Corona Virus - Bizzare Outcomes

[pmccarthy]

The brother and I had several Honda Z50-J, 50cc mini-bikes, the ones with fold-down handlebars, when we were still a small contracting operation.

We'd use the bikes to assist in moving earthmoving equipment from farm to farm, or from paddock to paddock. They were flat-out at 60kmh.

The bikes could be carried in the boot of a car, on a dozer or loader, and you could shift the machine, and then ride back on the Z50-J to pick up your vehicle.

 

They only had seating for one person, but we put footpegs on them, so a second person could ride on them as well - but the second person had to stand up, the seat wasn't big enough.

As passenger, you stood on the pegs and hung onto the drivers shoulders. This was when there was two of you working together, you moved machines between jobs, and you only had one vehicle.

 

We had a goldmine located just off the Coolgardie-Norseman Rd (Hwy 1 - the main East-West route) at Higginsville, about 60kms N of Norseman.

About 7kms up the road, the huge American mining company Anaconda started up the RedRoss Nickel Mine.

We got a heap of work at RedRoss around the early to mid-1970's for our machines, so we lived on, and operated from, our gold mine up the road.

 

But we still needed to work the gold mine, so we would move machines between RedRoss and our mine. We'd shift the machines, then ride the Z50-J back to the mine along the highway - most often, two-up.

Now the funny part comes, when you imagine - here we are, way out in the sticks, on a lonely section of the main East-West highway, with largely only East-West travellers and truckies - and they come across two blokes, one standing, and one sitting, riding a Z50-J!

 

The looks we used to get were priceless - I'm sure most passers-by were convinced, they'd come across a pair of crazies riding a Z50-J across Australia!! - like the crazy Japanese, around-Australia bicycle riders, that were common, back then.

 

I wish we still had those Z50-J's, they are absolute collectors items today! We wore all of ours out. I just saw a mint one on Grays Auctions go for $2249! With the 16.5% buyers premium and GST, it would have cost the buyer $2882!

 

https://www.graysonline.com/lot/0001-9015354/motor-vehiclesmotor-cycles/circa-1977-1978-honda-z50j-monkey-bike

Familiar?

[spacesailor]

" I wish we still had those Z50-J's, they are absolute collectors items today! We wore all of ours out. I just saw a mint one on Grays Auctions go for $2249! With the 16.5% buyers premium and GST, it would have cost the buyer $2882! "

How about an old Harley Davison police bike !. About $ 1500 as is. in Peru.

spacesailor

[nomadpete]

Aviation related,

But

But this seems to me bizarre.

Whenever I look at Flightradar, I see many international flights arriving and departing our major cities. With so much traffic, shouldn't there be hundreds of passengers getting put into government specified isolation, every day? I don't notice a mention in the MSM.

 

And what is so special about Doha? Daily flights both ways. Singapore, HK, Korea, etc,etc daily too.

[willedoo]

 

How about an old Harley Davison police bike !. [ATTACH alt=HarleyDsPuru.jpg]52298[/ATTACH] About $ 1500 as is. in Peru.

spacesailor

spacey, I've got a niece who lives in Peru. I should get her to pop one in the post.

[octave]

Aviation related,

But

But this seems to me bizarre.

Whenever I look at Flightradar, I see many international flights arriving and departing our major cities. With so much traffic, shouldn't there be hundreds of passengers getting put into government specified isolation, every day? I don't notice a mention in the MSM.

 

And what is so special about Doha? Daily flights both ways. Singapore, HK, Korea, etc,etc daily too.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5HNUjVEPyQ:152

[nomadpete]

Interesting clip, Octave. However most of his comments are related to Europe.

 

Maybe in the EU they can afford to use their short flights just to maintain pilot currency as he suggests but the flights I am questioning here are long haul international runs in passenger aircraft. Not likely to be simple currency flights in empty planes. He talks about private jets. In Australia it doesn't matter what kind of flight brings you here, you get 14 days isolation. I agree there must be some freight. Do we import and export multiple planeloads of airfreight to and from Doha in Emirates passenger planes? Tokyo?

I'd expect it to be freight to Hong Kong, as I'm not sure many airlines use 747's for passengers nowadays. And probably freight to/from Korea and Singapore, too. But many of the others still puzzle me.

Edited April 13, 2020 by nomadpete

[spacesailor]

At least six Light planes flew overhead today, so someones flying.

I doubt if those single engine planes were Comercial.

High wing, low wing, even a biplane.

spacesailor

[red750]

[old man emu]

I forecast last week that the number of deaths from motor vehicle accidents over the Easter break would be almost zero, but I can't find any information.

