Wombat Wonders

Did you know that Wombats were once as big as rhinos, way back in time? Now they are are only up to almost 4 feet and up to 80 pounds when adults.

Wombats are marsupials found in and around Australia, with a distinction - Their pouch is backward from kangaroos or koalas. They dig underground and the babies would be covered with dirt if the pouch faced forward. No, they are not badgers, which are carnivores, and related to the skunk family.

Wombats are herbivores with typical food digestion lasting 14 days, which allows them to extract every bit of nutrients to help live a desert existence. I believe the wombat is the only animal of any kind that has a perfectly square (cubic) feces. Wombats lifespan in the wild is around 5 years, but can live to the ripe old age of 25 in captivity.

Although they look cuddly, they have an extremely strong bite an would rather chew through things than walk around. They can run up to almost 25 miles an hour when threatened.

Did You Know

GM sold only about 25% of its vehicles in the United States during the first quarter of 2009 and it just signed a new partnership with eBay that will allow buyers in California to bid on vehicles, the way they do for other vehicles. With the government owning over 60% of GM, maybe we are seeing the beginning of something - like selling healthcare services on eBay.

Perfume Alternative

Hey girls, want to grab a man's heart and save some money too? Try this bacon soap.

Be clean and smell like bacon.

What man can resist this combo?

Counting Calories

A study, started in 1989 involving rhesus monkeys has provided the first strong evidence that caloric restriction slows the aging process in primates.

A diet that's nutritionally adequate, but provides 30 percent fewer calories than normal has been shown to extend life span and delay the onset of age-related diseases in other animals, including flies, worms, and rodents. Because studies on primates take much longer, the benefits had not yet been demonstrated. Researchers at the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison report in July 2009 that in rhesus monkeys that had a caloric restriction diet begun in adulthood reduces risk of the most common age-related conditions, like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and brain atrophy, by 30 percent.

The research involved 76 monkeys, half of them on the diet. The 33 surviving monkeys have reached old age. Thirty-seven percent of the monkeys on a normal diet have died of age-related diseases, compared with just 13 percent of the monkeys on the restricted diet. Reminds me of the Jack Benny line when asked, "Your money or your life?". . . "I'm thinking about it."

Bottled Water Ban

A rural town in Australia has voted overwhelmingly to ban the sale of bottled water over concerns about its environmental impact. They say huge amounts of resources are used to extract, package and transport bottled water.

Only one resident voted against the ban, along with a representative from the bottled water industry, ABC news reported.

Campaigner John Dee said local opinion had been incensed when a drinks company announced plans to tap an underground reservoir in the town. "The company has been looking to extract water locally, bottle it in Sydney, and bring it back here to sell it," he said.

New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees has backed the cause, ordering government departments to stop buying bottled water and use tap water instead.

Quotable

If they attach themselves to the bottom of a ship they are called barnacles. If they attach themselves to a politician in Washington D.C., they are called lobbyists.

Free Peek

If you are new to this blog, Please sit back, relax, have a read, and come back often. You can upload it to your iPhone and there is also an RSS feed.

You can click on the July 5 - July 12 link on the left, and get a free peek at a sample chapter in one of my recent books. It is the first in a series "Shubnell's Profound Thoughts Book 1" Great thoughts from great minds about Life, Time, and Ageing.

The second book, coming soon, will be "Shubnell's Profound Thoughts Book 2". Great thoughts about Friendship, Kindness, Happiness, and Laughter.

For the curious, go to Amazon.com to find almost all of my books.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you soon.

Quotable

If you fool folks to get their money, it’s fraud;
if you fool them to get their vote, it’s politics.

Don't Talk Back

The Obama administration is planning to use the National Security Agency to screen Internet traffic between government agencies and the private sector, the Washington Post reported July 3. They said this was a continuation of the plan started by Bush, but I don't think this is what he had in mind.

"We absolutely intend to use the technical resources, the substantial ones, that NSA has. But... they will be guided, led, and in a sense directed by the people we have at the Department of Homeland Security," Napolitano said.

Napolitano said the NSA would only be charged with looking at data going to or from the government system. What other kind is there besides going to or coming from?

"Each time a private citizen visits a 'dot.gov' website or sent an email to a civilian government employees, that action would be screened for potential harm to the network," the Post wrote. How can anyone be comfortable viewing sites intended to inform us or complain to their elected officials, knowing the NSA will be. . .

Quotable

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away;
this government reverses the process.

Speaking of Quiet

The Japanese have a problem. Japan's near-silent hybrid cars have been called dangerous by the vision-impaired and some users, prompting a government review on whether to add a noise-making device, according to an official.

The gas-electric vehicles, which in recent months have become the country's top-selling autos, hum along almost soundlessly when they are switched from fuel to battery mode.

The ministry has launched a panel of scholars, vision-impaired groups, consumers, police and the automobile industry to discuss the matter. They decided to consider introducing a sound-making function" in petrol-electric hybrids when the 13-member panel held its first meeting Thursday, the official said. They have not decided on what kind of sound should be used.

"On the other hand, we should pay attention to residents along roads as hybrids are excellent in reducing noise," the official added. Reduce sound pollution. OK, we reduced it. Now how much should we add back?

Quotable

An inability to stay quiet is one of the conspicuous failings of mankind.

Men vs. Women

Bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers were all invented by women.

3.9% of all women surveyed say they never wear underwear.

80% of American men say they would marry the same woman if they had it to do all over again.

50% of American women say they would marry the same man.

58% of men say they are happier after their divorce or separation.

85% of women say they are happier.

< 3% of mammal species are monogamous, including Dwarf Mongooses, Beavers, otters, foxes, and Prairie Voles (shown above)

Quotable

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home,
and let the husband make her sorry to see him leave.