God help America

[Jerry_Atrick]

I think it was $5,000 and I think it was in 2005, which would have made it John Howard.

[facthunter]

Do they Have a "small target " policy?  Nev

[spenaroo]

16 hours ago, red750 said:

More of the same...

 

pfft,
I used to work in a Harley Dealership, The accessories books from the USA suppliers were entertaining....

[facthunter]

They must have heard what happened in "Easy Rider"  Nev

[red750]

They never learn.

 

2 year old shoots pregnant mother.

[old man emu]

51 minutes ago, red750 said:

They never learn.

 

2 year old shoots pregnant mother.

I there anything that you can say after reading that? It's flabbergasting.

[facthunter]

Some people won't allow the kids to play with TOY guns and OTHERS give them real ones. IF they don't get what they want they use them. God greed and money. Gimme or you get it. Even Presidents behave that way.. What hope is there??  Nev

[onetrack]

Just another worthwhile human sacrifice to the Gun God - just as long as that Second Amendment they worship, doesn't get touched!! 

[Old Koreelah]

[Jerry_Atrick]

20 hours ago, onetrack said:

Just another worthwhile human sacrifice to the Gun God - just as long as that Second Amendment they worship, doesn't get touched!! 

Quite right, OT. But it really is more than one; imagine the impact on the som when he understands what he has done, even though it was no fault of his onw. And what about the impact of the father - will he get over it? Will he take to drink and/or drugs? Will the son get neglected? The sacrifice doesn't stop with the deceased.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Jerry_Atrick

[Old Koreelah]

[onetrack]

There's some interesting things going on in the U.S., economically, at present. And many underlying signs are ominously predictive of more economic problems to come.

 

Yellow (formerly known as YRC Worldwide) is a huge American trucking and freight operation, employing 30,000 people - and it's filing for bankruptcy, after incurring massive ongoing losses.

Yellow was bailed out by the Trump Govt in 2020 (largely because there were links between Trumps family and Yellow) with a $700M loan, in exchange for the Govt taking a 30% share in Yellow.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/business/bailout-trucking-firm-yellow-yrc-shutdown.html

 

I'd have to opine taking 30% share of a failing transport operation isn't a move that any right-thinking person with an ounce of financial common sense would take - but hey, we're talking Trump here, aren't we? - with his stunning record of failed investments.

The loan was apparently based on the "too big to fail" basis - although it appears Yellow has failed anyway - and was also failing badly for several years prior to this.

 

The underlying factors behind Yellows demise are that freight rates have been falling since 2021 - and continue to fall. They're running at 30% to 50% of the freight prices they were all getting 2-3 years ago. Yellows bankruptcy is probably the tip of the iceberg for more freight operators to fall over - or for freight rates to rise substantially, if a concerted industry push comes about, for increased rates.

 

Talking to numerous Americans, sawn timber has also suffered a massive decline in selling prices - up to as low as 25% of the prices they were getting 2-3 years ago. I don't know what's actually behind these falls, unless its just major competition and oversupply.

But both of these factors, along with inflation, higher interest rates, drought, and vastly-increased property prices all indicate to me an economy that is going out of balance, and I suspect there's going to be a major economic correction in the next couple of years in the U.S.

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by onetrack

[spenaroo]

eh, Simmilar thing here.
the economy is stagnant with supply.

everyone stocked up during covid and over ordered as supply chains were strained.

now they are working through 12 months worth of stock so not replenishing.

[spenaroo]

Oh should also mention here in Australia there has been several major freight companies going bankrupt in the last few months

[facthunter]

Timber should be safe from shocks. It's already "felled" before you get it.  Nev

[old man emu]

The prices of timber in the USA rose sharply during COVID, mainly due to Supply and Demand effects. Now that people are getting back to work, the Supply side is coming back to normal. In the USA they don't have to deal with maritime transport as we do. Timber prices in Australia will stay high, but that is due to the rise in the costs of operating businesses. But you can't get a decent stick of wood anyway. Last week I was looking at a pile of old timber from a demolished building and wishing that I had a ute to salvage some of it.

[Old Koreelah]

11 minutes ago, old man emu said:

 But you can't get a decent stick of wood anyway. Last week I was looking at a pile of old timber from a demolished building and wishing that I had a ute to salvage some of it.

It can only get worse, OME. Much of our best native forests were set aside for timber production and managed sustainably by people like my grandfather.

Too much has now been converted to National Parks. It get votes for politicians, but cripples little timber towns. The sawn timber you now buy is likely to have come from a poor country which in not managing it’s forests sustainably. 

[red750]

[Bruce Tuncks]

Wood is like fish....   100 years ago things were much better than now. My gran used to buy crayfish on sat night, and they were big and cheap.

I was amazed when studying the endeavor replica , at how they used natural curves in the tree to help build the boat. We have sure lost a lot with our insane desire for population growth.

[Marty_d]

25 minutes ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Wood is like fish....   100 years ago things were much better than now. My gran used to buy crayfish on sat night, and they were big and cheap.

I was amazed when studying the endeavor replica , at how they used natural curves in the tree to help build the boat. We have sure lost a lot with our insane desire for population growth.

On the other side of the coin - take nearly any machined / mass produced object - eg car, phone, tools, bolts, drainpipe, whatever - back to when everything was handmade, and those craftsmen would be in awe of the tolerances and finish quality of the object.

[onetrack]

I'd have opine that the old craftsmen would be amazed at the stunning quality and strength in so many products today. In the old days, a simple, basic carbide tip, was the premium cutting tool. They had big cylindrical grinders for hard metals such as chrome.

But nowadays, you can buy carbide tips that have Chemical Vapour Deposition coatings such as tungsten and molybdenum nitrides, and these tips will whip through solid chrome bar like it's soft cheese.

