Litespeed

Check out the small electric commuter two seaters that are cheap and cheerful in Europe esp France. Registered like scooters and driven by 14 to 100 year Olds. Some can fit 3 in a car space on the kerb. Most of us don't need a two tonne car. The explosion in vehicle weight and size is ridiculous . The tax system actually subsidies any wanker with a ABN to get a huge SUV or ute they don't need. We have become like America where a giant ute is the best seller for 40 years strait;(f series ford). Look at the average vehicles weight today in it's probably 1800 kg. Years ago that got you a V12 BMW limousine. Now it's just a family hack SUV. Want a new Land Crusher, it's more than 2.5 ton but add five adults, full luggage and full fuel and accessories ie fridge, rack etc Now it's legally overloaded. It's a sick joke on us and the planet.

Yep awesome 😎. I have seen a old bloke 70 ish cruise past standing on a electric surfboard with foils. Amazing, 20 knots, no wake at all visible, dead silent and not effected by swell. The smile on his dial was priceless.

Spot on, energy management is everything on a sailboat, add in weather, navigation, check lists and such. Sailing is more like gliding, the air is both what moves or kills you. Just like flying, with sailing or distance cruising by motor, nature does not give a damn of your existence and is actively trying to kill you. Any failure can be fatal, you can't just pull to the roadside and stop. I had my mooring serviced today, a recent big South East low storm hit 75 knots through the passage, I was onboard and fine, others no so much. My mooring right in the fastest part of the channel never moved. I did however worry for others only to see destroyed boats the next day. I love the natural world but it will kill and doesn't love you back.

How dare you say such things, I am just a long haired Chihuahua and know how to control myself in any situation. I can even show proof... I can even admit when I take on a job to big, it was all cool till I needed a ladder.

A nice design, a perfect example of not be done by a engineering draftsmen.

Given the behaviours of the few women in the LNP, they appear to be disqualified then. As would any One Nation or Palmer Party hack be. So Canberra contenders come from the independents, Greens or Labour. None are clearly a psychopathic Penny Wong or Tanya Pibersek? sen Barbara Pocock? Neither have the ego to want the job, that's why we got Albo instead. That alone makes a great candidate. Alternatively, I am prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice and identify as female, if I get the whole world to run. You can call me Shirley

Yep, that bunch that speak in tongues aka nut jobs or pentacostals or happy clappers. They believe anything goes to make money is Devine, as only they are his children and all others evil. Only they are deserving and to be rich brings you closer to heaven. The exact same church's that gave us Scott Morrison. No wonder the World's fucked

Tesla's look look a half sucked lolly. Some new designs really have looks a blind man would grimace at. All offending designers should be sent to Italy for a few years of training or taken out back and dealt with. Years ago, no manufacture worth a damn would dare not having a Italian based design team or at least educate them there. Even the English knew this was essential or you bought the design talent from a Italian styling house. Hence the 1960/7o's Triumphs used Italian styling and were attractive. I am not saying every Italian design is pretty but they realise design is a Artform not a drawing board.

That is all too true. Today a mere four months after a bald shave for the entire head, ears included. I arrived for maintenance, my long grey curling hair and beard had exploded and was a three layer polar insulation suit. Sadly like a eskimo in a desert my hairy qualities don't suit our climate. I have Little body hair but a head that grows hair like Samson. The sooner a topical baldness cream is invented the better. Coming from a sheep farming family I know shearing when I see it, today I was shawn and happy for it. But it only cost a fair $30 including beard. She is not constantly busy and only worth opening till noon each day. Next door is the dog grooming salon, busy every weekday, customers lined up in the morning. A dog averages $80. They also do doggie daycare/playdates, what people will do for dogs at great expense is astonishing, a very first world problem. I love a well groomed pooch but it really makes me think about our priorities in society. But then I remember the modern politco capitalist system and it's all clear as mud. It's a mad mad world.

You old barsteed I dropped ten years today by getting a haircut and big beard cut, hard to see the grey when you remove it. Is your moniker from owning a spacesailor?

And fair enough, I can't afford a new car and don't even have one, but independence is key. Cheap old ev's will happen but we are ten years behind the rest of the world. Just like anything in life, it's not intially accessible to all nor relevant. I am optimistic and look forward to a electric future.

