tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12260702852544217752024-03-13T11:22:12.103-07:00Lyra's LettersNynkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353088894792381239noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-30753029353849734742021-01-08T21:26:00.000-08:002021-01-08T21:26:14.296-08:00Dear Friends 2021<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 425px; overflow: hidden; width: 319px;"><img height="425" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/wbpNl9V_pdgWqC8tFRhEoUpTu6CM7dAqTXxgJJRkCJ3RTb3i7ukwm0C79GxsOv-uZhh366vkRe-xJOu5MDwmlLXt75BPqhpGWu1sPe5xt4U2C7nlP0F86-QzZ43WmUKgflEiLHvi" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="319" /></span></p><p><b id="docs-internal-guid-1c0f1897-7fff-f1fb-07e9-27555dfa89d1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adelaide, January 5th 2021</span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Friends,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">First of all we want to wish you a happy and healthy 2021!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While it was disappointing we could not do all the travelling we wanted to do and see our (extended) family this year.. We have a lot to be thankful for. Here is a little overview of our past year. </span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We started 2020 in Durham North Carolina together with Steve’s family. Even though it was for a sad reason (memorial service for Steve’s mother who had passed away in October last year) it was wonderful to spend Christmas and New Year’s together after many years. When we got back home to Adelaide our friends Maryse, Jeroen and Lasse from Brisbane were here to greet us and we had a wonderful time with them too. So that was a good start of the year!</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In March we got to go to WOMAD (World of Music, Art and Dance) for the first time. -a 4 day festival in Adelaide. Which we loved!! It was right in time because after that COVID changed everything. Daniel still went to Brisbane and back to see his friends there but then we were all stuck here for a while. </span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Steve’s dad had planned to visit us in April and we had planned to travel to Victoria together but of course that did not happen. Daniel and Nynke had planned to go to The Netherlands in August which of course did not happen either.. </span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We did have some nice short road trips though and got to see a bit more of South Australia. Steve and I went to see the Southern Right whales at the Head of Bight in August which was incredible! And later, in October, Steve, Nynke, Wytse and Arwin went to Arkaroola and the Flinders Ranges which was a great trip too. Arkaroola is a whole different world. Very dry and dusty but very special and it feels very remote. We really enjoyed camping out there, going on walks and 4W drives and seeing the endangered yellow-footed rock wallabies. It is a dark sky area but it was full moon when we went - We want to go back in April in a week with a new moon so we can see a few more stars! And it was fun to do some 4 wheel driving and put in practice the skills we had learned at a 4WD course in August.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephen:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I got the tiny house finished up - at least the outside - in time for the winter, as you see here. (June-August, the rainy season here, not really winter). We still have a ways to go to make it something we would really live in - it needs a kitchen, bathroom, table, storage, etc. But I’ll take it slow and do that at a more leisurely pace since at the moment we’re just using it as a bedroom. It does have the great advantage of getting us away from the noisy teenagers and gives them all their own bedroom (we only have a 3-bedroom house now). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The tiny house of course became my home office as soon as COVID hit, and after some adjustment I became really productive working from home. So productive that I can’t figure out how I ever found time to commute, and like so many other people, I plan to continue working from home quite a bit more than I ever used to.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="180" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/hLJIr41srcMJFBpuPmtZF7PicJENr9lXGs6Tg8GFY3mVMrYpSbjPQk7Ttd82CXAE9UrJrASaXZ5rDlGSs34Tqyw_CLUrpSweP1bseo6gaCB6l_HxDAEILrnk0aOGqJCzI8gLNVoo" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: normal;" width="240" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 360px; overflow: hidden; width: 480px;"><img height="360" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hKfYutXQkN02jAk4fD5JvRi1T6ydG7Yxcd6DklcbqLPh8iYPm98mN7Lq5Y0dViV2zcAw6_c6UG8fGThgnFT7CzEsz8RBrdQpE40-58Q4EWvQHIhITtGVXxt6eg6JRAqUUXuVAcF" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="480" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Work has been incredibly intense this year for me - there are so many new opportunities and projects in the space industry in Australia and I’ve found myself very much in the middle of CSIRO’s space efforts. We are finishing up the construction of our first satellite, started our new lab in downtown Adelaide, and we have hired now two full time staff to run the lab while I run around trying to write proposals and get more funding for future satellites. I could not have dreamed of a more interesting or challenging career at this point! I hope that through my work I can express my gratitude and help create opportunities for my colleagues equal to the luck that has come my way.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nynke</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> : I started the year in a new job that I ended up not liking. It was a job in disability support in a badly managed organisation. I quit right before the first ‘lockdown’ and was happy I did. It ended up a really relaxing time we got to spend with the family and getting lots of exercise. We went on a lot of very long walks and read lots of books. And of course I had a lot of time for gardening as well. I decided to start looking for a job again in the second half of the year and I have been working for Kalyra since August. Kalyra is an (well managed) aged care organisation and I work as a home support worker helping people wherever they need help. I have met a lot of wonderful people already (clients and colleagues) and really enjoy the variety of people and work I have to do. I currently work 2 ½ days per week which works out well. I still have enough time for gardening (see before and after photos above!) and also I am enrolled in the Diploma of Sustainable Living at the University of Tasmania (online studies) so that occupies my time as well and I love it! On top of that I am doing ‘end of life doula’ training and I have still been needing to drive Arwin around a bit for his activities. He will </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;">have a driver’s licence soon though!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="179" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/1S8lIOMH_ezquxpiJ_JaIGAYVauU3rVS6jVdm4fC88xA3BA6sP--aagbK5lr2keSp9OTjjUIRCsQsllSrYdQJek1W8rGYXCAV1y1ZsCslhx221S7kx7SMXn4HR04kmva46m9DEQx" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="240" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 326px; overflow: hidden; width: 434px;"><img height="326" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/up8_L1HcoCnWAjtCijDxIquJOor-dzEn45gdlWT_WfyljZBBZIsAvCkEbj5vyJQCrv_IqOPRXYjT031fRcoHAGCTijTeeG_3-h93_i8kOVlu_Y-qgZudPH4peYb-srmisJiNP2yh" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="434" /></span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wytse (18): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe South Australians have been exceptionally lucky in the pandemic, since we have not had any major outbreaks or lockdowns (besides a very short one). Because of these circumstances, my daily life was not impacted very much in the second half of the year. My main accomplishments in 2020 include finishing the UPP (University Preparatory Program) at the University of Adelaide, which allows me to start studying for the Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences in the first semester of 2021. For me, this required going through a lot of challenges, including studying only online for several months.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside of university, I have been able to keep up a number of other activities. Over the course of the year I have been taking clarinet lessons, which has helped me a lot with playing with the Adelaide Youth Wind Orchestra (AdYWO). In the second semester, playing with AdYWO has been very enjoyable for me, but I have also enjoyed rehearsing and performing with the Unley Concert Band during the last few weeks of the year, and I may continue to do so. I have also been reading a lot when I have time to, and after a long time, I finished reading the Divine Comedy. Through the UPP and the groups I have been playing music in, I met a lot of interesting people, and this last year was very good for my social life overall. In the new year, I hope to refine my time management and researching skills to accomplish more at uni, and I plan to get together with a small group of musicians (possibly my dad and brother) to do some busking.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daniel (18):</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I think 2020 was pretty crazy for everyone. We all had our plans ruined, but new ones popped up in their place. If the pandemic hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have started studying halfway through this year, after a very boring half gap year (I’m now studying environmental policy and management at Adelaide Uni). I also probably wouldn’t have found the summer job I have - spa cover manufacturing has been busier than ever this year - or started practicing mandolin.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my challenges coming out of high school was finding myself as an individual. Joining uni clubs helped with this, as did the in-class university tutorials that came with living in relatively covid-free South Australia. One focus I rediscovered this year was reading and writing. Currently, I’m halfway through Robert Jordan’s amazing but long Wheel of Time series, which I’ve been reading while taking a creative writing minor for my degree. I also joined Brett McKay’s Strenuous Life this year, an online program which helped me challenge myself constantly and finished off with a night sleeping in a cave next to a waterfall. I’m improving fast as a rock climber, I got a lot of money from my summer job, I’m getting more confident with lead climbing, and my weekends have been getting more and more adventurous. Bring on 2021!</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arwin (16): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2020 Was quite an odd year. It had an average start for me, up until March. When we went to WOMAD, I got a djembe - an African drum. I also saw some inspiring musicians and bands. When the pandemic hit, I didn’t have a problem with self-quarantining, as I was already in an online school. During the first half of the year, I continued to play guitar and sing with my dad. I stopped doing drama classes, as the show was called off due to the pandemic, and I was not very interested in the shows to come.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">School got a lot harder for me in the second half of the year because of a loss of interest, as I turned my attention to music. I managed to get through school, and I busked at the farmer’s market with my dad. It was a lot of fun, though it was nearly four hours. I plan to busk a lot more in the new year, as I continue to improve my singing and guitar skills. Some of my resolutions are: To learn piano or harmonica, to start a YouTube channel, and to read at least 12 books.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lyra (9 ¼): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like the beach, or anywhere I can play in the water, and hanging out with my people, and riding in the car, and rocks!</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coda (2 1/2 year): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love cuddles and people (especially jumping up and licking them!) and running around like crazy together with Lyra. I hate being in the car - I get sick everytime.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="262"></col><col width="223"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 1pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book of the year:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Steve: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Great Divorce </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(C. S. Lewis)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nynke: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Poisonwood Bible </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Barbara Kingsolver)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arwin: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Northern Lights</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Philip Pullman)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wytse: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Odyssey</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Homer)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daniel: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Shadow Rising </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Robert Jordan)</span></p></td><td style="border: 1pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Movie of the year:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Steve: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tree of Life</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nynke: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Serious Man</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arwin: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1917</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wytse: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star Trek: First Contact</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (1996)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daniel: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Death to 2020 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(2020)</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy & Healthy New Year and Love from all of us, </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nynke, Steve, Wytse, Daniel, Arwin Lyra, Coda and chickens</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 Medina street - Aberfoyle Park SA 5159 -Australia</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nynke: </span><a style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nynke.vanderburg@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> +61 410 938 709 Stephen: </span><a style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stephen.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> +61 424 240 031 Wytse: </span><a style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wytse.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Daniel: </span><a style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">daniel.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Arwin: </span><a style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">arwin.b.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a></p><p><br /></p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17798635339080113764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-17892368677828829482019-01-12T15:27:00.002-08:002019-01-12T15:27:20.171-08:00Dear Friends 2019<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-2110d4a9-7fff-9fbd-c668-79c863c74c69" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 252pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Aberfoyle Park, January 1st 2019</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dear Friends,</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">First of all we want to wish you a happy and healthy 2019!</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">2018 was a year full of change for us (again!).. We moved twice and both were big moves. The first was a move from Brisbane to the Adelaide Hills to a house in the countryside. The second move was to our own house in the suburbs! Yes, we bought a house! That still feels a bit unreal but it has been really nice and a relief not to have to deal with landlords and inspections anymore!l</span></div>
<br /><img height="319" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Ho1T0KsGHQa5yjbtxdnYOKl_S-_sr6sg-itnVyfjUDsySNxnTzaycWOJ7zXa4DIZC5yo55oTKMzp3saQAsErZOKnw-QAGo6GZ6ZCt03Et5YtwFfI0Kj1r3HdbbAiEM_bu_h-ePaa" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="478" /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">2018 was also a record year for visitors -we had Nynke’s sister, her kids Marrit and Tibbe- and her mother over in July (this was the first time they were in Australia!), Nynke’s cousin Rindert in August and Steve’s dad in October. We also had some of our wonderful friends visit this past year - Maryse and Lasse from Brisbane came in April, Uli and her kids from Melbourne, Kristien from Boston and Marcin from Brisbane both came later in the year. We had a great time with all of them. We are grateful to have so many good friends and family willing to make the trip to see us! And grateful for housesitters (thanks Sue and family!).</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">We initially loved our rental house in Bradbury -such a beautiful place surrounded by paddocks and trees -lots of koalas, possums, amazing birds, reptiles and cows and sheep. We even got our own sheep and had at some point almost 20 chickens including a rooster. And we fell in love with the Adelaide Hills, what a beautiful area! It turned out however that our landlord was a bully and we could not deal with that any longer and also the garden was too much work to maintain so long story short -we decided to buy a house! It turned out to be a very good decision. It has kept us busy with renovating and decorating and gardening but it is so nice to know it is ours and we can really make it our own home. We are back in the suburbs which definitely has its advantages. We are located pretty central - the beach, Adelaide Hills, the city and McLaren Vale are all not too far away. We have a bus stop nearby and shops are in biking distance. The boys can be a bit more independent here which is nice. Also the neighbours here are all very friendly -we feel very lucky.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">We got to do a bit of exploring again and went on three trips this past year - a week of camping out and bushwalking in The Grampians in Victoria in April -such a beautiful place with amazing views and beautiful walks and wildflowers. There were many more trails to explore we did not have time for-we will have to go back!! In July we took Nynke’s family into the outback to Broken Hill and Silverton (and some interesting places on the way like Burra- an old copper mining town) - that was definitely a special trip. We stayed in the Silverton hotel surrounded by the ruins of the old mining town, art galleries, kangaroos and emus and did some sightseeing in Broken Hill as well. In October we went to Kangaroo Island for a week with Steve’s dad. Another special part of Australia! We loved all the wildlife - especially the sea lions at Seal Bay and the playful seals in Kingscote. The views and walks from the lighthouse at Cape Willoughby were also amazing and overall it was a very relaxing week and it is another place that we would love to visit again. Luckily it is not far at all from where we live now.</span><img height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/zYCggMIZGrtT_XK-IxJsyb1cCDRgo-ioOcwZk6SeePkVm3mWh5AMCrfNb4eIy4Bmyl5lv5mTWg03sn0Zb5drYL4aLDL4c2KHgcMgf-St4gOyVKgFQhPsQRjSXmeaiNdFmwGTOxIJ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="428" /></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A few other noteworthy things -Wytse and Daniel started driving!- they almost have enough hours to be able to do their driving test so soon enough they will be able to borrow our cars and go places without our supervison!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">And Coda joined our family in August. She is a flat-coated retriever puppy (same breed as Lyra) and we all fell in love with her (maybe Lyra not so much although they do like playing together sometimes). We also added a cat, George, to our family -but it has been hard to keep him indoors and he likes to kill birds so we might not be able to keep him unfortunately. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Nynke</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I spent a lot of 2018 driving.... Because we lived in the country for most of the year with no public transport nearby, I spent a lot of my time driving the boys to and from their school (bus stop) and activities. I already noticed a drastic change after we moved to our new house which is near a bus stop and places the boys can bike to. -it has frees up a huge amount of time for me. So far I spent most of that time getting our house organised and gardening. Our house came with mostly lawn around it and I want to change it into a permaculture food forest (lots of fruit trees) and plant lots of natives too. Finally I can put all my gardening courses and workshops into practice! In addition to gardening I started drawing again -I took some drawing classes with a local artist and loved it. I hope to do more of that this year as well. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I started the year volunteering in the Koala & Wlidlife hospital very Friday but because the boys had more and more things going on, I ended up doing it about once a month. I am still enjoying going whenever I can. I learned a lot about koalas and other native wildlife which I find fascinating.. I also started another volunteering job -at Rembrandt Living -a Dutch nursing home -I hope to continue working there one day a week. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> I loved having so many visitors this past year and showing them around! Definitely a highlight of this past year!</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Stephen:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">For my birthday I got four sheep, and caring for them was a daily pleasure that I hope dearly to return to in the future. Unfortunately, we had to give them up, but the process of finally buying a house in Australia was worth it all, and I have no regrets at all. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This year has been full of changes at work for me as well. Australia’s new Space Agency will now be in our hometown, and with my work on the infrared imager in CSIRO’s first satellite, my hands are very full indeed. I still spend about half my time using spectroscopy and drones to analyse grapes and vines, which happily gets me out of doors and traveling around the wine regions of South Australia. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Teaching the twins to drive has clocked up probably 100 hours of nervously sitting in the passenger seat, and I do look forward to handing them the keys letting them drive themselves! I picked up my banjo a bit more often this year, and worked through a 3-finger banjo book so that I can now play “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”, or at least the beginning part, slowly. I had a great time taking the twins to their first pop concerts - Daniel and I saw Kasey Chambers (a kind of Australian Melissa Etheridge) and Wytse went with to David Byrne, which was of course stupendous. Next year, I’ll see if I can’t take Arwin to see AC/DC!</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Wytse (16 ¾):</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A lot of things have changed for me in the year of 2018. At the very beginning of the year, for example, we moved to Adelaide. Because I was too old to sail an Opti, I joined the junior 420 fleet at the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club(BSYC). Because I had sailed so much before, I was able to learn the basics of this new class of boat pretty quickly. An unfortunate thing about sailing a 420, however, is that it has become too expensive for me to sail competitively. For this reason, I will probably start sailing a different class of boat in the 2019/20 season. A welcome change is that I started playing 1st clarinet in the Adelaide Youth Wind Orchestra(AdYWO). This is the best youth ensemble I have ever played in, and it was a lot of fun to play in the many different concerts we had this year. I have successfully auditioned for next year and I look forward to the next rehearsal. Late in the year, I have not been doing as much for homeschooling, but I made up for it by getting a job as a casual at CSIRO! The job is mostly doing computer programming and data analysis. I have also been helping to build thermal cameras. My plans for the future are to do the University Prepatory Program at the Adelaide University so that I can study for the Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences. Hopefully after this I can do scientific research in a part of Biology, possibly neuroscience.</span><img height="258" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/lqHwDqg2FdgisaKWKva5XclfjG7Vy4QWSOBRBAaJD7tQFs0JHjFdIQfzLp2yapMWKRuQkKbUzHY-rbDAKv1n-IGtFqYK5a2mxw33qaBxhUTKXz9071MaYsKjYTvqFsLUQ6Kzlv1I" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="346" /></div>
