My 6 word autobiography: Seeking ways to make a difference. This blog provides more information packed comments than possible in blog comments. I'm not an expert in any field but interested in many. Content is open to correction if needed.
Below are links to Australian related posts on my blogs including links to others. I hope they are of some help...
HMB Endeavour at Eden - Replica of Captain James Cook's HMS Endeavour visited in 2012. James Cook was the first explorer from Europe/UK known to have sailed along Australia's east cost.
My Region of Australia - A general look at my area of Australia featuring the old family dairy farm, scenic photos, beach activities, and Australian animals.
Tasmania – Sharing old photos - Looks at the Australian island state of Tasmania and a little of our convict heritage.
Older Australian Currency - Australia uses dollars and cents these days but before 1966 used pounds, shillings and pence.
Many of the above animal video clips were filmed at Potoroo Palace . It is a native animal educational sanctuary operated by volunteers and funded by visitor entry fees and donations. Potoroo Palace is a not-for-profit organisation passionate about caring for the Earth. The aims of Potoroo Palace are...
To improve the habitats and wellbeing of the native animals already in our care
To promote public awareness of their plight in the wild
To educate the community about the importance of the conservation of our unique Australian native animals and plants.
At times I have been invited to film their animals.
After reading the post on Australian animals, I thought I would put together two You Tube clips, one of "Sapphire" the koala and the other on the eastern grey kangaroo. Here are the photos of the stars...
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Well, it did take some time for the parcel to arrive but, as you already know, it finally appeared. Here is what I found inside...
A clapper board to help me align video clips.
A packet of chalk so I can write on the board.
Three rock samples bearing fossils.
Just by chance, later the same day your parcel arrived I had a phone call. I was asked if I was willing to video the opening performance of the Candelo Village Festival. I agreed and realised I had the chance to use the clapper board very soon after receiving it.
This also presented me with another idea, I had a blog where little had been posted as I didn't have a strong use for it. I cleared away some old posts, some of which ended up on this blog because they were my earliest extended comments. After reorganising the layout and content, I renamed it...
Exploring Ideas: How to and why… A look at blogging, graphics and activities
The idea is to use this blog when I explain how or why I do things the way I do. I left two posts from March, 2012 because they looked at how to write a googol (special number where 1 is followed by 100 zeroes) and how I approach writing a story, particularly long ones.
Your gift gave me an idea for the first post made especially for the blog. It tells how I used the clapper board. I have included a video clip I made for you showing me use the clapper board to mark the film position. I also included 15 seconds of a performance so you can hear a little of my experience on the evening of Friday (April 12).
The people have been deliberately blurred for privacy reasons. You will not have heard the song before as the music festival opening included original works by local composer/musicians. Here is the link to the first real "How to and Why" post...
Now, let's look at the rocks you sent. There were the three stones and something sounding fossil-like. I'll explain shortly...
Crinoid or Corallite Fossils?
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Both suggestions people made through Twitter seem reasonable and both types of creatures still exit in our oceans today. Of the two choices, I would favour crinoid-like fossils but, remember, I am not an expert so this is only my opinion. There is a third option I might add soon. Let's look at the two choices...
This is a Wikimedia Commons image of one type of hard coral taken by Nhobgood
Corallite, if I have my information correct, is the fossilised remains of stony corals. When you look at photos, you can see they are well formed, rock-like structures so I would expect fossils of them to include a more regular pattern than in the samples you sent (see the photo below). Of course, it is also possible what you see in the rocks are broken bits of coral cemented together in the way sedimentary rocks can form.
Below is a photo of a piece of coral I found washed up on the shore in Queensland. It came from the Great Barrier Reef. Can you see the pattern of openings where coral polyps once lived?
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
This is a Wikimedia Commons image of one type of crinoid taken by Alexander Vesanin
Crinoids tend to have small tube-like structures that could be what we see in the stones. There have been some beautiful, almost complete crinoid fossils found. What you see could also be the remains of small shellfish, i.e. their shells (see the photo below). I don't know what rocks are native to your area but, whatever, the stones you sent will now take their place in my rocks and minerals collection. They are my first from Canada. 🙂
Below is a rock I picked up on a beach. You can see, like the samples you sent, it has been rounded by water action. Can you see the shell fossils embedded in it? In these cases, you can see the shell was from spiral shell type similar to ones I sometimes find washed up on our beaches.
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Did I say "something sounding fossil-like" back there? I'll explain.
You know my mind tends to wander in many directions and this is what happened when I saw the packet of chalk. The question came to mind, "What is chalk?" I thought I would share my answer with you.
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Location: Dover, England
I took the above photo when I was in Dover in England. It shows the famous White Cliffs of Dover. The cliffs are chalk but what exactly is chalk?
What this means is chalk has formed under the ocean from the remains of algae so tiny you would need a microscope to examine them properly. Can you imagine the cliffs of chalk in the above photo would have involved many billions of these tiny organisms over a very long time?
