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How cutting edge AI technology is helping doctors reduce waitlists

<div> Artificial intelligence is now being used by Australian specialist doctors to reduce patient wait times and experts say it could be a game changer for the health sector, where some patients are waiting months or even years for an appointment. </div> <div> Leading Australian tech company <a title="https://www.medowhealth.ai/" href="https://www.medowhealth.ai/" data-outlook-id="ad0ccae0-1f97-484e-ba83-d8d566a7608a">Medow Health</a> has developed an AI “co-pilot” technology which automates medical reports for specialist doctors while operating in the background during patient consultations, saving clinicians hours which allows them to see more patients each day. </div> <div> “This technology transforms the way medical reports are formulated and processed, helping specialists reduce their paperwork and freeing up valuable time and resources which can be better spent on patient care,” said Joel Freiberg who co-founded Medow Health with his brother after his own experience with a chronic illness coupled with watching their father who is a respiratory specialist dictate reports until 10pm from the dinner table, prompting them to come up with a more efficient way for clinicians to work. </div> <div> “The idea was to improve what really is an archaic reporting system, which saw specialists taking notes with their back to the patient during consultations or having to speak into a dictaphone to be transcribed later, instead of solely focusing on the patient in front of them,” Mr Freiberg said. </div> <div> The uptake from specialists utilising the new technology has been swift, with doctors reporting the technology is giving them back two to three hours a day, reducing burnout and allowing them to see multiple more patients in that time if they choose. </div> <div> “Instead of your doctor staring into the computer typing notes, they can really concentrate on your needs and wellbeing while the technology does the note taking in the background and creates an almost instant report that the doctor just has to review rather than formulate from scratch,” Mr Freiberg said. </div> <div> Data from the Australian Medical Association on “hidden waitlists” for a specialist outpatient appointment shows some people are languishing for years for an initial consultation - up to 800 days for an initial appointment for an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, up to 898 days for an urgent appointment with a neurosurgeon, while waitlists for a gastroenterologist or ophthalmologist can be as long as five years and up to 36 months to see a paediatrician. </div> <div> Mr Freiberg said the new cutting edge technology could supercharge a reduction in waitlists and speed up the appointment process. </div> <div> “We’re not trying to replace doctors, we’re trying to help them. Manually producing medical reports is a time-consuming and complex process that requires extensive paperwork and hours of labour-intensive work,” he said. </div> <div> “By using cutting edge AI specific to each medical specialty to examine patient interactions, formulate reports, and provide valuable insights we can enable doctors to do what they do best - focus on patient care,” Mr Freiberg said. </div> <div> Chris O’Brien Life House Chief Executive and medical oncologist Professor Michael Boyer who is on the Medow Health Clinical Advisory Council agreed the technology will improve patient care and help reduce waiting lists. </div> <div> "Any piece of technology that allows doctors to focus on the patient, helps deliver better care,” Prof Boyer said. </div> <div> "This technology helps the health professional to really turn their attention to the patient and what matters, instead of worrying about what notes they need and what letters they need to write. It allows them to focus on what is important. </div> <div> "There's no doubt this technology saves time and while it might only allow a single doctor to see an extra one of two patients a day, if you multiply that across the health system then it makes a big difference,” Prof Boyer said. </div> <div> Engagement with Medow Health is taking off in Australia, with the company reporting growth of more than 50 percent month on month across 15 different specialties including Cardiology, Gastroenterology, ENT, Geriatric, Orthopaedic Surgery, Paediatric, Neurology, General Surgery and Breast Surgeons, with some of Australia’s leading specialist doctors among the investors and Medtech Entrepreneurs to invest in its recent Seed round. </div> <div> About Medow Health AI </div> <div> Medow Health AI is a pioneering Australian based healthcare technology company dedicated to revolutionising the medical industry through the power of artificial intelligence to streamline processes, improve patient care, and enhance overall efficiency in healthcare settings. </div> <div> The company was founded by Joel Freiberg and soon after his brother Josh and former CTO and colleague Andrew joined as co-founders using their combined 30 years experience in technology and software to help build the business into the leading Specialist AI platform it is today. </div> <div> Joel lives with Crohn’s disease and has experienced long waits to see a specialist. The pair recognised there was a need for change growing up as they watched their father, a respiratory physician spend endless hours doing admin after work. </div> <div> The company has just completed a $1M funding round in the first half of 2024, grown the team to 10 full time employees and signed a partnership with Magentus the owner of leading specialist electronic medical record systems Genie & Gentu (who Medow Health integrates with). Image credits: Shutterstock </div>

