Reptile Thread

[uwe]

In that case my outrage scales back to normal. 

[veebass]

Had a visitor this week. Quite a large individual. I suspect looking for a place to lay eggs. They do so each year on our property. Occasionally we save lost hatchlings from the pool.

[uwe]

It's probably asking to give it some neck!

[66Atlas]

I never knew you could cross-breed a turtle with a snake.

[uwe]

And a frog: Look at that head!

[veebass]

I never knew you could cross-breed a turtle with a snake.

These are the commonest fresh water turtles in eastern Australia and so are unremarkable to us. They are often called Snake Necked Turtles or Long Neck Turtles unsurprisingly.

[Granny Gremlin]

Hi gus, I have been ignoring this thread, not knowing if it was about herpology or David Icke.  Anyway, carry on.

[uwe]

Canada has no noteworthy reptiles to speak of in any case, nuff said. 

Or they died long ago from Nickelback overexposure.



http://www.skynews.com.au/culture/offbeat/2017/05/13/statuesque-dinosaur-fossil-unveiled-in-canada.html

I'm joking, Jake, that is a cracker of a fossil! Will give the intelligent design folks something to chew on.

[Granny Gremlin]

Dude, you underestimate the power of conviction that the human mind may summon - they've already rationalised it away as us having co-existed.

[uwe]

Until the flood came along and they didn't fit on the ark of course. I've been there. In 1979, I worked in a Stihl depot (the chainsaw and tool maker). They had the habit of mostly hiring Jehova's Witnesses because they were non-union (no point in asking for higher wages if the end of the world is near, right?) and while my Jehova's Witnesses colleagues were nice and gentle people, it was kind of hard arguing evolution with them. And as at that time I was still contemplating to study biology, I was quite adamant about evolution too. 

[bassilisk]

....it was kind of hard arguing evolution with them.

Lewis Black does an excellent bit on this. He said he keeps a small fossil in his pocket for just such an occasion so he can whip it at them, forcing them to duck.

He admits it's tough to argue with people that think The Flintstones is a documentary.

[veebass]

Not sure whether you guys know about an Australian treasure called Tim Minchin. Here is a little clip from one of his shows.


Forgotten how to insert a Youtube clip here, so just put in the URL.

[Pilgrim]

The ability of human beings to ignore all evidence, including their own senses, and believe stuff that's demonstrably untrue, is stunning.

[uwe]

Not sure whether you guys know about an Australian treasure called Tim Minchin. Here is a little clip from one of his shows.


Forgotten how to insert a Youtube clip here, so just put in the URL.

I like the "theory of gravity"-part.

That said, I don't have an issue with those people mentioned who believe that evolution is "administered" by some higher power, there is no proof for or against that and, after all, evolution is a mechanism not an explanation to all things. I always thought that the story of creation as told in the Bible was a nice simplified allegory of explaining how man's existence came about to people who could not have possibly grasped the concept of evolution. Going all Catholic about it and eventually grudgingly admitting "Ok, ok, that is maybe the way it works, but still somone needs to be in charge!" is ok in my book. To their credit, they did not take as long incorporating it into their beliefs - mind you, the Catholic Church has always been great at incorporating outside influences, just look at that decidedly pagan Christmas tree or the likewise Easter bunny (actually a hare) - as they did with accepting that the earth isn't flat. Flexibility in places is good for longevity.

[Dave W]

Remarkable how those kangaroos hopped all the way from Australia to get to the ark.

The ark story was floating around ancient Babylonia at least 1500 years before Genesis was written. Likewise with many other O.T. stories.