Is this the same chalk you sent? While it could be, much of the blackboard chalk manufactured today is made from a stone called gypsum. Below is a photo of gypsum from my collection. This particular piece is known as rose gypsum because of its appearance. (It is shown glued onto a shell for display.)
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
What was the third option for the stones you sent?
I can be a very curious person when seeing something interesting. This is what happened when I was looking at the rocks.
I suspected I might not be looking at fossils in rock at all so I broke open the smallest piece of stone so I could examine its centre. I found the stone was made of small crystals. Below is a graphic showing four photos I took of one of the pieces of the small stone. Can you see the shine of the small crystals?
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Now I was really curious because I suspected the stone wasn't fossil bearing sedimentary rock. I thought it might actually be igneous rock, i.e. volcanic rock. I spent more time searching my rocks and minerals books and the internet. I think I might have found what the stones could be. I think they might be diabase (aka dolerite).
Below is a reference for diabase. Visit the site and look at their photo of diabase. Tell me what you think.
Of course, I could be completely wrong but it is fun to try to find answers even if they're sometimes wrong. We can learn from both right and wrong answers if we keep our minds open.
* * * * * * * * * *
I just had an afterthought on rereading this post and thought I'd share. When I broke open the small rock and looked inside, I realised I was the first person to have ever seen what's inside that particular stone and now I'm able to share what I found. In your lives, you will have many first person experiences. Will you recognise them when you do? I wonder if that makes us all curiosity explorers a little like early explorers seeing somewhere for the first time?
This was a very early blog comment post on another blog. It has been transferred to this blog.
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In answer to the question, "If you woke up tomorrow and there was no such thing as numbers, what would your day be like?"
There were, in the past, times when numbers weren't in existence. They're something humans have made up to try to explain things we see.
Through history, there have been many ways of writing numbers. Our numbers are known as Hindu-Arabic because of the influence of those two systems on us. They replaced Roman numerals that were based on fives as in the fingers and thumbs on our hands.
Look at the sum below and see how hard it would be to do maths....
Roman Numerals
DCCLXIX + CCCXLIV = MCXIII
Hindu-Arabic Numerals
769 + 344 = 1113
Which would you prefer to use?
Did you know computers use a number system called binary to work?
Binary only uses 1 and 0. A 1 tells the computer to turn something on and a 0 off. By turning on or off many tiny “switches” in a processor, the computer is able to operate. No numbers, no computers.
Numbers are a fascinating part of our lives. They are much more a part of our everyday life than we might realise and would affect many things you might not realise.
Remember to set your alarm so you can be up in time for school tomorrow. Wait, clocks use numbers. Have a shower, no, computers and machines control the delivery of water and electricity. Maybe we could walk to school because buses and cars aren’t running. Wait, the buildings have gone because we didn’t have the numbers to help build them. We can go into the simple wooden shelter and sit on the ground then pick up our books. No, computers and machines involved again…
Maybe I should just make a spear and settle around a fire near my rough shelter made from branches and animal skins. When the sun rises, I’ll go hunting while the family searches for water and wild grains to make rough bread. For games, my children can practise throwing spears or learn how to cut animal skins into clothing.
We could survive without numbers but the world would be a very different place for us.
This was a very early blog comment post on another blog. It has been transferred to this blog.
I thought this might be too long to include as a comment on your blog so I have decided to set up a blog page as a comment. From your writings, I can see you have been learning about World War II and how it effected people’s lives. As well as the home front, Allied forces were scattered around the world. British forces were fighting in North Africa, Burma and Singapore. I have some photos to share you might find interesting. All were taken when I visited Singapore in 2010. They show The Battle Box in Fort Canning, the Allied Forces HQ , during the Japanese attack on Singapore and its surrender in 1942. One of the troops in Singapore at that time was my father. He was with the Australian forces and ended up a POW until the end of the war in 1945.
Picture 1:
The main entrance to the underground shelter known as “The Battle Box”
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Location: The Battle Box, Fort Canning, Singapore
Picture 2:
This is a guiding diagram for The Battle Box
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Location: The Battle Box, Fort Canning, Singapore
Picture 3:
I chose to explore The Battle Box by myself. All I met were the mannequin soldiers in the darkened rooms. Considering the heat and humidity of Singapore, The Battle Box has a pleasant coolness unlikely to have existed when full of soldiers.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Location: The Battle Box, Fort Canning, Singapore
Picture 4:
Lt. General Arthur Percival commanded the Allied Forces. You can see his likeness behind the desk. His decisions guided the Allied defences.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Location: The Battle Box, Fort Canning, Singapore
Picture 5:
Operations kept track of Allied and Japanese forces during the Battle for Singapore
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Location: The Battle Box, Fort Canning, Singapore
Picture 6:
With munitions running low, the last defence line broken, anti-aircraft guns unable to fire, and growing losses to civilians in Singapore, Lt. General Percival felt compelled to discuss the surrender option.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Location: The Battle Box, Fort Canning, Singapore
Picture 7:
On 15 February, 1942, Lt. General Percival surrendered to the Japanese. Over 80,000 Allied troops fell into Japanese hands. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. Many died during their years of captivity with large numbers going to work on the Burma Railway never to return. Some were also sent to Japan as POWs.