Caring

Hope: A double-edged sword in the human experience

Hope has long been cherished as a source of strength in times of adversity. Yet, as explored in this edited extract from his new book The Human Condition by author Tony Grey, this fundamental emotion is not without its complexities and potential pitfalls. --- As in the host of challenges explored in The Human Condition, the feeling of expectation and desire for something beneficial to happen, which we call hope, is as fundamental to the human condition as the will to survive; they’re linked within the evolutionary imperative. As Cicero pointed out, “dum spiro spero” (while I breathe I hope). Hope is a rolling prayer to life as time moves on, a whisper to the soul that things will turn out all right. The sentiment is generally unchallenged. Why should it be? In times of trouble, we need the balm of hope. Samuel Johnson said, “Hope is a species of pleasure, and perhaps, the chief pleasure this world affords.” While usually positive about hope, Greek philosophers were sometimes ambivalent about it, citing its propensity, through wishful thinking, to encourage indolence or actually cause harm. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, the Chorus sings, “Hope whose wanderings are so wide is to many men a comfort, but to many a false lure of giddy desires.” Plato observes that hope breeds a confidence which can exacerbate a precondition of arrogance in the powerful, leading to serious wrongdoing. “It is among these men that we find the ones who do the greatest evils.” Napoleon and Hitler are examples. And so is the Japanese government responsible for the Pearl Harbour attack. At the World War Two surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri, a Japanese general was heard to say when he looked at the sky blackened by Allied aircraft flying past and the sea bursting with warships, “How did we ever hope we could win?” On the other hand, Plato stressed the motivational properties of hope when directed towards a good aim. And Aristotle links hope with the virtue of megalopsychia (high-mindedness) resulting from its inspirational role. I have an experience of this in my family. My nephew was born to my sister with intellectual disability, and other difficulties. His condition seemed hopeless. Nevertheless, from the first, hope was my sister’s support; it gave her the energy to carry on. Through the gloom it afforded a glimpse into the future where progress beckoned. And all along she demonstrated that hope is ineluctably linked to love. Aided by her husband, the father, she worked day and night teaching and inspiring the boy. When old enough he went to a special needs school and gradually progressed, indefatigably supported at home. Over time his condition improved so that eventually he could take and keep a simple job, cook food, and have friends (similarly disabled), a state absolutely unforeseeable at his early stage of life. Throughout all the difficulties, frustrations and threats of despair, hope sustained my sister and guided her to the wonderful achievement of saving a human life. In most instances, hope is personal in the sense that something specific to the individual or those who are close is wanted. However, it can range far beyond that into areas involving others such as team sports, politics, economic activity, justice, national and tribal identity, international relations – notably war, and pandemics like Covid. Within these fields, hope calls out for the survival and well-being of humanity and its prospects for moral and material progress. Such hope embraces faith in something bigger than the individual. If human beings have a purpose, its linked to that, and its fulfillment is somehow bound up in hope. This approach cries out for exploring a whole array of other challenges inherent in the human condition. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tony Grey is an accomplished author residing in Sydney. His latest book, The Human Condition, ambitiously explores the hurly burly of human existence, and is available now for purchase through Halstead Press Publishers. Tony is the founder of Pancontinental Mining, a former director of Opera Australia and the Conservatorium of Music, and a former trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Other books by Tony Grey include Jabiluka, East Wind and Seven Gateways. His writings have featured in the Australian Financial Review, Quadrant and the Australian. Image: Getty Images

Mind

“I’ve tasted the faintest bitter edge of racism”: Ash Barty admits to being racially abused

Ash Barty has confessed that she’s been on the receiving end of “bitter racism” after finding out about her Indigenous heritage. In her autobiography, My Dream Time, which will be published on November 2, Barty opens up about the moment she found out about her family’s past. The former tennis player said it was a difficult moment when her father searched for the truth and eventually told Barty and her sister which then led to “vile racism”. “I’ve seen glimpses and tasted the faintest bitter edge of racism” she wrote. “I’d win a Deadly Award but get vilified on line. I’d become a Tennis Australia First Nations Ambassador and then find some muppet calling my heritage into question.” The three-time Grand Slam winner said there was still a lot of work and educated needed to address the importance of Indigenous Australians. “There was no need for us to talk about that in the moment but it was certainly something that confused me a little bit as to why someone would criticise something that is so personal to me,” she told NewsCorp. “Looking back now it’s all about the education and giving people the tools to understand others and appreciate what came before us.” Barty went on to reveal that her trip to Central Australia where she worked with First Nations children was when she was convinced of a connection with them. “If anything it has just reassured to me that the path I want to go down in the future is to try and help First Nations youth around the country.” Eventually, Barty found out of her Indigenous heritage when her father Rob traced back his roots. At 13 he was told by a cousin that there was Indigenous heritage in the family but his parents denied it, claiming their connection was only to Māoris in New Zealand. Rob did not accept that and went on to trace back his family history where he found out that his great grandmother was an Indigenous Australian who married a white man. Barty’s dad sat her and her sister down when she was just seven and told them the truth. The family then went on to record their names with the Ngarigu Nation. “It was not a conversation his parents could have with him,” she wrote. “To his parents, Aboriginal ancestry was something to be ashamed of and not something he should be curious about.” Images: Instagram

Family & Pets

Goodbye Internet Explorer. You won’t be missed (but your legacy will be remembered)