$15,000 seems extremely expensive and should be 1/3 of that cost for the size. But I am amazed you have such incredibly low power bills. I have lived in a Sydney Mcmansion that gulped $5000 a year to keep cool and warm as needed. And we tried to be economical. The big savings come from having a home or communal storage system. An ideal use for used car batteries from wrecks or swapping for newer and cheaper packs. Why send energy into the grid and get a tiny fraction of its value and then buy it back at 10 times the price or more? It's the economic model that's failing not the technology . We all tend to live in homes that cost a millions dollars, drive car and consume lots of energy which can cost a family a easy $200 a week just in energy and fuel for the commute of two cars and the average energy inefficient home. Some spend far more than that. We happily go into ridiculous debt to invest in a house but won't invest a tiny percentage in removing our fuel and other energy costs. The solar and battery can also give free charge for your car and your car can act as a battery for the house. It's a circular economy with low losses, not the 100% economic loss of the current system. Everyone can be a micro energy baron. And master of his/her destiny and not rely on market forces and political whims. Just like any gold boom or new tech industry, beware of wooden nickels and tooth fairies. Keep in mind for equivalent specs ,it's a fraction of the cost per Kw/h for storage if you put wheels on it. And you get a free car at the same time, that shows how when applied the economics can work, fundamentally a complete home energy/transport system can be very cheap compared to the norm. Think outside the box, nature and physics does not make strait lines.

ItI like the idea but as we tend to be a fully owned subsidiary of the capitalist military industrial complex I am not optimistic. Your completely correct, the Security counsel is a joke of dictatorial regimes, votes or not, they control and the rest cop it. The Veto power entrenched hegemony of the winner, we may believe the US is democratic but that is a illusion. Just look at the reality of now dead Henry Kissinger, one of the most dictatorial idealouges and mass murderers in history. No one voted for him ever. But he dominated policy even in his old age, no one has created more coups , assassinations of democratic leaders and regime changes, nor created more wars. That's quite a legacy, that compares to Stalin and Hitler. Democracy is a wonderful idea but is generally an illusion.

I think people have seen my views as too left wing or green but I love internal combustion engines for the sound and feel. I am not anti ICE but a realist. I love the sound, get off on the feel of the best ICE, give me an Italian bike or Alfa Romeo and I am in heaven. Its like a drug and very addictive. Sadly it's also poisonous, do not use a exhaust as a breathing apparatus.☠️ Unfortunately we expect the environment to breath it and that needs to change. The idea of rural communities been unable to survive using non petrochemical energy is a common talking point but not a no sum game, it's actually short- medium term very realistic and makes sense. Sure we need to keep burning dinosaur fuel short term in select applications. People complain farmers can't survive but remember good years means you invest for the lean years and lower costs etc. We tend to forget the rural communities gain wealth by harvesting produce or meat or fibre. All these are sun powered and that energy is free, you only need to convert the sun power to electrical , it's still energy farming just a different way. Why should rural Australia have to import it's energy at great cost at a price, political and environmental cost that we can't afford to ignore. We can generate the energy here locally at lower overall cost and the money stays in the local community. Sure it costs but bar renewal it's a highly efficient low maintenance way of drastically reducing costs. If you have fast charging available in every town then the range anxiety is a non issue bar extreme remote destinations. My local Bowling club has fast chargers as does the local marina but we don't have a petrol station. Chargers open 24 hrs, unlike most rural petrol stations. Sure a petrol powered device can be fuelled quick but breaks are needed anyway and waiting for the servo to open in the morning ain't pleasant either. Motorcycle touring means small range and off the major highways, that's range anxiety. I survived and didn't have the option of getting fuel anywhere with even a normal power point to help, slow but still works. Or a small solar setup, recently a solar charged car toured Australia with a thin film roll of printed solar cells kept in the boot to charge it, roll it out and charge. Can't do that with a ICE vehicle bar someone bringing energy to you ie diesel etc, your fu**ed. If someone does something on the other side of the planet or says something, your oil price can rocket. The sun is free and independent, it does not give a damn and still shines. You can't fight a war over the Sun, it's free to everyone and beyond our control. Compare that to oil and the millions of lost lives in the pursuit to control it and profit from it. Even forgetting about the real costs of fossil fuels it's a no brainer sun power is cheaper short,medium and long term.

