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Well, we're taking the jump. My wife and I test drove 3 EVs today - MG 4, MG 4 Urban and MG 5. Kate had already put down a deposit on the MG 4, but after driving all 3 we're tossing up between the Urban and the MG 5. In all 3 cars the acceleration is brilliant. Handling is great. We found the Urban and MG 5 more comfortable because we're both tall (and possibly a bit wider than we should be). Over the weekend we'll decide which way to go and switch the deposit on Monday.

There was a TV show set in Melbourne with the actors satarised their being Greek. The show was called Acropolis Now. One of the characters was Effie, played by Mary Coustas. The character "Effie", was a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian prone to malapropisms. A common one of hers was " how embarassment". https://www.facebook.com/nickg1/videos/the-first-time-that-now-iconic-phrase-howembarrassment-was-heard-on-aussie-tv-on/2132406587584055/

The last census showed approx 1 million homes unoccupied on census night. That shows a lack of homes is not the issue but house hoarding. A clear case of a broken and unethical taxation regime.

An old work mate has cancer and I haven't seen him since late last year. I've been meaning to ring him for a while but didn't know what to expect considering how sick he looked last time I saw him. Anyway, he rang me yesterday and he sounded great, just like his old self. It was the chemo making him sick last time I saw him he told me. His wife has cancer as well and both have been on chemo and have had a lot of success with it. They're both doing well and are back to fairly normal lives, so good news.

From 1997 - 2022 there have been almost 1500 school shootings in the USA. (Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38433681/) To my knowledge there have been 2 in Australia since 1991 which resulted in death. There's a damn good reason some freedoms are restricted.

Xi's reference to America as a "declining nation" was a direct slap in the face to Trump - and in his finest form, he managed to twist the statement like a pretzel, with his normal level of astounding BS, about America's economic performance, under his leadership. He claimed Xi was referring to America led by Biden - and stated, that under his Presidency, America was booming, claimed he was responsible for the booming share market, a massive investment in American manufacturing, pension funds making good profits, and a dozen other BS claims, such as a "thriving relationship with Venezuela", "military victories", and a "booming jobs market". His claims are such contorted BS, it's hard to know where to start. 1. The state of the share market has little relevance to any of his decision-making. Share prices go up and down like a yo-yo, and if anything is driving shares higher, it's the amount of money in circulation that America has printed with no asset backing - the so-called "quantitive easing". 2. The "massive investment in American manufacturing", has only come about due to Trumps threats to virtually cease trading with any country that doesn't invest in America. Those decisions are economic decisions by the companies, and can be reversed at a moments notice. There are plenty of "stalled" American manufacturing projects, put on hold due to political and market uncertainty. 3. The pension funds are always looking for good returns and have trillions to invest, and Presidential decisions have little bearing on where or what the pension funds put their money into. Interestingly, a lot of American pension funds have substantial monetary and corporate investments in Australia. 4. His "thriving relationship with Venezuela" is only in his mind, and in his dreams. I seem to recall the last time we had any serious news from on the ground in Venezuela, the locals were waving firearms around, ready to repel any American military force landings. 5. The "military victories" he claims are total fiction. You have a successful military victory when you have gained territory/territories, had opponents sign surrender agreements, or have gained major concessions that amount to a serious loss for the "enemy combatants". No such thing has occurred, and Trump and his buddies are still hip-deep in the Iranian swamp, with the crocodiles ready to bite them on the arse. 6. The "booming jobs market" in the U.S. is a total fabrication. The labour market in the U.S. has flatlined, and is showing signs of heading towards stagflation or recession. The final straws are - A. Trump promised to immediately end the Ukraine War - in 1 day - once re-elected. Nothing has happened as regards the Ukraine War, the Ukrainians fight on steadily. B. Trump promised to "bring down the price of groceries and all consumer items, including fuel" - on "day one" again, of course. The exact opposite has happened, virtually all grocery and living costs in the U.S. have risen under Trumps Presidency. Fuel prices have soared up to 40% above the pricing from Bidens era, aviation fuel costs have soared 70%, resulting in increased air fare costs, beef prices have soared, and inflation is rearing its ugly head again, as increased transport and shipping costs are starting to bite. Trump is the master of perpetual BS, lies and broken promises - a fact not lost on Xi.

I think that is the Chinese way. The best way to humiliate Trump is to ignore him as best you can. Xi is a statesman, Trump is a buffoon.

Definition of a gentleman - someone who knows how to play the bagpipes -- but doesn't.

