EPA Sustainable Industries Award, Clunies Award, Premier's Smart Business Award and the Global Environmental Award, such was the euphoria generated by the new system. Though a lifetime guarantee was given it was known from the beginning that if anything went wrong a complete rebuild became necessary. The product was sold in all Australian states with 80 per cent of them not working correctly. Joe Langford of Everhard Aqua Nova warned of the potential problems from Biolytix from the start. Mr Langford even lobbied government, to no avail. He said the concept was sound. The problem was in its construction - it was poorly made. The National Parks and Wildlife Service spent a lot of money installing them. It has absorbed the lo...

People are jumping on the Internet without realizing that their action is leading to potential disaster. Many countries are leaving Internet investment to the private sector but such companies are only interested in short-term profit. Unless a monopoly exists it is just not worth while investing large amounts in Internet infrastructure. Communication is at the center of everything we do today. Soon mobile devices will outnumber PCs. In some places Internet speed is slowing down due to overload. To meet future demand Governments will have to get involved in telecommunication infrastructure investment. In some cases this will mean government take-over of information systems. Advanced technology requires very high speed and wide bandwidth. It takes up to ten years to build adequate optic fiber information networks. Soon poor countries will be measured by the quality of their Internet. Even some currently advanced nations will be left behind if they don't act in the near futur...