<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Daniel (16 ¾)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">2018 was a big year for me, in a lot of ways! Learning to drive, looking for a job, thinking about university and beyond – as well as the challenges that came with moving to yet another city – kept my mind busy. On a positive note I got great grades at school this year, even though it was just my first year at Urrbrae! I still miss everyone in Brisbane, but taking care of native animals and helping take care of local wetlands as part of Urrbrae Agricultural was a bonus to moving city. Rock climbing became more and more important to me as the year wore on. A trip to two big Aussie rock climbing spots in April (Mt Arapiles and The Grampians) really helped me get motivated even though I only climbed at Arapiles, and not long before the trip a school climbing camp saw me climb a fairly hard route first try. I intend to participate in rock climbing competitions in the new year and just two weeks ago I felt motivated enough to make and use my own hangboard. Aside from climbing, probably the biggest adventure I had this year was close to its end, in a mountain range near Canberra called The Budawangs. I was ‘hired’ as tour guide for some family friends, and I had a great time with them revisiting a great place – it wasn’t my first trip there (although it was the longest and sunniest) and it certainly won’t be my last. Big thanks to the Moseleys – you were awesome! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Overall, my 2018 involved adventure and myself starting to prepare for my real life. Hopefully, 2019 will have even more.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Arwin (14 ¾):</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">2018 was quite an important year for me. The move to Adelaide really stands out from other times we moved, because by moving away from Brisbane, I left a lot of friends and risked the unknown. Luckily, I met some new friends soon after we moved. I also started a new drama class - it’s a lot more serious than the drama class I was in earlier. Currently we are working on a Peter Pan musical. Another class I started was medieval sword fighting. In the classes we use padded weapons and learn historical sword fighting techniques. Very recently we moved again from the country closer to the city. The move didn’t change much for me, except that I am closer to a bunch of different places, such as Gametraders, where I do FNM (Friday Night Magic). FNM is a weekly event at many game stores where you can play Magic: the gathering with other people. Usually at FNM we draft - a way you can play where you are given some cards and you build a deck from them. We went to FNM three times this year, and once I came first place! My highlight of the year was when I went to Brisbane for a week to visit some friends; Lasse, Ewan, Connor, Brendon, and Deva. I pretty much played games nonstop for a week (Especially Magic!) which is pretty much the best thing I can imagine doing.</span></div>
<br /><img height="216" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/oZ8qvQ8y5lBekV7e0M1uK7-t-Wm_XuFK_gIRdfK4-cLodkUWuBK3TTitekAwWDHLxnmZiSu03Kh9YutJbIm6xfcnadCthp591K1VQle_6izLcaeQcQqdIHS2GKq0Yq9jBc2DZdIc" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="314" /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Lyra (7 ¼): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I like the beach, or anywhere I can play in the water, and hanging out with my people, and riding in the car, and rocks!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Coda (6 months): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I love cuddles and people (especially jumping up and licking them!) and running around like crazy together with Lyra. I hate being in the car - I get sick everytime.</span></div>
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="262"></col><col width="223"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Book of the year:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Steve: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">12 Rules for Life </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">(Jordan B. Peterson)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Nynke: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The Wilderness Garden</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> (Jackie French)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Arwin: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Lord of the Flies</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> (William Golding)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Wytse: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The Divine Comedy</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> (Dante Allighieri)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Daniel: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Mawson</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> (Peter Fitzsimmons)</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Movie of the year:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Steve: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Spirited Away</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Nynke: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I, Daniel Blake</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Arwin: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Inception</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Wytse: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Castle in the Sky</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Daniel: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Inception</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br /><img height="243" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YYwKJ8ULUJmZemWhzSNHFjM_ImBuRNuLtBGBR-COj_a-90KyuWTmxfFO_I15DPHbTbSO51brZJALo-AKqIZqNQq6GpoPXoEoAFjjqrze0KR9BMQbFLsflC8P8RzuWH3wmkwCuOis" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="330" /><img alt="P1040096-2.JPG" height="164" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/8qrQXBLaqD3dnL3-7ss-FGf6YvdurVopaNh0EqOp6-6AOx0fQywHURXcn97Ty8yy78h3fr5txwbGE8qkJB_gS1mR8v2S5FZMaW-QWhOCociPayMG-G2ro6VK8cpGh6l3O63ibNm1" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="189" /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Happy & Healthy New Year and Love from all of us, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Nynke, Steve, Wytse, Daniel, Arwin Lyra, Coda and George - & many chickens</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Blogs:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.lyrasletters.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">www.lyrasletters.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.nynkethuis.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">www.nynkethuis.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Our new address: </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">2 Medina street</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Aberfoyle Park, SA 5159</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Australia</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Nynke: </span><a href="mailto:nynke.vanderburg@gmail.com" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">nynke.vanderburg@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> (61) (0) 410 938 709 Stephen: </span><a href="mailto:stephen.gensemer@gmail.com" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">stephen.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">(61) (0) 424 240 031 Wytse: </span><a href="mailto:wytse.gensemer@gmail.com" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">wytse.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> Daniel: </span><a href="mailto:daniel.gensemer@gmail.com" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">daniel.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> Arwin: </span><a href="mailto:arwin.b.gensemer@gmail.com" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">arwin.b.gensemer@gmail.com</span></a></div>
<br /><br />Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17798635339080113764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-18526426154428559392018-10-28T18:03:00.000-07:002018-10-28T18:03:17.550-07:00The Mental Benefits of Learning to Play Music at a Young Age<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a research paper that I wrote for an online writing course. It was my first experience with strictly following writing guidelines(Including margins and spacing, although I could not preserve those settings here) and making citations. In this paper, I used the MLA guidelines. I like how the subject of the paper combines two topics that I am interested in. <br />
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<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Wytse Gensemer</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Mrs. McKinley</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Writing: Research
Papers and Essays</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
5 October, 2018</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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</div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
Mental Benefits of Learning to Play Music at a Young Age</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: auto; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
There has been music in human culture for longer than you might
think. Musical instruments are among the oldest manmade objects ever
found. Music was developed long before agriculture, and it might even
have preceded language, as it could have been one of the factors that
helped to create language. A love for music has not been naturally
selected against, meaning that it might be, or might have been, good
for survival or breeding in the human population. Thus, it has been
very important for early humans and much used in our culture (Levitin
250). As it is such an essential thing in our culture and our minds,
music can have life-changing effects. Young people who play music can
get the largest benefits from these effects, even if they only play
music for one or two years. All children should start learning a
musical instrument by the time they are eight years old, because
playing music can help brain development in ways that can benefit
their thinking, mood and social life.</div>
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</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
Why eight years old? The reason why it is best to start learning
music at a young age is related to neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity
is the brain’s amazing ability to change, in both structural and
functional ways, to suit the environment, making the different parts
of the brain similar to muscles in that they grow and become more
effective when they are used often. Neuroplasticity for different
skills peaks at certain times, known as critical periods. During a
critical period for a skill, experiences related to that skill have
larger effects on brain development. After a critical period, those
experiences have little or no effect on brain development. The
critical period for many things, such as learning languages, happens
at about six or seven years of age (Mundkur 855-56). Someone can
still become a good musician if they started learning after this age,
but they would not have some added benefits that they would otherwise
have, such as the increased amount of connections across different
parts of the brain.</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
One of the findings about brain changes in musicians is that parts of
the corpus callosum are larger when the subject has been playing
music for a long time (Jancke). The corpus callosum is a bundle of
nerve fibers that link the right and left hemispheres of the brain
with each other. Another finding is that musicians have a stronger
link in between their auditory and motor brain regions than
nonmusicians. These are both adaptations for playing music, but the
strengthened linkage in the brain might also be useful in other tasks
(Jancke). An increased amount of connectivity is helpful, but there
are other changes that music makes to the brain, some of which can be
more widely applied.</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
Besides making the brain more connected, playing music can help
develop academical skills. Recent studies have shown that musicians
have better working memory than nonmusicians. Working memory lets
people remember things temporarily while they are thinking about
something else, so improved working memory makes people better at
tasks involving reading and math (<i>Benefits of Music Education</i>
3). Amazingly, another study compared IQ scores of two study groups:
children who were taught music, and children who were taught drama,
and discovered that, after one year, the group that was taught music
had a slightly higher average IQ score than the drama group,
suggesting that children who play music can do better academically
(Schellenberg 513). There are many ways that music is good for
thinking and intelligence, but these things also depend on mood and
general wellbeing, which music can also affect.</div>
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</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
There are many ways that playing music is beneficial with feelings.
One benefit is relieving stress or decreasing depression. A study by
<span style="font-style: normal;">Jaakko Erkkila </span><span style="font-style: normal;">and
colleagues</span> used 79 adults with unipolar depression. One group
was given normal treatment for the depression, and the other group
was given music therapy as well as normal treatment. The<span style="font-style: normal;">
music therapy consisted of </span><span style="font-style: normal;">tasks
relate</span><span style="font-style: normal;">d to making music,
including playing simple melodies, singing </span><span style="font-style: normal;">and</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
improvisation. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Over</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
six months, the </span><span style="font-style: normal;">music therapy
group</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal;">showed
a </span><span style="font-style: normal;">much</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
large</span><span style="font-style: normal;">r</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">improvement </span><span style="font-style: normal;">than
the control group.</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal;">The
difference between these results</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
is considered to be clinically relevant </span><span style="font-style: normal;">(132-</span><span style="font-style: normal;">36</span><span style="font-style: normal;">)</span><span style="font-style: normal;">.
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">It can be very good for
someone’s overall mental health that m</span><span style="font-style: normal;">usic
works well against depression, </span><span style="font-style: normal;">but
this is not the only time when it can </span><span style="font-style: normal;">strongly
a</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ffect feelings.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Music is shown to create positive
feelings as well as su</span><span style="font-style: normal;">p</span><span style="font-style: normal;">press
negative ones. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Part of the
way that it does this is that it gives musicians a sense of
achi</span><span style="font-style: normal;">e</span><span style="font-style: normal;">vement,
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">which can be caused by
learning to play a song, getting into an ensemble </span><span style="font-style: normal;">or</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
performing. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Something that a
musician will tend to do, </span><span style="font-style: normal;">especially
if they play in an ensemble, </span><span style="font-style: normal;">is
listen to music more often. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">M</span><span style="font-style: normal;">usic
listening has many known benefits. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">T</span><span style="font-style: normal;">his
has been demonstrated by a </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Swedish
study</span><span style="font-style: normal;">, carried out by
Professor Juslin and his team. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">S</span><span style="font-style: normal;">everal
students carried small computers </span><span style="font-style: normal;">which</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
made beeping sounds at random times of the day. When each student
heard the sound, they answer</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ed</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
questions about whether they heard music </span><span style="font-style: normal;">at
that time</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> or not, and how
they were feeling. The results were that, in any situation, music
made them feel happier or more relaxed than at the times when they
were not listening to music (Powell 37). </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Happiness
can be elevated by music for all of the reasons described above, but
happiness sometimes depends on social contact, and </span><span style="font-style: normal;">su</span><span style="font-style: normal;">r</span><span style="font-style: normal;">prisingly,
music can benefit a musician’s life in this way too.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Social life can heavily affect
feelings, which in turn leads to changes in mental health, and there
are ways that music can help people have a better social life through
changes in the brain. One of these changes is a better auditory
cortex which leads to empathy. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">In
one study, young children who played music for six months showed more
imp</span><span style="font-style: normal;">r</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ovement
in </span><span style="font-style: normal;">discriminating</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
tones in speech than chi</span><span style="font-style: normal;">l</span><span style="font-style: normal;">dren
who did not (</span><span style="font-style: normal;">Moreno et al.
712</span><span style="font-style: normal;">). </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Because
subtle tones in speech sometimes indicate how a person is feeling,
this </span><span style="font-style: normal;">helps</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
children who play music have more empathy. This has been shown in
toddlers who played music </span><span style="font-style: normal;">together</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
(</span><i>Benefits of Music Education</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">6). The increase in empathy
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">means that people who play
music can do better socially, even though this is mainly with the
people they already know.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">There are ways that music can make a
person more successful socially by meeting new people and bonding
with them. A very common thing for musicians is to play together in a
small group, band, ensemble or orchestra. This not only gives them
more social contact, but it also </span><span style="font-style: normal;">makes
people socially bond with each other (Tarr, Launay and Dunbar). This
bonding can let people make new friends more easily, leading to a
better social life.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Seeing what kind of changes </span><span style="font-style: normal;">music
causes to the brain</span><span style="font-style: normal;">, both
temporary and pe</span><span style="font-style: normal;">r</span><span style="font-style: normal;">manent,
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">the conclusion is</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
that music benefits a musician’s life in many aspects, including
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">that they are</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
able to do better academically, emotionally and socially. All of
these </span><span style="font-style: normal;">benefits</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
are </span><span style="font-style: normal;">related to</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
important factors for the success of a person’s life and their
wellbeing. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Most of th</span><span style="font-style: normal;">e
benefits</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> are caused by
changes in the brain, so if someone learns music at a young age when
they have more neuroplasticity, they keep </span><span style="font-style: normal;">the
benefits</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> for their whole
lives. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">E</span><span style="font-style: normal;">fforts
should be made to teach music to young children more in schools and
at homes, and to make learning music more affordable, so that </span><span style="font-style: normal;">yet</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
more people can </span><span style="font-style: normal;">enjoy </span><span style="font-style: normal;">the</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
benefits </span><span style="font-style: normal;">it brings</span><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">W</span><span style="font-style: normal;">orks
Cited</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; page-break-before: auto; text-indent: -1cm;">
<i>The Benefits of Music Education: An Overview of Current
Neuroscience Research.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Toronto,
Canada: The Royal Conservatory of Music, 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2018.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; page-break-before: auto; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Erkkila, Jaakko et al. "Ind</span><span style="font-style: normal;">i</span><span style="font-style: normal;">vidual
Music Therapy for Depression: Randomised Controlled Trial." </span><i>The
British Journal of Psychiatry</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
199.2 (2011): 132-39. Web. 1 Oct. 2018.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Jancke, Lutz. "Music Drives
Brain Plasticity." </span><i>F1000 Biology Reports</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
1.78 (2009): n.pag. Web. 1 Oct. 2018.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Levitin, Daniel J. </span><i>This is
Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Moreno, Sylvian et al. "Musical
Training Influences Linguistic Abilities in 8-Year-Old Children: More
Evidence for Brain Plasticity." </span><i>Cerebral Cortex</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
19.3 (2009): 712-23. Web. 1 Oct. 2018.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Mundkur, Nandini. "Neuroplasticity
in Children." </span><i>The Indian Journal of Pediatrics.</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
72.10 (2005): 855-57. Web. 1 Oct. 2018.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Powell, John. </span><i>Why We Love
Music: From Mozart to Metallica - The Emotional Power of Beautiful
Sounds.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Great Britan: John
Murray, 2016. Print.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Schellenberg, E. Glenn. "Music
Lessons Enhance IQ." </span><i>Psychological Science</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
15.8 (2004): 511-14. Web. 1 Oct. 2018.</span></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1cm; text-indent: -1cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Tarr, Bronwyn, Jacques Launday and
Robin I. M. Dunbar. "Music and Social Bonding: "Self-other"
Merging and Neurohormonal Mechanisms." </span><i>Frontiers in
Psychology</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 5.1096 (2014): n.
pag. Web. 2 Oct. 2018.</span></div>
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Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-39616158116935227762018-08-20T21:54:00.002-07:002018-08-22T22:19:46.856-07:00Woodwinds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was going to write about musical instruments, but because I have been playing the clarinet in various wind orchestras for a while, the group of musical instruments that I know the most about is woodwind.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/US_Navy_081024-N-0879R-007_A_musician_from_the_U.S._Pacific_Fleet_Band_plays_a_piccolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="800" height="228" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/US_Navy_081024-N-0879R-007_A_musician_from_the_U.S._Pacific_Fleet_Band_plays_a_piccolo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piccolo playing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Since the pitch of woodwind instruments depends on how long the tube
is that the air goes along, the musician makes different notes by
opening or closing holes in the side. This also means that bigger
woodwind instruments make a lower sound. The biggest woodwind instrument
that is used in orchestras is the bassoon, which stands more than half
as tall as a person. Its lowest notes are much lower than the normal
singing range. The smallest is the piccolo, a very small version of the
flute. Its highest notes are even higher than those of a piano, and it
is so high-pitched that music written for the piccolo has to be written
