Interesting Bits and Pieces

From recent happenings or stories around Australia and the world.

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794 comments

The Parkes radio telescope, aka The Dish, celebrates 60 years of scientific discoveries.

Celebrations are underway for the 60th anniversary of what is one of the world's most iconic pieces of technology, the Parkes Radio Telescope.

In the decades that followed its official opening on 31 October 1961, the telescope played a pivotal role in some of the world's most important astronomical moments, including being a crucial receiving station for the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969.

"The only thing that's 60 years old today is the concrete and steel it's made of, and now the Dish is 10,000 times more powerful than when it was built."

From next year The Dish will begin supporting commercial flights to the solar system.

Full ABC story.

I remember being taken to Parkes by friends of the family for its opening back in 1961.

I used to live in Forbes, the nearest town to Parkes.

:) We used to go "parking" under the telescope LOL.

OP26: GLASGOW CLIMATE SUMMIT TO 'SAVE THE WORLD' All back on the private jets! Jeff Bezos's £48m Gulf Stream leads stampede of executive planes out of COP26 (while Joe Biden's Air Force One flight forces SIX commercial flights to burn fuel as they circle for 30 minutes) Jeff Bezos's £48m Gulf Stream leads stampede of jet out of COP26

Joining the exodus of executive planes leaving the climate conference yesterday were the UAE and Bahrain royal families and delegations from Japan, India, Brazil, Israel, Russia and Australia. Around a dozen flights were within the UK - mainly to London - while others went to popular haunts of the super-rich such as Cannes and Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. MailOnline observed 41 private jets leave in total yesterday between 2pm and 11pm - the majority of them rental services making it hard to identify who was on board.

The penguin-protecting maremma dog made famous in Hollywood movie Oddball dies at 13.

Tula's death comes five months after sister Eudy died from bone cancer. Her ashes will be scattered at Middle Island during a public memorial. 

Tula and Eudy were the first dogs specifically trained to protect penguins on Warrnambool's Middle Island after fox attacks and trampling almost wiped out the entire colony.

Warrnambool Mayor Richard Ziegeler thanked Tula for her years of service. 

“It’s the end of an era for one of the world’s most innovative conservation projects. The legacy that Tula and her sister Eudy have created will live on in the work undertaken by the next generation of maremma guardian dogs and the dedicated people who make the project possible.” he said.

Full ABC story.

We are thankful for the work you have done

RIP – Finbar Mac Donnell (1947-51) | Glenstal Old Boys Society

Tula and Eudy

 

Wow!! That's certainly one huge spud.

 

Saw Donna and Colin Craid-Brown interviewed on TV this morning and when asked what they were going to do with Doug ?

They said they would turn it into Doug Whiskey :)

 

Cleo Smith's parents speak for the first time following their daughter's incredible rescue to thank police and the 'love and support' of Australians during their nightmare 18-day ordealCleo Smith: Parents release emotional statement after rescue of Carnarvon four-year-old

Cleo Smith's family have thanked police and the 'love and support' they have received from across Australia in an emotional statement after the four-year-old's incredible rescue. Her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon said they were 'humbled' by the public response to Cleo's disappearance 18 days ago and the amazing discovery of her in a locked Carnarvon house in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 'We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the rescue of our daughter Cleo Smith,' the couple said in a statement on Friday evening.

 

One of the nicer guys in American Politics over the years.

Bidens, Obamas, Bushes, Mark Milley and Hillary Clinton mourn Colin Powell at funeral | Daily Mail Online

Dick Cheney swears Powell in as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George HW Bush        

Dick Cheney swears Powell in as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George HW Bush

In a statement after Powell's death, Joe Biden commended Powell as having 'the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat' and commemorating his humble beginnings - the two are seen together above in January 2009               Barack Obama called Powell 'an exemplary soldier and an exemplary patriot' - the two are seen above in December 2010      

In a statement after Powell's death, Joe Biden commended Powell as having 'the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat' and commemorating his humble beginnings - the two are seen together above in January 2009

 

 

 

A brilliant career.

Regardless of anything else Powell achieved, history will not look kindly upon Colin Powell for his lies re WMD, and the ensuing tragic consequences for the people of Iraq and the forces sent to Iraq because of the lies. Even Powell considered it to be an overwhelming blot on his career that cannot be overlooked.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/colin-powell-u-n-speech-was-a-great-intelligence-failure/

What a waste of one of my favourites

Agree Suze, sad to see.

What a waste!

Reminds me of here in WA some years ago when they flew out all the oranges, what was even more sad the country or state imports oranges from the USA, and here we are getting our growers to throw their fruit out!

I only buy Australian grown fruit.

Hi Hola.

How do you know where these are from there is nothing to indicate it, there used to be a sign but I don't notice it anymore. 

Here in WA we seem to have an issue with our local fruit being thrown out because the big supermarkets are not buying local.

given the choice of buying local or cheaper imported product, the majority of Australian consumers will go for the import. The supermarkets don't care what they sell so long as they make their percentage. 

The farmers could mitigate composting the avos if they made it easy for consumers to BYO sack and fill their own at $1/kg at the farmgate.  I'm confident there would be plenty of tourists and locals that would make a beeline to their farms to literally fill their boots - ripe ones for guacamole, unripe to store until needed.

Hi Farside.

No I don't think so, the cost to the farmer to pick, package and maintain a farm gate stall would not be economic.   They would not want the general populous tramping through their orchards on pick their own fruit quest because of the threat of spread of disease. 

