onetrack

One of the beauties of running stock around solar panels is they keep the vegetation short, so it has less chance of carrying a big fire.

And right there, is part of what's wrong in this country. Add in the number of top public servants "on the make" as well, and we're well on the way to being a 3rd world country. So many of the pricks getting caught lately with helping themselves, based on straight-out criminal greed. The penalties should be doubled for these greedy pricks in exalted positions. https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/commonwealth-employee-among-three-people-charged-over-alleged-multi https://www.nacc.gov.au/convictions https://www.counterfraud.gov.au/case-studies/senior-public-servant-involved-australias-largest-public-sector-fraud We've one prick who was working for Fremantle Ports Authority, he scammed $5M out of the Authority, took off for the high life overseas, and they still haven't caught him after more than 6 years. https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-family-s-alleged-freo-ports-rort-blows-out-to-5m-as-contractors-hit-with-new-charges-20200915-p55vqw.html

God helps those who help themselves, but God help anyone caught helping themselves. Old sign from an orchard.

Anika Wells has to go, she makes Chopper Bronnie look good. What a prime "snout in the trough" merchant, Wells is. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-09/wells-spends-thousands-on-comcars-for-grand-finals/106117742

Arson is responsible for about 40% of bushfires - but a lot of that is accidental arson - i.e. - carelessness, such as grinding or welding near dry grass. Dry lightning strikes are responsible for about another 40% of bushfires, leaving about 20% being caused by fallen powerlines or electrical faults. I would be very surprised to find that the solar farm caused the fire, they're designed to ensure safety in operation.

Trump has just handed American farmers US$12B in subsidies, to make up for all their farming losses, thanks to his tariff policies. Last time he was President, he gave them $23B because they lost out big-time, due to his trade policies back then. No wonder U.S. farmers keeping voting for him! https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-farmer-bailout-tariffs-b2880213.html

Samuel L. Jackson for President!! 🙂

Sumer is icumen in. Sumer is icumen in, Lhude sing cuccu! Groweþ sed and bloweþ med And springþ þe wde nu, Sing cuccu! Awe bleteþ after lomb, Lhouþ after calue cu. Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ, Murie sing cuccu! Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes þu cuccu; Ne swik þu nauer nu. Pes: Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu!

Aww, C'mon Marty - Stop the diplomatic descriptions, and tell us what you really think of Trump.

The developers, combined with the vast sums of money available in the sporting arena today, will always get their way. I think this stadium is idiocy, especially the siting, and the monetary burden on such a small number of the Australian population. It's not like the money is being thrown into a major energy or water or food security plan, or other future national civilisation security outlay - it's just the equivalent of a Roman amphitheatre. The W.A. Govt outlaid £2.5B ($5B) for the massive (for its time) Kalgoorlie reticulated water scheme, between 1899 and 1902. The project involved a large new dam, a 600km pipeline, 8 large steam-driven pumping stations, a sizeable number of storage tanks, and all the associated infrastructure. The State population was only 140,000 people at the time, and the howls of outrage over the massive repayment burden (for centuries, claimed the opponents) on the W.A. population, were loud and long - and the loudest and most virulent opposition came from the editor of the local Sunday Times, one Frederick Vosper. Vosper's continuous vicious attacks on the architect of the scheme, Charles Yelverton O'Connor, led to O'Connor committing suicide under the stress of the attacks, and overwork. Regardless, the scheme has been a major success, and has returned its outlay in spades over 123 years, and Kalgoorlie has produced hundreds of billions worth of gold and other important minerals, thanks to the ample supply of water available to the W.A. Goldfields. I see no similar success or monetary return for the Tasmanians on their sporting outlay. The only beneficiaries will be that small number of people involved in major sports, and sports events are not energy, water or food security plans.

If there's power spillage, it shows electricity is being generated and could be used, but it's simply going to waste. So the simple solution is to store or use that currently wasted energy. That's where big batteries or other forms of power storage come in. Hydroelectric dam water could be pumped to substantial height with surplus electricity, if the system was properly organised. The current system is simply disorganised, and money needs to be thrown into it to ensure it become organised. In future, I see AI playing a big part in organising surplus power to be distributed to prevent generated power loss. China currently has huge amounts of solar power being generated, but lost due to disorganisation. They are throwing money at it to try and solve the problem. There's a "fossil fuel" mindset amongst many that cannot get their heads around fossil fuels always being required to "back up the grid". It's not. It just requires a grid organised to deal with the more unpredictable power generation style of wind and solar. W.A. is pouring billions into huge batteries, this is needed to stabilise the system and to provide the backup needed for windless and heavy cloud days. There's probably a lot more can be done, and I believe generating power where it's needed, rather than generating it 500 or 1000 or 5000 kms away, and then distributing it via very expensive and hated power transmission lines, is wasteful and costly.

That's exactly what he said, as the deer went under.

That'd give ya the shz. 😄 Deer couldn't have been too sizeable? When I read the first line, I expected to see a Mini totalled.

