Willis's Walkabouts Newsletter 94, January 2018 — Going, Going ....
Feedback request. While I do get some wonderful feedback on these newsletters, it would be a great deal of help if I had more. See News About this Newsletter for how you can help. Thank you.
My favourites.
• 2017 — A Year to Celebrate
• Our Coming Trips — Going, Going ....
Why I'm pleased that we're unlikely to be able to run all listed trips even if people want to do them.
• Sleep and Health
Not getting enough sleep could be doing you permanent damage.
• The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions
It's long but it's also the best article I've read about the coming impact of artificial intelligence.
• Storm chaser braves 2017's wild year of US weather — in pictures
This has to be one of the best collections of weather photos I've ever seen.
Restricted content. Articles marked * or ** are on restricted websites Click for more info.
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In this issue
- 2017 — A Year to Celebrate
- Our Coming Trips — Going, Going ....
- Sleep and Health
- Food
A disturbing statistic and some science to back it up - Reviewing Willis's Walkabouts
- The Next Generation
- The War Over Season's Greetings
- Jobs
- Points to Ponder
- Cycling in Australia
- Cyber Attack Follow Up — Protect Yourself
- Bushfires
- Climate
- Bushwalking Tips
- Photos, Videos & Just For Fun
- News About this Newsletter
2017 — A Year to Celebrate
Bad news sells, good news doesn't.
Why 2017 was a year to celebrate highlights some of the good things that happened last year. If you're really curious, it links to a longer list. Here is one of the most surprising.
"Rates of violent crime and property crime have dropped by around 50% in the United States since 1990, yet a majority of people still believe they have gotten worse." As I said at the start, bad news sells, good news doesn't.
The NY Times recently ran a story, Crime in New York City Plunges to a Level Not Seen Since the 1950s * — that's certainly not the perception most people have of crime today.
New Scientist recently ran a similar article Is positive thinking the way to save the planet? It seems that good news can nudge people to do more while bad news makes them do less.
What A Time To Be Alive explains how "normal Americans now 'live better than John D. Rockefeller did' at a time when he was the richest man in the world." In many ways, I think we're even better off in Australia.
What really matters
This short video was sent to me by a friend. There is a lesson there for us all — if we choose to accept it.
Our Coming Trips — Going, Going ....
February - March
Only one trip remains available. When I didn't get the additional bookings I needed to run any of the February trips mentioned in the last newsletter I created a new, shorter one. Kakadu Light Special: 11-18 February
Definite departure. This is the easiest way to experience bushwalking in the Wet without having to carry a full pack for more than a few km on couple of days. Rather than give up, I decided to run the trip for myself and a friend. If someone else wants to come along even better. The trip lists for $600 but I'll take $150 off for anyone who books and quotes this newsletter. Special conditions apply to this trip. See the trip notes, link above, for additional information.
1-13 April
Only two trips remain available.
- Karijini National Park: 1-14 April
Visit one of the most spectacular gorge systems in Australia at a time when the water is still warm enough to enjoy swimming.
Grant Dixon, a Tasmanian photographer who came on one of our Karijini trips has a good gallery of Pilbara photos on his website.
Special offer — $700 discount. New price $2995.
We don't have the five bookings we need to run this trip, so we're offering a big discount to encourage others to join. - Centralian Highlights 11-19 April
This is based on a similar trip we ran last year. Different conditions apply so please don't consider booking until you have read the trip notes, link above.
I enjoyed the trip so much last year, that I decided to see if a special would bring in the bookings I need to run it. Special offer — $250 discount. New price $1000.
April — Going, Going ....
We can't run a trip without sufficient notice. Including the two trips mentioned above, we have five April departures listed in our 2018-19 program. Any of those trips which doesn't have the bookings we need to guarantee departure by 1 February will have to be cancelled.
May Onwards
The following trips all have bookings.
- King George: 6-19 May
Visit some of the most spectacular parts of the Kimberley Coast while the waterfalls are still flowing and enjoy a float plane flight between the two sections. - Kimberley Highlights No. 1: 13 May - 9 June
This is the ultimate taste of Kimberley bushwalking, five sections, any of which can be done on it's own.
