Leaderboard

A lot of people can't see the woods for the trees. Some who are unhappy with the rise in popularity of One Nation delude themselves that the problem is all One Nation and it's supporters who their critics perceive as a bunch of ignorant, redneck idiots. Fact one: One Nation wouldn't be having this rise in popularity if the major parties were doing a half decent job. Fact two: The major parties have been complacent for too long, and as long as they have their comfortable two party system of your turn/my turn without any major threat to their voter base, they will never get any better. For sure, a lot of the rise in One Nation is a protest vote against that laziness, complacency, and disregard for ordinary Australians that a lot of people see in the major parties. The voter erosion to One Nation is the kick in the pants that the status quo needed and still needs. They won't voluntarily get any better, so they need a boot up the rear end like this to to make them get off their backsides and start performing better to provide Australians with what they want and need from a government. If the threat of losing voters in possible election losing numbers keeps the major parties on their toes, in my opinion that has to be a good thing and an incentive to provide good government. I'm not defending One Nation or any other party, but just trying to point out the small minded nature of just blaming One Nation and their supporters and dismissing them as fools. Throwing rocks at them is not going to make them go away. You need to ask yourself why. Why are so many people abandoning parties they have supported for years. The problem the major parties have is not One Nation. The problem is within themselves. They need to ask themselves why do so many people not want to vote for them any more. To be honest, nothing much in politics surprises me, but I have been surprised lately by the sheer numbers of people I run into who say they are changing their vote to One Nation at the next federal election. A lot of these people are the last people in the world where I would have expected to see that. There's a problem for the One nation critics who are stuck in that rut of name-calling, ridicule and stone throwing in their stereotyping of supporters. While they're so distracted doing that, they're not seeing what's really happening. There's a big groundswell of a protest vote building, and I think it will keep rolling. I don't personally think what's happening now is just a flash in the pan. The way I see it, the Greens are immune from it. The Coalition has already taken significant hits and a lot of it by their own hand. And Labor, well I wouldn't be too complacent about if I was one of their supporters. At the moment, they are almost guaranteed to win the next election, and that's about as far ahead as most pollies can think, but they are already starting to bleed blue collar votes and that loss will continue to grow. For anyone who doesn't want to see One Nation grow in size, the challenge is how to create an environment where those lost voters will return. That's where they need to spend their energy. Ridiculing and blaming those lost voters for leaving in the first place is unproductive, and as I said earlier, small minded.

Rudd was duty-bound to attend that meeting since he is Australia's ambassador to the USA, and he went as advisor to his "boss", the Prime Minister. Trump's comments were an insult to the Australian people, but one could not expect any better from that person.

When is someone going to tell Trump to pull his head in, he doesn't rule the world. He wasn't elected to run this country. What right has he to tell us how much we should spend on defence? The amount spent on defence worldwide is staggering and sickening.Almost every thing troubling mankind, and nature, could probably be fixed if the money spent on defence was redirected to corrrecting these problems. Just because some greedy a**holes can't mind their own business.

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

It's great to see a photo of one's Dad in a museum collection. I've got private photos of my Dad taken during his service, but I got the biggest thrill when I found a photo in the Australian War Memorial collection of my Dad in a war zone. He did serve in the Western Desert, but was wounded. That crearted a disability that made him unsuitable for infantry duty (no right index finger to pull a trigger), so he was attached to an narmy hospital where he was a warehouseman. Somebody has to receive and issue new bedpans. Dad had his own copy of the photo, but seeing it in the AWM collection with him identified by name is great.

If anyone criticises the labour party you call it misinformation. You refuse to admit crime is out of control in Victoria. Because Daniel Andrews caused it Never mention the corruption labour have been involved in. Billions handed to crime gangs and union officials. Alboneses has been a communist party member since he was a teenager. Andrews and Alan are too. And banging on about one nation being racist is crap. They only want what's best for Australians and that means slowing the current migration levels and bringing in more stringent entry standards. We all know we need immigration just not the way the clowns are doing it at the moment. Hopefully this November some healing can start when Jacinta Andrews gets kicked out . But our electoral system needs to change to stop preferences getting unwanted people elected. I don't know anyone that voted labour yet albo got in by a landslide with prefences.

People often express disbelief that a gas making up only 0.04% of the atmosphere could have any meaningful impact. Consider ozone (03). Its concentration varies with altitude, peaking between about 15 km and 35 km at just 2–8 parts per million (ppm). By comparison, carbon dioxide (CO₂) sits around 420–425 ppm and is rising by roughly 2.4–2.6 ppm per year. Ozone exists in far smaller concentrations than CO₂, yet its role is critical—without the ozone layer, life on Earth would not survive. Small percentages can still have enormous effects.

