onetrack

There's plenty of DOGE hoaxes and outright misinformation out there. The BBC charity arm, BBC Media Action, which is a separate entity from BBC News, and which entity is used to train journalists in 3rd world countries, received 8% of its funding from USAID in 2023-2024. I would've thought that was money well spent, rather than letting Putins journalists into those countries to apply the Russian version of media control. https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/02/08/elon-musk-baselessly-claims-usaid-was-money-laundering-for-left-wing-organizations-the-biggest-doge-hoaxes-spread-on-x/ There IS good reason to check on USAID spending to ensure it reaches those who most need it. A percentage of aid money does always end up being corruptly transferred to powerbrokers and dictators, so systems that defeat that corruption must be devised, and made strong.

There are attempts to start recycling of wind turbine blades, but I believe only one U.S. company (Veolia) is doing it at present. Other ways of recycling blades are being thought up, such as cutting them up and re-using the sections for other uses, such as playground equipment. But they sure are a tough recycling issue. https://cen.acs.org/environment/recycling/companies-recycle-wind-turbine-blades/100/i27

Just a little warning to watch what you eat, Nev - you're always advising us about the dangers of undesirable foods! A diet full of Pork meat, and especially high fat pork products, along with sugars and high fructose corn syrup, do terrible things to your body.

The road toll, as measured in deaths per thousand is going down steadily - it just spikes every few years as another crop of stupid drivers get behind the wheel. Drugs and alcohol play a large part in most road fatalities.

You'd never end up with a body like the dolly on the Vincent if you ate lots of Chiko rolls. In fact, you'd end up looking like the average older Harley Davidson biker.

I have rarely bought a commercial pie for years, simply because they're made in bulk (and in many cases, 100% manufactured by fully-automated machines). But I do like the "gourmet" pie shops, where individuals make home-made pies with quality ingredients and they're fought over, and sold out rapidly. In addition, these little gourmet pie shops often produce a much wider range of pies than the commercial operators. There's one notable local pie shop on the main highway heading East out of Perth, about 50kms East in a little town appropriately called Bakers Hill. I don't think the location was named after baked products, it was named after an early settler. The Bakers Hill Pie Shop is located in a former service station, and it's almost compulsory to stop and grab a pie from the BHPS. Their range of home-made pies is substantial, and I've always been satisfied with any product I've ever bought off them. A favourite of mine was their Lamb and Rosemary pie, but when I last dropped in, about 3 weeks ago, they were out of Lamb and Rosemary pies, and I bought a couple of Chicken and Vegetable pies to take home, and both SWMBO and myself reckoned they were excellent. https://www.facebook.com/thebakershillpieshop/ As regards Indian food, I regard it as pretty low on the rungs of the food ladder. Vast amounts of potent spices overwhelming any actual food taste, and hiding the origins of the dubious meats used - and generally all floating in sauces and gravies, that add to the mystery food origins. I'll give the Indian tucker a big miss, thanks. But Greek food, with lots of fresh salads, fish, chicken and other tasty meats, all cooked simply without overwhelming levels of hot spices, is what tickles my palate.

There is no indication, nor can I find any references, to indicate that the CSIRO contracted out research to a consultant on nuclear power generation. The CSIRO did work in tandem with AEMO to produce their GenCost report, which I think was probably a mistake. Its like someone doing a report on the future of car manufacturing and working in tandem with Ford to produce a future plan. The bottom line is, both the CSIRO GenCost report and Duttons Frontier Economics nuclear power report are both flawed, because too many of their figures and estimates are rubbery. They're rubbery because many of the estimates are just that - in business terms, wild guesses. Dutton insists that Small Modular Reactors are going to be the ducks nuts - when no SMR has even come to fruition yet, and is unlikely to come to fruition, in time to save Australia from a potential energy crisis caused by a lot of politicking, and a serious lack of people in positions of power, who have good foresight. Many of the renewables projections are faulty, with over-estimation of output - especially with wind farms. Much of the estimates are taken up with how many new transmission lines will be needed, an area which increases in cost with nuclear energy, as the power plants are located in one spot and can never be moved, as with coal-fired power stations. The advantage there with renewables is that they can be located reasonably close to the power user, and more can be built elsewhere as demand rises. They can be easily dismantled, and recycling is easier than with nuclear power. And the bottom line is, nuclear reactors have sizeable community opposition, much more than wind farms and solar farms. They produce nuclear waste, and people are concerned about that nuclear waste. There is lingering concern over potential earthquake damage to a nuclear power plant, there is no area in Australia that is earthquake-free.

