Just when you thought...

…it was safe to go back into the water.

The other day a surfer was attacked and killed off the coast off the Western Australian coast by a great white shark about 180km north of Perth.

Shock horror. Yes, it’s a nasty thing to happen and those that were on the beach when it happened, it would have been partially horrible thing to witness.

Family and friends are devastated by the accident. They have my sympathy because losing a loved one is awful and has a profound effect on the rest of your life.

The authorities are now combing the water for the offending creature so they can kill it so it doesn’t kill anyone else.

I have a solution to this. Don’t kill the shark for doing what sharks do, eat things in the water. Stop people going in the water or let them go in the water and let Darwinism take its course. It think it called the natural order of things. I stay out of the ocean. I understand they are many things in it that can move quicker than me through water and would, if given the chance, could kill me. Not just sharks, but jelly fish, snakes and fish with spines that have toxins that can cause heart failure in minutes.

How many sharks will they kill in the search for the ‘maneater’?

Why do sharks now feel the need to attack humans? Is it because they look like seals? It could be. Is it because the fisherman are denuding the water of natural prey, fish? Maybe. Are we just hearing about more attacks because of the internet and social media?

I really don’t think killing off white pointer sharks is the solution to this issue. Killing the sharks will only leave the oceans devoid of predators and every environment needs predators to keep a balance.

Is the next step to bring back capital punishment for killers. Are we going to bring back lynch mobs and dispense with the court system? Hang ‘em high from a branch.

That’s what we’re doing to the sharks. I understand we can’t have a trial for a shark, lack of a speech centre in the brain and need to keep water flowing over the gills being an issue. But why punish an animal for simply surviving.

I find the imbalance between human and animal rights disturbing.

We need to think about what we’re doing. Wake up and see that it isn’t all about us, humans. Animals deserve a lot more respect and the rights to do what they need to do to survive.



http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/surfer-taken-by-shark-north-of-perth/story-e6frg13u-1226425990874

What are the Odds?

Yesterday the conversation turned to giving blood and how being English the Australians won’t take our precious blood because we’re all mad.

Having lived in the UK at the height of the Mad Cow Scare, it is deemed that the risk of POMs having CJD and passing it on through blood transfusions it far too high a risk for the Australian Red Cross to take, which is a shame, they miss out on so many litres.

I used to give blood every six months in the UK. I’d go along to hall, have my finger pricked with a pin, then I’d be stuck with a needle. The biscuit and cuppa after made up for the temporary discomfort. I’d get a little sticker in my blue book, and off I’d go until; next time.

So the conversation was about the odds of getting CJD via transfusion. The stats we found where from the UK and since 1990 there have been 119 confirmed deaths from CJD. The chances of dying from this disease are something like 1 in 650,000 (based on a population of 60million). Now compare that number with these US figures (I know it’s not really fair to compare UK/US but I couldn’t find any AUS numbers);

Heart Disease : 1-in-5
Cancer : 1-in-7
Stroke : 1-in-23
Accidental Injury : 1-in-36
Motor Vehicle Accident : 1-in-100
Intentional Self-harm (suicide) : 1-in-121
Falling Down : 1-in-246
Assault by Firearm : 1-in-325
Fire or Smoke : 1-in-1,116
Natural Forces (heat,cold,storms,quakes, etc.) : 1-in-3,357
Electrocution : 1-in-5,000
Drowning : 1-in-8,942
Air Travel Accident : 1-in-20,000
Legal Execution : 1-in-58,618
Lightning Strike (included also in Natural Forces above) : 1-in-83,930
Snake, Bee or other Venomous Bite or Sting : 1-in-100,000
Dog Attack : 1-in-147,717
Asteroid Impact : 1-in-200,000**
Fireworks Discharge : 1-in-615,488

It would appear that I have more chance of being taken out by a lump of space rock than getting Mad Cow Disease.

Can I start giving blood again please?

Coming Home

I'm leaving the UK on Wednesday.

As soon as I changed my flights and decided to stop trying to make thing work here, my eye stopped leaking. Weird, but I suppose, I call Australia home.

A Trip to Cutesville

A brief visit to Taronga Zoo today resulted in me seeing a somewhat rare occurence.

A koala awake!

Koala sleeps well
awake for only sixty
then asleep again

Weather Change

I was sat outside studying tonight in a nice peaceful spot under the Harbour Bridge (call me crazy, but there’s something soothing about the dedunk of cars going over the bridge plates).

After about three hours of sitting on a rug tapping out my book report my bum was numb and I noticed that my feet were cold. In fact my toes were kinda blue. So I moved to the car and had a look at the thermometer. It felt like it was 15 or 26 degrees in truth it was 22 degrees.

I think this is the year I have finally got used to the Australian weather. Last year I brought a coat about two months into winter and worn it for three weeks. This year I think I may be wearing it a bit longer.

I may have to invest in a scarf and a pair of gloves like all the other crazy Australians I saw wearing them when I first moved here eight years ago.

(168 words)