The Moon Photos from Artimus II

A prodigee of Abbott? Be careful what you ask for.

Many years ago I use to follow F1 quit heavily however having nearly all races in the middle of the night whilst also going to work I lost interest as I became sleep deprived however last year I renewed my interest in F1 being able to watch all races, through Kayo, and not being able to work. The other thing is having a great Australian kid in Oscar Piastri representing Australia to the world driving a Mclaren has been great to watch, becoming an Australian hero to all of us that are into F1. Anyway I imagined what it would be like to Australia if Oscar's car in the Melbourne Grand Prix was painted in the iconic Australian Green and Gold. What a marketing success it would be. So I created a mock up of one:

I have finally finished my book with the title Hidden Rivers of Gold which covers the origins of Deep Lead Mining, the technology and challenges, and the final years of mining in the Carisbrook-Moolort area of Victoria which led to huge financial losses and very little gold. Characters involved included the State Premier and a future president of the USA. This was all around the turn of the 20th Century. The book can be purchased through online booksellers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Fishpond, Booktopia and Angus and Robertson. Prices vary a lot, and some are in US$ so check carefully. The book is published by Echo Books.

The Pope and Trump are on stage in front of a huge crowd. The Pope leans toward Trump and said, "Do you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, like that of your followers, but go deep into their hearts and for the rest of their lives whenever they speak of this day, they will rejoice!" Trump says, "I seriously doubt that. With one little wave of your hand? Show me!" So the Pope slaps him.

Well they couldn't really say "Here LIES Donald Trump", because he's been doing that all his life.

Just to let you know there is no AI on the site, there is only NI

Thanks Peter. Will try to drop in from time to time to make sure you're all behaving yourselves. I've tried to cut down on screen time but it's easier said than done. Have been co-administering an inyourfacebook group so that's taken a bit of effort and tended to drag oneself back online. So all good, still breathing in and breathing out and wearing my trousers the right way round.

Trump addressed the General Assembly of the UN. I've only seen snippets of his speech, but the overall impression I got was that he was very successful in bolstering the impression held by the rest of the World's leaders that he is an absolute buffoon and has succeded in making the USA a laughing stock.

I was going to tell a time travel joke, but you guys didn't liike it.

Peta Credlin is an ultra Right Winger. She was an advisor to Abbott. I wouldn't beleive her if she said G'day to me.

I wouldn't go as far as Litespeed but he is a waste of space. Heard him on the radio the other day talking up the Macquarie Point white elephant and saying that if the Tasmanian government doesn't build it, no business will trust them. Absolute shite. There's probably about 2000 people in Tassie who physically regularly go to the football, and most of them are from the north of the state. I don't particularly care whether Tassie gets a football team or not, but to my mind the AFL have acted like absolute c**ts in mandating, as a deal-breaker, a new billion dollar stadium which the state can't afford in prime waterfront land which should be mixed use restaurant/ park/ boulevard etc.

He's doing it for a reason. He WANTS an incident in LA so he has an excuse to stomp down harder. He would be thrilled if a protestor killed a cop or soldier. I know I sound like a broken record, but this is 1930's Germany all over again.

