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IF Nuclear is so good More of it would be being ordered. It NEEDS lots of Water and with the Climate changing that water cannot be guaranteed. Things that Need cooling are adding heat to the equation. The heat energy that solar uses comes here anyhow reliably,safely and free.. OF all Places on earth, Australia Has to be one of the best Places for it. Nev

The Private sector Makes a Profit and the TAXpayers carry the Risks. Nev

If you recall, there was a huge incentive to get coal fired power going. It was called state ownership.. Once the risk was taken out of it, the private sector were availed the profits.

That really is clutching at straws - or pearls... Nuclear power stations close down for refuelling, too... Was 30 days per shutdown when I was in the game. I know, because our software saved a whole 2 days per shutdown. Which was a big deal and saved a couple of million per shut down.

Yeah.. I did get carried away, and was putting off yet another tip run. I did have one prior to judgement day.. I am not going to try and influence the results. After this one, I think I will retire from heritage refurbs.. The latest on the reno, which just gets more depressing, is that SWMBO called me at work in a mild panic that the power had gone out. Got the sparky around and there was some shorting in the basement that was throwing the RCDs. More inspection yielded corroded switches from a long gone damp issue, and more rewiring required. ` Having said that, I do follow a youtiber who tours rural towns in different stages of decline or prosperity, and have seem some tempting properties: https://www.youtube.com/@DaveWithoutAMap Here's one of towns in SA: Now, as it is still early, I am going to go and fill the car, which seems to be dying a slow death, with junk to take to the tip.

The system knows that and is built to cope. It's NOT built to cope with a Massive failure like this situation Causes. There's none so blind as those who will NOT see.. This IS a Catastrophe that will cost a fortune in Lost Productivity.. There's also a safety risk. Nev

Energy industry is not a level playing field. Just look at the financial assistance we taxpayers presently give to the coal industry. It would be fair play if our governments (all brands) simply stopped subsidising coal. But failing that, alternatives need some subsidy to level the financial playing field. I asked A.I. and this is what it said about subsidies: "Yes, coal mining in Australia receives government subsidies, with federal and state assistance totaling $16.3 billion in 2025–26,......"

To Increase the Uptake I would suggest, as it's in everyone's interest.. Nev

If it makes sence, why the incentives?

once in how many years,solar shuts down evert night

Aahhhh, that were surely the toffs version!

'Twas on the good ship Venus, By Christ you should have seen us, The first mate's name was Carter By gad he was a farter! When the wind wouldn't blow And the ship wouldn't go They'd get Carter the farter to start her. However, the lyrics exist in numerous variations. The line I know, and which refers to my ealier post finishes the Carter verse as The first mate's name was Carter By gad he was a farter! From the hole in his ring He'd play God save the king And Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Don't cast your vote before the results come in. I think it will be a Test win for Australia.

OME. It depends where the harmonica goes. Nev

..... run by counts? Nev

Are burps and farts organ music?

Re: Our roads.... We're presently camped un Victor Harbour, S.A. My observation .... All roads in all states have been deteriorating over the past 10 years. Qld & N.S.W. are often referred to as 'narrow gauge'. Once you cross the state borders into NT / S.A. it's called 'wide gauge' (railway reference) and roads improve noticably. This trip we found S.A. roads uncomfortable - to the point of reducing highway speed for safety reasons. But since you have a flair for heritage restorations, I can recommend South Australia. The place is dotted with quaint old stone buildings in all states of need!

P.S. don't bother with the Cadbury's.

Wow, A Long read....... I need a nap now.