I hired a Toyota Corolla Hybrid for 12 days in Broome in July. It didn't use a great deal less fuel than a regular petrol-powered car. One of the most alarming events I had with it, was - I was driving along, chatting to SWMBO and resting my hand on the gear shift lever (as I often do), and accidentally moved the lever into Neutral, whilst doing about 60kmh. The cars reaction was to apply full emergency braking immediately, nearly throwing us through the windscreen! I was quite shocked that any car maker would install a system that operates like this - especially Toyota. If we had been in heavy traffic, my inadvertent gear lever movement possibly would've caused a chain-reaction pile-up. This setup is making me shy away from Hybrids even more than I previously was unenthusiastic about them. I can't stomach the idea of major increased complexity in a car that comprises a combined petrol engine, electric motor, and a drive system battery, with all its attendant increased amounts of wiring and electronics.

He's probably sleeping with the fishes, now.

In rural W.A., the State Govt electricity system provider and maintainer, Western Power, has been pulling out long rural power lines to distant farms, and installing stand-alone, off-grid power plants to the farms. The stand-alone power plants are a combination of solar, battery and backup diesel power. WP says the stand-alone systems are cheaper than the cost of installing and maintaining long power lines with only a handful of customers. With this change, there's also the benefits that less trees are required to be cut down for poles, farming operations are easier when they don't have to work around poles, blackouts from storm damage to poles and wiring is reduced, and fire outbreaks from fallen power lines are eliminated. A farmer friend in the W.A. wheatbelt accidently bumped a pole in his paddock with a seeding unit, and the pole promptly fell over - and it took 6 other poles down with it! The holes for the poles are oversized and the dirt refilled around the pole is not compacted, so it doesn't take a lot to make them fall over, especially when the ground is wet. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-02/thousands-of-renewable-standalone-power-systems-to-be-rolled-out/101479136 However, the changeover is not without its problems, and primarily, the problems relate to WP inflexibility and faulty planning. Some farmer customers are not happy with the standalone systems, due to limitations, rules about resetting circuit breakers, and what may happen when the stand-alone systems are worn out and a future cash-strapped State Govt refuses to replace them. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-12/farmers-question-western-power-push-standalone-regional-units/103549708

Which day in January in Southern Tassie, is Summer, nomadpete? 😄 My Scottish mother (from Dunfermline) told us her brother always quipped, that "Summer was on Wednesday last year, wasn't it?" 😄

There's always been a disparity and dislike between rural/outback Australians, and city Australians. Even A.B. Paterson and Henry Lawson wrote about the disparities between the Australian "bush" and "city" cultures, in the late 1800's. Rural/outback dwellers constantly harp on about "city slickers", and how they wouldn't know the first thing about where their food and minerals come from. The gulf has only widened with so many recent inventions that make life easy, and which further detach city people from life "on the farm" or "in the mines". Add in immigration, where new cultures have no understanding, no historical links, and no education about what earlier Australians did to make life easy for them (including wartime sacrifices), and the gulf becomes bigger. However, I am heartened at Anzac Day marches to see many Asians, and other cultures that fought alongside us in many wars, also showing respect and admiration for our sacrifices.

We'll send you Summer with a Vengeance, shortly. 39° here on the Left Coast today, a record for the first official day of Summer. It's a bit of a shock after a long, cool Spring.

Trump would love to have millions not vote - then only his MAGA supporters would vote - and then, he'd become KING of America, FOREVER!!

I'm quite surprised at the number of Teslas I see on the road, that have all their badging removed. Every single piece of script or logo indicating the vehicle is a Tesla is gone. It makes me wonder if there's some underground movement of Tesla owners that likes the Tesla design, but hates the CEO of the company - so they "rebel" against the CEO's attitude, statements, beliefs and ethics, to effectively shove it up Elon, by removing all the Tesla identifying badges and logos. It appears quite a few American Tesla owners have even taken it one step further, by re-badging their Teslas to other car makes, and even specific models. https://electrek.co/2025/03/03/tesla-owners-get-creative-to-distance-themselves-from-elon-with-new-car-logos-projectors/

As you age, it is very important to cultivate new, younger friends - because all your lifelong friends die when you get old, and you end up suffering from loneliness. Plus, having younger friends keeps you in touch with current culture and trends. Dick van Dyke makes some good observations about living to 100. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/dick-van-dyke-age-birthday-health-diet-b2875237.html

The gentleman below, who is a political strategist who previously worked on G.W. Bush's election campaign, has written a thought-provoking article, slamming Trump and the MAGA mob, over their warmongering without reference to Congress or the American people. The article is the one titled, "'Kill them all', is a confession to murder under American law". https://steveschmidt.substack.com/

I must be old school. I still always say "G'Day" to everyone. I can recall a neighbour in the country telling me a story about a visiting Yank, who spotted a few T-shirts with "G'Day" on them, and was continually perplexed. Finally he asked one of the Aussies, "Hey buddy, what does this "GEE - Day" stand for, (that) I see on your T-shirts??" He thought it was some kind of special commemorative Australian day.

Here's an interesting article about a couple of blokes attempting to produce an Australian ChatGPT. Good luck to them, but it apparently takes a huge amount of effort and money to garner all the requisite data, and process it. https://www.watoday.com.au/technology/thongs-aren-t-underwear-the-case-for-an-australian-chatgpt-20251128-p5nj7p.html