tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75503366390544764292024-03-06T12:00:29.178+10:00Gorey ThingsThe personal web space of a traveller through lifeMichael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-54552744495446038592021-04-11T17:33:00.003+10:002021-04-11T17:37:47.764+10:00Maternal DNA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tVkkr2ny5YtpLtKBzwKOXBisADBsIV7s97TA-VQopMvaCOPAdjxBFj1AZBVXMhbNxVh40ntOs9FLMwBDAucDcmQj5baTmJTcyfGDrh1FMfTzE-_OzsSlKwJ81WzWhSYIvNt-Qf7L-5k/s600/vikingwomanb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tVkkr2ny5YtpLtKBzwKOXBisADBsIV7s97TA-VQopMvaCOPAdjxBFj1AZBVXMhbNxVh40ntOs9FLMwBDAucDcmQj5baTmJTcyfGDrh1FMfTzE-_OzsSlKwJ81WzWhSYIvNt-Qf7L-5k/s320/vikingwomanb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br clear="all" /><p>According to a maternal DNA test (mtDNA), I'm descended from a Viking woman. My haplogroup is J1c3f, who lived 4600 years ago.</p><p>A <a href="https://livingdna.com/blog/haplogroups-explained">haplogroup</a> is a genetic cohort of people who share a common ancestor on either their paternal or maternal line. mtDNA is mitochondrial, or maternal.</p><p>A previous maternal ancestor J1c3 is believed to have lived 11,000 years ago while <a href="https://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J_mtDNA.shtml">J1c goes back</a> 15,000 years.</p><p>The mutation defining haplogroup J is thought to have taken place some 45,000 years ago in the Caucasus. Researchers have called her Jasmine.</p><p>J1c3 descendants are <a href="https://anzaca.otago.ac.nz/haplogroups/9-mtdna/12-mtdna-j">found throughout Europe</a> while J1c3f are mostly in northern Europe, although some are found in the North Caucasus and Kazakhstan.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>My mother's family are Dutch and German in recent origin, so the DNA information is not surprising.</p><p>Viking remains have <a href="https://dna-explained.com/2020/09/18/442-ancient-viking-skeletons-hold-dna-surprises-does-your-y-or-mitochondrial-dna-match-daily-updates-here/">shown matches</a> for the J1c3f haplogroup in Iceland and Sweden.</p><p>King Richard III and Edward IV were both J1c haplogroup, meaning I share a common maternal ancestor with them.</p><p>Mitochondrial DNA is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00682/full">strictly maternally</a> inherited and it can help to understand our susceptibility to diseases.</p><p>Haplogroup J has been related to longevity in nonagenarians and centenarians but also with age-related disease and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705099/">hypertension</a>.</p>Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-87034582988879723472021-02-27T20:09:00.008+10:002021-02-27T20:14:52.100+10:00Everyone works in communications<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxX0_XlyIM3BK8A_1VfqJjS7cFZ8XMNGmxrh-lIupMD5_6Cf7r8V35ZK30mKkpT1x4F_zRYA8Q5gH3-1UhCwXiZ7FFay0OBhyphenhyphenl2-RNXI9_UY2bV1j5M07ZAaKNxpXimY0vuUusQiVbQY/s744/weekenderpic.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bundaberg Now Weekender" border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="744" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxX0_XlyIM3BK8A_1VfqJjS7cFZ8XMNGmxrh-lIupMD5_6Cf7r8V35ZK30mKkpT1x4F_zRYA8Q5gH3-1UhCwXiZ7FFay0OBhyphenhyphenl2-RNXI9_UY2bV1j5M07ZAaKNxpXimY0vuUusQiVbQY/w400-h215/weekenderpic.png" title="Bundaberg Now Weekender" width="400" /></a><br clear="all" /></div><p></p><p>This might come as a surprise but Bundaberg Regional Council has 900 people who work in communications.</p><p>Every single Councillor and every Council employee communicates every working day, either internally with colleagues or externally with the public.</p><p>This includes the smiling faces at the front counter, call centre operators, community development workers, rangers, venue managers, etc.</p><p>So, when a journalist starts asking about the size of the communications team and its budget, I immediately suspect self-interest on the part of their employer.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>I’m very proud of the small group at Bundaberg Regional Council who work full-time in coordinating our overall communications activity.</p><p>There’s a manager with four writers, four in multimedia, and four in graphics and marketing.</p><p>This dynamic team leads the production of Bundaberg Now and all of Council’s internal and external communications including advertisements, flyers, newsletters, websites, social media and everything else required of an organisation which serves more than 50 business units and a population of 98,000 people.