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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.

I have just passed 50,000km in my 2023 MG4 Essence 64. Maintenance so far nil except new windscreen after it was hit with a stone. Faults, drivers window stopped working & electric motor under tray bulging. Both fixed under warranty. Service, one at 40,000 km. Just required checks to all components & new pollen filter. Tyres still have 10-15,000 km tread left. Cost to run about $150.00 spent at fast chargers when on long trips. At home charged from solar exclusively from a 32 Amp charger purchased at the same time as the car. That cost $530.00 but energy cost zero. I reckon I have saved between $8-10,000.00 over an equivalent petrol vehicle.

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.

Chinese startup Windrose was only founded in 2022 and planned to compete with the Tesla Semi but like most other Chines EV technologies has already surpassed Tesla. Their latest Generation 2 offering has a 700km range fully loaded & the next Gen 3 model will have a 1000 km range due out in 2028. They have their HQ in Antwerp & plan to sell worldwide. https://www.windrose.ai/ In China though heavy Electric trucks have just surpassed Diesel in sales. There are over 500,000 heavy electric trucks on Chinese roads already.

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

I had an odd experience at work yesterday. A work colleague and I sparred quite some time ago- around the time of the election - about Chump; he was defending Chump vehemently and of course I took the opposite position. We respectfully agreed to disagree and left it at that. I probably wrote about it on this thread. Yesterday was the first time in eons we were in the office coincidentally. To be honest, I had totally forgotten our conversation, but he dragged me aside and quietly conceded he was very wrong about Chump,, Interestingly, the final straw wasn't the criminal activity nor the corruption, but the invasion of Iran...

You do seem to have range anxiety and that is normal for most people entering the full BEV sphere. When you have 48% of battery capacity left there is absolutely no need for concern. You can stop at any supercharger & just take as much as you need to get to your destination. I was getting low when coming back from Noosa to home near Yamba. Distance was about 100km & range 95km. I could have slowed down & made it but I stopped at a Tesla Supercharger & got 5 or 6 minutes at 130-140kW which was easily enough to get home at 110kmh & then some to run around town the next day. The last 20% of battery capacity takes almost as long as from 10% to 80% & it is considered bad form by most of us EV drivers to charge beyond 80% especially if someone is waiting. Planning long trips is something we all do as the charging infrastructure is still in its infancy. Back in the early 1900s there weren't many petrol stations & initially you had to buy it in cans from a Chemist. EV public charging is getting better all the time. Range anxiety no longer exists in China as they have the infrastructure in place already. I often plan a stop after about 2-3 hours driving and at a fast charger (50-80 kW) at a shopping centre. These are much cheaper than a Supercharger but slower. I then have a bite to eat, use the toilet etc & when I get back after 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour or so the car is back up to about 80% & I carry on. In my old ICE car I did the same but usually did not need to fill up if I left home with a full tank. I still had to fill up at my destination anyway. A lot of hotels & motels have "Destination Chargers". These are slow chargers like the wall charger I have at home. Some have type 2 cables but some don't so having your own is handy. You can charge the car over night and often it is free. The 3 pin charger that comes with the car is called a Granny charger & in Australia is limited to 8 amps. The maximum size portable chargers are 15 Amps & have a 15 amp plug. You can get a 32 Amp socket installed by your electrician but is will require a 6mm supply cable & you will need a 32 amp 7.4 kW charger. It is better to install a 7.4kW wall charger as it has all sorts of functions allowing you to choose to charge from solar or at off peak etc. My MG 4 is now 3 years old & has a maximum of 140 kW charging capacity. At a 350 kW charger I get at least 120 kW up to about 80% full. The problem generally doesn't lie with the car but with the grid supply to the supercharger. Most don't have a supply anywhere near as big as the cars capacity to charge and have a relatively small storage capacity which will be used quite quickly especially if there are several chargers & they are all being used at once. Note in China they now have 1.5 megawatt chargers for use with EVs having 1000 volt architecture. These can charge the EV from 10% to 80% in 5 minutes. The whole issue with having various apps & cards is a pain. Why they can't just all accept a credit card is ridiculous. I do have an RFID card for a couple of charging outfits & that is simple but it still charges to my credit card anyway. The best one is a company here called Evie & once the car is registered with the company I just plug in & it charges without any other requirements. When finished my credit card is charged & I get a notification & receipt on my phone. Way simpler than getting petrol. With no engine noise and effortless power & full torque from zero rpm your stress levels are definitely lower on a long trip. The RWD on the MG & 50/50 weight distribution provides superb handling & booting it out of a corner is magic. No other hot ICE car can compare. I am sure the Beamer is the same, most likely better. I hate driving the wifes ICE car and especially hate going in to a stinky petrol station.

