onetrack

I'm sick of the constant grey skies, showers and rain, of the last 3 months. I'm looking forward to a bit of sunshine and warmth. Monday is forecast to be 26° and sunny. I can recall going to Qld in early Oct 1993, to go to a big machinery auction just out of Brisbane. It had been a balmy month of fine weather in W.A. before I went, but when I landed at the auction site, it was in the high 30's, and the humidity was on a par with anything in FNQ! I nearly flaked out with the heat and humidity shock, it was totally unexpected - not helped by the fact I hadn't studied up on the weather in the region before I went. I couldn't believe how overwhelming the heat and humidity was.

Farcebook Marketplace in your region should turn up something. Even Gumtree might produce something, but Gumtree is getting more useless each day, as eBay, the owner of Gumtree, prompts you to buy their Chinese crap instead.

The Chinese have long failed to recognise the innate value of a consistent, long-standing trade name, that evokes strong feelings. Their cars represent their shape-shifting, androgynous, soulless, featureless, inscrutable society, and style of Govt. Caterpillar have spent almost 100 years perfecting brand-name following and worship. They still have current patents, trademarks and registered designs on any symbol, style of lettering in the names they've used, and other identifiers of their brand name, going right back to 1925 when the company was formed. Other major U.S. industrial brand names operate in a similar fashion. The Chinese love to copy these brands, but the Rottweiler lawyers are ever on guard, ready to launch lawsuits over infringements. I was at the Dowerin Field Days last Wednesday, and I was stunned to see Chinese copies of front end loaders that copied the shape and outline of Caterpillar machines, and which even used similar model numbers. I did a double-take, thinking I was looking at some new Cat model of machine. Many Chinese cars follow Western models and designs in the same way - even down to the Chinese Rolls Royce, the Hongqi H9.

Here's the entire article.... I’m glad you’ve come to my funeral. I’ve got a few things to tell you. Doug Hendrie Freelance writer August 28, 2024 — 5.00pm In Australia, the dramatic repertoire you can draw on at funerals is very limited. Unlike other cultures, we don’t go hard on proper grief. There’s usually no grasping handfuls of dirt. No rending of your garments. You can cry – even ugly cry – but no one really leans into the melodramatic potential of the occasion. And that’s before you get to the eulogy. There’s a strong hint in the name – eulogy means “praise” – of what’s expected. The rules are to say nice things, even if you had a very complex relationship with the person. At least, that was the case. Until now. This month, everything changed thanks to a man touched by the gods. He goes by the name of Dan Thomas, and he’s a biographical filmmaker based in Melbourne who has had the idea of allowing people to record their own eulogies. Now, you can do your own version of the Pauline Hanson video (“Fellow Australians, if you are seeing this now, I am dead”). You can throw out the rule book about funerals and speak from beyond the grave. For $1500, you can force everyone important in your life to sit on a pew while you lie serenely in your casket, clutching some roses and looking dignified and very mournable, and then you hit them with a 10-minute monologue on any topic of your choice. For his part, Thomas is pitching this as a respectful way to connect the dead with the living, saying: “It’s humbling to help someone create a eulogy that captures the heart, soul and purpose of their life.” I love that he believes in the innate goodness of humanity. That people will use it to make their funerals like all the funerals before them, all black-clad and weepy. But I believe many humans are delightful freaks with a thin veneer put on to make society function. And the ability to give your own eulogy rips it right off. Off comes the Band-Aid, hairs and all. Off comes the mask you’ve worked at for decades. And there you are, the real you. Your final, true form, given a voice. It is the most glorious madness I’ve seen in years. Just imagine what you could do with this power. You’ll be gone. You’ve cut out the middleman, your eulogiser and praise-giver. There is no right of reply. You’re showing people who you actually were. If you have lived a delightfully petty life, you could use your monologue to settle scores or to crow a little. Just think, your funeral could be one great Festivus celebration in which you could air your grievances in true Frank Costanza-style, without anyone else sharing theirs. Or if you’ve got a lovely spicy brain, you could use the time to finally make people listen to your special interest. Finally, you can tell people the goddamned truth, which is that from an engineering point of view, German tanks in the early years of World War II were vastly superior to anything the Allies had. That it took Soviet and American factories churning out cheap crappy tanks like tin cans to overwhelm the Tiger. As for me, I’m gonna go surreal. I’ll get a dodgy AI to write me the script, and then I’ll deliver it deadpan. “We are gathered here today to acknowledge the passing of Doug Hendrie,” I will intone. I will drone on, making it as monotonous and boring as possible. “Doug was a man who lived a life marked by routine and consistency. He was not one for grand gestures or dramatic events. Instead, he preferred to carry out his duties with a methodical and unremarkable efficiency. “His hobbies, if one could call them that, were centred around [insert hobbies], activities he engaged in with a notable lack of flair but a consistent level of engagement. Doug’s interactions with others were characterised by a polite and unassuming demeanour. He maintained a steady presence, offering little in the way of excitement or unpredictability.” I will finish. I will bow to the camera. I will climb into a fake coffin made of cardboard and wave a white flag. And by God, you will all sit there and watch it, and you will come away bewildered, and saying the only words truly fitting for such a solemn occasion, words former US president George Bush famously uttered after sitting through the inauguration of Donald J. Trump: “That was some weird shit.” Doug Hendrie is a Melbourne writer.