</p><p>Council isn’t just roads and rubbish. We have an airport, theatre, museum, art galleries, zoo, water services, recycling, parks, etc which all need communications.</p><p>Over the past four years we’ve achieved considerable efficiencies by consolidating most of our communications and marketing into a central hub.</p><p>Individual departments previously had their own promotional budgets which meant we weren’t always achieving best value.</p><p>We now produce everything we need in house, which saves time and money. There’s a more strategic approach to how we communicate across multiple platforms including video, podcast, mobile apps and a digital magazine.</p><p>Why is this important? Everyone communicates and everyone receives communication. Every time there’s a community survey, residents rank communication as one of the most important Council activities.</p><p>Not only have we got smarter and better about how we communicate, we now provide a community service through the <a href="https://www.bundabergnow.com/">Bundaberg Now website</a>.</p><p>The fragmentation and decline of traditional media meant many important stories were going untold.</p><p>The creation and success of Bundaberg Now has increased the level of connection and engagement across our community and added to media diversity.</p><p>Bundaberg Now publishes an average of seven stories per day, mostly about community organisations, local people, events and businesses. The website receives 100,000 visitors per month and the Facebook page has 29,000 followers.</p><p>It seems the people who bravely started a <a href="https://bundabergtoday.com.au/news/2021/02/26/mayor-stands-alone-in-support-of-global-tech-giant/">local newspaper</a> in the era of print decline are envious of Bundaberg Now’s success.</p><p>Despite this I wish them well because media diversity is vital.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3elV70qvTgfMR0Oq0At9Yk9vdYFjwsSGLSNbfJioXSaQ1tW70vnaS-nJLrWJVZT0XK-R2pGtsbUq_YLd6zRR_kFqZMTJF7bzbD293pZuuJa0L_ktQqshmpibL9L_yAltEITduoB8XYI/s669/trollpost.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Janette Young troll post" border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="669" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3elV70qvTgfMR0Oq0At9Yk9vdYFjwsSGLSNbfJioXSaQ1tW70vnaS-nJLrWJVZT0XK-R2pGtsbUq_YLd6zRR_kFqZMTJF7bzbD293pZuuJa0L_ktQqshmpibL9L_yAltEITduoB8XYI/w400-h205/trollpost.png" title="Janette Young troll post" width="400" /></a><br clear="all" /></div><p><i>The author of this troll post (above) is a former Bundaberg newspaper journalist whose son is now writing a story about Bundaberg Now for start-up newspaper Bundaberg Today.</i></p>Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-2438183417671967172020-12-06T15:02:00.012+10:002020-12-23T14:31:43.812+10:00Scrap the cashless debit card<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlELV57ZERy1UwYJI3c78WcIbpenvjMiUBaw674LOjsJgm1OZiuRQTop828ilmeqM01E4DqauvhvW3F8CDIrKFDYO-YWcJrRXaA-WKIBEWwfZ9-QMr-FR45o-GzM_tS1Ppw5Vu37LmiRI/s400/cashlesscard.png" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="400" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlELV57ZERy1UwYJI3c78WcIbpenvjMiUBaw674LOjsJgm1OZiuRQTop828ilmeqM01E4DqauvhvW3F8CDIrKFDYO-YWcJrRXaA-WKIBEWwfZ9-QMr-FR45o-GzM_tS1Ppw5Vu37LmiRI/w558-h335/cashlesscard.png" width="558" /></a></p><p>It's time in my view to scrap the cashless debit card as a failed social experiment.</p><p>The scheme quarantines 80 per cent of social security payments to a cashless card, which prevents spending on alcohol, illegal drugs and gambling products.</p><p>It's operated under a contract by private company <a href="https://www2.indue.com.au/">Indue</a>.</p><p>According to the Australian Government, the cashless debit card tests whether reducing the amount of cash available in a community will reduce the overall harm caused by welfare-fuelled alcohol, gambling and drug misuse.</p><p>"While it is not the only solution, it is a useful tool operating alongside other reforms to address the devastating impacts of drug and alcohol misuse and problem gambling," <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/families-and-children/programmes-services/welfare-conditionality/cashless-debit-card-overview">the Government's website</a> says.</p><p>"The cashless debit card looks and operates like a regular bank card, except it cannot be used to buy alcohol or gambling products, some gift cards or to withdraw cash."</p><p>The idea is that people receiving welfare benefits will only be able to use that money on approved purchases, such as food and clothing, and not on poker machines or alcohol.