After 27 years, Microsoft has finally bid farewell to the web browser Internet Explorer, and will redirect Explorer users to the latest version of its Edge browser. As of June 15, Microsoft ended support for Explorer on several versions of Windows 10 – meaning no more productivity, reliability or security updates. Explorer will remain a working browser, but won’t be protected as new threats emerge. Twenty-seven years is a long time in computing. Many would say this move was long overdue. Explorer has been long outperformed by its competitors, and years of poor user experiences have made it the butt of many internet jokes. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Someone built a real tombstone of Internet Explorer in Korea. "He was a good tool to download other browsers." <a href="https://t.co/42vnkoQshd">https://t.co/42vnkoQshd</a> <a href="https://t.co/ud3SMiyLNp">pic.twitter.com/ud3SMiyLNp</a> — Soonson Kwon (@ksoonson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ksoonson/status/1536938327395680256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2022</a></blockquote> How it began Explorer was first introduced in 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation, and came bundled with the Windows operating system. To its credit, Explorer introduced many Windows users to the joys of the internet for the first time. After all, it was only in 1993 that Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the web, <a href="https://thenextweb.com/news/20-years-ago-today-the-world-wide-web-opened-to-the-public" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> the first public web browser (aptly called WorldWideWeb). Providing Explorer as its default browser meant a large proportion of Windows’s global user base would not experience an alternative. But this came at a cost, and Microsoft eventually faced multiple <a href="https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/microsoft-antitrust-case/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antitrust investigations</a> exploring its monopoly on the browser market. Still, even though <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browsers/browser-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a number</a> of other browsers were around (including Netscape Navigator, which pre-dated Explorer), Explorer remained the default choice for millions of people up until around 2002, when Firefox was launched. How it ended Microsoft has released 11 versions of Explorer (with many minor revisions along the way). It added different functionality and components with each release. Despite this, it lost consumers’ trust due to Explorer’s “legacy architecture” which involved poor <a href="https://www.optimadesign.co.uk/blog/internet-explorer-end-of-life-or-not" target="_blank" rel="noopener">design and slowness</a>. It seems Microsoft got so comfortable with its monopoly that it let the quality of its product slide, just as other competitors were entering the battlefield. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> is Internet Explorer ever truly dead? <a href="https://t.co/KQGndprUxn">pic.twitter.com/KQGndprUxn</a> — Tom Warren (@tomwarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1536687397798350849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2022</a></blockquote> Even just considering its cosmetic interface (what you see and interact with when you visit a website), Explorer could not give users the authentic experience of <a href="https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-fix-internet-explorer-pages-not-displaying-correctly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">modern websites</a>. On the security front, Explorer exhibited its <a href="https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-26/product_id-9900/Microsoft-Internet-Explorer.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fair share of weaknesses</a>, which cyber criminals readily and successfully exploited. While Microsoft may have patched many of these weaknesses over different versions of the browser, the underlying architecture is <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-security-iemode-safer-than-ie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still considered vulnerable</a> by security experts. Microsoft itself has <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-security-iemode-safer-than-ie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> this: <blockquote> … [Explorer] is still based on technology that’s 25 years old. It’s a legacy browser that’s architecturally outdated and unable to meet the security challenges of the modern web. </blockquote> These concerns have resulted in the United States <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department for Homeland Security</a> repeatedly advising internet users against <a href="https://windowsreport.com/internet-explorer-security-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">using Explorer</a>. Explorer’s failure to win over modern audiences is further evident through Microsoft’s ongoing attempts to push users towards Edge. Edge was first introduced in 2015, and since then Explorer has only been used as a compatibility solution. What Explorer was up against In terms of <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share#monthly-202206-202206-bar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">market share</a>, more than 64% of browser users currently use Chrome. Explorer has dropped to less than 1%, and even Edge only accounts for about 4% of users. What has given Chrome such a leg-up in the browser market? <hr /> <iframe class="flourish-embed-iframe" style="width: 100%; height: 600px;" title="Interactive or visual content" src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/10361649/embed" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe> <div style="width: 100%!; margin-top: 4px!important; text-align: right!important;"><a class="flourish-credit" href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/10361649/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/10361649" target="_top"><img src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg" alt="Made with Flourish" /> </a></div> <hr /> Chrome was first introduced by Google in 2008, on the open source <a href="https://www.chromium.org/chromium-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chromium project</a>, and has since been actively developed and supported. Being open source means the software is publicly available, and anyone can inspect the source code that runs behind it. Individuals can even contribute to the source code, thereby enhancing the software’s productivity, reliability and security. This was never an option with Explorer. Moreover, Chrome is multi-platform: it can be used in other operating systems such as Linux, MacOS and on mobile devices, and was supporting a range of systems long before Edge was even released. Meanwhile, Explorer has <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/zune-hd-no-youtube-in-the-browser-for-you/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mainly</a> been <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-supported-operating-systems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restricted</a> to Windows, XBox and a few versions of MacOS. Under the hood Microsoft’s Edge browser is using the same <a href="https://www.chromium.org/chromium-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chromium</a> open-source code that Chrome has used since its inception. This is encouraging, but it remains to be seen how Edge will compete against Chrome and other browsers to win users’ confidence. We won’t be surprised if Microsoft fails to nudge customers towards using Edge as their favourite browser. The latest stats suggest Edge is still far behind Chrome in terms of market share. Also, the fact Microsoft took seven years to retire Explorer after Edge’s initial release suggests the company hasn’t had great success in getting Edge’s uptake rolling. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=250&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469137/original/file-20220616-13070-5lnc2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A screenshot of a Microsoft web page showing Internet Explorer has been retired." /></a><figcaption>Only some Microsoft operating systems (mainly server platforms) will continue to receive security updates for Explorer under long-term support agreements. Screenshot</figcaption></figure> What’s next? Web browsers play a vital role in establishing privacy and security for users. Design and convenience are important factors for users when selecting a browser. So ultimately, the browser that can most effectively balance security and ease of use will win users. And it’s hard to say whether Chrome’s current popularity will be sustained over time. Google will no doubt want it to continue, since web browsers are significant <a href="https://fourweekmba.com/how-does-mozilla-make-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revenue sources</a>. But Google as a corporation is becoming increasingly unpopular due to massive <a href="https://theconversation.com/google-is-leading-a-vast-covert-human-experiment-you-may-be-one-of-the-guinea-pigs-154178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data gathering</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-google-getting-worse-increased-advertising-and-algorithm-changes-may-make-it-harder-to-find-what-youre-looking-for-166966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intrusive advertising</a> practices. Chrome is a key component of Google’s data-gathering machine, so it’s possible users may slowly turn away. As for what to do about Explorer (if you’re one of the few people that still has it sitting meekly on your desktop) – simply <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/developer/browsers/installation/disable-internet-explorer-windows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uninstall</a> it to avoid security risks. Even if you’re not using Explorer, just having it installed <a href="https://mashable.com/article/internet-explorer-hacker-windows-pc-exploit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could present</a> a threat to your device. No one wants to be the victim of a cyber attack via a dead browser! <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> 👋 Internet Explorer. Was one of the best subjects for memes, here's my favourite one from the collection. <a href="https://t.co/7T5u7jAB5C">pic.twitter.com/7T5u7jAB5C</a> — Shruti Kaushik (@ShrutiKaushikIT) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShrutiKaushikIT/status/1537005145711472641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185130/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mohiuddin-ahmed-698936" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohiuddin Ahmed</a>, Lecturer of Computing & Security, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Edith Cowan University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/m-imran-malik-963778" target="_blank" rel="noopener">M Imran Malik</a>, Cyber Security Researcher, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Edith Cowan University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-haskell-dowland-382903" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Haskell-Dowland</a>, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/edith-cowan-university-720" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Edith Cowan University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/goodbye-internet-explorer-you-wont-be-missed-but-your-legacy-will-be-remembered-185130" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Tasmanian tower on the edge of the world finds new owner

A mediaeval Tasmanian house that appears to teeter on the edge of the world now has a new owner, who must really enjoy the solitude. Marketed recently for $3.5 million, "The Keep" in Tasmania's far northeastern region has to be one of the world's most stunning and remote properties. Constructed in the image of a Scottish fortified tower, the amazing structure at 535 New England Road in Goulds Country sits atop a 650-metre pinnacle, and its lonesome presence has made it a favourite of tourists and travel photographers alike. From its incredible vantage point, the property takes in 360-degree Bass Strait, forest and valley views, on the very edge of Tasmania's wild coastline. The only neighbours are the lights of the Eddystone Lighthouse at night, and myrtle, sassafras and tree ferns in the surrounding Blue Tier Forest Reserve. Built in 2009, The Keep has only just allowed tourists to see inside for the past two years – and since opening, has been at 90% occupancy, according to the listing. The owners who bought the property in 2019 transformed it from a private residence to guest accomodation - adding one of the greatest attractions, an outdoor granite bath. Images: Domain

