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Well they couldn't really say "Here LIES Donald Trump", because he's been doing that all his life.

Just to let you know there is no AI on the site, there is only NI

Have been going through the process of scanning some old photos into digital form. I don't know what film format these are; Red would know. It's whatever type of compact camera one would have had in 1988. A couple of photos for onetrack as it's sort of over his way in a roundabout fashion. Unloading at Legune Station, 1988. Legune is in the Territory up near the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf but is accessed via Kununarra and then up through the Ord scheme farmland. I remember well that horrible trip. I flew to Alice Springs and picked up the truck and machine and drove it from there all the way to Legune in hot weather with 55mph diffs and no lining inside the cab roof, just bare metal. For anyone who hasn't driven a B model, there's not much room between your head and the roof so it was certainly cooking the melon. To get anywhere soon, I had to push the foot down and with a very heavy throttle spring, the right foot was numb most of the way. One saving grace is that it didn't have 48mph diffs. That would have been too cruel. The plan was to go back to Alice springs and bring the second machine up, but fortunately they found someone else to drop it off at Katherine, so the second trip was only from Legune to Katherine and return. The tractors were stick shift D7Gs with manual angle blade, rippers and scrub canopy, about 27 tonne in weight. The float was a side load float that swivelled sideways and you could pin it solid but nobody ever did. It didn't sway much out on the road unless you really cranked it around a tight bend. Not the sort of thing you do in a B model anyway. To end load it you needed a big bank or ramp as it had full size 20" wheels on the back, and was only done if loading graders. I learned to side load with this same truck and float four years earlier when the leader of our pack led us across a Quinyambie Station track on a trip from Toowoomba to Frome Downs. He wasn't the world's best navigator. The track was passable for single trailers but had too many sandy dune crossings for doubles. Not high dunes, but just raw sand with no clay on the dune crossings. We had a 375 V8 R model Mack with a dozer on a float, and a second hay hauling trailer carrying a grader hooked on behind, and it got stuck on almost every dune for about 140 klm of the trip. He would drive until he got stuck, then I'd pull up behind him in the old B model with the single float and dozer, unload the dozer, then tow him over the dune, reload the dozer, then follow on to the next dune and do it all again. From memory it took about three days and I side loaded and unloaded that machine about a million times. I'd never side loaded before that trip. The old B model with the quad box was good in the sand dune country. You never get stuck for a gear in one of those. Just rattle the sticks round and round and it will always drop into a gear somewhere. At Legune The camera catching the blade as it's about to topple over. This is the second machine (with new tracks) Retirement is good; there are some things I miss but I don't miss the flies and getting up at 4am..

Many years ago I use to follow F1 quit heavily however having nearly all races in the middle of the night whilst also going to work I lost interest as I became sleep deprived however last year I renewed my interest in F1 being able to watch all races, through Kayo, and not being able to work. The other thing is having a great Australian kid in Oscar Piastri representing Australia to the world driving a Mclaren has been great to watch, becoming an Australian hero to all of us that are into F1. Anyway I imagined what it would be like to Australia if Oscar's car in the Melbourne Grand Prix was painted in the iconic Australian Green and Gold. What a marketing success it would be. So I created a mock up of one:

Tonight, at midnight, lift your left leg up off the ground. That way you’ll be starting the new year off on the right foot.

In USA a far right influence group called Turning Point Was started up by Charlie Kirk & Bill Montgomery They promoted open gun ownership & anti vax Covid conspiracy. Kirk died by gun violence Montgomery died of Covid. The dildo of consequences seldom arrives lubricated.

Land of the free ! Land of free speech ! Land of not-so-original dictatorship.

Some silly sarcastic political pictures...

This sad event is proof of the new faschist usa. Those ICE 'agents' are heavily armed, are masked (unidentifiable), uncontrolled, and know that they are above the law. Sounds like the infamous brownshirts. Each step that usa takes destabilises the world destroys trust in their country.

