Leaderboard

If you have solar, smart meters are essential as standard meters are unable to deal with feed in tariffs. I am a VPP (virtual power plant) & buy sell electricity on the wholesale market. My monthly average buy price at the moment is 18.3 cents/kWh & my average FIT is 20.3c/kWh. I have a 18.64kWh battery & sell power to the grid usually from 5pm to 7pm when the price is high. This is all managed by my system provider as the spot price is checked every 5 minutes and my system is told what to do. It even curtails my solar production when the battery is full and the spot FIT goes negative so I do not pay for exporting to the grid.

That is her problem. She is a Trump Yes woman, though everyone who works for him has to be that or they are fired. Getting out before that happens is pretty rare. Anyone with a conscience wouldn't work for the orange man but her salary would have been better than she would ever get anywhere else I imagine, plus of course being in the limelight is something very attractive to some people.

She was/is exceptionally good at her job of defending the indefensible and attacking the press. You have to admire her talent and confidence. She's only 28.

Takes a grubby type to destroy the only worldly possessions of people with nothing.

Trump goes to his doctor and takes off his hat to reveal a huge toad on the top of his head. “When did you notice that?” asked the doctor. And the toad answers: “It began as a boil on my ass.”

Do you mean a out standing Comedian? I know, No prize for second place....... I'll get my hat.

Is he a Stand up Comedian? Nev

Creating a questionnaire in order to get the correct sort of information it aims to get is a very difficult thing. Questions have to be carefully worded so that they cannot be misinterpreted. That is one of the problems of the written word. How many time here amongst ourselves has someone posted what appears to be a very clear comment or statment and it has been taken the wrong way by someone? That is the cause of most of the arguments here, or the missing of jokes.

A guy hears a noise outside at his shed. He looks out the window and sees a burglar trying to break into the shed. He quickly calls 000 and explains the situation. The operator says "Sorry sir, we have no resources to send." The guy looks out again, and says, "You have to come. He's stealing my mower." The operator again says," I told you sir, we have no resources to send." Then the guy says, "Oh, don't worry about it, I just shot the twat. He's dead on the lawn.' Within five minutes, there were two helicopters, six police cars and fourteen police swarming around his house. There was no body on the lawn. The police said, "Sir, you lied to us. You didn't shoot anyone." The guy said, "You started it by saying you had no resources."

It seems to be the elephant in the room when it comes to politics. It's only my opinion, but in our three tiered system of government I consider local government the weak link in the chain. There are good local governments (unfortunately mine has never been in that category), but there are are lot of bad ones. They can be either corrupt, wasteful, inefficient, incompetent, arrogant, bullying or a combination of any or all of those things. My state over time has handed local government too much autonomy in my opinion, and I'd like to see more oversight by the state local government department. I don't have statistics on hand, but I've read in the past that other states have retained more control over local government than ours has. There was always a problem with some councils, but the amalgation several years ago led to super councils and made the whole issue a lot worse. Inconsistencies between councils is another issue. As an example, on the news today the Moreton Bay council announced they are dedicating a local park to rough sleepers and homeless people and letting them use the council toilet and shower facilities there. Their idea is to have the homeless in a more manageable situation regarding facilities and support services. On the other hand, the Gold Coast council is issuing heavy fines to rough sleepers, and confiscating and destroying their gear.

I am so glad we have compulsory voting here. One of the best features of our electoral system.

The Farage party are claiming it as a victory. But, the parliamentary investigation into his £5m undeclared gift has resumed and if found he violated the rules of parliament, a recall petition is put to the electorate and if a certain percentage agree, it will trigger yet another by-election. The reality is that Clacton is one of, if not the most deprived electorate in the UK and immigration, of which Farage is a one trick pony politically, is being blamed by Clactonians for all their problems will mean that the recall petition is unlikely to get the numbers. Reforms winning electorates are all in deprived areas, and is more a protest about them being relied upon for votes be Labour and the Tories more than anything else.. and I would say the apathy of the electorate is partially the result of decades, if not over a century now of being promised the earth and still being sucked dry compared to those who live in marginal electorates. Pork barelling is alive where it will buy a seat. But, Reform's claims to a mandate by the people of Clacton are as hollow as the promises made to the people of Clacton. with a 44% voter turnout against an average turnout of around 65%, it represents 27& of the voting public of Clacton who have voted for him. Of course, we can't predict which way the other 66% pg voters in Clacton would have voted if casting a ballot was mandatory - I would imagine the spoiled ballot count would be high despite the onerous requirement of putting a tick against one person only; but I have a sneaking suspicion Farage would have found the numbers far tighter than the headline suggests.

Possibly unpopular with clothed people too 😊

David Clayton-Thomas, the unmistakable voice behind some of the biggest hits from Blood, Sweat & Tears, has died at age 84, marking the end of an era for one of classic rock’s most distinctive frontmen. According to his publicist, the singer died peacefully in a Toronto hospital. No cause of death has been publicly disclosed.

