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Hmm welcome AI

I think the purpose of this post is to gain emotional support. The author found himself in a situation he considered shameful. Situations where the phone rings unexpectedly are quite common, which can be explained by the fact that mobile phones are ubiquitous worldwide, and people tend to forget to turn off their phones, especially if they don't frequent public places where it's preferable not to attract attention. I would recommend the author consider this perspective: if the people who witnessed your mistake are good, kind, and civilized, they will understand and accept your mistake and forget about it immediately. If these people are petty, arrogant, and filled with the venom of contempt, you shouldn't fight for their opinion. Everyone is different, but it's worth believing that there are more good people out there, and it's worth thinking about them.

The indicator side problem is directly related to cost-cutting by car manufacturers. They refuse to manufacture a "mirror-image steering column" with the indicators on the RH side of the column, for RHD vehicles, they simply fit steering columns from LHD vehicles, so the indicators and wiper controls end up being reversed to normal RHD layout. It's good enough for the manufacturers to keep the A-B-C of the foot controls in the right order, in the switch from LHD to RHD, so the other controls need to be mirrored as well. Imagine trying to drive a RHD car with the accelerator on the transmission hump side, needing to use your left foot to alter speed! 🙄

Lots of brands have auto headlights and auto dipping. Mine has. When it is dark enough the headlights come on. Like all modern cars it also has daytime running lights. I can switch everything to manual if I want to but it is easier to let the car decide when to put the lights on & when to dip them or turn them off. It is way more conservative at dipping headlights than me so will do it a long way from an oncoming vehicle on a straight highway & often dips the lights when it gets a strong reflection from a large reflective road sign. One less thing to have to do, Works fro me.

It's the same size wheel as the An-225. They might want it back if they're going to fix the 225.

That first sentence on this subject was just that my daughter, only yesterday, told me that the transmission selector in the 2026 Ford Mustang Mach 1 which she is intending to order has that arrangement.

I know Teslas have auto headlights, and I believe this may be true for most EVs and modern IC cars, although I think it may be able to be overridden.

Willie, that's a great aviation start there! - you just need to hunt down the rest of the AN-124! 😄

It's a PIA, and standardisation of internal layout is sorely needed. If someone driving becomes immobilised (medical event, for example), and you have to jump in and move their vehicle, it should be easy to do - not become a 5 minute exercise in frustration, trying to find out all the control positions, while traffic is banking up. The worst piece of automotive designing is moving all the controls to a bloody great touch screen in the centre of the dash!! FFS!! LED screens crap themselves on a regular basis. So, you're driving down the road and the whole screen goes black, and you have to try and stop, indicate, and activate warning flashers! What do you do when the screen is black or blank? I see where more than one car manufacturer has admitted they "went too far" in putting all the vehicle controls into touchscreens - and they have stated they will return to basic buttons, knobs and levers. There is action being taken by licencing authorities in other countries around banning touchscreens for the major vehicle controls, and making manufacturers install buttons, switches and levers. https://www.autonext.co/news/europe-and-china-push-back-against-touchscreen-overload-in-cars-the-return-of-physical-buttons NEWS QUOTE: "The most notable admissions (to design failures) and rollbacks from major manufacturers include: Volkswagen: VW design executives publicly admitted their touchscreen-only push was a mistake. They confirmed that physical buttons are returning for the "big five" functions - volume, heating on each side, fans, and hazard lights - as well as on the steering wheel. As Design Head Andreas Midt bluntly put it: "Honestly, it's a car. It's not a phone, it's a car." Mercedes-Benz: After rolling out massive, dash-spanning displays, Mercedes acknowledged that consumers prefer tactile feedback. The company has been gradually reintroducing physical dials and rollers (such as in their latest GLC and CLA models) after executives admitted they sometimes needed to, "take one step back to take two steps forward." Porsche & Audi: Both luxury German marques admitted that removing essential controls in favor of touch-sensitive panels and sliders was overly frustrating, and have reintroduced more tactile, clicky buttons. Hyundai & Genesis: These brands admitted that their previous push for buttonless center stacks was a case of "style overrode safety". They have been reincorporating conventional hardware, as seen in newer models like the updated Tucson, Santa Fe, and Santa Cruz." https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/why-car-makers-are-ditching-touch-controls-in-favour-of-buttons/ The simple fact that you see so many car drivers driving around at night with headlights off, is indicative that current vehicle controls and dash indications are inadequate, and they need serious levels of modification to ensure that basic controls are visible, immediately identifiable, usable without referring to operating manuals, and have clear indications of what that controls position is in. In recent times, I went to pick up an item of machinery that I purchased from a Shire Council via a Pickles Auction. After going to the Shire reception, and organising pickup and entry to their yard, I was told a young man would go with me to oversee the pickup. Said young man rolled up to the yard in his car, we went and found the item - only to find another Shire worker had parked a 5 tonne Hino truck directly in front of my item, at right angles to it. I said to the young bloke, "You'll have to shift that Hino for me so I can get my item out". He looked a little embarrassed and said, "I don't know how to drive a truck!" FFS! The Hino was nothing more than a big car! Luckily, having a heavy articulated licence and decades of experience with machines, it was easy enough to find the master switch, turn it on and start and drive the truck forward, so I could extract my purchased item. I often wonder about the future abilities of our nation.