One positive about nomadding during the off season.... we are not paying tourist season prices. And the caravan parks are not crowded. We got a couple of nights in a nice (warm n dry) cabin at Mt Gambier - for $55 a night.

This was the head office of the Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd. It is where I attended my recruiting interview in 1961. I got hired, and after 6 months in a suburban branch, I was transferred there to a department on the 2nd floor. I worked in that office for about 6 months before being transferred back to suburban branches. 50 odd years later, long after the bank no longer existed, (it had become part of Westpac), I worked for another company that moved into the building, and that is where I retired from in 2010. https://www.facebook.com/reel/2888786451478072

So does your car. Perhaps you should stop driving it.

--- FAMINE --- I feel that there are multiple food chain problems unfolding at present. Since they unfold in slow motion, the media seem to ignore it. 1. The Iranian (don't call it a) war is reducing available fertiliser and fuel. 2. The Ukraine invasion is causing a shortage of grain. 3. The changing weather cycles (don't call it climate change) are making for less predictable cropping (except for West Aust recent big crops). 4. The biggest El Nino event in centuries may mess up the american harvests. And maybe ours, too. 5. Australia has lost 70% of it's bird species. Biodiversity is vital to food chains. 6. The veroa mite (pestilence, anyone?) is damaging every food that needs pollinators. 7. The H5n1 bird flu has reached our shores. Among other things it has potential to interrupt Australia's most popular protein source - chooks. There must be other things that are being ignored. Am I being too paranoid?

My boss died. I went to his funeral. I kneeled down beside the coffin and whispered, "Guess who's thinking outside the box now?"

The BS in the ME has been the biggest shot in the arm for EV ever, No one wants to be Hung out to dry by people who hate each other's guts intensely and show no concern for how the rest of the World copes with the shortage. We don't import sun wind and tides and hydro.. It comes free and doesn't pollute and no country can block it unless it's a river from someplace, that gets Dammed and used up upstream.

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.

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.

It's on topic. All these things with Toyotas happened in one local government region or another.

Saw it on the internet so it must be true. The pic alleged it was true at Mt Wellington. Of course the standard answer is.... Of course you didn't think it was cold. You ARE a Tasmanian, aren't you?

WE ARE changing the Climate for the worse The seas are warming up. Yes it IS a Pretty gloomy Message. Place More emphasis on stopping conflict and More on co-operation. Nev

I had another consultation regarding the cochlear implant on Friday. I chose the model I wanted and selected the colour, light grey, which is the closest to my hair colour. The audiologist went through the costings, listing all the things covered by the government, and those not covered. If you lose or damage the device, it is not covered, and you should add it to your household contents insurance. Then came the kicker. Every five years they do a software upgrade, like Microsoft and Applle, which is not covered. The cost? -- 8 - 9 thousand dollars, which you may be able to claim from your private health insurance. I have to check that out. I don't know if you have to get the upgrade, or if you can continue on the older version. Then again, I may not last till an upgrade is required, pretty likely not to the second one. I rang my brother and discovered his wife had just had a second one implanted, in the other ear. They hadn't been told of the upgrade cost. They will be checking it out this week.

