Can't Keep Me Out

[dpastern (Dave Pastern)]

Originally Posted by M54

Off the main topic for a moment, here's a possum tidbit my son sent me.

It was posted by Japanese student's living in Brunswick (Melbourne).

Awesome, although I suspect that it might be an urban legend and a fake:

http://candobetter.org/node/1347

Dave

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

Years ago we had a visiting pommie tech in the lab. The other person there was a chinese woman who had been in Oz for a few years. When he finished with us he had to get a hire car and drive from Wollongong to Canberra. He had looked at a map and was concerned about the great distance between towns and what would happen if the car broke down in such an isolated spot.

So I kindly gave him some outback survival tips. After a while I got to staying out of the scorching sun but being wary of which tree he stood under. I explained that he should look for signs that roos had been about because, if they had, there might be a drop bear in the tree lying in ambush. You see they have very poor eyesight and so may mistake you for a roo. They will drop down and before you can react they will bite the back of your neck and break your spinal cord. He went slightly pale. The chinese woman was behind him trying not to laugh out loud. He responded that he would stay in the car and not risk such a fate. I heard from him later so I suppose he survived the wilds of the Hume Hwy unscathed.

Oh I love poms sometimes .

That reminds me of another good story, when I was in the Army Reserve. Every time the Yanks came out here on exercise, we used to tell them that when you went out bush, you had to watch out for the dropbears. We had them that worried that they'd come to us to find out how to keep away from them. So, we said to them that they had to use "red kangaroo feathers" in their hats and that would ward off the dropbears!!!!

So, you can imagine just how gullible they were...we'd sell them a "red kangaroo feather" for a few dollars a pop. Made a good killing

[danielsun]

Hey Marty, did you switch the fan on?

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by dpastern

Awesome, although I suspect that it might be an urban legend and a fake:

http://candobetter.org/node/1347

Dave

Ok Ok I didn't want to know that. I was quite happy with the thought that it was real.

[Baddad (Marty)]

Originally Posted by renormalised

So, you can imagine just how gullible they were...we'd sell them a "red kangaroo feather" for a few dollars a pop. Made a good killing

Hi All, Renormalised,

We charged the Yanks $100 a feather. Claiming that they were so rare. Kangaroo feathers drop out shortly before they die.

Another possum story:

Soldier sleeping on a stretcher. Ration pack secured under the bed. Rustle, rustle. Big stick, "Get out of my pack, mongrel possum".

In the moonlight I saw the possum make off with a biscuit pack. Up the big gum, and five other possums in hot pursuit. It was full on 10M above the ground. Screeching, scratching, biting. All after the biscuit prize.

Possum after possum would fall to the ground. Shake, recover and straight back up to the fight. Eventually the biscuit pack broke up and it rained possums. Greedily grabbing and off they went.

Now I could get some sleep.
I also learned why the others slept with their biscuit packs under the pillow, only in that area.

Cheers Marty

[Mike21 (Michael)]

We have three or four in our backyard. The alpha-male is a real curious and bold man. They cannot get into our roof. My girlfriend loves feeding them old bread. The big-boy sits on the outside table next to my laptop while I'm learning how to image Jupiter. The only way they bother me is when they jump down onto the deck and shake my setup.

If anyone can tell me how to easily reduce the size of photos, I'll include them. Since I've got a more powerful 'puter, all of my old software has to be replaced. So many things to spend money on.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by Baddad

Hi All, Renormalised,

We charged the Yanks $100 a feather. Claiming that they were so rare. Kangaroo feathers drop out shortly before they die.

Another possum story:

Soldier sleeping on a stretcher. Ration pack secured under the bed. Rustle, rustle. Big stick, "Get out of my pack, mongrel possum".

In the moonlight I saw the possum make off with a biscuit pack. Up the big gum, and five other possums in hot pursuit. It was full on 10M above the ground. Screeching, scratching, biting. All after the biscuit prize.

Possum after possum would fall to the ground. Shake, recover and straight back up to the fight. Eventually the biscuit pack broke up and it rained possums. Greedily grabbing and off they went.

Now I could get some sleep.
I also learned why the others slept with their biscuit packs under the pillow, only in that area.

Cheers Marty

We weren't quite that mercenary with the Yanks...maybe we should've been!!!. Could've retired on what we earned

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by Mike21

...The big-boy sits on the outside table next to my laptop while I'm learning how to image Jupiter...

Maybe you should ask him for a few tips!!!!

[Jen]

Originally Posted by danielsun

Hey Marty, did you switch the fan on?

now that would have been a funny site

[pgc hunter]

mmmmm possum gibs everywhere!

[marki]

Originally Posted by pgc hunter

mmmmm possum gibs everywhere!

Hmmm, my thoughts exactly, blood and guts all over the place.

Mark

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by Mike21

If anyone can tell me how to easily reduce the size of photos, I'll include them. Since I've got a more powerful 'puter, all of my old software has to be replaced. So many things to spend money on.

In GIMP - "Image" -> "Scale Image"
Photoshop has something similar, but this box is Linux, Windoze on the one down the other end of the house, and the "boss" is using it.

[Baddad (Marty)]

Originally Posted by danielsun

Hey Marty, did you switch the fan on?

Hi Danielsun,

No! and its only a plastic fan. It stalls easily, one finger.

Cheers Marty

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

We have a possum called "Mrs.P", who comes every other night and DEMANDS a banana. If she doesn't get one, she pees & poops on the patio. When we do give her one, she tries to eat our fingers (OUCH!) and tears great gouges out of our hands with her incredibly sharp claws.
She's not quite as bad as a racoon, but you don't want to mess with these critters - you could find your tires slashed or your dustbin overturned!

[Baddad (Marty)]

Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous

We have a possum called "Mrs.P", who .......your dustbin overturned!

Hi Peter J.

Possums, Brushtail type, "Trichosurus Vulpecula" (fox like tail). does not see well in any light above dark. Is a wild animal and does not distinguish fingers from food offerings very well. They do not bite intentionally, but often do hit the fingers of the hand that feeds them. Use tongs.

Cheers Marty

[Baron von Richthofen (Vaclav)]

Originally Posted by renormalised

That wasn't a possum...that was a dropbear. They're the same as a small marsupial lion....similar to Wakaleo spp.

I dont think so
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: possum

Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

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Any of several species (family Phalangeridae) of nocturnal, arboreal marsupials of Australia and New Guinea. They are 22 – 50 in. (55 – 125 cm) long, including the long prehensile tail, and have woolly fur. All species eat fruits, leaves, and blossoms; some also eat insects and small vertebrates. Possums grasp branches with their hind feet. Most species bear their young in tree hollows and unused birds' nests; a few build leafy nests. Several species are endangered because of predation, fur trapping, or habitat loss, but the common brush-tailed possum is considered a pest. See also opossum.
For more information on possum, visit Britannica.com.