Well, it's happened. I have seen the light. I am a changed man, a convert, my eyes have been opened, and I see the error of my ways. Before you have concerns about my mental health, this is not a religious experience. But if I had been on the road to Damascus... it'd be astride a cruiser. As someone who's only ridden sports / sports tourers (Honda VFR750 x 2, Triumph Speed Triple, Suzuki VF750F - but that was a high-revving piece of shit) - I've always had a vague contempt for cruisers. You know, the standard stuff... they're too heavy, too slow, don't handle, can't corner, produce more noise than power, etc. However, while age doesn't always bring wisdom, it usually brings an appreciation for comfort, and a lesser appetite for risk. I'm not 20 anymore. I don't want to do 250kph, tucked down over the tank, or take corners at double the signposted recommendation. For a potted history of my riding, I started on a road/trail (Honda XL185) as my learner's bike at 18, moved to a VFR750 as soon as I had an open licence, and spent the next couple of decades (almost) riding the bikes listed above. When I became a dad at 36, I did the "responsible" thing - sold my bike and packed away the bone-dome and leathers. A while back @nomadpete said he was regretfully parting ways with his XV1100. I'd been feeling the need to start riding again (mid life crisis?) and after mulling it over for way too long, I mentioned this to my missus. To my surprise she fully supported me getting a bike, to the extent she told me to contact Peter there and then. I did, but unfortunately he'd already sold his machine a month before. A few days later however, this prince among men (still talking about Peter) messaged me with a Facebook ad for a Honda 750 Shadow. I had a look at the bike, took it for a test ride (now that was bloody scary, 17 years since I'd been on a bike and a totally different style), thought about it for a couple of days then bought it. She doesn't have a name yet (I was thinking of "H" names, like "Helen the Honda", but one of our neighbours is named Helen, so the phrase "I'm just off to ride Helen" might lead to some marital misunderstandings.) But she's 21 years old, all her chromework still looks great, and she sounds like a motorbike should. She's also very comfortable and easy to ride. This evening I rode to karate. While it was damn cold, it was a beautiful night and I really enjoyed the ride. This being my 4th ride on the bike, I'm starting to get more comfortable with her - although it'll still take a few more rides until I'm ready to have my wife on the back seat. So yes, I'm a cruiser convert. Apologies to all the Harley riders I've thought bad things about. (Only thought, because some of them are scary!) And yes, it's true. Her suspension is made for comfort, not corners. Around 80% of the engine output IS noise. (Very nice noise!) And she's much more comfortable gently swaying around curves at 60km/h than doing 110 up the highway. But now I think all those things are positive. Here she is. The photo doesn't do the colour justice - it's almost a candy apple red.

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

I watched this program on the ABC & could not believe the stupidity of the reporter. He borrowed an EV & knew nothing about the cars capability. If he did he'd know that the satnav will tell him all of the chargers within range & guide him to one. You cannot fill a petrol car in 2 minutes & pay for the fuel etc. He should have already downloaded the apps before leaving. He was at an Evie 350kW charger & if he already had the app & registered the vehicle as most people do, all you do is plug the charger cable in to the car, it charges, you then click stop remove the cable & drive away. You are automatically charged & details are stored in the app. Everything Sam Evans said is spot on. I felt like complaining but then thought why bother. Anyone with half a brain & an interest in going Electric will make their own mind up. I did & it was the best car purchase decision i have ever made. My fuel cost is zero as I charge from my solar panels. When going long distance I check the location of chargers on route & know the range. The car has a longer range than my bladder so when I need to charge I take a break & have a bite to eat. If it is down to 20% charge 20 minutes later it is at 80%. This is usually quicker than than I am. Often I will go & unplug & move the car so someone else can use the charger. It is coming up to 3 years & 45,000 km since I bought my MG4. First service in 2 years & nothing had to be done except update the software. The only downside is that the new facelift model is now 10k less than I paid but now EVs are no longer an expensive way to get in to a new car with the latest small models cheaper than their petrol equivalents.

Coincidentally, I just came across this. I will post a link but here are some highlights. https://reneweconomy.com.au/wild-attack-on-batteries-and-renewables-by-7s-spotlight-program-falls-over-at-the-first-fact-check/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRSvLRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeRENsgXVWg03njVcjEv25LrV4q7XUJEVAYcOkDfurOU4zO3LDDzae9NSaOn8_aem_LVPR3uKcuhqbLOHAX9gfnA Spotlight, the so-called flagship current affairs program on the 7 network, dedicated more than an hour on Sunday evening on a report into the supply chains feeding into the renewables and EV industries, with a particular focus on cobalt mines in the Congo, and also activities in Australia. It was amplified on Murdoch and social media. It fell over at the very first fact-check. “Every battery, every electric vehicle, every piece of so-called clean energy technology today” uses cobalt, reporter Liam Bartlett claimed at the start of the program. Wrong. Nearly every big battery installed in Australia these days uses (LFP) lithium iron phosphate chemistry, which means no cobalt, and no nickel (that’s relevant because Bartlett did a similar hit job on the nickel industry last year, using that as a platform to attack EVs and renewables). Tesla, the biggest supplier to big batteries in Australia, now uses only LFP batteries for grid scale batteries. No cobalt. The two big batteries at Liddell and Tomago being built for AGL Energy by Fluence are LFP. No cobalt. A spokesperson for Fluence said all its batteries in Australia use LFP. “We don’t use cobalt.” Finland-based Wartsila, which is building the country’s biggest grid battery at Eraring for Origin Energy, also uses only LFP for its battery projects in Australia. No cobalt. It’s a similar story with EVs. Tesla, for instance, uses only LFP chemistry for most of the variants of its best selling Model Y and the Model 3. No cobalt. It uses NMC chemistry (which does include cobalt) only in “performance” variants, which amounts to about 10 per cent of sales. Home batteries, which are now being installed at record rates in Australia, are the same. New market leader Sigenergy uses only LFP chemistry, so no cobalt, as does another market leader Sungrow, and most others. Bartlett claims to be appalled by the conditions in some cobalt mines in the Congo, and the nickel mine in Indonesia. And so he should be. So should everyone. But the inconvenient truth is that these mines have been operating for decades, and cobalt has been used widely in many industries. The mineral is essential for the iPhone that Bartlett presumably uses, for the laptop he writes his stories on, for the jet engines that flew him from Australia to Africa, and for widespread use in medicine (hip and knee replacements), the petroleum industry, the manufacture of tools, for construction, for cosmetics, and even ceramics. The use of cobalt in EV and grid batteries is relatively new, and is already moving on. Where it is used, most EV makers are at pains to point out that the mineral does not come from such mines, and they produce blockchain style tracking reports to underline their claims. But Bartlett did not seem particularly interested in balance, or inconvenient detail. His story had three major themes – he doesn’t like the Chinese, he doesn’t like renewables and EVs, and he doesn’t like federal energy and climate minister Chris Bowen. “Bowen’s fanatical approach, aided and abetted by a conga line of true believers and latte-sipping Teal supporters is now set to send the country into bankruptcy,” Bartlett wrote in an op-ed also published on 7’s website. Bartlett – was global head of TV, creative visual at oil giant Shell in London from 2013-2015