I didn't get to my bike today - that will have to wait until tomorrow now as revving it in the village at 6:30pm is probably not a welcome idea. And we have guests in the cottage. Anyway, I thought I would take the time out to muse a little more about the good, the bad, the ugly, and the meh! First, I took some video and combined it, spliced, sped up the boring bits, and didn't add music to the sped up bits. But it was made to show the offspring what they are missing out on more than anything else. And I have to say, it does show off the good a bit, despite a) the poor photography as I am pretty self-conscious when filming in public, and b) I left both my car camera mount and the base of the camera that plugs to mounts at home.. getting a cheap but good enough mount wasn't the issue - getting a camera base - even at JB Hi Fi - was. So a lot of the car shots are either me holding the camera in my hand, or when I was driving, perched on the door between the wing mirror and what used to be the vent windows.. I am not sure what those windows that no longer open are called now. And, the melodic beeping you occasionally hear is the deat belt sensors failing to realise I had my seatbelt on (it was an old car my brother has for when his daughters visit from interstate). Warning, it is 30+ minutes of boredom for many. Here is the vid: Note, it is Queenscliff and not Portarlington Ferry Terminal.. I wasn't concentrating. OK, back to the observations: The ABC - If you watched the vid where I was driving, I had radio national on. This is an absolute national treasure. I know some on here (and elsewhere) would like it defunded as it reports the facts regardless of who the subject is of, and let's face it, those that call for it to be defunded seem to have their delicate sensitivities offended. But there was all sorts of great reporting - from nutrition, medicine to politics ( foreign politics was very good, tooo), finance, and the like. There was a story about a couple entrepreneurial students from New Orleans who through recycling glass bottle back into sand and has sparked a movement of rebuilding coastlines as a result. Some would have said they were woke not letting the bottles go back to landfill, but they are now making millions.. So, big tick for the Aunty - I feel it is much better than the BBC now, although I was listening to BBC4 today and the comedy (real) was still as good as ever. Although Melbournites more or less seem content and relaxed, I can't help but think they must be nornally very uptight because virtually every street corner with shops has a Thai massage place. What is that about? I am sure some of them offer more than just traditional type massages, but the lot of them? No wonder men walk around content and smiling these days 😉 When I went for my flight at Moorabbin (YMMB), I arrived quite a bit earlier than I needed to. I am still aghast at the development that has gone on in that precinct, but if it means keeping the airport going, it is a necessary evil. I am still ropeable about the demise of the, admittedly old playground and BBQ, which would bring impressionable minds into aviation; but they do have a space and a park bench next to the airport terminal. Still, compared to most "major" GA airfields here (of which there are fewer and fewer), it is an absolute asset. I also noticed from the Tulla freeway that Essendon airport has had a lot of development as well, but as I didn't go into it proper, I will reserve opinion until I next visit (about to book another flight - late October). The bureaucracy at YMMB has increased. I am not going to go into the ASIC requirement, but I overheard a few people at RVAC still complaining about it. As I was a "student" for the flight I took, it did not matter too much. But the requirement to wear a high vis, although a minor annoyance. I asked if I needed to as the instructor had one and I was being escorted by her on the airfield, but apparently them the rules. When I disrobed of the high vis in the plane, the instructor was a little surprised, but I explained to her they are quite flammable and we don't want to be wearing one in the cockpit if a fire breaks out or we do need to do a real forced landing - so, no - it wasn't a protest. But, the requirement at the end of the day is a niggle rather than anything really painful (such as the ASIC, but you can read about that by others on the other site). Onto the roads. Yes, the potholes in Victoria are a bit of a disgrace, but to be fair, the UK tookl a very long tome to sort out their problem after the perennial wet, they still form faster than they can be fixed. However, I think leaving them unattended on the Hume Highway is really not good. I have no idea how the other states are going on that front.. But apart from that, while the services (petrol station, plus dunny/showers + food) along the Hume highway was improved with more of them, they still do have a way to go.. They are more like outback roadhouses than proper services. And the food variety seemed a little bland. The same on the Goulburn Valley Highway - but that is probably more expected. But, on the plus side, the traffic from Thomastown part of the Hume out seems to run much better than it did... and even coming back from Tocumwal on a Friday afternoon it moved well to some new Freeway (Greensborough?). And generally, all the new link roads are great - although as I am a stingy bar steward, I avoided the tolls where I could. The speed limits are generally pretty good, but I am not convinced of the 40kph limit while passing through the shopping strips is really required given the visibility drivers have even in peak hour... but what was worse is many were permanent, so at 10pm, when there is no-one at these strip shopping centres, one still has to crawl. But, it is better than