We bought our MGS5 a month ago and have done 2000km. We just plug it in to a standard power point when it's parked at home. We have solar on the roof, and when it's charging at night Tassie uses hydro power. That 2000km represents about 3 tank fulls of diesel in our previous car, or about 165 litres (at current price around $430). For comparison the EV gets around 16kW/100k so 320kW. Even if we weren't using solar and paying full price (23c/kWh), that's about $74 for the same range. (If my calculations are correct!)

I don't recall anyone on these forums suggesting the extraction of energy from renewables is free.. maybe out in the big wide world they have.. .Clearly that is a fallacy. We have already dealt with the costs per mw/h of renewable sources v fossil fuels for electricity generation. And renewables generally win - although there are cases where it doesn't. But it is not just the cost of extraction - there is the cost of distribution and then there is the efficiency cost. And of course, the cleaning up costs and decommissioning costs.. Still for electricity generation, the costs generally favour renewables.. There is a cost that fossil fuels don't pick up (and to be honest, neither does the renewables pick up) and that is the inherent damage to the environment. There is no cost applied and effort performed to remove things like the additional CO2, which seems to be a major contributor to what is looking more like a looming climate emergency.. you know the thing the pesky scientists predicted using real facts and models.. and it seems to be coming a darn sight quicker than they had hoped. The cost of toxins such as nitrogen oxides and other respiratory and cancer linked toxins is early termination of people and in countries such as Australia, the taxpayer picks up the tab through the health service. Yes, this is also the case for the manufacture and operation of plant/technology for renewable energy extraction, but I would guess (but am happy to be corrected) it is a lot lower than that for fossil fuels - after all, accessing the renewable sources is a lot easier than accessing fossil fuels - I don't have to dig under the sea for it.. do I... And even sea born renewable energy - waves - are pretty accessible. But renewables don't pay for their emissions either (well, there is a carbon trading market, still, somewhere). But again, and I haven't done the research and am happy to be corrected - this cost from renewables technology is probably a lot less because they do a lot less of it. Yes, Li-Ion batteries - especially for cars - have a heavy CO2 footprint at manufacture - much more than an ICE engine. In early technology, the average technology meant it was about 5 years before the electric car broke even with the average emissions of ICE cars, after which the drop in CO2 emissions for the lifetime of a BEV over an ICE car increased dramatically. Here are the current numbers: The time even on a wholly coal grid is still 4 - 5 years, but batteries are lasting at least 8 (on average) and going a lot more.. So, even with the dirtiest grid, they are still doing well. But, we move to grids such as in Europe, Australia, Canada, and China, and the payback is down to 2 years, well within most ownership cycles of cars and well within the life of the vehicle. In Australia, the depreciation cycle is 5 years, so you are effectively getting, say 3 years almost emissions free driving in comparison. Obviously, the coal and gas and maintenance are emitting, as are replacement of service items - which are much less in a BEV than and ICE engined car.

When people say that wind and solar are free, they need to explain. Oil gas and coal are just as free, they are sitting in the ground waiting to be taken. On a cost per unit of energy, oil, gas and large open pit coal can be very cheap. So it is simply a choice based on lifetime capital and operating costs for the whole energy system. We distort that by applying subsidies.

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.

Don't mess with the elephant. VIDEO-2026-08-08-16-07-09.mp4

Yeah. I agree. I blame local government.

