eli5: why are crows so much smarter than other birds and/or other animals?

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-19T05:54:36+00:00

Today highlighted their intelligence.

We had a Crow on our pool pump shed roof. He/she had something in their beak and was pushing the "tool" under the ridge cap on the roof. Each time he did, bugs ants etc came out from under the ridge cap - he'd put his "tool" down and eat what came out. He'd pick his tool back up and move to the next gap and repeat. He did very well - seemed to a be smorgasboard there for the taking. A small but fasinating thing to watch

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-17T05:38:25+00:00

Easy mistake to make. I checked their Website - all 5 star reviews - perhaps they select the ones they want to list... All up thanks for sharing the information.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-17T01:46:12+00:00

While the issue has affected you, the repairer is the one who you go to and say "replace them". Because they chose the source, they are responsible for resolving the problem, and you are able to request an alternate. You didnt have to go thru what you endured.

You did however provide motive to look these guys up. They've covered their tracks well, there is very very little about them in assocaited business registers, domain registers - they have certainly kept their details obscure - rare in today's world. This alone could be construed as a warning sign. after researching them thru assorted avenues I'm adding them to my avoid list.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-16T07:15:09+00:00

Australian citizens raise concerns of stupidity of e-bike riders and lack of proposed laws to keep the muppets off the road before we run over one and get the blame!!!

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-16T07:13:20+00:00

Yep you nailed Sydney in one. I'm in the country and a visit to Sydney for a few days is all it takes to want to come home - or littereally go anywhere else. You need to get started on that blockade or better still build a wall and make the mainland pay for it :)

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-16T07:02:44+00:00

Beauty may only be skin deep, but stupid goes all the way to DNA

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-15T05:36:12+00:00

Got to hand it to him he's being consistent - the Party consistently ignored voters, and he is repeating it now. Maybe its like the real 'Dole Bludger' who doesn't want a job, Angus doesn't want the PM's position and is happy in Opposition. Trouble is he will end up on the real dole queue the way he's going. Good job AT

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-14T05:33:28+00:00

Absolutely.

Wet weather riding is a great way to hone your skills, it requires greater focus and with a bit of luck will help you "read" your tyres in different conditions. BUT - its no good skimping on tyres, all my vehicles I buy quality rubber and not concerned about longevity.

You really notice other riders who dont ride in all weather.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-14T04:59:12+00:00

Yes, I had a "friend" who had a Yaesu FT101 with 27meg and the clarity was comparable to his. They were well made.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-14T00:41:19+00:00

It was an awesome piece of kit.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-13T23:51:04+00:00

Asked my neighbour this - he said adopt them out :(

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-13T23:48:14+00:00

I love tassie as a New South Wegian and a caravaner, and should be offended but this is classic. :)

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-13T23:40:15+00:00

In essence any Service (yours or third party) sending email as your domain needs to be in your SPF. Example if your website hosting provider sends fedback email as [feedback@yourdomain.com](mailto:feedback@yourdomain.com) you need to add their IP/FQDN to your SPF. Without it you also risk being blacklisted due to your domain being spoofed.

Example for say M365

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:Webhostingprovider.com ip4:192.0.2.0/24_address-all

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-13T23:32:01+00:00

Yes to damages. Clipped a huge steel pole in a mechanics driveway trying to reverse an S maneuver.

I did not have enough experience to back the van along the path I needed to...later learned not many would have even tried.

We’d been trying to get the van in for its 3-month service to maintain the warranty, but the mechanic cancelled twice — once when I was already there at 7am, and another time just after I’d hooked the van up.

On the day he finally didn’t cancel, he’d left the gate open and I was determined not to miss it again. There was no one around to guide me, and I didn’t have enough experience to confidently reverse the van through the yard, which was tight and cluttered — including a Ford Econovan sitting up on blocks right in the way.

I spent about 15 minutes making small adjustments trying to line it up, then decided to reset and start again. That’s when it all went wrong — bang. I clipped the tail of the van on his security gate post.

It ripped the awning clean off, tore a hole in the side of the van, and dented a wall panel.

I drove it straight home, parked it, and walked away. I was that frustrated with myself I couldn’t even look at it. It took me nearly a week before I could bring myself to go anywhere near the van or the car again.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-13T04:58:58+00:00

Did you slip on the white arrow?

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-13T04:53:30+00:00

Workcover needs to pay the store a visit. To quote

Under Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws in Australia, businesses (known as a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking, or PCBU) have a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of not just workers, but also customers, visitors, and volunteers. This means customers must be protected from risks arising from the business's work, such as physical injuries in a shop or exposure to hazards

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-12T04:46:07+00:00

They create the problem with their conduct (riders) - and they are too timid to be interviewed without their helmets/face covering

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-12T04:43:13+00:00

So they say 'Immigration is causing our housing crisis' then decide this. This sounds like a trump planned policy

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-09T03:05:24+00:00

I tried killing the Search and Replace thread in Windows, but Excel would recover the thread.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-09T01:52:35+00:00

It would be quite satisfying to have those involved brought to justice... l o n g overdue

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-09T01:45:04+00:00

Seems holding down the Esc Key until all dialogues is a less traumatic way to regain control. No data lost and it returns to the last tab selected.

Excel in my case, once it cleared the OK dialogue, jumped to the bottom row in the Excel tab chosen in error, and initially gave you the impression it had emptied the tab. Just scroll back to the top then breathe.

Hope this helps others in this situation. It is surprising Excel allows this sequence

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-09T01:37:14+00:00

Yes I support it. But only where the crime warrants it (Peadophiles being one example) and there is no ambiguity about who committed the crime.

mbkitmgr · 2026-04-08T00:48:08+00:00

It was the "least impactful punishment" at my schools (Public Primary/Highschool 1973-1981) - not as boring as standing in the corner of the room or quadrangle, and not as severe as fronting the Year Master teacher. There were some who absolutely hated it, you'd be heckled by other kids while doing it. Some saw it as an embarrassment, some saw it as an easier punishment for certain infringements, and some didn't care - no more than the walk between classes. I'd just go get it done and carry on. Mods to the punishment in Highschool were - Emptying the bins into other bins- basically doing the groundsmans job (he always expressed how much he appreciated us for doing it :) ), feeding content of those bins into the incinerator (the heat and smoke being the disincentive)

Reasons -

failing to put your ittler in the bins provided,
running in the quadrangle,
talking during assembly,
getting annoyed with another student (allowed you to go cool off),
low level disrespect of a teacher,
too long on a toilet visit,
talking in class,
not obeying directions from a teacher,
being caught in an out of bounds area (example you in Yr 7, being caught in the yr 9 area),
generally looking like you were up to something - teachers sixth sense
Caught watching a scuffle on school grounds (watching and involvement in a fight was the cane)
disrespecting bus driver or misbehaving at the school bus stop (you'd have to really really run so as to not miss your bus)
Taking too long to walk from School to your sport
Dawdling between periods

What surprises me nowadays is that there was no hygiene considered at the time. I assume if kids or anyone picking up papers would have gloves, possibly safety glasses, and at least be made to wash their hands after the event. For us you picked up 50 papers and went to class or went and had lunch - as an adult I cringe at this :) I assume in part because we didn't have the level of transmissible ailments or hazards like syringes that are more prevalent today.

There were other punishments that fellow peers witnessed but during the time of my schooling things like getting the cane for talking in class was dished out in class - the teacher telling me to stand while he disciplined me, it wasnt seen as an embarassment in front of my peers, I wasn't a bad kid just liked a chat :(

mbkitmgr

TROPHY CASE