one octave lower than it actually sounds, because otherwise many of the
notes would be far too high above the stave. In my experience, woodwind
instruments with a more average range have a better sound and are better
solo instruments, but the more extreme instruments can help an
orchestra a lot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Flauta_paleol%C3%ADtica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="800" height="80" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Flauta_paleol%C3%ADtica.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paleolithic bone flute</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Woodwind instruments have existed for a very long time. The oldest musical instrument discovered is a mammoth ivory flute found in a cave in Germany, estimated to be over 40,000 years old. Many prehistoric flutes like this have been discovered. Percussion instruments, such as drums, could have been made of decomposable materials, or early peoples could have used rocks and sticks, before this time, but the evidence of these flutes still suggests that humans have invented woodwind instruments very early on.<br />
<br />
The first woodwind instruments were made of simple materials, so they would have made sound by the musician blowing air into a hole at the side or end of the instrument, making the air vibrate by the difference in air pressures. Flutes and panpipes make sound this way.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Bassoon_Reeds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="450" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Bassoon_Reeds.jpg" width="189" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bassoon reeds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In ancient times, people developed a type of woodwind instrument in which a part of the instrument itself vibrates, instead of the shape of the instrument causing the blown air to vibrate directly. The part of a woodwind instrument that vibrates is usually called the reed. Older reeded instruments had the reed as part of the instrument, but as woodwind instruments developed more, the reed eventually became a separate piece. The reed is so called because, in most woodwind instruments, it is made from the plant Arundo donax, a type of reed plant.<br />
<br />
Some instruments have more than one reed. This includes the bassoon and the oboe, which have two reeds. While the reed is normally fixed to the mouthpiece, as in clarinets and saxophones, in double-reeded instruments the two reeds compose the mouthpiece and the musician blows through the gap in between them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Yamaha_Bass_Clarinet_YCL-622II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="196" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Yamaha_Bass_Clarinet_YCL-622II.jpg" width="78" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bass clarinet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Despite the name of the group, not all
woodwind instruments are made of wood. About half of them are made of
metal. This makes a very distinct difference in the sound, which is why
the clarinet, made of wood, makes a different sound than the saxophone,
which is related but made of metal. The bass clarinet is a much bigger
version of the normal type of clarinet, but some of the sections are
curved and made of metal. This includes the bell, so the lower notes
sound more metallic than the higher ones. I have played on an alto
clarinet, which is halfway in between a bass clarinet and a normal B
flat clarinet. It also tends to sound metallic with some notes. <br />
<br />
In music composed for wind orchestras, composers often put a solo in the music, when a single instrument is playing and the rest are either playing quietly or not at all. The most common solo woodwind instrument that is chosen is the clarinet(I have had the honor a few times to play a solo in a large ensemble), but oboe solos are also common. Since some notes are very difficult on the oboe, and it is also hard to keep in tune, oboe solos can be very hard to play, but I think the reason that it is chosen so often is that it makes a wonderful sound when played properly. The piccolo is also a common solo instrument because it is very high pitched and stands out from the rest of the orchestra. I have also heard solos on the E flat clarinet and the saxophone in ensemble pieces, but these are rarer.<br />
<br />
Woodwind instruments are a very fun group of instruments to play in. They include all sorts of pitch ranges and encompass nearly every style of music. The most popular woodwind instruments are flutes, clarinets and saxophones, and it is good to play them, but a nice bonus with less popular instruments, such as the oboe, the bassoon, the alto clarinet or the baritone saxophone, is that not very many musicians play them, so they are in higher demand and ensembles that do not have them give those musicians a much higher chance to join, sometimes even scholarships. In a wind orchestra together or with brass instruments, woodwinds can be very expressive and make an amazing sound.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Music that features woodwind instruments:</b> This includes music that I have preformed with woodwind and brass ensembles, and music with woodwind solos.<br />
<br />
<b>General: </b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrCsUo1ribI">Air for Band</a>, by Frank Erickson:<br />
A nice, slow melody. Woodwind instruments are highly featured.<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64GbUSU0Ebs">Serenade for wind band</a>, by Derek Bourgeois:<br />
Woodwind instruments have the melody for most of the time. If you are interested in the beat pattern, most of the song is in 11/8 time(3+3+2+3), and temporarily changes to 13/8 time(3+3+2+2+3) in the middle.<br />
<br />
<b>Clarinet:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTn2tjSjf2k">Entry March of the Boyars</a>, by Johan Halvorsen:<br />
Clarinet solo at the beginning. Also has some very interesting flute parts.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT_63UntRJE">W. A. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto</a>:<br />
If you listen to this you will see why the clarinet is such a popular solo instrument.<br />
<br />
<b>Oboe: </b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EoUAbODO34">October</a>, by Eric Whitacre:<br />
An amazing, beautiful piece. Starts with an oboe solo.<br />
<br />
<b>Piccolo: </b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mRn9chmRAY">Stars and Stripes Forever</a>, by John Philip Sousa:<br />
The national march of the United States of America. It might be an extremely patriotic song, but I had to include it because of the famous, impressive sounding piccolo solo which starts about halfway through the march.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image source: Wikimedia Commons</span></div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-90340858599337691162018-06-28T19:50:00.001-07:002018-06-28T19:50:04.495-07:00All in good taste<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This article is about our sense of taste, and mostly about some of the weird molecules that can make tastes beyond the usual four; bitter, salty, sweet and sour. To start with, here is a description how we taste things.<br />
<br />
Whenever food goes into your mouth, it gets dissolved by the water in your mouth and goes into your taste buds. Each type of taste bud is tuned to a certain common molecule. When the right molecule goes into those taste buds, it binds to and opens ion channels, which are proteins on the membranes of body cells that they use to make an electric charge which travels to the brain. Sweet taste bud cells, for example, are mainly activated by sugars. A salty taste is mainly activated by positive sodium ions(Na+). Sour is activated by protons(H+), which show the presence of acid. There are many known compounds which make a strong bitter taste.<br />
<br />
There are other chemicals that make more unusual and harder to identify tastes. This article is not only about the classical four tastes, but I will also describe some of the other, stranger, tastes, the ones that make food the widely varied and complicated thing it is.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Soy_sauce_with_wasabi.jpg/1280px-Soy_sauce_with_wasabi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Soy_sauce_with_wasabi.jpg/1280px-Soy_sauce_with_wasabi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soy sauce has a lot of umami taste.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first of these unusual tastes that I am going to explain is umami. Umami, or 'savoriness' should be considered one of the five basic tastes, but since it was not discovered by western scientists until recently, it is usually not counted. Food with a lot of umami taste includes tomatoes, soy sauce, meat stock(broth), some seafood and many fermented foods. One chemical that makes the umami taste is monosodium glutamate(MSG), which is often added to food in Chinese resuraunts to make the food taste better. There is a common belief that MSG is dangerous and causes symptoms like headaches and other kinds of discomfort, but scientific tests have found no evidence to support this. MSG is, in fact, a perfectly normal and healthy substance for flavouring, made out of molecules that are very common in food. It is no more harmful than salt.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/BhutJolokia09_Asit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/BhutJolokia09_Asit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ghost pepper, one of the hottest chillies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next taste can be considered more of a sensation. It is spiciness, which is in many foods and usually comes from chili pepper. The spiciest substance in the world is capsaicin, because it is the cause of spiciness. This taste is unlike the normal five tastes in that the normal tastes were evolved by humans, but spiciness was evolved by chili peppers, probably to stop certain mammals from eating their seeds. The active ingredient, capsaicin, can also deter fungi, so it might have evolved for both purposes. The way capsaicin works is that it binds to and opens a certain type of ion channel, which is in the mouth and skin of mammals. This ion channel is otherwise only activated with heat, acid or other kinds of damage to the skin, and it sends a signal to the brain saying that the skin is being burned or heated. This is why spicy food makes a burning sensation when you eat it or touch it for too long. One interesting thing about spiciness is that it only works in mammals. This might be because wild chili peppers are dependent on birds spreading their seeds.<br />
<br />
There is another taste which works exactly the same way as spiciness, except that the receptors that sense heat or burning are not activated, and a different receptor, which is normally triggered in cold conditions, is activated instead. This makes a cooling sensation, even if the food itself is not cold. This taste is referred to as coolness. Peppermint and spearmint are some of the things that have this taste.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Berries_-_MiracleFruitFarm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Berries_-_MiracleFruitFarm.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Another neat taste-related thing is the influence of miracle berries, a type of berry native to Africa. Miracle berries are a kind of fruit which, if you chew on the berry and spit the seed out, changes the taste receptors in your mouth. In the juice of the miracle berry, there is a protein called miraculin, which has two sides; one that binds to the sweet taste receptor cells, and one that triggers the sweet receptor if it is in an acid. Since acid usually triggers only the sour taste receptors, miraculin can make anything sour, like lemons, taste sweet instead. The effect of miracle berries lasts for about 30 minutes. I have tried some miracle berries from a tree in a community garden I used to live close to, and the effect feels very odd. Miraculin is sometimes regarded as a sweetener, but it is not one. It only changes one taste into another.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Acmella_oleracea_001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Acmella_oleracea_001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
The last taste effect is the strange effect caused by paracress, also called the 'toothache plant', a widely cultivated plant that is grown for ornamental and medicinal purposes. When its flower buds are chewed up, or rubbed onto the gums, it makes a bitter grassy taste, and soon after it makes a very strong sour, tingling and numbing sensation in the mouth, which lasts for about ten minutes. I have tried one of these before, at a herb farm, and because of this I can understand why they are sometimes called 'buzz buttons' or 'electric daisy'. The effect is very apparent. It is caused by a local anesthetic called spilanthol which is in the juice of the flowers and can be absorbed through the lining of the mouth. Like one of its common names suggests, the 'toothache plant' can be used to stop the pain caused by toothache because of this anesthetic. It is often grown for this purpose.<br />
<br />
That is my list of 'unusual tastes'. There are many more of these that I left off this list, because they would make it too long. It makes sense that there are so many tastes like this, because how would seafood, paprika or even peppermint be able to have such an unusual effect on the mouth with only <span class="ILfuVd yZ8quc">sourness, saltiness, sweetness and bitterness?</span></div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-48219377428458835902018-05-29T20:11:00.003-07:002018-05-29T20:13:27.246-07:00Holidays in the Grampians<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This article is about what my family and I did over the holidays at the end of the first term. The holidays were only two weeks long. During the first week, I mostly stayed at home, but during the second week of holidays we went to the Grampians, a range of mountains and national park in Victoria. I took some photos there, so all of the pictures in this post were taken by me.<br />
<br />
While we were still in South Australia, we crossed a part of the Murray river which is downriver from the part that makes most of the New South Wales/Victoria border. Afterward, if we were going farther southward, our route would have taken us along the Coorong, a narrow 160 km long body of water that extends along the coast, but hardly reaches the sea the whole way.<br />
<br />
Our main stop while driving through Victoria on the way to the Grampians was Mount Arapiles, a large mountain in the middle of a flat expanse of farming fields. On one side, Mount Arapiles is shaped like a plateau, with a level top and steep, tall cliffs at the side. It is extremely popular and well known for its rock climbs. We stopped and camped for the night so that we could have time to explore the rock formations there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRF4tWIWEDUSrOEmpTEJKUxEP4qRLbMW82DB0MCwY3VVHE7vy_4zZuOIPrIPZRDQmyeKrI7cU-iNQAfYNNtIHs_bTht8HLVCqXa4qUovPSJbJWCMZuYO-h9eXUcYOb204WPPKXiJgPLl1/s1600/20180422_152146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRF4tWIWEDUSrOEmpTEJKUxEP4qRLbMW82DB0MCwY3VVHE7vy_4zZuOIPrIPZRDQmyeKrI7cU-iNQAfYNNtIHs_bTht8HLVCqXa4qUovPSJbJWCMZuYO-h9eXUcYOb204WPPKXiJgPLl1/s320/20180422_152146.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Organ Pipes at Mount Arapiles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After we set up our tents at a campground near the climbs, me and one of my brothers went to explore the cliffs. The main features there include the Organ Pipes, which is a row of rock columns in the main cliff face, and a very large rocky bluff that appears to loom over the trees at the campsite and is easily visible from many directions. At the side of the bluff, there is a huge unbroken cliff which stretches along the entire length of the bluff and is so tall that climbers need to use four or five pitches to get to the top. During the walk, we passed a very large number of rock climbs, and a lot of climbers as well. I also got to see a lot of native wildlife, including kangaroos and wallabies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ethMaMyF4K9iEa3nK8YVjE9VyhoAwLicqE5R8dFj0ibMvDET_Y8grZPnRKsn54G5LxH5pVQUwP4lJheYje1EogbWVUe3s2cMHWyMSvMh-tTjiIHqNvvmfpuHh7ovTeMtmf5MD0JAwmsx/s1600/20180422_160614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ethMaMyF4K9iEa3nK8YVjE9VyhoAwLicqE5R8dFj0ibMvDET_Y8grZPnRKsn54G5LxH5pVQUwP4lJheYje1EogbWVUe3s2cMHWyMSvMh-tTjiIHqNvvmfpuHh7ovTeMtmf5MD0JAwmsx/s320/20180422_160614.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bluff at Arapiles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the morning on the next day, my brothers and my dad went to try some of the climbs. The place we climbed was on a relatively small rock outcrop at the base of the enormous bluff. A plaque for the original discoverer of Mount Arapiles is set halfway up the cliff there, and we climbed near the plaque. After finishing a climb, I saw a fox walking along the bottom of the cliff(Foxes are common in Australia, but they are non-native and very bad for the native wildlife).<br />
<br />
In the early afternoon, we walked up a side valley to the summit of the bluff. The view there was amazing, and the flat horizon was unbroken except for the hazy outline of the Grampians.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCfuDqHObvaa2V3xc8I1axfiRRf_JgFJItQUr3Qej4XDz09-FR5xrh-Lnfn1c5r6gB_Dhr0VFxGufeJWdGOC-5fmJ_M6EiXnrL6nMk9qJCaRCK6ODBGHNMO_XSDIIBsU6uZwoangLyXqy/s1600/20180423_151144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCfuDqHObvaa2V3xc8I1axfiRRf_JgFJItQUr3Qej4XDz09-FR5xrh-Lnfn1c5r6gB_Dhr0VFxGufeJWdGOC-5fmJ_M6EiXnrL6nMk9qJCaRCK6ODBGHNMO_XSDIIBsU6uZwoangLyXqy/s320/20180423_151144.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shape of the mountains</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Most of the mountains in the Grampians have a peculiar shape, due to their formation.
On our first day there, we went to a lookout where we could
clearly see the shape of the mountains. They were most likely formed by
layers of hard sandstone, which were tilted at an angle and then got eroded.
The tilt of the original rock layers gives a lot of the mountains a
long, gradual slope on one side, and a steep slope with cliffs on the
other. They are all pointed roughly the same direction. This makes the
Grampians an excellent place for bushwalking, because people can walk up
one slope of a mountain and see a good view from the cliffs at the
other side. We did many walks like this.<br />
<br />
One of the first few walks we did in our six-day stay in the Grampians was a six hour walk that went from Halls Gap, a small town in between the mountains, to the Pinnacles, a place at the top of a mountain that has wide views of an entire valley from the top of an overhanging cliff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrS3saGJm9D4joBMvDV3ssVsNsbY5WCMhTtFlXfPT7owQNTyvmuPGq2QqScupqhH_dPhArpVpcbskEUW2lW1q-Gqe0qaCh_Bozkg7b6xFDG22Pq0-w2GYuYpEpkI-PndkOg9UK_FAP5Xo/s1600/20180424_125000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrS3saGJm9D4joBMvDV3ssVsNsbY5WCMhTtFlXfPT7owQNTyvmuPGq2QqScupqhH_dPhArpVpcbskEUW2lW1q-Gqe0qaCh_Bozkg7b6xFDG22Pq0-w2GYuYpEpkI-PndkOg9UK_FAP5Xo/s320/20180424_125000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The rock features that we saw along the way include the Venus Baths, which is a group of perfectly round rock pools at the base of the mountain, a small gorge known as the Grand Canyon, and a very long, narrow cleft called Silent Street. The walls of these gorges looked very unusual, as if they were made of round rocks stacked on top of each other in layers, and I thought it was strange how the gorges seemed to muffle all of the sound from outside. Silent Street seems like it was appropriately named, because if you stand in the gorge and not make any sound, it can get perfectly quiet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMLB7-kmzflLhKMzorbgGO8hlFy0WeOZiFbzMe6L4Va0QEUV3-xuEsVi02HN46JDCE8KslcxVPLAzwj82ICeQ0nlcm-oFeyHVBrezKov7vzqIBaNhNLjy-nojI6CwBvRIJRtIyPSxhc6z/s1600/20180425_121713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMLB7-kmzflLhKMzorbgGO8hlFy0WeOZiFbzMe6L4Va0QEUV3-xuEsVi02HN46JDCE8KslcxVPLAzwj82ICeQ0nlcm-oFeyHVBrezKov7vzqIBaNhNLjy-nojI6CwBvRIJRtIyPSxhc6z/s320/20180425_121713.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Another place that we went to in the Grampians, and a place that I highly recommend if you go there and are adventurous, is Hollow Mountain. Hollow Mountain is surrounded by stony plains and is close to Mount Zero. It is near the edge of the mountain range. After we did a long rock scramble to get to it, we arrived at what looked like a boring rectangular bluff. It is much more interesting than it looks, however, because if you go into one of the openings at the side, it leads into a spectacular sandstone cave system. At one place, the mountain is filled with these caves, making it hollow. Once you scramble up the rocks in the largest cave, you can get to a famous rock window on the other side, which is very high up and has a view of the plains and many of the other mountains, including Mount Zero.<br />
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Another of the mountains we climbed was Mount Rosea, in a completely different part of the mountains, which also had good views, but unfortunately the summit was surrounded by mist, so we did not have good views from there. When we were walking up Mount Rosea, we crossed a bridge over the Gate of the East Wind, an extremely deep, narrow chasm through the mountain.<br />
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In the Grampians, there are a few places where someone could have a good view that does not require a very difficult walk. We went to some of these. One of the views included the valley that Halls Gap is in, and from that view we could also see the reservoir in that valley and the fields behind the mountains.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE61dqTZr54ylas9QWeZgG4Rb6XEE63XAT-qKHAerYyDM_L5fxJe4iO9Y_FkfnAQqexprAW5q-zGJ_77Mi9LEaLLMmAawKfzyrkuBBzFcm9r30AjHaRgiqkVhonfdYcPgaYIZsBiR_Hj8t/s1600/20180425_150503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE61dqTZr54ylas9QWeZgG4Rb6XEE63XAT-qKHAerYyDM_L5fxJe4iO9Y_FkfnAQqexprAW5q-zGJ_77Mi9LEaLLMmAawKfzyrkuBBzFcm9r30AjHaRgiqkVhonfdYcPgaYIZsBiR_Hj8t/s320/20180425_150503.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We did many things for our last few days in the Grampians. One of those things was that we visited two old, abandoned towns. The first one was planned to be built around a quarry, but was never finished. There was a lot of old, rusty mining equipment lying around near the quarry. The second one was called Mafeking. It was built during a gold rush, but got completely abandoned after 20 years when the gold rush was over. In both towns, most of the old buildings were taken down when the town was abandoned, so in Mafeking there is hardly anything left except for mining pits.<br />
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Another of the things we went to in the last few days was Mt William, which has a road going up it. The road is closed for public vehicles for the last stretch, so we had to walk up the road to the summit. Because there are not very many trees on the slopes that we walked up, we had very good views on the way up. From the summit, a lot of the other mountains are visible, however, when we were there, controlled burning was being done in the mountains and in the surrounding fields, so there was a lot of smoke.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkQgilcMkvealaePrTfldLxaeooxUAMPZr905UMHyb9ux7ZO9XI-tEf4Vxw11kWuI2zpQLN1NxfF5rU8eUm7na_pgzyVetkkdqZeR-Ervp_9EkTEZNiXoAVSh-TIfI9TMcB_MsNIykklM/s1600/20180428_123959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="1600" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkQgilcMkvealaePrTfldLxaeooxUAMPZr905UMHyb9ux7ZO9XI-tEf4Vxw11kWuI2zpQLN1NxfF5rU8eUm7na_pgzyVetkkdqZeR-Ervp_9EkTEZNiXoAVSh-TIfI9TMcB_MsNIykklM/s640/20180428_123959.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chimney pots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On our last day in the trip to the Grampians, we hiked to the Chimney Pots, a group of enormous smokestack-shaped rock features protruding out of a mountain. They look very strange, and they are clearly made of many layers. They resemble the sides of the Grand Canyon, a feature from another walk we did in the Grampians.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNwZXY0jSzPx9l8PpUXBh0kFVCD_pzdLhXSynLuPbFFGxV17D15VxKVpdjcTafVXFd1nT89P4D6M_ops4EYGWEldMTwTx6-VlDZQDpNNu7rhAo75UfdqA-4fSu-M2dpkZa11N6U06OBK9/s1600/20180428_171202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNwZXY0jSzPx9l8PpUXBh0kFVCD_pzdLhXSynLuPbFFGxV17D15VxKVpdjcTafVXFd1nT89P4D6M_ops4EYGWEldMTwTx6-VlDZQDpNNu7rhAo75UfdqA-4fSu-M2dpkZa11N6U06OBK9/s320/20180428_171202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The last walk we did on our trip was a short walk to the top of a dam that we could see from our campsite at Halls Gap. We took the walk so that we could see the sunset from the dam. Behind the dam was a reservoir which spanned the entire valley. Walking along the dam and looking over the trees and the water, I could see the rock features around the valley very clearly. I could also see the general shape of the valley.<br />
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We did not do much on the way back, except for stopping for lunch and to look at some murals in a small town near the Coorong in South Australia.<br />
