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Nev, Spread the word far and wide, boats are a terrible waste of money, endless days can be wasted on the water seeing birds, dolphins, whales, lots of fish and watching sharks feed on dumb tourists. It's a horrible life and no one should suffer such deprivations. The number of times I have been almost blinded by bikini babes is astounding. Tell the world to stop been silly and never come to Port Stephens, it's horrible- like a frozen gulag. So bad in fact , I am restoring a half cabin 15 ft Cruise Craft, a mere 50 years old. My tortured life continues...

I thought I would have a look at what rare earth minerals are used for. Lanthanum (La) Camera and telescope lenses (high refractive index glass) Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries (hybrid vehicles) Oil refining catalysts Hydrogen storage alloys Cerium (Ce) Glass polishing (phones, screens, optics) Catalytic converters Self-cleaning ovens UV-blocking glass Praseodymium (Pr) Permanent magnets (with neodymium) Aircraft engines (high-strength alloys) Yellow pigments for glass and ceramics Neodymium (Nd) High-strength permanent magnets (NdFeB) Electric vehicle motors Wind turbine generators Headphones, speakers, hard drives Promethium (Pm) (very rare & radioactive) Nuclear batteries (limited use) Thickness gauges Research applications only Samarium (Sm) Samarium-cobalt magnets (high-temperature, defence) Nuclear reactor control rods Microwave devices ⚙️ Medium / Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs) Europium (Eu) Red phosphors in TV and LED screens Anti-counterfeiting inks (banknotes) Fluorescent lighting Gadolinium (Gd) MRI contrast agents Neutron shielding Magnetic refrigeration research Terbium (Tb) Green phosphors (displays) Strengthens neodymium magnets for high heat Sonar and sensors Dysprosium (Dy) High-temperature permanent magnets Electric vehicles and wind turbines Nuclear reactor components Holmium (Ho) Medical lasers Nuclear control rods Precision magnetic devices Erbium (Er) Fibre-optic signal amplifiers Laser technology Pink colouring for glass Thulium (Tm) Portable X-ray machines Medical lasers Radiation sources (very niche) Ytterbium (Yb) Stainless steel strengthening Fibre lasers Atomic clocks Lutetium (Lu) PET scan detectors Cancer treatment catalysts Oil refinery catalysts ➕ Related Rare Earths (Not Lanthanides) Scandium (Sc) Aluminium-scandium alloys (aerospace, sports gear) Solid oxide fuel cells High-intensity lamps Yttrium (Y) LEDs and display phosphors Thermal barrier coatings (jet engines) Superconductors Cancer treatments (Y-90)

I assume you mean Dhu fish , not Jew fish which is actually Mulloway. Molloway just means big fish. Mulloway are also a east coast fish and very fast growing. I catch them all the time and they are generally 3-5 years old as a big fish and reach legal fishing size of 70cm and capable of breeding, by 5-6 years they are 90cm or more. They can get to over 1.4 metres and live to 30 years. depending on the area they can grow very fast- here in Port Stephens we are renowned for them and its a major breeding area. The Port is a extremely healthy system , with limited commercial fishing and many areas that are sanctuary breeding zones, we are a giant national park and Ramsar bird sanctuary. We have a hatchery here as well to increase numbers back to sustainable volume following years of over fishing. The size minimum went from 50 to 70 cm, the flesh is sweetest in the 70-90 cm range and below 50 cm are called soapies and have a slight soapy smell and taste. Most of us will return any bigger to the water for breeding, we tend to "encourage" catch and release unless you absolutely want to eat it and treat the fish with respect at all times. I think the WA govt handled this really poorly but the closure of the fishery or at least restrictions are vital or the system will quickly collapse.

Good luck with your recovery.

Here's another photo of the arrest, clearly showing camera in his right hand, the other held high empty. Murder pure and simple. Click to enlarge.

Donald Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, has spoken out about the president’s most significant fear during an interview with The Telegraph. She also highlighted Trump’s fragile ego, claiming he is “nothing of who he claims to be.” While being questioned by the outlet, Mary Trump disclosed some revealing information about Trump’s vulnerabilities. “One of the things he’s most afraid of is to have people understand that everything about him is based on a myth. He’s literally nothing of who he claims to be,” she said, "He has to project this idea, he’s the greatest, the best. He’s trying to convince himself as much as he’s trying to convince everybody else.” The interview was initially shared in May 2025, but the clip has begun to recirculate on social media after the president’s strange, explosive speech at Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. “Perfectly said. Trump’s entire persona is a fragile myth, loud bravado masking deep insecurity. The fear isn’t criticism, it’s exposure,” replied one user to the clip on X. Another added, “Mary Trump nails it: At Davos, we watched an old man decompensate on the world stage—rambling, confused, exposed—because no one close to him cares enough to stop the unraveling. The myth shatters; the tragedy is he has no real self left.” During his already notorious speech, Trump spoke for over 70 minutes about global issues, Greenland, Europe, NATO, while taking every opportunity to big himself up. At one point, he even bizarrely claimed NATO allies "called him daddy" after he revealed he wanted to acquire Greenland. He also mistakenly referred to the country as Iceland several times during his address to the World Economic Forum. Onlookers were alarmed by Trump’s repetitive slurring during the lengthy address, fueling further speculation that the president’s health is not as good as he keeps saying. Last month, Mary Trump added to the speculation by declaring on her YouTube channel, “What seems to be happening is that he’s becoming more and more insecure over time. It seems the more he gets of what he thinks he wants—money, power, chaos—the more insecure and afraid he becomes.” Mary is the biological niece of the president and is also a psychologist and author. She is the daughter of Trump’s older brother, Frederick Crist Trump Jr., who died at 42 in 1981. She has been continually outspoken about her uncle’s alleged cognitive decline and has often given unique insight into Trump’s personality.

Trump WOULDN'T KNOW or CARE about that UNLESS you named (at least) ONE after HIM. Nev

A rare-earth mineral is a mineral that contains one or more rare-earth elements as major metal constituents. The rare-earth elements (REE), also called rare-earth metals, or rare earths, are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals. The 15 lanthanides (any of the 14 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57–70, from lanthanum through ytterbium) along with scandium and yttrium, are usually included as rare earths. Rare-earth minerals are rare because rare-earth elements have unique geochemical properties that prevent them from easily forming minerals, and are therefore not normally found in deposits large or concentrated enough for mining. This is the reason they are called "rare earths". The term "rare-earth" is a misnomer, because they are not actually scarce.

You've got it the wrong way around. You are not assumed to be guilty. Every motorist is assumed to be innocent until the breath or drug tester shows otherwise. No different with the hate speech laws. Stop worrying.

I believe it was Passed . People demanded something be done. IF you aren't vocal about sensitive things, why would YOU attract attention. Similarly a breath test is a Minor Inconvenience. Fair enough if it Keeps pot heads and drunks OFF the road, so they don't kill innocents. Nev

A Chinese man moved to Australia after years of living in Shanghai. He bought a small piece of land near Mt Isa. Soon after, his friendly Aussie neighbour decided to go across and welcome the new guy. But on his way up the drive-way, the Aussie saw the Chinese man running around his front yard chasing about 10 hens. Not wanting to interrupt these 'Chinese customs', he decided to visit the Chinese the next day. The next day, just as he was about to knock on the front door, he saw through the window the Chinese man urinated into a glass and then drank his own urine. Again not wanting to interrupt another 'Chinese custom', he decided to put the welcome on hold for yet another day. A day later the Aussie decided to give it one last go, but on his way next door, he saw the Chinese man leading a bull down the drive-way, paused, and then put his head next to the bull's bum. The Aussie bloke couldn't take it anymore, so he went up to the Chinese and said 'Jeez Mate, what the hell is it with your Chinese customs? I come over to welcome you to the neighbourhood and see you running around the yard after hens. The next day you are pissing in a glass and drinking it, and then today you have your head so close to that bull's bum.' The Chinese was taken back 'Sorry sir, you no understand. These no Chinese customs. I doing these Australian customs.' 'What do you mean mate' said the Aussie, 'those aren't Australian customs.' 'Yes they are. Man at travel agent tell me' replied the Chinese man. 'He say to become true Australian, you learn to chase chicks, drink piss, and listen to bull-shit!!..

The POWER of LAW is replaced by the LAW of POWER. Nev

OK.. Back to the thread.. though this is more the effects of what el Chumpo has done. Mark Carney, distinguished economist, ex governor of the Bank of England (RBA equivalent) and now Canadian PM has made a candid speech at Davos: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-21/carney-blasts-trump-canada-davos-world-economic-forum/106252354 OK, he has struck deals with China and Qatar, both not high on the human rights records, but importantly, Canadian pension funds are invested heavily in US government debt, and if they offload it and stop buying it, el Chumpo may need to increase those tariffs a little more anyway. Lucky Canada has successive governments that have taken a fairer slice of the wealth from the resources, unlike successive Aussie givernments that seem hell-bent on giving ours away for almost nothing in comparison (then compare to Qatar, Norway, and even Alaska, which are even better at retaining wealth). Imagine the leverage we would have if we accunulated the wealth from our resources properly. Anyway, Carney's speech I think officially heralds the beginning of the end of US domination.

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

In the lexicon of parents with young children, "LEGO" means "lounge room landmine"

If lightning hits a dead tree, it will still travel down the tree to the ground (on the outside of the trunk), but it likely won't make the tree explode because of an inadequate level of sap in it. The reason trees explode when struck by lightning, is because the sap is superheated to steam instantaneously. The normal level of volatile eucalyptus oil naturally in the air, is at too low a level to be ignited by lightning. However, in a fire, heated trees close to the fire front can release large amounts of volatile oils that further exacerbates the fire strength. There is a known feature of bushfires, termed "a crown fire". A crown fire occurs in front of the main fire front, and is driven by strong winds, which send the fire front through the treetops, aided by the high level of volatile oils at the treetop level.

Arrrgh! Sounds nearly as bad as TasMANIA. Anyone would have to be crazy to go near these aweful places!

The problem with time lapse is that in order to give the impression it is just sped up, the shutter speed is effective slowed down and it chops out bits. The bike came to a full stop and I leaned to the left, inadvertently moving the bike to the right. Foot down to hold it, onto loose stones in the wet and over it went. I tried to stop it falling. I guess I was thinking soft tissue injury will heal for free v. fixing damage on the bike. The front types are about 18 months old and have 1/2 life tread left in them - maybe a touch less. They handle and grip well in the wet - apart from my own stupidity in this case, I have yet to have an oh-ship moment and I have ridden the bike in all but warm conditions so far - including some fairly torrential rainfall. With any luck I will be back on it this week, as the leg is healing quite nicely. I tried a lean on my right foot while sitting on the bike with the foce expected that would slightly exceed normal loads for city riding and I felt no pain. Of course, if my right leg is called for materially more strength/stretch, it will not yet end well.

Exercising his Right of Assembly, Right to Freedom of Movement. Right to Express an Opinion.

IT’S OFFICIAL: VICTA IS BACK IN AUSTRALIAN HANDS 🇦🇺 This one matters. After years overseas, Victa lawn mowers an iconic Australian brand is back in Australian ownership.

Going to see some of Scotland next year, even booked a Loch Ness boat ride, going to find Nessie if I can.

Pedantic... Semantic... Trapped ? Yeah, stay away you infidels.

The problem with rare-earth elements is the dreadfully toxic and extensive processes involved in extracting those elements. They consume huge amounts of energy in the extraction processes, utilise multiple toxic chemicals in the process, and produce multiple levels of toxins and pollution when doing so. Plus, a by-product of the rare earths extraction treatment is radioactive compounds. All this, to get the necessary elements to produce "green" end products?

Oh Yes! - It must be great, being able to sit on a steady 80 knots! - in your 60 foot cruiser!! Just need a few oil wells on the home farm, and a following fuel tanker, to keep them fed!!

Yep, like the motor I installed on my inflatable kayak - serious engineering required😁

Because the idiots that do drink then drive lie about not drinking. Better to spend a couple of minutes to get them off the road than have them wipe you out.

Because a small number of people do drive drunk. Random breath testing literally does save lives. If it is a choice between offending your overly delicate feelings or preventing a drunk driver from killing someone, I think most rational, well-adjusted people will accept the trade-off.

Jeez, you do seem to be overly sensitive. When you fly, and you go through airport security, are you upset because you think the security staff are accusing you of carrying weapons? Random breath testing is not just about catching an individual who is a danger on the road, but more importantly, it is a deterrent against attempting to drink and drive. There are already laws against what you can and can't say (defamation). Do you believe that this means "everyone is a suspect?" There are many things we are called upon to do to keep society running relatively smoothly. When I rent a car (or many other transactions), I am not offended by having to show my driver's license or ID. I don't believe I am presumed to be guilty of anything. When travelling overseas, whilst it is a slight burden, the customs officer may want to look inside my bag. I do not take this as some kind of personal attack or allegation. None of these examples makes me feel "guilty"

Look up behavioural economics.. It isn't really economics at all; it is a term, I imagine couched to hide its true intent as some academic branch of economics, that is about using psychological techniques of marketing to maximise selling people stuff they don't need or really want. It wouldn't do to call that branch of marekting, "manipulative marketing", now, would it?

Actually, the RBT stop is an "arrest". However reliquishing the right not to be arrested at random is something we do for the greater good. It is a means of protecting ourselves from injury caused by an intoxicated person, and is a means of contributing to the protection of others. For the vast majority of people, being stopped eventually becomes a mnor inconvenience for a few minutes. However, I know that any interaction with police that one does not initiate triggers fear because of all the adverse propaganda we have been fed that police will go looking for some offence not related to RBT. I know I get scared when I'm pulled in.

What better place for Madpete, eh?

Is tazzie starting to look more appealing? Whilst the mainland expects 40 degrees, we might reach a more civilised heatwave of 30. We rarely need to turn on the heatpump. What's this boiler thing of which you lament? Sounds like it's as big a moneydrain as an extra child? Edit: Sorry. That's not much of a gripe. But it's the best I can manage in utopia

It's impossible to separate Americans from Money and God, in that order. They will make out they worship an omnipotent God, but the Almighty Dollar is what they really worship - along with The Gun, of course. And they believe God gave them both to the Americans, so Americans could be the dominant culture in the world, subjugating any nation they decide they want under their control. Then they regularly espouse the American "Freedom" mantra - which of course, means, to have American Freedom, you have to worship Money, Guns, and God, in that order. Of course, lawyers receive a great deal of worship and adulation in the American System, too. Especially when they transfer mind-boggling sums of American dollars to the plaintiffs.

He only opens his mouth to put his foot in it. In Davos, Switzerland, he said, "Without us, you would all be speaking German." German is the main language spoken in Switzerland.

Mar-ole-Lardo

I think that it would now be an offence to view this old Two Ronnies skit.

I have to disagree with you here. As much as I dislike our biased media, it is not its job to tell people the details of new laws. That is the job of the lawmakers. The politicians have to delegate the task to the Public Service which understands the intricacacies of the legislation and develop educational material which presents a citizen's rights and responsibilities under the law in a simple way. The answer that citizens want to know is, "What is hate speech?"

LEGO is not a random word, and it’s not an acronym made up later for marketing. The name dates all the way back to 1932, when a Danish carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen founded the company in Denmark. At the time, he wasn’t making plastic bricks at all. He was crafting simple wooden toys during the Great Depression, trying to survive while still creating something meaningful for children. The word LEGO comes from two Danish words: “leg godt.” Translated into English, it means “play well.” That simple phrase became the foundation of the entire company. Christiansen believed that play wasn’t just entertainment — it was essential for learning, creativity, and growth. From the very beginning, LEGO wasn’t about toys alone. It was about quality play that helped children develop their minds. What makes this even more fascinating is that years later, people discovered an accidental coincidence. In Latin, the word “lego” can be translated as “I assemble” or “I put together.” LEGO has said this was completely unintentional, but fans still love the idea that the name perfectly matches what the bricks are designed to do. Whether coincidence or fate, it only adds to the magic behind the brand. Over decades, LEGO evolved from wooden toys into the plastic bricks we know today, but the philosophy never changed. Every set, no matter how complex or simple, still follows the same idea: play well. Build, imagine, take things apart, and start again. That message quietly shaped generations of children — and adults — without most of them ever knowing the meaning behind the name.

Perilous Poorline JUST Loves Trump. Got an Invite to More A Leggo with Gorgeous Gina Not Long ago. I hope they don't think Australian Sheela's look like THAT sample. Nev

Ouch! Hidden fencing wire takes down bulldozers, too. It gets caught in the tracks, then wraps around the final drive, and cut into the seals and destroys them. I spent a lot of time educating trainee dozer operators to stop, the instant they see wire in the tracks, and to get off and cut it, and pull it all out. We kept wire cutters on every machine.

Albo has said he will not be joining the Trumpist gang and needs to focus on domestic issues... A polite way of saying fuck off.

To be fair, most Americans I have met are really nice and quite resourceful.

He's upset that the Iranian military are conducting a purge on protesters who may not be guilty, while his own brownshirts are conducting a purge on innocent families in America because he thinks they are all criminals. Launching smoke bombs into a car with 6 kids in it, killing a mum trying to escape from his masked armed thugs.

One trick is going to the propagandists and official PR first to identify what definitely is not a truth, and to set floors and ceilings for where reality might be. I applied that to the news about the Good murder in USA. When the WH called it domestic terrorism, I combined that with assuming that any story headline that stirs deep emotions is likely non-credible. So I figured it was murder. Of course in that particular example we'll probably never see a court ruling to confirm.

Well it was on the news in Steak-n-kidney. I clearly recall laughing my head off about it. At the time I wished I could go down to Adelaide to sit on that beach - would have been some party! (Of sceptics)

Here is FH firing it up.