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My cup runneth over! It began to rain last night as I went to bed, and has continued to do so throughout the night and into the morning. It has not ben the flooding type of rain, just a steady fall which allows the water to soak in. Now all that is needed is for the seeds laying in the soil to sprout for winter feed.

While we tend to think of oil as a fuel to be burned, it has many other applications even including pharmaceuticals. So disruption of supply can affect a host of other products. Anyway, if 25% of oil supplies are cut off, where is the other 75% coming from? Of are those other oils not suitable for fuel production. Remeber, "oils ain't oils, Sol".

On the bright side Trump, in his ignorance, has done more to promote decreased reliance on fossil fuels than any carbon tax or green energy initiative has ever done.

On another note, one of the interesting things to come from this was our refugee system, which is considered one of the worst ones in the development world and freuently is the subject of intenational condemnation, including from teh UN: https://www.unhcr.org/au/monitoring-asylum-australia Despite the reasons for our asylum system, and despite the need to ensure all apoplications meet the criteria required that they are not a risk to Australia and that if returned to their homeland, they are likely to be persecuted, killed, etc for the people they are (e.g. activitists, gay, etc). OK, the Ausssie government could easily identify them, but how could they in a day determine their status and likely safety at home? Yeah they are footblallers, yeah they are women.. Did that make them eligible or able to be ualified as not being an undue rrisk? Yes, you could argue they were to go back to a war zone, but there are many refugees in camps and detention centres in that position, so why wouldn't it apply to them. As it turns out, they themselves deided they no longer needed asylum and it was safe to return.. to a war zone. Of course, there could be something more nefarious at operation - they may well have received threatd or legitimately been concerned of the ramifications them staying in Australia would have on their families by the regime. But now, it beckons the question - if it is good enough to turn around anylum claimes very quickly for some footballers, then why is it good enough for us to virtually torture our Asykum seekers? Yes, we shoiuld be diligent with applicants and make clear economic migrants should be sent back to go through other routes of migration. But waiting up to 4 years before one can even get permission to apply for asylum is cruel.

I don't gamble using most common forms. If I happen to go to a club, I might have a little tickle on the pokies, but with the idea that playing them is a form of entertainent and I expect to have to pay for the time I am being entertained. Therfore I set a limit, usually not very much, on how much I am willing to pay for the entertainment. If by chance (and the pokies are pure chance) I should win some money, that makes the entertainment better. Do you gamble with Scratchies? I don't, but they are a convenient way for someone to give you "a little something" along with a birthday card. My sister gave me ten dollars worth of assorted scratchies today for my birthday. That was five Scratchies. My experience with Scratchies is that you scratch them; look at them, utter "Oh, well", and toss them in the bin. My expectations were met with three of them. Any further disappointment I expected was dispelled when I saw that I won $2 on one of them. As I started to scratch the final one, I thought that I was just going through the motions, and I would have four out of five duds. You could have knocked me down with a feather after I completed scratching the last card. I'm no expert in these things, but I think I won $5000.00! If not, I've won something with three of a kind. I won't tell my sister until I have confirmed the win, but I think the right thing to do would be to give her a thousand, at least. Because of her generosity in giving me a place to live, I've been able to build up a bank roll that makes me feel somewhat financially comfortable. If it is a win, it's a windfall. I think I should share the joy. Begging letters will be returned marked: "Receiver to Pay Postage"

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.

It would seem the honourable thing to do; she may decline, in which case, aa weekend away for her (and her partner/husband if she has one) or a good night out would be great options.

Most of the brains of the Soviet Union was centered in Ukraine back in those days. They provided the bulk of engineering and development for the Soviet Union and industrial capacity. It's where the tanks, armoured vehicles, tractors and machinery were designed, developed and manufactured. Aircraft and rocket engines was another area. Right up until the Ukraine/Russia war Russia was still buying their helicopter engines from Ukraine. We tend to think of Russia as the centre of the Soviet Union but Ukraine was where all the talent was. As an analogy, the Russian approach to opening a can would be to bash it with a hammer; Ukrainians would sit down and design a can opener.

Firstly, THANK YOU everyone for your concern. I’m ok — just a bit shaken up, but I’ll be fine. For those who don’t know what happened, I was robbed this morning filling my car up at the petrol station, ready for an early start. After it happened my hands were shaking, I felt dizzy and I was probably in shock. My money was gone, so I called the police. They were fantastic and even called an ambulance because my blood pressure was through the roof. The officer asked if I knew who did it… I said: “Yes… it was pump number 4.”