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The Grampians is an amazing place. The mountain range is so large that we met some people we met there had been living there and doing walks frequently for over half a year and had not seen very much of it. For adventurous bushwalkers there is a multi-day hike going across the park. It was a good road trip for us, but six days was not nearly enough to explore the massive scale of the Grampians.<br />
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Here are a few more photos from the trip:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge235wr3mpRJ6o7Ai4G5ZYGF9VNSP460SD0xDGCghuIHvAga0OmTlUy159sTTq5A0V9DTxL-DbIcRGmJW4SlogMNLOtm6O1xqCnh3zMc-eUI6QTS5H3cQEpTvK28sCz8u0hrZPMzWS_5TT/s1600/20180422_161522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge235wr3mpRJ6o7Ai4G5ZYGF9VNSP460SD0xDGCghuIHvAga0OmTlUy159sTTq5A0V9DTxL-DbIcRGmJW4SlogMNLOtm6O1xqCnh3zMc-eUI6QTS5H3cQEpTvK28sCz8u0hrZPMzWS_5TT/s400/20180422_161522.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"At the side of the bluff, there is a huge unbroken cliff which stretches
along the entire length of the bluff and is so tall that climbers need
to use four or five pitches to get to the top."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MBQrajatBMBgpS4JILOjgJLjE1Eg-QarYP5zwbIlPhLneLBpshcKHtrrWd5u28JZ21vKIGO-V7GPHKe-E6nvqnn6d02aeIuJCYkxjwpokqmMU0BIC-Gz8yKb3IdlN9RSDeH4QvSoA3Tm/s1600/20180424_125004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MBQrajatBMBgpS4JILOjgJLjE1Eg-QarYP5zwbIlPhLneLBpshcKHtrrWd5u28JZ21vKIGO-V7GPHKe-E6nvqnn6d02aeIuJCYkxjwpokqmMU0BIC-Gz8yKb3IdlN9RSDeH4QvSoA3Tm/s400/20180424_125004.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some cliffs near Halls Gap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XxoqEOxD2u2QUMM2UYJMfOZE_rmdZkSJDP1bqcd-Q6jejejmFUqxLGR4EbDdBSZLQU05GnuiNmdHy9-v_38PD41V8gBEKIuiPFt-u3SUvUTsf89j6ywXMS9knqbc2j6u2ypGxdG22i29/s1600/20180424_125017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XxoqEOxD2u2QUMM2UYJMfOZE_rmdZkSJDP1bqcd-Q6jejejmFUqxLGR4EbDdBSZLQU05GnuiNmdHy9-v_38PD41V8gBEKIuiPFt-u3SUvUTsf89j6ywXMS9knqbc2j6u2ypGxdG22i29/s400/20180424_125017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hnw-73Le2iNC0HCWBODXOWdxgFFP2Ve6peLlIO1b0xpresyZpbU8tS-3HqO23qRmz9SnrKegIs1Ys7zpxEQEQLhL2Uo9FHc4Fx8_yDKDZZrlskIfUPxADDBsc766TV1fEVb0W3pPs0Xp/s1600/20180425_121725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hnw-73Le2iNC0HCWBODXOWdxgFFP2Ve6peLlIO1b0xpresyZpbU8tS-3HqO23qRmz9SnrKegIs1Ys7zpxEQEQLhL2Uo9FHc4Fx8_yDKDZZrlskIfUPxADDBsc766TV1fEVb0W3pPs0Xp/s400/20180425_121725.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of the inside of Hollow Mountain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-szdTf-bcOx3j-AJ_Ah4zZ-spzsgCixozoia_r87VEq78u8P_5r58K8uvBTHg-SXE-IMXXucins6WwmSGUtl3HBYvqokWKkcsbvC9jgNyy-MyraP63eg8icefolAswDt0Np0WHYH25Od/s1600/20180425_122427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-szdTf-bcOx3j-AJ_Ah4zZ-spzsgCixozoia_r87VEq78u8P_5r58K8uvBTHg-SXE-IMXXucins6WwmSGUtl3HBYvqokWKkcsbvC9jgNyy-MyraP63eg8icefolAswDt0Np0WHYH25Od/s400/20180425_122427.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view out of the rock window at Hollow Mountain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-lamKWiYWgybG_jS0X_mdecdM47z-7WkeH-0L5kJju53WqJMhB7xdUkDSiSI3Pooh09xt5lRXE1Pid9lq2WXmwGxhAPFZxtV3Zq4rLrcBDZZ5AuPlnZSUN0lhAzyjeojkSNGaae3sBk-/s1600/20180427_111641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-lamKWiYWgybG_jS0X_mdecdM47z-7WkeH-0L5kJju53WqJMhB7xdUkDSiSI3Pooh09xt5lRXE1Pid9lq2WXmwGxhAPFZxtV3Zq4rLrcBDZZ5AuPlnZSUN0lhAzyjeojkSNGaae3sBk-/s320/20180427_111641.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
More pictures from the dam:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifo_dWBGorM-Lf-O6yRztPj16Q6Uq9uqDYIJgEfl90Cz6pueKc17-Q6ySRSJrpscE3PUydBpSaMAB9PJMpflhcd6z51rcIC9EHNulGGS5MqA_rftjj6eVJSGK5nQQ9NsdLTxpoBYxTkNuX/s1600/20180428_171704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifo_dWBGorM-Lf-O6yRztPj16Q6Uq9uqDYIJgEfl90Cz6pueKc17-Q6ySRSJrpscE3PUydBpSaMAB9PJMpflhcd6z51rcIC9EHNulGGS5MqA_rftjj6eVJSGK5nQQ9NsdLTxpoBYxTkNuX/s320/20180428_171704.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLOXBLDgbDYrtYHRLVAcJRHGCZl8FJlk5e6iGgJHbmVG5-7FWHjZfrojHEqLNx0tm1j7nPExbYQ0zH2DHoAFAdd5b9yJ1jk1IdN4O0G8JCGGkoRIAELXiGRJAZmJrga8e9sJCc8bN_YQ-/s1600/20180428_171700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLOXBLDgbDYrtYHRLVAcJRHGCZl8FJlk5e6iGgJHbmVG5-7FWHjZfrojHEqLNx0tm1j7nPExbYQ0zH2DHoAFAdd5b9yJ1jk1IdN4O0G8JCGGkoRIAELXiGRJAZmJrga8e9sJCc8bN_YQ-/s320/20180428_171700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-246064696438704932018-04-08T22:39:00.001-07:002018-04-08T22:39:33.905-07:00A guide to the fourth dimension<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The idea of this article is to imagine what it would be like to be in four dimensions. Of course, since we live in only three dimensions, it is impossible to visualize a four-dimensional space, but we can show how everything would work in the fourth dimension by using mathematics.<br />
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To start with, we need to know what a transition to a higher dimension is like. The start is zero dimensions. In a zero-dimensional world, it is impossible to move, and there would be no space around, and no amounts of anything. There can only be something, or nothing. The shape of a 0-dimensional world is a simple dot.<br />
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To go to the first dimension, imagine taking two zero-dimensional worlds(dots), and connecting them. This world is simply a line. In the first dimension, nothing can move past anything else, and any object is basically a line, with varying length. The ends of each line are zero-dimensional points.<br />
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To make a two-dimensional world, imagine taking two one-dimensional lines, and connecting them at every point. The result is a flat sheet. An infinite world of two dimensions is called a plane in mathematics. It would be the same as in three dimensions, except that one of the directions is missing, so it would be like moving pieces of paper around on a flat table.<br />
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Stepping up to three dimensions can be done by taking two parallel planes and connecting them at each point. This results in a three dimensional space. This is the dimension that we are the most familiar with. Many more things are possible in three dimensions than in two. The second dimension to us would be so thin that it could not influence the third dimension. There are still two-dimensional things in our world, though, like shadows, surfaces and images.<br />
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The best way to imagine the fourth dimension would be to recognize that the third dimension is to the fourth dimension as the second is to the third. A four dimensional space would be the space in between two volumes that are separated from each other in only the fourth dimension, which is at right angles to each of our three dimensions. Of course, we know of no evidence that a four dimensional world exists, but it is possible in mathematics.<br />
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The simplest way to imagine these transitions through the dimensions is to imagine a hypercube. A hypercube is an object in any dimension, where its lengths in each dimension are the same, and it takes up the maximum amount of space for a given side length. For example, a 1-dimensional hypercube is a line. Stepping up to two dimensions makes it into a square, and in the third dimension it becomes a cube. The 1-dimensional hypercube has two 0-dimensional endpoints. The 2-dimensional hypercube has four 1-dimensional sides and four 0-dimensional corners. The 3-dimensional hypercube is a bit more complicated, with six 2-dimensional faces, twelve 1-dimensional edges and eight 0-dimensional corners. As the hypercube goes up through each dimension, it gains a different property. The next step is where it starts to get weird.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/From_Point_to_Tesseract_(Looped_Version).gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="256" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/From_Point_to_Tesseract_(Looped_Version).gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An animation of a hypercube</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A 4-dimensional hypercube is called a tesseract or 8-cell. The tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Because a square has four sides and a cube has six, a tesseract has eight sides. These 'sides' are all three-dimensional cubes and are called cells. The two additional sides are extended in the fourth dimension as follows: if you go straight ahead all of the way around a cube or a square, you will go around three other sides before you get back to the starting side, and this is the same with a tesseract. Following the normal pattern of hypercubes, each cell of a tesseract has six square sides. Going through any one of those sides takes you onto another side. At each of the 32 edges, three cells meet, and four cells meet at each of the 16 corners. In normal three-dimensional space, four cubes can meet at an edge, and eight can meet at a corner, so at those areas the tesseract would be especially warped from three dimensions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/8-cell_net.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="595" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/8-cell_net.png" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dali cross</td></tr>
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One way to make this all simpler is by unfolding the tesseract, just like how you can unfold a cube into two-dimensional space. In a cube, the resulting shape looks like a cross made of six square panels. In a tesseract, the shape would look like a four-sided cross made of eight cubes, four cubes tall with four additional cubes sticking out in all four directions. This is called a 'net' of a tesseract, which is known as the Dali cross.<br />
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The common way to display a tesseract(see below) is to have a cube with a smaller one inside it, linked to the bigger one by twelve walls, one for each edge of the inside cube. The inner cube is the cell that is facing away from us in the fourth dimension, and the space in between the inner and outer cubes is divided by the walls into six semi-trapezoidal shapes. These shapes are six of the other cells. The last one, which is facing toward us in the fourth dimension, is the bigger cube and has all of the other cells shown inside it.<br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Schlegel_wireframe_8-cell.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Schlegel_wireframe_8-cell.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the classical projection of a tesseract onto three dimensions. It is three-dimensional, but it has all of the same edges, corners and faces of the actual tesseract. The only thing that is changed is the shape. It is what the shadow of a tesseract would look like if it was rotated in the right way.<br />
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There are many other shapes in the fourth dimension besides a tesseract, which include 6 shapes that are closely related to the five three-dimensional platonic solids. There is also a shape related to the circle or sphere, which is called the 3-sphere or glome. It consists of all of the points at a certain distance x(in four dimensions) to a certain point. The cross-section of a 3-sphere is a sphere, just like how the cross-section of a tesseract can be a cube.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/8-cell.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="255" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/8-cell.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shadow of a rotating 8-cell</td></tr>
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Visualizing the fourth dimension is impossible, because we live in only three dimensions, however, there are three different ways we can make a small understanding of the fourth dimension. The first is by using three dimensional graphs that capture some of the elements of the fourth dimension. These can be like shadows or cross-sections of four-dimensional objects. They give some of the information about these objects, but never all of it. The second is by keeping in mind that four dimensions is to three as three is to two, so we can imagine how three dimensional objects would relate to a two-dimensional world.<br />
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The third is by using our own fourth dimension: time. Even though we can influence the future and it is impossible to look into it, and we can only see three dimensions, time can still be compared to a fourth. We can represent a four dimensional object by using time as one of the axes. Maybe we do live a four dimensional world.</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-58553670862629570072017-12-15T17:53:00.001-08:002017-12-15T17:53:23.385-08:00How will the universe end?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Right now, all mass as we know it is composed of energy, because it is contained in the bonds in between the particles in atoms. Energy is also stored in other forms, including heat, electricity, the gravitational field, motion and in many other places. So where is it all going? There are three main theories for the end of the universe.<br />
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The first theory I am going to write about is the big rip. This is the theory where mass spreads too far apart, because of its momentum from the big bang, and all of the universe slowly rips apart.<br />
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Scientists have discovered that most of the galaxies around us are moving away from ours in all directions. What is more, they seem to be spreading apart faster than they are supposed to, considering the gravitational force in between them. It is very mysterious where the extra energy for this comes from, so it is called 'dark energy'. The mysteriousness from this makes us unsure of what will happen to the universe in the future, so we do not know if this theory is correct, However, the next one appears to be the most likely.<br />
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The second theory is the case where we consider a certain type of energy carrier: entropy. Entropy is a measurement of what we normally consider as heat. According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy can be created, but not destroyed. Whenever we heat something up, we are adding to the ever-increasing amount of entropy in the universe, even when the light from the sun is absorbed by the ground, making entropy, or when we make entropy with our bodies. Energy is always carried away by the entropy whenever it is created, and that is where all of the energy from the earth goes; radiating into space being carried by entropy.<br />
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A theory for the end of the universe is that all mass will dissolve into energy carried by entropy, and the only thing left will be radiation. This theory is called heat death. The opposite of heat death is if the entropy spreads out too fast because of the expansion of the universe, and stars slowly die out as a result. This is the prevailing theory, and it is called the 'big freeze'. Despite the fact that entropy is always increasing and cannot be stopped, life and stars can only exist by using balances of entropy.<br />
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Fortunately, the next is more optimistic than these two, and it is still likely.<br />
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The last theory is that, since matter is spread out in the universe, it might fall under the gravitational attraction in between stars and galaxies after gravity overcomes the outward momentum given to the universe by the big bang. This could result in all of the the universe condensing to a single point, which could spark another big bang. This theory is called the 'big crunch', and it states that this might have happened to the universe several, if not infinite, times before. </div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-6877297275595547792017-08-13T20:41:00.003-07:002017-08-13T20:41:48.608-07:00Struggle to the peak of Mount Barney<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Mount Barney is one of the biggest mountains in South East Queensland. It has an interesting history of formation and discovery. It is very popular to climb and it is visible over a very wide range. I have seen it very often when climbing mountains and ridges at the remains of the tweed volcano, a place that is geologically linked to Mount Barney.<br />
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Mount Barney was formed when magma from a local geological hotspot intruded into the sandstone above. This hotspot also created the Tweed Volcano, a huge shield volcano that erupted millions of years ago, flooding the surrounding landscape with slowly cooling lava, building up the sides of the volcano with igneous rock. The eroded remnants of the Tweed Volcano are now a circular ring of mountains called the Scenic Rim. There are many national parks in this area, due to its diverse wildlife, stunning gorges and amazing views, all related to the igneous rock and long-ago volcanic eruptions. The Scenic Rim is nearly on the border of Queensland and New South Wales, although it is mostly in the latter. Me and my family have hiked in many national parks in this area, and at the many good viewpoints, one can get an idea of the vast scale of the ancient volcano. Related to the Tweed Volcano are the many igneous intrusions through the overlying sandstone that created mountains in this region.<br />
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After the magma intrusions cooled into hard rock, the soft sandstone around the intrusions weathered away. This weathering exposed the jagged peaks of mountains, which weathered little. This lead to strange mountainsides and sheer cliffs in many areas, including the area of Mount Barney. The odd rock formations and steep slopes make it a good challenge for backpackers, and it is a challenge that me and some of my family attempted on a weekend backpacking trip.<br />
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Mount Barney has an important role in many Australian aboriginal myths and stories, and climbing the mountain is forbidden in their culture. The first European who discovered it named it Mount Lindesay, but the second changed the name and named it after an engineer, giving the name of Mount Lindesay to a nearby mountain which is easily visible from Mount Barney.<br />
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There are two main peaks on Mount Barney, the East peak and the West peak. We did not attempt to climb the West peak, because it is far more difficult and only slightly taller than the East peak. To climb the East peak, we took a route up the Southeast ridge, also called Logan's ridge, and went down on the West slope of the peak, down a trail to the saddle in between the two major peaks, then down the South ridge. There are numerous smaller peaks as well, but we did not climb any of them. One thing to look for from near the base of the mountain is the amazing East cliff, a wide vertical free fall that goes down 300 meters from the top of the East peak.<br />
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None of the trails on Mount Barney are easy, and they all require a lot of hiking experience. The way we climbed up was along the Southeast ridge, which has good views but is very steep, especially at the top. There seemed to be no end to the sheer, smooth cliffs, the jagged knife-edges of rock, and the small hills, all of which the trail followed, keeping to the side of an arm of rock sometimes, going along the top of a small ridge with cliffs on both sides at other times. The trail was not clearly marked, and we lost it and came back to it about three or four times. The last section of the Southeast ridge, which reached from about 300 meters below the peak up to the top, was extremely steep, nearly a cliff, and we had to use rope at one place at the beginning of that section, and nearly had to use it on several other sections on the way up. Unfortunately, a thick mist was around the top, from a place 400m below the summit, and we did not get a view there, although the views on the way up were amazing. The mist made the climb very cold and wet. By the time we got to the top, we had climbed up an entire kilometer vertically.<br />
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After leaving the top, we took a while scrambling down long, flat rocks on the slope down to the saddle. The trail there was not very clear, and we had to rely on pink ribbons tied to bushes to find our way. There were spectacular views from the saddle. There we found the old site of a hut, and the place looked worn down and overgrown. I was disappointed at not being able to see the views at the top, but the view from other places, including the saddle, made the hike worth it. We crossed a small creek and went on a short trail to Rum Jungle.<br />
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There are many stages of vegetation on the slopes of the mountain. At the foot it is an ordinary, open eucalyptus forest. Higher up it turns into a shrubby area where there are only lichens, bushes, and a few stunted trees, including the grass tree. On the west-facing slope that we climbed down, there was also sparse vegetation, but of a different type, with less trees and more grass. On the saddle and for a while down the South ridge, the small bushes, tall grass and shrubs give way to dense subtropical rainforest, with a very sudden transition after crossing the small creek that runs along the saddle.<br />
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There is one trail on Mount Barney which is good for less experienced hikers. That trail is the South ridge trail, fittingly called the Peasant's trail. It leads from the foot of the mountain up to Rum Jungle, a campsite on the saddle that is in the dense rainforest. The Peasant's trail is what we took on the way down from the saddle. Compared to Logan's ridge, I found it easy and leisurely, but it has its own difficulties.<br />
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Mount Barney is surrounded by the boundaries of a national park. In this national park there are many rare species of plants and animals that do not live in many other places, as well as a huge diversity of plant and animals, including many wallabies that we saw near the trail head on the way back from the mountain. Another species that we saw was the red triangle slug, a type of slug that lives along the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland, including the Scenic Rim. The individual that we saw was dark red with a darker red triangle on its back. The nature on and around the mountain makes it a spectacular place, as well as a good hiking challenge. Our visit was enjoyable, peaceful and most of all challenging. If you are experienced at bushwalking and you live in South East Queensland or near the Scenic Rim, I suggest that you give Mount Barney a try.</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-57018238460551746342017-08-05T22:26:00.000-07:002017-08-05T22:31:31.462-07:00Top 10 birds you should see in Australia(Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is the second part of "Top 10 birds you should see in Australia". If you have not read part 1, I suggest that you read it first, if you have time. However, it is not necessary.<br />
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These are my personal top 5 birds that I have seen on road trips through Australia, and around my home. I will include some information about personal experiences I have had around these birds, and also information about identification and birdwatching for those who are interested, as in the previous list<span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<i>Note on conversions: Since I have lived outside of the United
States for so long, all of the distances and weights in this article are
given in the metric system. If you live in the US, you can use this
conversion to get an idea of these quantities:</i><br />
<i>1 centimeter(cm) ~ 0.4 inches(1in = 2.54cm)</i><br />
<i>1 meter(m) ~ 3.3 feet</i><br />
<i>1 kilometer(km) ~ 0.62 miles(1mi ~ 1.6km)</i><br />
<i>1 gram(g) ~ 0.035 ounces(1oz ~ 28g)</i><br />
<i>1 kilogram(kg) ~ 2.2 pounds </i></div>
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Hopefully I have explained this list briefly enough. It is now time to start.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
5: Pied Cormorant</h4>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Phalacrocorax varius</i></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4ferOuRD0XiRfwsWAbhz_CA3N0sLsmaK72-24uODqHoDiPjJ8hfbpktwMDRyAef3SdS9ATXMtRz89qf54XcyTg0C3XW5DyS5E9NMFDjm7D6qPC9aalu_i4m1UNkuBAz1EZ8M0Dtfu_Ye/s1600/Pied_cormorant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1438" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4ferOuRD0XiRfwsWAbhz_CA3N0sLsmaK72-24uODqHoDiPjJ8hfbpktwMDRyAef3SdS9ATXMtRz89qf54XcyTg0C3XW5DyS5E9NMFDjm7D6qPC9aalu_i4m1UNkuBAz1EZ8M0Dtfu_Ye/s320/Pied_cormorant.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pied cormorant swimming in the Brisbane river</td></tr>
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Pied cormorants are only one of the many common cormorant species in Australia, but they are the most commonly seen ones on the east coast. They are seen swimming in rivers, lakes, or estuaries, and they dive underwater to catch fish. They mostly live close to the coast, and not inland.<br />
