old man emu

Aussie F1 legend Alan Jones passes away aged 80.

A polite name for a fart.

I see your point. I don't have any on hand to check, but I can see that the edges parallel to the split in the 1925 design are flat. I suppose later improvements made those edges round. Probably made it easier to manufacture the pin.

The thing Australians call a split pin was patented in the USA in 1925. https://patents.google.com/patent/US7413391B2/en This patent seems to be for an upgrade of pre-existing similar items. An earlier patent was granted in in the USA in 1902, and that item is of cruder design. https://patents.google.com/patent/US691730A/en 1902 version 1925 version There have been a number of later patents issued for amendments to this design, but these have been minor tweeks. The wedge-shaped piece or bolt that is/was used to fasten a pedal crank on a bicycle is known from the 1640s The word is of uncertain origin, perhaps a shortened form of cotterel, a dialectal word for "cotter pin or bolt, bracket to hang a pot over a fire" (1560s), itself of uncertain origin. Cotter-pin is attested by 1849. It would seem that the Australian term for the item provides a better description of how the pin is used and effectively differentiates it from the bolt-like thing.

Dunno about rain, but the wind has been pretty consistent up my way. Last night an isolated strong gust passed through. No! I don't suffer from flatulence.

Jeez! He slipped in unannounced!

I heard a couple of sound bites of Trump answwering questions after the election. He seemed very subdued, not his usual bombastic self.

That's why we don't have them. We don't manufacture anything that the majority of consumers want.

They are scarce on the ground in my neck of the woods.

I couldn't think of any other place where coitter pins were used. Typical applications are in fixing a crank to its crankshaft, as in a bicycle, and a piston rod to a crosshead, as in a steam engine. In mechanical engineering, a crosshead is a mechanical joint used as part of the slider-crank linkages of long stroke reciprocating engines (either internal combustion or steam). When was the last time you saw a long stroke engine or asteam engine in common use?

A cotter is a pin or wedge with a flat bearing surface passing through a hole to fix parts tightly together. A split pin in the US, is a metal fastener with two tines that are bent during installation. Split pins are frequently used to secure other fasteners, e.g. clevis pins, or to secure a castellated nut. A split pin is a metal fastener with two tines that are bent during installation. Split pins are frequently used to secure other fasteners, e.g. clevis pins, or to secure a castellated nut.

When I think bout waht you said, I begin to get the opinion that the two Parties are like a coin. Each side of the coin is different from the other, but together they make just one coin. Both Parties are antisocialist capitalists. I think that it is just the degree that differs. Neither Party wants to deal with the electoral system, which to most other countries appears to be democratic in name only. Some might not our system, but I'd rather be in this democratic nation than in the USA. If you mean a very small 'lot', you are probably correct. However the election results don't seem to support that idea of 'a lot' amongst the voters. Normally I would ask the person who made such a claim to produce supporting evidence. However, I'm sick of the shite fight that such requests seem to generate here. Please allow us to agree to disagree and leave it at that.

Yes. You can still get solder with tin concentrations between 5% and 70% by weight. The European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive were adopted in early 2003 and came into effect on July 1, 2006, restricting the inclusion of lead in most consumer electronics sold in the EU, and having a broad effect on consumer electronics sold worldwide. In the US, manufacturers may receive tax benefits by reducing the use of lead-based solder. Etymology The word solder comes from the Middle English word soudur, via Old French solduree and soulder, from the Latin solidare, meaning "to make solid".

Don't celebrate change too much. Although the election results have come in, those elected will not be sworn in until January next. So it's business as usual until then. Air raid sirens are trumpeting in Iran.

It has come out that the Trump Administration has been working for several months in developing procedures to employ should the Republicans lose both Houses. His minions have been seeking work-arounds so that Trump can control the administration of Government.

It is ironic that discussing politics should not be a taboo activity. I will admit that one has to be very, very diplomatic when discussing the topic with a person you sense has differing views.

One problem on the Economy with changing the interest rate, either up or down, is that the effects of the change do not immediately alter the inflation rate. I accept that the banks change their loan rates virtually as soon as the words fall from the lips of the RB's Director, but for the things that really affect the rate of inflation take some months to kick into play. What are affecting the inflation rate, and which are things that our Government nor the Reserve Bank can control are the Middle East situation and terrorism conducted through the use of AI.

Our OP Shop has to give an annual report to NSW Fair Trading. It has to be done online, and the required fee paid with plastic. Here's the gripe: The payment of teh fee can be done by credit card. It can also be paid using a debit card, provided it is a Visa debit card. The Op Shop banks with the only bank in town - Bendigo Bank, which is not tied in with Visa. A physical debit card works well for the shop since it can't be used for fraud by anyone associated with the shop. The payment of the annual fee to Fair Trading is the only payment that would require the use of a credit card. The annual fees for a credit card would exceed the fee to Fair Trading. So, in order to pay the fee, one of the members who has a credit card has to be with the Treasurer at the computer in the person's home ( we don't have in the shop because we don't need one) so that person's card can be used and then the Treasurer has to reimburse the person. The job gets done, but how inconvenient? The coming problem for a lot of people is that Banks will not issue personal credit cards to pensioners, but will issue debit cards. It seems that the officials at Treasury, who are in employment so can get a credit card, are not aware of this problem and blithely introduce payment systems that are impossible for amny people to use.

Hawaii, which would be the last State to close its polling booths, is 21 hours behind Sydney. At 10:00 am Wednesday 4/11/26 Sydney time it is 1:00pm Tuesday 3/11/26 Hawaiian time. So we wont see any voteing results until about 9:00pm Wednesday Sydney time. Exhale and take another deep breath.

Here is an example of a good use for ChatGPT, and I suppose Calude and the others.

Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887 – March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, after his right arm was amputated during World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wittgenstein

No. It was a Dad joke.

It's an example of the ability to use the English language for wit. I'm glad that you undersrtood it.

I've just listened to a piano piece written to be played with the left hand only. It was sinister.

I heard that a couple of the Samoan players got headhunted.