Meanwhile, an ICE agent shot and killed an unarmed woman in a car who was just trying to get away from the situation (she wasn't an immigrant as far as I know). The FBI, whose head Kash Patel is another unqualified Trump appointee, have taken over the investigation and not allowed local law enforcement anywhere near it. Meanwhile the administration are saying shit like "she was a domestic terrorist trying to kill the ICE agent with her car" despite plenty of mobile phone coverage clearly showing differently. ICE are the new Brown shirts. And the shit in the oval Office is Hitler.

Oh that we should do the same.

Great news! Norway has a solution to the present international jitters. But it might not be welcomed by the major media industry. (Due to stealing a lot of media hysteria.)

It's too late! The e-Horse has volted.

been talking about it for as long as the Epstein files have been in the headlines

The main problem with recycling EV batteries in Australia is that there have not been enough of them to warrant the creation of a recycling plant. This will of course change as more EVs are added to the Australian vehicle fleet. The early recycling plants in the US (there are a number of good You tube videos) have proven that almost all of the critical minerals are recyclable. We just do not have the volume at this stage & that is all lithium based batteries able to be recycled. At this stage old EV batteries are still quite valuable for use as home or commercial energy storage but there are few available & mostly they are from early BMW or Nissan Leaf EVs as well as those recovered from crashed EVs. I imagine the federal and state governments battery subsidies will have the effect of reducing the value of these as well. Once an EV battery gets to about 70% of its original storage capacity, it still has many years of home storage left even though no longer useful in the EV. Add to that the fact that EV batteries are lasting considerably longer than original predictions. I have done just over 35,000km in my 2023 MG4 & battery health is still showing 100% The good thing about all of this is that batteries have a circular life with 96% of materials being recovered during recycling. Compare that to fossil fuels which are used once & then they are gone.

I emailed Spacey, Says he's well, but not wise. Says he can't log in at all. Didn't explain why.

This 1982 photo shows the Simpson Desert the driest I've ever seen it. The only vegetation visible from the air was the shrubs and trees, no grass to be seen. The drought broke the following year with a lot of flooding. The photo is taken from a Cherokee Six just entering the Simpson from the east en route from Windorah to Alice Springs. Everything went ok until halfway across when the alternator died and the battery went flat, so no radio or instruments, just the compass. We landed on the strip at Ringwood Station on the western edge of the desert, and luckily the station owner was home to see us come in. He drove over and picked up the pilot so he could use the station radio to call Alice Springs airport to clear a space for us to fly into there, being pre satellite days when the stations relied on HF radio for communications. We got to stay overnight in Alice waiting on the new alternator to be fitted, then on to Bililuna in W.A. the next day. Another surprise there on landing - the client (Shell if my memory is correct) had given the crew three days off as the Halls Creek annual races were on. We took off again to Halls Creek which took us straight past the Wolfe Creek crater, so that was a good sight from the air. It was a memorable trip for different reasons. When the battery went dead over the Simpson, it really got us thinking how little preparation we had in regard to survival gear if we had to put down in a dune corridor. We didn't even have near enough water required to stay on the ground any length of time. As a comparison of seasons, I took these photos with a digital compact camera in the Simpson in 2010 after an extended wet period. Most of the green you can see is grass and herbage that burns off with hot, dry conditions. It was very different to the other deserts I've been in which have more permanent vegetation in the dune corridors, and much more spinifex. Edit: Just as a post script, it wasn't far from where these three photos were taken that I came across an old survey marker peg that was the site of Geosurveys Base Camp #1 from Reg Spriggs' first motorised crossing of the desert in 1962.

There's a DIY kit for everything.....