Real Estate

Bono and The Edge perform in Kyiv bomb shelter

U2 musicians Bono and The Edge has performed a secret show in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, after being personally invited by Ukrainian president Zelenskyy. The members of the Irish rock band shared photos of their performance on Twitter, as they were joined by Ukrainian band Antytila's lead singer Tomos Topelia. From a station platform, the duo performed U2 hits such as Sunday Bloody Sunday, Desire and With or Without You. “The people in Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom,” said Bono during a break between songs. “We pray that you will enjoy some of that peace soon.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> President <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZelenskyyUa</a> invited us to perform in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we’ve come to do. -- Bono and The Edge <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithUkraine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithUkraine</a> — U2 (@U2) <a href="https://twitter.com/U2/status/1523264383065141250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2022</a></blockquote> The performance had an emotional impact on Ukrainians, with members of the small underground crowd taking to Twitter to express their gratitude. One person said, “Thank you Bono and Edge for the music and for making the world a better place through art, Ukraine will win this war with the world's support.” Bono and The Edge were later seen in the Ukrainian towns of Irpin and Bucha, which are the sites of alleged Russian war crimes in the first weeks of the invasion. The pair were shown greeting locals amongst the ruins of buildings, and outside St. Andrew Pervozvannoho All Saints church - where a mass grave was found in April. Image credits: Twitter

Music

How the edge of space became up for interpretation

As the billionaire space race continues between Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, many are asking questions about how far into space they actually went. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flight on 12 July rocketed up to 86 km off the ground, while Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin flight recently reached just over 107 km. However, these figures have experts wondering if either of them truly left the planet’s atmosphere. Jonti Horner, an astronomer at the University of Southern Queensland, says the age-old questions of where the atmosphere ends and where space begins can be open to interpretation. “It’s one of those questions that’s a bit like saying, ‘When are you old enough to drink?’ or ‘When are you old enough to drive?’ Every country has their own version of an answer.” “Where space starts and the atmosphere ends is a little bit like that, in that the atmosphere doesn’t just suddenly stop,” Horner told <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/exploration/where-is-the-edge-of-space/">Cosmos Magazine</a> in a recent interview. “The higher up you go, the thinner the atmosphere gets, and it keeps getting thinner and thinner and thinner, until eventually you can’t tell that it’s there anymore.” The official final point is approximately 10,000km above the surface, leaving no surprise why some want the line drawn a little closer to the Earth’s surface. The US military, the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA all define the edge of space as 80 km off the ground, towards the upper part of the mesosphere. This definition is very different to The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), an international record-keeping body for aeronautics, who have adopted their own definition in the 1960s. Called the “Kármán line”, it marks the beginning of space at 100 km above Earth’s mean sea level. Despite all these varying measurements, Horner says they are equally as good and as bad as each other. “Now that we are in this era of commercial space tourism, suddenly people want to know where [the boundary] is because they want to know that what they did was really good enough.” Image credit: Shutterstock

Technology

Mystery solved: Why Ritz crackers have jagged edges

Ritz crackers made their TikTok debut, and their most recent post has garnered a huge amount of attention. In a video that has now gone viral on the social media platform, the cracker company shocked consumers by revealing what the mysterious ridges around the edges are for. The jagged edges are not there for purely aesthetic reasons, rather, it can help with preparing cheese to be nibbled. According to the video, which shows someone rolling a Ritz cracker's edges over a slice of cheese, cutting it in half, the disc's design was made with snacking in mind on more levels than one. TikTok viewers' minds were blown at the solving of what was once a sophisticated, and now simple, mystery. Captioned "the more you know", Ritz had simply declared knives as unnecessary. "My life is a lie," one TikTok user commented, while another thought Ritz were lying. "That's not what they're for," another TikTok user said. "You just made this up." In a cheeky clap-back, the company replied, "But we're Ritz, we're allowed to." Other TikTok users were not impressed, with one saying, "Or [you could] just grab the cheese with two hands and tear a slice." Ritz, unbothered, replied, "That works too." Since being posted earlier in the week, the video has had 1.6 million views, and has accrued over 278,900 likes.

Food & Wine

Urgent email warning to Aussies over China hackers

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> Australians are being urged to check their emails after a major Chinese infiltration of Microsoft's email system has left many exposed. There are fears that 7,000 servers are impacted by the threat in Australia after the Chinese state-backed hacker group known as HAFNIUM hit more than 30,000 servers in the USA. The campaign led by the hackers found recently discovered flaws in Microsoft Exchange software and stole emails while infecting computer servers with tools that left hackers to take control of the servers remotely. Brian Krebs, a cybersecurity expert, has reported on this massive breach. “At least 30,000 organizations across the United States — including a significant number of small businesses, towns, cities and local governments — have over the past few days been hacked by an unusually aggressive Chinese cyber espionage unit that’s focused on stealing email from victim organisations,” Krebs wrote in the <a rel="noopener" href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/03/at-least-30000-u-s-organizations-newly-hacked-via-holes-in-microsofts-email-software/" target="_blank">post</a>. One insider close to the incident explained whose been hit. “It’s police departments, hospitals, tons of city and state governments and credit unions,” said one source who’s working closely with federal officials on the matter. “Just about everyone who’s running self-hosted Outlook Web Access and wasn’t patched as of a few days ago got hit with a zero-day attack.” A zero-day attack is where hackers exploit potentially serious software security that the developer might be unaware of. The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) attributed the attacks with "high confidence" to a "state-sponsored threat actor" based in China which they named Hafnium. Microsoft is urging network owners to download the security patches available as soon as possible. It told customers "the best protection" was "to apply updates as soon as possible across all impacted systems". However, if your Microsoft Exchange servers have already been compromised, the patches are not "full protection against attack". You can find out <a rel="noopener" href="https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2021/03/05/microsoft-exchange-server-vulnerabilities-mitigations-march-2021/" target="_blank">more information here.</a> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

