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Another scan; this photo was taken north of Lake Callabonna, South Australia, in 1984. It's not a natural lake but a clay pan between sand dunes fed by a never ending flowing bore. At the time I estimated it was easy big enough for three ski boats to use at the same time, as a size comparison. It was one of those South Australian government bores that flowed unrestricted for many, many years before they finally started to close them down. I don't think there's any left flowing like that now. The bore was sunk on the side of a sand dune and the flow had cut a deep ravine in the dune that was deep enough to die from the fall. If that didn't kill you, the boiling water would. You had to go 500 metres downstream before the water was cool enough to have a hot spa bath; I'd estimate it flowed about a kilometre all up from the bore to the lake. Judging by irrigation bores I've seen, I guessed the flow at between 20,000 to 30,000 gallons per hour, flowing year after year. Evaporation over the large lake area would have accounted for a fair portion of the water loss.

It always staggers me to see the number of bike riders who either ride with their feet down, or who hang their feet out well prior to stopping, or who hang their feet out, long after taking off. Seems to me that a lot of bike riders have either had bugger-all training, or they had dodgy instructors. Riding trail bikes around farms and bush soon educates you about keeping your feet on the pegs at all times, except when you're stopped. Seen more than one bike rider with a broken ankle, thanks to poor riding skills.

When I first got my motorcycle learners permit in Vic in the early 90's, there was a blanket 250cc limit for learners. Given the nanny state Victoria is, I was surprised to see what the current rules are with repect to LAMS. I am not entirely convinced it is applicable here for a few reasons: I am not convinced sticking a 16 year old (that is the age you can get a learner permit here) on a heavier machine even if limited to 46bhp is a great idea. Many of their bodies, although better than mine no doubt will not be used to hurtling a biogger machine in traffic, pedestrians, etc. They are basically expected to come off their bikes and handling the heavier machines to me sounds not like a great idea. There are plently of low top-end (bhp) bikes with ooldes of bottom end (torque). Yeah, they may not be able to get to 100mph, but they can get to speeds awfully quickly. Do they have enough experience to manage twitchy throttles and not cause mayhem. The UK ia 1/33rd the size of Australia with over twice the population. Outside of dual lane A roads and motorways (of which learners are not allowed on the latter), the streets and ropads are crowded, congested and claustraphobic - often with not enough room for two cars to pass when there is a parked car. In the cities, having rvrn 45bhp is not really required, but providing the power in the hands of inexperienced is a recipe for disaster. Most of the fast food delivery is done on motorbikes/scooters and by perpetual learners. Imagine if they were allowed to race around the streets on much more powerful bikes... I agree that for touring, even for learners, it is a better idea to have a more powerful bike. But even in Aus, what is the proportion of learners that tour or go on longer rides? Certainly in the UK, it insn't many that would go for a ride greater than a couple of hours. But if you think you can't tour comportably on a 125 - and a lower powered 125 (this is 11hp as opposed to the 14.6hp), then check this playlist out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbYb-grfUfY&list=PLgGFg0Z6OmSj6FhGj7POJUnHAoY_RbyNr I think it is horses for courses. In Australia, it makes eminent sense to have more power options open to the learner rider. In the UK, I think it should be 250CC and maybe a max of 33hp or something like it, because of the different environment inexperienced riders operate in. And lets be honest, most young make riders, especially those buying bikes like my son, are going to be boy racers. But also over here, licensing is different. It is almost as complicated as flying licenses, but generally: From age 17, you can get an A1 license. You are fully licensed and can ride anywhere - including motorways - but are still restricted to 125cc and 14.6 max bhp. My son's Yamaha R125 will comfortably do 70mph, hand has a top speed of 80. From age 19, you can get an A2 licence. Again, you are fully licensed, but restricted to a bike with a max of 46bhp. It can be a bike with a max of 92bhp with a restrcitor kit fitted that takes it down to 46bhp. From age 24, you can have an A licence - full licence; no restrictions. For the A2 and A licence, you have to have achieved your CBT (learners) and do the test on a bike that is rated at 46bhp (or greater for the A licence) as well as meet the age requirement. There is no other experience requirement. Most schools will run a zero to hero course to get you your CBT and test ready for the A2 or A depending oin your age and then you will do the test. My son is 10 months from being able to get an A licence, but he has not indicated a desire to get a bike bigger than 92bhp. He doesn't want to move to Australia without having his A licence for some reason (Australian states recognise the A2 and I think will put him on a P plate if I recall correctly). We have no concept of probationary drivers/riders here. My understanding is the test requirements are virtually the same for the A2 and A, and if you have an A2, you have to do another test for your A to mke sure you haven't developed bad habits. Some if it is clearly nuts, some if it makes sense.

Headlights on at all times is the go. I do it, even in my car, utes and truck. Anything that advances your visibility is a plus for crash avoidance. Even the W.A. Police advise keeping your headlights on at all times. I get thoroughly sick of people in dark grey cars driving in gloomy weather and after sunset, with no lighting. I started to pull into a roundabout that runs around an unlit underpass several months ago, it was at least an hour after dark. As I started to move, a black car with not single light on it anywhere, flashed an indicator as it swapped lanes in the roundabout, just 30M to my right. Then he turned his headlights on. I don't know how he could even see where he was going prior to switching his lights on - and if that indicator hadn't flashed, I would've pulled straight into his path, as there was no indication of any kind that there was a vehicle there. Idiot!

Brigitte Bardot, the French actress and singer who became an international sex symbol before turning to animal rights activism, has passed away aged 91. Bardot had been ill in hospital in Toulon, according to local media. The star’s animal rights charity announced her passing on Sunday morning with a statement.