I managed to get a great deal online for a Citroen C3 1.2l petrol manual for hire since my Volvo's diff decided to poop itself on the weekend. But, imagine the horror on my face when they didn't actually have one and the only car they had that they wouldn't charge me extra for was a BMW i-4 M Sport, with range just shy of 300 miles. I was not impressed at all 😉 So, I have this fancy sparky car for the princely sum of GBP 95 for the week (around $190).. plus GBP45 for the excess insurance. I suggested they do a 6 month rental but the manager told me they are paying about twice for the lease on it I have had it 36 hours now; picked it up from Exeter airport. I love it. It is probably a cut above the MG4 Urban I am looking t, but taking away the fancy stuff, it is soooooo smooth. And there's enough road noise to cover for the lack of engine growl. What I really love is you can park just about anywhere there is a charger and as long as it is plugged in, at least on council parking areas, you don't pay car parking fees.. it doesn't have to be charging. Though, some people have abused it so our council is bringing in limits post charging complete. Virtually every supermarket is installing fast chargers. I stopped at the Sainsburys in Richmond and the price for a 400kw/h charger - not that I got anywhere near that - was 62p/hr with my nectar (loyalty) card or 72p/hr without it. I did top up the car last night before the commute to Londong this morning at a 200kw/h charger in the council car park - that was a rip off at 92p/kwh. I did get some range anxiety this morning on the way in. wanted to make sure that I had enough to get to the services tomorrow, so stopped at Reading Services and aid 92p/kwh. FFS, how can the vendor of a council site - and the council - allow the same cost as a services and the charger at the council site was 1/2 the recharge rate of the services! Out council is stuffed (another thread I know). . Compared to the Sainsbury's charging,, the services costs were expected as they are about 20 - 30p a litre more for petrol. But the real advantage is that you can almost park anywhere near where you want to go and charge up while you do whatever you want to do, That council car park was around the corner fro where we went to dinner on Sunday night. So, if I am low on fuel, I can park nearby and while chowing down, shipping, or whatever, the car fuels itself. Now, if that charging point happens to be full, the satnav in the car will direct you to the nearest that is available at the charge rate you want. Back to the driving.. It is as smooth as silk and the acceleration is brisk to say the least.. think pushing you into the back of the seat like an F18 with your lips and gums compressing against your cheek bone fast. Sorry Jeremy Clarkson, some ICE based Porsche simply doesn't compete (a fiend as a 911 targo or something - admittedly older - and it is quick - but nothing like this). BTW, it doesn't matter what speed (at least to about 70mph) one is doing.. the acceleration feels much the same.. break neck. Because it is a heavy car, and with a lower centre of gravity, it really sticks to the road.. And I mean sticks. I have thrown it around roundabouts and corners at speeds that were pushing my innards outwards from the sides.. but the car stuck to the tarmac like it was a fly to flypaper. And braking is almost a thing of the past, except for emergency braking. After about 20 minutes of driving on the motorway, I worked out how to just use normal foresight to come off the accelerator enough to put s smidge of electricity back into the battery, but more important to the environment, massively reduce the asbestos dust that is being generated I have had my Volvo for 13 years - it is a big old lump that I rarely drove respectfully.. and in that time I went through a set of pads once... and at the same time discs.. As a cheapskate, I found OEM aftermarkets a darned sight cheaper than the fleecers (IMHO) of the main Volvo dealer somewhere near me.. so I am not saying regenerative braking will save me a lot of money... but the environment has to be worth something, right? But there are some niggling things - not all to do with the car or the battery/technology. But, some were to do with the car. Despite the car's supposed 200kw/h charging capacity, it only peaked at 120kw/h and only for a short period. It averaged 50 I would say, and reduced significantly as the charge rate went up. This meant, when the battery was at 45% charge coming into Reading, it was a good 40 minutes before it got to 85%, I did a bit of research as to why that would be the case and