Very few large projects are unaffected by cost overruns and delays. Expensive land requisitions bumps up project costs today. But a monstrous project to build multiple nuclear reactors in Australia has never been undertaken in the history of the nation, and it is expenditure, on which hangs our national energy security, for multiple decades to come. So, we would have to import overseas experts (usually American, perhaps Europeans and British), at additional cost (think of the Snowy Hydro project, which was very dependent on American advice, engineering and construction knowledge, American construction companies, and 100,000 immigrants from 30 countries), because the skills are not currently here. Neither do we have 100,000 displaced WW2 immigrants to provide the labour force for nuclear power plant construction. Perhaps Dutton is planning to import Indian labourers on visas, as the Arabs do? The Snowy Hydro scheme cost us $820M over 25 years and was completed on time and on budget - due to American expertise and quick learning by Australians and the immigrant workers. However, the vast percentage of the Snowy Hydro Scheme employees were paid relatively low wages and endured spartan living and working conditions, that are unacceptable today. We have the expertise , the labour and the experience to build solar farms, wind turbines, pumped hydro, install grid backup batteries, and even build desalination plants. But we have exactly zero experience with any nuclear power station construction, and it will be a large, sharp, and expensive learning curve, for all involved, if any nuclear power installation does actually go ahead.

I find this article the most interesting of them all - especially her last paragraph ... https://au.news.yahoo.com/lawmaker-quits-doge-caucus-live-110839165.html

Dutton's nuclear plans will never find majority support, and the timing of his nuclear plants only ensures his fossil-fuel mates keep making a big killing from coal and oil. It would be at least 20 years before he could get a nuclear plant up and running (thanks to cost overruns, and construction delays galore) - and by then, battery and renewable technologies would make nuclear power look positively stone-age. Virtually every single nuclear plant in the civilised world is multiple years behind schedule, and multiple billions over budget. Historical trend: Nuclear power plants have historically been prone to cost overruns and delays, particularly in recent decades, with projects in Europe, North America, and Asia facing significant issues. Reasons for delays: Factors like complex design, intricate safety regulations, unexpected geological conditions, supply chain disruptions, and labour issues can contribute to prolonged construction times. Impact of cost overruns: These delays often lead to significantly higher project costs, making nuclear power less financially viable in some regions.

There are at least 3 problems associated with keeping chooks. 1. Lack of space. Most suburban properties are 300 sq m today and there's no room to keep chooks. 2. Council regulations on keeping chooks. They bring vermin (rats looking for eggs and other food), smell and noise, that very close neighbours often find annoying. 3. Convenience. Most people are short of time to get involved with looking after chooks. They require a fair amount of attention. For most people, the convenience of picking up eggs from a shop is great. Stepdaughter runs some chooks on her property in the Hills, East of Perth. But she's on 2Ha and the chooks are allowed by council and her neighbours aren't close. However, she has to spend a considerable amount of time attending to the health problems that chooks develop - it's surprising the things that happen to them - fleas and mites, lice, infectious diseases that require vaccination, injuries from getting pecked, etc, etc. A lot of their complaints are delivered via infected vermin. It's a real struggle for her, keeping the vermin down - foxes, rats, mice, feral cats, she even had a bantam snatched by a hawk. It's not all fun and games, running a few chooks! The bloody foxes spend 98% of their time scheming on how to nail a hen.

Krakatoa?? Where are you getting your info from Spacey, an 1882 newspaper?? The Kanlaon Volcano in the Philippines has erupted with a cloud of ash and smoke to 3000 metres, but Krakatoa hasn't released any molten lava for about 6 years.

We're not going to start harping on about stringed instruments now, are we?

It's all O.K. Trump will just pay major subsidies to the American farmers out of the USAID cancellation savings. He had to pay them billions last time he stuffed up with tariffs (2018) and China cut right back on buying U.S. soybeans and corn and wheat. Why am I not surprised the Mid-West farm belt is Trumps greatest support base? It seems that handing over billions of U.S. taxpayers money to rich U.S. farmers is O.K., but spending USAID money on food and aid for nations that are struggling, is a waste of taxpayers money? I was under the impression that the U.S garnered a lot of goodwill with this foreign aid - and now that goodwill will be gone, and countries like Russia and China will step in. Suspension of U.S. foreign aid will increase hatred of the U.S., lead to a substantial increase in communicable diseases, lead to more population growth in impoverished countries, and facilitate the growth and reach of doctrines and rebel groups that are directly opposed to the U.S., and which rely on spreading hatred and terror.

Saying that Trump is going to heal America is like saying the Grim Reaper is here to make you get better. He's the most viciously divisive, malevolent, racist and abusive "leader", I think I've seen in the last 30 years. He makes African dictators like Mugabe and former Ugandan leader Idi Amin look like kindly, generous old men.

There are a substantial number of new cars on the market and on the road, that have automatic braking collision avoidance, it's called autonomous emergency braking (AEB). It's designed to stop a vehicle in time to prevent a rear-ender, if the driver is distracted. The biggest source of rear-enders is on freeways, when high-speed traffic ahead suddenly stops for a variety of reasons, ranging from debris on the road to much slower drivers, or even just bad merging (people braking as they merge). Drivers get lulled into the steady speed of the freeway and become distracted, and don't see the car in front stop or lose a serious amount of speed quickly, and a rear-ender results. The manufacturers are at pains to point out that AEB does not work 100% under all conditions and it does not take the place of good driving skills. However, the problem is, with every single added item of "driver assist" technology, we ARE dumbing down drivers skills.