 

Has anyone heard what the road toll might have been?

[onetrack]

PMC - Wow, that is a really early photo of the RedRoss Mine headframe, were you still doing the shaft development at that stage?

The headframe was surrounded by buildings and a 1600KVA English Electric V16 genset when I worked there. The whole lot is long gone, now just a huge hole in the ground (open pit).

Never seen a mining company waste so much money, in all my life when I worked there. There were hardly any cost controls.

They also put a fully equipped shaft and headframe at nearby Wannaway, it cost them millions, and was never used. It was vandalised, then dismantled for scrap.

The Anaconda Company was once one of America's richest mining companies, but incompetent management, coupled with low copper prices, saw them nearly go bankrupt, they sold out to Atlantic Richfield before they actually went under.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Guest

[Jerry_Atrick]

[onetrack]

OME - The Easter road toll figures have not all been compiled yet - but SA has recorded road deaths over Easter, to give them a road toll to date, that is higher than last year. W.A. is well down on the YTD road toll - 46 last year, 35 so far this year.

[willedoo]

It must be interesting times in some of the war rooms around the world. I'd guess a lot of them are hoping nothing happens until the Covid-19 pandemic is over. The U.S. has already had a reduction in defence/offensive ability with carriers down. On the weekend, the Chinese carrier Liaoning and accompanying battle group sailed through Japan's Miyako Straight on their way to exercises in the South China Sea.

 

This means China has the only operating carrier in the Pacific Ocean at the moment. They brought the exercise forward for unstated reasons.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Guest

[onetrack]

I bet the Chinese tested every single sailor for COVID-19, that entered the Liaoning. They are real opportunists, taking advantage of a crippled U.S. Navy that is unable to counter their dominating presence in the SCS.

 

There must be something huge in the SCS that the Chinese want - and I suspect it might be the hydrates that FB has been banging on about. They are intent on total self-reliance for everything, including energy supplies.

[Yenn]

Who could blame them for that?

It is a pity that we are totally reliant on overseas for just about everything.

[old man emu]

With so many European countries closing their borders, this Corona Virus has dropped the bum out of refugee movements.

[red750]

Took the dog to the DIY dog wash at the pet shop today. The dogwash was closed, but dog grooming was open. Notice on the window said limit browsing to 15 minutes, no cash accepted, electronic payment only. (Tap and go, EFTPOS, Zip, etc.)

[Marty_d]

I thought a DIY dog wash involved the bath (or laundry tub if it's the size of ours)!

[pmccarthy]

Our engineering hardware store has a sign out the front that only tradies and account holders admitted. But I rang them and they brought my order and the card machine outside.

[red750]

Now they are complaining that people are visiting the supermarket every day. A lot of the time the stuff you are looking for is not on the shelves. You miss it one day, you go back the next day to see if they have had a delivery. This is important for people with dietary restrictions, you can't just substitute something else.

 

I got a call from the local medical centre yesterday to say the seniors flu shot was ready. I have to drive in the main entrance, pull into the ambulance bay and a doctor and nurse will be waiting to administer the needle while I sit in the car. Then I have to sit in the carpark for 15 minutes before returning home. I also got a call the other day from my cardiologist who said he would conduct my next appointment over the phone. Things are getting weirder and weirder.

[old man emu]

Yesterday, my wife had an "over the phone" consult with her GP. Apart from not being able to take her blood pressure, which is not an issue in her health, the consult went exactly as it would have if the wife and doctor had been in the same room. The wife also is going to have one of these consults with a Specialist. The GP says that since the Specialist has all the blood test results, personal contact is not required. However, I wonder if these consults would be more emotionally satisfying if doctors used something like Skype.

[pmccarthy]

I saw my cardiologist yesterday and he had a nurse taking temp before I could go in. But he has booked me in for a day procedure next month, apparently still possible.

[willedoo]

I'm due for a routine blood test next month. All the doctor has to do is print off a request for the blood test mob, so I'm hoping it can be done by phone. The receptionist could just hand me the form through the door, then I walk next door to get the blood test done. No contact with the doctors; I'm sure they'd prefer that and it would suit me.

[old man emu]

My wife can't get out for blood tests, but she is able to contact the pathology mob who send a nurse around to take the sample. All we have to do is hand over the pathology request.

 

The home service is bulk-billed to Medicare.

 

Oh, and the nurse arrives with mask and sanitiser,

[willedoo]

The only French aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, is out of action. It's returned to port with over a third of the crew testing positive. Four U.S. carriers have coronavirus among the crew. Only one was operational, two under repairs, and the fourth was preparing for deployment.