Season's greetings to all 🍾

I recently installed a new system as when we bought the property it had 8 x 175 watt panels approx 20 years old & the best out put I was getting in the middle of the day in Spring was about 950 watts. Each new panel is rated at 440 watts but are bi-facial so also generate from reflected light from the roof below. I have 20 panels arranged in 7 East facing, 6 North facing & 7 West facing on my Garage & Shed roofs at approximately 15 degrees of tilt. Total theoretical maximum generation 8.8 kW. Also installed is a 10kWh hybrid inverter and an 18.64 kWh battery. Installation was on 24 November 2025. Results to date are astounding. Heat hasn't made much difference as far as I can tell. We have had numerous days in the mid 30s & a few high 30s. The maximum generation has been 10 kW from a theoretical 8.8kW. Documentation states Up to 15% more from the reflected light to the under side of the panel so that is almost what has been achieved. There is considerable skepticism as to bi-facial effectiveness but my system proves it works as specified. Not only that, I haven't used any grid power at all & have had air conditioning on most of the time with everything in the house electric (except the gas BBQ & solar hot water). I have also charged my EV & 80 volt zero turn mower from the system. The total cost was $11,600.00 & I reckon 4-5 years payback. Anyone with a reasonable rooftop solar system should take advantage of the battery subsidies on offer. Our battery has never depleted below 60% overnight so a large battery (more than 15 kWh) is likely to be overkill for most people. The Federal subsidy scheme has been so successful that the $3.2 billion, expected to last till 2030 is half gone already & the scheme is being modified as installers were encouraging huge batteries (up to 50kWh) not up to 15kW that they were expecting. This was due to the subsidy being based on $ per kWh & a big battery could be installed for way less per kWh than a small one. All I am paying now is the daily supply charge. Some retailers are now charging over $2.00 a day for this. If all goes well over the next year I may pull the plug on the grid entirely.

I've enjoyed having my 10 year old Canon EOS 700D working again. Sometimes the phone camera just isn't enough. I misplaced the Canon battery charger and had been looking for it on and off for about 18 months, so that's how long the camera has sat idle. I was about to buy one on eBay when I finally found the charger (in the most obvious place). Here's a couple of pics of the birdy friends hanging out at the verandah bird bath. First one is three Butcher Bird fledglings. It's a family of five this year; mum and dad Butcher Birds are very proud. Second one is a Blue-faced Honeyeater. Lens is a Canon EFS 55-250mm.. I'm not much of a photographer, just point and click, but I do like to keep it on the manual focus setting instead of full auto.

Nev, Your going to be 68, celebrate that and enjoy dyslexia.

Goats Pine for their owners, and can be very upset. when left alone. They are good at eating blackberry bushes. I suppose My Dexta Tractor is able to mow when the slasher is attached to it, That's one of the reasons I bought it second hand in 1973. I've had the exhaust Manifold soaking in degreaser for about a week to remove the Internal carbon deposits. Not far off firing it up. It holds only 5 litres of coolant. Like all such jobs you spend about 5 times what you expected to on it and it's been very hot in the Place where I'm working on it. Kitchen Stove just being replaced at the Moment, right on the deadline for Xmas EVE. I had great difficulty getting it. My pet Blue Tongue has deserted Me. My beautiful Howard Rotary Hoe has a new Owner. It's practically Never had a spanner on it. Never Monstered or left out in the weather. Happy Xmas everyone. I might Make 86 in 10 days. The trouble with that is the majority of my contacts/ Friend s and relatives have Passed on. . Cheers. Nev

We all get caught up in major news stories from time to time. With all the tech & social media "improvements" to our information sources, what can we trust? When you say "the press", do you mean the multi-billion-dollar corporations owned and/or controlled by billionaire oligarchs? Just my opinion, but if you're still consuming, or worse paying for that stuff, it's probably best to quit the habit. These days we have to dig deeper.

Just nitpicking on a Monday morning, but there's another one of those really irritating American expressions in that joke that has found it's way over here. ".. off of furniture.." It should just be "... off furniture...". Here's another classic - ".. should of..." instead of "... should have...". So irritating!

Donald Trump has graciously accepted the Ashes from Pat Cummins.

