Leaderboard

When I mentioned to SWMBO that a woman invented the windscreen wiper, she retorted - "That'd be right! Always doing the cleaning!!" 😄

And that is what is driving the US administration. Our problem is more about keeping a safe distance from the unravelling disaster. Please, Albo, keep your head down, below the crazy americans view. Please ditch AUKUS. They are more a liability than a trustworthy ally.

In 1906, this chatty little handbook was released. It was called "The Woman and the Car". In the book, advice was given to women who chose to drive a car (gasp!), to .... 1. Carry a revolver, carry a small mirror for seeing behind them, for summoning help, and to also carry some chocolate (yes!) 2. The book also advised bringing hairpins, a pair of clean gloves, an extra handkerchief, a clean veil, and a powder puff for neatening up at the destination! I notice that there was no advice to wear goggles, which were pretty necessary for driving in 1906 due to a lack of proper windscreens, and very dusty unsealed roads. In incidental motoring news, a woman actually invented the first windscreen wiper!

Clinton & Obama have weighed in on this describing it as "a moment that will shape history" urging Trump to "reconsider his approach saying “Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.” Prominent republicans & some of the original MAGA influencers, the most prominent Being Joe Rogan, have also been critical of Trump, Noem & ICE. Some commentators are likening ICE to the Gestapo in WW2. This has caused Trump to refuse to defend the ICE agent when asked & now say that the administration is "reviewing everything" about the incident. There will be no apology, ICE will get away with a review & a few sackings & the murderers will get off lightly. Trump will blame those he sacks as always though.

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.

The world needs more Mark Carneys. Luckily he's taken over from Trudeau, who wouldn't have the intestinal fortitude to tell Trump to shove his trade and allies policies where the sun doesn't shine.

It's been a while since anything positive was posted in this thread - so to counter the negativity, here's some party photos! SWMBO and I went to a friends party (Christie, and she was 50) on Sat 17th. It was held at a local bowling club and we all had a good time - despite the fact I rarely go to parties now. Christie is a senior ER nurse, she's got a lovely nature. She laid on some great finger food, she had a DJ with some great 80's music, and there was dancing and good general fun. One of the most amusing parts of the evening was, Christie hired a portable photo booth for the evening and it came with a pile of props, and everyone had a ball with it! Christie is the girl in the blue, off-the-shoulder dress, and her daughter Molly (20) is in the white dress with the black images on it. Her younger brother Sam is in all black, and hubby Gary is wearing the check shirt. The images start at the bottom, where setup and testing the day before, produced some interesting "test" imagery, mostly involving Gary and Molly. See if you can spot OT and SWMBO, we're halfway down the images, posing with Christie, and I've got my best Elton John shades on. https://gallery.glowbooth.com.au/view/e85ec5e4-2f3e-4634-a126-076cff8346cd?

I believe Albo has invited Carney to address the parliament in March. That won't go down well with Trump. Canada is a lot like us in many ways, and Trump will probably see the invitation as Albo undermining the US.

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

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 found it. Gutenberg Project has a free copy. Motoring has come a long way Even for males!

Where can I get a copy for my wife?

Kristy Noem has jumped in to blame the victims in both ICE murders with no evidence and in fact with photographic, video and personal reports from witnesses to the contrary completely ignored. Hopefully this will be a wake up call for Trump & his appointed sycophants that continually lying will eventually catch up on them

Kristy Noam. Nev

And HE starts out Knowing Bugger all about anything REAL as well as his other BAD Personality traits. One good thing , he has ditched that Nasty Naomi? commentator on the Minneapolis events. Nev

Donald Trump had a fairly ironic – and perhaps telling – memory lapse. Talking with New York Magazine, Trump said that his father, Fred Trump, had no health problems except for one. “He had one problem,” Trump said. “At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting, what do they call it?” According to the reporter, Ben Terris, Trump pointed to his forehead and looked towards White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Alzheimer’s,” she said. “Like an Alzheimer’s thing,” Trump continued. “Well, I don’t have it.” Terris then asked Trump if Alzheimer’s is a topic that’s on his mind. “No, I don’t think about it at all. You know why?” he said. “Because whatever it is, my attitude is whatever.” Terris also talked to Trump’s clinical psychologist niece, Mary Trump, who described watching her grandfather – Donald Trump’s father – succumb to the disease. She said that the symptoms started slowly and then advanced quickly. “One of the first times I noticed it was at some event where he was being honored,” she said. “And I looked at him and saw this deer-in-the-headlights look, like he had no idea where he was.” She said that she sees the same thing happening to her uncle. “Sometimes it does not seem like he’s oriented to time and place,” she said. “And on occasion, I do see that deer-in-the-headlights look.”

I thought I could NEVER live away from the sea, but good toys rust too Much, near a place where there is Surf and regular SEA Breezes , SALT can happen inland as well. Salinity is not confined to the Coast. I KNEW where you live a long time ago like the Backof my hand before it was overdeveloped as it IS now and Lost a Lot of it's Natural Charm. Nev

I know the ones you are talking about, but we are not all bloke that. My workshop is at my brother's, also storage for motorbikes. My mooring is way over engineered and has never moved in huge storms. Life's a compromise, sea life for me. The life Aquatic.

IF you live on one, you escape the rat race, but where is your Workshop? When there's a big blow and swell you worry about your boat (and other's) breaking it's Moorings. Port Stephens has already been over run by refugees from Sydney., with Lots of Money. SALT RUSTS EVERYTHING except Rubber, glass and Plastic. You KNOW the type of Owners I'm referring to. Their Boat is just a tasteless display of wealth, that they will be bored with rapidly and sit there accumulating lot's of Seagull's poo. How Many could operate a SAIL BOAT? Nev

I can do a rebuild series if anyone is interested, it will even have aerospace technology in the build. No it will not be a expensive to build Resto mod.

Good luck with your recovery.

Most new EVs from China are produced using numerous robots. The Xpeng factory in Guangzhou has 700 robots and produces a car every 76 seconds. They have now introduced humanoid robots to carry out tasks normally done by people like fitting wiring harnesses and fiddly detailed work. The robot is called IRON & they have developed a chip called Turing (after Alan Turing of Enigma code breaking fame) capable of handling 30 billion parameters. The dark (no lighting required) 100% robot car factory is touted to become a reality by 2030 just 4 years from now. Even Tesla say that the model 3 bodies are now 95% robot produced.

They keep telling themselves "WE OWN this JOINT" and "white Fella's Just Muck it up".. What effect does THAT have on their KIDS attitudes to Education, white Mans LAW, AND property? Nev

You can catch them from a Beach all along the Coast south of Pt. Stephens. I've never tried eating one. Bream and Snapper are a good fish to eat. Garfish and Long Toms are the best flavour . IMHO. Nev

Here one I caught, it's 71cm and was succulent and sustainable if the rules are followed.

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.

Now, all we have to do is preserve what little fish we have left, from the predations of the other nations fishing fleets. In W.A., a total ban on demersal fishing has just been imposed, because fish stocks are now lower than they have been since records started being kept. The problem is, many of our finest eating fish take many years to reach maturity, and the prized metre-long jewfish can be up to 80 yrs old. The State Govts decision has effectively bankrupted a large number of W.A. commercial fisherman, and the anger is palpable. There is a Govt buyback of fishing licences, but the amounts offered are minimal, and the Govt deal doesn't offer any other income alternatives for those fishing people. The decision was taken with no consultation with the fishermen, a move that really rankles.

Trump has returned from Davos and issued a stern warning to Cuba to agree with his demands or he will blockade the country putting a stranglehold on oil and other commodities.