there are two reasons.. a) something wrong with th charging system or b) I didn't pre-condition the battery, Although I didn't.. it was after a 100 mile trip at 75mph and I would be very surprised if it was not warm enough to take the faster charging. I got similar recharging rates this afternoon at Sainsbury's and I forgot to pre-condition - but it was 28 degrees. I have put a post it note in the car to pre-condition the battery before the next charge. But, although not necessary in this case and I know the battery charge rate is probably better on a non-hire car, 40 minutes was a bit shit. Thankfully, at my age, I managed to get two pees in the service's dunnies, rather than the regulatory one. So, I feel the ore expensive charge rate was justified in this case. But seriously, as my daughter did point out, if you are low and in a hurry, liquid fuel is going to be quicker. But how often does that really happen? One of the rubbish things about renting a BEV is that you only have what charging cable they give you. And it will rarely be a 3 pin power point plug. And I will be darned if I am going to buy a GBP* 50 adaptor for the week (but I may well be paying for it in higher electricity costs of public charging stations). OK, that has nothing to do with electric vehicles per se, bit it would have been gppd for the standard plug to the the basic power point plug of the country. Of course, the UK domestic plug is a beaut and easily handles 32 amps; and I am sure Aussie ones do, too. but with a rental, at least in the UK from this major brand, you have to either buy an adaptor (assuming you have a 32A socket) or pay more at public charging points/stations. And one of the issues is the sheer inconsistencies of the infrastructure. I sort of lump the problems of it. You know those lively distributed charging stations/points? They aren't monitored like the pumps of a servo (at least when it is opened). So, there are a lot that are vandalised. Oh they have CCTV, bit a balaclava sporting scrote on a stolen moped on a path of destruction is hardly going to be concerned about being caught on CCTV in a country where non violent theft is not even investigated anymore. Then you have basic incompatibility - with the car and the payment method. The Taunton Crescent car park, which was remodelled at great ratepayer (council tax payer) expense while at he same time reducing capacity beyond that from just the installation of BEV chargers, did not seen to recognise my rented car, nor despite the instruction signs indicating otherwise, my debit card for payment, I spent about 10 minutes faffing about before giving up and moving to the next place. And on top of that, my shit council (IMHO) charged for parking in addition to the rent they receive, and I am guessing the commission on that expensive per KW/H charging costs. Of course, if you can't charge your car they aren't earning the commission. Most of my gripes are about charging.. but like the above, are nothing to do with the car itself.. but, like the curtailment costs of Scottish wind generation, crap planning and implementation Serioulsy, how decision makers get into decision making jobs is beyond me, So, after giving up on the Crescent car park, I went to the next closed place with decent charging rate chargers - the Taunton Marks and Spencers Car park, and realised that they closed that car park not too long after closing.. and given I was there not too long before closing,, it rally wasn't an option staying as the beemer did not come with the optional root top tent to be used in the case of such a circumstance. The Beemer satnav told me the next closest fastest chargers was a Morrisons Supermarket carpark.. Morrisons is a cross between IGA and Ken Bruce in terms of its demographics (if you're not from Vic, you're not mad; you have never heard of Ken Bruce nor seen his quality ads with a stuffed cockatoo on his shoulder). I arrived and although the supermarket was going to be open for at least anout 1.5 hours, they set up bricks and bollards to block us now frustrated and somewhat nervous BEV drivers with only 48% battery left.. My dog.. With only 100 miles range left, where I am going to find a charger that works, is going to be open and will read my worn out debit card? The council buildings.. and they are, IMHO, mongrels for what they charge. Compared to the Devon council, IMHO, they are charlatans. Sadly, SWMBO is becoming a technophbe.. so I can't persuade her to go for the Beemer.. So it is an automatics M4 Urban... Petrol that uses a funny cable to deliver the petrol - that is because it has to be filtered properly.