Interesting question. I could just wimp out and say, “I’m retired now.” Music has always evolved alongside technology. The instruments available to composers today are vastly different from those available centuries ago, whether in orchestras, jazz, rock, or electronic music. Of course, AI is a rather different innovation. I think AI in music is inevitable, and like most technological change, it will bring both benefits and drawbacks. On the positive side, AI is a democratiser. It allows almost anyone to experiment with composition, arranging, and production. That could open the door for talented people who may never have had formal training or industry connections. On the downside, it may also lead to an overwhelming amount of average material. Music has often evolved because composers and performers broke the rules of their time. AI, at least in its current form, largely works by analysing existing music and reproducing variations of it. Whether it can truly innovate in the human sense remains an open question. For me, music is deeply human. I would rather hear a second-rate live orchestra or band than a flawless recording of a world-class performer. The imperfections, the spontaneity, and the sense of shared experience matter. In some ways, this tension has existed for decades, as recordings became increasingly engineered and perfected. Technology has always reshaped the music industry. In the 1940s, venues employed large big bands with 20 or 30 musicians. The arrival of the electric guitar and amplified music made it economically attractive to hire four or five performers instead. That was a loss in one sense — the big band era was awesome, but it also helped create rock and pop music as we know it today. I suspect AI will become very useful in commercial areas of music. For example, we may not always need a human composer to create an advertising jingle or background track. My concern is whether this eventually leads to a kind of musical “fast food”, content that is efficient and disposable, but lacks depth, individuality, and genuine human expression. In the end, I don’t think AI will destroy music. But I do think it may change what we value in music, and perhaps make the human element even more important.

You know that old thought exercise about which famous people, alive or dead, you'd invite to you ultimate dinner party? People choose Einstein, Jesus, Confucius, Plato etc. I'd choose Trump, Vance, Hegseth, Putin, and Netanyahu. Catering by Erin Patterson.

NRMA also have a battery on their vehicle to transfer energy to an EV. Battery to battery can be very high speed so it does not take long to get enough charge into the empty EV battery to enable it to get to the nearest charger. using a generator would take hours to get very little energy in the EV unless it was a massive generator capable of 150 kW plus. I don't know of anyone who has run out though. EV owners are good planners, partly because the public charging network has not kept up with EV sales. Also because the cars software knows the range and can list all the chargers within range. State & federal governments are now putting a fair bit of effort into improving the number of chargers particularly in regional areas. There are plenty in large centres and along major highways. Installing chargers is a lot easier than building a petrol station & once built at huge cost it has to be supplied with fuel. Portable units are being installed in the outback. They have a large battery and solar panels & get delivered on the back of a truck. Several companies are supplying these to Outback farms etc. Larger ones have a small solar farm & big batteries to supply several vehicles at once. NRMA have one in the NT somewhere with 4 chargers. Public EV charging is only in its infancy & some of the early ones were very unreliable. Not so now & there are plenty that are capable of 350 kW way more than almost all EVs can receive. I am off on a 350km round trip tomorrow. The battery is fully charged (free from my solar system) & I won't need to top up anywhere. If I did though there are heaps of charging options. I just hit the go to button & the Satnav guides me to the neared public charger & lists all within range. Simples.

if you took the time to listen you would realise she is not rascist. thats just a word lefties like to throw around when they have nothing better. you still love albo and snake chalmer even after all the lies and the damage to our land and economy with the stupid net zero plan that most countries have abandoned. hopefully labour are out at the next election and the country can recover. go one nation . out with the left and the woke clowns.

Australia being able to defend itself is a definition of Impossibility no Matter how Much we spend. It was Abott and Morrison who stuffed up the Subs deal and alienated the French and tied us to AUKUS. I'd like to have seen that all investigated.. Nev

Had a really extraordinary rain occurrence last night. Before I went to bed, the sky was clear. About an hour and a half later I began to hear a strange rushing sound from outside. It's hard to explain it until I tell you what happened. The sound at first was a bit low pitched. I wondered if it was a truck approaching, but the sound was coming from the opposite direction from the highway. The sound seemed to be getting louder as it was approaching. Finally the sound arrived and with it extremely heavy rainfall. It was as if a fire hose was in use. If there is rain from a thunderstorm, it usually starts with scattered drops and then the main fall catches up. But last night it was like a wall of water was moving across the land. The boundary between rain and no rain was distinct. This rainfall continued for a short time, maybe five minutes or so, then abruptly stopped. Later that night I saw that the sky was clear again. This morning I checked the ran guage and saw that it regaistered 11 mm of rain. That brings total rainfall since last Monday to about 75mm. There is standing water in the more level paddocks and some dams now have water in them. The creek which runs through the place is roaring and the frogs are making quite a racket.

