'd-day'

mood: just a little agitated - so much else i could be doing.
state i'm in: re-establishing domestic bliss here.
tune: some old marvin.
achievement for the day: got my hands dirty.



i watched the scalpel run down the inner thigh of 'dora'. a rose-coloured fluid seeped out in a few streams toward the steely cold dissecting table. within minutes, i was in there myself, carving skin off of fat.

it was a queasy sight initially, but once head down doing the job at hand, my concentration prevented me from realising precisely what i was doing. layers of adipose are removed, the course of the great saphenous vein is traced, and the rupturing of a formalin-dissolved haematoma in 'dora's' right upper limb leaves the adjacent adipose tissue resembling scrambled eggs with worcestershire sauce.

at the end of our first dissection session, the table is jacked up so the fluid that has come out of 'dora' can flow down one end of the table and down the plug hole.

'dora', thank you truly, for your precious and invaluable gift.



'dora' was unable to complete last night's census, for obvious reasons, however i did.

i thought there was something ironic about the promotion of the census: one of aboriginal australia's favourite sons, ernie dingo, was the face of census 2006.

ernie was born in 1956. however, it was not until 1967, some three censuses later, that the following words were removed from section 127 of the consititution:

"...in reckoning the numbers of the people of the commonwealth (of australia), or of a state, or other part of the commonwealth, Aboriginal natives shall not be counted."

isn't great that this nation's government displays its progressive attidudes toward indigenous affairs by placing one of the nation's most likable indigenes as the face of census 2006? it would be nice to think that this country is coming to terms with its dark and tainted past. i remain sceptical however. how dare the federal government try to pass a piece of legislation that is likely to so fundamentally change the lives of an already disenfranchised and mistrusing group of people without any serious consultation!

just yesterday, the government attempted to pass a bill to pressure aboriginal people in the northern territory into giving up their land for 99 years, in exchange for securing basic services such as housing and schools. the bill is opposed by all opposition parties, and the lands council, traditional land owners, and aboriginal people. fortunately, due to a petition signed by more than 25 000 people, the bill has been delayed - but it is not certain for how long. to learn more, or if you would like to tell the government that you do not accept their abuse of upper and lower house powers, visit the following site.

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign.asp?campaign_id=36


and something i find amazing...

the "proccedings of the national academy of sciences" has published a remarkable story. a species of seabird, the sooty shearwater, weighing about as much as five dollars worth of ladyfinger bananas, travels the pacific ocean in a figure-eight pattern each year, flying up to 74 000km, and frequently more than 1000km in a day. this exceeds the previous record for the known distance of an animal's annual migration by more than double. after breeding, the birds set off alone, only to return the following year to reunite with their life partner. sweet little things.