Red or yellow easier to see. Not that tin top drivers actually LOOK. Nev

Here in OZ, the Lams system is a winner. Basically a sensible power to weight ratio, tat ,eams a large selection of motorcycles are approved if under 47hp and up to 210kg approx. Max capacity is 650cc. This allows a large range of small to medium size bikes that are adequate even to tour on and certainly enough to ride for many years and not get bored or suddenly find yourself moving up to a bike that far exceeds your ability. My Twin has just bought a new Truimph speed 400 for his partner for her brithday. Lovely bike and small enough for a small framed lady but big enough for fun and safe open road riding. Triumph have just released a recall for the timing chain and stopped sales until the bike is retrofitted. So it will be delivered with the change next week. We had to wait for a red tanked one, red is faster...

Some of those lakes are coloured due to Mineral content. Best seen from a good height.. Nev

You get what I mean. LA means Learner approved. Nev

Didn't know where to put this, a magpie on CCTV imitating the neigh of a horse. I've known they were reputed as clever call imitators, but I've never heard one do this. https://www.facebook.com/reel/2286842478814689

Poor little bugger. Talk about the worst job on earth.

You don't have to! It crawls up by itself!

You meant LAMS? LAPD is L.A. Police Dept.

Yes, the amount of salt lakes in the W.A. wheatbelt is amazing from the air, you don't get the "whole picture" from the ground. The drainage systems in W.A. are very flat and the lakes existed when the Europeans arrived, but extensive clearing and the transition to wide agricultural use increased the level of surface salt accumulation - and where many of those lakes were originally just brackish, and sometimes even fresh water, they have now all turned much saltier over time. Extensive efforts to drain the accumulated salts from the agricultural areas have led to mixed results and it will probably be another 200-300 years before we see any more major changes to the salt levels. Possibly somewhat surprisingly to what you might think, very wet years don't flush out the salt immediately, they make the salt levels worse (due to slow drainage), and in dry years, the salt levels decrease, as the water tables go down.

At least you are not likely to be threatened by Crocodiles. Nev

It's an unfortunate part of the climate and the country we live in, that extended very dry periods are part and parcel of that climate. A read of Dorothea MacKellars, "My Country" is recommended.

I looked up Kulin on Google maps; I've got a cousin who farms north of there, between Kellerberrin and Tammin. I didn't realise there where so many salt lakes in the wheatbelt if that's what those white areas are that I'm seeing on the satellite view.

LAPD bikes have Much more Latitude here. UK has always had it's Bowels in a knot over engine Capacity/bore size.

There are three living species of zebra: Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), the plains zebra (E. quagga), and the mountain zebra (E. zebra). Zebras share the genus Equus with horses and asses, the three groups being the only living members of the family Equidae. The skin of the zebra is black. The stripes are the result of differences in the concentration of melanin in the hairs - more melanin = black, less melanin = white. The differences in concentration can be explained by the concept of the Turing pattern. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_pattern . Sometimes this effect goes wrong and a zebra has a coat without stripes. In those cases the coat looks brownish, but may have feint stripes or small spots. Why does the zebra have stripes? Zebras suffer the scourge of flying, biting insects. Laboratory experiments have shown that alternating aras of black and white visually confuse these insects and they do not land on striped areas. Other experiments in which horses have been covered with striped horse rugs reduce the numbers of insects landing on the horse. (There's a commercial opening! Make horse rugs with a zebra pattern. I wonder if a checked or tartan pattern would work.)

The claim in the report may have been BS, but as they say, there can be an exception to every rule.

Go back and watch the video for an explanation of how varience in a biometic feature is caused. The differences are not influenced initially by genes. The genes allow the production of the causative chemical, but it is the random distribution of the chemical within the organ that causes the varience. That explanation does not deny that genes are responsible for the correct formation of a substance. What Turing's idea is that the genes allow the production of a substance, but the biometric feature is the result of the density of the substance as it diffuses through the organ. Imagine pouring 10 mls of black ink into a litre of clean water. Do that several times and you will never get the exact same distribution of concentration of ink in the water initially.

Identical twins (monozygotic twins) come from the same fertilised egg, so they start with almost the same DNA. As the embryo splits and develops, mutations) can occur. Environmental factors in the womb — blood supply, position, nutrition — differ slightly. Over time, epigenetics (how genes are switched on/off) makes them even more different. So they’re genetically similar but not 100% identical in every cell. Monozygotic twins do not have identical fingerprints. Fingerprints form in the womb between about 10-24 weeks of pregnancy. They’re influenced by random physical factors: pressure in the uterus, amniotic fluid movement, and how the fingers touch surrounding tissue. Even with the same DNA, those tiny differences lead to unique ridge patterns Identical twins may have similar-looking fingerprints, but they are always distinct. Identical twins can also differ in: Birthmarks Handedness (one left-handed, one right-handed) Susceptibility to certain diseases Personality traits

Dang it.. they have alreadt taken it down from their site and the ads they put omn a couple of classified ads.. We have to wait 2 weeks to pick it up befoe I can photograph it. The pre-delivery inspection and service requires mechancs who get back from hols on Monday week.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of positives to celebrate lately.. So, here's one: (https://www.bournemouth-kawasaki.co.uk/2024-yamaha-r125/) Son just put a deposiut down on it. I test rode it and it certainly screamed more than a 125cc bike - the max xx(14.6bhp being max power) for a learner. Got it for a bargain and not quite what they advertised it for... and it is in mint condition... Watch out for the gripes thread as we go to insure it..

Now that IS curious. To think that identical twins with identical genes, can have some physical differences.