Monthly Archives: February 2012

Yes, we have no bananas

Posted on Wednesday, 29 February 2012 by

Some people love possums, some people hate ’em. I guess it depends on whether the furry creatures play football in your roof at 2 a.m. or not. Or strip your trees of fruit. Or shriek at each other like demented … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land | Tagged | 2 Comments

Australian native stingless bees making hay while the sun shines

Posted on Sunday, 26 February 2012 by

At last the rain has held off for a day, and one of our native bees, Trigona carbonaria, is taking advantage of the flowers out in the bright sunshine. These tiny stingless bees, about 4 mm long, are gathering pollen … Continue reading →

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Four of 10 quintillion

Posted on Saturday, 25 February 2012 by

That mind-boggling number is the estimated number of insects on the planet, according to E. O. Wilson. That’s supposedly 80% of the number of every species on Earth. The Entomological Society of America says: More than one million different species … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Insects | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A week in Melbourne

Posted on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 by

I went to Melbourne primarily for the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular (geronimo!), but also to revisit a city I hadn’t explored since university days. I was then in the Adelaide University Science Fiction Association, which had many dealings with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Travels | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Melbourne Museum

Posted on Monday, 20 February 2012 by

The Melbourne Museum is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere. It is “Victoria’s state museum of natural sciences, indigenous cultures, Australian history and cultural heritage”. I was impressed with it, even though it has the usual museum habit of … Continue reading →

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Melbourne Aquarium (part 2)

Posted on Sunday, 19 February 2012 by

Continued from part 1 … The nautilus  has been on the planet around 500 million years. It lives at depth in the Indo-Pacific ocean. I haven’t yet found its shell washed up on a beach, but I’m still looking.

Posted in Fish, The sea, Travels | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Melbourne Aquarium (part 1)

Posted on Thursday, 16 February 2012 by

My satellite hardware has now been replaced – yay! Five weeks without home internet access has been very frustrating, especially having to drive into town almost every working day to check work email. But that’s over now, and the new … Continue reading →

Posted in The sea, Travels | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

An adventure in time (part 5/7)

Posted on Thursday, 16 February 2012 by

12 July 2008: Peat Moors Centre, Tintagel and Port Isaac From gothic cathedrals to the Iron Age – I love this country! We left the run-down Wessex Hotel and drove via the Peat Moors Centre to Camelot Castle Hotel, Tintagel. … Continue reading →

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An adventure in time (part 4/7)

Posted on Tuesday, 7 February 2012 by

11 July 2008: Bath and Wells Continued from part 3 … “What have the Romans ever done for us?” “… apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and … Continue reading →

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Not enough monsters!

Posted on Saturday, 4 February 2012 by

<GEEK ALERT! NON-DR WHO FANS NEED NOT READ THIS POST. Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, but my camera was not up to the conditions. You’ll get some idea, though, of what it was like.> Those three words … Continue reading →

Posted in Travels | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments