Tail

• Optronics' new Thinline surface-mount lamps broaden the industry's first FMVSS/CMVSS 108-compliant family of smoke-lens, LED stop, turn, tail, backup and clearance marker lamp family.
• Optronics' entire family of blackout-style lamps will be on display to the industry during the NTEA Work Truck Week 2024, March 5–8, 2024, in booth 952.
• – Dustin Smith
  The two new, thin, surface-mount-style lamps are the latest additions to Optronics' family of eight smoke-lens LED lights.
• As the sole commercial lighting manufacturer to offer genuinely compliant blackout lights, Optronics has met market demand head-on.

• For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings.
• The latest instalment, Nemesis, dealing with the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison years, is the fourth of these series since the pioneering Labor in Power screened in 1993 chronicling the Hawke-Keating era.
• The Howard Years (2008) and The Killing Season (2015) followed examining respectively the Howard and Rudd-Gillard governments.
• By contrast, The Killing Season and Nemesis focus predominantly on the leadership wars that blighted Australian politics between 2007 and 2022.
• The most striking takeaway from Nemesis is that the Coalition’s decade in office from 2013 to 2022 was a time of abject irresponsibility.

The Abbott years

• It was a catalogue of swingeing cuts and broken promises (Abbott had pledged no cuts to health or education during the 2013 election campaign).
• The Abbott government never really recovered.
• Chastened by that result, Abbott then caused incredulity among colleagues by proclaiming that “good government begins today”.
• According to Turnbull, Abbott did not welcome the approach, telling him “to fuck off”.

The Turnbull years

• The public were relieved to see the back of Abbott and welcomed enthusiastically the ostensibly progressive Turnbull.
• Attorney-general in the government, George Brandis, refers to the Faustian bargain Turnbull had made to win the prime ministership.
• Dutton, the right-wing hard man who Turnbull scathingly describes as “a thug”, challenged for the leadership, losing relatively narrowly.
• A revelation about events during that febrile week is that Turnbull considered heading off his opponents by calling an election.
• The episode ends with Turnbull offering another pungent character assessment, this time of his successor: “duplicitous”.

The Morrison years

• It errs towards generosity to Morrison, not fully capturing why his leadership became a byword for inauthenticity, a prime minister whose obsession with the theatre of politics consistently trumped substance.
• The episode recalls many of the notorious statements made by Morrison, which by suggesting he was evading responsibility, was a bully or lacked empathy corroded his public image, especially among women voters.
• Asked about the comments, Morrison admits to poor choices of words.
• Nemesis shows that the COVID pandemic was both a blessing and curse for the Morrison government.
• Morrison then expended dwindling political capital by fruitlessly pursuing religious rights protections, causing ructions with Liberal moderates.
• We are left with the suspicion that once again Morrison is bending the truth.

A decade of banality and pettiness

• Participants in the documentary draw on classical allusions in making sense of the chaos.
• We are told, for instance, that the leadership feud between Abbott and Turnbull was Shakespearean.
• Yet what Nemesis exposes is the banality of these events and the pettiness of the actors.
• The post-Menzies Liberal triumvirate of Harold Holt, John Gorton and William McMahon were respectively overwhelmed by the office, reckless and pygmy like.

Paul Strangio received funding from the Australian Research Council in the past.

• Micellar water, a product found in supermarkets, chemists and bathroom cabinets around the world, is commonly used to remove make-up.
• So, what is micellar water and why is it so good at getting makeup and sunscreen off?

What are micelles?

• But micellar water products contain something called micelles – clusters of molecules that are very effective at removing oily substances.
• To understand why, you need to first know two chemistry terms: hydrophilic and hydrophobic.
• Hydrophilic materials will happily mix with other hydrophilic materials.

How are micelles formed? It’s all about surfactants

The micelles in micellar water are formed by special molecules known as surfactants. Surfactant stands for surface active agent. These molecules looked at their hydrophilic and hydrophobic brethren and said, why not both? They are typically comprised of two ends: a head group that is hydrophilic and a tail that is hydrophobic.

• The hydrophilic head wants to be in the water, but the hydrophobic tail can’t stand water.
• Add enough surfactant and, eventually, we will pass a critical micelle concentration and the surfactants will self-assemble into clusters of approximately 20 to 100 surfactant molecules.

• These micelles have a hydrophilic exterior, meaning that they are very happy to remain mixed throughout water.
• This is very handy, and helps explain why adding some detergent (a surfactant) to water will allow you to wash an oily saucepan.

Micellar water in action

• In all of these cases, they are there to help the water interact with the dirt and oils, and micellar water is no different.
• When you apply some micellar water to a cotton pad, another convenient interaction occurs.
• Look at how a cotton wipe soaked in micellar water cleans up a small oil spill, in comparison to water alone.

So why shouldn’t I just use dishwashing detergent to wash my face?

• But these particular surfactants would probably cause a lot of skin and eye irritation, while also damaging and drying out your skin.
• The surfactants in micellar water are chosen to be mild and well tolerated by most people’s skin.
• There are many other face-cleaning products that also make great use of surfactant molecules and work very well too.
• If your skin is feeling irritated after using a micellar water product, you can try rinsing afterwards or discontinuing use.

Daniel Eldridge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• Suddenly, the peace was broken by the scream of a fishing reel as a four-metre-long blue marlin (Makaira mazaraburst) burst from the water.
• For the next hour the giant fish surged, leapt and tail walked, as my best friend and fishing companion mostly just held on.
• Recreational fishing for the largest species and individual fish in the sea like this is often called trophy fishing.

What’s the catch?

• Notably, in the 1950s, the average record-holding fish weighed a hefty 168kg, but this figure fell drastically to just 8kg in the 2010s.
• The fish are not shrinking, instead anglers are now targeting a broader range of smaller species.
• However, this might signal a concerning decline in the population of larger fish species.
• Comparing the last decade (2010–2018) to the 2000s, there has been a roughly 66% decrease in records for these at-risk species.

Tackling sustainability

• This approach records the length of the fish rather than weight, enabling it to be released without needing to kill it.
• Although releasing fish does not guarantee survival, that can be maximised by using the right gear and careful handling.
• From this year, the UK government has authorised a catch and release only recreational fishery for these fish.
• With continued careful management this should bring exciting angling, social and economic benefits for years to come.

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• Bryce Stewart receives funding from Defra and UK Research and Innovation.
• He is a member of the Marine Conservation Society and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and sits on the Marine Stewardship Council Stakeholder Advisory Council.