London and almost all of Wales, where all streets are 20mph (30kpm) regardless of the road or the time. The cost of food is still a bit more expensive is Aus than it is in the UK on a like for like basis. But, the seafood is hardly comparable - It is soooo much better in Aus than the UK (cod excepted).. But I cannot understand why at the Vic Market food hall, all the snapper was from NZ. I heard that commercial fishing has been banned in Port Philip Bay (not sure if it was here or from someone when in Aus), but surely we can get it from local stocks around the coast that fly it in from NZ. Come to think about it, I didn't see any garfish. But, while the food is more expensive, whereas last time I came out here, I would say the supermarket quality of the food was better in the UK, it seems to have turned around. I think the quality in Aussie supermarkets is better than it was.. But also, since Brexit, there has been a drop in quality of food in the UK. I had a watermelon here the other day from Waitrose, which is a better supplier, and it had no seeds, no flavour, and less water.. it was actually quite awful. But, I am sorry to say, the beef in the UK is still better than the beef in Australia (OK, I didn't get to sample King Island beef). In the supermarkets, it is about the same price on a $/£ basis and if I compare Tesco to Coles, which are pitched at around the same market demographic, Tesco meat is better... But the independent butchers in the UK by and large have much better meat than the independent butchers I saw in Australia (and I went to my brother's local, which is in an area of middle-high income, so I would guess they would need to do good meat in relative terms to stay afloat). Also, I noticed supermarket cheeses seems to have improved immensely in Aus compared to what they were. They still don't do a lot of goats cheeses though. One the eating out.. KFC in Australia leaves the UK equivalent for dust. If you like dry, tasteless chicken and a scrooge serving of soggy chips, the UK is for you. I needed to confirm to my son KFC was still better and it had not dropped in quality in Aus since I last lived there. And the chips were not quite as good as I remember them, but they were still pretty good for KFC. And the large serving was large.. not a small paper bag we used to get 5 cents of lollies in. Rural take away food shops have changed a little and don't seem to be as good as they were and I didn't try a Melbourne Fish and Chips (I meant to go to the F&C shop I used to go to as a teenager and young adult - in North Road, Ormond.. but didn't get there). I am happy to say though, that the potato cakes (scallops to other states) and dim sims are still delicious - even though I didn't get a steamed dim sim. And, I didn;t have a counter meal when I was in Tocumwal, so I can't compare them. In fact, I only went into a pub twice - once with my brother on Burke Road at the boundary of Hawthorn and Camberwell (Camberwell is a dry suburb - or was). This pub was a "historical" pub, which is why I wanted to go in. But the interior was uber modern and completely characterless. At least the lemon lime and bitters was good (I still haven't had a drop since early or mid March). So, there was no way we were eating there. Asian (oriental) restaurants and takeaways have exploded in Melbourne; Mainly Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean. Thai restaurants seem to be about the same number. We ate at a couple of local restaurants to my brother's house and they were very good, I have to say. One was a hole in the wall on Glenferrie road, and it was always packed. One was quite fancy, but for three of us (no booze), it came to $130 for a mian each + soft drinks, which, given the quality of the food and the elegance of the place seemed very reasonable - much cheaper than similar in the UK (although Oriental Asian food in the UK sucks). Actually, I did have a counter meal. We ate at a pub in Portalington (can't remember what it was called, but it is the main one), and I had flathead. The pub's was recently brought back to life from a derelict building (I understand) and it was sympathetically restored. The food was OK - I don't think the flathead was fresh (i.e. I think they bought it frozen). Again, this could have something to do with a ban on commercial fishing in Port Philip Bay - if there is one. Although you would think given how close to the heads they are, they could get commercial fishing in the Tasman Sea. By the way, the Bellarine Peninsula has come along in leaps and bounds and is a real challenger to the Mornington Peninsula as a horse, tourist, and wine region. And Geelong is far nicer than it used to be. They have done a superb job of the foreshore area, the CBD, and surrounds. Because of the bypass to the peninsula, I didn't get to see Belmont and the other burbs. And the old part of the Ford Factory seems to have been given a new lease of life as a technology hub. Although my mother lives in Healesville, I didn't get a chance to get to a winery - my mother preferring the RSL or the RACV Club. These were, I guess, also counter meals, but obviously not pubs. The RSL food was what British would call good pub grub - but I don't recall Weiner Schnitzels on the menu. The RACV Club was quite good food.. a cut above good pub grub.. And the portions were such that we only ordered starters/entrees and a side salad. Sadly, I didn't get to visit any of my favourite vineyards such as Yering Station, Coldstream Hills and a few others. But they all look as good as they did. I passed Lilydale airfield a couple of times - I would liken it to Popham here. I have to be honest, despite the rich aviation history in the UK, the successive governments of both colours have been far better at ruining it here than in Australia. Australia