An amateur photographer says she is “stoked” after capturing a photo of a humpback whale breaching close to a boat in Coffs Harbour.
Key points:
Photographer Carly Adams can’t believe her luck, capturing a breaching whale close to a boat
She says it’s the best shot she has ever taken
Experts say whales, especially younger ones, can breach multiple times
Carly Adams, 26, said she had never taken a photo like it in the eight years she had been taking photos of nature.
Ms Adams said she walked along the southern wall at Coffs Harbor each day, especially during the whale season.
“I was going down to see if I could get some shots of the whales and I was stoked when I got that,” she said.
“I was like ‘Oh wow, it’s a shot and a half’. I didn’t think I’d get that shot.”
Ms Adams said she was tracking the whale with her camera just after 11am on Sunday before it suddenly breached four times.
“I just happened to get the shot and I was just so shocked about it,” she said.
Carly Adams captured the whale breaching off the coast of Coffs Harbour.(Supplied: Carly Adams)
“I managed to get a few other shots but that was definitely my great shot.
“It just came out of the blue and I thought the people [on the boat] would have had a massive shock.”
Ms Adams couldn’t say how far the whale was from the boat because she was using a long lens zoom.
“It made it look like it was really close to the boat but it mightn’t have been as close. It definitely looked like it was close.”
Ms Adams was surprised by the interest after she posted it on social media.
“It’s definitely gone viral, people were sharing it and I’m getting interviews, it’s going a bit crazy,” she said.
“I don’t know if it’s just because of the angle or what, but it made the whale look ten times bigger than the boat.”
Breaching multiple times
Jools Farrell, vice-president of the Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia, said the best thing to do if a whale breached near a vessel was to stay put.
“Whales breach when they want to breach and they don’t really know that there’s a vessel very close to them or near them,” she said.
She said sometimes whales, especially younger ones, could breach multiple times.
“I’ve seen an adult whale breach three to four times within minutes,” she said.
“You just don’t know. It’s just part of whale behavior and the whale season.”
Ms Farrell said she had also seen footage of whales that had breached and landed on boats, but hadn’t heard of any fatalities from such incidents.
Tower of Fantasy has finally arrived in the West, and players are diving into the futuristic open-world MMORPG en masse. However, they’re sure to encounter more than their fair share of obstacles as they explore the world.
One such obstacle in Tower of Fantasy is cracked stone walls, sometimes referred to as Sanctuary Rocks. Once broken, these walls can occasionally lead to many treasures, which makes them worth breaking.
However, players won’t be removing these cracked walls with their ordinary weapons. They’ll need help from a particular relic obtained through the game’s story.
Destroying Tower of Fantasy rock walls with Missile Barrage
The Missile Barrage prompt in Tower of Fantasy (Image via Perfect World)
To break cracked rock walls in Tower of Fantasy, players will need to use a Super Rare quality relic known as the Missile Barrage. The relic places a launcher behind the player for eight seconds, firing a barrage of missiles to deal damage to enemies.
However, these relics can also be used to shatter cracked walls. Fortunately, players should be able to receive a Missile Barrage relic relatively easily by simply playing the story. To get this relic, players will want to enter Ruin A01.
Doing so should reward players with the Missile Barrage, and eleven players clear the ruin, they can do as they please with the relic. Players can also upgrade the relic to increase its potency. However, no upgrades are required to shatter the rock walls that are encountered throughout the open-world MMO.
Once players have obtained their Missile Barrage, they simply need to search for cracked rock walls. When the wall is encountered, all players need to do is aim the relic and activate it with whatever button or keybind they are using (F is the standard keybind in many circumstances).
The missiles should fly out and impact the wall at multiple points, shattering it and allowing players to uncover what the wall was protecting. In addition to shattering cracked walls, Missile Barrages are quite helpful when taking on opponents. The missiles fired are numerous and deal solid damage, especially when many missiles make contact with their target.
