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Stopped in Huonville after an excellent ride around the Channel - Margate through to Cygnet. Barely any traffic and a gorgeous afternoon. Coming over a rise after Gordon, there's nothing but water in front with a fishing boat coming in and the Hartz mountains in the background - absolutely stunning.

Trump's limo driver got arrested for possession of drugs. They found over 230 pounds of dope in the back seat.

Something outside the mundane commute. Last Tuesday morning - 3am-ish, I mounted the steed (minds out of the gutters, chaps). And was at my usual parking spot here by about 6:30am: I park at the little red circle and I walk to the big red circle for work. Just to the right of where I work is Liverpool Street station.. Not the most valuable bit of real estate on the Monopoly board, but I would love to own it. I digress. I came in to meet a direct report. We hadn't caught up face to face and decided we would meet on the Tuesday. So, after parking and chaining the bike to a railing provided by the council, I walked to the office, showered, went to my desk and bashed away at the keyboard in between the plethora of meetings I have these days.. most of which are not terribly productive. What I forgot to mention was I tried to change my now irregular Thursday night booking at the pub to Tuesday night - and low and behold there was no vacancy. So, I decided to do the Hestom Motorway Services Travelodge - Eastbound (on the side of the M4 that heads towards Heathrow): The little circle is more or less where I was parked and the big circle is on the M4 heading west.. No public transport to take one there. My direct report and I caught up at 5pm for a couple of hours - she was taking me through her designs and ideas - most of which were a little ahead of the curve. I returned to my desk, did a couple of emails that won't save the world, and then headed to the change rooms to change into my bike kit. I did the 5 minute walk to the bile; unchained it, put my backpack in the top box, and started it up. There was a slight delay with the sound of a flooded carb, but the engine popped into life. There was a small whiff of what I thought was fuel - I attributed it to a slightly flooded carb. Well, but this time, it was after 8pm and on a Tuesday eve, London is dead post Covid. So, I had an excellent run out a couple of miles to Blackfriars Bridge (on account of a closed road). When I finally pulled up at a set of lights, I smelled a strong smell of fuel - or that is what I thought it was.. I had ear plugs on, but I could hear a hiss with the engine, and when I gave it a quick rev, the hiss increased in volume. What was going on? What else is bloody wrong with this bike, I thought to myself. I looked at the fuel tank and as close to the lines as I could from the sitting position - and there was nothing untoward. But, I could feel my right leg warming up while waiting at the red light. And I looked down and - bloomin nora - there was no oil cap. It looks like someone stole it. How do I know? Well, it is possible it worked itself loose, but I check it before each commute leg, and it was nice and tight in the morning. So, at what was now about 8:45 and with no shop open, I rode it back gently to its original parking spot, hoping it just fell off or whoever perpetrated this left it close by. It was nowhere to be seen, and that includes tracing the first 250m of my ride in case they stcuk it on the seat or similar and I didn't see it in the dark, So, back to the office, change and what to do? The "hotel" I am booked into for the night can't be reached by public transport and I am not about to part with another £80 to get a cab there. So I decided to take a tube to the nearest station to the start of the M4 - Gunnersbury. While I was on the tube, I signed up to Uber as teh Black Cabs would have costed me about £30 - £40 from there. I linked my Paypal account to the Uber account for payment; a quote of £16 was quite acceptable. Before too long after alighting at Gunnersbury, I was in a clean and comfortable cab heading towards the Motorway services and the Travelodge. It turned out my driver lived in Melbourne for 9 years - Tarneit. I explained it wasn't even thoght of when I left Aus. We exchanged pleasantries and he was off. I was so impressed with Uber, I pre-ordered a ride at 6:30am to take me only about three miles to the nearest rail station to get me into London. Although it was a short distance, the price was £19; £3 more than the 6 or so miles to get me from Gunnersbury to the services. Oh well, it is a busy time of the day. The next morning, I was out at 6:35 waiting for my Uber. The night before, a driver in a Merc accepted it, but I noticed that had changed to a driver in a Prius. That is perfectly fine for me. At 6:30, there was no sight of the driver, so I opened the app and he was due, although the car wasn't showing on the app. At 6:31, I presume it was the driver, cancelled - but somehow I got slugged the £11.56 for the cancellation fee. My first thought was first (round trip) and last time I use them.. And that is the case. I will never use them again. The second thought was to get my money back. Well, the app does not make it easy to say the least. I found a telephone line, but it is for drivers (and I think couriers) only. So, I lodged a claim with Paypal. They immediately approved my claim, so I guess this happens a lot. But, how to get from the Services to the rail station to get to work. I called a local mini cab company (I approached black cabs, but they were all pre-booked). The company said it would take about 1/2 hour.. so I went to one of the services cafes and ordered a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and a drink. I literally took my first bite and the phone rang - they were here. Ship!. Thankfully the sandwich was in "to go" packaging so it went back in there and into my bag.. as did the unopened drink. I figured it would be a bit colder on the train, but I would still get my breakfast in. The driver was a devout Muslim - with a Quran in a caddy on his dash. I hadn't thought too much about it until I could smell the toasted ham and cheese sandwich wafting from my bag. "Ship" I though to myself, "I don't want to offend the fella in his own car). So, I opened the rear window. I am sure he would be fine with it, anyway. But, it was a tad cold.. I forgot to mention his price - it was £13.. £6 cheaper than Screwber. But, the traffic was soooooo bad, it took well over 3/4 hour to get to the station - not quite 3 miles away. I was livid - not at the driver - but at the crappy road planning around there. When we finally got there, I have him a tip to take the fare to a little over the Screwber. I finallly got into work, but I had one little issue - the bike, which by now had a tree seed covering the oil inlet to stop moisture and other crap getting in, still needed an oil filler cap. The problem is, there is no motorcycle spare parts place for about 12 miles in any direction, and I don't have the time during the day to trek those distances. But, I work out an M20 bolt will do it, and because they tend to have longer shafts/shanks, I will need a nut and a heatproof rubber seal, too. No probs, as there are two well known builders suppliers/hardware near the office. At lunch time I went to both, and they could stock me the washer, the nut, but not the bolt! Ship!. There is a motorcycle seller/club/bar/restaurant/cafe not too far away - the Bike Shed: https://bikeshedmoto.co.uk/?srsltid=AU7gw4Wpt_qj_fJcvBqFg3YBC3IeklsfTJqDHY9nlX2oxl6lgAyDZXr6, where you can get a basic mens haircut for only £37 ($74). Needless to say, they didn't have an oil filler cap. I had to get back to the office, but at 3pm, I said to my team. my boss and my internal clients, I have to fix the bike. I rang the closest motorcycle mechanic I looked up earlier and he told me to ride to him and he would see what he could do. Unf, he didn't have a cap, but recommended a fella about a mile away. He had nothing as well and recommended a shop a couple of miles away that specialised in bigger bikes. I rocked up. "This is your lucky day.. we are changing over a firebird engine and yours is a detuned Firebird engine). So, he went to the blown engine and cannibalised the oil filler cap. He put a new seal on, affixed it, and started up the bike to listen for any FOD. He then let it sit for about 10 minutes, while cleaning the oil spray off with a detergent of some sort, rag, and water. He declared everything OK after checking the oil level. And the charge? £5. I gave him a tenner, got a card, and said to him he had earned a new customer. Since they are open to 7pm, it makes sense as I can ride to their shop, get the Docklands Light Rail to within 200metres of the office and I don't have to tear out at 4:30pm. I rode back to the office, worked until about 9pm, dutifully checked the cap was still on and rode home. Got home at 1am (stopped for dinner).

Yesterday I had a calibration appointment for my Cochlear implant. It started with the audiologist connecting the device to her computer and playing a range of beeps at various frequencies, starting too low to hear, and increasing them until they were at a comfortable volume. She then read out a number of words from a printed list of about 30, with her face obscured, and I had to locate the word on the list and repeat it without being able to lip-read. Passed that without problem. Next, she placed a page of 12 half sentences in front of me. Again, obscuring her face, she read out the full sentence which I had to repeat back to her. The example I recall was: Printed: She cleaned the floor.... The spoken sentence: She cleaned the floor with a mop and broom. I passed all 12 sentences at the first attempt. She said she normally doesn't get to pulling that page out until the second month. I've had the device for 9 days. I can now hold conversations, watch the TV, and talk on the phone without the hearing aid in the other ear.

The problem really is that it is a hybrid, designed to appeal to those with a fear of full electric and rusted on range anxiety. A hybrid is the worst of both worlds. The battery is small so the electric range is woeful. The ICE engine is also small so needs to work hard to replace the energy drain from the battery. Charging a battery from an ICE engine is very inefficient. It has all the disadvantages of every ICE engined vehicle of consuming fossil fuel including maintenance and complexity. How this bloke with the Shark got 24 litres/100k crossing the great dividing range which is essentially up hill overall and 44 on the flat doesn't add up. Was he driving in to a 50-80kmh headwind on the flat with a big flat fronted 3 tonne caravan? You cannot regenerate anywhere near the energy going downhill lost going uphill to the top. Only a long sustained down hill run will increase the energy level of the battery.

The Russians are obviously well aware of how they've played Trump for the fool that he is. The other point is that the 300,000 tonnes very likely hasn't cost them anything. It's highly unlikely to be additional production, but more likely just the fuel they were intending to produce anyway and would have shipped to the market using their shadow fleet. Now it will just go out in a different tanker with a receipt from the US government to make it look legitimate. Not only that, it's not even going to the US. It's going to the world market, which means the small quantity involved will make even less difference to fuel prices anywhere. Trump will pay them $4 billion and effectively get nothing in return except maybe a thank you note from Putin for his birthday present. The Russians must be very happy with this deal.

Works for me too, although I don't have an account. I sometimes click on the links that Red posts but generally try to avoid FB as much as possible.

Here's a thought. If a Democrat won the Presidency in 2028, and a first action was to rescind all Trump's Executive Orders that cut out the money to welfare programmes the Yanks used to enjoy, where would the money come from? Trump has driven the US Government so deep in debt that such a reversal would not seem possible.

A ride is still a ride. Every ride counts. Even if you're not doing it for the scenery. Instead of riding, I went e-shopping. I found a NOS stator in US..... priced a bit out of my range. $1600, (plus $86 shipping). However there is a US supplier selling chinese copies. Being a poor lowly pensioner, I'll get one of those. For $120 plus $20 shipping. The joys of old (ish) machines.

Although I didn't intend to make this thread about PhDs or Chalmers specifically (both unintended consequences), it seems Chalmers needn't have worried about mind reading what could possibly happen under his watch - it was laid out for him in very good time: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/18/labor-knew-in-july-months-earlier-than-previously-admitted-that-ato-planned-to-ban-credit-card-payments Here's another unintended consequence. El Chumpo has decided to defer the sanctions bill pushed through by the late Lindsay Graham, who finally seemed to find a semblance of a moral compass. In addition, he decides he is going to allow Russian [blood] oil onto the international markets in a vain effort to lower domestic Diesel prices. Allowing Russia to sell oil and receive money will undoubtedly result in them being able to fund more pain on Ukraine. However, what el Chumpo (and his team, I guess) either missed ot don't care about is that Russia supports Iran... providing them oil for, inter alia, their military as well as intelligence - of where US positions are and movements. Both if these are used to attack the US in the ME and the US' allies (Houthi's are baving a ball with Saudi at the moment). I would like to think the unintended consequence of Chump's folly focus on a vain attempt at reducing domestic Diesel prices would result in potential deaths to Americans and her allies thanks to Russia supporting Iran?

It's been reported that the Starlink speed decrease was ordered by the White house. So that, along with the purchase of diesel from Russia in contravention of their own sanctions, means that Trump is an active accessory in the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. I'd love to see the kompromat that Putin holds on Trump. Given that Trump visited Moscow with the Miss Universe or some similar competition, it's not hard to guess, especially as Russia are known to install cameras and bugs in hotel rooms.

Not sure it's what trumpy did, or Elon, or Kegbreath. But in Ukraine, starlink recently suddenly stopped working for any receiver travelling faster than 100mph. It is used for anti missile/drone intercepts. The Ukranians sent a Starlink device travelling at speed from Ukraine, into Europe and back. The starlink worked perfectly once it crossed out of Ukraine. It stopped as soon as it came back. Military Starlink is controlled by USA. So USA is actively preventing Ukraine from defending its own territory. Also, investigating a fallen Russian Geran drone has found US semiconductors in its computer pcb. USA is now working for Putin.

I don't DO farcebook either..Nev

Yes, I know it's not an old car, it's an old bulldozer. A machinery mob in Oakey have this Vickers Vikon Dozer on marketplace, not selling it, just looking for information. Until now I didn't know Vickers made dozers. According to the owners there were only twenty one Vikons made and only two running examples left in the world, this one and one in New Zealand. It's powered by a supercharged four cylinder Rolls Royce diesel engine and is built on the track system of a Tetrarch light tank, which were built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited in the 1930’s and used in WW2. The Vikon was build in the 1950's. The video is of the New Zealand example at Wanaka. Not the prettiest bulldozer I've seen.

Another scam by the man.

Karoline Leavitt was no dummy. She was confident and articulate and a very good press secretary for the Trump administration if you only judge her performance on those terms. It’s a pity she was batting for the wrong side and mostly spreading fact free propaganda, but she did it well.

So its trully terrible then.

I call a big fat bullshit to almost everthing Musk says and does. I dont see his flying car as anything but hyper marketing that will be nothing like the car that is on sale. The acceleration is technically possible but highly suspect. Some hyper electric cars can do a sub 2 sec claimed to 100, the worlds fastest is 1 sec and thats a special electric hyper go cart of small size and massive short term power. Its drivers report a very scary drive and G block would be a thing if not for the very short drive time. This is more that F1 acceleration. Anything under 3 secs is extreme acceleration and requires great skill to safely use and the right conditions. My BMW bike is capable of 2.6 sec to 100kmh and that feels extreme and keeps rocketing once you get past that. 80kmh overtaking can easily be 160 if passing a truck in mere seconds, any car capable of that type acceleration would be deadly in most hands. We absolutely do not need more cars like Musk is pushing. On to the flying claims- absolute bullshit. The "car" that had rockets and apparently suction fans seems fake. Yes, the fans are possible as they are proven on the Mcmurty Sperling, but thats a track dedicated single seater and relies on pressure gradient to suck it to a surface. It has no rockets, and as soon a ground\surface contact is lost, so is the suction. I would think the flying one is a 200-300kg dummy made of carbon with thrusters and fans or even a electromagnet on the track it climbs and clings to. It falls and moves to smoothly in the video to be realistic. Or a hidden arm not seen on camera, I am sure his AI could hide the arm. I think its just a big bullshit campaign to push share prices and way overpromise as per normal. I await years of promises, lost money and then followed by claims that the FAA banned it because it could "really Fly".

That's your intelligent opinion. Are we dealing with an intelligent electorate?

Don't be too sure of a Democrat landslide in the mid-terms. The idea of that happening is based partly in polling. Over the last three Presidential elections the polling has been way off compared to its accuracy before about 2008. There is a number of factors causing that. This video describes some of those factors. This video discusses the topic. The presentation is unbiased.

Yes. The person is a paraplegic, having been shot through the spine during the incident. Wouldn't look good shooting a cripple. Shades of the SS. Not the usual image of the condemned man backed up against a wall, being offered a last cigarette and a blindfold.

If you think that the things will change on 4th November if the Dems gain a majority in either House, you are wrong. The winners of local elections will not take up their seats until 3rd January 2027. Between November and February, each State has to confirm and certify the winners of each seat within it. This can takes weeks and you can be sure that both Parties will be calling for recounts in close seats. How close? How long is a piece of string in the case of teh Republicans. After each State has confirmed the results in its seats, a certificate is sent to the Clerk of the House. Then in January, all those who have been elected congregate in the House they have been elected to and the Clerk Clerk calls the roll, giving a seat to the person called. That's why that ruckus happened on the 6th January 2021. It could happen again. Here's a video that give a description of what Trump and his cohorts could do if the Republicans cop a beating.

The Dems don't seem to promote any meaningful platform. The most they are offering is 'Vote for us to make things like they used to be'. Are they forgetting that the Trump led Republican administration got elected because the public don't want the previous style of corruption and warmongering? Sure it isn't draining the swamp. But will a Dem win be enough to bring about a shift away from billionaire controlled government?

I think the Republicans realise they will lose the House, but Trump will do everything he can to hold onto the Senate. If the Democrats win the Senate as well, they will be in a much stronger position to make his life miserable. My concern is that the Democrats are so focused on campaigning against Trump that they haven't figured out what they're actually for and what they would do to turn the ship around, so nothing much will get done for the next two years.

Here is a Google AI search of car age on Australias roads Fleet Age Breakdown National Fleet Average: 11.54 years Passenger Vehicles Average: Roughly 11.2 to 11.4 years Oldest State/Territory Fleet: Tasmania (average age of 13.5 years) Youngest State/Territory Fleet: Australian Capital Territory (average age of 10.4 years) [1, 2] Fleet Composition & Stats Total Registered Vehicles: Over 22.3 million motor vehicles across Australia New Vehicle Turnover: About 25% of vehicles are under 5 years old, while around 27% are older than 10 years. No Road Salting Effect: Because Australia does not salt its roads in winter, vehicles suffer far less rust damage, allowing older cars to stay functional and look newer longer on Reddit. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The chairman ( He who gets the Chairs) at the MEN'S Shed ( It's HIS shed) has a Geely Ev and a new Hip and It's ON tomorrow. The Men's shed. Whoopey! Another Member Swapped his Volvo for a Geely Hybrid. No money changed hands. My solution has been at a lot lower level. A bit of overdue TLC for MY 1998 AU Fairmont with 367,000 Kms and runs on GAS at 1$ / Litre, Never garaged. It's probably running better than it ever has. The motor turns over about one turn to start and makes NO clicking Noises. It's good enough for me. (AND the Dogs). Nev

