Jerry_Atrick

That may have been the case in Covid, but are the building materials prices still increasing? My builder has said the prices have been falling (at least over here).Plastics should be steady at the moment; Here is the historical lumber prices: Feb 2022 was the last peak and while it is higer than pre-Covid, the builders have had a couple of years to adjust now. Copper remains steady since Covid, buit histoprically, the price is not unusual: Gypusm tells a different story, but it has been at these levels for over 2 years: So, is it just prices? I am thinking there is more to it - what I have no idea. Possibly suppliers taking the p155

That is true, Marty. I had a hiatus from flying when I moved out here. After about 15 years, decided to get into it agaib, but decided to do the UK PPL from scatch despite being able to convert. Well, I thought I know how to fly, so picked the cheapest flight school around, with their dilapidated C15s and C172s.. did the exams (which I had to study for again), and started the flight training. Well the instrcutor and I didn't really gel, but I thought so what I know how to fly. After about 7 or so hours with only a short nav, I was ready to chuck it in, as they say. I made some minor mistake and he barked at me as if I had nearly killed him.. and I just taxied back, shut down and walked away (I had prepaid). I got home and told my partner, who hates both flying and me doing it, and she said, "Look, don't give it away. Just try another school." I tried the local school which was really expensive. A young instrutor with only eyes on the right hand seat of heavy metasl was who I had, was fantastic. Let me make the mistakes I used to when I first started learning and let me work through them to learn them. Confidence grew back almost instantly. Since I could credit my Aussie flying time, I had met the minimum hours requirements and the CAA said when the school is comfy, you can take the tests. 5 hours later, I was doing the solo cross country qualifier, and 2 hours later was in the test.. and passed. Try not do to it too often, mate. We don't have 9 lives, you know.

IN all honesty, I think it is deeper than that. When I worked through central and Eastern Erupe (ex. Russia and Ukaine), there was a real deep-rooted racist element in the population. We had a bloke who was of Indian and another of African American extraction who were world leaders in their field, and the contempt they were shown by our clients there was palpable. Even in Germany (Munich), there was a definite element of society that I saw that made me think all that tolerance was required rather than in their DNA. Weren't most of WW2 despotic leaders left wing? Hitler formed a soclalist party; Mussolini, and Stalin - were they not Left Wing.. Outside Trump, Putin is a commie, therefore left wing, Xi Jingpin can hardly be called right wing. Putlin's Cronies are hardly right wing, unless right wing simply means xenophobic. (Sory Marty.. but I think the definition of what is right and left wing are blurred these days.. ) As usual, YT comes to my rescue about now: (BTW, I'm still a slightly left of centre by heart)

And to the Hawthorn Footy Club.. Alienated its best players and arguably its best coach... But he does have a redeeming feature, I suppose - he is the founding chairman of Beyond Blue - only found that out now. I haven't looked at Vic debt lately; will do so tomorrow if I remember. I

Thanks, Nev.. And responded.

Wasn't going to bet on the Aussie Rules bye rounds, but there were two games that were just a show-in so decided to put some on. Sydney accounted for the Cats, and Carlton accounted for the Bombers. Sadly, I put my money on Essendon, but am up a little this weel on last week. I am not sure why the numbrs are showing 199.86; checked the bets and the odds and they are all there.. The account is 200 even, a handy 300% return on the £50 I put in, though, it could have been better. Still no complaints at this stage. So far that £50 has given me 9 weeks of trials, tribulations and bit of entertainment. Maybe I will have enough to buy an hour in the Warrior at the end of it all.

Yes.. I fell foul of going the wrong way. It was when I learned, "Whee abouts are you orginally from?"... So the positive is, I learned something 😉

Done.. and ditto!

Whatever

What are you trying to change my mind on?

I believe what I have stated is fact. Have you seen the sealed section of the report to assess its suitability and preparation for prosecution and against who? Was the bringing of cases against Trump in light of the evidence in the public domain swift? What reporting of investigations and prosecution of whatever the allegations in the sealed section of the Robodebt report, apart from the APSC, which is neither police nor prosecution, have you seen? Does Australia not have a system where government or police announce investigations of importance and in the public interest? Do the press not report these?

