# Australia started the technological revolution!



## Ralphy1 (May 11, 2016)

A stone axe was found that is around forty thousand years old.  This is remarkable as it is far older than any other ones.  Hats off to the Aussies, but what happened after that?  Not much it seems...


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## Warrigal (May 11, 2016)

What happened after that? The boomerang and the woomera.
These plus a digging stick, a string basket and a large flat wooden bowl, are all you need for a nomadic lifestyle.


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## Ralphy1 (May 11, 2016)

Hmm, very good at being primitive...


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## Susie (May 11, 2016)

Ralphy1 said:


> A stone axe was found that is around forty thousand years old.  This is remarkable as it is far older than any other ones.  Hats off to the Aussies, but what happened after that?  Not much it seems...


Is it possible you are ill-informed about Australia's technology?
Have you misjudged the highly intelligent and modest Australian who is not "loud-mouthed"
about technical advances??


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## NancyNGA (May 11, 2016)

I think Ralphy is just teasing. :love_heart:


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## Warrigal (May 11, 2016)

Ralphy1 said:


> Hmm, very good at being primitive...



An American is incapable of appreciating a lifestyle that is not materialistic.
One where money is unnecessary and gold is useless.


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## Warrigal (May 11, 2016)

NancyNGA said:


> I think Ralphy is just teasing. :love_heart:



So am I. Tit for tat teasing is like playing ping pong.


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## NancyNGA (May 11, 2016)

Warrigal said:


> So am I. Tit for tat teasing is like playing ping pong.



I know Warri.  You are a good sport.   I'm enjoying it.


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## Guitarist (May 11, 2016)

Yet I think it is Susie who questioned Ralphy's comments, not Warrigal so much.

What is a woomera?  I know I could Google it but I'd rather ask a real live person. 

What about the didgeridoo?  Not a necessity, maybe, but nice to have along?  I love the tonal quality!


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## Ralphy1 (May 11, 2016)

Can't you tell when I am being serious?  This is depressing..


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## SifuPhil (May 11, 2016)

Go play with your digging stick in the back yard, Ralphy - it'll make you feel better.


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## Ralphy1 (May 11, 2016)

Sorry,but the shovel came along in more developed societies.  And weren't digging sticks used to dig out termites?  Not on my menu...


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## Warrigal (May 11, 2016)

> What is a woomera?


A woomera is a throwing stick. It gives added thrust to the spear.



> And weren't digging sticks used to dig out termites?


If you must, but yams are more palatable.


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## NancyNGA (May 11, 2016)

:lol:


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## SifuPhil (May 11, 2016)

Ooh - chocolate-covered termites! I'm getting hungry ...


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## Warrigal (May 11, 2016)

No cocoa plants in Australia but perhaps you would prefer honeypot ants.
You can't buy them at the supermarket though.
You need that digging stick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwzzbjYHC3w


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## SifuPhil (May 11, 2016)

Wow - thanks for the video, Warri! 

I can see why honey ants aren't exactly in the candy aisle of the store. 

But ...

KANGAROOS? THEY EAT KANGAROOS?!?


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## Warrigal (May 11, 2016)

Kangaroo is good tucker, mate.
Beats goanna or fruit bat.


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## Ralphy1 (May 11, 2016)

And how do you prepare the meat?  Roasted on one of tour sticks over a fire pit?


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## mitchezz (May 11, 2016)

Ralphy1 said:


> A stone axe was found that is around forty thousand years old.  This is remarkable as it is far older than any other ones.  Hats off to the Aussies, but what happened after that?  Not much it seems...



Not much???? How about flight recorders (black box), Hills Hoist clothes line, wine casks.........need I go on????????


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## Ralphy1 (May 11, 2016)

No, you have probably exhausted the list...


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## mitchezz (May 11, 2016)

Ralphy1 said:


> No, you have probably exhausted the list...



Not really..............http://www.australiangeographic.com...australian-inventions-that-changed-the-world/


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## NancyNGA (May 11, 2016)

Benjamin Franklin invented wooden swim fins in 1717.