Father Hartigan was my mum's teacher in Narrandera.

I remember when the wife and I went to England, leaving my son at home to fend for himself. Typical smartarsed teenager, he had put a ringtone on my wife's phone that was the sound of police sirens. We were sitting in a cafe in the village in Yorkshire where they filmed the TV show Heartbeat when he phoned us. The place was filled with the sound of sirens and everyone was looking about for the emergency vehicle. Of course, it was the son. It was mid-morning in England, but getting on for dinner time in Sydney. The stupid bugger rang to ask his Mum how to cook some dish he wanted for dinner.

A person I know has a house or two in town that are unoccupied. Why? Because of the costs of repairing the damage that tenants cause. That is probably one of the reasons for the numbers of vacant houses.

I'm not saying they are the worst government around, but are you saying that it is OK because there are worse ones around? I also think that the recent lies within the budget would have been talked about before the election. You are right that they may only be in for one term but they know that before hand and one reason for the generous pension schemes although its not as relevant as it use to be. When the pension was implemented people use to have one job their whole working life, not so anymore. I hold people in office to a high standard, but that standard is not reached as often as it should be. They do work in a media saturated society now so you would think they would be more honest as they should now chances are they are going to get caught. I believe they don't care because I think they are smart enough to realise this. The way some (all) of them act in question time when they get asked a question they don't answer makes a mockery of the whole system!

What a lovely thought! Let's just hope the next White house resident is more like Obama, and not a Trump-like replacement.

BRS, one person, claims he is innocent. Twenty soldiers who served with him and risked everything to bring these alleged atrocities to light. I support the 20 against the one.

Pot kettle black.

When I mentioned probate, I was referring to the filing fee. At present in Victoria the fee is $2,471.10 for an estate worth between $1 million and $2 million. $2 million to $3 million it goes to $4,942.10, and $3 million to $5 million it is $7,396.40, and so on to a maximum of $17,297.50 for an estate of $7 million or more. My property is estimated to be worth about $1.2 million according to the Domain Real Estate website, so I have a bit of wiggle room before it goes up. If my $20 million Powerball ticket comes up a winner, I will split it between the three kids who can then cover all the bills and anything I want to buy. As you know, I live with my elder son and daughter. He was just starting primary school grade 1 when we moved here, and my daughter came here in a bassinet 15 months later. She was registered carer for my mother-in-law, and later for my wife, who had a palliative care nurse drop in a couple of times a week. She is now recorded as my carer, although all she has to do is the cooking. No nursing homes so far. The house is split between the three of them in my will.

Nice pics, Octave. Looks like the view from my bedroom window

Trump, or at least, the Trump organisation, has pulled the plug on Trump Tower Gold Coast.

On my new Samsung 26 Ultra phone, I just have to ask AI to draw me up a wallpaper image that suits my description. I typed, "I want a beach scene painting and nothing else, drawn in the impressionist style". It promptly produced a very good "art-deco, impressionist style" wallpaper, with a beach scene with chalk cliffs behind the beach, art-deco style ships in the distance, and impressionist images of people and umbrellas on the beach. I'd give it 9.9 out of 10.

If you get a window seat even on a Moonless night you can often pick out lights that tell you where you are That's an early A-320 wing. The best seat is up the front om the Left. Nev

I emailed him and got a reply within 15 minutes. He is well, but has had a few system problems logging onto different sites.

None, They all represent interests of themselves as billionaires.

I never take a HTV card. Firmly of the belief that everyone who is eligible to vote should take their responsibility to engage in democracy seriously and number all boxes. It's not a big ask, once every 3 years.

Geez, you've really been sucking on the Trump Kool-aid bottle, haven't you? What do you think is going to be the next thing to happen? A long-lasting peace plan engineered by Trump, where the Iranians lay down all their arms, and come meekly to the surrender table to sign the surrender document? You're off with the fairies, along with the Tangerine Toddler. He's so full of sh**, it's a wonder they haven't called the portaloo collectors to come and collect him.

This is beautiful.

Most People who've experienced such circumstances hate war and seek something better.. Nev

The mothers may have been under the same duress as the Iranian Women's Soccer Team who wanted asylum in Australia, with threats to their family in Iran. They may have had no say in who they married, the Muslim religion treats women worse than dogs. 9 year old girls are forced to marry. The mothers did not want that sort of treatment for their children. Bringing them here gives the kids a chance to grow up as caring compassionate human beings.