I haven't seen the sealed section of the report so can't comment on the substantive evidence, nor its preparation for prosecution. My comment is where is evidence that the police and/or prosectors are acting on the evidence provided? Despite the sensitivities of the Trump investigations of which included evidence in the public domain that, to me anyway, was incontrovertible proof of crimes, it took a long time to bring to court cases that were bulletproof.. But, at least such investigations were announced and reported on.. Australia has a similar system, yet at the moment all we get with relation to Robodebt is tumbleweeds

Yes.. I think he is worse than Trump - he is far smarter and I would say a bigger % of the population follow him compared to Orangutan Man (that is an insult to Orangutans, by the way)

Initially, my blood started to boil, but I stopped and thought about it. The sealed section contains referrals and evidence for futurre criminal investigations. This doesn't require the NACC to investigate; the AFP/State Police or other agencies + prosecutors are all that are needed. In fact, it is a bit of a coincidence as I was wondering what happened with the commission's findings. The article is here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-06/nacc-hands-down-robodebt-update/103945510 The salient quote is here: "However, the conduct of the six public officials in connection with the Robodebt Scheme has already been fully explored by the Robodebt Royal Commission and extensively discussed in its final report. "After close consideration of the evidence that was available to the Royal Commission, the Commission has concluded that it is unlikely it would obtain significant new evidence." I sort of get it.. But what I am also concerned about is: "n November the government revealed 16 former public servants were being investigated by the APSC, but the attorney-general would not comment on probes run by the NACC." Where is the police investigations including into what is weidely to be believed as allegatiions of perjury to the commission by SFM? This is a sorry saga and does nothing to improve confidence in the integrity of public officials regardless of who is at the helm...

I have these knee pads, but, yeah, I did forget about the back pain that came with the living room floor sanding... OK, floor sander it is.

And, yet he is adored by those that hold the bible so dear - and therefore, presumably representative of envangelical Christian values.

The thumbs up is a celebration of someone who reached that age.. Would have been nice to go longer, though, assuming a reasonable quality of life.

Nah.. that is his weapon of choice on the rest of us

Below is the floor sander hire alone - other firms do edger and floor sander packages.. A weekend is all we would need. So cost is not the issue I used the belt sander for the living room and all of the meeting house ground floor, which is the 2 br barn conversion we air bnb out. It did a really good job on the pine, but yeah, it did groove it a little, but sanded them out easily. In between posting and now, spoke to the builder and suggested give it a go over a weekend (not this one, have a stag do to go to in Exeter.. all very civil - axe throwing apparently). If it works, great; if not, we'll get the floor sander in (and just have thinner floors than we thought 🙂 )

My comments er should she be arrested was meant in jest, but I concede there was no emoticon to give a hint.. I doubt she will be charged, though.

Have pulled my belt sander out to strip a patch of the kitchen floors. Have three sample of tint oil (£12 per 125ml, si it better be good - Omso is th brand).. If we like one of them, it will be strip the floors, replace too poor bits, oil, and then cover with a matt lacquer/oil over the top... The builder is talking about getting a floor sander, but the belt sander was an investment, not a cheap purchase, and I reckon I could have it done over a weekend, even with the bitumen paind on it, as pine is really easy to sand compared to the elm I had to do.

The lower batened ceiling was pulled down. The original ceiling had damp damage predominantly from a leaking shower/wet room above the holes on the right and on the left, from water ingestion from a (now) fixed chimney. Note, why fix the leak when you can hide its effects. The lathe has to be repaired as do a couple of joists. Always a problem when opening up an old build. Those battens ar the old ones and are coming down as well, as they are only 50mm deep. The bathroom works are progressing. Could only get these shots as the fellas are still in there and camera shy (as I would be, too):

I saw someone on YT test the model Y and said the acceleration was genuinely painful

One of the entertaining, if worrying bits of this election is Nige Farage and his Reform Party.. Interesting article from the terrorgraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/04/nigel-farage-destroy-tories-history-on-his-side/ And should this lady have been arrested? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6pp7yg0y3po (BTW, that's twice he has been attacked by a miklshale weilding nutter.. Something very British about terrorism on that scale. 😉

Tony Blair was elected in a landslide win in 1997 - just as I arrived here. John Major had led his conservative government in much the way Fraser did, and people had had enough. Then, after the disastrous decision to take the UK into Iraq, Labour booted him out, and his treasurer tool over (hmm,, watching UK politics simply requires looking back a little on Aussie politics). Sadly for Gordon Brown, who like Keating, wasn't a really popular PM, there was no John Hewson on the other side to stuff on the Conservatives chances.. Well, it was David Cameron and you can argue he is worse than Hewson in terms of relating to the public - Hewson was a far better politician than Cameron, IMHO. It was just that Brown was far less relatable to the public than anyone. However, like Keating, he is seen as a statesman of Labour at the moment. Tony Blair's landslide victory was described by a law lard as an elected dictatorship, the majority was so strong. It was a 179 seat majority of a parliament out of about 650 seats. Ironically, arguably the beginning oif the very worst PMs in British modern politics, BoJo, had the next landslide with his Get Brexit Done slogan, took the Conservatives from a minority government to one with an absolute majority by 80 seats - still quite a healthy landslide, if not quite as much as Blair. Yes, the margins tighten somewhat - the biggest poll margin I heard of was 26% held by Theresa May.. she was so incompetent a leader, she made Gordon Brown look good. She squandered it to 4% by the time she called an election and they could not gain a majority. But generally a 20 point lead in the poll translates to a significant electoral gain.. I just feel that the pack has widened, Labour will win a majority, but it wont be a landslie.