SupaWallace escapades

AlfredWallace wrote:

seeds wrote:

I wanna see Supa’s pearly whites!

You can’t see them, the reflection would melt a sun spot resulting in solar flare activity on earth. Just saying. AW

Haha he could get a gig on the next Trivago advertisement possibly.
(You’d have to have seen it)
Good stuff. And only jokes Supa they looked good. Seriously thinking about it myself.

A bit of Wallace reflection.

In Tangkoko NE Sulawesi, stumbled across this, I was stoked, my life hero.
Further on into the forest we lucked upon a great troop of Macaques.
Two relatives from different eras.

Indonesian people have been well taught over decades about Wallace and the Line named after him. AW

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Well well, I bet that made your day AW!

seeds wrote:

Well well, I bet that made your day AW!

Seeds. Hi mate, certainly did, paused at the large bust and read all that was attributed to him, such an achievement for a young man at his time and place.
I can honestly say I was quite moved by it all.
What a contribution to humanity, devising the theory of natural selection through transmutational change, he was way ahead of the rest of them.AW

AlfredWallace wrote:

seeds wrote:

Well well, I bet that made your day AW!

Seeds. Hi mate, certainly did, paused at the large bust and read all that was attributed to him, such an achievement for a young man at his time and place.
I can honestly say I was quite moved by it all.
What a contribution to humanity, devising the theory of natural selection through transmutational change, he was way ahead of the rest of them.AW

I’m genuinely happy for you AW.
And I thank you for opening up my eyes to the real story of evolution, with all its players.

GuySmiley wrote:

On point Guy. The dry July demise.

seeds wrote:

AlfredWallace wrote:

seeds wrote:

Well well, I bet that made your day AW!

Seeds. Hi mate, certainly did, paused at the large bust and read all that was attributed to him, such an achievement for a young man at his time and place.
I can honestly say I was quite moved by it all.
What a contribution to humanity, devising the theory of natural selection through transmutational change, he was way ahead of the rest of them.AW

I’m genuinely happy for you AW.
And I thank you for opening up my eyes to the real story of evolution, with all its players.

Seeds. Good stuff mate. There were more players than just Wallace and Darwin, but those two were closer to the achievement than the rest of them.

You know what, often when I talk to people, generally younger folk about evolution, the first name they mention is Darwin, I understand the reason why. Darwin was also thinking along the same lines but couldn’t quite nail it because besides the Voyage of The Beagle he undertook, he rarely went in the field for prolonged periods of time. He was from a wealthy family of achievers , did great theoretical work at home , bit of a procrastinator and took nearly 30 years to come up with his own theory, alas, he was a great friend of Wallace , they both confided in each other.
Most of society attributes the theory to Darwin, I simply say to them that the region i just visited in NE and East Indonesia is called Wallacea for a very good reason.
If Darwin was the man, the region today would be called Darwinia and it simply is not. AW

blackers wrote:

GuySmiley wrote:

On point Guy. The dry July demise.

Blackers. Hi mate. You are the Nostradamus of the AFl, you predicted it.
I take my hat off to you, a few things to tidy up and a few players back in will lead us to a cakewalk like Good Old Collingwood. Just scoffed down a kilo of prawns in a sweet and sour sauce, Padang style. I’m cooked. Catch ya. AW

Poso-Sedoa , Sulawesi, 2060m above sea level.

Moss colonies, like a miniature forest inside a rainforest. AW

Four pillars of plant evolution.
1. Cyanobacteria (photosynthetic capable bacteria)
2. Seedless Vascular and non Vascular Plants- Ferns, fern allies, mosses, horsetails liverworts, clubmosses, (no seeds, no flowers, no fruit) but spores are present.
3. Gymnosperms, Vascular Plants, no flowers but produce seeds. Conifers (pines, cypress etc.),Macrozamias, Cycads, Lepidozamias
4. Angiosperms- all of today’s flowering plants, the current lineage of plant evolution.

All four groups still present today, no one better than the other.

I found some ancient Lycopods at 2060m on Sulawesi.
These plants evolved 400-500 million years ago, still thriving today. Mostly found in damp partially closed forests near fringes, attaching themselves to the ground via a clump imbedded into the soil, some also are rhizomatous and creep their way across the ground, putting down new roots at the stem nodes.

These photos are Staghorn Clubmoss ( Lycopodium sp. or Lycopodiella sp.) and found in many places around the world.
They release copious amounts of spores when brushed, the first photo, I had just brushed the plant to show others the ancient way of reproduction.

AW, whether by accident or design, fascinating how similar your images above look to Norfolk Island Pine seedlings.

Distracted wrote:

AW, whether by accident or design, fascinating how similar your images above look to Norfolk Island Pine seedlings.

Distracted. Hi mate. Nice to hear from ya.