Special offer. Since we now need only one more booking to guarantee departure, we are leaving our 20%, four month, advance purchase discount open until 8 pm on 26 January. - West Macdonnells: 10-23 June
Two sections off the beaten track in the West Macdonnells. Either can be done on its own. - Gibb Road Gorges: 10-24 June
This is the easiest Kimberley trip we offer. In spite of the fact that land tenure changes have prevented us from finalising the itinerary, we already have bookings.
Watch for updates. - Charnley River: 24 June - 15 July
New trip notes went onto this website on 16 November.
The original dates were changed to allow a connection with our Gibb Road Gorges trip.
We need only one more booking to guarantee departure. - Kakadu Circle No. 2: 1-14 July
A long loop showing you some of the best Kakadu has to offer. A food drop divides the trip into two sections, either of which can be done on its own. - Mitchell Plateau No. 3: 5-18 August
Our first trip to the Mitchell Plateau since 2015. - Kakadu Compassionate Communication Retreat: 25 August - 1 September
Definite departure. Guides: Cassie Newnes and Shar Malloy. This trip ran for the first time this year. It went so well that next year's trip is already heavily booked. - Madagascar: 4 weeks in September
We already have bookings and can take a maximum of only nine plus our guide.
Charters and the Program
We have a limited number of guides and a limited number of vehicles. We have had more people ask about special charter trips this year than any time in the past ten. We can't run all the charters and all those listed in our 2018-19 program. We will run any trip which has the bookings to run before we confirm an overlapping charter. We will do our best to run any trip which has bookings which overlaps a charter. All other trips can drop off the list whenever we confirm a charter.
Getting in early not only saves you money, it makes it more likely that you'll be able to book the trip you want.
The Biggest Discount of All
I am getting no younger. For me to do a major expedition, I could use a very strong, very fit, experienced bushwalker to act as a 'packhorse', carrying an extra heavy load in return for a big discount. At this point, I'm not sure which trip or trips it would be, but the Charnley is certainly one possibility. Please email me for more information.
Sleep and Health
Sleep and Alzheimers
New Scientist recently ran an article Wake-up call: How a lack of sleep can cause Alzheimers
"Even a single night of poor sleep can cause changes in the brain implicated in Alzheimer’s. Are you getting enough shut-eye, asks sleep scientist Matthew Walker."
That article linked to another, Top tips to get a better night’s sleep and improve your health
I've seen what happens to people with dementia. It's not pretty. One of my former guides does not even remember his own name. I highly recommend both articles.
It's not just Alzheimers.
Sleep deprivation like alcohol refers to a study that shows "Sleep deprivation disrupts brain cell communication in much the same way as alcohol. Exhausted neurons respond more slowly than usual and take longer to transmit weaker signals, a study found."
Worth thinking about next time you consider driving when really tired.
The Conversation had a recent piece, Why getting enough sleep should be on your list of New Year’s resolutions
"If you need an alarm to get up in the morning, you’re probably not getting enough sleep."
Have a read. Look at some of the links. It's amazing just how many things are affected by lack of sleep.
Food
One third of all the food produced each year gets lost or wasted.
That's a damning statistic. New Scientist recently ran an article called The real clean food: How to eat well for yourself and the planet. Many of the statistics are based on the UK but I doubt that Australia is much better. "The surprising truth is, it’s easy to make a difference – without becoming a fanatic."
Click the link above, have a read and see what you think. Or take the shortcut and check out the one minute video that came with the article. A diet that's good for you and the planet — it's easier than you think
Gluten intolerant? — Maybe not
Gluten intolerance: Dietitians and scientists close in on the true culprit
"A 2017 study at Oslo University Hospital found that people with self-diagnosed gluten sensitivity were more likely to develop digestive issues after eating specially formulated muesli bars containing a fermentable sugar called fructan, not gluten."
Reviewing Willis's Walkabouts
Many Thanks!
Since the last newsletter, many people have given us good reviews on Google and Facebook. If you have never done one of our trips, you might want to have a read and see what others think.
If you have done and enjoyed one or more of our trips but haven't done a review, maybe you'd like to add your comments.
- Google. Go to Google, search for Willis's Walkabouts, and you'll get a chance to write a review in the right hand column. This link should get you there.
- Facebook. We've got some fantastic reviews on our Facebook page. We can always use more.