Listening to music can give you an edge to win

More than just easy listening Millions of joggers habitually cope with the physical discomfort of running using the distractive effects of music, in particular by synchronising their stride rate to the tempo of the music. Swimmers now embrace the tedium of endless laps by tuning in to their favourite tracks, thanks to tiny MP3 players that clip onto goggles and deliver music through the cheekbone direct into the inner ear. For athletes to be headphone-clad has been de rigeur for many years but it now appears to be almost compulsory. After music devotee Michael Phelps swam to an all-time record of eight Olympic gold medals in 2008, one of his first tasks when arriving home was to personally thank rap artist Lil’ Wayne for the inspiration he had provided in Beijing.<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" class="license"></a> But is the ubiquitous use of music by athletes and exercisers justified or simply hype? Well, decades of research on the use of music in sport and exercise has confirmed some powerful effects and surprising benefits. Music and performance The first published <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23267224.1911.10651270#.VDuQUfmSyyc">study</a> on the subject, in 1911, showed that cyclists in a six-day race in New York produced faster lap times when a brass band was playing. Although it was impossible to separate the effects of the music from the increased crowd noise that it generated, this humble observation paved the way for the many scientific studies that have followed. A recent meta-analysis of more than 100 empirical investigations of music in sport and exercise conducted over the past century has confirmed that music produces significant beneficial effects on psychological responses, perceived exertion, physical performance, and even physiological functioning. Although it should be no surprise that music influences psychological responses, – especially our moods, emotions and feelings – the ways that athletes use music to manipulate their pre-competition mindset are occasionally surprising. Olympic rowing champion, James Cracknell, listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Get On Top to inspire him to the ultimate effort is logical enough. But what music would you recommend to an Olympic super-heavyweight boxer before his gold medal bout? Tina Turner’s Simply The Best or Survivor’s Eye Of The Tiger would be popular choices. But how about Japanese classical music? When you’re a technical boxer trying to generate the qualities of speed, lightness, precision and relaxation to outbox a brawling opponent then his choice of music starts to make sense. It certainly worked for Great Britain’s Audley Harrison, a former student of mine, at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The rhythm of exercise Music has the capacity to reduce perceived exertion by about 10% when used during physical activity, which explains the enduring popularity of exercise-to-music classes. The stimulative and motivational properties of up-tempo music, with lyrics that encourage effort (Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run, Britney Spears’ Stronger) and associations of glory or success (M People’s Search For The Hero, Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive) typically help exercisers to work harder for longer by masking the objective level of effort. In turn, this produces a performance benefit that some elite performers have been able to exploit. Ethiopian superstar runner, Haile Gebrselassie, the double Olympic 10,000m gold medallist and multiple world champion, has broken several world records while running in time to the high-tempo song Scatman, the rhythm and tempo of which he describes as “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/may/10/haile-gebrselassie-interview">perfect for running</a>”. A 2012 <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21803652">study</a> conducted with elite triathletes at the Queensland Academy of Sport showed that treadmill running to exhaustion was increased by a staggering 18% when participants ran in time to music that included everything from Oasis and UB40 to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, compared to completing the same task without music. Such clear performance benefits have caused music to be labelled a “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/raiseyourgame/sites/motivation/psychedup/pages/costas_karageorghis.shtml">legal drug</a>” by some commentators. Perhaps for this reason, many sports prohibit listening to music while performing. The New York Marathon famously tried to “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/sports/01iht-run.1.8142612.html">strongly discourage</a>” competitors from using personal listening devices in 2007, ostensibly for safety reasons. The outcry and outright defiance from a large proportion of recreational runners who used their iPods regardless, caused race organisers to subsequently restrict the ban to elite runners, many of whom prefer to focus attention on sensory feedback from their own bodies rather than, as they see it, the distracting effects of music. Sing when you’re winning Of course nothing can prevent athletes from creating their own musical rhythm during a race, like six-time marathon kayak world champion, Anna Hemmings, who gained an edge by singing R. Kelly’s The World’s Greatest to herself, but only during the world championships so as not to dilute its impact. Other <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21803652;%20http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22828457">recent studies</a> have demonstrated greater physiological efficiency when exercising to music, notably the completion of identical workloads using significantly less oxygen consumption than without music. This indicates that music effects are far more than just a psychological phenomenon. Whether the physiological benefits are explained by greater biomechanical efficiency derived from a metronome effect, improved blood flow derived from a generalised relaxation response, or some other mechanism that is not yet well understood, there is little doubt about the wide-ranging potential benefits of listening to music. There’s no shortage of ways to use music to your advantage and many different musical genres have been shown to boost athletic performance, although preferably not something that leaves the Wallabies giggling before taking on the All Blacks in Brisbane tomorrow evening.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32822/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-terry-140674">Peter Terry</a>, Professor of Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-win-let-music-give-you-the-edge-32822">original article</a>.

Music

Skype users warned after Microsoft could be “listening” to calls

A new investigation done by tech website Motherboard has revealed that Microsoft workers could be “listening in” on your Skype conversations. It has been revealed that some employees occasionally have to review real video chat that has been processed by translation software in order to check the quality of translations, according to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/9680295/microsoft-caught-secretly-listening-to-skype-calls/">The Sun</a>. A Microsoft spokesperson told Motherboard that Microsoft collects voice data to improve features on Skype. They said: “We also put in place several procedures designed to prioritise users’ privacy before sharing this data with our vendors, including de-identifying data, requiring non-disclosure agreements with vendors and their employees, and requiring that vendors meet the high privacy standards set out in European law.” Paul Bischoff, a privacy advocate from Comparitech.com, told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/security/microsoft-could-be-listening-to-some-skype-calls/news-story/d92ee2c5f713af3a7252be645004a365">news.com.au</a>: “Microsoft clearly states that recordings and transcriptions are analysed to verify accuracy and make corrections. “The fact that humans are performing that analysis might make users uneasy, but I don’t think there’s much risk to end users. “That is, unless a contractor steals recordings and gives them to a Vice reporter. Microsoft ought to take steps to ensure this can’t happen in the future.” “I recommend users refrain from revealing any identifying information while using Skype Translation and Cortana. Unless you identify yourself in the recording, there’s almost no way for a human analyst to figure out who you are.” Skype is an online video chat and voice call service that also provides an instant messaging platform. Javvad Malik, a security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, said: “This latest revelation goes to show more needs to be done to ensure consumer data is being protected when customers use such services. “In this instance, there needs to be a clear level of transparency and honesty about the entire call-recording process to give people a true understanding of what they are signing up for. “There is a fine line between invading someone’s privacy and collecting data for business purposes; a line that if crossed, can lead to serious breaches of data privacy.”