Not wrong, similarity is clear to the eye for sure.
Araucarias, have familiar key diagnostic features as you know, then when you see other Araucarias from Pacific Islands, in particular New Caledonia, wow, that similarity is right in your face. Nearly everytime i visit a botanic garden I see a different species from New Cal. , species rich diversity that’s for sure.

Lycopods in Australia are found in the Dandenong Ranges and those cold forests east of Melbourne and many other areas, The Otway Ranges and most of the way up the Great Dividing Range and environs, Tasmania etc. They are more widespread than we realise. So lucky to still have them here. Good stuff. AW

Hi AW , Interested in your comments re appropriate clothing for hot jungle bashing (few pages back). I would have been the guy in cotton caught up in the "wait a while' or some vine with hooks on it . What fabric etc, Love the photos and text- amazing trip!

H2O wrote:

Hi AW , Interested in your comments re appropriate clothing for hot jungle bashing (few pages back). I would have been the guy in cotton caught up in the "wait a while' or some vine with hooks on it . What fabric etc, Love the photos and text- amazing trip!

H2O. Hi mate. Thanks for your interest.

I’m going to sound a bit like a brand ambassador, but I’m just speaking from experience.
Firstly, cotton is shit for hiking in cold or hot weather, it’s the microscopical fibre arrangement.
I never thought I would, but for the last ten years I wear synthetic fabrics only, way better, never hot or cold. The Japanese have nailed it.
Contrary to others of our party, I wore a black crew neck t-shirt ( vee neck anything is no good, too easy for mites, leeches and ticks to get on your body). Simply covered my arms with Deet free insect repellent.
I wear cold and warm season clothing made by that Japanese company, UniQlo, stores all over Australia, reasonably priced great gear, t-shirt $20.
For hot clammy conditions we experienced in Sulawesi and other Moluccan islands, I wore the Airism style t-shirts. It’s all about the fibre arrangement.
Minute woven squares that dissipated heat and self wicking of moisture at the same time as well as allowing cooler air to pass through the fabric. Others of our group commented on the fact I had no sweat apparent.
Trousers I wore were North Face lightweight with the zip off shorts, this fabric wets easily but dries quickly. ( any good brand lightweight ones would do, Aldi last year had a great trouser that was cheap and of reasonable quality but I missed the day they were in store).
Lightweight is important especially when packing your backpack to head on home to Oz.
Socks, shin high woollen thin texture, wicks moisture and provides feeling and little friction between skin and inner sole.
Shoes, take brand new hiking/walking shoes or boots. Sole grip is paramount and an arched inner sole is equally important. We were on our feet 15-19 hours per day, a lot of that time walking downhill.
I wear ankle cut Salamon waterproof hiking shoes, personal preference, others wore mid and high cut boots. Myriad brands globally of great hiking/walking footwear.
A hat is compulsory, equatorial heat will fry your brain.
A wide brim hat is preferable, the width helps prevent ticks, mites and leeches dropping off overhanging vegetation and down your neck.
Rain jacket, thoroughly recommend Patagonia’s new iteration of waterproof units.
A 60th birthday present from a friend of a Patagonia H2NO - style Boulder Fork jacket. It’s reputed to be more waterproof than GoreTex or PerTex.
I can vouch that when it rained, which it often did, the water droplets rolled off like marbles, lightweight to carry and super watertight.

Converse to clothing for the tropics, UniQlo make a great range for Winter.
They have t-shirts long and short sleeved, that keep you warm, also synthetic, again it’s all about the fibre arrangement. It’s called HeatTech, there’s three levels going from warm to warmer and extremely warm, obviously made for Japan winters. Layering is the key, I feel the cold easily in Victoria during winter, with aforementioned fabric set up, never cold.
Again very affordable attire.

(Icebreaker garments from a NZ company are made from wool and do all the things I’ve just mentioned, but, I’m not prepared to pay $100 for a lambswool t-shirt)

I hope that helps you choose the right gear for your adventure. AW

^^ icebreaker clothing is expensive on purchase but when it lasts for over 15 years, well maybe not so

GuySmiley wrote:

^^ icebreaker clothing is expensive on purchase but when it lasts for over 15 years, well maybe not so

GuySmiley.
Hi mate. Their thicker garments do last , their thinner ones don’t, was on that brand for decades. Off them soon as I found out they started putting plastic fibre in so called pure wool units.
No such thing as NZPURE as per their campaign, it’s a very polluted country for the population size and most of it is in their waterways and streams. I know a biologist who works and lives there. AW

^^ true +/- that but reckon that they have returned to their early original NZ made era quality not that I buy much of that clothing anymore, I just don’t have the need, we’re off to the South Island later in the year so maybe I will buy something new in Wanaka.