This is where you lose me, with the kind of thinking that enables a fascist regime. It's the "yes Trump is bad, BUT..." thing. It's like saying "Yes Hitler was bad, but goddam it, real Germans could get a job." Trump is actively dismantling democracy in the USA. He doesn't have a single thought for the people of the US, except how to continue deceiving them so Donald J Trump and his dynasty can profit from them. The only reason Trump ever mentions immigrants (in Minnesota, which has less than most states but has a governor he hates) is to dog-whistle his white nationalist base and sow hatred and division. We don't need a Trump or any version of him. Democracy is not supposed to be exciting. It's meant to be calm, boring and safe. We are an immigrant nation, just ask the original inhabitants. If you can show me actual statistics that show that crime rates are higher among recent immigrants than those whose ancestors moved here between 40 years to 60,000 years ago, then go ahead. (Statistics does not mean sensationalist crap from Sky News or any Murdoch rag).

Absolute shite. Trump couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.

The bestest goldest world leader has got it covered. Already, the *resident of the United States now states that the reason for this war (which isn't a WAR) is to destroy the nuclear weapons program that he claims to have already destroyed last year, while simultaneously claiming that the objective of the war is to open the strait of Hormuz that was already open before he started the war, but he is not going to open it. He doesn't need anyone's help to win the war. He already won the war on the first day anyway, and is currently winning the war, but demands help to win the war, and needs no help to win the war. I hope this clears up any confusion, which was all caused by corrupt Democrat fake news outlets.

I rarely repost Farcebook pages, but this one is spot on ...... "Senator Claude Malhuret stood up in the French Senate this week and systematically torched every single member of Trump's cabinet. Nobody was spared. Not one. "A year ago, here in France, I compared Trump's presidency to Nero's Court. I was wrong. It's the miracle court," Malhuret began. Then he went through the roster. "An anti-vaxxer, former heroin addict as Minister of Health." (That's RFK Jr) "A climate-skeptic Minister of Economy." (That's Scott Bessent) "An alcoholic TV host, Minister of the Armed Forces." (That's Pete Hegseth) "An old Qatar agent, Minister of Justice." (That's Pam Bondi, whose former firm collected $115,000 a month lobbying for Qatar) "A groupie of Putin, Minister of National Security." (That's Tulsi Gabbard) Then he pulled back and went bigger. "A Turkish proverb says: When a clown settles in a palace, he does not become king. It is the palace that becomes a circus." Malhuret pointed out that since Trump created his so-called Board of Peace, he has launched more military strikes than Biden did in his entire term. He called out the Boeing jet Qatar gifted Trump worth $400 million. He called out the stock market manipulation that only insiders benefit from. He called out the Gulf investment deals enriching Trump and his family. "Any one of these conflicts of interest would have caused an immediate procedure of impeachment here," Malhuret said. "But we are not here. We are in MAGA's America where public business is conducted in favor of private interests." Then came the line that cut deepest. "Every time the Epstein affair resurfaces, bombs explode somewhere in the world and cause a distraction." This is how the world sees us now. Not through Fox News. Not through Truth Social. Through the cold, clear eyes of allied nations watching a great country be hollowed out by crooks. Every American should hear this speech. Share it everywhere."

So Trump's had a full public meltdown because Australia won't send warships to help him unfuck a war he started without telling anyone. Let that sink in for a second. He launched this thing with Israel 3 weeks ago. Didn't consult NATO. Didn't consult Australia. Didn't consult Japan. Explicitly said at the start he didn't need or want anyone's help. And now he's on Truth Social in all caps screaming that we're all ungrateful. Mate, you can't tell everyone to fuck off and then get angry when they all fuck off. Here's what happened. He blew the shit out of Iran. Destroyed the navy, the air force, the radar, the leadership. Great. Total victory. Mission accomplished. Brought the banner and everything. One small problem. The Strait of Hormuz is still shut. It's full of mines and anti-ship missiles and Iranian drone boats. The tankers won't sail. The insurance companies won't touch it. And 20% of the world's oil is just sitting there going absolutely nowhere. So suddenly Captain America needs help. He spends the whole weekend ringing every country with a boat. China. France. Japan. South Korea. The UK. Canada. Australia. Basically anyone with a dinghy and a flag. The response from most of them? "Get fucked." Germany said, and I'm paraphrasing only slightly: "You didn't ask us before you started the war. You told us you didn't want our help. And now you're upset? Yeah, nah." France said they'd be happy to help escort ships once the bombing stops and Iran agrees to let them. So basically never. Spain said no. Poland said no. Sweden said no. Australia said we haven't even been formally asked and also no. So what does Trump do? Does he reflect? Reassess? Pick up the phone like a grown adult? Of course not. He jumps on Truth Social and goes full toddler. "We don't need NATO! We NEVER needed NATO! We don't need Japan or Australia or South Korea! WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!" Mate. You were literally begging 15 countries for ships 48 hours ago. That's like getting turned down for a date and screaming "SHE WAS UGLY ANYWAY" loud enough for the whole pub to hear. You're not fooling anyone, dickhead. Everyone saw you practise your opener in the bathroom mirror. And he specifically named Australia. Which is genuinely fucking insane. We have shown up to every single American war for nearly a century. Korea. Vietnam. Iraq. Twice. Afghanistan for 20 bloody years. Five Eyes. AUKUS. Pine Gap. We are literally the most reliable ally the United States has ever had. And the one time, the ONE time, we look at the situation and go "yeah this one's a bit cooked mate, we'll sit this out," he loses his shit and calls us foolish on the internet. You know what's actually foolish? Starting a war without a plan to reopen the strait that carries a fifth of the world's oil supply. That's foolish. Blowing up someone's entire military and then being surprised when they use asymmetric warfare to shut down global shipping. That's foolish. Spending a year slapping tariffs on your allies, calling them freeloaders, threatening to annex their territory, and then wondering why they won't come running when you need a favour. That's fucking foolish. But here's the bit that should really worry you. He named Australia, Japan, and South Korea. That's the Indo-Pacific alliance. That's AUKUS. That's the Quad. That's the entire strategic architecture built to counter China. And he just told all 3 of them to get stuffed on social media. Xi Jinping is watching this with a bucket of popcorn and the biggest grin on the planet. Meanwhile Australia is getting absolutely smashed. We've got 2 refineries. About 3 weeks of fuel reserves. Diesel heading for $3 a litre. Farmers are already running out of fuel. They can't harvest. They can't plant. Fuel rationing has started in towns across the country. Food prices are through the roof because every step of the supply chain runs on diesel we don't have. The RBA just hiked interest rates because the fuel and food spikes from this war are driving inflation and recession fears are real. Australians are getting hit at the bowser, hit at the checkout, hit on their mortgage, and the bloke who caused all of it is calling US foolish. This isn't strength. This is a narcissist who heard "no" and couldn't cope. This is a bloke flipping the Monopoly board because he landed on someone else's hotel. And every time he does it, every single time, he pushes allies one step further toward making their own arrangements. That's how alliances die. Not with a bang. With a tantrum on Truth Social at 11 in the morning. Australia's not foolish for sitting this one out. 15 countries might be the only countries in this whole mess that are actually thinking clearly and holding this shit fest from spilling into WWIII And seriously, Donald. You're trying to bully Australia? NATO? Mate, we live in a country where everything is actively trying to kill us. Every single day. We've got 21 of the 25 most venomous snakes on the planet. Twenty one. Out of twenty five. The inland taipan, the single most venomous snake on earth, one bite can kill over 100 grown adults, just vibing in the outback like it's nothing. We've got the Sydney funnel web, the deadliest spider in the world, and it lives in people's fucking gardens where our kids keep them as pets. We've got jellyfish that can stop your heart. Sharks. Crocodiles the size of a small truck. An octopus the size of a golf ball that can kill you in minutes. A plant that makes you want to throw yourself off a cliff if you brush against it. A fucking dinosaur bird, that will literally disembowel you with its feet. Stonefish. Cone snails. The sun itself trying to give us cancer by 10am. We share a continent with every venomous nightmare God ever created on a Friday afternoon when he was clearly in a bad mood. And you think we're scared of a bloke in an ill fitting suit who can't spell "hereby" and throws tantrums on his phone? We couldn't give 2 fucks what you think, Donald. We wrestle things with actual teeth. You're not even in the top 50 most dangerous things an Australian deals with on an average Tuesday. Australia will survive this god awful administration. But if you're gunna shoot yourself in the foot, leave us the fuck out of it wanker.