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When I lived in the Central Coast, close to Sydney, I saw this bird, or possibly some other type of cormorant, on the rocks near the beach almost every time I went there. After it went swimming somewhere else to catch food, it always rested on the same rock to dry off its wings. I have also seen them in Brisbane, swimming in the ocean, reservoirs or the Brisbane river. It is very interesting to watch them feed, as they swim on the surface of the water for a while, then, when they see food underwater, they quickly and gracefully dive down to catch it. Cormorants spend about 20 seconds underwater, on average, before they resurface, and with clear water and direct sunlight, you might be able to track them as they swim.<br />
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Description: The pied cormorant is black and white("Pied" means black and white, and this leads to many bird names, such as pied butcherbird, pied currawong, magpie, etc), with black wings, black back, a white neck and white on most of the underside. It can be identified by an orange-yellow patch right in front of the eye. It has a blue-green eye ring.<br />
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How to find: Their feathers are not completely waterproof, so pied cormorants are usually seen drying out their wings in the sun, standing on top of rocks. They can also be seen swimming in the water looking for food. The best place to see cormorants is around bodies of water. They are always close to land, because they only fish in shallow water.<br />
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Diet: Pied cormorants mainly eat fish. When they dive, they swim with their webbed feet and steer using their wings, which gives them speed and agility underwater.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
4: Black Swan</h4>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Cygnus atratus</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Black_Swan_RWD2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="800" height="241" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Black_Swan_RWD2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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The black swan is mostly known for its cultural importance, and it is seen as an icon of Australia because of the way they oppose to European swans, being black instead of white and living in the opposite hemisphere. Being part of Australian culture, they can be seen on the flag of Western Australia(Down and right) and the coat of arms(See previous article, "Emu", it is on the bottom middle of the shield).<br />
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Black swans live in the south of Australia, and I have seen many of them in Canberra and on the island of Tasmania. They swim in the water most of the time, and I have not seen one walking on land very often. They are not afraid to nest, and even live, near humans, and they are not very shy.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Flag_of_Western_Australia.svg/1200px-Flag_of_Western_Australia.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="160" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Flag_of_Western_Australia.svg/1200px-Flag_of_Western_Australia.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Australian flag</td></tr>
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I have seen black swans often on the open waters of Tasmania. When it is not mating season, they move around from place to place, flying frequently and stopping at water to feed. They partner for life, raising one brood per season. Their young are called cygnets.<br />
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Description: The black swan, hence its name, is mostly black, but it has white wing-tips that are visible in flight. Its bill is dark red, but also has a white tip.<br />
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How to find: Black swans are commonly seen in open, clean, still bodies of water. In southern places, such as Tasmania, they are a more common sight and many of them live in southern cities such as Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. When you are lucky you might see them as a family.<br />
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Diet: Black swans feed by stretching down with their long necks and eating algae and other aquatic plants from the bottom. They do this in water about 1m deep.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
3: Wedge-tailed Eagle</h4>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Aquila audax</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Wedge_Tailed_Eagle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" height="239" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Wedge_Tailed_Eagle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perching</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The Wedge-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in Australia, with a wingspan of up to 2.84 meters and a length of up to 1.06 meters. They are accustomed to deserts and mainly live in desert environments, such as the outback, but not in the harshest deserts, and mostly near the edge of the outback. They can, however, occasionally be seen nearer to the coast.<br />
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You would be lucky to see one of these birds in the wild. They often circle very high up for hours on end, at about 1,800 meters up, and sometimes much higher. They do this by gliding on thermal air currents, during the hottest part of the day when there can be scorching heat. It can be very hard to see them during these times(Imagine trying to see a 1cm wide object 20m away. It is just about as hard), but most of the times that I saw one in the wild, it was circling straight overhead. Fortunately, they are very distinguishable when flying, even by the silhouette, because of their unique wedge-shaped tail.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Aquila_audax_(26445904754).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Aquila_audax_(26445904754).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In flight</td></tr>
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Wedge-tailed eagles are very territorial birds, and they have a record of attacking other birds, including other wedge-tails, and on occasion attacking and damaging model airplanes, hang gliders, paragliders, survey drones, normal airplanes and helicopters. For food they hunt anything that is convenient, being very adaptive, and they sometimes eat roadkill or other carrion. Once I have seen a wedge-tailed eagle, or a similar species, fly after a dingo that was dragging a dead wallaby across the road. Besides dingoes they compete with other scavengers such as Australian ravens and black kites. When not looking for food or flying, these eagles perch on a rock high up where they can get a good view of their territory.<br />
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Description: Wedge-tailed eagles are brown, and the colour of the feathers is a marker for age, since they get darker as they get older. To identify them from other birds, look for the wedge-shaped tail. They are very large birds, 96cm in length on average, which is about as tall as a 3 year old child.<br />
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How to find: They can be seen circling in slow loops high in the air in the middle of the day, around noon. Because they use thermals to stay up, they hardly ever have to flap their wings during this kind of flight.<br />
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Diet: Basically, being apex predators, wedge-tailed eagles can hunt almost anything. In many places, they eat mainly rabbits, ever since European settlers arrived. They also eat small mammals such as wallabies and possums, and many types of smaller birds including cockatoos, and also reptiles. I have seen them go after carrion such as roadkill, and they scavenge from other predators as well. In groups, they may even hunt large prey like sheep and red kangaroos.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
2: Superb Lyrebird</h4>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Menura novaehollandiae</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Lyrebird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="800" height="294" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Lyrebird.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The superb lyrebird is well known as a songbird, and it is named after the male's tail feathers, two of which form the shape of a lyre. It has strong legs and large feet for clawing in the dirt to find food, like the bush turkey, but the superb lyrebird also has other uses for its feet. These lyrebirds are endemic to Australia, and they live on the east coast from Tasmania all of the way up to South East Queensland. A lyrebird appears on the Australian ten-cent coin.<br />
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The thing that lyrebirds are most known for is their courtship ritual. During mating season, the male lyrebird prepares for courtship by finding an area under some tall bushes that is safe from predators, but still easily visible from a distance. The male then uses his feet to rake all of the sticks and overlaying leaf litter from a small patch of ground, about 2m wide. As a "courtship dance", the lyrebird arches its long tail feathers over its head, covering it in a light silver canopy, and stands in the middle of the area it raked out, singing its song loudly enough that it can be heard from far away.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ed/Australian_10c_Coin.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="125" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ed/Australian_10c_Coin.png" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Australian ten-cent coin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The song of a male lyrebird is composed of mimicry of many other sounds, both natural and artificial. It can mimic the sound of up to 20 other birds that live in the same area, and also the sound of a chainsaw, a car alarm, and many others. I have heard more lyrebirds than I have seen, and and first I have mistaken them for other birds, because of their excellent mimicry. I have heard one make the chainsaw sound, the voice of a bell bird, part of the song of a whip bird and an attempt of the call of a kookaburra, all in about 5 minutes, and most of them were imitated almost perfectly. I have also watched one perform its mating dance, and it tended its ground area well, pausing its song to get some dirt or branches out of the way every two minutes or so.<br />
<br />
Description: The superb lyrebird is a large brown bird. It is similar in form to the bush turkey, and looks like a large pheasant. The males have a long tail, which consists of a few silvery-white feathers that the bird fans out during display, and two special curving feathers that look like the sides of a lyre. Juveniles and females also have a long tail, but lack the special feathers, and the tail is not as long or ornate.<br />
<br />
How to find: It is easiest to find lyrebirds while on bushwalks in dry eucalypt forests about 100km north of Sydney, where they are common. It is easier to hear them than to see them, so listen carefully to find them.<br />
<br />
Diet: Same as the <a href="http://lyrasletters.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/top-10-birds-you-should-see-in.html">Australian brushturkey</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
1: Southern Cassowary</h4>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Casuarius casuarius</i></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Wild_cassowary_walking_at_Mission_Beach_IMG_3933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="624" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Wild_cassowary_walking_at_Mission_Beach_IMG_3933.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild cassowary at Mission Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The southern cassowary is a large, flightless bird, similar to the emu, except that its feathers are black and it has a large crest on the top its head. Its head and neck are distinctly coloured, and it has wattles on its neck. The Southern cassowary lives in southern New Guinea, and some very few places along the northeastern coast of Queensland, in the dense tropical rain forest.<br />
<br />
While on a vacation in the tropical north of Queensland, we went to
Mission Beach, a small town surrounded by green rainforest-covered
hills. While we were there, we went to a building where we met a
photographer who took pictures of cassowaries, and he told us about a
good place to see them. We went there in the early morning with
binoculars, and we were lucky enough to see a cassowary walking about
150 meters away through the early morning mist. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/Cassowary_Coast_Regional_Council.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="256" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/Cassowary_Coast_Regional_Council.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the symbol for the Cassowary Coast<br />
shire region. It represents two things at once.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Cassowaries can be extremely dangerous birds. Being related to emus and ostriches, they can run far faster than a human, and if they feel threatened, they can deliver a kick fatal to humans. If you come close to a cassowary, you should not approach it or run away. The best thing to do is to slowly back away and keep an eye on it until it walks away.<br />
<br />
Many cassowaries get killed off by human activity. Its greatest dangers are deforestation, hunting, roadkill and other animals eating their eggs. As of 2002, there was a declining population of an estimated 10,000-20,000 birds in the world, with approximately 1,500-2,500 birds in Australia. This puts it on the Threatened list with a conservation status of Vulnerable. The Australian population has a status of Endangered. If it goes extinct, it will be very bad for the rainforest, because the southern cassowary can eat fruits of plants that are poisonous to other animals, and the bird is important for distributing the seeds of these plants.<br />
<br />
Conservation status: Vulnerable(Endangered in Australia). This is Least Concern for all other birds on this list, but you will still be able to find it if you look in the right places.<br />
<br />
Description: The southern cassowary looks like an emu in body shape and size, but the feathers on its back are black instead of brown, as well as some other differences around the head and neck. These differences include that its neck and head are a sharp blue colour, paler at the head, and it has two wattles, which are red by contrast. The back of the neck is also red. It has a huge crest on top of its head. In my experience, it looks a bit like a very large turkey.<br />
<br />
How to find: In Australia, you can find them by taking a trip through the rainforest in the north, along the coast(watch out for the crocodiles). To find places where they live, you can look up information or ask people. Cassowaries are active mostly in the early morning. Slow down on the road in areas where cassowaries have been seen to avoid hitting them.<br />
<br />
Diet: Fruit, fungi and some insects.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Thank you for reading this list! Unfortunately, I might be busy for the next few weeks, and I might not be able to write very much. If you have any questions/comments, please post them below(Thanks!).<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image sources: Wikimedia commons(except for the first one, which I took myself). </i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-31822560865723475322017-07-10T22:37:00.001-07:002017-07-23T19:17:29.899-07:00Top 10 birds you should see in Australia(Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We have lived in Australia for almost five years. Over the various road trips I have been on, I have enjoyed seeing a lot of native Australian birds. Below is my personal top ten list of native birds I have seen on these road trips and around my home. If you consider travelling in Australia, be sure to look out for these birds!<br />
<br />
<i>Note on conversions: Since I have lived outside of the United States for so long, all of the distances and weights in this article are given in the metric system. If you live in the US, you can use this conversion to get an idea of these quantities:</i><br />
<i>1 centimeter(cm) ~ 0.4 inches(1in = 2.54cm)</i><br />
<i>1 meter(m) ~ 3.3 feet</i><br />
<i>1 kilometer(km) ~ 0.62 miles(1mi ~ 1.6km) </i><br />
<i>1 gram(g) ~ 0.035 ounces(1oz ~ 28g)</i><br />
<i>1 kilogram(kg) ~ 2.2 pounds</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
10: Australian Brushturkey </h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Alectura lathami</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Alectura_lathami.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Alectura_lathami.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Australian brushturkey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
The Australian brushturkey, frequently called the bush turkey or scrub turkey, is very common across the entire east coast, from Melbourne to Carins. They are commonly seen in backyards in this region and can become a pest in some areas, since they steal food(usually fruit) often.<br />
<br />
Like the Mallee fowl and other Megapodes, male brush turkeys make nests composed of leaf litter, which they rake up using their feet from a large patch of ground. These nests are built under tree shelter and can be a mound up to 1m high and 4m wide. I have seen the building of these nests disturb human habitation when the nest was built in a backyard, the turkeys rake trails of leaf litter across a road or public pathway, or they rake away all of the mulch in a garden. Each male brush-turkey typically has several mates, which lay eggs in its mound. The turkeys check the temperatures using their beaks and rake layers on or off whether the nest is too hot or too cold. A brush-turkey nest can have up to 50 eggs in it. After the chicks hatch, they receive no further parental care.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/BrushTurkey1_MtCootThaBrisbane_2012_08_19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/BrushTurkey1_MtCootThaBrisbane_2012_08_19.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male brushturkey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Description: Australian brushturkeys are not easily confused with any other Australian bird. They are about the size of their relatives, peafowl and junglefowl, and they have a laterally flattened tail. They are mostly black, but they have a red coloured head with no feathers, while females usually have a yellow band around their neck and males have a yellow wattle.<br />
<br />
How to find: If you stay in the area for a few days, you would be lucky not to see one! Most of them live close to human habitation and they are common in backyards and on rooftops, but mostly in parks.<br />
<br />
Diet: Brush-turkeys dig in the ground for insects, seeds and fruits. To get to insects they break open rotting logs with their feet.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
9: Australian Pelican </h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Pelecanus conspicillatus</i></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Pelecanus_conspicillatus_-Australia_-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="800" height="217" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Pelecanus_conspicillatus_-Australia_-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Australian pelican swimming</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Australian pelicans are a common sight on lakes and rivers where there is not too much human disturbance. They are pretty large birds(medium-sized for pelicans) and have a wingspan of about 2.5m. They usually weigh 4.5-7.5 kilograms. Despite their size, pelicans can fly pretty well(Although they do look kind of awkward when they fly). They can be seen anywhere along the coast.<br />
<br />
Lake Eyre is a large salt flat in South Australia which has a watershed spanning a large part of the outback. Once every few years, lake Eyre fills with water. During this time, many species of birds, including pelicans, fly there from all around Australia to gather at the edge and breed. During one of these periods, from 1989-1990, there was an estimated number of 200,000 pelicans, or 80% of Australia's total population. The fact that they can sense the filling of lake Eyre from the coast, in some places thousands of kilometers away, is still a mystery.<br />
<br />
Description: Pelicans are mostly white, although the wings are mostly black. Males are larger than females. The Australian pelican holds a world record with the largest bill of any bird, which can be 40-50cm long, longer in males than in females. The pelicans also have a yellow rim around the eyes, making the eyes appear bigger.<br />
<br />
How to find: Most pelicans eat fish from the sea or brackish water, so you are likely to see them around docks, harbours or jetties. They scavenge food from humans sometimes, so they often roost near human activity, usually in high places like on lamps and tall poles. They can also be seen flying overhead.<br />
<br />
Diet: Pelicans mainly eat fish, which they catch while swimming with their long bills.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
8: Laughing Kookaburra</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Dacelo novaeguineae</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Laughing_kookaburra_dec08_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="534" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Laughing_kookaburra_dec08_02.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laughing kookaburra </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Laughing Kookaburra is closely related to the Blue-winged kookaburra, which lives in northern Australia and New Guinea. Laughing kookaburras are known by the popular song, although many people might not know what they are. Kookaburras are in fact a member of the Kingfisher family, and they have heads and beaks suitable for catching fish and other small prey. Most of them, however, do not live near lakes or rivers. They are mostly found around Sydney, but some live in other parts of the East coast.<br />
<br />
The most distinctive thing about laughing kookaburras is their call. They use it to warn other kookaburras of danger or as a territorial call to stop other families of kookaburras or other birds from intruding on that family's territory. It starts with one kookaburra, which initialises the call, then continues when others join in as a group. It sounds like laughing or chuckling.<br />
<br />
Description: Laughing kookaburras are mostly white, with dark brown on the wings, and the tail is barred with black. They have a brown horizontal eye-stripe, and the upper beak is blue, while the lower part of the beak is white. They also have bright blue spots on their wings.<br />
<br />
How to find: Kookaburras are almost always found in trees, on branches that are straight and horizontal, preferring eucalyptus trees. They can be seen in public parks around picnic benches, because they occasionally steal food from humans, but not very often. They can be very brave sometimes and come up to people to beg for food.<br />
<br />
Diet: Insects, small lizards and snakes, also fish when present. When they are hunting, they sit very still on a branch, and when they
see movement on the ground, they dive down and make their catch, which is interesting to observe. <br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
7: Tawny Frogmouth</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Podargus strigoides</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Podargus_strigoides_-West_Ryde%2C_Sydney%2C_New_South_Wales-8.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="745" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Podargus_strigoides_-West_Ryde%2C_Sydney%2C_New_South_Wales-8.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frogmouth perching on a balcony in Sydney</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Because
of their nocturnal habits, low call, silent flight, diet, and similar
colouring, tawny frogmouths are very easily mistaken for owls, although
they are more closely related to nightjars than to owls. Tawny
frogmouths can be seen anywhere in Australia, even in Tasmania, except
for dense rainforests and the outback, and they are very common along
the East coast, around Sydney and Brisbane.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Tawny
frogmouths sleep during the day, and they need to be safe from
predators during this time, so their colours make them able to
camouflage. They sleep on tree branches, and their feathers make them
able to blend into their surroundings so well, that they are even hard
to see in broad daylight. When they are sleeping, tawny frogmouths tilt
their head upwards to help this disguise. Even while awake, they hardly
move at all, so they might appear to be fake. They sometimes sleep in
pairs.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Description:
Tawny frogmouths have a mottled pattern that allows them to camouflage,
with black, light brown, darker brown, and silver-grey. They have a
very big head and a wide beak. During the night, they make a deep,
continuous 'ooo-ooo' sound.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
How
to find: Sometimes, tawny frogmouths can be seen sleeping on a railing
during the day. When they do this, you can come close up to them, but it
is best to be very quiet, to avoid waking them up. Their call can be
heard during the night.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Diet:
Tawny frogmouths are carnivores, and they eat mainly worms and insects.