Hasn't the poor woman suffered enough, then she has to find out she's the offspring of the world's biggest shit?

SWMBO can cut off someone's head with just a few well-chosen words!! 😄

When I was a child, our family were the poorest in the area. We couldn't afford new clothing, all our clothing came from military surplus stores. I was the only Japanese General in my class!

Oops. Ahh.. OK.. this is not the militarisation of the police like the US.. The police here do not use brutal tactics as they do in the USA. They are trained to first de-escalate and they don't usually send in fire-armed police as a first option unless the threat assessment is very serious. Whether you think it is right, PA is a proscribed terroirist organisations and there are laws against showing support to proscribed terrorist organisations. And the police have to uphold the law irrespective of their own political beliefs. Frankly, anything coming out og the UN Human Rights agency, council or whatever they call themselves has to be treated initially with some degree of scepticism. Apparently up to 10% UNRWA, a body within the UNHROC were affiliated with islamist militant groups including HAMAS. Yes, they are supposed to have all gone now, but does that remove the bias that allowed them there in the first place? Secondly, look at the members of the UN Human Rights Council: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/membership I would suggest that those who have an honest repect the basic freedoms and rights of people ar probably in the minority. It is strange that they have sent delegations to Australia report on violence against women, yet have not sent delegations to Saudi, Pakistan and the like - other member nations. You can guess, I don't hold them in high esteem. The article purposts that PA has been a proscribed terrorist organisation becausde they damaged a few planes. Unfortunately, their website notifies they are proscribed, requests a donation in some obscure crytocurrency, so I cannot go to the source for their actual policies, agenda, etc. On the internet, it mainly talsk about them targetting Israeli firms in protest and limits it to property. However, the UK government has documented the following in https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/803/pdfs/uksiem_20250803_en_001.pdf "Palestine Action 5.2 Palestine Action is a pro-Palestinian group with the stated aim to support Palestinian sovereignty by using direct criminal action tactics to halt the sale and export of military equipment to Israel. Since its inception in 2020, Palestine Action has orchestrated a nationwide campaign of direct criminal action against businesses and institutions, including key national infrastructure and defence firms that provide services and supplies to support Ukraine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), “Five Eyes” allies and the UK defence enterprise. Palestine Action has also broadened its targets from the defence industry to include financial firms, charities, universities and government buildings. Its activity has increased in frequency and severity since the start of 2024 and its methods have become more aggressive, with its members demonstrating a willingness to use violence. Its activities meet the threshold of being concerned in terrorism as set out in the Terrorism Act 2000. There are varying defnitions of terrorism, but this is what Google spat out: Terrorism is the calculated use or threat of serious violence against people or property, intended to intimidate the public or coerce a government for political, religious, or ideological goals, often by creating widespread fear . Key elements include violent acts (murder, damage, endangering life) and specific intent (influencing government/public, advancing a cause). Definitions vary, but generally focus on these core components. So, it would seem the general definition is not limited to violence, despite being played down by the artiucle you present. Now, the UK may be unfairly acting against Palestinians and Muslims/Islam in general, but I don't think so on the evidence and definitions. After all, the UK, to its moneatry costs in exports of education, are not sanctioning the Muslim Bortherhood, where others do: https://www.ft.com/content/f256cc27-b80f-4fce-88cf-e80cb2451ef5 Also, as a display of how police tactics try (possibly too much) to de-escalate, here is a video documenting a policewoman receiving potentially life changing injuries at the hands of a PA protestor: Unf, I couldn't find the video my son dug up, which was far more graphic. And this was before they were proscribed? Peaceful prtest, eh? Just like Sydney jews were actively encouraged not to walk near the Palestinaian protests in Sydney and Melbourne because they were in danger.. because of the possibility ov violence purely because they were Jewish. But I gues it is OK for some Palestinian supporter to taunt the Jews at Bondi after the attack? Actually, it is a free world so yes, but I recall the Jews getting heated but no violence emanating from it. Wake up and put your prejudices aside for a change. I am happy to say there are times where the UK police go too far, but seriously, peaceful protest! FFS! Israel also have stuff to answer for. But to paint the Palestinian protests in the UK as peaceful is generally a joke.. Yes there have been few - very few of them. Shall we mention intimidation and threats of violence on the campuses etc.. where Jes had to be protected or refused entry to the campus. The lsit goes on. UK police are generally very good.

