Litespeed

Now that's proper Headbanger music.

Had two great nights in a row on the deck of a great friends houseboat . We are founding members of the "Procrastinaters fishing 🎣 club". We eat, chat, drink and view the giant aquarium nature provides. She has a solar light just above the water that does many colours but best is blue or green. Turn it on at dusk and wait for the best show in town. The marina is a gold mine for fish habitat and we have been training them to come each night for a viewing. The green attracts the plankton which attracts little Tailor, Garfish, squid, prawns and even Mantis shrimp arrive. Then the hunter killer subs of fish turn up- Mulloway ( Jewel or Jew fish). They cruise like lazy dogs then explode the water as they smash the little stuff. The acceleration they have is hard to believe. Small fish are jumping out the water for their lives often to land in striking distance of another Mulloway. In two hours tonight we saw hundreds of prey getting smashed by a gang of 10-12 Mulloways from 35-60cm. Still below the minimum 70cm , but impressive beasts. All perfectly lit for viewing from the deck, mostly within 1-10 feet in front of us. After seeing that, it's easy to understand finding fish and prawns on the deck, they jumped there. We just love watching nature at work, it's better than any movie. No fishing involved except for inspection of a huge mantis shrimp, which I netted. The Mulloway won't attack them unless by mistake. The Mantis Shrimp is a weird and deadly looking bastard and when swallowed would be stabbing the fish from the inside. Yes, one did stab my hand once and wow that bleed and hurt like hell..their stab or punch depending on the type is faster than the speed of sound and creates a ballistic bubble that explodes in front of them. It's enough to smash aquarium glass. Best show and perfect company

Sadly Red has been hospitalised for taking his wife at her word. Sadly, us blokes forget they never really mean what they say but sure are mean when we find out. I hope the bruises heal quickly

It's hard to argue with a dinosaur , all they can think of is dinosaur juice. It must hurt knowing extinction is their future.

The plastics in the cooling system can be a problem but really after 25 years should have been replaced ie new hoses, water tank and a radiator as well as replaced water pump and belts. These are all really consumables are are not expensive if you know where to shop, actually cheaper than a bloody Toyota. The gasket price is gold plated and clearly a rip off. Several USA based parts suppliers will do parts at 20% of the dealer price for the same OEM parts and deliver cheaply in less than a week. The market is huge so OEM parts are cheap over there. Here in Aus the cheapest is Tooleyimports.com.au at Frenchs Forest in Sydney, they import the parts direct at a fraction of normal prices. They do Mercedes and Audi/VW parts a well. Family owned and great people. Also great for advice. The half tank problem is probably the in tank pickup and filter been displaced or almost completely blocked, there is an additional filter in line under the car and a secondary fuel pump, these should also be checked. If the pressure drops the car will go to limp mode or stops to protect from leaning out and detonation. Yes, the electrics can be a bit crap at times, as can any car that age. The BMW owners forums are a great resource and solve lots of problems. Also the biggest issue is peeps never service and oil change as required and this can sludge the engine. The pcv should be replaced when they get old as this can be a issue for performance, oil consumption and causing excess pressure. A major cause of leaks. The biggest issue is lack of proper servicing as they get old and bought cheaply by peeps who abuse the poor thing and never change fluids etc. If it's a E39, ie 5s series it's one of the best handling luxury cars ever built and will never be repeated as everything got fat and heavy. They were very expensive new and are sophisticated and need proper maintenance like any thoroughbred should. I owned a 540i V8, it was a rocket ship and handled like a proper sportscar. A imported radiator OEM from the states cost me under $200 delivered via airmail, the local dealer wanted $1200. Exactly the same Behr product. Hope this helps.

Yesterday I saw a great display of Ravens defending the nest against a predator. A white bellied Sea Eagle 🦅 cruised along above a Ravens nest on Bull Island and came way too close- 50ft. So the parents went on the hunt, they chased it relentlessly for 5 mins and had the big eagle on the run. The eagle kept trying to get to the nest, the Ravens were clearly prepared to die if needed to protect the family. Eventually it flew away after been repeatedly beaked midair. Clearly the eagle could win against one Raven but two prepared to die if needed was too much. Such great parents and brilliant team work.