Looks Pretty complete and original. It could be a Model 18, 500 cc or 19, 600 cc. IF it is an ES2 it has a frame that continues along under the Motor. My guess it's a 1937 year. I have a nice shiny one here if anyone's interested in great Mechanical condition. (Model 18. 1937) Nev

HE doesn't LIVE in the REAL World. We can be sure of that. Nev

It was reported that his briefers about the upcoming war in Iran talked about an ‘incursion’ into the country, but Trump heard ‘excursion’, and nobody has dared to tell him that they weren’t talking about a picnic or a trip to the beach.

When I was a new Constable back in 1980, fresh from the Police Academy, I was posted to Campsie, which is next-door to Bankstown. The Division included Lakemba. At that time it was strongly Lebanese. One of the notoriuous families there was the Alameddine family. They crooks then are now old men, but the now we have the third generation which is carrying on the criminal activities. The Alam al-Dins, also spelled Alamuddin or Alameddine, were a Druze family that intermittently held or contested the paramount chieftainship of the Druze districts of Mount Lebanon in opposition to the Ma'n and Shihab families in the late 17th and early 18th centuries during Ottoman rule. The Sydney branch of the family came as refugees from the Lebanese Civil War.

Astro Mimical??? I don't copy that. Nev

Sorry to say this, but the weeds grow first and fastest. Nev

Trump has plenty of oil, so who cares? He couldn't give a stuff about other People. His aim is to increase his Personal wealth and Power Lust. Not the Best type of person to rule the World. Nev

The Chinese are notorious for zero backup, zero levels of spares/replacements, and zero "customer care". You buy Chinese products, you're largely on your own. Many an ignorant buyer found out to their chagrin, that cheap Chinese diggers, loaders, and other machinery, has zero manufacturer backup, zero spares availability, and poor resale, along with the former problems. I see recently where the ACCC is starting to hammer car manufacturers who practice these methods, with an insistence that if that manufacturer sells vehicles here, they must provide a proper level of support and spares. Even the dealers want it, too. One of the areas the ACCC is concentrating on is the car warranty as related to servicing. Some of the Chinese brands are refusing to honour warranty claims if the car hasn't been serviced from new by the Chinese dealer. One of the problems with the Chinese brands is the dealers are quite often spread out, making servicing a problem for some owners, with a long drive to get the vehicle serviced.

When you buy a new car, service and warranty should be at the top of your list of reasons for the purchase. Not much point of having a flash car in the garage if it won't go. There are so many new Chinese brands, the choice is mind boggling. When I bought my MG4 I knew there was a nation wide MG dealership network plus the warranty was very good (7 years unlimited km on everything including the traction battery except tyres & the 12 volt battery). At the time BYD had no dealer network, a poor warranty and very expensive servicing & that was just a checkup as there was virtually nothing to do. I don't know about the mulittude of other Chinese brands of EVs, Hybrids & ICE vehicles now sold here. I am sure they will get set up or are starting to but you would not want to be too far away from the main centres if you had a break down. China has taken over from Japan as the main supplier of new cars to Australia.

I haven't done one for over 30 years. They are popular here.. The offer all sorts of different prizes and themes. You can stand behind someone at the counter who chooses them like kids at a lolly shop. Amazing how much speople spend on them both in money and at the counter selecting them.. the latter being a pain.

I find most of the scratchies pretty tedious, and greatly time-consuming, though - and I like fast results, so I can get back to productive work!

Part of the fun is anticipation, though

You don't even have to go to all the trouble of scratching and matching dozens of letters and symbols on a "scratchie" to find if you've won anything or not. The barcode along the bottom of the scratchie can just be scratched and scanned without scratching anything else, and the barcode scanner will tell you straight away whether you've won anything.

Yep. That was the first day with those gloves and I can only think in that case I just plumb forgot, or hit the switch, but not properly (neither would be the first time). A couple of times since, I have pressed the button to stop the indicator but it not registered.. Small thumb (and fingers).

Congrats OME! Hope it was a biggie.

Not to mention they are too large for our more shallow regional waters. I posted a YT video of war games where one of our "noisy" Collins class subs easily accounted for one of their nuclear subs... (and ours was commanded by a native Brit... How is that for irony in an AUKUS context).

I really think the AUKUS deal and the Yank submarine deal needs to be cancelled - from our end. The last thing we need is to deal with, is a tantrum-throwing toddler when he's supposed to be leading the worlds only remaining superpower, and setting statesmanship-like behaviour and standards. On top of that, the subs are vastly overpriced, and will be delivered 30 years too late, and be obsolete when they are delivered.

