onetrack

So - what do their faces look like, upside-down?

GON, not sure where you get your info that Nasho's weren't obliged to swear the Oath of Allegiance - but ALL soldiers in the AMF had to swear/sign the Oath of Allegiance. I know I did. An Irish-ancestry Nasho mate who is a rabid anti-monarchist, tried to refuse to sign the Oath, stating that Elizabeth II wasn't his Queen. But he was threatened with severe penalties if he didn't sign, so he signed it under duress. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/oath_enlist

The constitutional lawyers are going to have a field day, and their orders will already be in for a brace of new, premium grade, Beemers and Mercs.

Spacey, it's not "AI", it's called "auto-correct", a simple little programme that tries to figure out what word you're going to use next. You obviously haven't heard the old auto-correct joke. The inventor of autocorrect has died. The funnel will be held tomato.

Sewerage runs past my block, and it's not connected, and I don't need it. I can install my own septic system if I wish, provided it uses less than 500 litres a day. Over 500 l/day, I am obliged to connect to the sewerage system.

Ahhh, the old, "A World Gubbmint is coming to control everything you do", conspiracy! America, the land of total distrust, and conspiracies galore! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Order_conspiracy_theory

Never heard of the bloke, but that doesn't mean much. I guess if you were in that tight muso circle, it means a lot to you.

I don't need much supplied by the council to meet my needs. They've got satisfactory roads, I don't pay for rubbish removal, and don't need it (I take a ute load of rubbish up to the local tip whenever it builds up, every 2 or 3 mths), and that's free to dump. I don't need a huge town swimming pool, or other major public facility that ends up under-utilised and a drain on taxpayers. I don't need to pay for councillors expensive junkets, and they keep them to a bare minimum. I have to pay an emergency services levy, but every landowner in the State does that, it's not a huge burden, and I like having the SES, and Firies, and other State Govt services on hand, when needed. The council keep their plant and equipment in good order and regularly replace it, and the Federal Govt gives them lots of grants to do that, and to upgrade major roads. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the way the local council performs.

There's one small qualification to Nuclear power plant water requirements. If the reactor overheats, there is a MASSIVE demand for large amounts of water to cool the overheating core. While the chances of nuclear accidents are minimised, the problem remains as a constant, and systems built to handle an overheating core, have to be designed in. But aside from that issue, there's two other issues to address with cooling nuclear power plants - the increasing temperature of the water bodies in the world, and an increasing shortage of good potable water. Both of these problems are only going to get worse. Nuclear reactors in many countries have had to power down in recent years due to increased water temperatures, and in a number of cases, reduced river flows. https://www.wired.com/story/nuclear-power-plants-struggling-to-stay-cool/

Millions more imbeciles out there who will suddenly wake up soon, that they voted in the worlds biggest con man. BS promises to reduce inflation, reduce the cost of living, reduce energy costs, will all soon be forgotten, and the instant anything adverse appears, it was all the Democrats fault.

I can't complain if they do go up, this council is the 4th cheapest Shire in W.A. They don't spend money like water on councillors dreams, and they have low debt. When I first bought the block 5 yrs ago, the rates were $538 annually, now it's gone up, I paid a whopping $790 this year! The block is 2047 sq m., and it's zoned light industrial.

I can't see the relevance of comparing CO2 and heat output? Nuclear reactors usually use ocean waters for cooling, and this can have detrimental effects on the local marine environment. Nuclear power stations can require up to 80% more water than any other form of power generation.

Good point. A local truckie came to me asking if I thought it was suitable for operating his road trains out of - because he liked it and wanted to buy it. I had to advise him he'd have to get the zoning changed, and get council approval, as it is currently zoned only for "light commercial" use, and not "transport" use. As it's right in town with houses to the left of the above photo, I couldn't see him getting rezoning approval. However, the truckie apparently found the owner and came back with a gloomy face, saying he told him would probably be looking for around $70,000 for it. I think the truckie thought he was going to get it pretty cheap. As the truckie has just bought a house in town, he might be a bit cash-strapped. When I spoke to the shed owner, he indicated he was going to put the block and shed up for offers, and I wouldn't be in the least surprised to see some real estate agent tell him he can get $100,000 for it.

Henry Ford was an a***hole of the highest order. He killed his own son - his only child - because of his arrogance, bullying, and constant belittling of him. Henry Ford's son Edsel died at age 49 from stomach cancer, and I have no doubt the cancer was caused by his fathers outrageous behaviour. Henry Ford specialised in employing "goons", thugs who beat up striking workers. Henry Ford was little more than a domineering, jealous, abusive thug. Elon Musk is not far behind.

I have owned my block for 5 years, and I've only seen the owner of the shed and block next door, just once in that time, about 3 weeks ago. And the only reason I saw him (and spoke to him) was because he's cleaning the block up to sell it. The bloke was so ignorant, that he didn't even bother introducing himself, even though I did. So I still don't even know his name. The shed belonged to his father, who died around 10-12 years ago and the place has virtually been abandoned since the owner died. I have zero chance of acquiring any power from his property.

Strangely enough, the blokes who installed our solar system claimed the solar panels they were putting up, produce more power as they get hotter. Someone is fibbing. Interestingly, research appears to show that solar panels contribute to increased urban heating during the day - but they cool the urban environment at night. How that works, I don't know. https://physicsworld.com/a/solar-panels-can-heat-the-local-urban-environment-systematic-review-reveals/#:~:text=A systematic review of 116,) systems%2C the study found.