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## Ralphy1 (May 11, 2016)

Yes, those furriners were inspired by us...


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## Warrigal (May 11, 2016)

Ralphy1 said:


> And how do you prepare the meat?  Roasted on one of tour sticks over a fire pit?



Pit? No.

That would require a shovel which is too heavy for nomads without any domesticated four footed beasts of burden to carry around.
They must be slow roasted in the ashes.

Or if you are terribly hungry, you just throw it on the fire and burn off the fur. Very juicy, this way.

What are tour sticks anyway?


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## Susie (May 11, 2016)

Ralphy1 said:


> Hmm, very good at being primitive...


Wow, some very cynical teasing, Ralphy 1, and you being such a clever lad, probably with many degrees in your chosen field!   :clap:


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

Well, at least they provided us with Crocodile Dundee...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

And Errol Flynn, Peter Finch, Rod Taylor, Guy Pearce, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Chris Hemsworth, Liam Hemsworth and Sam Worthington.


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

Yes, they were OK for some light entertainment...


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## NancyNGA (May 12, 2016)

Don't forget Smokey Dawson.


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

I'd rather forget him, but not Vera Lynn...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

I should have deleted Russell Crowe from the list. He is still a Kiwi.


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

That's OK, he is pretty much a cipher...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

I had to look up 'cipher' in this context.

cipher[SUP]1[/SUP]
ˈsʌɪfə/
_noun_
noun: *cipher*; plural noun: *ciphers*; noun: *cypher*; plural noun: *cyphers*


*1*. 
a secret or disguised way of writing; a code.
"he wrote cryptic notes in a cipher"

synonyms:
code, secret writing; Morecoded message, cryptograph, cryptogram 
"the information may be given in cipher"





something written in a code.
"he came across ciphers written on parchment and concealed in a hollow altar pillar"

synonyms:
code, secret writing; Morecoded message, cryptograph, cryptogram 
"the information may be given in cipher"





a key to a code.




*2*. 
_dated_
a zero; a figure 0.

synonyms:
zero, nought, nil, 0; _archaicnaught _
_"a row of ciphers"
_



a person of no importance, especially one who does the bidding of others and seems to have no will of their own.
"journalists are not mere interchangeable ciphers in the propaganda battle"

synonyms:
nobody, nonentity, nothing, non-person, unimportant person, person of no account "he has spent most of his working life as a cipher"





antonyms:
celebrity






*3*. 
a monogram.
"a pair of rock crystal goblets engraved with the cipher of Peter the Great"

synonyms:
numeral, number, integer, figure, digit; Morecharacter, symbol, sign 
"Arabic ciphers"






_
I presume you are using the dated, archaic second meaning.
You're showing your age, Ralphy boyo.:grin:_


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

Hmm, well I rather like it, but I maybe I will use non-entity in the future, if you prefer...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

I don't prefer. I am very fond of Kiwis like Russell Crowe and Sam Neill.
They are top blokes.


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

Good, but you keep them over there. You do make some light stuff as I understand...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

We do indeed

https://www.google.com.au/search?hl...j3j4.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.hu3ykrbIbB4&gws_rd=ssl


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

Yes, I have seen some of this which is what we refer to as "bush league" as it is just not up to the high standards of ours...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

Well, for the most part we still use real actors rather than cgi. This limitation requires us to use real cameramen. We tell stories too instead of a series chases and explosions to pad out the movie. It's old fashioned but also rather satisfying.


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

More likely boring.  And sometimes laughable with those police officers wearing those silly hats...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

Like this?


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## Ralphy1 (May 12, 2016)

No, no, not those guys out in the bush, but those that work in what may pass for a city there...


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## Warrigal (May 12, 2016)

Oh, these ones?


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## Ralphy1 (May 13, 2016)

Yep, those are the ones, and they seem to know that they look foolish in those little checkered hats...


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## Warrigal (May 13, 2016)

But they don't scare the general public nearly as much as these guys


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## Ralphy1 (May 13, 2016)

Yep, better not spit on the sidewalk in front of these guys...