Cynic! Yes there are lots of similar crazies out there. And the fact that such examples are so easy to find, means that there are also statistically significant multitudes of slightly less laughable examples as well. Still indicates all is lost. I will match your cynicism and dig a pit of utter distain beneath it.

Ukraine betrayed for 300,000 tonnes of diesel. One piece of silver equates to 10,000 tonnes of fuel.

They will just pay Trump to sell them pardons.

Yes, OME. Whatever happens politically in the next couple of years, USofA is truly forked. I see them having to adjust to being a third world country - possibly for ever. Trump gets his wish - his fame will last a long long time.

Oh, I thought that if she wasn't dimwitted, the only alternative would be dim ethically. As Nev pointed out, donold primarily selects minions based on blind loyalty. And maybe lip size. Is that a metaphor for blind lip service?

You obviously don't have a Facebook account.

It's useless anyway. Musk himself said the rocket version would be illegal on public roads. And if it's a normal EV weight (plus the weight of the rocket system) then one of the 5 second stunts it did probably drains the rocket fuel.

I thought I'd get at least one. The Sportster has been one of Harleys best Handling bikes and often used in desert Racing. The frames don't flex and never tankslap. . The 1000 cc Iron Sportster engine Makes 63HP standard. That's better than any Vincent except the one built to order.(black Lightning.) The best of the others is 55 HP.. I've had my 81 model from new. Nev

The latest Fox News poll shows that corruption is an even bigger concern for voters than the economy at 88% disapproval. That's pretty extraordinary, especially for Fox. Trump has replaced the Washington political swamp with the New York real estate swamp.

Guess she didn't make it to the second episode of The Apprentice.

Red, I wish you wouldn't post links in this format. Too often one cannot watch them to the end because FB butts in.

Is that a useful vehicle, or just another vanity wankmobile?

I reckon they would have gone cross-eyed trying to design them. A simple construction requiring a complicated cam shape. This is the parts manual drawing; it seems to exaggerate the shape a bit.

Can you tell the difference?

I'm still saving up for a EV. But I put a self imposed deadline on myself. Only put 6 months rego on the old faithful Mitzi Outlander. With 350,000k on the clock she is getting a bit tired. At last oil change I gave her some 15w 50 oil which quietened the engine rattle down a lot.

HIS team are really "Freaked out" about the Mid terms. There might even be a few who do a runner to get away from the Courts. I wouldn't be surprised if DT did something dramatic and uses it to Declare a National Emergency and declare Martial Law.. Desperate people do desperate THINGS. Nev

It was 130/145 Avgas in most radial engines. You can't even get that Now. I started flying in 1959 and fuel was never cheap as far as I was concerned. Anyone who had a Big round motor up front Must have been rich in my view. I certainly wasn't. All of my Weekly income gave me an hour and a Half in the Air. when I started in a Chipmunk.. Nev

I don't tow caravans, nor have a big ute, but I suspect that an acceptable fuel consumption for an ICE towing a typical caravan would be in the range of 13 to 18 litres per 100 km. That's why the figure in the 40s was such a shock. I really don't think that these massive EVs are suitable for towing much more than a tradies' trailer. I don't mean to be nasty about them, but it's always horses for courses when selecting a tool to do a job.

Definitely a good memory. I remember him on Pick-a-Box correcting Bob Dyer when Bob said his answer was wrong.

How times have changed. I found this old photo taken of the welcome to Cairns sign on a road trip in 1976. Population 33,000, it's around 180,000 now. Cairns was a nice place in 1976 with a lot of character. I was also there in 1983 and it was much the same. The next time was 1998 and it was unrecognisable.

It's a bit ironic when you have to bend down to pick up your pick up tool that you dropped.

One of my pet peeves. What cruel b uses the smallest unreadable font on the bottle to give me the only information I need?

I think you will find the best paid CEO rarely pays much tax at all.