The Next Generation
Regular readers of this newsletter will know that I disagree with many current western parenting practices. I'm not the only one. "New ways of child-rearing can leave many as kidults, ill-prepared to enter a complicated, adult world.
New Scientist recently reviewed two books making that point Time to get under-involved with the kids Want more info? See the Amazon pages
- Raising Children: Surprising Insights from Other Cultures
- Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play
There isn't a lot we can do but our Kakadu Family Walks are an attempt to give people a chance to get their children more in touch with the natural world.
A Few More Stories About What's Happening with the Next Generation
- Schools are not adequately preparing young Australians to participate in our democracy
"Australia’s youth are interested in politics and are passionate about issues but, unless we take note of the latest report into civics and citizenship education, their capacity to participate in democracy and shape society in future may be limited."
"The young people we spoke to suggested civics and citizenship education be extended through to Year 12. Interestingly, they wanted it to be viewed more as a life skill (similar to drug and alcohol education, for example) and not an academic subject." -
Sexting: technology is changing what young people share online
"Research conducted in Australia in 2015 found that 49% of a sample of 2,243 young people aged between 13 and 18 said they had sent a 'sext', a sexual picture or video of themselves, to another individual. More than two-thirds of the respondents had received sexual material."
"Research shows that almost one in every two teens sext but that few are harmed by the behaviour. In the media, however, we can see how language and phrasing can shape readers' perceptions of teen sexting." - Vocational education and training sector is still missing out on government funding: report
These are jobs unlikely to be replaced by 'robots'. By not providing the training, we are doing a lot of damage to our youth. - Young people want walkable neighbourhoods, but safety is a worry
"Young people strongly preferred to live in walkable communities rather than car-dependent areas. That means having shops, services and other common destinations nearby, as well as safe, natural and green spaces and walkways." - Young workers are most likely to use their phones while driving — here's how we can change that
- Facebook Messenger for six-year-olds: need I say why that's a bad idea?
- 'Lost words' as children stay indoors
A two minute video. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris spoke to BBC Newsnight about their book The Lost Words and the need for children to spend more time interacting with the natural world. - Why children should be taught to build a positive online presence
"Rather than just teaching children about internet safety and reducing their digital footprint, we should also encourage them to curate a positive digital footprint which will be an asset for them in their future."
I hadn't thought about this before, but it makes a lot of sense.
Curious Kids
From The Conversation What follows is their explanation.
In 2017, we did an experiment: what if we invited kids to send in questions and asked academic experts to answer them? We were flooded with questions, ranging from the astonishingly cute to the deeply weird, and so Curious Kids was born.
In this series, we ask experts to write in a way that their young questioner will understand — and that's what makes these articles a joy for all to read. The thing I love most about Curious Kids, though, is the way children think of questions that I wouldn't dream up in a thousand years. Why don’t cats wear shoes? Does space go on forever? Do worms have tongues?
Today, we’re bringing you some of our corkers from Curious Kids. I hope they inspire young readers in your life, and inspire you to walk through the world with a sense of wonder and awe.
The War Over Season's Greetings
I recently came across an article which began, "GPF sent out a greeting to our readers that said "Happy Holidays and a Joyful New Year.” We received several polite emails asking that, in the future, we say “Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year." It is Christmas; I am a Jew with a Christian wife; therefore, I am quite used to the Merry-ness of Christmas. But decades before I married her, I was frequently greeted with Merry Christmas and understood that it was a statement of goodwill and did not imply an imminent pogrom, nor contempt for Judaism. It was non-controversial."
"It has become controversial of late, and it is proper that it should be. It is the question of a secular and religious society, a question that is present throughout the world."
We live in changing times. The full article, The War Over Season's Greetings is well worth a read.
Jobs
Unless you are retired or close to it, your future at work is likely to change. Here are a number of things to think about.
- Amazon and jobs — lots to think about.
- Precarious living just ain't what it used to be
"Forget casual workers. We should be far more worried about the gig economy" - Robots Will Run Mines Within the Next Decade, Anglo Says
Australia depends a lot on mines. What happens when the jobs associated with those mines start to disappear? - Doug Casey on the World’s Biggest Revolution
"Doug and I talk about South Korea’s recent 'robot tax — its government's way of encouraging companies to hire workers instead of robots."