And when the new VW UP! breaks down - you can call it a F*** UP!!!

Javascript is under the "site settings" in those four headings. Click on "site settings" to get another drop-down menu with the Javascript settings and options.

This is the same bloke who would knock off at lunchtime every Friday, for a long and boozy lunch with high-profile business mates, discussing share-ramping stunts to ensure the company shares didn't flag - and that lunch would finish off so late, it wasn't worth going back to the office. Then he'd claim he's worth all of his multiple-million dollar annual salary. I wouldn't work for the prick. I've been in many company boardrooms, and had plenty of dealings with these people, and most are abominably avaricious.

Whoa, Willie - that's a lot of fabbing work, just to haul a few logs around! Why don't you get yourself a little old Cat 22, like my mate on his 100 acres down on the Campaspe, South of Echuca - and just snig them around with a chain, to where you want them! What are you going to do for brakes for that jinker on steepish slopes? An unbraked loaded jinker going downhill is a recipe for trouble! The old horse-drawn or bullock-drawn whims and jinkers had no brakes, but they dragged one end of the log on the ground, still.

Flying bullet fragments from a high powered weapon can do a lot of damage. Those .223 calibre bullets shatter thanks to their high velocity, it's all part of the design to maximise damage.

I don't know who the idiots are, who think that running lettering vertically is clever. I hate roadside signage and building advertising or naming that runs vertically - especially when they pick an oddball font for doing so.

Spacey, the site must not trust your computer! I can read it O.K., and I don't have a subscription to the site. Try turning off your Javascript on that site. Click on the two little key-looking symbols at the front of the site URL, go to "site settings" in the drop-down menu, and find "Javascript" and change it from "allow" to "block". When you close the page, you get a "reload page" message.

A

Maybe it's because I'm several years past my allocated "three score and ten", and I'm starting to think a lot more about my funeral arrangements - but I got a good chuckle out of this blokes take on a new funeral offering - to write your own eulogy. https://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/i-m-glad-you-ve-come-to-my-funeral-i-ve-got-a-few-things-to-tell-you-20240813-p5k215.html

What about the knees? The knees are also the ones to suffer when you've been pedalling for an extended period! And the lungs? What about the hills?? I'll tell you all a little story about SWMBO and myself going over to Rottnest Island for a couple of days break, about 20 years ago. I was still young and fit then, and enjoyed bike riding, and could ride up hill and down dale for hours. But SWMBO was never all that good on a bike, and hated hills, the average hill was too much effort for her, so she'd get off and walk. We discussed taking our bikes to Rottnest, rather than relying on the Rottnest bus to get around the place (There are no cars allowed on Rottnest, apart from the few official ones. Everyone hires bikes or brings their own on the ferry). SWMBO was a bit dubious about possibly excessive amounts of riding needed to get around. I reassured her (from faulty memory based on my last trip to Rottnest about 30 yrs previous), that the island was "pretty flat, anyway". So we chucked the bikes on the ferry, and away we went. We duly set up in our lodgings and decided to go for a ride around the island. But after a couple of kays, the horror of what we'd set ourselves up for, rapidly dawned on us! The roads around Rottnest island contain bloody great HILLS, and more HILLS, after those hills!! I think it took about 15 years for SWMBO to forgive me, for casually misinforming her, as to what we would be up against on Rottnest, on bikes! I must admit, despite being a fairly good bike rider, the hills on Rottnest certainly were a good test of ones fitness.