Furthermore, sequential upgrades increase the missile damage, as well as the duration for which missiles are fired. At the five-star upgrade, more missiles are fired from the launcher, making Missile Barrage a deadly relic to keep on hand.
Considering that players can get a free Missile Barrage from Ruin A01, it’s also a great relic for beginners. The ruin is far from difficult, and progressing along the game’s storyline should allow players to become strong enough to tackle any and all challenges they might see inside the ruins. Furthermore, having Missile Barrage available during the run can make things even simpler.
As Daniel Ricciardo fights to keep his place on the Formula 1 grid, pop music icon Harry Styles has thrown his support behind the Australian driver.
Ricciardo became embroiled in F1’s mid-year silly season following reports he will be replaced by young compatriot Oscar Piastri at McLaren next year.
The news erupted last week after Fernando Alonso blindsided the F1 world when he jumped into Sebastian Vettel’s vacated seat at Aston Martin for 2023.
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Alpine then announced Piastri would be the man to replace Alonso, only for the Melburnian to reject the seat — a bold move for a man who is yet to drive in F1.
Now Ricciardo, who has one year remaining on his contract, has reportedly asked for a $21 million payout from McLaren for the early termination of his contract. The eight-figure payout would clear the way for McLaren to sign Piastri.
Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Photo by Jure Makovec / AFPSource: AFP
Nothing has gone right for Ricciardo this season – the Perth driver accumulated just 19 points before the mid-season break while McLaren teammate Lando Norris has managed 76.
However, Ricciardo has some high-profile celebrities in his corner.
On Sunday, an image of Styles donning a Daniel Ricciardo shirt circulated social media channels, inevitably sending the F1 community into a frenzy.
According to internet sleuths, the Ricciardo shirt went on sale during last October’s United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Earlier this year, Styles released his third full-length solo album “Harry’s House” to critical acclaim. He will also appear in Olivia Wilde’s upcoming psychological thriller “Don’t Worry Darling” alongside Florence Pugh.
Ricciardo has remained tight-lipped about his future in the sport and doesn’t appear bothered by the ongoing saga.
He is clearly enjoying his mid-season break, posting a photo of himself to Instagram smiling in a swimming pool.
If Piastri does indeed take his place at McLaren, Ricciardo’s most likely landing spot would be Alpine, the French team formerly known as Renault where he spent two seasons in 2019 and 2020.
The mother of a cancer patient being treated at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital said she was blocked by anti-vax protesters from entering the hospital over the weekend.
Karly Kirk, who had to be guided into the hospital, is now backing calls for protest exclusion zones to be implemented around major hospitals.
She was attempting to visit her 11-year-old daughter, Darcy, who is undergoing chemotherapy for a rare blood cancer.
Hundreds of protesters blocked staff, families and patients from entering the hospital over the weekend. (Nine)
“I was nervous and I was scared as I was coming through. It was like a pure rage that then escalated into tears,” Kirk said.
While the protesters claim they didn’t block the entrance to the hospital, videos show police officers having to flag cars through the crowd of around 200 anti-vaxxers.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital were also targeted.
Emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis said exclusion zones needed to be created to ban hospital protests.
“State and territory governments around the country need to keep looking at (exclusion zones),” he said.
Karly Kirk was attempting to visit her 11-year-old daughter, Darcy, who is undergoing chemotherapy for a rare blood cancer. (Nine)
“Healthcare workers and indeed our patients, need to have our safety and wellbeing looked after.
“This is one example of where that safety and those interests can be protected.”
Parnis said the protesters “crossed the line.”
“They are a very small minority. They shouldn’t be allowed to compromise the wellbeing of people on often the worst day of their life,” he said.
“There is always the potential that delays or intimidation can make a bad situation worse.
Emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis said exclusion zones needed to be created to ban hospital protests. (Nine)
“When you have got chaos outside, and noise and difficulty getting through it, there is no good that can come out.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson said they were “extremely disappointed” with the behavior of the protesters choosing to target hospitals.
