A.C. Flory's Blog, page 5

The things you don’t know CAN kill you. :(

I’m old enough to remember when petrol was leaded and glossy paint had lead in it too. I knew it wasn’t great, but I didn’t know how bad it actually was…and I had no idea how pervasive it was! But the scariest part about lead poisoning is how the big corporations dragged their heels and tried to deny it until they couldn’t deny it any more.

Sound familiar? Smoking? Global warming? Health insurance? etc? etc? etc?

And do you know who finally forced their hand? One, lone scientist who refused to shut-the-f*ck-up.

You can read the full story on Carol’s informative post :

CarolCooks2…Count Chemicals not Calories…Part 4…Lead…

Meeks

“I don’t want to be the story” says Aussie reporter shot by a rubber bullet in LA

I know everyone’s tired, I know we just want to get on with life, but…what’s happening in LA, and the US in general, affects us all, whether we like it or not:

I don’t like the mainstream media very much because the reporting has been…selective, to say the least. Yet now, even Nine News has to cover what happened to its own reporter. She was not being violent, and neither were the protestors around her. She was targetted because she was a reporter.

Who will hold the government, any government, to account if those tasked with reporting the news are too intimidated to do their jobs?

Us, that’s who.

This is a video by Kyle Kulinski showing video footage of the protests taken by Citizen journalists. It is truly shocking, not because the protestors are being violent, but because the response triggered by Trump is so over-the-top. If you keep watching until 37:07. you can see extended footage of the Aussie reporter getting shot:

To all my friends in the US: stay safe.

Meeks

The Egg is at Sally’s place!

Good morning to you all from chilly Melbourne! Just a quick post to let you know that Sally, from Smorgasbord Blog Magazine, has featured an excerpt from The Vintage Egg on her blog today. It’s part of how she supports Indie writers, and I’m honoured to have the Egg showcased today.

Pop on over and stay for a chat.

cheers,
Meeks

Indoor-outdoor architecture

I love this particular picture because it showcases how clever architecture can create a glorious, indoor-outdoor living space. That vertical wall of green is actually inside the house and is just one of the innovative design features created by Vietnamese architectural firm 85 Design. Another feature I really love is that the tree in the background has a table built around it on the next floor:

The house is featured in a New Atlas article on sustainable living. The article includes 17 more photos that are well worth a look.

Hope your weekend was/is enjoyable,

cheers,
Meeks

Children with autism are not broken

Youtube showed me this video, perhaps because the algorithm ‘knew’ I’m interested in US politics.

Curiosity made me watch it.

Joy makes me re-publish it here.

If you watch just one of my video recommendations, make it this one:

This is the comment I left on Youtube:

“Holy cr@p. When I first started watching this kid’s speech, I thought he was just parroting something an adult had written. Wrong. The longer I listened, the more obvious it became that this kid knows precisely what he is saying, that he has thought about every word. And that he is brilliant. Now I wonder how many of the great thinkers and creatives of our history also had autism? I’m posting this video on my blog so I, and my readers, can see what the truth looks like. Cheers from Melbourne, Australia.”

cheers,
Meeks

Phun Physics… lol

Three researchers in the Netherlands have created a ‘soft bodied’ robot driven by nothing more than air. There is no circuitry, no programming, no ‘AI’; just the very simplest of physics. But! Physics and air can do unbelievable things – on land or in water.

The principle is similar to those weird, dancing tubes you often see outside shops as attention-grabbing advertising:

But the researchers at AMOLF discovered that when they gave their little robot multiple legs, those legs automatically synchronised, in completely unexpected ways:

Who knew? lol I swear, if I’d seen this kind of stuff when I was at school I wouldn’t have ditched physics and chem. as soon as I was able. If you’ve got kids, show them, and maybe change their lives forever.

cheers,
Meeks

Less stress, more creativity

I’m still on a high from Saturday’s election results [in Australia], and I’m still reading social media to see what others think of that result, but…the underlying fear is gone. I’m no longer afraid that Australia will go down the same path as the US, and that sense of liberation has freed my brain up to be creative again:

This is Big Brother standing at one of the openings into The Mound. He’s holding a small stone in each hand, tapping out an SOS as the Six flies over the Mound.

Another small scene done.

Have a great weekend everyone,
Meeks

Labor won!

There are still a lot of pre-poll votes to count, but the overall swing to Labor is so big that there is no way the Liberal National Party Coalition can form government. And Mr Potato Head looks as if he’s lost his seat of Dickson!!!!!

The Trump factor strikes again. Thanks Donnie.

cheers,
Meeks

MAGA: Making A Gestapo America

I read the title of this post in the comments of a video which shows a young girl – said to be about 10 – standing in front of a sheriff’s car, hands handcuffed behind her back as the MALE officer searches all her pockets. Including the ones at the front. The ones closest to her genitals.

Why is a male allowed to do this?

What could this child possibly have in her pockets?

Why on earth would he need to handcuff her?

I don’t know the law, but I’m pretty sure this can’t be right. Even if this child did do something wrong, this is not the way to treat her.

If you are on social media, please share this video because the main stream media probably won’t. If we can change the mind of even one MAGA supporter then it’s worth doing.

Meeks

Machiavelli – then and now

Even if you’ve never read anything written by Niccolo Machiavelli, you will have heard people described as Machiavellian, meaning they have:

‘…a high level of deceitfulness, exploitativeness and a cold, unemotional temperament.’ Wikimedia

That description is psychological, but the principles espoused by Machiavelli himself are also philosophical and political. He understood the dynamics of power because he understood people, and he poured all of that understanding into his seminal work: The Prince. Back in 1513!

Yet despite the centuries in-between 1513 and 2025, everything Machiavelli knew about power then, is eerily the same now.

If you’ve ever wondered why right wing, populist regimes have suddenly sprung up all over the world, this video is a must.

cheers,
Meeks