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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.)

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

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..

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

We all know about the English mathematician, Alan Turing. He's the bloke who was very instrumental in developing a machine to decode German military messages created using Enigma machines. But what did he do after the war ended? Well he want back to being a mathematician working on developing computers. However, he must have got bored with that field of study. When Turing was 39 years old in 1951, he turned to mathematical biology, finally publishing his masterpiece "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis" in January 1952. "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis", which describes how patterns in nature, such as stripes and spots, can arise naturally and autonomously from a homogeneous, uniform state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_pattern Turing proposed a model wherein two homogeneously distributed substances (P and S) interact to produce stable patterns during morphogenesis. These patterns represent regional differences in the concentrations of the two substances. Their interactions would produce an ordered structure out of random chaos. There's an explanation of this process in the attached video. Go to timestamp 3:18 It is interesting that the stripes of an individual zebra are unique to that zebra, in the same way as your fingerprints are unique to you. This individuality is also the basis of eye pattern recognition used in security systems.

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.

I emailed Spacey, Says he's well, but not wise. Says he can't log in at all. Didn't explain why.

This 1982 photo shows the Simpson Desert the driest I've ever seen it. The only vegetation visible from the air was the shrubs and trees, no grass to be seen. The drought broke the following year with a lot of flooding. The photo is taken from a Cherokee Six just entering the Simpson from the east en route from Windorah to Alice Springs. Everything went ok until halfway across when the alternator died and the battery went flat, so no radio or instruments, just the compass. We landed on the strip at Ringwood Station on the western edge of the desert, and luckily the station owner was home to see us come in. He drove over and picked up the pilot so he could use the station radio to call Alice Springs airport to clear a space for us to fly into there, being pre satellite days when the stations relied on HF radio for communications. We got to stay overnight in Alice waiting on the new alternator to be fitted, then on to Bililuna in W.A. the next day. Another surprise there on landing - the client (Shell if my memory is correct) had given the crew three days off as the Halls Creek annual races were on. We took off again to Halls Creek which took us straight past the Wolfe Creek crater, so that was a good sight from the air. It was a memorable trip for different reasons. When the battery went dead over the Simpson, it really got us thinking how little preparation we had in regard to survival gear if we had to put down in a dune corridor. We didn't even have near enough water required to stay on the ground any length of time. As a comparison of seasons, I took these photos with a digital compact camera in the Simpson in 2010 after an extended wet period. Most of the green you can see is grass and herbage that burns off with hot, dry conditions. It was very different to the other deserts I've been in which have more permanent vegetation in the dune corridors, and much more spinifex. Edit: Just as a post script, it wasn't far from where these three photos were taken that I came across an old survey marker peg that was the site of Geosurveys Base Camp #1 from Reg Spriggs' first motorised crossing of the desert in 1962.

There's a DIY kit for everything.....

Mary & Joseph were going to name him Jerry. Just as the scribe started to write, Mary stubbed her toe. Christmas Adam comes before Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve isn't happy.

Let's face it. The American Empire is in its terminal phases exacerbated by the mania of Trump. China does not need to conquer militarily. It has conquered commercially. The irony is that it applied the lessons taught by the American Dream. I also think that Russia is declining in importance. Putin is 73 years old. Just look at our thread where we advise of the passing of famous people. So many of those passing on are past their "three score and ten". Can Putin and his philosophy have long to last? The European Union is strengthening itself. At the moment it is spending some effort on military defence in response to Russia's activity, but at the same time is going ahead comercially. India is a growing commercial entity, but not a military one. Southeast Asia just wants to make money. The problem areas are Africa and the Middle East, but these areas are involved in localised tribal conflicts. None of the countries involved there have the ability to become world powers.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

That's quite a feat. We should also paws to consider yon maiden's hands...

You can stick that up your arse.

It's as close to a horse as you're ever going to get. I was leading up to something but now it won't go well. Nev

It's not a horse Nev. Please stick to the facts. 😊

I didn't say you, there was a report.

As a identical twin- No, the eyes and prints are different.

I read a thing the other day where twin brothers had identical fingerprints and eye patterns.

Is it white Horse with Black stripes or Vise versa? Nev

In 2022 when I moved here, it rained and rained and the country was Ireland green. In 2025 it barely rained at all and the country is brown. That's a depressing scene.

You might be able to arrange some rain in Bottles, so you don't forget what it is. Every time I have come back from the desert I LOVE the green Grass of the Coast. ARID is depressing for ME. Nev

I'm happy now!

The BOM "THINKS?". It treats People as IF they Know Nothing. You USED TO be able to see WHY the weather is as Predicted. Nev

The synoptic charts are part of the old site, and as far as I can see, are unchanged. If you don't want a coloured chart, you can opt for black and white. I guess out of all the people who use the BOM site, different folks want different levels of information.

Were you a Juvenile Deniliquint red? A mate of mine was posted to the Primary school as Headmaster in 1959. Name of Jim Perrry. Nev

A random thought struck me when I woke up this morning. 2026 is the 70th anniversary of the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956. I attended one day of those games on a school excursion from Deniliquin High School. I was 12 at the time, in Year 7. We went by bus from the school.