I've never seen anything like this before.


I spent almost three years living and working for Deloitte & Touché in Australia, 1996 until late 1998.

I enjoyed my work and the citizenry of Oz, they liked Americans and were very kind to me. However, their marsupials, wombat, and Emus could sometimes be very annoying.

One summer day our little group were eating lunch in a local park in the outskirts of Canberra. A hungry Emu approached our table, and eventually stole a loaf of bread and platter of sandwiches.
 
I spent almost three years living and working for Deloitte & Touché in Australia, 1996 until late 1998.

I enjoyed my work and the citizenry of Oz, they liked Americans and were very kind to me. However, their marsupials, wombat, and Emus could sometimes be very annoying.

One summer day our little group were eating lunch in a local park in the outskirts of Canberra. A hungry Emu approached our table, and eventually stole a loaf of bread and platter of sandwiches.
I think I would much rather share my al fresco lunch with an Emu than the American northeastern yellow jackets. Nasty, aggressive, stingy and violently persistent. shudder... there is no escape as they will follow you. again, shudder.
 
I think I would much rather share my al fresco lunch with an Emu than the American northeastern yellow jackets. Nasty, aggressive, stingy and violently persistent. shudder... there is no escape as they will follow you. again, shudder.

True, they're very aggressive.
It was three or four summers ago, I noticed a hive loaded with angry, aggressive African bees.

Called our pest control guy, but he couldn't respond until two days later.

I use bleach for many purposes. I loaded my insecticide lawn hose sprayer with 4 parts bleach and 1 part water. The canister held about 1/2 gallon. Loaded for bees, I returned to about 10 feet away from their hive. Pointed the hose at their hive, and things began to pop. Bees were held off by the solution, started falling immediately upon contact. I was unharmed. The bees lost that day.

Pest control guy and I had a great laugh over it. He said, "You could have been killed." I laughed, that's what I heard in Nam. I spent five years in Nam, returned to the US without receiving the Purple Heart.

If the VC, Chinese Army, and their NoKo pals, along with a few Russkies couldn't take me out, crazed, angry bees couldn't either!
 
I use bleach for many purposes. I loaded my insecticide lawn hose sprayer with 4 parts bleach and 1 part water. The canister held about 1/2 gallon. Loaded for bees, I returned to about 10 feet away from their hive. Pointed the hose at their hive, and things began to pop. Bees were held off by the solution, started falling immediately upon contact. I was unharmed. The bees lost that day.

Ah, the plot for a popular B(ee) Movie.

;)
 
There are so many things in Australia that can kill you. From poisonous snakes to crazy spiders and insects. Oz is one of the last regimes of the old world when America was 2 or 3 continents only. Kangaroos and Tazzy Devils can and do tear people up.
 
Kangaroos and Tazzy Devils can and do tear people up.

True, but don't dismiss the wombat.

Wombats, wallabys, kangaroos, emus, and armadillos, oh my.

Wombats are tank like critters.
Avoid hitting one, because of their natural body armour, your auto undercarriage could be destroyed.

1748865059071.png

Wombats can only be found in Australia - the land of dingoes, wallabies, and Tasmanian devils. They look like small, cuddly bears - terrestrial koalas, happy to burrow for roots rather than climb for leaves. The young are cute and playful, making wombats popular attractions at Australian zoos. Wombats move slowly and feed at night. And that's why they show up in math problems.

"Cars arrive along a stretch of road according to a Poisson random process," read my student probability textbook. "What's the chance a crossing wombat arrives safely on the other side?"



When I became a professor, I held to the tradition of my alma mater by entertaining students with stories about wombats crossing roads. But my stories didn't prove to be that entertaining. That is, until a student offered a suggestion. "This is Texas," he said. "We don't have wombats. But we do have armadillos." I changed the story line. And from then on the students never failed to laugh.

I'd seen armadillos, but set out to learn more about them and what, if anything, they have in common with wombats. Armadillos most definitely aren't cuddly. They have hard outer shells made of detached plates. It makes them look a lot like medieval knights in armor. Twenty species of armadillo are found in different parts of the Americas.

The delicate pink fairy armadillo is the smallest, at about five inches in length. One species, the Brazilian three-banded armadillo, rolls itself into a ball when threatened. That's not true of the nine-banded armadillo found in Texas and throughout the southern United States.

