onetrack

Just a heads up, advising that the Govt's 32c per litre reduction in fuel excise ends on June 30th. However, the Govt has decided, in a "balanced" move, that come 1st July, only half the excise reduction on fuel will apply. This means that on the 1st July, fuel prices will rise 16c per litre. The 16c per litre excise reduction will remain in place until August 2nd, when the Govt will again review the fuel situation. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-21/why-fuel-excise-cut-will-continue-to-lesser-extent-until-august/106824392

The bulk of the place names in W.A. are Anglicised from the local Aboriginal dialects, and often are quite inaccurate in the translation - to the extent, that a pronunciation of the proper Aboriginal name of those places would be nearly impossible for most people. The bottom line is, the Aboriginal languages have died out because they have no way of keeping up with technological advances. This is the reason the English language is the language of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Construction and Aviation. The Aboriginal languages are primarily concerned with place names and land forms, and waterways and waterholes - all that was needed to sustain the nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, which involved just the immediate everyday needs.

GON, the U.S. Military forces leave Australia after a 6 month deployment. There are approximately 2000 Marines based in the Territory from March to October, then they go home. There are no U.S. Military force bases in Australia with permanently-based personnel, unlike Japan, Sth Korea, Germany, Italy, etc. The Australian military facilities used by the Americans are used on a Joint Rotational basis, or are Joint Defence Facilities with some American personnel based here permanently. Marine Rotational Force: - Darwin: Approximately 2,000 U.S. Marines and sailors deploy to northern Australia every year. They arrive in March to conduct several joint drills, such as Exercise Pitch Black and Southern Jackaroo, before returning to the U.S. in October. Aircraft and Bomber Rotations: The U.S. routinely sends aircraft (like B-52 bombers stationed temporarily at RAAF Base Tindal) for operations, and stores aerial troop carriers in the country, but the personnel are continually cycled in and out. Joint Defence Facilities: Bases like the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap operate as cooperatively managed Australian and U.S. intelligence sites with permanently stationed administrative and intelligence personnel. A number of the overseas American military bases are treated as "Sovereign territory" by the Americans. I cannot see that being allowed here. In the U.K., the bases are leased to the Americans, the British Govt retains sovereignty over the land. In Spain, the U.S. bases are jointly owned by the Spanish and the Americans.

Those Huaneng Ruichi 90 tonne all-electric dump trucks use battery swap technology - something I have been saying for some time, is necessary for speed of operation. The battery swapping is automated and carried out in minutes. Then they can get on with charging the flat batteries at their leisure, when excess or cheap power is available.

I've heard of musical toilets before, but this takes it to a whole new level! https://en.japantravel.com/article/the-musical-toilets-of-japan/11090

I read where Twiggy went to Caterpillar and asked them to build him a fleet of battery-powered big haul trucks. But they refused, saying the idea wasn't practical. So Twiggy went to Liebherr and asked the same question, they said "Yes" - so Liebherr are building the electric haul trucks for Twiggys operations. But 240 tonne trucks are only modest-sized trucks in the scheme of things. 400 tonners are common in numerous big mines. Cat did develop the "hybrid" diesel/electric D7E tractor in 2009, and have sold quite a few of them, about 10,000 units I STR. But the electric D7E has a diesel engine driving an alternator, which then drives a big electric motor, which drives the tracks - similar to diesel-electric locomotives. Essentially, the only savings with a diesel-electric crawler tractor or haul truck is in the transmission cost, with reduced costs as regards manufacturing and repair costs - and a fuel saving from the engine running at a set speed. The cost savings have to increase in the long run with all-electric power, although the up-front costs for electrification are massive, and the battery costs are also horrendous. It's yet to be revealed what battery technology Liebherr are going to use in Twiggys haul trucks - whether it's Lithium or Sodium. The Sodium batteries are starting to catch up to Lithium as regards power output, and they're much cheaper. But the Sodium batteries are heavier. In a mining truck application, the weight factor may not be such a problem as one might envisage.

It's obvious then. You're language-deficient, and need more training in obsolete languages and cultures. We'll book you in for a course in reading Sumerian cuneiform next week, so you can keep up, when they start using it for directions and nomenclature as well.

