Killer kangaroos, demon ducks

I’d seen articles about large killer reptiles found in Oz during early settlement, but now I probably understand why ’roos show up on the typical Crocodile Hunter video leadin: here is mention of kangaroo fossils found with big, sharp, well-anchored teeth and a galloping gait instead of a hop.

Because they didn't hop, these were galloping kangaroo, with big powerful forelimbs, some of them had long canines like wolves

...says Prof Mike Arthur, UNSW Dean of Science. So apparently, being kicked to bits wasn’t the biggest risk they exposed you to.

Dr Sue Hand also mentioned that:

these things had slicing crests that could have crunched through bone and sliced off flesh

Comforting words?

The investigators also found another meaning for the word “duck”:

Very big bird ... more like ducks, earned the name demon ducks of doom, some at least may have been carnivorous as well

So... demons rather than daemons? Sounds like Terry Pratchett’s book The Last Continent wasn’t as light-hearted as the included drop-bears may have helped it to appear.

Comments

every-application-is-part-of-a-toolkit at work

I have a LibreOffice Impress slideshow that I wish to turn into a narrated video. 1. export the slideshow as PNG images (if that is partially broken — as at now — at higher resolutions, Export Directly as PDF then use ‘pdftoppm’ (from the poppler-utils package) to do the same). 2. write a small C program (63 lines including comments) to display those images one at a time, writing a config file entry for Imagination (default transition: ‘cross fade’) based on when the image-viewer application (‘display,’ from the GraphicsMagick suite) is closed on each one; run that, read each image aloud, then close each image in turn. 3. run ‘Imagination’ over the config file to produce a silent MP4 video with the correct timings. 4. run ‘Audacity’ to record speech while using ‘SMPlayer’ to display the silent video, then export that recording as a WAV file. 4a. optionally, use ‘TiMIDIty’ to convert a non-copyright-encumbered MIDI tune to WAV, then import that and blend it with the speech (as a quiet b

new life for an old (FTX) PSU, improved life for one human

the LEDs on this 5m strip happen to emit light centred on a red that does unexpectedly helpful things to (and surprisingly deeply within) a human routinely exposed to it. it has been soldered to a Molex connector, plugged into a TFX power supply from a (retired: the MoBo is cactus) Small Form Factor PC, the assorted PSU connectors (and loose end from the strip) have been taped over. the LED strip cost $10.24 including postage, the rest cost $0, the PSU is running at 12½% of capacity, consumes less power than a laptop plug-pack despite running a fan. trial runs begin today.

boundaries

pushing the actual boundaries of the physical (not extremes, the boundaries themselves) can often remove barriers not otherwise perceived. one can then often resolve an issue itself, rather than merely stonewalling at the physical consequences of the issue.

Plantagenet Penguinista

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