But while they're not cuddly, armadillos are likable. They have a soft, furry underside and a gentle demeanor, inspiring some people to keep them as house pets. They're related to anteaters, and ask nothing more than bugs and a little grass for food. Armadillos are so likable, Texas designated them the state's official small mammal. (Large mammal bragging rights not surprisingly went to the longhorn.)


1748865405319.png

A two story Texas armadillo as imagined with long horns.
 
True, but don't dismiss the wombat.

Wombats, wallabys, kangaroos, emus, and armadillos, oh my.

Wombats are tank like critters.
Avoid hitting one, because of their natural body armour, your auto undercarriage could be destroyed.

View attachment 5403

Wombats can only be found in Australia - the land of dingoes, wallabies, and Tasmanian devils. They look like small, cuddly bears - terrestrial koalas, happy to burrow for roots rather than climb for leaves. The young are cute and playful, making wombats popular attractions at Australian zoos. Wombats move slowly and feed at night. And that's why they show up in math problems.

"Cars arrive along a stretch of road according to a Poisson random process," read my student probability textbook. "What's the chance a crossing wombat arrives safely on the other side?"



When I became a professor, I held to the tradition of my alma mater by entertaining students with stories about wombats crossing roads. But my stories didn't prove to be that entertaining. That is, until a student offered a suggestion. "This is Texas," he said. "We don't have wombats. But we do have armadillos." I changed the story line. And from then on the students never failed to laugh.

I'd seen armadillos, but set out to learn more about them and what, if anything, they have in common with wombats. Armadillos most definitely aren't cuddly. They have hard outer shells made of detached plates. It makes them look a lot like medieval knights in armor. Twenty species of armadillo are found in different parts of the Americas.

The delicate pink fairy armadillo is the smallest, at about five inches in length. One species, the Brazilian three-banded armadillo, rolls itself into a ball when threatened. That's not true of the nine-banded armadillo found in Texas and throughout the southern United States.

But while they're not cuddly, armadillos are likable. They have a soft, furry underside and a gentle demeanor, inspiring some people to keep them as house pets. They're related to anteaters, and ask nothing more than bugs and a little grass for food. Armadillos are so likable, Texas designated them the state's official small mammal. (Large mammal bragging rights not surprisingly went to the longhorn.)


View attachment 5404

A two story Texas armadillo as imagined with long horns.

Armadillos are fast little suckers and do make noise when they move like carrying armor. I was surprised at how fast they move. You wouldn't think a little thing like that could move so fast but they do.
 
Why did the Wombat cross the road?


Assist, as in Auto-generated by SQUIGGY, AI BOT. DERIVED by AI sources. May contain some inaccuracies and/or lies!

AI SAYS: The phrase "Why did the wombat cross the road?" is often used humorously to engage students in discussions about probability and road safety, particularly in relation to the dangers posed by vehicles.

Wombats, like many animals, face risks when crossing roads, which can lead to serious accidents.
 
There are so many things in Australia that can kill you. From poisonous snakes to crazy spiders and insects.

True, my friend, but we have many life forms capable of killing you right here in North America, ie... crazed, escaped, deranged prison inmates, dope fiends, alcoholics, pedophiles, perverts, mental incompetents, psychologically disturbed individuals, sexually maladjusted freaks, creepy, mentally disturbed life forms, critters that prowl the darkest shadows/crevices, and iseologigically disturbed, terrorists; along with their "kin" anti-semetic vermin.
 
True, my friend, but we have many life forms capable of killing you right here in North America, ie... crazed, escaped, deranged prison inmates, dope fiends, alcoholics, pedophiles, perverts, mental incompetents, psychologically disturbed individuals, sexually maladjusted freaks, creepy, mentally disturbed life forms, critters that prowl the darkest shadows/crevices, and iseologigically disturbed, terrorists; along with their "kin" anti-semetic vermin.

True but I keep a 357 SAS SIG around for those situations since I have a CCW permit. I can hit a quarter at 50 yards and ain't skerd. However, lots of criminals running around, and not too many people want to get crazy against a full sized pick up. They know most people driving around in these type trucks can protect themselves. I mean FAFO happens a lot around here.
 

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