The simple, over-riding feature of getting older is that the old body starts playing up, and needs regular repair and maintenance. And if you're 50 or 100 kms from medical care, docs, specialists, even ambulances - life gets a lot harder than it need be. I lived all through the wheatbelt of W.A. and the W.A. Goldfields all my working life, living in everything from rented farmhouses to dongas to caravans, and even old railway fettlers huts. I've never actually owned a house in my own name, I didn't place enough importance on that feature of life - much to my regret. I have no ability to purchase a house today. I part-owned various industrial properties, a mining lease, a farm, and a couple of houses, that I never ever lived in much, because they were largely occupied by my brother and his wife, while I was out in the boonies, working. But when I got together with SWMBO in my early 40's, she owned a house! - and she lets me live in it, and shares it with me - because she loves me, she likes looking after me - and because I fix anything to do with the house, or the car, or whatever else requires attention. We live in the city only about 5 kays from the CBD in a nice leafy, sought-after, quiet suburb - and we're close to 3 shopping centres, a number of major arterial roads, heaps of docs, dentists, medical centres and medical facilities, all within a few kays - and we've been here since 1990, and we don't look like moving until we get really fragile with age, or the bikies move in next door (highly unlikely). I could easily live anywhere in the country again, but SWMBO is a city girl and likes shops and theatres, and being close to where her daughter lives. Generally, most people select their living location according to how far away, or how close, they want to live to relatives (including children). Most parents want to live within a reasonable distance of children, but some don't want them close at all. Not having any children myself, and getting on O.K. with SWMBO's girl and boy from her previous marriage, makes any living area decision, easier. Of course, if we won lotto, we'd move to a nice mansion by the coast, but that's only a dream. I don't think I'd ever move into a high-rise apartment, even though that's the result for people many today - simply because I don't like living above other people, and not knowing what they're getting up to - by way of drugs, starting fires, and other aggravating risks. Good neighbours generally make people stay where they live. No neighbours often suits a lot of people.

My entire point was that the Euro's have been constantly calling the USA warmongers for the past 50 years, but they are always the first ones to call the US President whenever there is a situation in the world that might affect their economies. They have been been neglecting their own militaries knowing that the Americans are stupid enough to keep bailing them out. The Euro's had a royal meltdown when Trump called them out for not keeping their pledge of committing a few percentage points of their GDP to military spending. The EU should be its own power. There are 29 countries in the EU and there is no excuse for them not making a joint effort to protect their economies and sovereignties. The US has done 75% of the heavy lifting in keeping the Persian Gulf open to world trade while Europeans and many other countries reap the benefits. Then the Europeans turn right around and bash Americans to appease their left wing voters. As far as my fellow Americans go, we should not be trusted any longer because there there is no continuity in foreign policy from one election cycle to the next. On top of it all, we are in a non shooting civil war right now. Might sound crazy to some but it's very true. We used to be country first.........but now days we are party first.