Former Young Talent Time host Johnny Young has died aged 79, his family announced on Friday morning, following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Cannot work . There is no perpetual motion machine possible let alone one with spare power. Nev

A lot of truth in that. Smaller rural councils generally are a lot more in touch with the community and there's only a few bad eggs among those councils. A lot of the bigger councils have totally lost the concept of being there to serve the community and a lot think they are our masters rather than our servants. I've never been one for party politics in councils like they have in the city councils, but taking into account the inept rabble we have posing as our local council, it makes me wonder whether party alligned councilors would make it easier to turf the lot out at an election. As it stands, some councillors lose their jobs at election time and some major offenders remain, so things don't get any better. If it was party based, would it make them perform any better. Maybe it would if they thought the whole bunch was at risk or at least a majority of them. Another factor is that it's not only the elected councillors that are the problem. The council bureaucrats have a lot to answer for as well. My advice to anyone who has a good, well performing and honest council is to appreciate what you have because a lot of people don't have that.

Today I rang Red Energy and arranged swapping to them after my next Origin bill due in a couple of weeks. It was very refreshing to talk to Australian based customer support. Everything worked well and went great just like it used to with Origin before they outsourced their customer support overseas. Sub standard customer support is the number one reason I'm leaving Origin; the data breach incident is just another contributing factor. At the end of this month it's good riddance Origin. Price wise, they're fairly close. Based on my useage, Red Energy is about $100 per year cheaper than Origin. When I get settled in to Red Energy, the next step is to get a smart meter installed and that will remove the problem of the contract meter readers who don't like going off the bitumen on to rural properties. I could deal with estimated bills if the meter readers were honest about their reasons given for not accessing the property but they're not. It's another case of good service going to the pack when things get contracted out. When Energex (the primary supplier/wholesaler) employed their own people to read the meters they quite happily accessed the property for 30+ years without a problem. I think the roll out date here for smart meters ends in 2030, so sometime in the next couple of years I would be compelled to swap to a smart meter anyway.

What's the diffeence between in-laws and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted.

I worked on that project in the 1990s. It takes a while to get mines going.

You might have heard about USA's critical shortage of Air Traffic Controllers. Fret not, the problem is solved. (Air traffic controllers who are easily bored and seek instant gratification, and have a game over - restart button, yeah that'll work.)

Yes they are. That would provide perhaps 10% of what they need, same as Australia.

You would have thought these countries would be perfect fits for solar + batteries?

"roads were made for horse and cart, but now you want to ditch them for these newfangled automobiles... It'll never work..."

Logic dictates that we should move with the times. A long time ago, burning coal was a great step forward. Times change and new less toxic methods of making energy are developed. No need to stay locked into the old era of the industrial revolution, powered by burning fossil fuels. Every system has its drawbacks, and its solutions. Let go of the old. Move on.

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

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

He can have the Largest most Gaudy Cript and Buildings and airports etc named after him. He's doing that Now. He wants to be remembered " More than any person in History". See HE has this Superiority Complex and Giant EGO problem. He WILL be remembered but not the way HE wishes. Nev

Wife : "My husband beats me up every morning." Husband: "Yes. I get up at 6:30, she gets up at 7 o'clock"

More and more fact-lacking stuff. We are drowning in it. Nev

There's one born every minute.

Wtf? Sounds like a free energy machine and this absolutely bullshit. Physics doesn't care what peeps believe.

I can certainly relate to that. I had a 30% increase last year, not quite so much this year. Main reason is our council has got themselves one billion dollars in debt trying to compete with the Gold Coast. The shire rates income goes almost entirely to paying council staff salaries; they have around 1,800 employees all up, 1,000 of them in office jobs. My rates are currently around $2,200 per year. No services with that, no water, sewerage or wheelie bins. I could opt for wheelie bins but for two bins, a rubbish bin and recycle bin, the fees are several hundred dollars per year so it would bring my rates bill closer to $3,000 per year if I had them. The small amount of rubbish I make, it's way cheaper to do the occasional trip to the dump. They slash the road verge twice a year - usually two weeks before the six monthly rates bills are due, so we always know when we see council slashers about, we'll get a rates bill in the next couple of weeks. I'd be a lot happier with them if they'd just treat the local residents with a bit of respect. On the subject of council land zonings, you would think in a normal world the local council would have the decency to notify residents of an intention to rezone their land, but this council doesn't. I've had my block rezoned twice and never heard anything from council about it. It started off as Rural A, then was rezoned to Rural Residential and now to one called Limited Development - Sustainable Landscape which is a heavily restricted green zone. I'm quite happy with that zoning as I love the environment on my place, and think the more protection, the better, but it's the principle of rezoning without notifying a landowner that I think is wrong. In my mind it's just common manners to do so. With septic tanks being banned, some people opt for a pump-out tank. In days gone by, people could hire a licensed contractor to do the pump out and the charge was quite reasonable and only needed the cost incurred on a by use basis, ie: you were only out of pocket if the tank was near full and needed emptying. Council saw that as another cash cow and banned the use of contractors, allowing only council to do the service. Problem is it's not on an as needed basis. They put a levy on top of the rates bill so you have to pay several hundred dollars per year for the service whether you need it or not. The Mafia has nothing on this mob.

I've had a smart meter for a few years. I love it. I can log into my acccount with my supplier at any time, and get data like this.

