Chat

[Caro]

Happy birthday Philip



... a bit late.

[Hanibal94]

Sea shanty surrealism: AI generates images based on "The Wellerman"

I wonder what we'd get if we fed it some of the more interesting logbook entries?

[Michael]

[AvastMH]

A very distressed AI computer I should think. Would it know how to cope with a mis-entry in the latitude that spins you a third of the way round the globe into the middle of Central Africa?

[AvastMH]

Regent honeyeater: Rare Australian bird 'has forgotten its song'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/56427002

I wish the scientists every luck in getting these birds to sing the right songs!

[Randi]

[Michael]

Message in a bottle

[Randi]

[Thursday Next]

I expect someone has already posted a link to this article in the Guardian, but as I have failed to find it anywhere...

"Sperm whales in 19th century shared ship attack information"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... 1615968229

[Randi]

I hadn't seen a link to the article.
Very interesting!

[AvastMH]

Cool message in a bottle Michael! As kids we used to send messages out into the Cornish Atlantic. Never got a reply though

I expect someone has already posted a link to this article in the Guardian, but as I have failed to find it anywhere...

"Sperm whales in 19th century shared ship attack information"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... 1615968229

Wonderful article. And not a surprise to me I must add. Over the years I've noticed the rise of 'whale going fast to windward, did not follow.' as we have gone up through the years from 1885 towards 1899. The question then arises, was this new behaviour, or simply the behaviour of the survivors? And it's not easy from our logs to tell. When whales were plentiful the ships were (principally) sail only and could not go to windward at all easily. Then again, why even mention that whale when there were so many to chose from? As stocks dwindle rapidly, around 1885, steam power comes in gradually. Early engines were simple donkey boilers. As that era progresses there's a point where the old sail whalers are struggling to find stocks, the steam whalers have comparatively great power (enough to deal with ice and to over-winter in the Arctic) and can move through ice to get to stocks. By 1905 even the steam whalers appear to have run dry on successful chases. We haven't covered logs into the modern era of whaling.
It may just me being hopeful, but I'd like to think that the whales did learn to dodge the whalers as the years went by. Survival of the wittiest?

[krwood]

I suspect Sperm whale society is a bit different from the Bowhead's -- but that said we know that Bowheads do respond to threats, mainly by running into the ice, where even their primary predator (Orca) don't go. Now, though, with no ice to hide in, Bowheads are getting munched by Orca more often. Not to mention getting caught in nets, etc. See this video https://youtu.be/TcfQiKUkgBY starting at 2:30.

[AvastMH]

Hi Kevin!
Thanks for the video - it's scary how badly the Arctic is faring
And thanks for the information about the bow heads. I've not seen many catches of sperm whales in the recent logs that we've been doing in the late 1890s. Nor Right whales. It's principally bowheads if the ships can get anywhere near them. I wonder what the bowheads thought about the arrival of the steam whalers that were prepared to go through the ice normally left alone by the whalers? If they could talk I'm not sure it's a story I'd care to hear
I'll stick to enjoying the lot that got away

[pommystuart]

Devastated couples' home floats away on their wedding day in NSW floods
Sarah Soars and Joshua Edge will remember March 20 for all the wrong reasons — they had been due to tie the knot, but instead watched as their home on the NSW Mid-North Coast was swept away in the state's flood crisis.



For a better idea of the floods see this video of the house in motion.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-21/ ... y/13264610

[Randi]

Wow!

[AvastMH]

Your floods were on our news Stuart - are you well above them? I hope so

[pommystuart]

Thanks, Yes Joan. Very lucky, only minor water over roads. Fell sorry for the hard hit ones.
Maybe we can spread a bit of money around the areas to help them out a bit when we are on our caravan trip around NSW.

[AvastMH]

Thanks, Yes Joan. Very lucky, only minor water over roads. Fell sorry for the hard hit ones.
Maybe we can spread a bit of money around the areas to help them out a bit when we are on our caravan trip around NSW.

Giving local economies a shove? Sounds ideal

[Hanibal94]

Glad to hear you're safe, Stuart, and that you'll be helping out local businesses!

[krwood]

Was the flooding worse due to burned-over areas in NSW?