They are considered one of the best Australian pest control birds, as
they hunt a large variety of the animals usually classified as household
pests. Unlike owls, they catch their prey with their beaks instead of
their feet.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>6: Emu</b></h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dromaius novaehollandiae</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Emu_RWD2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="800" height="241" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Emu_RWD2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An emu in a zoo near Melbourne </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The emu is a very large, flightless bird. It is the largest living bird by height apart from its relative, the ostrich, and they have a height that can reach up to 1.9 meters. I have seen emus run very fast, and they can run up to 50 kph(30mph). Emus live almost everywhere in the Australian outback, and also in a few other places, like the Flinders ranges, where they are very common.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Emu is a major icon of Australia, appearing on the coat of arms and playing a large role in aboriginal mythology. Many aboriginal groups have a 'constellation' in the shape of an emu, made from the dark parts in the Milky Way. This 'constellation' stretches across the Southern Cross and Scorpius, and is only visible in a clear night sky.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Australian_Coat_of_Arms.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="788" height="246" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Australian_Coat_of_Arms.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Australian coat of arms, with the emu on the right</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Like the brushturkey(above), the male emu does all of the work in caring for the eggs. The male also cares for the chicks. In the Flinders Ranges, I have seen a male emu with eleven chicks, which it was very protective of, rearing up towards the car while the chicks were crossing the road. The only work the female does is laying the eggs.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Description: Emus are very tall, in many cases taller than a person. They are covered with thin, shaggy brown feathers, except for the feet, head and neck. The head and neck have a pattern of black and bright blue and a thin layer of feathers. Emu chicks are brown with white stripes.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
How to find: Emus can be seen anywhere in the outback, and sometimes groups walk straight through small towns. They are very easy to find on a drive through the Flinders Ranges or anywhere in the outback.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Diet: Emus are herbivores, and they eat from a large variety of plants, eating fruits, seeds, and small insects, and they swallow small stones to help them digest their food. Living in the outback, they can go several days without water if necessary.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is the end of part 1. I will post part 2 sometime in the next three weeks, but not sooner than two, because I will be taking a trip to the Netherlands. In the meanwhile, I would like some suggestions of some birds that I can add to my list for part 2, especially birds common in Western Australia, where I have not travelled.</div>
</div>
</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-17974596638069112962017-03-31T13:22:00.003-07:002017-03-31T13:22:58.107-07:00Superfluids<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Quantum mechanics is very strange and hard to understand. Even today, most of it is merely theoretical, and it behaves much differently than the visible world.<br />
<br />
Take quarks, for example. One of the smallest subunits of the things you can see around you are atoms. All atoms have a nucleus, which is composed of protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons are made of quarks. There are six different types of quarks. They include Up and Down quarks, which protons and neutrons are made of, and also the Strange, Charm, Bottom and Top quarks. The largest type of quarks, Up and Down quarks, are about 10,000 times larger than the smallest type, the Top quark(This can be shown in the zoomable comparison <a href="http://htwins.net/scale2/">here</a>). The strange thing about this is, that the Top quark is almost 100,000 times as massive! This is an example of a phenomenon of quantum physics that shows that things at that scale greatly differ in behaviour from objects that we can sense. Another phenomenon is that neutrinos coming from the sun <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_neutrino_problem">change</a> into other types of neutrinos before reaching earth. Most of these phenomena are only theoretical, and cannot be seen or visibly detected, but some of them can.<br />
<br />
One of the most remarkable of these phenomena are superfluids. When liquid helium gets lowered to a temperature below -271 degrees Celsius(2.177 degrees above absolute zero), it shows some very strange properties.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Superfluid helium has very little viscosity, so it has little friction with its surroundings. If you stir it, it can keep swirling for days. It is possible to detect its viscosity, but when a superfliud flows through very small holes or channels that normal liquid helium cannot go through, it has no measurable viscosity. This leads to the theory that superfluids are actually a mix of pure superfluid and normal liquid.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/83/Helium_fountain_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/83/Helium_fountain_01.jpg" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demonstration of the fountain effect.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The theory that superfluids are all partly normal liquid can be tested by the fountain effect. In the fountain effect, a hole filled with a very fine powder is placed in superfliud helium. The superfliud part goes through the hole and into a bulb, but the liquid helium part cannot go through. If the bulb containing 'pure' superfluid is heated, it turns into an ordinary liquid. More superfluid flows into the bulb, in order to keep the balance of the fluids, which increases the pressure. If the bulb has an outlet at the top, the liquid would 'fountain' out, as shown in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVMuI_shltE">this video</a>.<br />
<br />
Another strange thing about superfliuds is that they have no thermal
resistance. If superfluid helium gets heated slightly in one place, the
heat would not spread out slowly, but it would travel outward in waves
so fast that the heat is instantly distributed. These waves are known as
'second sound'. This also means that when superfliud helium boils, it
does not bubble, but evaporates directly from the surface. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Liquid_helium_Rollin_film.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Liquid_helium_Rollin_film.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superfluid helium escapes containers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If the bottom of a thin tube is placed in water, the water will flow, seemingly against gravity, up the tube via capillary action. This is how plants get water from the roots to the leaves. All liquids do this, but this is limited by their viscosity. Since superfluids have no viscosity, they can creep through small tubes, and even over the walls of containers, and never stop until they become heated and evaporate. This makes superfluids very difficult to contain. If a container of superfluid helium is held above ground, It will seem that the fluid leaks through the bottom of the container, but interestingly, it actually travels up and over the side of the container and drips off at the bottom. It travels over the container as a film of fluid, only 30 nanometers thick, and at a speed of 20 centimeters per second, known as Rollin film. Waves are observed in Rollin film, and they move across these films. These waves are known as 'third sound'.<br />
<br />
Some people argue that superfluids are a state of matter, like solids
and liquids. It behaves like a liquid in some ways, but like a gas in
other ways. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
You can watch <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj6jdrQwoHTAhXSQpQKHZQ4BzIQyCkIHTAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2Z6UJbwxBZI&usg=AFQjCNHaH9EA6sGgihW7hp3wmbhXaX1LEw&sig2=HggDEKUmylw2xXqBEjViuQ">this video</a> which demonstrates some of the properties of superfluids.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Resources:</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Wikipedia</i></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This video:<a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj6jdrQwoHTAhXSQpQKHZQ4BzIQyCkIHTAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2Z6UJbwxBZI&usg=AFQjCNHaH9EA6sGgihW7hp3wmbhXaX1LEw&sig2=HggDEKUmylw2xXqBEjViuQ">https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj6jdrQwoHTAhXSQpQKHZQ4BzIQyCkIHTAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2Z6UJbwxBZI&usg=AFQjCNHaH9EA6sGgihW7hp3wmbhXaX1LEw&sig2=HggDEKUmylw2xXqBEjViuQ</a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://what-if.xkcd.com/50/">An awesome blog post by Randall Munroe</a></i></span><br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-71416041109250342972017-02-19T21:53:00.002-08:002017-02-19T21:53:48.857-08:00Anne Frank's diary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl whose family went into hiding during the second world war. She was one of the most famous victims of the holocaust because of the fact that she kept a diary during her time in hiding and documented every detail of their time there.<br />
<br />
Anne was born in June 1929. She lived in Germany until 1934, when Hitler took control of Germany and the Frank family was forced to flee to the Netherlands. They took residence in Amsterdam.<br />
<br />
After the Netherlands surrendered to Germany in 1940, the Franks, being Jewish, started being restricted by many rules and regulations that the Germans had made. Among these were, that Jewish people could not use public transport, Jewish people had to wear a star of David, Jewish people had to go to certain stores and had to send their children to Jewish schools, and many, many more. <span style="background-color: white;">These rules had started accumulating in Germany over a long period since years before the war, but as they kept getting added, the Jews got more and more restricted. Soon they weren't allowed to have bikes, and they had to walk everywhere.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">In June 1942, Anne got a notebook for her thirteenth birthday. She decided to use it as a diary, and started writing in it. On the fifth of July, her family received a call-up from the Nazis and had to move their plan to go into hiding ten days forward. They took their possessions and moved to a section in the back of the factory where Anne's father had worked. They started staying there with another Jewish family.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Anne was the youngest of the people in hiding. She was with her mother and father, Edith and Otto Frank, and her older sister Margot. They were hiding with the Van Pels family, who Anne called the Van Daan family in her diary. The Van Pels family included Auguste and Hermann Van Pels, and their 16-year-old son Peter. In November, since both families had agreed that their hiding place could fit another resident, they were joined by Fritz Pfeffer, a German dentist who wanted to hide from the Nazis but unlike the Franks, who had become fluent at Dutch, Pfeffer spoke a mix of Dutch and German. He was referred to as Albert Dussel in Anne's diary. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">In her diary, Anne called their place of hiding the "Achterhuis", translated into English as "secret annex". It was a three-storey area at the back of the factory. The people who worked there brought them food and told them what was happening in the outside world. They also designed and built a bookshelf to conceal the door to the <i>Achterhuis</i>. The bookshelf was on hinges, so that the helpers could easily get in and out. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The residents had to be extremely quiet during the day, to avoid being heard by the people in neighboring buildings. They had to tiptoe around the house, and whisper to each other. Being seen on the street was too risky, and they had to stay in the building for all of the two years they lived there. Everyone there knew, that at any minute they could get arrested by the Germans, and this caused a lot of stress and tension among them. Despite all this, Anne kept a lot of hope and optimism.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">During March 1944, Anne Frank heard on the radio that manuscripts such as diaries written during the war would have a chance of being published after the war. Anne, with a view of becoming the author of a published novel, started writing a second edition of her diary, excluding some parts, rewriting others, adding new text, and giving all of the helpers and all of the residents of the <i>Achterhuis</i> pseudonyms.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">In the October of 1944, Anne Frank and the other Jews in hiding were found and arrested by German troops. Anne and her sister Margot were taken to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they died of typhus in February 1945, only two months before the camp was liberated by English soldiers.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Right after the families' arrest, one of the helpers, Miep Gies, found the diary that Anne Frank had left behind. She hoped to return it to Anne after the war. She did not want to read it, because she knew that if she did, she would want to burn it, due to the fact that it contained the names of all of the people who were helping the Franks. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">After the war, Anne's father Otto Frank, who, out of the eight Jews that had lived behind the factory, was the only one that survived the war, came back to the place where they had lived for two years. Once Anne's death was announced, Miep gave him the diary, along with the other notebooks and papers that the second edition was written on. Otto used both the original manuscript and the extra notes to construct a version of Anne's diary that got published in Dutch in 1947. The diary was titled "Het Achterhuis" and had five printings by 1950. Otto also assisted in rescuing the building from demolition and turning it into a museum. The museum is known as the "Anne Frankhuis" in the Netherlands and is still accessible today. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Today, Anne Frank's diary is well known and has been translated into 67 languages with over 30 million copies sold. Anne is seen as a symbol of the persecution of Jews during the second world war.</span></div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-8374187480731611522016-12-30T19:00:00.003-08:002016-12-30T19:00:40.253-08:00My entry for the Dear Friends letter 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" id="m_-7995793284658762539gmail-docs-internal-guid-bd227827-52af-95f1-c92e-195a7ecbde7a" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">2016</span>
was a good year for me. One of the many highlights for me this year was
Geocaching. Geocaching is an international sport which consists mainly
of finding hidden boxes in the woods with a GPS(Co-ordinates are posted
online). I found out about the game in April this year, and since then I
have found 51 geocaches with my phone. I got to most of them on my bike
and some of them on family trips and vacations, including trips to the
Netherlands and Singapore.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sailing
season is around Summer(October-March in Australia), so this year had
parts of two sailing seasons. The first, when I went to the Royal
Queensland Yacht Squadron in Manly, QLD, started in late 2015. During
that term I completed the Tackers course, which teaches basic knowledge
of sailing for children. I needed the certificate from Tackers to get
into Green Fleet(higher level teaching, including the rules of racing). I
sailed in Green fleet through the beginning of 2016 and up until March.
By then, the sailing season had ended, and I finished Green Fleet and
was allowed to sail in a higher level group, Intermediate Fleet(also
called Blue Squadron) during the next season. Unfortunately, sailing in
Intermediate Fleet required owning a Laser at the sailing club, which
are very expensive. Because of this, I had to start sailing at another
club the next season.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Starting
at October, I sailed at the Humpybong sailing club at Redcliffe. Since I
had completed Tackers, I was able to get straight into Green Fleet.
Because there are no higher-level courses at Humpybong, the next step
was to become a Tackers assistant instructor. I enrolled in a two-day
course back at Manly and got an AI certificate. The course I will be
helping with will be in early January.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Meanwhile,
I had been reading many books with Steve every evening. This year we
finished The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, we read Much Ado About
Nothing by Shakespeare, which we watched with my grandmother, and we
read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
have also been practicing clarinet regularly and have passed the grade 3
music examination for clarinet. I am now working on some pieces of
music for two auditions which are both scheduled mid-January.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One
of the biggest highlights for the year was the trip to the Netherlands.
As it started, eight time zones of air travel made August literally the
longest month of my life(and September the shortest). We switched to a
connecting flight in Dubai on the way and saw some of the airport. A few
days after we got to Leeuwarden, capital of Friesland, we took a ferry
to Terschelling, our favourite island. It is a small island, only 30km
long, and I had a lot of fun biking around the island and seeing the
nature, the towns, the farmland, and the ruins of German WWII bunkers.
After staying there for 3 weeks, we went south to the city of Nijmegen,
stayed there for a few days and went around to an amusement park and the
German border. Then we went back to Schiphol and flew to Singapore. We
stayed there for 3 days and then returned to Australia. It was the best
trip I had in 4 years.</span></div>
</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-51170031718161119312016-12-30T18:15:00.002-08:002020-05-09T02:16:42.607-07:00Lost World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Gold Coast is a weird place. Lots of beaches, lots of sunlight lots of high rises, no hills. It's kind of well known in Australia for being the Australian equivalent of Miami -- lots of high rises against the beach, inhabited by both rich and poor. People go there for vacations, or just to say they've been there. Like I said it's a weird place. On the Southern end of the Coast rises a series of low hills. These hills, which are low and fairly unpromising, rise quickly into a landscape which bears no resemblance to the strip malls and big houses below. Protected by the Lamington and Springbrook national parks, the landscape traces the border and is called the McPherson Range.<br />
<br />
Many explorers have tried hard to map the area, but the McPherson Range is the size of Rhode Island and much, <i>much </i>more impenetrable. Who knows; there might be undiscovered plants and animals in the area. The first road to lead into the area led to O'Reily's, a rainforest guesthouse that still stands today. Nowadays, many tracks and roads cross the range and we went on one of them to reach Green Mountains.<br />
<br />
Green Mountains is the part of Lamington National Park that surrounds O'Reilly's. It contains some of the most mountainous, inaccessible rainforest in the entire park. The road to O'Reilly's, which has not changed route or width since it was built, is a one-lane road with many blind curves which looks like spaghetti on a road map. On the way there, the road even leads through a long, squiggly one-way cutout to get past a series of cliffs! We spent a very brief time in the Mountains -- two days. But during that time we saw a lot of the park, and really got a feel for what the mountains were like.<br />
<br />
The morning after arriving, I and my dad and my brother set off for an extended hike: the Albert River Circuit, a seven hour hike that did most of the walking far away from the Green Mountains campground. We got up early to do the hike. There was no trail that led from the campground, so we walked along the road and past a parking lot to get to O'Reilly's. The O'Reilly's lodge has changed a lot since it was built, and it is now the centre of a large clump of hotel buildings, a cafe' and a souvenir shop. The O'Reillys still own it, though.<br />
<br />
Across the road was the main trackhead, at a sign declaring that we had just arrived at the Border Track, a long trail connecting Green Mountains to a distant trailhead, Binna Burra. The Border Track is very well maintained for being the starting point of most day hikes in Green Mountains. We walked easily along the hard clay path before seeing a land mullet. Land mullets are a very large species of skink. This one was so big, I could have mistaken it for a baby crocodile if it had spikes on its back.<br />
<br />
We continued to walk past intersection after intersection, always going straight ahead. The trees are gigantic in Lamington. Giant figs coated with vines and epiphytes loomed out of the green haze of the tree ferns. Vines were everywhere, and wherever there weren't vines there were cliffs. No small wonder explorers took so long to get this far. As the downhill slope on our left got steeper, I could sense a gigantic chasm to our left side, much deeper than it was wide. Both up and down, the slope went on and on without end. It was like we had shrunk to the size of insects, or like a small valley had grown to the scale of the Grand Canyon. Everything was much, much bigger than it should have been.<br />
<br />
After an hour and a half of walking, we passed a gigantic Antarctic Beech -- so named for the place it was first identified, as a fossil -- and reached the beginning of the Albert River Circuit. We left the main trail on the right and followed an overgrown track, dodging fallen trees as the track narrowed. The Albert River flows on the next valley over from the Border Track, so I had expected to top out onto the ridge top between the two valleys. We never did. Instead, we contoured across the slope as it got steeper and and the path got surrounded by cliffs. For the whole time the track was doing this, I never suspected that we were slowly turning to the right, slowly winding around a mountain peak. Until the track switchbacked and it was obvious we were in a different valley than we started in.<br />
<br />
The walking book we had (which was fairly outdated and may not have taken into account a track closure) told us we would reach the first waterfall of the track, Jimboomba Falls, about half an hour after turning off the Border Track. It was full hour and we had not even seen a creek yet. Then suddenly, we turned a corner and crossed a dry creek bed. Stupidly thinking this was Jimboomba Falls, we kept walking and then saw something totally weird. It was a lobster. Except it was crawling along dry ground far from a flowing creek. And it was <i>blue and white</i>. I don't know why -- I mean, it was just a lobster -- but it weirded me out. I learned later that this was a Lamington Spiny Crayfish, a freshwater yabby endemic to the Mcpherson Range between Tamborine and the Main Range.<br />
<br />
Excited about the find of the crayfish, we walked easily to what was actually Jimboomba Falls to have a snack. The falls were just a small cascade, but they were interesting to see partly because thick moss growing on the sides made them look otherworldly. After checking for leeches we continued on a steep zigzag downward, sometimes clinging onto cliffs to avoid slipping and falling. Often we would have glimpses of the creek, which was always pouring over a high waterfall. At the end of the zigzag, we crossed the creek with glimpses of Lightning Falls -- a very high, free falling waterfall.<br />
<br />
Earlier we had not been following the Albert River, but an offshoot called Lightning Creek. Just after Lightning Falls, we descended to the river itself. It was big, about five times as big as Lightning Creek. The first waterfall we discovered on the river was Mirror Falls. Mirror Falls was the most beautiful, mainly because of the mossy walls on either side of it. We passed four other, not very impressive falls in quick succession, before arriving at Echo Point Lookout which altered my view of the place completely.<br />
<br />
Descending down to the creek was steep, but climbing back up was along more or less flat ground. Then we headed along a sidetrack to the lookout. Before I even arrived I could sense a void ahead of us, like we were standing at the edge of the Earth. In another minute we practically were. The Escarpment, which traces the New South Wales-QLD border, is a massive crescent shaped cliff that drops steeply and almost vertically about a kilometre into the plains below. We were standing on its edge, from which we could see the hulking ramparts of Mount Warning, the Border and Nightcap Ranges and even Byron Bay and the entire Gold Coast. It was the best view I have ever seen in SEQ, hands down.<br />
<br />
We zombie walked for two hours back out along the Border Track, collapsing at what I hoped was a cafe'. It was the start of a treetop walk. Normally I don't like treetop walks -- I mean, they seem to be everywhere and I'm sick of them -- but this walk was pleasantly rickety and seemed like it would fall apart at any moment. I really liked it. We spent some time there, then walked back to the tents and collapsed.<br />
<br />
If you are interested in walking the Albert River Circuit, or just want to know more, someone made an interesting video about it. A link is provided <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA39WpzqoxU">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The walks of the following day were done with another family who were friends of us. Since we had little time and energy left, we chose short walks around the area. The first one, to Python Rock, gave us a spectacular view over the mountains and really revealed how deep the gorges went. I would say they were about as big as Grose Gorge in the Blue Mountains, possibly bigger. Then we went on another walk, to the top of Morans Falls. But as we were arriving at the top of the waterfall, the sky broke apart and a torrential downpour began. Using any convenient track to get us back to safety, we ran up a muddy track labelled "O'Reilly's".<br />
<br />
Suddenly, we emerged on an old gravel road. Not knowing where to go we just went right and found an old wooden shack. We raced to get under the eaves. Suddenly, Dad called to tell us the door was unlocked and we scrambled in. An information board revealed it to be an old slaughterhouse. My dad, I and my little brother were here, but no one else was, so we just sat inside and waited.<br />
<br />
After twenty minutes the rain stopped. Noting that nobody had arrived yet, we just got out and walked along the track ourselves. Leaving the road to follow a promising looking track, we walked through a picturesque rainforest on a windy path that went through several large gum trees. Finally, we emerged at O'Reilly's where we met the others, sitting at a cafe'. They told us they had taken a different track, and had been waiting for us for half an hour.<br />
<br />
Lamington is not the most amazing place in the world, or even Australia. But it is a great place and a must visit for anyone living in or visiting South East Queensland.</div>
Daniel Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707881634585339409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-70905372499309820252016-12-15T02:08:00.000-08:002016-12-15T02:08:12.226-08:00Girraween<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this article I am going to relate to my experiences in the Girraween area -- both on the most recent trip and on one I did, a year back, with Scouts.<br />
<br />