It's getting that way that if there's no thread drift, it must mean that no one is reading the post!

I see there was snow in Hobart yesterday. Today is a nice balmy 12 degrees and sunny here in Portland.

My biggest gripe at the moment is TV commercials. Foxtel are the worst. You get a commercial so flick a channel or two to see what else is on, and you get another commercial, anything up to a dozen or so at the one time, particularly that damned Trevago ad with those idiots buried up to their neck. Not deep enough.

The whole thing was a Contrived Stunt by Farage to deflect from what he was caught out doing. Taking money. People who throw money expect results for doing so. Money TALKS. Those who Pay the Piper CALL the tune. That's why the Pollies who work for the Already rich live higher on the Hog. IF they can get away with it. That requires the resources to keep things Quiet. ie Control of the Media. Nev

Well, one of his policies was not to take 5 million pound bribes from billionaires, so he's already better than Farage.

I don't thing I disputed the energy density claim. And of course, there are fuels which are better suited for use cases. If I want to get to Australia, with current technology, avtur or Jet A1 id the best. I don't know anyone with any sanity that would suggest otherwise. But that doesn't mean fossil based fuel is good for all cases. Given the thermal inefficiency, there are applications where it is better. To take the logic a little further, coal has a much higher energy density than, I dunno, solar (in the case of the Solar Impulse 2 which flew around the world wholly on solar power (Rutans used 100LL Avgas); but I wouldn't try a steam engine in an airliner either because, although it is a fossil fuel, no one in their right mind would suggest it, right? Similarly, for cars, as the wheels support the weight rather than the wings and the force to overcome (in addition to drag) is friction - much lower than weight - battery technology is allowing denser storage of fuel (electricity) which is giving comparable mileage to ICE cars - not because of the density itself but because of both the thermal and mechanical inefficiency of the latter. So, for that use case electricity (which can be generated by renewables) is becoming a more efficient fuel for propulsion and drive train than fossil and mechanical means (yes, there are still mechanics in EVs.. but you should get what I mean). On wind generation in the UK, I agree - I should have used the word theoretically, because the generation capacity of the wind turbines installed is higher than demand. There are three main constraints to it being reality Wind does not blow all the time. However, for the UK, wind is a viable option as it does blow a lot of the time. The highest concentration of windmill installations are in and offshore Scotland. So, there is a concentration of the source of the power. Note, wind power generation in Scotland often exceeds demand. The planning in this country is poor, which is why a massive amount of renewable generation was installed before the grid was upgraded to be able handle it. That is not a failure of renewable technology; that is a failure of politics and planning. But if I am wrong on any of these, please feel free to explain why rather than just say it is BS. Saying it is BS does not mean it is. Proper credible explanation as to why, and I will happily change my position and concede I am wrong. Again, it depends on your use case. I think people are suggesting there are two camps - renewables or fossil fuels. I hope with what I wrote above addressed that.. but to repeat, we wouldn't put coal in an airliner and it has far more energy density than solar technology likely ever will (well, I have to check the convex cells.. They seemed pretty fearsome). But other use cases, such as cars (well, not all electricity is renewable - granted) and power generation - where other factors don't make density the major factor - then they can be better. And yes, in some regions, fossils will be better. Again, it is about the mix. Not justy blindly sticking with one. That is an economic thing - more supply than demand drops the price. That is not due to nuclear - that is due to more supply. Nuclear did bring a lot on at once. But in Australia, Solar is doing the same which is why you are able to get your electricity for FREE when supply exceeds demand. Re the Scottish Curtailment - we had already addressed that some time ago in this thread so I am not digging all the info out again,. but the above points cover most of it anyway.

Under $1000 a year? I wouldn't be complaining about that. Ours is somewhere around $1500 with no water, sewage or rubbish collection. Not sure what cockatoos have to do with your rates. @willedoo- your council sounds like a pack of useless c**ts. My sympathy.

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

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 have used red for a long time now, all of the comparison people who ring up always come back with the same result when they check and agree that they have the best deal. since 2008 I have only had ducted AC in the old house and the new one. Found less dust, less work than wood heating, and the house is even throughout, not boiling in the fire room and freeing everywhere else. costs a lot less than bought firewood to run also.

Getting a bit off topic, but on that subject of outsourcing tech support, a couple of companies I deal with outsource customer and tech support to the Phillipines and their support has always been good. I think one of them uses work from home staff as you can often hear village or urban noises in the background like roosters crowing, babies crying and motorbikes riding past.

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

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.