9News understands no protesters were arrested.
The Royal Children’s Hospital declined to comment on the protests.
Recently a lot of people have been saying that getting back to the office is great for productivity, collaboration, and quality of thinking. All of that may be true. However, there’s a more fundamental reason why I am a huge advocate for people getting back to the office, and having their default set to ”I will work at the office – unless I really really can’t’, and that’s because it makes you happier and more satisfied.
Everyone lauded technology and in particular Zoom and Google Meets during Covid / lockdowns – and remarked how bad Covid would have been just 5 years previously. I don’t think it’s as simple as that… I wonder if these breakthroughs in technology are taking us down a pathway to efficiency, productivity and ease, all of which are deceptively dangerous.
Imagine a single 25 year old who’s just moved out of home into a one bedroom apartment. They work from home using Zoom, they eat at home using home delivery, they do their exercise on a delivered Peloton (paid for by their parents?), and they have relationships at home thanks to social media. There’s little reason for them to leave the couch. Check out this clip from one of the best, and most predictively accurate movies of all time, Wall-e and see what life will (and already is becoming) look like.
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This is an easy lifestyle to exemplify the issues with this increasingly efficient lifestyle, and I can hear you already saying what people who look after kids, what about carers, what about access for those with disability, what about those who have global roles. Yes, yes, yes, they are all reasons why increased flexibility of working conditions can have benefits – but they are not all reasons why we shouldn’t set the default to be work at work – if you can.
There are going to be increasing reasons why going to work will become increasingly difficult whether it be extreme environmental conditions, increased traffic, or having to work in places where one is not physically present. However, this chase for efficiency comes at a cost, and I (admittedly rather dramatically) think that cost is humanity.
Just like the characters in Wall-e (watch the clip) we begin to become less human, less conscious, and less able. The easier things become, the more sanitized our world becomes, the less we are able to build resilience and grow (psychologically and biologically).
We have a big curvy desk that winds its way through the office. The other day I was standing on one side of the desk and someone on the other wanted to show me something – she couldn’t just pass it over and she had to walk right around the office to get to me. In that moment of extreme inefficiency I watched as she had a couple of moments of incidental chats and when she arrived we laughed about how badly designed the office was. However, we also kind of recognized the beauty in the inefficiency (I hope).
So this is an invitation to everyone to get dressed, put up with traffic, get a coffee at the local café, make small talk in a lift, work with people and have conversations, drive home and then do it all again the next day. Now that may or may not sound like much fun, but the alternative looks far worse.
Adam Ferrier is a consumer psychologist, and founder of Thinkerbell
The fishy codenames of AMD’s upcoming RDNA 3 graphics lineup powering the Navi 3x GPUs for Radeon RX 7000 & Ryzen 7000 have been revealed.
AMD continues the aquatic fish codename trend with the next-gen RDNA 3 powered Navi 3x GPUs for Radeon RX 7000 & Ryzen 7000
Today, we find the remainder monikers for the other RDNA 3 architecture GPUs to be released soon. The new names for the soon-to-be-released graphics cards from AMD are:
Pretty Plum (AMD Radeon RX 7900)
Wheat Nas (AMD Radeon RX 7800 and 7700)
Hotpink Bonefish (AMD Radeon RX 7600)
pink sardines (AMD Ryzen 7000 and AMD Radeon 700M)
These will be used internally by the company to assist in tracing the development process of specific architectures, namely the company’s new graphics card products. With the release of the codenames for each model coming out in the following months, it will also be easier for industry insiders, tech websites, enthusiasts, and more to distinguish between the various models released. The codenames AMD uses are not for marketing purposes, as consumers will not see these names printed on boxes of GPUs from the company and partners.
Since May, we have known that AMD’s flagship GPU, Navi 31, was given the moniker “Plum Bonito,” but not one had heard of the company’s remaining GPU names. Navi 32 will carry the nickname “Wheat Nas,” while Navi 33 will be named “Hotpink Bonefish.”