With the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August, Japan official surrendered to Allied forces. The photo below was on display. It showed the Japanese commander surrendering to Lord Mountbatten on 12 September, 1945.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Location: The Battle Box, Fort Canning, Singapore
Now for something a little different.
Read this letter from a Prisoner-Of-War (P.O.W.) held by the Japanese at Changi P.O.W. camp in Singapore during World War II. This was the first letter he sent to his mother after being freed at the end of the war.
Changi 6-Sept-45 Dearest Mum, Free at long last. At last I am able to write to you after three and a half years of silence. It has been a long wait, but all good things come to those who wait. At present I am in fairly good health. Of course I have had my share of sickness since I have been a prisoner of war. My weight is now about eleven stone so you see I could be a great deal worse than I am. The sicknesses that I have sustained are such that will be quickly dispelled with proper medical treatment and a good diet so you need not worry about it in the least. There is no need to tell you just how happy I was when I heard the news of imminent release. I can just imagine the excitement at home when the wonderful news was released. There is really not much I can tell you about my life as a P.O.W. as censorship is very strict but I will try and give you some idea of what I have been doing since release. One of the first things that happened in the camp was the installation of a short- wave radio and hence we have been able to hear the news from the outside world (officially and first hand). Red Cross supplies have been coming into the camp since the news became official, so that rations have been getting better every day and we are told that we will soon be on full European diet. It is a great thing to have plenty of cigarettes again. It was not long before swimming parades were arranged. Today I went on an organised tour just outside the camp. Two of my mates and myself managed to buy a duck, some eggs and a large papaya (paw-paw) and of course we had the best meal we have had in three and a half years. Well I will have to cut it short here as space is short. Please give my love to all at home (I can’t mention all).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As you can see by the date, the letter was written before the official surrender of the Japanese but Allied forces already controlled Singapore. Here are some questions you might consider if interested...
1. How do you think the soldier felt during his time as a prisoner?
2. Was he well looked after by his Japanese captors?
3. Do you think he was lonely or worried being far from home and not able to write to his family?
4. How do you think his family felt while he couldn’t write?
5. How do you think they felt when they got this letter after so long?
Picture 8:
There are still many buildings in Singapore that stood during the war but Changi, where so many were held, has changed. As then, it is a prison and has been renovated but the old Changi chapel was moved and incorporated into a memorial chapel and museum. Visitors can sit in the chapel or walk around inside the attached museum.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Location: Changi, Singapore
Perhaps some of you have relatives who served in Singapore during World War II. I can't imagine you would be able to have a field trip to Singapore to see Fort Canning and The Battle Box so I hope my post has shown you something from WWII's history very far from your home.
This was a very early blog comment post on another blog. It has been transferred to this blog.
I thought I had better blog the comment on "SPLASH (Water related theme)" as this would allow me to add some photos I've taken as well...
What is water? It's a compound made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. It can be made when hydrogen and oxygen are together and are sparked. The two gases explode in their reaction and water is produced. This can happen when lightning passes through the atmosphere or can be done in a lab (but is very dangerous).
Water is important to life.
We drink it
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We swim in it
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We boat and kayak in it
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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia
We surf and sailboard in it
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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia
We jump and dive in it
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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia
Many animals rely on it for food and habitat
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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia
Our problem is, most water in the world isn't suitable for drinking. It can be polluted or too salty yet most of the world's surface is covered in water.
This is why The Water Cycle is so important to us. When studying water, The Water Cycle shows us how water can move through the environment. Water EVAPORATES into water vapour and rises up into the air. As it cools, it forms into droplets. The droplets combine and when large enough fall as rain, now free of salt or pollutants.
You could try a simple experiment to see how The Water Cycle works...
You will need
two saucepans
a hot plate
water
ice
Method
An adult should always help when dealing with hot plates.
1. Put water in one saucepan and place it on hot plate to boil.
2. Put ice in the second saucepan.
3. Hold the saucepan with the ice above the saucepan on the hot plate when the hot plate pan has boiled.
4. Watch underneath the saucepan with ice and report what happens.
Beautiful
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Location: Yabba Creek, Imbil, Queensland, Australia
Serene
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Location: Rock Pool at Koondalilla Falls, Queensland, Australia
Powerful
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Location: Bournda Beach, N.S.W., Australia
Salt water
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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia
Fresh water
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Location: Bega River, Bega, N.S.W., Australia
Such a simple compound, yet so important. If it's no longer there...
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Location: North Tura Beach, N.S.W., Australia
Possible things to study....
The Water Cycle
How can we filter dirty water?
Keeping it clean. (looking at ways to reduce pollution)
Pond life. (looking at plant and animal life in ponds or streams)
States of Matter. (looking at water in its forms as solid, liquid and gas and the effects of temperature. Did you know water boils at a different temperature the higher you are?)
Surface Tension. (looking at the effects of detergent on water surfaces.)