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The arguments against include that it stigmatises people, violates their independence, fails to work in all circumstances, and doesn't fix the problem.</p><p>I don't have an issue with the concept. I think it's reasonable to put conditions on how people receiving benefits from the taxpayer (me) use their funds.</p><p>However, the cashless debit card has been in place for several years now and I see no evidence that it's successful.</p><p>The Government hasn't released the research they commissioned from the University of Adelaide. Nor have they said how much it costs to put each person on the card and keep them there.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/2020/cashless-debit-card-having-no-impact-on-problem-gambling-substance-abuse-or-poor-nutrition-study/">study by the University of South Australia</a> and Monash University found the cashless debit card is having little impact on the problem behaviours it was designed to target.</p><p>Elise Klein, from the Australian National University, says <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-government-trying-to-make-the-cashless-debit-card-permanent-research-shows-it-does-not-work-149444">peer-reviewed research</a> has consistently shown the card, and income management more broadly, do not meet policy objectives.</p><p><a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/010218-Cashless-Debit-Card-Briefing-Note_ACOSS.pdf">ACOSS say</a>s the cashless debit card significantly restricts people’s freedoms without a sufficient evidence base to show that it works or is justified.</p><p>Why am I interested? The Government introduced a trial of the cashless debit card into Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. The boundaries of the trial are the Hinkler electorate of Nationals MP, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=148150">Keith Pitt</a>.</p><p>The Government is now proposing to make the trial permanent, but has not revealed any plans to extend it elsewhere.</p><p>One of the biggest advocates of the cashless debit card is mining magnate <a href="https://www.minderoo.org/cashless-debit-card/">Andrew Forrest</a>. I think he's genuine in wanting to address chronic social problems in Indigenous communities, but as we discovered with <a href="https://www.monash.edu/law/research/centres/castancentre/our-areas-of-work/indigenous/the-northern-territory-intervention/the-northern-territory-intervention-an-evaluation/what-is-the-northern-territory-intervention">the Intervention</a>, a big-stick approach doesn't work.</p><p>"The Intervention was directed at addressing the disproportionate levels of violence in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, as well as the systemic disadvantage of Indigenous people, characterised by economic deprivation, unemployment, social marginalisation, inadequate housing and poor health and justice outcomes."</p><p>It failed.</p><p>Why is Bundaberg (with Hervey Bay) the only non-Indigenous community to have the cashless debit card?</p><p>According to the Government it's because we have a high level of welfare dependency. That's true, but so do other areas. When Dan Tehan was the Minister for Social Services, I wondered why he didn't introduce this in Portland, in his electorate, which has similar challenges.</p><p>The Minister today is South Australian Senator, Anne Ruston. I wonder why she hasn't introduced it to the northern suburbs of Adelaide, where the social problems are much greater than Bundaberg?</p><p>I think the answer is they know it would be political death.</p><p>Introducing the card, in my opinion, was motivated by ideology and mateship. Andrew Forrest thinks it's a good idea. And former National Party president Larry Anthony <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/today/elle-hardy/2019/09/2019/1568008047/curious-compassionate-conservatism">was a director</a> of Indue between 2005 and 2013.</p><p>The theory around Bundaberg is that Keith Pitt signed up for the scheme to advance his ministerial ambitions.</p><p>If the cashless debit card is such a good thing, why isn't the Government rolling it out across the whole of Australia and not just Bundaberg and Aboriginal communities?</p>Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-74194211026315357732020-11-29T15:54:00.005+10:002020-12-23T14:32:32.249+10:00Coronavirus wipes out 2020<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/media/content/images/GettyImages-1200706447-crop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="600" height="205" src="https://www.health.harvard.edu/media/content/images/GettyImages-1200706447-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The year 2020 is both memorable and one to forget. It's memorable for having the first global pandemic since Spanish Flu in 1918-19.