Not around here. We don't even have that many smart people, let alone meters.

'twas not a formal statistical analysis.. I didn#' have the baggage capacity for that and I would be heartbroken with every one I would hand to people that I did not know.. But, it was a side by side taste test. As the chocolate is shaped differently here, it was hardly a blind taste test - and yes, I could have flaked the chocolate to make it a blind taste test, but I thought given the statistical population deficiencies, it was not worth the effort. In fairness, SWMBO has insisted for the most part that our kids wouldn't eat junk.. they are partial to dark chocolate as a result, but yes, the one who went for the UK version was a younger member of my family, and has a penchant - like me - for junk food. And I do mean junk when I say it. He liked the first taste of the Aussie one better, the but the after taste left it a little worse in the end. I think the one that did not like either could not bring themself to admit the Aussie one was better.. although in fairness that person prefers another brand of consumer cheap chocolate, so I may be being unfair to that tester. Newsflash: After hauling two packets of BBQ shapes across the world, I found that in my first sojourn into Waitrose since being back, they now stock them.. and cheaper than Aus normal retail price. I am going to launch a campaign to have Chokitos stocked in every supermarket now.

They are talking dry cooling thermal plants now if they are away from the sea. Little bit less efficient but who cares in a nuclear plant as the fuel is so cheap/MWh. Fossil fuels are unreliable because they have been demonised and maintenance is deferred. (maybe fairly) Not many wars happening in Australia.

I would think that the middle east power station planners might be a little concerned about their unstable warring situation. It's bad enough to hear about bombing of civilian infrastructure, but there is a big difference between a big crater, and a big crater that used to be a nuclear power station.

And there's more.... But we are now replacing with a much more abundant supply where technology is allowing the dense storage of that fuel. That is because Germany shut a significant chunk of its energy generation capacity sans transitioning out. That is going to create a gap. Other countries, such as the UK effed up their markets politically, not because of renewables. Today the UK produces enough from wind alone to power the country.. Australia, using solar is now producing an excess supply so it is giving it away... It's not the fuels for generation - it is how it is managed.

Even with all the doom and gloom an Frances NP, still smashing power into its neighbors. Germany not so much.

Aahhhh, that were surely the toffs version!

OME. It depends where the harmonica goes. Nev

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! I didn't record the various sources that I found when I was researching the question, so I can't post them here. Needless to say that I did find the references in order to satisfy my curiosity. The following is an extract from this Wikipedia entry summarises what I found. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Valley_cannabis_infestation Cannabis sativa seeds first arrived in Australia in 1788 on the First Fleet at the request of Sir Joseph Banks. The blueprint for the New South Wales colony, approved by the British Cabinet in 1786, envisaged Australia as a commercial colony producing hemp. The blueprint for the New South Wales colony was created for the British parliament in 1786. Banks provided a supply of seed. However, the British were too optomistic about the rate of establishment ot teh colony which would have failed due to starvation had Governor Phillip not done all he could to keep everyone alive, but on meagre rations until replenishment occured. Settle yourself down and watch this video which will enlighten you as to the first ten years of the colony. The video is an Australian prodcution aand one of a series dealing with early British colonisation of Australia.

Maybe the force of gravity has changed and made everything feel heavier Nev.

Annoying, isn't it!

This one's for @red750. Just watching an episode of "Around the world in 80 days" (latest series, with David Tennant). Anyway, for some context, this is PG rated and very mild. The scene is Phileas Fogg and his companions rolling up to Government House in Hong Kong in a carriage. Miss Abigail Fix exclaims "Look at the security! It's like fucking a palace!" Well that's what the subtitles said, anyway. She actually said "Buckingham palace". 😂 Made me laugh!

I can see customs getting a bit suss as he's shuffling his passports looking for the right one...

"M" word....by comedian Jeff Foxworthy Have you ever wondered why it's OK to make jokes about Catholics, Jews, Christians, the Pope, the Irish, the Italians, the Polish, the Hungarians, the Chinese, the French (including French Canadians), the elderly, bad golfers, men/women, blacks/whites, etc, but its insensitive to make jokes about the Muslims? Well, it's time to level the playing field and be politically incorrect, by including our friends, the Muslims, on this grandiose list. So Jeff Foxworthy did his part to include the Muslims on his list .. 1. If you grow and refine heroin for a living, but morally object to the use of liquor, you may be a Muslim. 2. If you own a $3,000 machine gun and a $5,000 rocket launcher, but can't afford shoes, You may be a Muslim. 3. If you have more wives than teeth, You may be a Muslim. 4. If you wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon to be unclean, You may be a Muslim. 5. If you think vests come in two styles, Bullet-proof and suicide, You may be a Muslim. 6. If you can't think of anyone that you haven't declared jihad against, You may be a Muslim. 7. If you consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing, You may be a Muslim. 8. If you were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses, other than setting off roadside bombs, You may be a Muslim. 9. If you have nothing against women and think every man should own at least four, then you, too, may be a Muslim. 10. If you find this offensive and do not forward it, you are part of the problem … but if you delete this, you are most likely a Muslim.