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didn't you leave the flying forum because someone was bullying you. i see your quite happy to bully me though.

they build highways properly in the pilbara to handle 200 ton roadtrains. fantastic roads there. they also handle huge rainfall at times and blistering heat . admittedly the iron ore industry is a good incentive to build such good roads.

double road trains are running everywhere on the east coast now.

The QANTAS lay-offs begin next year. The problem is that not only are current jobs being lost, but the ability for Australia to train our young people in AI development. In other words, the loss of jobs is alo a massive brain drain.

Actuyallk my gripe about the route over the Blue Mountains relates to the fact that the Minns government sput the stoppers on the tunnel, yet they will spend billions on roads criss-crossing Sydney. I can bitch and carry on about time taken to do the trip, but after nearly five years doing it, I know how long the different sections take to travel and where I can stop for refreshment. But I'm not counting the economics of teh delays that poor road causes. I should really be bitching about what those delays cost me when I go to my local supermarket to buy my Weet Bix and frozen veggies. Not to mention the extra cost for other goods that have to be transported from the coast. Those costs must be playing havoc with the viablility of so many businesses west of the Divide. In that video it mentions the multi-lane road on the western side of Mt Victoria which was supposed to form the exit to the tunnel. The road bypasses the locality of Little Hartley. A few years ago a business started there selling lollies. It did alrigh until one night it was struck by lightning and the shop burned down. So the owners rebuilt and re-opened, still doing a good trade. The the bypass opened and traffic no longer goes past its door. I believe the business now gets a lot of its sales on line, as well as from the trade of people who knew it before the bypass and are willing to pull off the main road to shop there.

There is an alternate route. It means going on the Golden Highway towards Newcastle, then down the M1 to Hornsby then the M2/M7/M5 to my journey's end. Accordning to Google Maps that involved 6 h 31 m drivng time. which is about an hour more than what it used to take me when the route over Mt Victoria was open. That time also depends on traffic flow on the M2/M7 stretch which can be a bitch in the afternoon when I would be going through there. I suppose I should go that way next time. I'm bored shitless going down through Mudgee and Lithgow. But that route takes 5h 30m and is about 100 kms shorter (that's 7.5 litres of fuel in my car).

If you had Taipans there Marty you'd want to be wearing leather pants. They have a bad habit of rearing up and striking passing vehicles. I've had one strike at a Toyota at the top of the wheel level. Tiger snakes up here do the opposite. With an approaching vehicle they do a big aerial backflip and go in the opposite direction.

You don't HAVE to go that way. Nev

The Managers don't care about that. More about the value of their shares. Announced just before Christmas. Nice timing QANTAS. Nev

Yeah - data centre proponents keep saying that AI will increase productivity. That's great for shareholders. They never mention that this will come at the expense of jobs. What's the point of great productivity if the population is unemployed?

Saw my first snake of the summer today - just avoided running over him on the bike, which could have been nasty for both of us.

I didn't disagree. I just thought the idea dwelt in a world of fantasy.

Ignore OME Jerry, I agree with you.

This is why I don't want to drive to Sydney anymore. If I did, I have to use this route and I can tell you, it's rooted.

You poor, poor dreamer.

Gilgandra is a typical inland town. The local indigenous mob are the Widjuri, with Gamillaroi as next-door neighbours. Our Op Shop gets trade from the residents of the town and surrounding towns, as well as the travellers (who make up a large part of our customer base).. For the size of the indigenous population in the area, we see very few of them in the shop. The word is that the indigenous people are not doing it so tough and can afford to buy from the major chain stores.

The ex colleague I had lunch with yesterday who has been unemployed for some time. She works at the coal face in IT and says at that level, it is now who you know and not what you know. Her last three gigs were as a result of contacts. Some of it is displacement by AI. Some of it is offshored. In the absence of a complete tax overhaul so mega profits can be taxed to support s population for which there will be very few jobs at he coal face, I suggested a tax on jobs offshored (so not technically displaced by AI). If a company has operations in Australia and a job is being performed overseas in direct support of the Australian operations, then the firm should have to pay a tax to cover the displacement of the local working population. For new foreign start ups, they have a year to ramp up their local employment after which the tax will apply. Of course there are some pragmatic hurdles that have to be overcome such as identifying the roles overseas, but governments have put in "solutions" for trickier issues.. I am sure the right brains applied could come up with something no matter how imperfect

My MIL volunteers in an op shop (called charity shop in the UK). They benefit from full relief of business council tax (rates) and of course, largely volunteers (I think there i a paid manager - but they will not be on much money). My MIL said revenues are up since the cost of living crisis, and that people who one would not normally associate with sopping at op shops. I wonder if that is the same here (in Aus as I type ;-))

I suppose someone at QANTAS used AI to prepare a Press statement dealing with the loss of 800 jobs in Australia and the gain of jobs for some Indian AI swaetshop.

Tell me about it! People bring in all sorts of things to the Op Shop - bags and bags of clothes, shoes, bags, bric-a-brac like crockery. We go through it all and sort the saleable from the rubbish. We end up sending unwanted clothing to go to Africa (allegedly). Yesterday I sent away 220 kgs of clothing. That was after I had taken a ute load of solids to the tip to go into landfill. We are lucky in that our local tip does not charge us for that. Getting rid of this stuf costs Lifeline and Vinnies thousands of dollars each year. On the bright side, our Op Shop has distributed over $100,000 within the community over the past three years and still has a helthy amount of funds on hand. It is marvellous how much money an Op Shop can make selling just about everything at less than $5 each. It helps that it is fully volunteer run with no wages, but rent and consumables do take a bit each month.

The cane toads must still be in hibernation. We've had 19" of rain in October and not a toad to be seen. What made me think of it is that I've been hearing a big old bullfrog today.

A postscript to the above. I checked out the profile of one Marketplace seller using AI to write the product description. He had a heap of listings and every one of them had AI descriptions that are very long, overly verbose blocks of text with no paragraphing and no human input. As an example, here's his listing description for a $20 second-hand sledge hammer, just a cheap Supercraft brand like you buy at bunnings: 'The Supercraft sledge hammer is a utilitarian tool designed for heavy-duty industrial and construction applications. Known for its durable forged steel head and reinforced fibreglass handle, it emphasizes safety and ergonomic vibration dampening. Historically, such tools represent the evolution of manual labor equipment, moving from traditional wood handles to synthetic materials for improved longevity and shock absorption. While not typically considered a high-value collectible, it is highly valued by contractors, DIY enthusiasts, and tradespeople for its reliability and robust craftsmanship. Its market value is primarily driven by its functional utility rather than rarity, making it a staple in workshops rather than display collections.' All his listing descriptions are much the same. In his possible defence, he has a Russian or Ukrainian surname so it's possible his English skill level is not good enough to understand how idiotic that stuff reads. To be honest, some of them are quite funny even though they're not meant to be.

Starting to see the occasional Facebook Marketplace seller using AI to write a product description of what they are trying to sell. It just reads as flowery AI waffle with no description or details of the actual item. Any seller reading that drivel would just think 'f***ing clown' and move on. It's no way to sell anything, especially if it's combined with photos that don't help to identify brand, model etc..

That's shameful. People trying to do the right thing and its all a hoax. Nev

My daughter asked the garbage truck driver whether she has to separate the cardboard from the glass now that she has been given a third bin. He said do what you like, it all goes into my truck and into landfill.