The Girraween is by any measure an amazing place. While its largest granite outcrop -- Bald Rock -- is a fraction of the size of Uluru, the Girraween area gives you a sense of beauty that Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta lacks. Furthermore it is much closer to Australia's cities, being a mere three hours drive from Brisbane in Queensland's Granite Belt.<br />
<br />
What does the place look like? The Girraween is located on top of a high plateau. A visitor to the valley below would never suspect it was there, if the signs were taken away. The top of the plateau is a large, undulating landscape, unremarkable except in one way: the rocks. They puncture through vast ribbons of eucalypt forest like needles, standing high above everything else but each other.<br />
<br />
My first summit of such an outcrop was the climbing of South Bald Rock, a dome of granite that looks vaguely like a bald man's head. It happened on a Scout hike a year back. South Bald Rock is no moderate peak, approaching a height of 150 metres relative to surrounding plains. From the top we could see all the other peaks from a 360 degree view. To the immediate West lay the West and Centre bald rocks, then the rocky rise of Mount Norman that all but obscured Turtle and Castle Rocks, the Sphinx, and the Pyramids. To the East the view was more breathtaking: we could see Bald Rock, but behind it was a continuous ribbon of undisturbed forest that culminated in the gray spire of Mount Barney -- which was 90 kilometres away and should have been out of sight. Due to the curvature of the Earth, Mount Barney looked lower than us.<br />
<br />
After that initial trip to the Girraween I vowed to return, and I finally did in October of this year. Not with Scouts this time, but in a family trip with friends. In Scouts, we completed the Eastern Peaks Circut: a lengthy hike involving climbs on the eastern (New South Wales border) side of Girraween National park. This time, we would visit the more built-up, western side of Plateau. Here was a visitor's centre and even a campground.<br />
<br />
We were fairly ambitious on the first day, making a visit to the First Pyramid. The name of the Pyramid was inspired by its shape: a three or four cornered dome, tapering slightly at the top. To get to the summit we ascended a granite surface sloped at fifty degrees and smooth as glass. When we got to the top of this slope, we turned the corner and found the trail following a natural catwalk. Although the surface of rock was only tilted at thirty degrees or so, it tilted sharply toward a void I did not want to end up slipping into. My hands became shaky as I began the traverse, and I collapsed when I got to the other side.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://walkandwines.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/balancingrockpyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://walkandwines.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/balancingrockpyramid.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The base is smaller than it seems.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We continued to the summit. The true summit was inaccessible as it was on top of a boulder, so we continued to a natural rock platform, from which we could see the climb route. Rather than sweeping 360 views we were promised by faraway views of the mountain, the view was dull and obscured by boulders. Still a good view, though. Then we scrambled to a viewpoint on the other side of the summit, which looked down upon another mountain: the Second Pyramid. It was weird, like a gigantic pudding dropped in the middle of the forest, and was completely devoid of trees or even subsidiary boulders. On the way back, we passed a boulder three times the size of a house yet balanced on a base the size of a dinner plate.<br />
<br />
It was getting dark so we returned to the campsite.<br />
<br />
The second day was much better. After some decision, we decided to walk to Turtle Rock.<br />
<br />
Turtle Rock is a low dome of granite we saw from the Pyramid. It looks just like a sleeping turtle. Next to it is the Sphinx, a needle-like finger of rock poking out of a boulder field. The walk was supposed to take four hours, but we took five because we were exploring so much.<br />
<br />
The walk began by climbing up through open eucalypt forest and scattered boulders. At long last, we got to the top of a ridge and followed it to the Sphinx. The Sphinx itself was not very impressive, but we spent an hour exploring the massive boulder field on all sides of it. A short walk brought us to the base of Turtle Rock. To get to the top, we scrambled up through a narrow gully. Then, just above a ledge with good views of The Sphinx, we were blocked from going further by a 5m cliff.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rymich.com/girraween/photos/tracks/sphinx/turtle_views/turtle_views_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.rymich.com/girraween/photos/tracks/sphinx/turtle_views/turtle_views_002.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The turtle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://whitey222.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Southern-Queensland-Ride-Oct/i-g8HrJL7/0/L/sphynx_turtle-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://whitey222.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Southern-Queensland-Ride-Oct/i-g8HrJL7/0/L/sphynx_turtle-L.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sphinx and Turtle Rock from Castle Rock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I thought it was impossible to go further, but after some searching I found a slot crammed with boulders. If I scrambled along the boulders and chimney climbed through the slot, I could just make it. I did so. The going was hard though, and I almost got stuck twice. But I got to the top of Turtle Rock and was rewarded by 360 degree views.<br />
<br />
On the return trip we climbed Castle Rock. It was much less exposed than The Pyramid and had much better views. After having climbed the mountain, we called it a day and retreated back into our tents.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://travellinginoz.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/underground-creek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://travellinginoz.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/underground-creek.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note: None of these pictures are ours.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our final objective was Underground Creek. A short walk from the car park, Underground Creek was a creek that carved an overhang, which promptly buried the creek when it collapsed. Brave souls still venture into the cave below the overhang, to find the creek and more.<br />
<br />
After thoroughly exploring Underground Creek, we set off for an offtrack adventure to find the fabled Aztec Temple (it's actually a jumble of boulders). We tried, and got as far as the ridge it sits on before turning back due to casualties.<br />
<br />
The failed Aztec Temple expedition reminded us of how much we had not seen in the park. We will need to go back here sometime. As we drove home through the Main Range, I was reminded of how much there is to see in the world, and how we can only hope to see a fraction of it in our lifetimes. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrfselqv5On2878WwA6smpsz4n_ncb5nN9ifpghZP_Gmy50fc40YQGlFhZtdEnzvuDaLnf3z4L9eu4isUI6TaaQGEIktFb_aFE4-3pKRDXzCp_i_gAHKjXKIawy19Xuu8bn5c_mw-PA/s1600/14at+12-11-2010+2-32-47+PM+1020x573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrfselqv5On2878WwA6smpsz4n_ncb5nN9ifpghZP_Gmy50fc40YQGlFhZtdEnzvuDaLnf3z4L9eu4isUI6TaaQGEIktFb_aFE4-3pKRDXzCp_i_gAHKjXKIawy19Xuu8bn5c_mw-PA/s1600/14at+12-11-2010+2-32-47+PM+1020x573.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fabled Aztec Temple.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Daniel Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707881634585339409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-86880276644882478472016-08-27T11:01:00.000-07:002016-08-27T11:01:20.345-07:00Neutron<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is a recipe in the back of Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense which begins like this:<br />
<br />
<i>"Procure some strips of beef, and having cut them into the smallest possible slices, proceed to cut them still smaller, eight or perhaps nine times."</i><br />
<br />
The recipe raises some interesting questions such as: What would these tiny pieces of beef look like? Is it even possible to slice anything past the molecular level? There is another question I am more interested in. If you slice things into small pieces, they take up less space. Could you eventually make things disappear entirely, just by slicing them?<br />
<br />
As a matter of fact, it is fairly easy to break apart molecules; your body is doing it now. Atoms are more tricky, but scientists have split the atom more than seventy years ago. You rely on atoms fusing together in the Sun, after all. To answer our first question, the beef wouldn't look like beef past the molecular level. In fact, if you managed to split apart every single molecule in a slice of beef at once, it would trigger an explosion as the oxygen fuses to form the kind of air you breathe. (if you did the same thing to atoms, you would make a large nuclear explosion.)<br />
<br />
Of course, it takes some pretty tremendous forces to split atoms. The only place where it is done on a big scale is in the core of a large star, when it dies. If a star is much bigger than our sun, it struggles constantly to stop collapsing in on itself. The star relies on fusing atoms to survive. The moment a star runs out of fuel, its inner layers collapse. The outer layers of the star crash into the inner layers, and rebound into space in what is known as a supernova. What is left is the core. In a Sun-sized star, the core left is a white dwarf, which glows for a while before winking out. However, in a large supernova, the atoms are so strained by gravity they split apart and form an extremely dense and often quickly spinning object known as a neutron star.<br />
<br />
Neutron stars are really strange things. They can be the size of cities but the mass of the Sun. They are mostly made of neutrons. Many have a fragile 'crust', which can fracture and create terrifying power surges. Some orbit a star, which they suck power from. Sometimes neutron stars merge and create massive bursts of light. Some neutron stars, known as pulsars, spin several times a second and emit energy from their magnetic poles.<br />
<br />
Most weird aspects of neutron stars come from their incredibly small size and their amazingly large amount of mass. There is a type of object which has even more mass and a smaller size than a neutron star: a black hole. Black holes are made by splitting the components of atoms apart into individual quarks. Black holes are really weird. They are objects with a gravitational field so extreme, they can bend light. You cannot even see a black hole; you just see, well, a black hole. Around a black hole, time slows down and everything is redshifted. We barely know anything about black holes at all. All we know for sure is that they are unimaginably small and dense.<br />
<br />
I wish there was a way to split quarks - the components of neutrons and protons - apart, but there isn't, as far as we know. And finally we arrive to the answer of our third question: It is not possible to cut a slice of beef into nothing, but you can make a black hole.</div>
Daniel Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707881634585339409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-90997965000116640702016-08-12T00:29:00.002-07:002016-08-12T00:29:53.740-07:00Cultures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I noticed a lot of things in Switzerland that were not in Australia, America, or even northern Europe. One of them was the mountains. Australia's highest mountain is a mere hill compared to even the lowest mountain in Switzerland. Even the Rockies are no comparison to the mighty Swiss Alps.<br />
<br />
However, the mountains were not what struck me most about the country. What struck me most was its culture.<br />
<br />
The culture of an area is its identity. If someplace has a very old, established culture, it becomes instantly recognizable if you happen to be there. Australia was never properly populated before the Industrial Revolution, so its culture was mostly stolen from other continents; in Europe, however, country and even regional borders are obvious.<br />
<br />
Let's take Italy and Switzerland - the two countries I visited this July. These two places, although neighbors, are shockingly different. One has been neutral for the past hundred and fifty years; the other has been heavily involved in both world wars. One has had a long history of organized crime; the other is one of the safest countries in the world. One makes great cheese; the other makes even better pizza. When I visited Italy on a day trip, the border between the two countries was obvious. It was marked on a pass by two massive stone eagles (a memorial of some battle victory in the Napoleonic Wars). To the north, there was a valley and beyond that, icy snowcapped mountains. In the valley there was a town with a visible church. The town seemed to have no center; it was stretched out across the valley floor. To the south, in Italy, the mountains tapered off abruptly and gave way to rolling hills, all sparsely covered with houses and lakes.<br />
<br />
Cultures are interesting in the way that they carry on even when the geography that shapes them does not. For example, in Switzerland, there are two geographic regions: the Swiss Alps and the Rhineland. In the Swiss Alps, where Switzerland was first created, there is almost no flat land at all, except for that thin ribbon of farmland at the floor of each valley. As a result, all towns have only one road of any importance and the shops are spread out over hundreds of metres, sometimes kilometres. Curiously enough, when Switzerland grew to encompass the Rhineland, the system carried on. Look at a map of any city established under Swiss rule and you will see a distinct linear pattern.<br />
<br />
My favorite thing about Swiss culture is the architecture. Architecture varies greatly all over the world. Even if a region has none of its own food, town layout or traditions, it will have its own architecture. Swiss houses and hotels have strange roofs for a place with a lot of snow; they have almost vertical outer sides and very flat tops, like boxes. Not all of them do of course; it's different in every single valley, just like the food and many other things are. And that's what I like most about Swiss culture: its variation.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Daniel Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707881634585339409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-39557805974213270972016-07-19T19:06:00.002-07:002016-07-19T19:07:46.446-07:00Invisible light<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
We
perceive the world in the three colors that our eyes can sense- red,
green and blue. This gives us a visible range of all of the wavelengths
in between 390 and 750 nanometers. However, there are wavelengths in the
infrared and the ultraviolet that, if viewed by a special camera, can
reveal much more about the world than our eyes can. I am working on a
project to build a new type of these cameras. In the following
paragraphs, I will explain more about how they work and about the one I
built. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Cameras
that can see past red and past violet are called multispectral cameras.
These cameras can be mounted on satellites to view natural features and
cities in a way that no ordinary camera can. There are many different
regions of the spectrum, most of which can only be seen with the aid of
such a camera. The ultraviolet is mainly used to photograph biological
compounds, while the near-infrared has a wide range of applications. The
near-infrared is a band of wavelengths that is just beyond red. It
ranges from 750 to up to 1400 nanometers. Even though this is beyond
visible, these wavelengths are still extremely small- up to 1.4 times a
thousandth of a millimeter.<br />
<br />
The way to reveal the most
about an object using multispectral imaging in the near-infrared part of
the spectrum is to filter out one wavelength at a time. However,
technology that can do this is very expensive. This is why I am working
to make a cheaper multispectral camera.<br />
<br />
Instead
of filtering incoming light into different wavelengths, this camera
works by having both the camera and the object inside a box to block out
all other light, and illuminating the object with LEDs that emit light
in various wavelengths in the visible and near-infrared parts of the
spectrum. Both the LEDs and the camera controlled by a type of small
computer called a Raspberry Pi. The computer is programmed to flash each
color of LED in succession while taking pictures with the camera. This
way, the images can show how an object reflects and absorbs different
wavelengths of light individually. This method is cheaper, and its only
limitations are the spectral range of the camera and the variance of the
LED colors.<br />
<br />
For the programming of the camera, I used a
programming language called Python, with which I was able to write the
programs for the operation of the camera over an internet connection
with the Raspberry Pi. One of the problems I faced was how to make a
Printed Circuit Board(PCB) that included places for all of the LEDs so
that I could solder them. I did this with a program called gschem.<br />
<br />
The
type of multispectral camera described above can potentially have many
uses in agriculture. It would be able to detect bruises on fruit and
possibly detect when it goes rotten much faster than human eyes can. It
could also detect diseases in plants. In conclusion, multispectral
cameras can be very useful to help us understand the world we live in
more fully.<br />
<br />
References:<br />
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multispectral_image<br />
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-infrared_spectroscopy</div>
</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-44449587493136334912016-05-30T02:47:00.000-07:002016-05-30T02:47:02.681-07:00Grain of Sand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It is no wonder that geologists swarm to the Jack Hills, Western Australia -- for it is the site of the oldest rocks on Earth.<br />
<br />
There are larger old rocks in Canada, but they are 500,000,000 years younger than the Jack Hills rocks. There are older meteorites in Antarctica, but they were not formed on Earth. The rocks at the base of the Grand Canyon -- thought by many to be the oldest rocks on Earth -- are a whopping 2,650 <i>million</i> years younger than the rocks of Jack Hills.<br />
<br />
Being about 4.4 billion years old, some rare Jack Hills sand grains came from the first rocks Earth ever had. However, the old rocks of the Hills are just that: a few very rare sand grains, called zircons, which are deeply embedded in sedimentary (made of sand) and very metamorphic ('changed') rocks. How did these tiny grains appear here in the first place, and how might they have survived the wear of time? Why are they so rare in the first place? Let's go back in time to find the answer.<br />
<br />
<b>The Crust Solidifies</b><br />
<br />
4.4 billion-years-old Earth is not a place you would want to live. A human, dropped on the prehistoric planet's surface, would be fried by nuclear radiation, burned by lava, choked to death by poisonous gases, and crushed by meteorites within the first five minutes. One good thing about early Earth: Oceans. Scientists have found out that the Jack Hills zircons were created in water; water which could have come either from meteorites or the planet itself. In any case, Earth had oceans, but still wasn't cooled enough for the igneous rocks to turn into anything else, whether sediment or metamorphic rock. Also, there was virtually no oxygen. This meant, for now, that the early rocks were safe from change. That is, until . . .<br />
<br />
<b>Life Begins </b><br />
<br />
Life is currently thought to have originated around 4.0 or 3.9 billion years ago. The oldest evidence for life comes, like the earliest evidence for water, from those same Jack Hills sand grains. Life did not have much effect on early rocks until about 3.4 billion years ago, when the Earth had cooled down significantly and erosion had begun creating the first sedimentary rocks. Around this time, moss-like cyanobacteria began making the first stromatolites (crazily, the only colony of stromatolites left is within sight of the oldest rocks). Cyanobacteria use photosynthesis, a complicated process which turns carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight into sugar and oxygen. The latter was released on a massive scale into the atmosphere. This would not have been that bad, but there was a lot of iron in the volcanic rocks. The oxygen and iron combined to form rust, and immediately the age-old rocks from Earth's creation began to fall apart. Jack Hills zircons, not being made of iron, had survived for the time being. However, an important factor was now coming into play . . . .<br />
<br />
<b>Radiation</b><br />
<br />
There were trillions of trillions of zircons on Earth when it was first created. Corrosion and heat did not change their numbers very much. However, around three billion years ago, the zircon crystals began to break apart, due to a process known as metamictization.<br />
<br />
Early Earth was very, very radioactive. Rare elements today, like actinium, used to be very common four billion years ago. Uranium-238, the most common radioactive element, has a half-life of about 4.5 billion years. This means that a 200-atom sample of uranium from the creation of Earth would have about 100 atoms now (the other atoms would have turned into something like radium). A by-product of radioactivity is radiation, in this case in the form of alpha particles. You may expect a zircon to have had about a million atoms of uranium in it 4.4 billion years ago. By now, the decaying uranium would have released <i>at least </i>500,000 alpha particles -- more because what uranium decays into, decays into something else. 500,000 alpha particles are more than enough to destroy the crystal.<br />
<br />
A few, very rare zircons would have survived long enough to endure the next test.<br />
<br />
<b>Plate Tectonics</b><br />
<br />
In 2013, scientists were shocked to recognize the remains of a massive continental plate, lodged deep within the Earth underneath North America. This plate was called the 'Farallon Plate', and was later discovered to have been shoved underneath the crust by the Pacific and North American plates.<br />
<br />
As shocking as it may be, it is not uncommon for a continental plate to slide underneath the crust, never to come back again. It has happened throughout the history of the Earth since plate tectonics began, around 4 billion years ago. Every 300 million years or so, the Earth's crust is recycled. Our zircons could hold out under the immense pressures of the Mantle for a while. Eventually, however, even the strongest crystal on Earth could not survive.<br />
<br />
What saved our zircons is exactly what destroyed all the old rocks: Erosion.<br />
<br />
The zircons, swept by the wind, would have spread across the world, minimizing the chance of all being destroyed. They would become part of normal sandstone rocks, which would erode and the zircons would have been released again. Nevertheless, the oldest zircons became rarer and rarer. Finally, around 600 million years ago, a group of zircons became embedded in some sandstone rocks. Eventually, as most of their neighbors were slowly destroyed, the last zircons got buried under heaps of volcanic rock. The surrounding land went through cycles of burial and erosion, but the zircons were protected by the volcanic rock. After being warped by pressure, the sandstone containing the zircons slowly, but surely, was uncovered. It was now part of the western Australian plate.</div>
Daniel Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707881634585339409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-38715157626402938552016-04-18T02:43:00.001-07:002016-04-18T02:43:15.800-07:00The Adventures of Gold<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 34.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 34.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Adventures of Gold</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-8366972e-28b7-87b8-0161-3ee5210d94f3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gold was inside his shop, making magic wands like he always did on sunday afternoons. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, it was not a Sunday afternoon. It was Friday morning. Normally, he would be in some important government meeting, but not today. Today he got the day off. But why did Gold make wands to sell at his shop during free time? Surely not money! He was the richest and most famous dragon in Great Britain! He did it purely for fun. Suddenly the doorbell rang.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come in!” yelled Gold. The door creaked open. Suddenly, a young cat burst through the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">doorway so fast, he broke one of Gold’s Ming vases into a million pieces.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Gold! You’ve got to hear this!” he said.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But my Ming vase!” Said Gold.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on!” Said the cat. “Your Ming vases come from Squeaky-E-Mart and cost ten cents! This is more important!”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But…” said Gold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Listen to me!” said the cat. “The candy factory shut down!”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gold froze in place. Even though he was middle aged, his longing for candy was stronger </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">than ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why did the owners shut it down?” said Gold.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They didn’t.” said the cat. “The Vipers did”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Who are the vipers?” said Gold.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The vipers?” said the cat. “The Vipers are a famous gang of bulldogs. They have done worse and worse things over the past few years. yesterday they blew up a bridge.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But how do you know that the Vipers shut down the factory?” said Gold.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I got a ransom note.” said the cat.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“May the King help us!” said Gold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-indent: 9pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-indent: 9pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; text-indent: 9pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">am</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-indent: 9pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the King.” said the cat.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh. Right. Sorry.” said Gold. “Your hair style mislead me.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“So how do we get them?” said the King.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A crystal ball!” said Gold. He pulled an apple sized ball out of a cupboard.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How does it work?” said the King.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You say something into it and it takes you there!” said Gold.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What makes it cloud up like that?” said the King.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Cloudy apple juice.” said Gold. “The crystal ball only has one charge, so we have to use it wisely.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Go ahead.” said the King.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Take us to the Vipers!” said Gold. Suddenly, in a whirlwind of colors, they got transported </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">a dingy old room with four bulldogs huddled around a table.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hands up!” said Gold. A bulldog spun around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What do you want?” said the Bulldog.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fix the candy factory!” said gold.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We never shut it down.” said the Bulldog. “The ransom note was a lie!”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next day, Gold was helping the King put the Vipers in jail, as well as whining his head off.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I wasted a crystal ball, a train ticket a boat ticket, lots of time, and most importantly my </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ming vase, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">only to find that nothing happend at all!” said Gold.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not really.” said the King.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What do you mean, ‘not really’?” said Gold. The King pulled a trophy out of his bag.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 9pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“As your King, I give you this award for helping me capture the most troublesome gang in Great Britain.” said the King.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -9pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The End!</span></div>