Nev, the mains power is 50 METRES away from my block, not 50 miles!! My corner boundary is behind the small tree in the orange circle. The neighbour has power to his shed, he had it connected many years ago, possibly the late 1970's, and I'll wager it only cost him a minimal figure, back in the days before the CORPORATES invaded the W.A. State Electricity Commission, and the charges for everything went ballistic.

You East Coasters should be thankful you've actually got power suppliers to choose from. Here on the Left Coast, we have only one power provider, it's either suck up to them, or go totally off-grid. And a few people are doing the latter. I've just bought a 3 phase genset for my block in the wheatbelt, because I've got no power to the block. I already have a little 6KVA Kubota diesel, single phase genset. A major 3 phase power line is only 50M away at the nearby T-junction to my block, but it could cost $10,000 or $20,000 to get the power supplied to my property. I have to lodge an application to just get a supply cost quote, I have to pay nearly $2000 to start the application, it will take multiple weeks to get a quote, and if the quote comes back at a sum that makes me buckle at the knees, and I choose not to proceed, I lose $550 out of the application fees, just for not proceeding with the connection. If I do decide to proceed, it appears it will take 12 to 14 mths to get the power to the property. What a joke. The genset I bought is 50 years old (1974 build) and it's done about 100 hrs work in total, because it was a standby set in a big workshop under a house in the city. Developers bought the multi-million dollar property, and they were going to send this genset to the tip!! 😢 Talk about corporate greed and waste! Luckily the original landowner stepped in and grabbed it. It's powered by an air-cooled twin-cylinder Italian VM-Motori engine, a good little engine, very similar to a 2 cyl Lister. They're exceptionally reliable, but "old tech". Incredibly, VM-Motori still manufacture this engine, it's now called the VM-Motori SUN engine. The VM-Motori company has been a corporate football, it's had half a dozen owners in the last 30 years, although they originally commenced business in 1947. They were bought by General Motors in 1995 via their Detroit Diesel Corporation division. Then DDC was bought up by Daimler-Chrysler, who put VM-Motori under the Daimler Trucks of North America division. Then Penske Corp bought 50% of VM-Motori off DDC in 2003, and then bought the other 50% in 2007, making Penske Corp 100% owners of VM-Motori. In a staggering bit of corporate manoeuvring, Penske then sold 50% of VM-Motori to General Motors! In 2011, Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT) bought Penske's 50% shareholding in VM-Motori, and in 2013, FPT bought the remaining 50% of VM-Motori off GM, and FPT now fully own VM-Motori. VM-Motori are a large engine manufacturer, they make tens of thousands of water-cooled diesel car engines, and supply them to dozens of manufacturers. They even have factories in China. The generator is a Japanese-built Taiyo, these are the "Caterpillar" of generators, built like a Mack truck, and superb quality. The generator alone weighs 230kgs! I've picked this little 19KVA rig up for $3,700, and all I need to do, is install a power board with plug outlets on it, so it can be fully portable. It was originally hardwired into the power system. Fortunately, I just happen to have a new 20KVA powerboard on hand, it comes complete with generator gauges, amp, volt and frequency meters, as well as 3 phase plugs. This little genset uses about 2-2.5L/hr of diesel, and it costs me nothing when it's not running! Overall, it's a vastly cheaper option for 3 phase power for my big compressor and tyre changer and bandsaw, than a Western Power connection, where I would still have to pay a monthly power supply charge (which is around $25 month), even when I'm not using any power!

This sums it all up .....

Billy Idol showing what a hard life of drugs, sex, and rock/n/roll, does to your appearance!

Cooling system neglect will take most modern cars out of action faster than anything, it's reported that more than two thirds of breakdowns are cooling system related. Cars that haven't been driven much, generally have the most neglected cooling systems. But yes, the Astra timing belts were weak, and need early replacement.

Astra had so many models, it's nearly impossible to find anything on the Classic. But the general impression is they weren't too bad a car, even though they were designed and built by Opel. They were built in Belgium, so that's possibly an advantage in build quality. However, their weakness is the crappy timing belt, which needs replacing at 60,000 kays, and you're well advised to replace the water pump while you're at it. Also, there's a coolant hose at the back of the engine that can spring a leak, and you only find out about it, when the engine is cooked. Check the cooling system thoroughly to ensure there's no corrosion or dodgy-looking hoses (squeeze them to see if they're still pliable, and not showing signs of perishing). Ensure the coolant is replaced regularly, and the cooling system is properly flushed, and you'll eliminate 90% of the problems that will see you break down.

So, do we get more details, such as make, model, etc? - and is it red?

I've paid a grand total of just over $122 for electricity in the last 12 mths. But we got handouts (power credits) from the State and Federal Govts, so without them, our total power bill would have been much higher. I just looked up my power supply account, and we've still got $300 in credit with our power provider, Synergy. We don't spare anything by way of power use, we've got 3 reverse cycle air-cons (1 x 3HP and 2 x 1HP) and we use electricity for heating in winter (a column oil heater and the R/C A/C's on heat) - but we do have a 6.6kW solar system feeding into the grid, and we turn on the washing machine and dishwasher during the day.

The "free energy" from the sun and wind is not free, the huge costs of installing solar arrays and wind turbines has to come out of it, and those Danish turbine manufacturers don't exactly give their turbines away.