Celia, that's why I said farmgate, BYO sack and fill own sack; never mentioned packaging. They could not allow tramping in the orchard for insurance risks, not sure what disease you think people would bring but no avo farm I  have seen has been particular. And avos don't ripen on trees hence why they are already picking from tree or ground in order to compost them. 

All the farmer has to do is bring them in bins to the farmgate, whip out a set of scales, count coins – easy as. Farmers do more handling with other produce e.g. butternuts, spuds, oranges, mangos etc and can sell this way so I cannot see why they might not give it a go with avos.  Could also make avocado oil if so inclined. They only have to cover their costs to be in front, but at end of day it maybe easier to to chuck hands in air and compost them all.

How frightening.

Naked man, 39, is rescued after being trapped inside the wall of historic Upstate New York theater for DAYSNaked man, 39, is rescued after being trapped inside the wall of historic New York theater

The Syracuse Fire Department received a call just after 7:30 am of a person trapped inside the walls of the Landmark Theater, which opened back in 1928, after an employee at the performing arts center heard a man yelling for help, Syracuse Fire Deputy Chief John Kane told Syracuse.com. Authorities believe the 39-year-old man, who was not identified by name, had gained entry to the theater on Tuesday or Wednesday. The department was forced to drill a hole into the theater wall to make space for a tiny fiber-optic camera, which was used 'to determine his exact location and how best to extricate him.' After locating the naked man with the camera, a rescue crew were eventually able to free him after 'carefully cutting through several layers of drywall and structural clay tile.' Mike Intaglietta, the theater's executive director, told Syracuse.com that the man had been seen wandering around the building earlier in the week, with employees saying they figured he had left the building after losing track of him.

What a bizarre story ... what on earth was he doing to become incarcerated naked ???

Mystery remains over how a kangaroo became stuck on roof in Mount Isa, Queensland.

Residents in the north-west Queensland town of Mount Isa have been left scratching their heads after a kangaroo was found on the roof of a house on Monday evening. Local kids spotted the kangaroo atop a home on Duchess Road and called in emergency services, who had to be convinced it was a genuine call. Firefighters say they are not sure how the kangaroo ended up on the roof. After they went up with all their harnesses and rescue equipment the roo bounded off the roof and landed safely in shrubs below.

Full ABC story.

When you see the video, the roof line is not that far from the ground so he probably hopped up there, he sure hopped down okay and disappeared into the bushes.

Australia to set up quarantine-free travel bubbles with Japan and South Korea as nation opens to the world after Covid-19 isolation  

NEW Scott Morrison said the Government was working quickly to establish the arrangements between the two Asian nations, following a similar deal with Singapore

RnR hi.

Can you tell me please?

How many times do you have to lock into this site these days?

Presume you mean log in.

I remain logged in and don't have to redo it each time I visit.

Stay locked in Celia, no need to log out.

Thanks ladies, someone else said that, however, I never log out!

It used to be that I had to log in each two months now it has become each week.

Someone else has said I should write to the owner and make a complaint.

But who is the owner of this site?

I don't mean the GM.

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month ... lest we forget.

 

Observed the minute silence

 

 

It is 10.20am here in Perth at the moment, thanks for the reminder RnR!

 

Big W here in Sydney suddenly had one of their staff saying the Ode, I was surprised to see not many people stood in silence. I don't even think they know what it's for. If they had a Trumpeter play beforehand maybe that would have attracted attention.  

I think half the time Hola they are ignorant they don't know what it meant!

St Oswald's Anglican Church, built for WWI soldiers, to be sold despite outrage in Broken Head.

St Oswald's has been a gathering place for Broken Head residents for 99 years, but now the community is mourning the end of an era.

Arthur Beaumont Goard, a Broken Head dairy farmer, enlisted in World War I in 1916 and was killed in action on October 4, 1917 at the age of 28. In his will, he left £50 and an acre of land for the establishment of a church in his home village. When the church was finished in 1922, it was dedicated to the memory of Mr Goard and two other men killed in action, Frederick Walter Flick and Frank Kimpton. The altar, lectern and baptismal font were also donated by family and friends of the men.

The church was decommissioned this year and the property is due to be listed for sale as soon as tomorrow. As the country marks Remembrance Day, the Byron Bay RSL sub-branch says selling the church – which doubles as a war memorial – is "abhorrent".

In 2020, parishioners were advised the Anglican Diocese of Grafton intended to sell the property. At least part of the proceeds will go towards the Anglican Church's contributions under the redress scheme to compensate victims of historical child sexual abuse.

Full ABC story.

The locals need a leader to protest, it only takes one determined person to get things moving.

Rare palm cockatoo listed as endangered due to habitat loss and bushfires in far north Queensland.

A rare and spectacular cockatoo known as the 'Ringo Starr' of the bird world has had its conservation status upgraded to endangered amid fears about its rapidly declining numbers.

Palm cockatoos are the only birds in the world that use tools musically.

These birds have the lowest breeding success rates of any parrot in the world, with only 23 per cent of chicks fledging the nest. The female only lays one egg every couple of years.

Full ABC story.

Such magnificent birds and I'm proud to use one as my avatar on YLC.

Great photo, thanks RnR

WoW!  love this photo too RnR it shows the size of the bird to me at least.

A woman smiles at a bird

I didn't log into the computer till late yesterday and have hardly read anything.

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