I sometimes row or kayak but normally pull the cord and motor in. But you can bet when it storms the outboard will complain.

I have replaced every normal bush in may euro cars with them and had no issues at all. They were a famous brand and came with the grease and implicit instructions it must be used. Handling was also greatly improved.

Only 500m from mooring to dock. Yes the swell can get big, but I am generally sheltered except from - south. I am well protected by Bull island. My 'ship rides well so it's not bad. I am in a deep part of the passage and that helps a lot. Swell approx 50 cm at worst today, tomorrow?

Here in Port Stephens it's changed from a scorcher weekend to southerly low. So lots of rain and wind for several days. Only a pain when using the tinny to get ashore.

Those red suspension bushes look like they collapsed from lack of lubrication. They all need the special grease supplied in the kit to be used. Lube the inner and outer surfaces and ensure the contact points on the suspension are smooth. Have seen this before.

Deaf as a door nail Just you, me and the gate post. Flat as a tack Gives me the tom tits ( the shits)

Like a rat up a drainpipe. Fair shake of the sauce bottle Pass the dead horse Flat as a lizard drinking

War , politics by other means When the weapons appear the law falls silent.

That would be agent 86 and 99 Get Smart Yes day late dollar short

The israeli idea is similar but long travel suspension and floor dropping ability. Similar but for off-road.

Possibly

Ok, Let's develop a specifications list. Blank sheets really are the best start. I suggest a skateboard style design with individual wheel motor modules that also do suspension and steer. These designs are already coming to market. Quadruple redundancy, simple and efficient. This frees up the design and greatly reduces cost by buying off OEMs where possible. Skateboard design allows anything from a van/bus, ute, wagon or even a car. It also provides full independent 4wd with no power transmission systems bar the wheel motors. Traction control, regeneration braking. Independent adjustable suspension in height - this allows instantly variable suspension and power at any wheel to suit the terrain or on road conditions. That allows a comfortable ride and sporty/safe handling. It also reduces greatly the structural requirements to put up with the normal pounding a rugged old design needs. This allows for a far lighter overall structure over any current model and still meet specs. It should be no more than 1500kg as a basic affordable machine. It is scalable by design to allow larger range and weight load options. It should not try to compete with the huge expensive high utes, it's not. But will take a far larger load in back and easy to unload. And can cover areas hard work for a trad ute. Loading height is 300mm or less with suspension dropped to allow easy and safe loading of stuff/bikes/ sheep or hay bales etc. No big ramps required, they are simple plastic slide outs. Can be side load as well. These features are a step change in on farm OH&S to reduce injuries. It's a new way of moving stuff easily around a farm, not breaking ya back and the family can get to town. The extremely low loading height means animal management is far easier and no supporting ramps with side cages etc are needed, assuming nice beasts. Walking a calve onboard is easy. Plastic panelled and cheaply easily customisable/ reconfigurable. An alloy structure with inbuilt roll bar of high strength alloy steel. Normal safety features. It does not look like a ute but more a very short bonnet vw tray back in shape, but modern and a ultra low long tray that can still raise to normal heights. The wheels are at the ends for extreme approach and depart angles. This also maximizes load space. It looks pure form is function, as we expected a 2025 design would be back in the last millennium. Sorry no etchings as done on a $100 tablet.

Just a new way of saying bugger all in the time allotted and give them a chance to think about the crap they say. The ABC needs to stop taking shit and push them to answer properly. The interviewer should retort " I know it's a good question, that's my job, yours is too answer them, not Parrott me". Just a subtle change can make a big effect.

You might not have a choice.

Be very careful Spacey. There is no age limit, gravity works on us all. The limit is agility, dexterity, balance and judgement.