I can recall one wartime aviation hero, he survived the very worst of battle, and came home unscathed. Before he even went to War, his Anson and another, collided in mid-air, locked together, and he brought both crippled aircraft down to a safe landing, earning many kudos for his skill. Then, after returning from War with a DFM, he was sent to a training unit at Sale. But he collided with a bus on his pushbike in March 1944, and was killed. His name was F/O Leonard Graham Fuller.

It's some of the lines from Stings "Every Breath You Take". Not exactly as in the song, but it reads, "Every breath you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you". The accurate wording is "Every breath you take, and every move you make, Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you".

GON, it wasn't a KLM plane, it was a Malaysia Airlines flight, MH17. And your mates name is actually spelled Gerry. It was a very sad event, made worse by the lack of acknowledgement or responsibility for downing the aircraft, on the Russians part. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-15/victorian-mh17-victims-formally-identified/5672970 Why didn't you go back to fitting and turning at Hawker-DeHavilland after you did your NS? It was obligatory for businesses to hold job positions open for their employees doing National Service. QUOTE: "Under the National Service Act 1964, employers were legally obligated to hold positions open for employees who were called up for compulsory military duty. Key Details of the Mandate: Reinstatement Obligation: Employers had to restore servicemen to their previous positions (or an equivalent role) as soon as practicable upon their completion of full-time service. Terms and Conditions: The returned employee was entitled to the same salary, status, and seniority they would have achieved if they had not been conscripted. Eligibility Rules: To qualify, the employee typically needed to have been employed by the business for a set period prior to their call-up."

Trump is supported by utterly incompetent imbeciles such as J.D. Vance, who the Iranians have played like a fiddle at the peace talks in Switzerland. The Americans arrived early, and went in first to the negotiating room, giving the Iranians the pyschological edge. As seasoned negotiation veterans have said, the losing party is the first to enter the room, the victors enter last. Then the negotiations have stalled at every turn, with the Iranians knowing full well they're playing with a handful of aces. When asked if the U.S. was demanding a full and total end to Iran's nuclear programme, Vance only said, "Oh yes, we'll be negotiating an end to their nuclear programme" - like it was now of secondary importance. If the U.S. really were the winners here, they'd demand the end to Iran's nuclear programme as a primary and non-negotiable demand. Vance is a totally incompetent f****** loser, he couldn't negotiate his way out of a paper bag.

Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. The last few days have been bitterly cold, full overcast and gloomy, all day, every day. I'm looking forward to Spring and Summer returning. To hasten it, we've booked a fortnights break in Broome, from the end of July to mid-August. That will give us a nice early burst of sunshine and warmth. I always look forward to a Winter break in Broome. The place is overpriced and always full of tourists, but the scenery and Cable Beach can't be beaten. We stay at the Habitat Resort, it's set on 9 acres (3.6Ha), and has 32 individual bungalows and apartments all spread out in a lovely heavily vegetated setting. Each bungalow is self contained, we can cook for ourselves or go up town for a feed. The Broome Golf Course is right next door, and their clubhouse sits on top of a big dune overlooking Roebuck Bay, and they serve good food and drinks. The Port of Broome has had a massive rebuild, the W.A. Govt has spent $200M building a new jetty, and a huge new floating dock, so ships can dock and depart any time, and not be dependent on the tide, as before, at the original dock, which was fixed. This was still being built when we were there last year, so it should all be finished now.

Trump always raged on about "draining the swamp" in Washington DC. But the only thing he's actually done, is turned the Lincoln Reflecting Pool into a swamp.

The exploration gridding work produced teams of blokes working on the clearing and pegging. Essentially, entire leases had to be cut up into small squares by cutting parallel criss-crossing lines, so the drill rigs could drill on a grid basis. In light country, the teams wouldn't use any earthmoving gear to cut the line, they just used axes and 4WD's to bash down the bush. It was brutal work on the 4WD's and they staked tyres multiple times a day. So they ended up working out that nearly bald tyres, pumped up to higher pressures, were better at avoiding stakes than tyres with good tread run at normal pressures. The principle was that the stakes would skate off a relatively smooth tread on a tyre with high pressure in it. The 4WD's took a hiding and the pegging teams would buy up old Landrovers, and the few available older Landcruisers, fit them with scrub-bashing bars, and go use them like a bulldozer! Many of the companies favoured dozing in the grids, as it made it so much easier on the drill rigs and their 4WD's, even though it was higher cost.

It's good to see Giorgia doesn't suffer fools gladly. I guess this might be the end of a beautiful friendship.