OME, don't buy one! They'd be a sure-death fire trap on wheels, with all that wood, combined with stray electricity!! That's if you survived any important screws falling out, or tearing out!! 😮

Freya

20

8:15

Because America is the Land of Lawyers, and the Land of Lawsuits, it comprises a major portion of their economy. I've seen articles comparing Japan and America, as regards the number of lawyers and the number of lawsuits in each country. The conclusion was that the vastly increased size of the American legal profession was a burden on America. Japanese have a cultural attitude that it's not right to sue other Japanese, as it weakens the nations cohesiveness, and the countrys economy. The Americans are diametrically opposite in their view, they'll sue the pants off anyone they think has a capacity to pay. There must be a huge inbuilt cost in all things American, to cover their legal burdens.

Why would you want pink bats? They'll only burn your house to the ground, and leave you homeless!

There's nothing left to argue when all the hollow Trump BS is removed from his depositions. A fair while ago, he'd had something like 60 of his appeals and lawsuits thrown out or lost - and you can count his legal wins on the fingers of one hand. He must be getting up around 100 legal losses by now - a fair number of which, didn't even get to first base, such was the level of absurdities involved.

A couple of stories below on the pursuit and fining of Aboriginal Corporations over stock deaths on their stations .... https://nit.com.au/29-01-2021/1713/two-aboriginal-organisations-charged-over-hundreds-of-cattle-deaths https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-01-05/yandeyarra-cattle-death-fine-criticised/103256696 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-02/pga-slams-animal-welfare-sentencing-over-kimberley-cattle-deaths/101603238

The same has happened with several Aboriginal Corporation-run Stations in the W.A. Kimberley region. The RSPCA investigated, but couldn't pin down any "responsible person". Part of the problem is the structuring of the Stations ownership under leasehold title. This goes counter to the trend of returning the land to the Aboriginals as freehold land. But the main driver of the problem is a lack of managerial ability amongst the few higher-educated Aboriginals, as regards running the stations effectively. Too many white scumbags moved into prime positions in the Aboriginal Corporations and then conducted fraudulent activity with Corporation funds, resulting in massive losses for the Corporations. And a number of the senior Aboriginal Corporation executives transferred funds to family members illegally, or spent the Corporations money on unauthorised purchases. Oversight of Aboriginal Corporations management has tightened a bit, but it still has a way to go. https://wafarmers.org.au/freehold-the-land-to-save-the-mob/

The oil price has been going down - but the 3 major Eastern States are hotbeds of petrol price rorting. We benefit somewhat here on the left coast, because we're closer to Singapore, which is where around 80% of our refined petrol comes from. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/oil-prices-are-dropping-this-is-when-australians-will-see-the-benefit/a72e7k4y0 Petrol is going down to 152.7c tomorrow at Costco, adjacent to Perth Airport. It was 154.7c today. Many local servos are coming close to matching Costco's pricing, which always been 4c-6c cheaper than other servos. Servos in the Perth Metro area are obliged to notify FuelWatch of their following days pricing by 2:00PM each day - and then set that price for the entire period between 6:00AM and their closing time on that following day. https://www.fuelwatch.wa.gov.au/

Agreed, the price of steel is incredible today. Makes me glad I've gathered up a lot of steel over the years, I don't have to buy a great deal of it. But the cost of building a steel shed has rocketed. In 2019, I got several quotes for the construction of a large shed (12M x 24M x 4M gable height), and they came in around $35,000. I got another couple of quotes the last couple of months, and the price has more than doubled in 5 years. But I also think a lot of shed suppliers are having a good old rort, because I can't really see how they can justify the prices. A lot of shed suppliers have been spoilt by orders from big miners and big farmers, and I'm stunned at the size of some of the sheds that have been built on mines and farms, they're like covered football fields.