gets a big plus for aviation still. I didn't get to a footy game in the end. The game my brother and I planned to go to - Richmond v Hawthorn - ended up being at the same time as my mother's scans,; and we couldn't be bothered going to games of teams neither of us supported. Public transport in Melbourne is much better than it was. I actually got some sentimental joy reminiscing the trams by their route numbers that I used to commute or just travel with. The public transport is as cheap as chips, and free tram rides in the city is fantastic. Not only that, but the tram network makes short trips so convenient. And the underground stations - while no where near as extensive as other cities of a now similar population - is clean, the trains are largely clean and everyone seems almost considerate. I did look at a potential retirement property at Tocumwal that I wanted to develop into a tourism business with an aviation focus as well. I may have mentioned I ended up meeting my ab initio flight instructor who moved there, so that was a really nice surprise on the trip. Sadly, whilst I love the property, at this stage, the amount of development due to its position and some of the features of the land would make it a little out of my financial reach and I am not sure there could be a sufficient return in my lifetime to justify it. I did meet the Berrigan council to discuss. Without an appointee and just rocking up after opening, the planning and building officers made time to speak to me. Despite some of the people I spoke to in Tocumwal being quite disparaging of the council, I found them knowledgeable and quite accommodating. They listened to my idea, offered practical advice, and were very welcoming of business development and let me know that they were there to assist getting suitable developments through. It really was a breath of fresh air. So well done to Berrigan Shire Council. Oh, by the way, if you think Victorian roads are crap, the NSW side of the border were distinctly worse - though less potholes. I may still buy the property to live in, but I will have to fall back to plan B for my aviation tourism idea. In fact, at a slightly different location, I can focus on different markets. What else was there? Oh.. yeah.. Some are not going to like this, but I found the younger as in adult, but say, about 25 years and up) Aussie women more attractive than when I was in that generation, but still a little behind their UK counterparts. But, I will say, I think immigration has had something to do with it. The complexions seem smoother, hair shinier, and I think a more olive, less pale complexion lifts it. I am certainly not into Oriental women, but some of the younger women who had Oriental genes but clearly not from both parents were very attractive. Also, the young men seemed a little sharper and snappy as well. Maybe I am just getting old, too.. Or maybe it is because the food and lifestyle is better than when I was young. But whatever it is, it didn't go unnoticed - nor by the friend I caught up with who was originally from the Mornington Peninsula and worked for me 10 or so years ago in London, and moved back recently agreed.. So it isn't just me. Of course, it is entirely subjective. On the motorcycling side of things, it was a bit disappointing to hear from the Honda dealer I went into that they only get about 1/2 of the model range in Australia, and he was insisting it was the same for the major Japanese manufacturers. I didn't check out Triumph, but the Harley Davidson dealer between Chirnside Park and Box Hill (Can't recall the name of the suburb - think it starts with N, but is not Nunawading) seemed to have a full completment of models available. Sadly, I am not a Harley type rider. Oh, and those bike shops on Elizabeth street are long gone. That is a shame. Also a Peter Stevens shop on I think it was Cantebury road had closed down. Boo! And of course, the reason I was there was to see my mother and help my brother start planning. It was sad to see her starting to deteriorate due to dementia. But we looked at homes, and all I can say is the system is far better in Australia than the UK. Yes, the public ones could do with improvement, but compared to here, they are very, very good. We also looked at private care homes, and the funding model here means you don;t lose your house (as the cared for). But, one gripe is that.. it is a bloody big place and I didn't get to do what I thought I could do while I was there. I guess there were 6 of my days spent in Healesville, but here is what is on the list next time: Mornington Peninsula and to T'Gallant Winery at least (assuming they are still going). Celia's White Pinot and Willow Creek Chardonnay were to die for. And by the time I get out again, I will be off the wagon (but not on the flagon). Apollo Bay If my son comes out for a recce, it will be Brisbane as well (He is now wanting to go to Uni Queensland) If the cricket has started and is in Melbourne, a game. More chokitos, dim sims, and potato cakes (not many chippies do the latter here, and when you get them, they are soaked in oil). Oh, and finally... The big test... An Aussie Cadbury Dairy Milk v. a UK Cadbury Dairy Mile - that is scheduled for tomorrow..

We used to have empires, run by emporers. Then we had kingdoms, run by kings. Now we just have countries, .........

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4385148998399680

God promised there would be good obedient wives in all corners of the world - - - then he made the world round.

Terrifying. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1054668937522429

That won't work! Ask Pauline of Trumper. Either will do as Pauline Apes trump. Bunnings have been Installing rooftop solar. It makes absolute sense. The Heavy wiring is already there for IN (and Out) Nev.