Technology

"Oh well”: Bill Gates' candid response on mistake that cost him $573 billion

Bill Gates shared at an event hosted by a venture capital firm the single biggest mistake that cost Microsoft a shocking $573 billion. He revealed that the greatest lapse in judgement from Microsoft was that they allowed Google to develop the Android OS instead of it being developed by Microsoft. “The greatest mistake ever is the whatever mismanagement I engaged in that caused Microsoft not to be what Android is, [meaning] Android is the standard non-Apple phone form platform. That was a natural thing for Microsoft to win,” he said in a conversation with Eventbrite cofounder Julia Hartz, reported TechCrunch. Microsoft quickly jumped on the bandwagon and developed Windows-powered phone in 2010, but they struggled to compete with Apple and Android and were phased out in 2017. The failure was contributed to attracting and retaining apps on the platform. “It really is winner take all,” he said. “If you’re there with half as many apps or 90% as many apps, you’re on your way to complete doom. There’s room for exactly one non-Apple operating system, and what’s that worth? $A573 billion,” he said. He reflected on how big Microsoft would’ve been if they had developed Android first. “We are a leading company. If we got that one right, we would be ‘the’ company. But oh well,” he said. He also said he’s come a long way from the man he used to be, which is the man who “didn’t believe in weekends”. “Once I got into my 30s, I could hardly even imagine how I had done that,” he said. “Now I take lots of vacation - my 20-year-old self is so disgusted with my current self.”

Money & Banking

Bill Gates gets candid about rival Steve Jobs: He “cast spells on people”

According to Microsoft founder Bill Gates, his rival Apple CEO Steve Jobs “cast spells on people” to keep Apple profitable during the dark days of the company. Both men are known for creating an intense workplace culture and being tough leaders. Gates realised that Jobs’ leadership style was a good example of “don’t do this at home”. Gates spoke to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/08/tech/bill-gates-on-steve-jobs/index.html">Fareed Zakaria from CNN</a> about his relationship with Jobs. "I have yet to meet any person who in terms of picking talent, hyper-motivating that talent and having a sense of design, of 'this is good, this is not good.' So he brought some incredibly positive things along with that toughness." Gates reflected on Jobs and the way he “cast spells on people”. "Steve is really a singular case where the company was on a path to die and it goes and becomes the most valuable company in the world with some products that are really quite amazing. There aren't going to be many stories like that." Gates also admitted that his intense workplace culture went “too far”, especially in the early days of the company. "We had, to some degree, a self-selected set of people who were mostly males, I'll admit, and yes, we were pretty tough on each other," Gates said. "We counted on each other to work very long hours and I always wanted to set the best example of that. I think that intensity, even though a little bit it went too far, was great for my 20s, 30s, 40s."

Technology

“She tipped me over the edge”: Kochie defends behaviour on Sunrise after Pauline Hanson feud

Sunrise host David Koch has admitted he was “tipped over the edge” by Pauline Hanson’s comments on Sunrise about the Christchurch attacks. He spoke to Kyle and Jackie O about the divisive words that have been used by Hanson and why he was so impacted by them. “I went her, because [of] her words, and probably I'm a bit too passionate about this because I do work with Muslim youth workers in western Sydney.” As Koch runs a youth centre in Macquarie Fields, he has seen the real-life ramifications that Muslim children experience due to politician’s comments. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvSR3TvhZmb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvSR3TvhZmb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo)</a> on Mar 21, 2019 at 2:34pm PDT </div> </blockquote> He told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6836771/Sunrise-host-David-Koch-doubles-criticism-anti-Muslim-Pauline-Hanson.html" target="_blank">The Daily Mail</a>: “When politicians talk and they pit Australians against Muslims, and the scaremongering, these kids deal with it on the street. “What happened in New Zealand really got to me. We're a society now that's becoming a bit dangerous.” After the Sunrise segment aired, a petition with over 122,000 signatures was set up calling for him to be sacked for the way he handled the interview. However, Kochie has no issues with the conversation. “Pauline's had worse in parliament, she's the leader of a political party.” He also mentioned that politicians should be held more accountable for their words. “Politicians don't understand the power of their words, particularly in an election campaign.” “Australia, we are so compassionate, so understanding, and we're proud of it. We're the best multicultural nation in the world.” Do you agree with Kochie’s words? Let us know in the comments.

8 classic movie car chases that still have you on the edge of your seat

These high-octane flicks certainly aren't what you'd call cerebral, but they boast the best car chases in film history. 1. Bullitt 1968’s Bullitt makes just about everyone’s list of great car chases. This titular cop was destined to be actor Steve McQueen’s most iconic role, and the heart-stopping chase through the busy streets of San Francisco remains one of the most amazing pieces of vehicular choreography ever captured on film. 2. Smokey and the Bandit This is the film that made the Pontiac TransAm famous and influenced a generation of drivers worldwide. Who could forget those classic chases in the iconic TransAm and the fun of watching Burt Reynolds outrun the clueless cops? 3. Mad Max This frightening yet fun look at a dystopian future has some of the most amazing car chases and explosions you’ll find on Blu-Ray. It’s also notable for the fact that it features a very young Mel Gibson, who has only 16 lines of dialogue throughout the entire movie, including (twice!), “I only came for the gasoline.” 4. Ronin This classic film finds star Robert DeNiro and company speeding through the busy streets of Paris at speeds approaching 100 mph. Throw in top-notch performances from the cast, a compelling storyline, and plenty of great shots of the City of Light, and you’ve got the perfect flick for a (not-so-quiet) night in. 5. The French Connection The French Connection is one of the most iconic movies of its time, renowned for its great performances (Gene Hackman won an Academy Award for Best Actor) and incredible storytelling. What many film buffs forget, however, is that this classic flick also includes one of the most incredible car chases ever put to film. Audiences seeing the film for the first time gasped when they saw that Pontiac TransAm go under the elevated train tracks—a stunt that impresses to this day. 6. Gone in 60 Seconds Modern audiences may be more familiar with the remake starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie, but classic car fans tend to prefer the 1974 version. The thrilling chase through the streets of Long Beach is one of the most exciting in film history. 7. To Live and Die in LA Los Angeles is known for its incredible car culture, so it is only fitting this iconic movie makes the list. Not only does the movie include a classic car chase but it provides some of the most remarkable cityscapes ever caught on film. 8. The Blues Brothers You might not equate a film about Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s Blues Brothers with car chases, but there are plenty to go around in this iconic movie. The scene at the mall is a fan favourite even decades after the film’s 1980 release. This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/entertainment/8-classic-movie-car-chases-still-have-you-edge-your-seat">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRA87V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>. <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" />