Here is a 54 minute speech by (Republican) John Kennedy, handing out an epic defence of Elon Musks "cost-cutting" investigation. He claims Washington lives in a bubble, and no-one has ever questioned the public servants and their agencies spending. I was under the impression there WAS a number of spending watchdogs, and Trump disbanded them all. The problem is, Musk is looking for DEMOCRAT spending, not just general waste and mismanagement. Anytime Musk finds Democrat spending programmes, he cuts them off. What about the massive waste by Trump, such as the SPENDING on a useless BORDER WALL, which is going to RAMP UP again, under Trump? Kennedy seems to be oblivious to the fact, that Musks manoeuvres are all about cutting the ground out from under Democrat States, Democrat programmes, and Democrat politicians. It's not an IMPARTIAL, Congress-elected investigation into Govt spending, it is a specifically-targeted move to weaken Democrat political strength.

What's wrong with the Model A Ford steering, do you want to trade it in for a Model T? 🤩

Another day dawning in the U.S. - yesterdays half-baked Grand Plan of turning Gaza into a long line of Trump Hotels and Golf Courses, will be forgotten today - and another new half-baked and crazy Grand Scheme will be announced, that ensures Trump gets his desired share of daily adulation, and more self-aggrandising about his "genius" status.

Go to a steering specialist in Perth with your Cerato. The problem can either be a damaged steering rack, a worn steering shaft coupling, poor electrical connections or a weak battery, or a faulty power steering ECU. The investigation should start with a complete physical inspection of all the steering components, including the electrical components and wiring, and a written report on what they found, and what needs repairing. The earlier Ceratos are noted for developing a faulty steering shaft coupling which creates clunky noises and binding.

The vulcanologists estimate that a major volcanic eruption happens at Santorini every 20,000 years. The last major eruption was the one that largely destroyed the Minoan civilisation in approximately 1600 B.C. This means we've got to wait another 16,375 years to the next big eruption at Santorini. There was a minor volcanic eruption in 1950 and a number of other minor eruptions earlier in the 20th century. None of them caused any substantial damage or disruption. These minor eruptions were all preceded by swarms of minor earthquakes. https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/santorini/1950-eruption.html

It's all Greek to me, but I do know a fair bit of the Greek alphabet - that came from science learning in high school. A lot of Greeks speak English, and it's amazing how many have close relatives in Australia, or even lived here! We dropped into a nice little Greek cafe on the coast on Kos, and promptly found a Greek bloke who had spent all his formative years in Darwin! He'd returned to Kos to be close to, and look after, his aged parents.

Pauline has had plenty of opportunities to present a viable and workable solution to many of Australia's problems, but she's never presented any plans of substance, she's in the same mold as Donald Trump, an airhead who folds up whenever she's confronted with opposition to any idea she produces. Her Party is slowly disintegrating with less and less people voting for her every year, and her representation in Parliament is down to two seats in the Senate. Her Party has been riven by scandals, corruption, infighting, and a constant choice of poor candidates such as Mark Latham, Rod Culleton, Dean Smith, Craig Kelly and others - thus showing Pauline Hanson has zero leadership abilities or qualities. Her finest time was running a fish and chip shop, where she probably should have stayed.

Beautiful spot, spent nearly a week there roaming around and staying in different accommodations. But the bloody tourists are destroying it, especially when the place is full most of the time - and then two massive cruise ships rock up, one after the other, and discharge another 5,000 braying American tourists, all intent on jostling their way to the front. The sunsets are spectacular, the caldera cliff is unbelievably steep and high (with the port at the bottom of the cliff), and no, we didn't ride the smelly donkeys up or down the cliff face, which is what all premium-grade tourists are supposed to do. We took the ferries between the Greek Islands, they're virtually all West-Australian built ferries and they carry about 250 vehicles (including trucks) and multiple hundreds of passengers in great comfort and speed. They back up to what are sometimes rudimentary wharfs, drop the rear ramp, unload vehicles rapidly on the ramp, and passengers on an adjoining walkway - and then they're raising the ramp and gunning it again, within about 20 mins, heading to another island. Santorini is exactly as it appears in photos, none of them are retouched. But the whole region is Earthquake Central, even the Greek mainland get regular shakeups. We went to Kos and inspected the Asklepieion, an ancient healing centre and baths. It must have been stunning originally, but it was largely destroyed in a monstrous earthquake, in 554 A.D. https://www.greeka.com/cyclades/santorini/sightseeing/santorini-caldera/

Greeted as Liberators in Gaza...... https://therickwilson.substack.com/p/greeted-as-liberators?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1887091&post_id=156536480&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2j0en6&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email