"The reasons offered have to do with preventing unemployment, heading off social unrest, and garnering more tax revenue. The real reasons however, in my view, are fear of the unknown and ignorance of economics."
There's been a lot of talk about taxing robots. The meme is gaining traction with both the talking heads and the hoi polloi." "What some want to do is to not just withdraw the tax benefits for investing in robotic technology, but actually tax robots the way that a human worker would be taxed. The rationale behind this is that since robots could replace from 15 to 35% of all human jobs within the next ten years, something must be done to slow that trend. And generate tax revenue to put those newly unemployed people on welfare or whatnot. - The Robots Are Coming, and Sweden Is Fine *
"In a world full of anxiety about the potential job-destroying rise of automation, Sweden is well placed to embrace technology while limiting human costs." — Maybe this is the way we should all go. - The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions
"Mistaken extrapolations, limited imagination, and other common mistakes that distract us from thinking more productively about the future."
It's long but it's also the best article I've read about the coming impact of artificial intelligence.
Points to Ponder
Here is a small collection of stories about how the world is changing. They are all stories that should make you think.
- AI is learning from our encounters with nature — and that's a concern
The idea seems wonderful — a phone app that allows you to take a photo of a plant or animal and receive immediate species identification and other information about it. A "Shazam for nature" so to speak.
We are building huge repositories of data related to our natural environments, making this idea a reality.
But there are ethical concerns that should be addressed: about how data is collected and shared, who has the right to share it and how we use public data for machine learning.
And there’s a bigger concern — whether such apps change what it means to be human. - Why Twitter, Facebook and Google Are the Antisocial Networks — scroll down the page to get to the main message above.
"Just as Martin Luther's utopian vision and the invention of the printing press led to an era of religious war and turmoil, the internet, hailed as a portal to a better world, is threatening democracy." - When Picking Apples on a Farm With 5,000 Rules, Watch Out for the Ladders *
"Produce growers represent a textbook example of what businesses describe as regulatory fatigue. President Trump is tapping into the discontent."
Perhaps there is a message there for our own government. - City of the Future? Humans, Not Technology, Are the Challenge in Toronto *
"Nothing is too prosaic to analyze: Toilets and sinks will report their water use; the garbage robots will report on trash collection. Residents and workers in the area will rely on Sidewalk-developed software to gain access to public services; the data gathered from everything will influence long-term planning and development." — The mind boggles. - The jig's up for Coalition's negative gearing lies — and apologists in the media
The above goes nicely with Revealed: the Turnbull government ministers who could benefit from negative gearing rules
Cycling in Australia
Two stories to make you think.
- Here’s what bike-sharing programs need to succeed
As expected, mandatory helmets don't help. - Measures to increase cycling in Australia are predicated on failure
"Cycling strategies in Australia won't succeed until policymakers start thinking about what success looks like and developing policy accordingly. Until then failure will continue to masquerade as success."
Cyber Attack Follow Up — Protect Yourself
5 New Year's Resolutions to Protect Your Technology *
The cybersecurity nightmares of 2017 highlight the need to protect yourself. Here are some resolutions for living a safer digital life this new year.
Lessons
The US election hack, fake news, data theft: the cyber security lessons from 2017Bushfires
I had stories about what I consider excessive burning in two recent newsletters.
I've recently come across two more studies which show the magnitude of the problem.
- How invasive weeds can make wildfires hotter and more frequent
- To fight the catastrophic fires of the future, we need to look beyond prescribed burning
"To combat fire risk we must take a multi-pronged approach that includes innovative strategies, such as designing new spatial patterns for prescribed burning, manually removing fuels from areas in which prescribed burning is not possible, improving the standards for buildings and defensible spaces, and most importantly, engaging the community in all of this."
"This best-case approach, while interesting from a theoretical perspective, would require prescribed burning over more than 30% of Tasmania in one year."
Seems as if current prescribed burns can't really work.
Climate
- Not just heat: even our spring frosts can bear the fingerprint of climate change
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Bitcoin's rise will have 'disastrous' consequences for the planet
Bitcoin mining already uses nearly as much electricity as New Zealand — and it's growing. - The three-minute story of 800,000 years of climate change with a sting in the tail
"There are those who say the climate has always changed, and that carbon dioxide levels have always fluctuated. That's true. But it’s also true that since the industrial revolution, CO2 levels in the atmosphere have climbed to levels that are unprecedented over hundreds of millennia."
