nomadpete

All true, Will. Most drivers have no concept of 'expect the unexpected.' You raised a good one. I used to commute in Bris, and at one point, there was two lanes of peak hr traffic all turning left together. After a heavy overnight storm, but the sun was out and the water had gone. A manhole cover had popped off, and believe it or not, no car had dropped a wheel into the hole! (maybe later?) So hundreds of motorists had good reactions that day! Yes, it is true that few motorists can be trusted. But will new laws stop them doing thoughtless dangerous stuff?

Crikey I wish it was wet. Today was 30 degrees, under 30% humidity and 30kts wind. Spent the day on the fireground only 10k from home. Rough country. It was blowing hard and gusting, towards our place. There were 5 choppers running water bombing all day. We had 2 x D8 dozers cutting a firebreak but the fire jumped that about the same time as one dozer broke down. The terrain was too steep to get our appliances within striking distance of the fire front. Tonight the wind dropped, the fire slowed down. Hoping for drizzle tonight but rain would be real nice. I'm not going out tomorrow (too tired)but there will still be a dozen firetrucks out. So far about 70 hectares still smouldering.

Completely normal!

I consider driving through water ti be 'off road' driving. It requires an individual risk assessment before the attempt. It is unfair to compare it with running a red light which instantly places high risk of injury/ death to an unknown number of people who are likely to collide with the redlight runner. I wonder how many commentors have actually done much driving through water, and in what (of the many different types of) vehicles they have gaind this experience. I consider myself fairly experienced in water crossings, and I can see how easily the inexperienced/unwary driver can come to grief. But the same can be said of most motorists in otherwise normal driving. Like all things, you cannot legislate common sense. With common sense and some risk management, most drivers should be trained to make safe decisions and either safely cross water or sensible decide not to. Or maybe just ban motorcars because people can't be trusted to use them safely.

This one, yes the convicted killer was a ex Vietmanese migrant. Who was also a competing politician. A weak case to try to paint all migrants as criminals. We don't call all whities criminals just because most crimes are committed by that group. Co-incidence does not equal causation.

Wiki:- Donald Bruce Mackay (13 September 1933 – 15 July 1977) was an Australian businessman and anti-drug campaigner. He disappeared in 1977, but his body has never been found. In 1986, James Bazley was convicted for his murder. Where does Vietmaneses migrants come into this? I call BS on that

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences. Sometimes mother nature is a bitch. But when it comes to most of the resulting damage, blame your state governments.... all flavors if them. Tis a sign of poorly designed infrastructure. Design should allow for unusual but expected natural events.

Glad someone got some good out of it. One thing I miss from Qld, is the pleasure of watching a real thunderstorm come through. Darwin is also (or only) famous for beautiful towering cu-nim thunderstorms.

Garn! Make your own. And hurry up, I ain't gettin any younger!

Rain? Yesterday we got the forecast thunderstorm! Tassie doesn't know what a thunderstorm looks like. Warm all day - mid 20's! (almost a heatwave for us). Straggly untidy cumulus built up all afternoon then some vague sky grumbles and a few drops of rain. The locals will surely be talking about it for years.

Quote from heathercoxrichardson.substack.com :- First: it was exactly ten years ago tonight that then–Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told the American people that Russian president Vladimir Putin hoped to have a “puppet” in the White House, and that Donald Trump was that puppet. A scowling Trump responded: “No puppet. No puppet.” Clinton continued: “It’s pretty clear. Trump interjected: “You’re the puppet.” Clinton continued: “It’s pretty clear you won’t admit…” Trump interjected: “No, you’re the puppet.” Clinton: “...that the Russians have engaged in cyberattacks against the United States of America, that you encouraged espionage against our people, that you are willing to spout the Putin line, sign up for his wish list, break up NATO, do whatever he wants to do, and that you continue to get help from him because he has a very clear favorite in this race.” Trump shook his head disparagingly. Ten years later, Trump is openly embracing Putin and is working to destroy the strongest and most successful alliance in human history to cement that partnership, apparently with an eye to enriching himself. And so, the events of the present change the way we see the past. Had Trump strongly supported Ukraine as Congress has demanded, and stood firm against Russia, a country that is, after all, a minor economic player whose military is flailing at its attempt to absorb its neighbor, we would rightly dismiss Clinton’s warning as campaign hyperbole. As it is, though, Trump’s tie to Putin—the story he has always tried to bury by calling it the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax”—seems likely to emerge as the central story of the Trump years. As Clinton wrote today: “In just the last few days: Trump made a deal for the U.S. to buy Russian diesel, an economic lifeline for Putin; he and Elon Musk blamed each other for an order that slowed down Starlink satellite connectivity over Ukraine, hampering the country’s defenses during a devastating Russian attack; and Trump waived sanctions on Russia that Congress, led by his late friend Lindsey Graham, had pushed for. Now, Putin has proposed a summit with Trump and Xi to decide Ukraine’s fate for them, bulldoze a century of international cooperation, and frame Russia as an equal to the U.S. and China. “We’ll see if Putin’s puppet continues to dance on his strings.”.....more....

Supercheep and Repco are now a car accessory duopoly.

Looking at the USA condition..... the hole they are in..... basically the public have lost ALL faith in the system of government (both sides of it).... There is one way to restore the public's faith in the system.... If Dems wish to gain control for at least one season... Promise to release all the Epstein files unredacted, and to prosecute all dodgy particiants without favor, regardless of who they are, what party they are, or what country they are in. Restore ethics to the system. Problem solved.

Thanks. It's a real time machine. Following your work, I admire your tenacity.

HE has expanded the promise to a million tons of diesel. meanwhile there was a report somewhere that the first tanker docked in USA yesterday. (haven't verified that). I thought tankers took a couple of weeks to do that trip? Anyway it isn't about the diesel - even that much is not going to drop the retail price in tim for the midterms. It is a grift to Pootin to help fix the Ukraine war. Along with nobbling starlink.