Have been going through the process of scanning some old photos into digital form. I don't know what film format these are; Red would know. It's whatever type of compact camera one would have had in 1988. A couple of photos for onetrack as it's sort of over his way in a roundabout fashion. Unloading at Legune Station, 1988. Legune is in the Territory up near the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf but is accessed via Kununarra and then up through the Ord scheme farmland. I remember well that horrible trip. I flew to Alice Springs and picked up the truck and machine and drove it from there all the way to Legune in hot weather with 55mph diffs and no lining inside the cab roof, just bare metal. For anyone who hasn't driven a B model, there's not much room between your head and the roof so it was certainly cooking the melon. To get anywhere soon, I had to push the foot down and with a very heavy throttle spring, the right foot was numb most of the way. One saving grace is that it didn't have 48mph diffs. That would have been too cruel. The plan was to go back to Alice springs and bring the second machine up, but fortunately they found someone else to drop it off at Katherine, so the second trip was only from Legune to Katherine and return. The tractors were stick shift D7Gs with manual angle blade, rippers and scrub canopy, about 27 tonne in weight. The float was a side load float that swivelled sideways and you could pin it solid but nobody ever did. It didn't sway much out on the road unless you really cranked it around a tight bend. Not the sort of thing you do in a B model anyway. To end load it you needed a big bank or ramp as it had full size 20" wheels on the back, and was only done if loading graders. I learned to side load with this same truck and float four years earlier when the leader of our pack led us across a Quinyambie Station track on a trip from Toowoomba to Frome Downs. He wasn't the world's best navigator. The track was passable for single trailers but had too many sandy dune crossings for doubles. Not high dunes, but just raw sand with no clay on the dune crossings. We had a 375 V8 R model Mack with a dozer on a float, and a second hay hauling trailer carrying a grader hooked on behind, and it got stuck on almost every dune for about 140 klm of the trip. He would drive until he got stuck, then I'd pull up behind him in the old B model with the single float and dozer, unload the dozer, then tow him over the dune, reload the dozer, then follow on to the next dune and do it all again. From memory it took about three days and I side loaded and unloaded that machine about a million times. I'd never side loaded before that trip. The old B model with the quad box was good in the sand dune country. You never get stuck for a gear in one of those. Just rattle the sticks round and round and it will always drop into a gear somewhere. At Legune The camera catching the blade as it's about to topple over. This is the second machine (with new tracks) Retirement is good; there are some things I miss but I don't miss the flies and getting up at 4am..

Excessive nationalism puts me off. When you think about it clear-headedly we're a reasonably young (apart from the original inhabitants) immigrant country. We don't have a thousand years of culture, our own language, a national dish, etc etc. Our population is based on waves of English, Chinese, Dutch, German, Greek, Vietnamese, Italian, African, Islander and a whole bunch of other people, plus of course Indigenous Australians. The keynote songs and poetry we hold up as Australian were written by men that probably considered themselves English. Our system of laws is heavily based on England's and in name we're still subjects of England's king. Even our flag contains the UK's flag in the corner. When it comes to Americanism, even our first "local" car, the Holden FX, was heavily based on US cars. Clothing styles, music, popular culture and fast food have been based on US trends since at least post WWII. That's not to say we haven't got runs on the board, with vibrant Australian music, sport, theatre and literature. We have one of the world's best democracies, social services, and health care. Our education system is still excellent although unfortunately (in the case of universities) more focused on revenue than research. But to wave some mythical "uniqueness" around and try to block outside influences is pointless. Like those idiots that go around wearing Australian flags and protesting about immigration, not seeing the irony that we're all immigrants and those flags were made in China. Instead of closing off and looking inwards, like a backwards Trumpist country, we should be eagerly looking at everything that everyone else does, and taking the best ideas and using them ourselves. Someone actually makes billionaires pay tax? Let's use that. Someone's public hospital system has lower wait times? Let's see what they're doing differently and use it. Someone's school attendance and retention scores are higher than ours? What are they doing differently? Someone's prison recidivism rates are lower? Let's have a look at their justice system and see what we can steal. I don't mind bringing in best practice, no matter where it comes from. Good American movies and TV shows? Bring them on. What I do object to is bringing in the worst of other cultures. Privatisation of health care? F**k right off. Multinationals that pay no tax in Australia? No thanks. American gun culture? Jam it up your arse and pull the trigger.

Well done to the happy couple. Note how low key, private and billionaire free it was. Special wedding beer cans and a local honeymoon. Also a civil servant and all paid by himself not a conga line of donor suckholes ala LNP style. A genuine down to earth couple, we are lucky to have them. Completely unaffected by his status. Naturally DJ Albo did the music selection. Notable celebrity was the ring holder- his 🐕.

Excellent, I'll start up the "Earth is flat debate continues" thread, because I don't think that one is quite settled either.