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## Warrigal (May 13, 2016)

As if I would. 

What happens if I address them Mate instead of Officer?
Do they make allowance for my accent?


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## Ralphy1 (May 13, 2016)

Probably a mild tasering...


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## Warrigal (May 13, 2016)

:lol: Actually New York's finest were very friendly and hospitable to us when we were there and we have the photos to prove it.
I don't think tasers were standard issue back then.


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## Ralphy1 (May 13, 2016)

So long as you didn't wear a head scarf and we're spending plenty of money, you were fine, especially if you bought them a coffee and a donut


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## Warrigal (May 13, 2016)

No bribery involved but I have been known to wear a headscarf on occasions, like when I visit the mosque :grin:

This is Ali and me at the Lakemba mosque.


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## BobF (May 13, 2016)

Not sure now but I know in the past the Catholic church had the ladies covering their heads with scarfs during the sermons.    Men are bare headed except for parts in the ceremony.


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## Ralphy1 (May 13, 2016)

The Donald will sort you lot out soon...


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## Warrigal (May 13, 2016)

Not just in the sermons Bob. The head was covered to enter the church. Women who had nothing else would place a lace handkerchief on their heads before coming inside. In Protestant churches it used to be the custom to wear a hat to a service but not just to venture inside. Little girls wore hats to Sunday school.

This is how we dressed for Sunday school or church when I was a girl



I am the eldest in this photo and we were attending my aunt's wedding, dressed in Sunday best.


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## BobF (May 13, 2016)

Yes, I do remember all that as I was raised as a Methodist.    I have not been to a church since I was 20 so 62 years later do the churches still do those things in the Catholic or Protestant churches?


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## Warrigal (May 13, 2016)

No Bob. Times have changed a lot since then. In those days ladies wore hats and gloves to go to 'town', as we called the city. No longer and church reflects societal trends too.


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## Underock1 (May 15, 2016)

Warrigal said:


> No bribery involved but I have been known to wear a headscarf on occasions, like when I visit the mosque :grin:
> 
> This is Ali and me at the Lakemba mosque.
> 
> View attachment 29332



I was just scanning this thread to see what Susie was upset about, and I'm glad I did. You look great, Warri! :yes:


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## Warrigal (May 15, 2016)

It was an interesting day Underock. It was a cultural visit organised by our local council.

First we went to the mosque for  talk and a Q and A session. The next stop was a Vietnamese Buddhist temple, really just a converted suburban house with a covered open air area at the back where we were served a morning tea. 


With one of the Buddhist monks

Next we were off to the Sikh gurudwara for another talk and a musical session followed by a vegetarian meal below the prayer hall. This was probably the best part of the day, the Sikhs were lovely. 

Last we went down to the river bank for a talk on Aboriginal spirituality and bush tucker.

All of these places are within our local government area (Bankstown) We are multicultural, multiethnic and multifaith and we work hard at promoting harmony.


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## Underock1 (May 15, 2016)

Fantastic! From the very little I know of them, hospitality seems of major importance in Sikhism. That sounds like a really interesting day. If only the divisive dogmatists would get out of the way.


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## Ameriscot (May 15, 2016)

Sounds like an enlightening day.  I'd love to do something like that.  I've only been to a Buddhist monastery and temples.


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## Warrigal (May 15, 2016)

Underock1 said:


> Fantastic! From the very little I know of them, hospitality seems of major importance in Sikhism. That sounds like a really interesting day. If only the divisive dogmatists would get out of the way.



The Sikhs are egalitarian. They have rejected the caste system of India completely. For the meal we all sat on the floor and were served a vegetarian meal on a tin plate. No one is above anyone else and everyone takes their turn at providing the communal meal and at serving the community. There is no distinction between men and women either and I had a long conversation with one of the turbaned and bearded men without any awkwardness.


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## Ralphy1 (May 16, 2016)

Hmm, did you find out the meaning of life on your visits?


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## Warrigal (May 16, 2016)

Didn't you read my post. The answer to life is food.


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