AMD Pink Sardine APU, Source: Freedesktop via VideoCardz
The AMD Ryzen 7000 APU, which initially carried the name “Phoenix,” will now be referred to as “Pink Sardine.” The new APU will be the successor to Yellow Carp (also known as Rembrandt) and Green Sardine (also known as Cezanne).
The VideoCardz website notes that Pink Sardine has the identical PCI Device ID, 0x15E2, to four other codenames — Raven Ridge, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Yellow Carp. The company chooses to differentiate the APUs by PCI revisions instead of creating additional IDs for every APU released.
We have yet to see any other AMD RDNA 3 architecture-based graphics cards mentioned, especially for the company’s future console chips. However, as it is still relatively early in the release of the upcoming lines, it may be a few months before we find out more information from AMD.
The Western Bulldogs are set to be active in this year’s trade period, with another player linked with a Footscray move.
Plus Suns coach Stuart Dew confirms star Izak Rankine has a big decision to make on his future.
Get the latest player movement news and updates in AFL Trade Whispers!
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DOGS TO ‘POUNCE’ ON FATHER-SON CROW
The Western Bulldogs are reportedly “red hot” on luring Adelaide’s James Rowe away from South Australia for 2023 and beyond.
Rowe, whose father Stephen played for the Crows in the 90s, is out of contract at the end of the year after being snapped up with pick 38 in the 2020 AFL draft.
But the lack of new deal has some speculating Rowe won’t be at the club next season.
“James Rowe is probably not going to get a contract at the Crows, that’s the word,” SEN SA’s Andrew Hayes said.
“The word right now is he’s probably not going to get renewed. This is a bloke who has played 16 games this year and averaging 13 disposals which is marked as above average for a small forward.
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“He kicked two goals on the weekend (against North Melbourne) and was a late addition for Wayne Milera.”
It’s reported the Dogs were initially interested in Rowe back at the 2020 Draft, but due to Adelaide’s bid on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, they had to cough up enough points to match it.
“The Bulldogs are red hot into him. They were into him a couple of years ago, they were going to draft him, hence why the Crows had to nominate Jamarra Ugle-Hagan to get rid of a lot of their (the Bulldogs’) points,” Hayes said.
“They couldn’t accumulate enough points from draft picks to get to James Rowe so he could be on their list.
“Now it looks like the Bulldogs are set to pounce on James Rowe.”
Fellow SEN host Kane Cornes said Rowe “might get a better offer” from an interstate club that what he could expect from the Crows.
“I still think the Crows will offer him a contract, but whether it will be a bargain basement type set up or whether another club sees a different and a larger role for him to play,” he said.
“He might have a decision to make. It might be good for him to go to another club.
“He’ll be playing AFL football next year, I think it will still be at Adelaide but I wouldn’t be surprised if another club makes him feel a bit more loved than Adelaide has made him feel.”
Rowe played 19 games in his debut season and had featured 15 times this year – plus he was an unused medi sub for the clash with Collingwood in Round 18.
The Dogs have been strongly linked to Fremantle big man Rory Lobb this trade period, while there’s also reports of interest in Dockers swing man Griffin Logue.
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SUNS COACH ADMITS STAR HAS ‘BIG INCENTIVE’ TO DEPARTMENT
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has confirmed star Izak Rankine has received a big offer to join a rival club, with the 22-year-old out of contract at the end of the year.
Adelaide are reportedly offering the forward a five-year deal worth as much as $800,000 per season to return to his home state.
Speaking at his post match press conference on Saturday, Dew all but admitted the Suns weren’t able to match what was being offered to Rankine elsewhere.
“We certainly feel like we’ve got a great support system around him,” he said.
“We feel like we’ve put a lot of development into him and he’s starting to show where he can get to.
