kgwilson

Australia currently gets around 36% of its electrical energy from renewables & this is increasing all the time as our reliance on fossil fueled generation reduces with retiring assets and increasing wind & solar with some pumped hydro on the way. Our reliance on diesel for heavy transport has to be addressed more urgently now given global volatility and ever increasing cost.

I hope you didn't light a match near the ducted gas!😍

Electric motors typically run at between 85% & 95% efficiency. Energy lost is mostly heat. Older AC induction motors usually run between 75% & 85%. Modern EVs convert over 77% of the energy at the wheels. The rest is lost to heat and friction. Fossil fuelled cars are very inefficient when converting the energy in the fuel to the wheels at between 12% and 30%. Again the rest is lost to heat and friction.

When Cadburys was sold to Mondelez the quality & taste went through the floor and they introduced horrible American flavours. I know in NZ people complained & stopped buying Cadburys which prompted an eventual reversal & return of original flavours though the chocolate quality is still not as good as it was & most likely has more sugar in it. Mondelez also closed the NZ factory & the only site left in Oceania is in Tassie. Hopefully they won't close that & get stuff made in China like everyone else.

That may well have been the case but if he had won he would have been hell bent on pushing for a constitutional amendment to allow him a 3rd term & if that happened the US may have already been at war with multiple states or more likely with itself. That is almost happening now. In a recent Yougov poll 28% of voters believe the 2020 election was rigged and 2/3 of MGAG voters alreay believed the 2020 vote was rigged even before Trumps address. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-17/donald-trump-national-address-ominous-sign-for-midterm-elections/106928662

Trumps address to the nation is the latest example of his desperation. He now says there is evidence China stole the data of 220 million voters and that they meddled in the 2020 election he lost but really won despite multiple investigations and lawsuits all finding him 100% wrong. The problem is that a lot of his MAGA nutters believe him and this is the first step towards declaring a national emergency to prevent the mid term elections from being held. https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/361007861/trump-lays-groundwork-emergency-declaration-ahead-midterms

The only permanent Nuclear waste facility I know of is Finlands Onkalo, meaning "cave" in Finnish, the facility is carved 430 meters (1,411 feet) below the surface in 1.9-billion-year-old stable bedrock near the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. It securely stores spent nuclear fuel using a unique multi-barrier system. It took over 20 years to build & can store 6500 tonnes of spent uranium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository About 400,000 tones of high level waste exists globally with about 12,000 tonnes added each year. Meanwhile there are scores of decommissioned Nuclear submarines in storage awaiting the waste from their reactors to be removed and stored. The UK has 23, The US & Russia have not disclosed numbers or where the waste is stored. Is there a plan to dispose of the waste from the Aukus nuclear subs?

And certainly not and economic decision either.

Sams parents were NZers & his father was in the military & stayed on in the UK after WW2. They eventually decided to return to NZ.

Sam was a great actor and an all round fine human being. A genuine nice guy. I loved his book "Did I ever tell you this" a series of his memoirs he put together after finding out about his cancer diagnosis. Sir Sam Neill I will miss you

Trump never admits defeat in anything he is involved with. He will have some comment and blame everyone except himself and then state that if he'd been able to do x y or z they would have won so really even though it was a loss they won anyway (Just like the 2020 election).

FIFA management has been corrupt for years bowing to the almighty $. They inserted a drinks break supposedly because of the heat but mandated it for all games whether it is hot or cold, effectively splitting the game in to 4 quarters. This not only disrupts the flow of the game & gives players a bit of a breather but and most importantly provides and additional period to rake in $billions from advertisers.

Trump is a Malignant Narcissist. Here is an AI overview A malignant narcissist is a severe, highly toxic personality type that combines standard narcissistic traits with aggression, antisocial behavior, and sadism. Unlike typical narcissists, they actively derive pleasure from humiliating and hurting others to assert dominance and control. [1, 2] Core Traits & Behaviors While the term isn't an official clinical diagnosis, psychologists often use it to describe the most dangerous end of the narcissistic spectrum. Key features include: [1, 2] Sadism: They experience joy and empowerment when causing emotional or physical pain to others. Paranoia: They frequently view others as adversaries and may become deeply suspicious or defensive. Antisocial Behavior: A blatant disregard for rules, social norms, and the rights of others. Profound Lack of Empathy: They are entirely indifferent to the suffering of those around them and lack genuine remorse. [1, 2, 3, 4]

I particularly liked her role in 'To the Manor born". She and Peter Bowles were absolutely hilarious together.

If you are planning to install a battery to store your solar or a complete solar panels/battery system, consider becoming a VPP (virtual power plant). I did & got an additional subsidy on my 18.4 kWh battery of $676.00. I joined Amber as the VPP Manager at a cost of $25.00 a month. Instead of getting just a few cents/kWh when the sun is shining & the rates are low, the system charges the battery till its full & sells the energy when the price is high. My average is 18.2c/kWh. All my costs are at wholesale rates so I pay the same to buy power as the Energy retailers. In Summer when there is too much solar in the grid the sale price goes negative. When that happens & my battery is full, the system curtails the solar production so none is exported. When there is a grid failure somewhere like a power station partial shutdown the spot price can go to $10.00/kWh or even more. When that happens the system will export energy at its maximum rate. In an hour I can be credited more than a couple of months electricity cost while helping to stabilise the grid.