Thanks AW. You live and learn! That answer to my question just caused a 180 in my thinking having been non- synthetic most of my life. Have noticed synthetic stretch threads creeping into supposedly "pure" wool/ cotton fabrics recently though - the truth and marketing don't often align.
Need to return the favor so a couple of book recommendations;-
1) Diemens by Guy Salvidge - publisher Forty South , Hobart - historical novel about sealing ,colonial skullduggery and early interactions between races in Bass Straight and Northern Coast Tasmania - seems well researched.
2) The Wager by David Grann - publisher Simon and Schuster - factual account of the voyage , shipwreck and the marooned crew of the British navy ship "Wager" off the far south coast of Chile in mid 18th century after going round Cape Horn East to West -Incredible story.
All the best,

H2O wrote:

Thanks AW. You live and learn! That answer to my question just caused a 180 in my thinking having been non- synthetic most of my life. Have noticed synthetic stretch threads creeping into supposedly "pure" wool/ cotton fabrics recently though - the truth and marketing don't often align.
Need to return the favor so a couple of book recommendations;-
1) Diemens by Guy Salvidge - publisher Forty South , Hobart - historical novel about sealing ,colonial skullduggery and early interactions between races in Bass Straight and Northern Coast Tasmania - seems well researched.
2) The Wager by David Grann - publisher Simon and Schuster - factual account of the voyage , shipwreck and the marooned crew of the British navy ship "Wager" off the far south coast of Chile in mid 18th century after going round Cape Horn East to West -Incredible story.
All the best,

H2O. Hi mate.
Thanks for your reply.
I’m a book nerd, I’ll definitely check out those two recommendations.
Both sound very interesting. AW

Reach for the sky.
Plants compete for light in all rainforest strata from high up gallery forests down to forest floors.
Closer to the floor, larger the leaves, the need for greater surface area to absorb what little light is available.
Epiphytic plants that lack large amounts of lignin (along with cellulose and hemi-cellulose) in their cells walls use other substrates to attach themselves to attain a certain level in a canopy for the minimal light required.

Tomohon Skies, Tomohon, Minihasa Peninsula, NE Sulawesi

Nice cultivated skies and a photogenic mount. Good work Alfred.

blackers wrote:

Nice cultivated skies and a photogenic mount. Good work Alfred.

Thanks teacher. AW

Man down . AW in the wars again , here he lays drugged out after perforating his ear drum this morning. Hopefully he will be ok to surf in a day or two, gave him a ear plug that you can mould to the shape you need. Brought them 15 years ago , knew they would come in handy one day .

Give him a pack of Sampoerna and tell him to harden the fuck up.

Great photo, and all the best, gentlemen

Viagra is cheap over there, or so I hear. Give him something to rest his iPad on.

old-dog wrote:

Viagra is cheap over there, or so I hear. Give him something to rest his iPad on.

Old-Dog. Hi mate. Just woken up from a self induced coma of Panadeine Forte, I’m on the gear.
Now that’s two recommendations from you guys to harden up.

I know it’s hard, but I prefer to paddle straight into the keyhole not around it, never know what currents you’ll encounter, may end up in the shit. !!! AW

Rotten luck @AW, hope you’re back on deck soon

GuySmiley wrote:

Rotten luck @AW, hope you’re back on deck soon

GuySmiley. Hi mate. Thanks for best wishes.
All good , gotta pay to play. Was really enjoying sublime conditions in large surf, bit pissed but what can you do.
Duck dived a seriously violent set only to be gushed with a force of a fire hydrant in the left ear, rolled off my board, looked shoreward and the white sandy beach wasn’t horizontal , I knew I was in trouble, your ear is not meant to whistle.

Supafreak gave me this very malleable non toxic ‘surf Play- Doh’. I’ll be giving it a go tomorrow against all medical advice that the ear should be kept dry. I do have antibiotics as a back up if it gets infected.

Drugged to the eyeballs earlier on, only to wake up and watch the Pies v Tigers replay, a day of two halves I’d say.
Keep well mate, the Bombers are like the Russian Army, almost out men. AW

Ahh bugger AW, I used ear plug, swim cap and then helmet when I did mine, sweated like a nun in a field of cucumbers. Used Ciprofloxacin ear solution after each surf to try and keep infections at bay. Also had a packet of Amoxicillin on standby just in case.

seaslug wrote:

Ahh bugger AW, I used ear plug, swim cap and then helmet when I did mine, sweated like a nun in a field of cucumbers. Used Ciprofloxacin ear solution after each surf to try and keep infections at bay. Also had a packet of Amoxicillin on standby just in case.

SeaSlug. Hi mate. Thank you.

Swellnet is the encyclopaedia of everything.

I’ve got two prescriptions of Amoxicillin with me, hoping I won’t need them. Good stuff. AW

Haha never heard that one before. Very good seaslug.

Whatever you do, don't put aqua ear in the wrong hole...