If you don't want to wade through all the detail, this 3½ minute video explains it all.
Bushwalking Tips
- Flying Doctor issues new snakebite advice
- 10 websites for Australian outdoor enthusiasts
This page from Wild magazine not only links to the ten sites but describes each in some detail. If you are a keen bushwalker, you could spend hours exploring and learning here. - Why we are banning tourists from climbing Uluru explains why after 26 October 2019, climbing to the top of Uluru/Ayers Rock will no longer be permitted.
- Colong Foundation raising awareness of Warragamba Dam increase
What's the worst case scenario is if the dam's height was to be increased?
"Seven wild rivers and 4700 hectares of pristine World Heritage National Parks will be scarred under dam sediment. Not to mention the closure of our most loved Blue Mountains' bushwalking destinations including Mt Solitary and the Kedumba Valley due to redefined dam exclusion zones."
Photos, Videos & Just for Fun
Video
- Stony Point Penguin Colony
This was one of the last places we visited on our recent trip to South Africa
Photos
- Wet Tropics Photo Competition Winners
- Grant Dixon, a Tasmanian photographer who came on one of our Karijini trips has a good gallery of Pilbara photos on his website.
- Storm chaser braves 2017's wild year of US weather — in pictures
This has to be one of the best collections of weather photos I've ever seen. - A Belgian view of Australia
The files are fairly big so the page is slow to load but the photos are magnificent.
News About This Newsletter
Feedback — A Comment and My Reply
"Comment While I sometimes click on your links to interesting articles, I would prefer to only receive information about Willis's Walkabouts and information and links relevant to bushwalking and nature conservation."
Reply. "The newsletter, it was never intended just as a business promotion. There are a fair number of people who click lots of the links. I've tried to make it obvious as to which sections refer to the business. If you think I could do that better, please let me know how. Otherwise, it's too hard to start separate mailing lists.
Restricted websites. The NY Times allows non-subscribers to look at ten free articles each month. I've got more links than that in this newsletter so I've marked them with a red asterisk (*) so that you can choose which are of most interest to you. The Washington Post and The Economist both have limits but I'm not sure what the current limits is so I've marked Washington Post and Economist articles with a double red asterisk (**).
Next Newsletter — February? March? Depends a bit on how fast things change with our trips.
As always, I've already got a few things ready. Hopefully, I can get a bit of feedback about some of the things in this newsletter to include in the next one. As I've often said, Suggestions welcome.
Sending the newsletter
While I now send most of the newsletters using MailChimp, I still send about 200 newsletters using a program which is hosted on the same server that hosts our website. (MailChimp Free only allows 2000. The commercial version costs too much for an extra 200 people.) In both cases, the newsletters are sent from walkabout@bushwalkingholidays.com.au. This is the contact address on our website. If you would like to continue to receive these newsletters, please include this address in your "friends list" so that it isn't blocked.
For some reason, some servers block the newsletters no matter what you try and do. I send these in small groups from my normal email. It's not a simple problem. If anyone thinks they might have an idea how to overcome the problem, I'd love to hear from you.
Emails sent to walkabout@bushwalkingholidays.com.au are currently automatically forwarded to rrwillis at internode.on.net. If you want to send an email to that address, replace the word "at" with the symbol @. I am trying not to put that address any place where it can be harvested by spam bots.
We don't want to add to the mass of email spam. If you don't want our newsletter, please send us an email and let us know. We'll then delete your name from our newsletter list.
Our email address is walkabout@bushwalkingholidays.com.au.
Note. Both MailChimp and the other program we use to send some of these newsletters have an automatic delete at the bottom. Clicking that link will delete you from the mailing list on the server but it will not delete you from our main database. One of the programs will not allow the auto delete to send me an email notifying me that a deletion has been made. If you want to be sure that you are removed from all further mailings, please send an email to walkabout@bushwalkingholidays.com.au
If you know someone you think would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to them. The more people who get it, the more likely it is that I'll be able to run the trips which might interest you.
Best wishes to all.
I hope you enjoy reading the newsletter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Russell Willis