<br /><br /><br />Arwin Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06877394303160363365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-79486525040307594352016-04-17T22:13:00.000-07:002016-04-17T22:13:36.519-07:00Hydrogen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element on the periodic table. It consists of one proton and one electron. Its atomic number is 1 and its chemical symbol is H. Through this post I will write about its importance in the past, its fourth state of matter, and the inner beauty that it exhibits light-years away.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Hindenburg_burning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Hindenburg_burning.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Hindenburg</i> disaster</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Hydrogen was named after the two Greek words <i>υδρο</i>(hydro), meaning <i>water</i>, and <i>γενης</i>(genes), meaning <i>creator</i>, when it was discovered to create water when burned. In its pure state, hydrogen is a gas that is invisible and highly flammable. Because of its low density, hydrogen is one of the two atomic elements that is lighter than air. this makes it able to float large objects. People took advantage of this fact by building blimps(zeppelins), aircraft that use the lifting power of hydrogen. They carried more than 35,000 passengers over the years from 1910 to 1914 without serious accident, but on 6 May 1937, the passenger airship <i>Hindenburg</i> mysteriously caught fire and crashed in New Jersey. From then on, hydrogen was considered far too flammable as a lifting gas.<br />
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As a gas, hydrogen is colourless, odourless and tasteless, yet we benefit from it every day. It is visible as a plasma in all stars, including our sun. The sun is mostly hydrogen that has been exposed to high temperatures or a strong electromagnetic field, converting it into plasma, the fourth state of matter. As a plasma, the hydrogen atoms are stripped of their electrons. This makes it possible to fuse hydrogen atoms together into helium, and to produce the intense amount of heat and light that is crucial for the Earth's ecosystem.<br />
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Hydrogen, like all other elements, has a dark side. The sun constantly emits positively and negatively charged hydrogen ions through interplanetary space. This is called solar wind. These particles can travel at up to one million miles per hour. Fortunately for us, Earth is protected by a magnetic field, which shields the planet from solar radiation. Were it not for this magnetic field, much of the Earth's atmosphere would have been stripped away by solar wind, rendering it lifeless.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/M57_The_Ring_Nebula.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/M57_The_Ring_Nebula.JPG" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ring nebula</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Hydrogen was first created by the big bang, roughly 13.7 billion years ago. Ninety percent of the universe consists of Hydrogen, which is mostly in stars and nebulae. Nebulae are mostly ionised hydrogen which glows in hydrogen's spectral emission lines. When I lived in a place with less light pollution, me and my family went outside with a telescope to look at the stars. One object that is visible in the Australian night sky is the Orion nebula, which appears as the middle 'star' in Orion's sword. My favourite nebula is the Ring nebula, which lies in the constellation Lyra.</div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-54473066408685715632016-03-25T01:56:00.003-07:002016-03-25T01:56:33.908-07:00Base systems<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A base system is a system in which we count. Most people are familiar with the normal base-10 system, also called the decimal system. Each base system has its own unique set of numbers, like the decimal system, which has exactly ten.<br />
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The good thing about using a base system is that there does not have to be a different symbol for each number, which would be very confusing and hard to keep track of. Instead, the numbers count up through all of the symbols in the whole system, and then the system adds an extra digit and starts over again.<br />
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Computers have to bring this to the minimum, because an electrical current is either off or on. It is hard to get more information with simple digital devices, such as transistors, and it is hard to vary the current in any other easily detectable way. This results in only two "symbols" that a computer can use, so in counting, computers use the base-2 system, or the binary system.<br />
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<b>Binary</b><br />
The two 'symbols' in the binary system are usually represented by 0 and 1, and they are referred to as bits. These can combine to make long sequences that are used in computers. For example, whenever you press a letter on a standard keyboard, an eight-bit sequence of ones and zeroes gets sent to your computer<span class="cwcot" id="cwos">.</span><br />
<span class="cwcot" id="cwos"><br /></span>
<span class="cwcot" id="cwos">Even though binary is simple, it also gets very long. All of the numbers from 0 to 10 in the decimal system can be represented as 0, 1, 10, 11, 100, 101, 110, 111, 1000, 1001 and 1010 in binary. All of the even numbers end with a zero, and there is a twos place, a fours place, an eighths place, a sixteenths place and so on. A computer byte, or eight digits of binary, can range through all of the numbers from 0 to 255. 109 in the decimal system is the same as 1101101 in binary.</span><br />
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<b>Octal</b><br />
<span class="cwcot" id="cwos">The next counting system I want to focus on in this post is octal. This is the base-8 numeral system. Octal has been used by some of the native Americans for counting, because they counted on the spaces in between their fingers, and not the fingers themselves. Over history, octal has been proposed for many things such as coinage and counting, but in the present day, it is not widely used.</span><br />
<span class="cwcot" id="cwos"><br /></span>
<span class="cwcot" id="cwos">Octal uses only the digits 0-7. One helpful thing about the system, is that eight is the cube of two, or 2x2x2. This makes multiplication and division easier. The number 109 is represented by 155 in octal<b>.</b></span><br />
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<span class="cwcot" id="cwos"><b>Decimal </b></span><span class="cwcot" id="cwos"><br /></span>
<span class="cwcot" id="cwos">The next system is also the most commonly used; the base-10 system, or the decimal system. We use the system only because we have ten fingers, so we have the decimal system solely due to evolution. If we had evolved with four fingers on each hand, we would be using octal!</span><br />
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<span class="cwcot" id="cwos">The decimal system is very old. It was used by the ancient civilisations of </span><span class="cwcot" id="cwos">Greece, Rome, Egypt and China. The oldest decimal multiplication table was made out of bamboo slips and came from the Warring States period in China. Romans had an interesting way to make decimal numbers, only needing numerals for 1(I), 5(V), 10(X), 50(L), 100(C), 500(D) and 1000(M). The Ancient Greeks did not use numerals, and instead used the letters </span>Alpha-Theta as the numbers 1-9, Iota-Koppa as 10-90, and Rho-Sampi as 100-900. The number 148, for example, is translated as ρμη(RUE) in Greek(Notice that the Greek counting system includes the three letters Digamma, Koppa and Sampi, which are now obsolete in language). 109 in decimal is the same as the number 109. This example is not needed.<br />
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<b>Duodecimal</b><br />
One numeral system that is commonly used in America is the base-12 system, also called the duodecimal system or sometimes dozenal. This system is used today in foot-inch and single-dozen-gross-great gross systems as well as most clocks. You might sometimes refer to the number six as 'half a dozen', or twenty-four as 'two dozen'. In the duodecimal system, 24 translates to 20. The duodecimal system can be helpful because it is divisible by 2, 3, 4 and 6.<br />
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You may notice that in all of the systems I listed before, only numbers from the 0-9 set are used, however duodecimal has to count through all of the numbers 0-11 without adding another numeral place. This means that the system needs extra symbols to represent 10 and 11. These can be an inverted 2 for 10 and an inverted 3 for 11. The number that is 139 in the decimal system is the same as <span style="-moz-transform: rotate(180deg); -ms-transform: rotate(180deg); -o-transform: rotate(180deg); -webkit-transform: rotate(180deg); display: inline-block; transform: rotate(180deg);">3</span>7 in the duodecimal system.<br />
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<b>Hexadecimal</b><br />
The next numeral system is based on 2 raised to the fourth power: the hexadecimal system, or the base-16 system. This system requires sixteen different symbols, so the letters A-F are used for the numbers 10-15.<br />
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The hexadecimal system is highly involved in computer screens. Each pixel on the screen of a computer is made of three different lights, coloured red, green and blue. The brightness of each of these lights can be adjusted from 0(off) to 255(maximum brightness). This can vary the colours of each pixel. For example, red=255, green=128, blue=0 can colour a pixel bright orange. Each number in between 0 and 255 can be expressed as an eight-digit number in binary, or a two-digit number in hexadecimal. Six-digit series composed of hexadecimal numbers are used in HTML and other programs, two digits to represent each colour. In this form, bright orange would be #FF8000. 139 translated into hexadecimal would be 8B.<br />
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<b>Vigesimal</b><br />
The vigesimal system is the base-20 numeral system. It consists of the numbers 0-9 and the letters A-J. The letter J represents 19. It is used in the Mayan and Aztec language with its own symbols. This system is not all too different from the decimal system, because it is based on two times ten. 139 is 6J in vigesimal.<br />
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<b>Sexagesimal</b><br />
Sexagesimal is the last numeral system in this post. The extremely helpful thing about sexagesimal is that its base, the number 60, can be divided by 12 different factors including 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, and 60. It was used by the Babylonians, but I would not say that their counting system was completely base-60, because the Babylonians used decimal as a sub-base.<br />
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Of course, sexagesimal is still used today, in geographic coordinates(degrees, minutes and seconds), and time(hours, minutes and seconds). On clocks, the system fits together well with the duodecimal system, because exactly five minutes fits in between each hour. It is no wonder that this system, which was used by the Babylonians, is still used today!<br />
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<i>Resources: Wikipedia, "List of numeral systems"</i><br />
<i> </i></div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-28342116785584700702016-02-22T16:57:00.000-08:002016-02-22T16:57:31.621-08:00Movie of the year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are friends or family to the Gensemer family, you might have received our Dear Friends letter in early January. This letter includes events and experiences during the last year, described in accounts by each family member. Each family member also picked a book and movie of the year. This post is my review of each movie. I am also including the director of each movie and its rating on the <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/">Rotten Tomatoes</a> website.<br />
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Arwin's(11 years) choice:<br />
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<b>Field of dreams(1989)</b><i>, directed by Phil Alden Robinson.</i><br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Field_of_Dreams_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Field_of_Dreams_poster.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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This movie is about a corn farmer in Iowa, who gets notified by a strange voice that, "If you build it, he will come". The farmer later finds out that if he builds his own baseball field, the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson(who was banned from professional baseball in 1920 after the Black Sox scandal) will come and play baseball again. This movie also includes other famous baseball players.<br />
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Even though the movie is themed on baseball, it is also about magic and family togetherness, and has a good, warm feeling to it.<br />
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Rating: PG, due to "a bit of strong language".<br />
Rotten Tomatoes ratings:<br />
Tomatometer(critic ratings): 86%<br />
Audience rating: 86%<br />
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Daniel's(13 years) choice:<br />
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<b>Interstellar(2014)</b><i>, directed by Christopher Nolan.</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Interstellar_film_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Interstellar_film_poster.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
Wikipedia calls this "[An] epic science fiction film". It is set far in the future, when humans are at threat from natural disasters that are wiping out crops. The main character is Cooper, a former NASA pilot who runs a farm with his daughter, Murphy, and other relatives. Murphy believes that there is a "ghost" haunting her bedroom and pulling books out of the shelves. During a dust storm, Murphy's "ghost" forms lines and bumps in the dust. Cooper later finds out that the lines are caused by gravity and that they are a binary code for a set of geographic co-ordinates.<br />
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Some critics rate Interstellar three out of five stars because some of the dialogue is hard to comprehend, but I like it because it is exciting and includes many scientific theories about black holes, wormholes, space and time. It is probably the best science fiction movie I have ever watched.<br />
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Rating: PG-13, due to swearing.<br />
Rotten Tomatoes ratings:<br />
Tomatometer: 71%<br />
Audience: 85%<br />
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Wytse's(13 years) choice:<br />
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<b>Song of the Sea(2014)</b><i>, directed by Tomm Moore.</i><br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/Song_of_the_Sea_(2014_film)_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/Song_of_the_Sea_(2014_film)_poster.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is a hand-animated movie about Irish myth. It also includes Irish settings and music. The story starts at a small island off the coast of Ireland, which is the home of a lighthouse keeper named Conor. He lives with his son Ben and his wife, who mysteriously disappears and leaves him with Saorise, their newborn daughter. Six years later, Saorise can still not talk and she is constantly being teased by her brother Ben. She is then found washed up on the beach, by their visiting grandmother. Granny declares that living on the island is too dangerous for them and starts taking them to the city.<br />
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The thing I like most about this movie is not the plot, but the animation. The animation makes it a very colourful and flowing artwork. It also has interesting references to Irish mythology such as Mac Lir the giant, Selkies, and Faeries. I think it is a good family movie.<br />
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Rating: PG<br />
Rotten Tomatoes ratings:<br />
Tomatometer: 99%<br />
Audience: 92%<br />
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Nynke's choice:<br />
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<b>Never Cry Wolf(1983)</b><i>, directed by Caroll Ballard.</i><br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Never_Cry_Wolf_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Never_Cry_Wolf_Poster.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
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This is a true story, based on the autobiography of Farley Mowat. It starts when a biologist gets sent into the wilderness of Canada on a government project to discover why caribou populations have been decreasing. He also needs to find out if wolves have anything to do with the problem, even though no one has witnessed a wolf killing a caribou.<br />
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One thing I have to tell you about is that this story has a sad ending, however, it features many amazing natural landscapes, and information that the biologist finds out about the wolves. It also depicts wolves as social, friendly, and helpful as a part of nature, unlike savage and menacing, which is the common view of wolves.<br />
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Rating: PG, due to "a few gross scenes".<br />
Rotten Tomatoes ratings:<br />
Tomatometer: 100%<br />
Audience: 85%<br />
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Stephen's choice:<br />
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<b>Selma(2015)</b><i>, directed by Ava DuVernay.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/Selma_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/Selma_poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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This movie is also a true story, a story about American history. It is about the Selma to Montgomery marches, a series of protest marches led by Martin Luther King, Jr., who is well known for having led many protests against racism and poverty. The Selma to Montgomery marches were part of the Voting Rights Act, an act that allowed black people to vote. They went along the 54-mile stretch of highway in between a small town in Alabama and the state's capital. The movie was based on F.B.I. accounts of these marches.<br />
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Rating: PG-13, due to violence.<br />
Rotten Tomatoes ratings:<br />
Tomatometer: 99%<br />
Audience: 86%<br />
<br /></div>
Wytse Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06518208635995602294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226070285254421775.post-9603849985522982642016-02-02T23:22:00.001-08:002020-05-09T02:30:32.938-07:00The Tweed Volcano<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You may not be surprised to know we've been busy in the holidays this summer (or, for our Northern Hemisphere friends, the winter). To start off, some friends visited over Christmas. Then we went off on a small trip to the Nightcap Range.<br />
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The Nightcap mountains are well known as being the home of the hippie town of Nimbin. Nimbin, closely linked to the coastal town of Byron Bay, is a big tourist attraction and a diversion from the colorless Pacific highway. We never visited it on the trip, but drove up a steep dirt road to a campsite within the range itself.<br />
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Nightcap Range is shaped like a C and is much wider than it is long. It gradually gains altitude from the Nimbin valley north, transitioning from hilly farmland to cliff-riddled rainforest. At around 800m of altitude, it slopes off in a dramatic and crazily steep escarpment to a coastal valley. Nightcap is just one ridge of many that make up one massive and perfect circle of mountains and cliffs known as the Tweed Volcano. Standing high in the centre of the crater, alone, is the imposing spire of gray rock known as Wollumbin.<br />
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Wollumbin, or Mount Warning as it was named by Captain Cook, is 1150 metres high (that is, from the summit to the valley floor, it measures over a kilometre). It is a remnant of the Tweed shield volcano, which used to be (and still is) so wide it could cover the state of Vermont. We only stayed on the eroded southern slope.<br />
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On the first day, we took the longest walk available in the area.<br />
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The walk began at the campsite, which appeared to be infested by goannas (or just one that seemed to be devoted to stalking me constantly). At arrival, I noticed signs of logging around the campsite, such as a stand of hoop pines lined up in rows, and a disused logger's cabin that was falling apart. I learned from information boards that logging had stopped here in the 1980s.<br />
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After having breakfast, we began walking down the creek. The path here wove through dense rainforest. Whenever the creek came in sight, it looked like a stagnant puddle. Soon the forest opened up, and the path clung to the creekside as it tumbled over rocks and wove through scrubby eucalypt forest. After forty minutes, the path ended at a lookout platform perched on the top of Minyon Falls.<br />
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Minyon Falls was where the creek we were following plunged into a broad gorge surrounded by tall, sheer cliffs. About four kilometres down the gorge, the walls opened up and the gorge joined a valley. We had to hike over there and back in order to reach the base of the falls. The first leg of the hike involved walking out and ascending to a point, with unfenced cliffs on both sides. The second leg was much more beautiful. We walked through beautiful rainforest dominated by massive strangler figs and swaying palm trees. Then we crossed a rocky creek, and ascended a debris field to the waterfall's plunge pool.<br />
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The waterfall was so high, it disappeared before reaching the bottom. I noticed outcrops of hexagonal rocks on the cliffs and down below. I had seen these peculiar rocks in other places, too.<br />
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The walk back up to the lookout, which travelled up the other side of the gorge, was much quicker and steeper. We reached the campsite in time for dinner.<br />
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Wollumbin is popular for being the first point in Australia, and every
other mainland country except for Russia, to see the light of day. Wollumbin (Mount Warning) is one serious mountain, and is proof height does not equal hardness (so is Kosciuszko, but in a different way). The track to the summit is steep, zigzagging, and endless. Near the top is a seventy degree rock wall with a chain.<br />
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On the morning of the second day, we got up and hiked to the top.<br />
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The drive into the crater was pretty long, since we had to drive around the steep crater escarpment first, to a gap in the cliffs. From the gap we drove through some beautiful but very hilly farmland, and at long length reached the road that zigzagged up through Wollumbin's lesser satellites to a "carpark". The carpark itself, which we had the privilege to park in, was only about eight spaces and cars clung to the side of the road up to a kilometre away from the trailhead itself! (and we were there in the shoulder season).<br />
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Anyway, the walk began as a paved concrete path with no steps. As we climbed up through some beautiful woody rainforest, the path became brick. Then the path contoured upward. The path, which was dominated by steps this time, became a well-drained dirt path with wooden steps and information boards.<br />
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I had never before been on a pathway that was wheelchair accessible for the first 200 metres, and a near vertical climb in the last 200 metres, but that was what the path was like. Once we left the open rainforest and began climbing through what was basically a massive tangle of vines, the wide path degraded into a very rocky and muddy dirt trail with no steps. It stayed this way almost to the top. About 1200 metres up the track, we reached a massive clearing (with a view!) in the middle of which stood a helicopter platform. There were no less than four of these on the way to the top.<br />
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Half an hour later, when we reached Helicopter Landing Point 2, absolutely nothing had changed. We were still zigzagging steeply through a damp and muddy vine rainforest. We were 2.2 kilometres from the carpark this time. The views had gotten better, but they still weren't very impressive. Then, not far from the platform we reached a sign that announced our arrival at the halfway point. From there, the forest changed.<br />
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Earlier, we had been seeing coachwood trees and other rainforest plants. Now we began seeing eucalypts, and the forest just began to dry out. The track stopped zigzagging, and began to head consistently to the right. Soon the trail became a hard dirt trail, reinforced by rocks. In what seemed like no time, we reached helicopter point 3, which was 3.2 kilometres from the carpark and just 1.2 kilometres from the summit.<br />
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This place was the first real view. I could see out to the sea, but I could also see what was directly above us; a cliff of massive proportions. I had no idea how the path could get to the top of this.<br />
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Although the trail kept on zigzagging up, it never really reached the cliff. Maybe we were slowly circling the mountain the whole time. Anyway, helicopter point 4 was in a large grove of spear lilies, found nowhere on Earth but a small collection of high mountains around the NSW-QLD borders. It was a scarce 300 metres from the top, and a mind blowing 4 kilometres' walking from the trailhead.<br />
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For about five minutes, we walked through an ancient mountain forest filled with mossy Antarctic beech. The forest ended finally when the track stopped dead by a picnic table, at the base of the cliff I had seen earlier. The track seemed to go straight up this cliff. The climbing had begun.<br />
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At close inspection, the cliff had plenty of holds and I could almost walk up it. Soon enough, we arrived at the summit. There was no one view, but five separate view platforms ringed the summit. I could easily see the whole crater. It was great summiting.<br />
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The trip back down the mountain was uneventful. I went to sleep happy.<br />
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On the third day, we ventured to the coast and Byron Bay. I visited the lighthouse viewpoint, and walked to the easternmost point in Australia. We stopped at a lookout in Ballina, a nearby town.<br />
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Daniel Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707881634585339409noreply@blogger.com0