Movies

Analyst warns up to 1 million homeowners on the edge of mortgage default by September

An independent analyst has warned that almost one million Aussie homeowners are “on the edge” of mortgage default in the next two months. Digital Finance Analytics principal Martin North explained that if the big four banks go ahead and increase their standard variable rates by as little as 0.15 percentage points over the next few months, homeowners could default. The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-11/up-to-1-million-households-may-go-into-mortgage-default-by-sept/9976268" target="_blank">ABC</a> reported that a number of Australian banks – such as Macquarie Bank, AMP, Bank of Queensland, Suncorp and ME Bank – have already started raising their interest rates on their ‘occupier loan’ products. Mr North told ABC News rate rises were almost a certainty, while Aussie Home Loans chief executive James Symond fears the repercussions of this will be locking out potential borrowers from obtaining a mortgage. “I'm almost certain they'll be forced to lift those rates, it's a question of timing, and of course the political reaction when it happens,” Mr North said Now, experts are looking to ANZ, Westpac, CBA and the NAB to make their next move. Mr North believes the rate rises will be in place by September, unless there is an unforeseen change in the global financial market that changes the course. “Today 975,000 households across Australia with owner-occupier mortgages are right on the edge, and there are around 50,000 who are already over the edge and are looking like they could default,” he said The ABC spoke to Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe on some of the contributing factors to the predicted interest rise. “Well look all banks are facing the same issue, part of that funding pool that they draw on, be it domestically or overseas, we have seen some upwards pressures on interest rates in those areas,” he said. Mr North said borrowers would be given very little wiggle room with even just a very small interest rate change. With just an interest rate rise of 0.10 per cent, a homeowner in Sydney with a $750,000 mortgage would be required to pay an extra $60 a month. Aussie Home Loans chief executive James Symond told <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/aussie-chief-warns-buyers-en-masse-won-t-be-able-to-afford-a-home-20180710-p4zqm5.html" target="_blank">The Sydney Morning Herald</a> that a number of people would be “locked out” of the property market if banks continue to tighten credit access. “I’m hoping everyone is looking at it very, very carefully, because I’m seeing a credit marketplace tightening a lot, a real lot. And if we saw it tighten any more, I think that you mightn’t get the desired outcomes you want,” he said. “You might get, en masse, a whole bunch of people that just simply can no longer afford a home, full stop. The big banks are concerned.”

Money & Banking

Edge of the world: The Tassie escape you need to add to your bucket list

Dominated by ‘the Nut’, a volcanic plug on the edge of town, Stanley is impossible to miss on a journey to Tasmania’s north-west. The Nut rises 152 metres with almost vertical cliffs on three sides plunging into Bass Strait, and at its base is the historic village just begging to be explored. George Bass and Matthew Flinders discovered the unique formation in 1798, naming it ‘Circular Head’; the region’s municipality is still called this. It was settled from 1826 after the Van Diemen’s Land Company was granted land in the north-west, including the Stanley area, and employees from England arrived in the region. The township was named in 1842 after Lord Stanley – who went on to serve three terms as the British prime minister – and the village eventually became a thriving and bustling centre built around farming. These days, tourism and fishing are its major drawcards, with people flocking to see the incredible views both of and from the Nut. Surrounded by beautiful coastline, and with heritage buildings and terraced streets, this ‘edge of the world’ town with its mix of natural and historical wonder is certainly worth a visit. “This beautiful historical fishing village is a place everyone should see. A lazy little town set under the Nut, this place has so much history, it will take you back to the early settler days. Gorgeous beaches to boot, and lots of restaurants to tickle your tastebuds.” - Jenny Barnes, Launceston, Tasmania What to do: <ul> <li>Climb the Nut or if, the challenge is too great, take the chairlift for incredible views over the north-west coastline and Stanley.</li> <li>Explore the historical township, which has a number of heritage buildings that have not changed over the years, including the Van Diemen’s Land Company store.</li> <li>Join a penguin tour or hop aboard a seal cruise to encounter some of the region’s local residents.</li> </ul> “You can see why Stanley is often referred to as ‘the edge of the world’, perched as it is next to the Nut, a little piece of land that drops off into Bass Strait. Our first port of call, like most travellers I would say, was a chairlift ride to the top of the Nut. We were lucky enough to be joined by a fifth-generation local man, Graham, who runs a B&B in town. To meet someone with such a long family history in Australia is quite rare, but it’s a common occurrence in Stanley. Home to some of the freshest air in the world, the breeze from the top of the Nut certainly blows out any cobwebs, and the views of the beaches on all sides are breathtaking. The town itself is charming, with its lovingly restored buildings that house cafes, art and craft shops, and B&Bs. Many of the original English settler buildings have been preserved, and a drive around town is fascinating. There’s Highfield, a historic house built in 1841 that’s regarded as the birthplace of the European settlement of Tasmania’s northwest, and you can even see the former home of Joseph Lyons, Australia’s tenth prime minister, who took office in 1923. But it’s not just the town and the Nut that are beautiful. We took a scenic helicopter flight out to the nearby Tarkine wilderness area, a huge expanse of cool temperate rainforest that contains Aboriginal archaeological sites – it really is a stunning place.” - Jen and Clint <img width="142" height="174" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7817348/australia-s-ultimate-bucket-list_142x174.jpg" alt="Australia -s -ultimate -bucket -list" style="float: right;"/> This is an edited extract from Australia’s Ultimate Bucket List by Jennifer Adams & Clint Bizzell published by Hardie Grant Books RRP $29.99 and is available in stores nationally.