So many points tocomment upon. I believe that the American influence has not been introduced by police. In my opinion the generations which have come after the Boomers have had their attitudes towards Society molded by what American entertainment media has poured onto them. There is definitely a failure to acknowledge that the exercise of one's Rights as granted by Society has to be balanced by the acceptance of one's Responsibilities towards Society. It is that abandonment of Responsibilities that has lead to Society reducing many previously granted Rights. Should our police regularly carry long arms? Definitely not, for the simple reason that using high powered firearms requires a lot of skill to avoid 'collateral damage'. Gaining those skills takes long and frequent training to do which would markedly reduce the number of police available for the day-to-day duties involved in keeping the Peace. Competency with firearms cannot be obtained through a one day per year revision session on a range under virtually stress-free conditions. I agree that a small police unit of police regularly trained and disciplined in the use of these more powerful firearms is required for those operations aimed at the arrest of person reasonably expected to be prepared to use firearms to avoid arrest. These are planned operations in which each participant has a defined role within the team. Arrest by persons other than Police. I've explained before that anyone can arrest an offender in the act of, or immediately following the commission of an offence. Obviously a security guard would not want to do it because such an action is likely to result in loss of time by the employer if the security guard is required to attend Court as a witness. From my expereince, security guards are mostly just full of piss and wind. The Media. Once again the Media make matters worse by publicising situations when specialist armed police are in action, even if that action is simply patrolling on foot at New Years Eve events. One heavily armed police constable wearing body armour gives a false image when the majority of police are getting atound in cargo pants and shirts. When you see those bulky vests that regular police wear, they are not wearing body armour. The vests were introduced becasue police were carrying too much equipment on their waists and this was causing lower back injury. The introduction of vests was a Work, Health and Safety measure.

Back in my (working) day, I had great data security....

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of drug trafficking, was pardoned by President Donald Trump on December 1, 2025. Hernández had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for his role in a scheme that imported over 400 tonnes of cocaine into the United States.

I simply pointed out that the recycling industry is tooling up to provide recycling. There have been lots of doomsday sadsacks claiming that EV's are a pollution problem. It looks like the EV has a more profitable recycling lifecycle than piston powered vehicles.

Philosophy for beginners....

This morning, my little son said, "My ear hurts, Dad." Concerned, I asked, "Inside or out?" He walked away, then returned through the back door. "Both, Dad." I think I'll cash in his university savings account.

Piss off to the USA then, if it's not to your liking here. We have fair elections. He did say, If she wasn't MY daughter, I'd be dating her. A bit ODD to my way of thinking . He free's Crooks IF their Mother donates enough to him. He's a Perve Himself. Calls under age young Females "the Merchandise" and recommends Grabbing Women by the pussy. . Nev

Here's a random thought... Happy new year everyone.. Hope it is a good one!

Mary & Joseph were going to name him Jerry. Just as the scribe started to write, Mary stubbed her toe. Christmas Adam comes before Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve isn't happy.

I can confirm that I am both alive and well. I have been popping in for a look around, but I don't think I have signed in lately. I do tend to drift in and out. I did send Spacey a private message a couple of weeks ago to see if he was ok, but no answer.

People say they will be the best looking battleships ever built. Like nothing ever seen before. Not even close.

it's BS really. The" Majority" wants a review as things have changed since the Last Howard "thing" He's only echoing LITTLE to Be PROUD of's Line. I don't think Albanese would get away with just tightening the existing rules. Nev