“When guys get to the end of their contracts, they’ve got decisions to make.
“And he’s certainly been given a big incentive to look elsewhere.”
It’s believed the Suns are offering Rankine around $650,000 per year.
Rankine has played 48 games for the Suns since being taken with pick three in the 2018 Draft.
He was taken the same year the Gold Coast snapped up Jack Lukosius (pick two) and injured forward Ben King (pick six).
“Heartbreak” awaits whoever finishes 6th | 02:27
Also taken in that draft year after Rankine were Connor Rozee (five), Bailey Smith (seven), Nick Blakey (10) and Zak Butters (12).
Just last week the Suns leadership group went public with their pleas for Rankine to remain at the club.
Co-captain Touk Miller made it clear that convincing the “special” small forward to stay was a top priority, having already re-signed Ben King, Jack Lukosius, Ben Ainsworth, Elijah Hollands and Mac Andrew this year.
“I know there’s a lot of speculation around him and his future, but for us we really want him to be at this club. He’s a special person, a special player,” Miller said.
“We’ve gone to him and had a few chats about how much he means to us and means to the club, so whether that plays a part in the decision, hopefully it does.”
A hairdresser who had joined her friend on a night out has been identified as the second victim of an “unprecedented” gangland execution in south-west Sydney.
Police believe Amy Hazouri, 39, may have been collateral damage when she was fatally shot inside a car alongside Sydney mother Lameta Fadlallah, 48, in Revesby on Saturday night.
The pair were sitting in a silver Toyota 4WD with a 16-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man when a gunman pulled up beside the vehicle and opened fire.
Ms Fadlallah died at the scene while Ms Hazouri was rushed to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition where she later succumbed to her injuries.
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Devastated colleagues at Ms Hazouri’s salon in Bankstown paid tribute to the respected hair stylist on Sunday.
“We are shattered, our heart is broken, you left us too soon,” the tribute read.
“May your memory be eternal god bless your soul until we meet again.”
The brazen assassination of two women has concerned police amid fears gangland bosses have torn up the “rulebook” which stipulated women and children were off limits in violent attacks.
“There used to be an unwritten law that you don’t touch family and you don’t touch women,” Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said on Sunday.
“That’s been thrown out of the window, they don’t care anymore.
“They don’t discriminate if you’re male or female. Every rule book has been thrown out, and that is concerning.”
Police believe the shooting was an organized attack and that the women and their friends were “heading for a night out” when they were set upon.
“One theory is that it was a targeted attack on the 48-year-old woman because of her past relationships with other known identities,” Mr Doherty said.
“It appears that the 39-year-old woman who was sitting next to her is just a completely innocent party to all this and she has lost her life as a result of this.”
Police said the two other occupants – a 16-year-old girl and 20-year-old man – were “incredibly lucky” to have escaped uninjured.
Detectives say “proactive policing” was now underway to prevent revenge attacks.
Strike Force Laurantus has been established, with assistance from gang squad officers as well as Strike Force Raptor – a taskforce focused on outlaw motorcycle gang activity.
“And it’s always concerning: What’s the repercussions of all this? But we’re going to be doing our best to try [to] suppress that,” Mr Doherty said.
Kmart shoppers have been warned after a sophisticated new scam involving air fryers was uncovered last week.
The ruse involves a deceiving post from a page called “Mega Sale” that purports to advertise the Philips 4.1L air fryer for $3 at Kmart stores.
In reality, that model of air fryer retails for $199 at the department chain.
At first glance, the Facebook post looks believable, including an official-looking Kmart price tag that reads: “Philips 4.1L air fryer Black with warranty $3.”
Additionally, the post tells shoppers they have a limited amount of time to snap up the deal because of high demand and the closure of Philips’ warehouse in Russia.
“Due to the closure of their warehouses with household goods in Russia. Philips company makes mega sale on the goods and Philips Air Fryer [is] one of them, promotional price till August 15 only $3,” the caption on the scam post reads.