GON - There's a classic old phrase, "a Pyrrhic victory". The saying comes from King Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans at Asculum in 279AD. But it was at horrendous cost to Pyrrhus and his powerful tribe, and the King was quoted as saying after the battle - "If we have another victory like this, we'll be ruined". The Americans, led by Trump, have just expended vast amounts of their high-tech war arsenal, had nearly all their Middle Eastern defence sites destroyed or damaged to the tune of multiple billions, lost billions in military aircraft losses, in Trumps attacks against Iran - and he has achieved very little, except to create an even more bitter and hardline enemy than he had before. This is simply due to Trumps lack of leadership ability, his lack of war strategy, his failure to consult his allies - who has constantly abused and denigrated since he came to office - and his failure to topple any of the hardline Islamic leadership in the country. This Islamic power bloc has 150,000 Revolutionary Guard troops, who are still largely intact as a resisting power force. Australia doesn't need an ally such as the America led by Trump, because he fails to treat any ally with respect, he fails to consult allies when he takes warlike action, and fails to produce a cohesive strategy for actually winning a war against Islamic hardliners. He always wants to go it alone as a King-like leader, but he fails to understand even the basics of military strategies, and the fact remains that America now always loses every war it ventures into, because it has no plan to deal with the aftermath of any warlike action. The full cost of this warlike action against Iran is yet to be felt by Americans and the American economy - but when it does, it's going to become another nail in the American coffin.

But in answer to your question - I would start a foundation with very smart and trustworthy people at the top, with the remit to determine the underlying causes of the most urgent problems affecting people - climate change, inequality, poverty, access to health care / education / justice / clean water / food etc, and the most effective way of lessening those problems. Every billionaire out there could give 99% of their wealth to endeavours like this and still live very comfortable lives. The fact that they don't speaks volumes about their character.

It would appear that there is a silent coup going on in Buckingham Palace. King Charles seems to have given a bit of responsibility to Prince William and he has been doing things that reduce the power of Queen Camilla. William has sacked a number of Camilla's relations from powerful jobs within the Court. People don't seem to be showing Camilla the trappings of courtesy one whould expect. Queen Elizabeth made a decision that was important in maintaining the Monarchy by permitting William to marry outside the aristocracy. That has introduced fresh genes into the Monarchy, reducing the dangers of inbreeding that dogged European aristocracy over the centuries.

Scomo gave it a try, how many ministries was he secretly running?

But it’s their three legged system of government that allows a corrupt president to accumulate so much power. It would be very difficult if not impossible for a prime minister of this country to do what Trump is doing.

Then there's Mario in The Wog Boy - "They say I know f*ck nothing. But I know f*ck all!"

We'll he's certainly leaving his mark everywhere, just like a seagull does.

Another Positive to celebrate. It looks as if the Trump Tower at Surfers is not a Goer. Nev

Lighty, I didn't realise you were that kinky. Does Barnaby know about this?

Here are a couple of pieces of music trivia. During war 2, the BBC would play the opening of Beethoven's 5th Symphony (which I think everyone would recognise) before news programs. The rhythm is short, short, short, long, which is the same as the Morse code for V. This became part of the V for victory campaign. Famously, Churchill used to hold up his fingers as a V but initially got it the wrong way round, which meant something quite different. The well-known theme tune to Mission Impossible, composed by Lalo Schifrin started out with that famous long, long, short, short, which is Morse code for MI

Wait up..... I'm confused ...... I'll have to go back and find some episodes of 'Blue Hills' and 'Dad n Dave'...... that should clear this up.

Every ON voter questioned on TV, when asked why, said "We needed a change."

Random government thought......... At some point in the future there will be a need to reward a person who tells the truth. A No Bull Prize.

To the extremely rich, it is Just a Game. Death is the final Leveller, You can't take it with you . Others will try to steal it from you. Your Health is much more important than Money .Nev

How's this one for an example Nev. I'm only about 77kg but can't shake the belly fat no matter what I do. While not huge, it's not ideal either. I don't drink alcohol, the only animal protein I eat is seafood, don't have dairy products, gluten, sugar or any sugary foods or drinks. I eat almost no processed, packaged food and never eat junk food. Diet consists mainly of grains, fruit and vegetables. I get quite a bit of exercise for someone my age, partly targeted, the rest from physical work. Every day I do heaps of gut related exercise, sit ups etc., yet still maintain belly fat. There hardly any fat on my body, just around the midriff. There's nothing left to cut out of my diet, zero saturated fat and zero sugar, only the natural sugar found in fruit. There's a lot of people around like that who have the same issue. Also too many who eat all that stuff you listed.