Cruising

"People screaming" – plane scarily hangs on edge of cliff

A plane with 162 passengers on board has skidded off a runway just metres away from toppling over a cliff into the sea as it landed at an airport in northern Turkey. The Pegasus Airlines flight took off smoothly from Turkish capital Ankara but as it landed in Trabzont the plane skidded off the runway. No one was injured or killed in the landing. Dramatic images from CNN Turk broadcaster show the plane precariously hanging off a cliff several metres from the Black Sea. <img width="476" height="263" src="https://s.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/6SYfKoB5XHd.xCQ5yaC2JA--~D/cm90YXRlPWF1dG87dz05NjA7YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVv/https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/default/180114/turkeyplane2.jpg" class="article-figure-image" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Pegasus Airlines confirmed in a statement on Sunday there were no injuries and the 162 passengers as well as two pilots and four cabin crew were evacuated safely. An investigation is under way to find the cause of the incident, the Trabzon governor’s office said. <img width="482" height="266" src="https://s.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/tMQUCPX36rGaKDr.fQWLXQ--~D/cm90YXRlPWF1dG87dz05NjA7YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVv/https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/default/180114/turkeyplane3.jpg" class="article-figure-image" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Fatma Gordu, one of the passengers on board, described the panic on-board during the landing. “We tilted to the side, the front was down while the plane’s rear was up. There was panic; people shouting, screaming,” she told state-run news agency Anadolu. “When they told us to leave from the rear exit, everyone tried to push ahead of everyone else. It was a terrible situation.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Pegasus Airlines skidded out of the runway at Trabzon Airport. New photos in daylight shows Boeing 737 next to the sea. Photos from different Turkish media. <a href="https://t.co/KB4hAZiIE9">pic.twitter.com/KB4hAZiIE9</a> — Turkish Air News (@AnalystTK) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnalystTK/status/952450620627222528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2018</a></blockquote> She said the passengers could smell fuel and feared that a fire would break out. “That is why we were scared,” she said, adding that there were pregnant women and children on board. The airport was temporarily shut before reopening on Sunday.

Travel Trouble

The simple way to create tables in Microsoft Word

Lisa Du is director of <a href="https://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology. Last week’s article featuring <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/technology/2017/04/microsoft-word-tips/" target="_blank">Microsoft Word tips</a> proved to be a hit, so we thought we'd get back to basics, and show you another great tip. We love getting tips emailed through from our readers, and this week’s tip was sent through from our reader David Jones. He writes: I get annoyed when I get a listing of items (say an Agenda) with a number lines and spaced items using the TAB key, or worse a series spaces like this: Accounts: David’s account $5000.00 Donation $450.00 Peter’s $600.00 We hear you David! We feel the same. When you use the tab key and the spacebar key on the keyboard to create spaces, your information will look different when viewed on another device. The formatting does not stay, and your information looks very messy. Align your text with tables To keep your information neat and tidy, use tables. Tables in Microsoft Word is an organisational tool that lets you present your information in an easy to read format. The same thing can be easily shown using “Tables” <img width="498" height="180" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35654/in-text-one_498x180.jpg" alt="In Text One (1)"/> <ul> <li>You can align text right in the money column</li> <li>Align the names left in the mid column</li> <li>Use tabs</li> <li>If preferred remove the table lines altogether:</li> </ul> A. Accounts David’s account $5000.00 B. Donation $450.00 Peter’s $600.00 Why use tables? For printing, the table options above will always print as you see it. But try to print the spaces and tabs option without using table format, none are likely to align the way you see it. Tables are a great way to present numbers, but also a great way to present text and graphics. You can make your table look good by changing the colours of the borders, and even shading different parts of the table. How to insert a table 1. In Microsoft Word, click Insert from the top menu, and choose Table... 2. Choose the number of column and rows required 3. Click OK A table is inserted into word, and you can use click on the table lines to resize each column <img width="499" height="403" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35655/in-text-two_499x403.jpg" alt="In Text Two (1)"/> Do you have any tech tips to share with us? Let us know in the comments below.

Technology

Back to basics: 3 Microsoft Word tips

Lisa Du is director of <a href="https://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology. Microsoft Word is a great program that is used daily by many users. We have plucked three tips from our bag of goodies and present them to you below! We know (and hope) that these time-saving tricks will put a little smile on your face when you test them out (it did for me). Maybe you can reply and tell us a few tips of your own! We always love passing on tips from our readers. Use these tips however you like... for efficiency or productivity, for fun or to just plain show off to your friends and family. Ok smarty pants here we go! Tip number 1 To select an entire paragraph, make three rapid left mouse clicks anywhere in the paragraph. Voila! (combine this with a tip from a few weeks ago, and you can then hold down the SHIFT key and press the F3 key). Your whole paragraph will change to upper case letters. Tip number 2 To select a whole sentence, click anywhere in a sentence while holding the Ctrl key down. Too easy! Tip number 3 A tip from one of our keen readers Ian Adair. Ian's tip is another way to change the case while using Microsoft Outlook or Word. Ian even sent us image snippets for this 1 step tip (Thanks Ian)!. <img width="500" height="114" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35394/in-text-one_500x114.jpg" alt="In -text -one (6)"/> 1. If using Microsoft Outlook, once you have typed your sentence click on the "Aa" icon (see image below) <img width="495" height="120" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35395/in-text-two_495x120.jpg" alt="In -text -two (6)"/> 2. If using Microsoft Word, once you have typed your sentence click on the "Aa" icon (see image below) Go on… give it a try! Do you have any tips to share? Let us know in the comments below.

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The simple way to create tables in Microsoft Word

Back to basics: 3 Microsoft Word tips

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