Drone bees are male used for sex and then discarded. Not that unlike some humans really.
Is there a parallel with drones of the skies?
In the noughties Ray and I were on a grassed area at St Kilda Beach, Melbourne, when I heard a noise and looked up and saw a drone aircraft, and it descended to land right next to us. This is a public safety issue, said the State Government and banned them in some areas.
Skip to the teen years of the 21st century and I thought from my balcony I could see a hovering bird over the streets of South Yarra. We don't have large hovering birds. I realised it was a drone. I watched for a very short time and went inside to get my camera to take a photo, but it had gone by the time I returned. The drone operator was certainly in breach of laws.
Now, they have become skilled surveillance cameras, weapons that can hunt down and kill people with precision, can be armed to attack sites and suicide bombing devices.
Their abilities are quite scary, but they can be used in very useful areas too, for surveying and mapping, to check inaccessible areas and to fight against crime.
They are topical here because they are used at Sydney beaches as shark spotters. Sadly at Coogee Beach a female swimmer was recently attacked by a shark. The beach is one of the popular few that doesn't have drone coverage because of Sydney Airport flight restrictions. Duh, how high do drones fly compared to planes? The authority has now temporarily allowed shark spotting drones to fly over the sea at Coogee Beach.
Over the summer periods, Sydney beaches are often netted to stop sharks coming close to shores, but this has a huge impact on sea wildlife, with many creatures getting caught in nets, including dolphins, whales, stingrays and turtles. Drones are a far more effective way to prevent shark attacks and don't have the impact on creatures of the seas.
After all, aren't the seas the province of sea creatures. Humans enter at risk.
There is a natural predator for drones, as this Australian wedge tailed eagle shows. (PS. If this post seems very unedited in someway, that's because crazy things are happening around me)
.jpg)
We are definitely in Brave New World territory. Shark netting is a big topic up here. I heard comment on the radio after the Sydney incident about how sharks are actually more agressive in the colder waters. Unfortunately they can't net for irukandji which is a good enough excuse for me to regard most beach swimming from the grassed area.
ReplyDeleteI had to look that up and now I know it is jellyfish.
DeleteI had to think for some seconds before remembering that it is jellyfish, and nasty.
DeleteAmazing video, Andrew. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI recently took part in an event here that involved over 90 people sitting on the footbridge across the lake. It was filmed with drones and it was a really eerie experience seeing these things fly closely overhead, hover, turn, fly back and repeat. I think it was the dull buzz they make that contributed to that feeling. Almost sinister. I can understand the fear they must induce in war torn areas.
ReplyDeleteWin for the eagle.
I'd like to see the end video, if it becomes public. I can play spot the Merlot.
DeleteIt was shown on the news on the telly but I was but a blur.
DeleteI love the idea of an alternative to putting out nets, which I didn't even know was a thing. And that video is amazing!
ReplyDeleteGood to see that you are still droning on like a...drone!
ReplyDeleteDrones are also used at times for deliveries, with drugs and weapons being dropped into prison yards at specified times when the recipient is there to collect. Or when people are trapped in the outback after rain has flooded the roads, care packages with water and foods have been dropped to them, though sometimes that is by helicopters which can also lift the people to safety if necessary.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, very mixed usage of drones, they do kill, they are used to spy, of course, and they are quite dangerous when not regulated. Much like AI.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
Drones used for many things these past several years, and it's good they can now be used at Coogee Beach instead of nets. That poor woman has lost an arm, many parts of her body affected and a GoFund Me Page has commenced apparently, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteCould you fly one off of your balcony? Could be fun.
ReplyDeleteFascinating post, Andrew. In my humble opinion, like A1, drones are a doubled-edged sword. They can do much good and much damage.
ReplyDeleteGo Eagles:) And agreed, the sea should be the providence of the sea creatures. Hope things quickly settle down for you.
That would be scary being in fear of sharks coming in close to where swimmers are, we tend to get alot of White Pointers here in NZ mostly in the north island but they seem to be more interested in chasing other sea creatures than people, have a nice week.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be finding people trying to fly drones over the soccer stadium here. Big fines apparently.
ReplyDeleteFrom "Bondi Rescue", I was always much more worried about drownings in Bondi and adjoining Sydney surf beaches. But were swimmers aware of sharks and drones before?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter sent me a picture of a drone washing her office windows in Nottingham.
ReplyDeleteThe most I hear about drones around here, is their use in search and rescue and about the idiots who fly them into natural disasters, like wildfires, making it tough to fight the fires. When the maple was still in the backyard, two drones flew into it and were caught. Later, they fell out of the tree at different times in different windstorms and I trashed both.
ReplyDeleteI saw a drone hover a Pride march I took part in. Fortunately, it left us alone.
ReplyDelete