Cuba is easy to subdue these days. Iran is a Large Fortress. Boots on the ground will be like quicksand. Make Afghanistan look like a tea and scones party by comparison. Trump is a BIG FAKE little boy with dangerous toys in his Pram. Nev

Just overheard a great line in the tearoom... "The only war Trump had an exit strategy for, was Vietnam!"

Cuba, huh. Didn't Iran provide enough distraction from the Epstein files?

I don't know how much more moronic behaviour this clown can indulge in, before he backs himself into a corner. He's already trashed the support of a lot of rusted-on MAGA adherents. I'm just waiting for the major Iranian attack on American soil or a military base that results in hundreds of American casualties and deaths. That will really bring home to everyday Americans, what this idiot has led them into. Israel is being spread thinly as well, what with a major incursion into Lebanon. The Iranians will still have plenty of nasty surprises up their sleeve.

We know that Trump went into this war without planning. We all know that he knows nothing of military history. The reason that Napoleon and Hitler were defeated in Russia, and why the Allies won the wars in Europe and the Pacific boiled down to the provision of supplies. If you use up all your supplies, then you cannot fight on. This is what is happening to the USA in Iran. What is also sickening is the amount of money that has been spent in making all these weapons. The US Government has spent the money buying the weapons from manufacturers. The money, which could have been used for the betterment of the citizens of the USA has been burned up and is gone forever. So while Trump blows up US Government funds on an ill-advised ego trip, Americans go without adequate medical care, housing and food. Their efforts generated the government funds, but they do not benefit from their efforts.

Zelensky has just signed a deal with Britain for the manufacture of Ukrainian designed drones. One thing that we are ignorant of is how smart in the area of industrial design the Ukranians are. I think we have the impression that they are just farmers and miners, but they are industrially powerful.

In Queensland a motorcycle costs around $630 per year in total. That's $140 registration, $70 traffic improvement fee and around $430 compulsory third party insurance. I think single seat rego knocks about $100 off the insurance. As far as I know, the fees are the same for all sizes of motorcycle.

Yes, you are covered for personal injury, loss of earnings, and death in a motorcycle crash with your rego, because there's an MAIB (Motor Accidents Insurance Board) insurance premium included in the rego cost. I think W.A. was the last State to go with the personal injury and death insurance scheme included in vehicle registration cost. It was introduced in W.A. in 2016, following other States adoption of the arrangement much earlier. It's no-fault insurance, so you get paid out, regardless of who or what caused the crash. In W.A., it added about $100 to the annual average vehicle rego costs. In W.A., rego is still called "licencing", not "registration".

Brace yourself Marty. Tas rego on motorcycle >125cc .... $792 About $100 dearer than a car.

No Marty. That was just the re registration. Previously paid $100 stamp duty and transfer of rego. I am looking into Special Interest registration to keep the cost more reasonable.

I believe it’s around $12-14m. Just loose change in his world.

Getting back to the US batteries in Iran..... I'd say Zelensky is chuckling about Donolds rejection of his offer to help combat Iranian drones. Donold would rather use Patriot missiles. Where is Dept of Govt Efficiency when you need it? A single Patriot (PAC-3 MSE) interceptor missile costs approximately $4 million. A full Patriot battery—including launchers, radar, and control station—costs over $1 billion, with individual missiles for export sometimes costing between $6 million and $10 million." $4,000,000.00 to zap a $35,000 drone. Gives a whole new meaning to "war of attrition". Presently USA is bleeding $1 billion a day on their "excursion" to Iran.

Young motorcyclists are greatly over-represented in the injury and deaths road toll, and the premiums reflect that cost. They love wrapping the throttle on away from the lights, with no thought to the consequences - because they're young, male, and invincible! I can recall a young woman in court locally, sobbing her heart out, as she faced a manslaughter charge for killing a motorcyclist. The charge should never have been brought. She pulled out of a sidestreet in her little car, onto a major arterial road. She stopped and looked both ways and saw a motorcyclist to her right, a substantial distance away - so she pulled out. The problem was - that young male motorcyclist had just wrapped the throttle on, in a 60kmh zone, until he was doing over 120kmh. She didn't have the driving experience to judge that he was coming at double the normal, expected speed. The young motorcyclist couldn't stop, and he buried his bike in her car, right behind her seat and B-pillar, spinning her car around, as he did so. He died almost immediately, and the relatively uninjured young woman faced the trauma of seeing the carnage inside her car. It would stay with her for life, and no-one deserves to see that. On the manslaugher charge, she was found not guilty, and rightfully so. The judge was pretty scathing of aggressive motorcyclists who don't believe road rules apply to them.