“Hurry up, freebie will end soon!”
The elaborate scam used to con shoppers into buying more than they bargained for. Credit: Supplied (Facebook)
There was a mixed response online as some people identified the post as a scam straight away, however, others bought into it.
One of those who realized what it was tried to warn others in a Kmart shoppers Facebook group.
“Just saw this, please tell friends and family to be careful,” she wrote.
“I know many will look at this photo and see it’s a scam, but there are many people with disabilities or people who are elderly who aren’t as savvy.”
Despite her efforts, one-by-one disappointed shoppers admitted that they had been scammed.
“I fell for it and lost $500 – I pray others don’t do the same,” said one.
Another said: “My elderly mum fell for it, she felt it to me last night. Am now on the phone on the phone to the bank trying to help her.”
Kmart shoppers are being told to keep their money close to their chest after a sophisticated new scam involving air fryers was uncovered last week. Credit: Brent Lewis/Bloomberg
PerthNow understands that once an unwitting customer signs up for the air fryer, “Mega Sale” use customer credit card details to make more unauthorized payments.
Shockingly, some users claimed in the comment section that the scam was genuine and they were enjoying the use of their $3 air fryer — likely part of the scam.
“Thought that it was not the original, some kind of fake,” said one.
“But after I printed it out I was pleasantly surprised, it is the original. I advise everyone to take part, and I went to cook my husband dinner!”
This isn’t the first scam involving Kmart products this year. In July scammers claimed Kmart was selling the Nintendo Switch for just $2.95.
The ACCC’s Scamwatch says phishing scams – like this fake Kmart Facebook post – work by fooling consumers into believing they’re dealing with a genuine retailer.
“Phishing messages are designed to look genuine, and often copy the format used by the organization the scammer is pretending to represent, including their branding and logo,” it said.
“They will take you to a fake website that looks like the real deal but has a slightly different address. For example, if the legitimate site is ‘www.realbank.com.au’, the scammer may use an address like ‘www.reallbank.com’.
“If you provide the scammer with your details online or over the phone, they will use them to carry out fraudulent activities, such as using your credit cards and stealing your money.”
Scamwatch encourages consumers to report scams here.
Twitch star Timmy ‘iiTzTimmy’ An has, once again, been dominating in Apex Legends Season 14, but he’s got a few issues with the battle royale’s TTK.
Apex Legends Season 14: Hunted has brought about some of the biggest changes to Respawn Entertainment’s popular battle royale that we’ve seen in quite some time.
In addition to the new legend, Vantage, and the remodeling of Kings Canyon, the loot pool has been given an almighty shake-up – especially when it comes to the weapons that are scattered across the Apex Games.
One of the biggest concerns players have had about the new season is the addition of Skullpiercer rounds to weapons like the 30-30 Repeater and Wingman, with some believing it is completely “broken” already. In the case of iiTzTimmy, he’s got a few issues with it things too, notably with the TTK (Time to Kill).
iiTzTimmy annoyed by TTK in Apex Legends
During his August 11 stream, the Apex Legends phenom was asked for his new thoughts on the season and quickly noted that he has been enjoying it, though the TTK changes cause headaches.
“I feel like anytime I get shot, I’m almost dead, every single time,” the streamer said. “Like, the Time to Kill in this season is so f**king fast now. You’ve got the Skullpiercer Longbow, Skullpiercer 30-30, Skullpiercer Wingman, two shots and I’m f**king 1HP.
“I got this guy ramping up af**king cannon on me, pushing me with a PK, f**king EVA double tap. God damn. F**king bowing me for half a second and I’m 1HP again too, Jesus Christ. I’m just getting f**ked, man.”
While the changes are designed to level the playing field somewhat, if things are still getting out of hand after a few weeks, Respawn may have to step in and take a look at things.
It remains to be seen if that will happen, so we’ll just have to keep an eye on what the devs have planned for changes.
