Jetstar Bubble Trouble

Bubble-baths can be lotsa fun, except when they get outta hand.
In Australia, the Qantas subsidiary airline Jetstar has had two of its A320s put out of action for a couple of weeks because of...bubbles!
A helluva lot of them!!
The planes were smothered in a sea of fire-retardant foam on 23 April, when wild storms raging through the Newcastle region of New South Wales triggered the fire system in a maintenance hangar. As you can see, just a tiny wee bit of tidying-up to do...!
Jetstar expects the A320s will be back in service by mid-May, but the airline needs to test wiring at its maintenance base first, before it can work on the planes.
The two narrowbodies affected when the fire system tripped were VH-VQW and VH-VQC. VH-VQW was completely inside the hangar and suffered damage to its engines, computer and electrical systems. VH-VQC had its nose inside the hangar at the time of the incident and suffered engine damage.
Well, if it's any consolation, at least Jetstar now knows its fire-retardant systems do work!

Aliens Among Us

A new species of whale may be cruising the icy cold waters of the Antarctic.
Scientists have recorded a unique whale song, which they can't identify, in the area. Evidence is tantalising, rather than strong, as the song could be from one of a few known species of beaked whale. But it's structure doesn't quite fit any known beaked whales... leaving open the possibility it's from a new species.
Although beaked whales comprise the 2nd-largest cetacean family (the group containing whales and dolphins), they're one of the most poorly-known groups of all large mammals.

Cuvier's beaked whales: it wasn't US!

All beaked whales are extremely elusive, diving deeply (to depths of over 9,000ft!!!) and spending very little time at the surface, which makes them difficult to spot. But they do produce unique sounds for echolocation, that scientists can use to track their movements.
New species of beaked whale are still being discovered - in 2014, a new discovery brought the total number of species to 22.
This strange signal, known as the Antarctic BW29 signal, was recorded more than 1000 times. It's unique in both its timing and the type of sounds making up the signal.
As well as BW29, the researchers also recorded another unique call on six other occasions, dubbed Antarctic BW37. This second signal was produced at a higher frequency. It's unknown yet whether this belongs to a different beaked whale species than the one producing Antarctic BW29.
So there's only one thing to do: allow Japanese "research" vessels down there to hunt the sources of BW29 and BW37, so they can carry out extensive "studies"...before they eat 'em!

Paddock Porn? Or Farm Fun?

An Aussie farmer could be deep in the excrement, after some country creativity.

Bruce Cook, who owns Kaktus Point Charolais stud at Lake Charm in northwest Victoria, made a sculpture out of hay bales, depicting a cow and a bull doin' da wild thang.
Police told him to pull it down, after they received a complaint about its 'offensive' nature. Bruce built his realistic artwork for a bit of fun - he says many passersby have enjoyed his sculpture and even stopped to take photos.
He's refused to deconstruct it, and reckons he "told the copper to piss off" despite warnings that he could be charged with publishing pornographic images:

It's just business as usual...

"I'm not going to take it down unless I receive a court order."
Cook says he'll be adding fairy lights to the structure and an extra two straw calves, made out of stuffed feed bags, to complete the sculpture. He's not fazed by the complaints but doesn't understand why anyone would find it insulting.
The local Kerang Police Station has not laid any charges yet - the matter's still under investigation.
You gotta wonder what type of warped womble would find this wee bit of farm fun offensive...!
I say: GO for it, Cooky!