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">It's forgettable for stifling travel, recreation, arts, culture and all the good things we enjoy in life like socialising, dining, sports and entertainment.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I feel fortunate in some respects and cheated in others. My partner and I were due to leave on the trip of a lifetime to Europe on 27 March. If it had been a week earlier, we would have flown from Brisbane to Lisbon via Dubai.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As it happens, we're probably lucky it was a week later or we might have been stranded there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We've missed out on some long-planned, amazing experiences but escaped the worst impacts of the pandemic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Regional Queensland is probably one of the safest and best places to be this year. We've had fewer than 10 cases of COVID-19 in Bundaberg and they were related to overseas travel or the <a href="https://www.rubyprincessinquiry.nsw.gov.au/hearings/">Ruby Princess</a>. There's been no community transmission.</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I write this, however, my nurse partner is locked in the "warm room" at Bundaberg Hospital wearing full PPE and watching over a solitary patient.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In some respects it feels like a wasted year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the sixth decade of life, one appreciates every day because it's one closer to your last.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While health is good now, it should never be taken for granted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I haven't seen three of my four children or my seriously ill mother since January because the Queensland Government set up border controls to preclude most interstate travel without going into quarantine on return.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The world's reaction to COVID-19 has been interesting to observe. In Australia and New Zealand, we've effectively pursued elimination because we're island nations. Europe, Asia and America can't do that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have questions around the governmental response. Sweden and South Korea have been held up as alternative models but their case numbers are much higher. Will they come out stronger at the end?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The data I'd like to see is how many people under 70 die from COVID-19 without having a comorbidity? I suspect it's not very many.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Meanwhile, deaths have increased from suicide and domestic violence as people deal with social isolation, not to mention the generational economic destruction.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It will be interesting how historians judge this period in 50 years or 100 years.</div><p></p>Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-27199463121420135742019-02-14T14:37:00.000+10:002019-02-14T14:37:39.567+10:00Bundaberg Now connects Council and community<a href="https://www.bundabergnow.com/"><img alt="Bundaberg Now" border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1334" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLx2iWj28tR91XAo8X0LCGLlMiCq8AcDi_mBUo7EgVBJ1ZREU8HgtxP0fmc5uo-eWIcpFutUiG1Uf_uOnq6Kpcoonwc9QRtpMzW733lRi31s9ZazN4JGUegAZXmMqwgpvqZfJMNNzBvOM/s400/bnow.PNG" title="Bundaberg Now website" width="400" /></a><br />
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I'm pleased to have been involved with the launch of <a href="https://www.bundabergnow.com/">Bundaberg Now</a>.<br />
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The website is an initiative of Bundaberg Regional Council to provide a platform for publication of Council and community news.<br />
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It also connects Council with the community.Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-30667274842124666702018-08-12T16:17:00.001+10:002018-08-12T16:19:17.234+10:00Experimental cooking<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaNoQ0tmAA0EK7-m0ql8JtrRQa_nBaoZJ2I5KVlVLYYFG0sxvfHtoYJe0cLN0A9nzr2wnq44j5_jxVzgiAPc32h0shsWbAuB93eb0QJW9uJyzKbH7FFRmJn-n3ADg7TsvuswGCeAxGHk/s1600/friedrice.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="1600" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaNoQ0tmAA0EK7-m0ql8JtrRQa_nBaoZJ2I5KVlVLYYFG0sxvfHtoYJe0cLN0A9nzr2wnq44j5_jxVzgiAPc32h0shsWbAuB93eb0QJW9uJyzKbH7FFRmJn-n3ADg7TsvuswGCeAxGHk/s640/friedrice.jpg" width="560" /></a><br />