I agree driver training is the answer. My nightmare stretch is the Hay plains, damn dangerous dusk till dawn. I have touched a grey in Blue mountains in a car and a big grey glanced the front wheel down south on BMW bike. No hurt no foul, both were on bush tracks and slow. Us humans have removed vast tree cover ecosystems and replaced it with grasslands and artificial water sources. A perfect Roo environment has been created. It's our fault and we have to live in harmony or at least not conflict with nature. Bounties should be placed for introduced feral animals to totally remove them from the country- the damage they do is extreme. If it does not live on your farm and managed as live stock, it should be culled to zero. That means all goats, cattle, horses, buffalo, camels, pigs, cats, foxes, rabbits, deer, feral dogs etc Dingoes and all other natives must be completely protected as they balance the ecosystem and are native. Limited culling only by professional shooters of Roos for meat, skins and welfare reasons only.. no cowboys or gun junkies. This is a role for a dedicated federal government department with a big workforce on country to implement. The employment, environmental and farm benefits would far outweigh the costs. This should be seen as a national goal and beyond politics but essential to a liveable and sustainable planet. New Zealand is aiming for Zero ferals by 2050. We should do the same.

On our morning walk, we had a close look at the Young Endeavour. We had a long chat with the Captain. The people in the rigging were doing an exercise where they practised rescuing someone injured in the rigging. The Captain told us all about the "Young Endeavour" program, where they take 24 young people between 16 and 24, and teach them all the skills required to sail this ship. We found this chat to be quite uplifting. Under the scheme, 24 to 30 "youth crew" (aged between 16 and 23) join a voyage to supplement the 9-10 naval personnel from the Mine Warfare, Hydrographic and Patrol Boat Force, which Young Endeavour is attached to.[2][3][6][7] Over 500 youth crew per year participate in the scheme, and are selected for the voyages by a biannual ballot.[6] Each voyage typically lasts ten to eleven days, during which the youth crew rotate through most roles aboard the ship, stand watches, and help with Young Endeavour's operation.[6] Near the end of the voyage, the crew undergoes "command day": a 24-hour period in which the ship is entirely under control of the youth crew.[5] As part of most voyages, the combined crew takes a group of special needs youth on a half-day sail.[6] Between the scheme's inception in 1988 and mid-2018, over 13,500 youth have participated in voyages, while another 11,500 special needs youth have been involved in half-day sails.[6] The vessel is at sea for approximately 240 days per year.[7]

As I've mentioned in passing in a couple of other threads, SWMBO and myself are on holidays in Broome for 12 days. 6 days down, 6 to go, and it's very nice up here, although the place is overrun with rich tourists! SWMBO is always encouraging me to buy a Lotto ticket here and there - but I often resist, because I don't believe the mid-week or Saturday Lotto is good value any more, since they changed the systems so you generally need 3 numbers and at least one supplementary to win anything - and it's usually only $8 or $10, anyway. The only reason I buy Lotto here is because the W.A. Govt owns LotteryWest and all profits are ploughed back into worthy community events, structures, grants - and the RFDS, too, of course. This is far better than lining the pockets of already wealthy people who own shares in a corporate structure such as Tatts. I've bought quite a few mid-week and Saturday Lottos in recent months and years, with very little success. An occasional win of $20 or $30 or $50, and they were few and far between. I like buying Powerpik 7's because you get all the Powerball numbers with that ticket selection, and this system vastly improves your chances of winning something. So, yesterday, I went into the LotteryWest agency near the Town Beach, and bought a Powerpik 7 ticket. I didn't check it until nearly bedtime, and then found I had FIVE winning numbers! Woo-hoo! I looked up the prizes and saw where 5 numbers won $195.25. I said to SWMBO, "Oooh, we've won close on $200 in the Powerball draw! She was chuffed, it's the most we've won on Lotto in about 30-plus years. So, we went down to the Lotto place this morning, placed the ticket in the checking machine, and it came back with THIS!!! I nearly fell over, I had no idea we'd won that much, and it was because I'd missed a number and because I'd forgotten they pay out on all the other smaller winning number combinations, too!!

Anything with Sky News on the label is pretty much guaranteed to be wrong. Actually, I'll go one step further and say I'm damn proud of Albo at the moment. He's doing a great job in China, and the Trump administration is like a tanty-throwing spoiled baby.

I bought a Thesaurus today - but when I got home, I found all the pages were blank!! I just didn't have the words to express how angry I was!!

Not sure if this should be in the Trump thread, or in this thread ..... Click on the photo to expand it, if you're having trouble reading it.

Another page from the fascist playbook . Remove the intellectuals, the free thinkers, anyone who may disagree with "maga" thought. Next it's jail anyone who will not bow to his power. This has already started by detaining immigrants and visitors to the USA, merely on impressions you are anti trump. Very scary stuff