 

And alloys! Pre-WW2, there were a few relatively soft alloys of aluminium. Now we have such a myriad of aluminium alloys that can be work-hardened and heat treated and tempered, and which are corrosion resistant, and almost as strong as steel.

Then we have pressure injection - not only of plastics - but now we have pressurised sintered metal injection, using finely powdered metal, and heat on the die to fuse all the powder together. You can select from a massive range of metal powders with a vast array of different properties.

We have friction welding where two items are spun together in opposite directions, under heavy pressure. The parts simply heat up and forge themselves into one part.

 

They now use "fracture-split" processes for conrods, whereby the cap is simply snapped off a bigger complete circle forging or sintered powdered metal conrod, and the fracture joint is not machined, the conrod bolt holes are simply drilled, and the two fractured sections bolted together again!

 

https://mitchell1.com/shopconnection/fracture-split-connecting-rods-no-thats-not-a-broken-part/

 

Steel alloys and castings have progressed in staggering leaps and bounds, even in the last 25 years. CGI (Compacted graphite iron) castings are 75% stronger and 75% stiffer than ordinary grey iron, and is what many blocks are made from today - if they aren't made out of some exotic heat-treated and tempered alloy. 

 

The range of thermoplastics today, and 3D printing would make old-timers eyes bulge. Adhesives and sealants with amazing properties - a whole lot better than plain rubber, and pitch and asbestos!

 

Here's the latest in 3D printing, the Europeans are constructing a server hotel with a 3D printer, using recycled plastics!

 

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/europes-largest-3d-printed-building-to-complete-in-heidelberg-it-server-hotel-germany-05-18-2023/

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by onetrack

[kgwilson]

Absolutely fantasic achievements from some brilliant scientific, engineering and chemical minds but none will be of any use when the destruction of our environment occurs from our obsession with endless economic growth and wealth. 

[Old Koreelah]

20 minutes ago, kgwilson said:

Absolutely fantasic achievements from some brilliant scientific, engineering and chemical minds but none will be of any use when the destruction of our environment occurs from our obsession with endless economic growth and wealth. 

KG is dead right about addiction to growth. Our leaders are running scared of the masses; a year or so of economic inconvenience could bring down a government. Our lifestyle depends on us borrowing from our children.

 

Despite Australians being swamped with news about how unsustainably we are living, many are adopting some of the worst ideas from America.

 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/on-the-road/stupid-american-trucks-aussies-erupt-as-hated-us-trend-takes-over/news-story/7d27bb85b33782ab28acfd18d29bda2d

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

In inner London, we have ULEZ - Ultra-Low-Emmission-Zone - where if your car doesn't meet emissions standards, you pay £12.50 a day for the privilege of choking people. The London mayor (Labour) is extending the zone to within the M25. A map of the expansion is way down in this page: https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/guides/ulez-expansion

 

One of my cars doesn't meet the emissions requirements so I shan't be taking it to London after next week.. 

 

But, I don't mind.. I will take the other one, smaller noisier but does the job.

 

However, despite a big lead in the polls, Labour could not win the by-election for BoJo's old seat - and it was by a handful of votes.. apparently, it was a protest vote against the Labour mayor extending the expansion of ULEZ (ironically, Heathrow, which has a t/o every 45 seconds and a landing at the same frequency is in the ULEZ.. not sure how that works). 

 

And now Rishi Sunak is looking to max out fossil fuel and has suddenly become motorist friendly: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/31/dismay-as-rishi-sunak-vows-to-max-out-uk-fossil-fuel-reserves#:~:text=Rishi Sunak has pledged to,be catastrophic for the climate. 

 

5 hours ago, Old Koreelah said:

Our leaders

I would hardly call them leaders.. mangers (and not good ones) - yes, but leaders - no.

[kgwilson]

10 hours ago, Old Koreelah said:

KG is dead right about addiction to growth. Our leaders are running scared of the masses; a year or so of economic inconvenience could bring down a government. Our lifestyle depends on us borrowing from our children.

 

Despite Australians being swamped with news about how unsustainably we are living, many are adopting some of the worst ideas from America.

 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/on-the-road/stupid-american-trucks-aussies-erupt-as-hated-us-trend-takes-over/news-story/7d27bb85b33782ab28acfd18d29bda2d

 

 

That article hits the nail dead centre. These monster Utes are useless at everything except being able to tow 4.5 tonnes so caravans have grown to suit. Since the pandeminc I have noticed a big increase in large off road style caravans being towed by these monsters. The government needs to start taxing these things with extra import dutes to compensate for their massive emmissions compared to the normal ute. The thing is that even normal Utes have grown drmatically in the last 10 years. Hilux, Triton Ranger & B50s plus the Chinese additions are all much larger than they used to be.

 

I watched a youtube clip of the US House Transportation committee questioning the Transport Secretary Pete Butigieg on the move to transition to electric cars on an infrastructure bill. The questioning revolved around whether a fridge consumes as much power as an electric car. The answer is obvious and Butigieg was clear in his assertion that the existing infrastructure needs to be upgraded as a matter of urgency & if it is, the goals can easily be achieved. The politicians rambled on and just refused to accept that and decided the US infrastructure would not cope & fossil fuels will be required way beyond the climate deadlines.

 

Of course it is all about money & taxing more to get this done will lose them votes and/or power. US industry though is in a dramatic reimagination phase and investment & venture capital is going in to electric technolgies and energy storage. Telsa is by far the largest car manufacturer in the world by market capitalisation and is still ahead of all of its rivals despite the high cost.

 

The ICE vehicle insustry can clearly see the writing on the wall and is appealing to the sector of the market that it can squeeze easily, cashed up Boguns and whatever you call people who are right wing climate change deniers who need to show off their egos because of other inadequacies in their lives.