nomadpete

No problem, Peter. I agree that the MSM tend toward ridiculous timewasting beat ups about too many issues. This sure has been one.

Tis sad to hear that honesty is considered a risk to National Security.

Oh, I thought it was the new Toowoomba range bypass!

Well, from another perspective, the US was intending to effectively kill Mr Assange, an Australian citizen, weren't they? And note, that the man in question was careful to avoid exposing any currently active US spies/personnel. So it is questionable whether he really caused any genuine risk to US security. But he did expose some allegedly dodgy international behaviour, which might have been in the public interest.

If we have transparency (honesty) of what really happens, our governments (and others) might be less likely to commit nasty acts. Whenever governments are able to keep their motives secret, there is a temptation for them to screw the public. Whistle blowers are necessary because all too often, our governments tend to act in the interests of whatever benefits themselves rather than the interests of the general public.

You know your engine is worn when you start topping it up with EP90 to slow down the oil consumption.

Yes, that is what GRID batteries do. So far, they are not storage batteries in the usual sense of the word. Community batteries and individual home batteries are storage that last a useful period. Mentioned before by others, a EV sized battery stores sufficient to last a couple of days. Something that size, if more widespread, could supplement the existing grid enormously, and would collectively serve as a grid size distributed energy store. It would greatly reduce individual electricity bills for the individual as well.

Actually there is a related risk with nuclear power plants. If all the energy gets out at once, you have a real problem. Luckily the control systems minimise this but isn't that what Boeing said about their instrument redundancy 'preventing' disasters?

Not at all, OME. I personally would never put my battery storage on a wall of my dwelling, no matter what chemistry it is. The stored energy is a risk if for any reason it all gets out quickly. I have the same view about diesel or petrol gensets. Obviously others are happy to take the risk. That is their choice.

An accidental misspelling on my part. My question remains unanswered. In what way does partial presentation of that period of time constitute subjugation of the western masses?

Just make sure you activate your phone camera first. You'll need evidence for your court case.

Fine. I agree especially about 'harder' recreational drugs. Except - many pot smokers are liable to turn schizophrenic or paranoid delusional. This dangerous side effect is well documented. Sure, most doped people are spaced out. But what about the rest?

Have you ever seen these traditional culturally accepted acts of violence? There is no way that cultural law can reside alongside Westminster law. For instance, cultural law allowed beating of wives for misdemeanours. And until antibiotics arrived, a spear in the leg could easily be fatal.

I knew a lady who could do that. And did it better than a bloke! Moral:- Never challenge a woman to something only blokes can do.

And community batteries for small towns.

Regarding the feared approaching shortfall of electrical generation: I personally cannot see how a slow, uncertain construction and high cost solution (nuclear) can fill the expected fast arriving gap in generatin capacity. The problem, if it is as bad as is feared, will surely start showing up with rolling load shedding next year. None of the solutions (especially nuclear) can fill the gap in time. Maybe the problem is not as high a risk as we think? But then again, I am only a half informed forumite.

As I mentioned, the people skilled at these estimates have a proven track record of good accuracy. Over the period from ww2 until the last couple of years, both the grid and generator capacity has nicely kept just above the demand. This has been due to accurate predictions and timely planning. Australia has historically had less major blackouts than the USA. Recently, there has been dithering with planning. I ascribe that to political dithering by both major parties. Are the lobby groups responsible for this?

OME, I agree with all the above. However, the last sentence confuses me. In what way do you see subjectation being imposed?

I would expect that - after all, the stats do not report the amount of rooftop electricity that is directly consumed by households. The metering (well, mine anyway) only measures NET energy drawn from or fed to grid. It does not measure how much I consume directly from my rooftop panels. So the grid sees lower consumption.

Our collective guestimates are plagues by variables. Did anybody try to predict the uptake of private battery storage removing households from the grid? Or small community battery setups? As pointed out several postings, whatever power generation is used, the demand will always increase. Be aware that NEMCO and state grid operators generally have fairly accurate plans predicting demand and infrastructure requirements. Ten year plans that allow lead times for construction. In Qld they have kept ahead of demand by a comfortable margin. Grid and power stations. The knockers disparagingly called it 'gold plating'. Maybe these plans are being ignored by governments and media.

Not so. Costs of building new HV grid infrastructure have been consistently predictable for a long time. For instance:- Recent extending of Qld grid to Roma and beyond, to supply electricity for CSG pumps, came in on time and on budget. Approx 3yrs and approx $500 million, for hundreds of km of grid and more than 20 completely new substations. BTW note this 'investment' was to support a fossil fuel. Maybe when the gas runs dry, this grid can be used to feed solar farm energy from sunny semiderert, to Brisbane.

I just hope it wasn't black.....

My 2 cents..... Noise outside:- Standing beside a highway, I watched the traffic. I could not detect any difference in noise from EV's compared to liquid fuelled cars. Not scientific proof - just a subjective judgement. Noise inside:- I have only been in a Tesla, and then only as a passenger, half a dozen times (apart from a short ride in a Toyota Prius 15 years ago). It is not a totally silent ride. The silence is eerie at low speeds. At road speeds, the cabin noise is pretty similar to a ice car. But we are already accustomed to a ice car that has a cvt transmission. This does not produce the sudden noise/vibration change that manual or conventional automatic gearboxes create when doing a kickdown to accelerate. Overall it is definitely slightly quieter but for me that alone does not warrant a $50k expenditure. Ride:- The Tesla is definitely set up with 'sports' suspension. A firm ride as you would expect on a performance vehicle. I suspect this has nothing to do with it's weight nor its EV power. More likely it was designed to appeal to the knockers - it had to out perform the opposition ice cars in order to get accepted. The smooth power is easy to like. My daughter's Tesla has had two flat tyres. Teck screws from worksites. Each was replaced onsite by roadside assist at a cost of $70 each. Not much different from the tyres on an ice car. Most cars now have similar low profile tyres anyway. For now I am happy to continue using our 'old fashioned' cars until they are beyond economical repair (drive them into the ground). So I might never get around to owning an EV. I don't care either way. Infrastructure to recharge is pretty good in Tassie.

Housing shortage.... From the esteemed Betoota Advocate:- "Young Australians Probably Would Fight Overseas If They Still Got A Block Of Land In Maroubra Upon Return"

Aaah, of course. How United they are!