Reporter’s diary

Press, 9 October 1982, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Name games

EXPORTERS of one of New Zealand’s newest sub-tropical crops, the babaco, have, run into a problem. It appears that babaco, a word of South American origin, is also a Japanese word. In Japanese, babaco means a woman of doubtful character. The babaco season will , begin soon in the north of the North Island, and as Japan is one of the brightest export prospects for the fruit, one babaco grower has already decided on a name change. In Japan, the babaco will be known as “mountain papaya,” while everywhere else it will retain its original name. The babacos grown in New Zealand are papaya hybrids and originally came from high altitudes in Ecuador. They have adapted well to New Zealand's warmer frost-free areas and are poised to become another

horticultural export success. Showed success THE ORGANISERS of the first Southern Machinery Show, held at Canterbury Court this week, hope that it will become a regular event on manufacturers’ calendars. Almost 5000 trade visitors from throughout New Zealand and as far away as Sydney attended the show, which covered the engineering, woodworking, printing, food processing and materials-handling industries. Evidence of the show’s success came in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sales made by exhibitors. Universe tamed? THE “National Geographic" magazine has sent letters to its subscribers advising them of special offers which will be available to them in the

near future. They include exclusive maps of various regions and areas, one of which is puzzling at least one Christchurch subscriber. The map is to be of “The Universe.” No scale is mentioned, and, assuming that the universe is infinite, the subscriber is wondering how it can be recorded on a map. Smelly props FARMYARD smells will accompany a three-dimensional film as one of the features of a proposed agrodome at Dairy Flat, near Auckland. As the film “enters” the silage pit, the odour of silage will waft across the audience. Then, as it moves on past the pigs, there will be a “piggy” .small. The 1350 square metre agrodome aims to show tourists how the typical New Zealand farm works. The film will run and, when it comes to the rele-

vant part, the screen will roll away and allow for a practical demonstration of cow milking, sheep shearing and farm dogs working. The agrodome will also feature a deer farm, bush walks and farm animals on the 42ha property. The proposal has caused consternation among nearby residents. The Rodney County Council has received more than 80 objections and may have to hold a special hearing.

Pulse rate AN AMERICAN laboratory has put 18 lasers on an optical processor about half the size of an average full stop. Optical chips are seen as key elements in the next generation of communications systems. The fastest silicon chips can pulse 33 billion times a second, but optical chips can pulse a thousand times faster.