Water, water hardly anywhere

Here in beautiful Melbong, garden city, famous for it's leafy eastern suburbs (and way less famous for it's dried out scrofulous north, west and south eastern suburbs) we are on stage 3A water restrictions. Stage 3A was invented to save the government from criticism by the leafy suburbs because it still allows them to water their gardens. You don't want to poke a sleeping dragon (it's the managerial belt - people who might even know how to do something political and not generally too fond of our 'Labour' government).

For people actually following the restrictions, this means you can only water your gardens using a system for 2 hours twice a week and by hand 2 hours twice a week and lawns may not be watered. The native plants are surviving, the pampered European and other introduced plants are doing it hard. Since Melbong is basically a European style city (in the world's driest continent), it's making the place look more than a little parched and frayed.

I was thinking about this as I installed a replacement water controller (the LCD display on the old one had failed and I had no idea what it was doing). It is my understanding (and experience) that over watered plants tend to have shallow roots and therefore become highly dependent on constant watering whereas lightly watered plants develop deeper roots so they can tap into whatever is left of the ground water (or they die). But watering systems can pump out a hell of a lot of water in 2 hours. So are we systematically weakening our gardens?

Or maybe the idea is to soak down to whatever roots the plants have and then leave it for a few days? Or maybe they went with the most complex rule they thought they could get away with and that citizens could understand? Considering we are in the tenth year of 'drought', down to 30% water storage (for 2 million people) and the CSIRO projects Victoria will get dryer and hotter, I don't hold out much hope for the lawn, unless people get seriously into water recycling (but this costs money and effort so I wont be holding out much hope). And anyway, we'd be better off planting carbon fixing plants like bushy shrubs and trees than lawn.

I suppose this means the lawn will become a status symbol rather than every man's right along with a quarter acre plot to waste.

American tourist to English Baronet while admiring his lawn: 'How do you get a lawn like that?' .Baronet: 'Cut it and roll it. Cut it and roll it. ,,, For three hundred years'.

I suspect we don't have that sort of time.

Zippy the fish head?

Fish oil hope for schizophrenia patients

A new study suggests that fish oil could be the key to a safe and effective form of treatment for young people with schizophrenia. ...
Seventy-six people completed the study and of the group, 41 were given fish oil tablets four times a day for three months. The rest were given a placebo.
Of the group that took the fish oil capsules, only two had developed a psychotic disorder after a year, while of the placebo group, 11 went on to develop some kind of psychosis. ABC

I can see where this might upset the mega pharmas, but stiff. Anything cheap that helps mental illnesses is worth a Nobel Prize IMHO (which isn't humble at all really). I bought a container today - not that I'm a twenty-first century schizoid man you understand but the oil seems to help lots of conditions that I do happen to have. So hoorah.

Toads get caning

Cane toad 'sausages' help wildlife
 abc

Cane toads are being turned into sausages in the Northern Territory as part of a research project to help save an endangered mammal. ,,,

"We basically give them food poisoning and after that they just won't touch it or they will sniff the toad, run away from it or bite it and spit it out."

Results show about a quarter of the quolls will avoid a toad after eating one of the sausages.

For anyone who doesn't know, this is a cane toad:



And this is a quoll.



Quolls are fierce little marsupial carnivores. We'd like to keep them. Cane toads are introduced poison squirting nasties that are taking over the top end of OZ. They eat anything smaller than they are or poison anything that eats them. New methods for their destruction are always being avidly sought. For example:

Cane toads for dinner?
abc

South-west Queensland meat processor John Burey is travelling to China next month to negotiate a deal to start exporting cane toads for human consumption. Mr Burey says the hated toad's poison is highly prized in Chinese medicine and the meat is also eaten in some parts of the country.

You really have to admire that sort of entrepreneurial style. I wonder if there is a market for free range rabbit in China? Not to mention feral goats, pigs, buffalo and maybe even camels.

Corresponding action?

China warns Obama not to meet Dalai Lama

China has warned the US president that it will harm ties between the two countries if he meets the Dalai Lama. Chinese Communist Party official Zhu Weiqun said there would be "corresponding action" if the meeting went ahead. BBC News

OK. What would be "corresponding action" to meeting this guy?



Maybe meeting someone the US officially loathes. Another inveterate troublemaker. Like:




You got to love the Chinese. Or else. In fact they are getting a bit snarky lately with their super powers.