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I try to cook several meals on Saturday or Sunday for the week ahead. I spend too much money on lunch and coffee; it's ridiculous. Better to prepare my own meals and take them to work.<br />
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One dish that I've been experimenting with for several weeks is fried rice. Sounds simple, but I've discovered there are nuances and options. It also takes longer to cook than stir fries and pasta dishes.<br />
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Last week I added nasi goreng paste and chilli paste. It made for quite a tasty meal but I thought the rice was too sticky.<br />
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Although I have a rice cooker, this is often a problem. Today I referred to Chef Google and dried the rice in the oven for a few minutes before putting it in the frying pan. Some of the grains became a little crunchy, but overall it was a good result.<br />
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The dish pictured has lots of olive oil, a small amount of sesame oil, turmeric (powder), salt, prawns, bacon, peas, beans, capsicum, chilli, two boiled eggs, onion, spring onion and cayenne pepper.<br />
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It's my best effort so far.<br />
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At the first attempt I used home-made basil pesto dip as well and I might add something similar next time.Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-78720304357109891372018-08-06T10:23:00.003+10:002018-08-06T10:23:51.526+10:00Kokedama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YkV8u6VEalsXFDFH6uTvReBc14k1WEn8pOS4UYMp_epxsAyMCDXAnHQJUv56U00T3OWHyIMhoK74PVbauMJyIcOrHnHdNof7plZmpW2QFfAVMMHS570TH8PWvCrU6nfp8-PNW4QXa4I/s1600/kokedama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YkV8u6VEalsXFDFH6uTvReBc14k1WEn8pOS4UYMp_epxsAyMCDXAnHQJUv56U00T3OWHyIMhoK74PVbauMJyIcOrHnHdNof7plZmpW2QFfAVMMHS570TH8PWvCrU6nfp8-PNW4QXa4I/s400/kokedama.jpg" width="333" height="400" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="721" /></a></div>This is one of my new kokedamas, obtained from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dearlittlekreations/">Dear Little Kreations</a> at Bargara.<br />
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According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokedama">Wikipedia</a>: Kokedama (苔玉, in English, literally "moss ball") is a ball of soil, covered with moss, on which an ornamental plant grows. The idea has its origins in Japan, where it is a combination of the nearai 根洗い (literally "root wash," but meaning "no pot") bonsai and kusamono planting styles. Today, Kokedama is very popular in Japanese gardens.<br />
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The care instructions suggest to water the plants about once a week. They are said to be idea for indoor locations with not too much direct sunlight.<br />
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They're absolutely gorgeous and a wonderful way to brighten a room.Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550336639054476429.post-35796315089405713332016-09-24T17:53:00.000+10:002016-09-24T17:53:43.461+10:00Tree with dreadlocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxkNLgBXqoa-2cNNfYpOIPVHn5DducQmzOg5H1Am9E4WxTok_G-h396BDecQuitTL4LABiKz_d7pDRGXm-MgZhgvjn9sQoVL6qX9QCV6iLp-vGfNgO-K2PT8rTzN5pQFtD-XofSEbfEo/s1600/fig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxkNLgBXqoa-2cNNfYpOIPVHn5DducQmzOg5H1Am9E4WxTok_G-h396BDecQuitTL4LABiKz_d7pDRGXm-MgZhgvjn9sQoVL6qX9QCV6iLp-vGfNgO-K2PT8rTzN5pQFtD-XofSEbfEo/s640/fig.jpg" width="570" height="427" /></a></div><br clear="all" /><br />
Only in the tropics — a tree with dreadlocks. Not sure what this tree is exactly and whether it's native to Darwin, but it appears to be some kind of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangler_fig">strangler fig</a>".<br />
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It offers useful shade in <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Frances+Park/@-12.450857,130.8415799,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x8dcc872d6e865817!8m2!3d-12.4510332!4d130.8448948">Frances Park</a>, Duke Street, Stuart Park.<br />
Michael Goreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06153065624171525625noreply@blogger.com0Stuart Park NT 0820, Australia-12.450954624113843 130.84464182275394-12.458707124113843 130.83455682275394 -12.443202124113842 130.85472682275395