I would not be too concerned about 4wd and water if designed for purpose. They have developed and now selling inwheel motors that are fully sealed and weigh less than 30kg, the controller is also in the wheel motor. It means bar simple suspension, wheel motors and battery pack you have what's needed plus a chassis. No trad engine,gearboxes, diffs,shafts and all the huge associated weights. No need to design along old school visions, but purely form equals function. Want the wheels at the end with huge angles of clearance? No problem Plastic recycled panels that are tough and a huge tray that's at hip height no higher. Could be lower as a skateboard electric design. Adjustable air suspension would be nice to suit any situation . Onboard 240v power for tools is essential as is but directional charging. This expands it to the real tradie market not the pretend highlux boys. Must have a bed 2.5 metres long by 1.8wide minimum, if it can't take a motorbike or full ply sheet and spare, then it's just more of the same crap. Lots of utes can't even take a bloody push bike without the rear down. As it's a skateboard design it's easy to lengthen the chassis at that just needs longer beams. A 4m tray would be possible. The inwheel motors allow custom architecture at low cost and small numbers not traditional car scale. Modular systems is the key to reduce cost and maximize production ability at scales the market can take with low capital requirements. It should be two door and three across the front if wished or just two seat with huge centre storage. It must have good safety, be quiet, comfy and ergonomic design at heart. A twin cab just tends to be wasted space and a huge load reduction, the back row is crap for comfort and safety and at the same times is shit to store stuff. A below tray storage area could be huge and keep stuff safe and low. Think the storage under a old VW Kombi single cab and that huge long tray but the storage is back loaded as well where the engine used to be. No drivetrain obstructions just a 8'by 5' by 2'high storage, all safe below the tray. I need to get out my crayons

Lord Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.

All of this is quite possible and viable given the huge expense of a new 4wd and the massive expense of current ev utes. The fast take up of conversion kits and reuse of crashed ev's makes reuse of existing ice models a easy job and could be a lot cheaper than buying a good ic ute new. A $20,000 budget plus donor ute could easily produce a electric ute that would do anything the ice version did but better. Electric is ideal on farm with a proper charging system for isolated power. A dead Tesla ie crashed can produce a full setup with a huge 100kwhr battery and ridiculous power and unheard of torque with full 4wd ability. If you don't need huge range, remember at farm speeds and regeneration you are efficient, then make smaller battery packs. One 50kwhr pack in the truck and one 50kwhr pack to fast charge from and as a huge solar storage bank for the farm. No power costs for the farm, anything run previously on diesel can be cheaply electrified ,eg stationary pumps, generators become obselete. A 50kwhr pack is at the huge Tesla voltage of 300v minimum, so at 240v you have approx 62.5kwhr at 240v as a farm source. That compared to a normal house with solar and a telsa Powerwall or equivalent of 5-10kwhr is huge and at a similar cost. A 10-20 kw solar array would be more than sufficient and economic to do as the prices keep falling. Use the array as a roof for shelter of animals etc for duel use. You can get new cells under $500 kw and the bulging second hand market at less than a $100kw for cells that a still good. So a budget of minimum $2000 for old and $10,000 for new plus controllers and structures would be a 20 kw system. Add $2k -$10k for system management/ switchboard/ inverters etc and a potential huge system can be really cheap . So let's work through it cost wise, Original donor 4wd ute say perfect for use but engine/box fucked, $1000- $20,000 for a great late model. Cost of a "crashed Tesla or equivalent" with approx 100kwhr at 300v is $20,000 just for full drive train and all electrics. The solar array and conversion of half the Tesla pack to a 62.5kwhr charging station/farm electrical power including all electric management is $4,000-$20,000. This is dependant on used or new items been used. I know these are spitball prices but not far from what's possible as long as you do a fair bit yourself. Sure you might need a kitty of $10k above to cover extras and any engineered parts for the conversion but mainly it's within the realm of your average smart cookie farmer. So using the high price for all new when possible and a real nice modern ute for approx $70,000 as the high spec late model version. Voila, you get a great electric ute with huge power and quiet as a pussycat. You also never pay a fuel or electrical bill again. You are independent and a huge cost yearly has disappeared. Sounds like a good idea.

None. Someone who actually is professional at governing sounds like a good start.