Bioluminescent Snails!

     How cool is this?  A glowing green snail!  Hinea Brasiliana.  Ok, so it's only a sea snail, not something you'll find in your backyard.  And this snippet of info disputes the green bit - but hey, a blue-white light is pretty cool as well.
     It's theorised that they use their bioluminescence as a defence mechanism, lighting up when disturbed to either try and scare away predators or simply light them up so something bigger and badder again can eat what's attacking them.
     The mechanism they use to light their shells up is pretty neat as well.  The shell actually acts like a light transmitter/splitter, picking up the light from a small bioluminescent organ and spreading it throughout the entire shell.  Sort of like one of those plastic light tubes, where a light shone on one end illuminates the whole thing.  See Fibre Flare for an example of what I mean.
     Even more intriguing, the mechanism by which the shell transmits light is wavelength sensitive - it only lights up when hit with a greeny-bluey light, it won't transmit red for example.
     Neat little thing, but not quite enough to take the coveted "favourite snail" position away from the Otways Carnivorous Black Snail, Victophanta Compacta:

     Sure, this one doesn't glow - but you have to admire the persistence of something that slow deciding it's going to live by hunting other critters.  (Unfortunately they're endangered, so it's not working out so well for them.)


Original Article: BBC

3 mobile phones no longer roaming to Telstra?

     Over the past few weeks (possibly months, time gets away on you....) I've noticed some real issues with my mobile phone which is on the 3 network.  I used to love the service.  I got cheap calls and very cheap data rates while around the city, and when I went to the country it just roamed onto Telstra's network - which undoubtedly has the best coverage in the country.   It was a great deal as far I was concerned.
     Recently though, I've noticed that my phone not getting any coverage whilst in the country any more.  The first couple of times this happened I just put it down to something glitchy going on with the network.  But three trips to the country without any reception made me start digging a little deeper.
     I took a look at 3's mobile coverage map and noticed that it's looking much sparser than previous versions.  Especially Telstra's, which they used to roam to when I signed my contract with 3.  Ugh, seems like I'm starting to personally see the first effect of the 3/Vodafone "merger".  Abysmal support for anywhere outside of major cities, a massive degradation on their prior service.  Yay 3.
     Needless to say I've taken it up with 3.  I'm sure there's nothing they can do to improve their service, but I do expect them to unlock my phone and release me from any early exit contract fees as they're no longer providing the service I signed up for.  Thankfully Telstra pricing has become far more competitive in the year or so since I signed my 3 contract.
     I personally find it highly immoral that they've made this change without even notifying me.  People rely upon their phones for emergency contact - what they've done is not just an annoyance, it's a safety issue.
     Hopefully I hear back from 3 quickly and don't need to take it up with the telecommunications industry ombudsman.