Rear tyre for your rat bike?

I flew a Cherokee over the Liddell power station just after it opened. I can’t believe they just blew it up.

Father Hartigan was my mum's teacher in Narrandera.

SWMBO and I have a few cars so we have left and right indicators, and one on the dash! It isn’t a problem for us.

Since Australia is one of the few countries that drives on the left we have to accept that the majority of vehicles built worldwide are for right hand drive. It is annoying if you have grown up with the indicator lever on the right, but eventually you retrain yourself if your vehicle has it on the left. Can you remember the push-button gear selector in, I think, early Valiants?

I'm glad that you know and keep alive that bit of Australiana. Said Hanrahan published in the anthology Around the Boree Log by "John O'Brien" pen name of Monsignor Patrick Joseph Hartigan, published by Angus and Robertson in 1921.

True, But the average idiot watches channel 7,9,10 and sky

This post has nothing to do with helmets, but it involves part of my Antonov collection so it's sort of related. Today I solved a mystery regarding this wheel I've had in one of my sheds for a few years now. Someone originally told me it was an An-22 nose wheel, but all the photographs I've looked at online didn't match. This afternoon I asked Google AI what size the An-22 nose wheel is and it gave a larger size (1450 x 580) than the wheel I have (1270 x 510). I then clicked on the reference Google AI used and it led me to a pdf with just about all the information anyone would want about aircraft tyres. It turns out it's an An-124 main gear wheel, so after all this time I've finally identified it for sure. It seems unusual that a main gear wheel on the An-124 would be smaller than a nose wheel from an An-22, but not when you consider the An-124 has ten main gear wheels each side. With the 510 width it will stand up on it's own without falling over. I've got a fair bit of An-12 gear and some An-2 stuff, so now I can add a bit of An-124 gear to the list. Here's the tyre pdf for anyone interested: https://www.jupitor.co.jp/pdf/michelin_aircraft.pdf It's one example where Google AI was more productive than the old non AI search engine. The standard search engine would most likely only find the tyre size if it was mentioned in a phrase or sentence, but AI was able to pinpoint the data in a data sheet.

But Nev, I'd expect a trained pilot would identify before actuating a control. (even in a car) The average idiot doesn't think that way.

Your first sentence says it all. I can't stand shows like that. There's usually and indicator for the Indicator so JUST CHECK first.. Nev

Trust Channel 7 to exaggerate a little. There has never been total standardisation. I seem to remember driving a car where the Reverse position was where you would normally expect 1st to be. Then there is the difference between manual and automatic, with the possibility of slamming your foot on the brake, thinking you are in your manual car and need to hit the clutch. An AI search could not find strong evidence for accidents occurring where someone mistook the drive selector for the indicator. It also seems that most cars with this system (EV or IC) have safeguards. They generally won’t allow Reverse or Park at speed. Many only allow an accidental movement to engage Neutral. Some require brake pedal input before a gear change. Others electronically ignore invalid inputs. I do think there could be a conversation to be had regarding how standardised cars should be; however, I think this article was a bit on the alarmist side. Cars have always differed (gear shift pattern, indicator, etc.)

Is it a 4 stroke? Nev

And every creek a banker ran, And dams filled overtop; "We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan, "If this rain doesn't stop."

Don't worry, Peter. The next generation of cars will have A I. voice recognition. The makers will not fit control stalks on either side of the steering joystick.

Prices are dropping about 5% Now. except for SA which is up 1% (Less than inflation). Nev

Interesting that this article should pop up today. Ever since I've had a licence, I've driven cars with the turn indicator stalk on the right of the steering wheel. Since driving the Astra, which is developed from the German Opel, the stalk is on the left. I still regularly turn on the wipers when indicating a turn. Now this: https://7news.com.au/motoring/this-new-car-trend-needs-to-stop-before-someone-gets-hurt-c-22328111