I actually live onboard a ship originally registered with the American Bureau of Shipping for international waters. These days home is Port Stephens. Funny part is she is not 98 metres but only 9.8 metres 😭. It's only a Clipper pocket sea trawler. I can just imagine my friendly Maritime officer laughing his arse off it I did that.🧐😝

We are indeed a new species as we have the new ability unknown on planet earths history from any species before including homo sapiens sapiens. We can not just succeed in our local environment but dominate it on a global scale. We can literally change the planets ecosphere from the bottom of the sea to the highest mountain and all the atmosphere. We have even modified our atmosphere to the point ice caps melt as we heatup the planet. We can even leave our own planet and get a outside view. We can fly but have no wings. We are the fastest species on the planet and off it. We can dive to the bottom of the Ocean and sometimes return or make a great story about dying with a billionaire fool. We can even destroy any species and change any environment from a distance, never ever leaving the other side of the planet or even thinking about it. We can even talk and see each other from anywhere on the planet like telepathic Aliens. We have even been able to change the planet into a new epoch called the Anthropocene as we have modified the earth so much in less than a lifetime our our new species. 1950 is the start of the Anthropocene and the end of the Holocene. We have "god" like super powers of terraforming a planet, even when we don't notice. We even can kill all life on the planet at will, like a angry god. Just a fool and a red button and the planet burns. We are Homo sapiens perses, which I named after the Greek god of destruction aka the ravager. Or Homo sapiens destructus Or Homo sapiens technics We may think we are just like our ancestors pre the industrial age but we are not, we augment our abilities like a sci-fi human cyborg at will through technologies, in fact I am doing that right now. Our superpowers are actively killing the planet and as a collective hive we seem to accept that knowledge and keep running off the extinction cliff. Maybe we should be called Homo sapiens suicidus Note: no species were imperiled by this post only solar charged electrons moved about.

Here is a report in 2022. Ev fires are remarkably safe from fire. Unfortunately they are magnets for hack journalism and scare campaigns from vested interests. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.mynrma.com.au/electric-vehicles/basics/understanding-electric-vehicle-fires%23:~:text%3DA%202022%20analysis%20by%20insurance,defines%20plug%2Din%20hybrids.)&ved=2ahUKEwihyMW2ze2CAxVUamwGHXuJCPYQFnoECAkQBQ&usg=AOvVaw1KOlb5q88Nyx1ehjb6kEb- ICE cars are 60 times more likely to have a 🔥 and hybrids are 138times more likely to burn. For a new tech to be so safe is really amazing given the 135 years combustion cars have existed and been continuously developed.

Careful, if she finds out it might be the doghouse for a while. I know, it's a tough life on the water, but someone has to suffer it.

Yep, no BFR infact no licence needed at all. Funny you need a licence for a dingy with more than 5 HP but a big yacht or my brother's 12 tonne Walrus and 12 passengers- even outside in the ocean and none needed. Not that I am complaining. Mine has soft decks but not critical at the moment. Sails fine and motors on a 15 HP outboard. Has a 3 way fridge so cold 🍺. That many fish around, you just hang a line out the side and they jump on the hook. Funny having a $1 boat surrounded by mega dollar wedding cakes and marlin murderers. Will have a beer for you poor buggers. ⛵🍻

Still living the life Aquatic and loving it. Still in Port Stephens and it's a awesome place for the virus isolation. The Walrus has had a scrape and paint on the slip and is feeling slick and much happier on the cruise. Still yet to repaint the top sides but as the slip is fully booked for a while. Sadly the crabs are either migrating or not as hungry with buggerall in the pots. But the big news is I bought a 23ft yacht as a stop gap to buying a live aboard. It is a old 40-50 year old racing class cum weekender. With styling like a flat top wooden sloop. But with a huge sail area for its size and weight. Fast and single handed is the idea. It's a Hood 23 which was a top racing boat in the 60-80s and was replaced by the 29ers as a class. Ugly by modern standards but simple and easy to sail in all conditions. Originally a open racing yacht enclosed and it shows with the low flat deck, great for pygmies. But you don't mind when it's easy to move forward. Delicate eyes should be wary this beasty cost a whole $1 but it sails great and is cozy. This is not a show pony but something only it's designer or a yachts can love. It might be ugly but it is the fastest mono hull here in lemon tree passage and all the old blokes oh and ah at her, with tales of racing and touring at speed past. They still race them against modern yachts locally at soldiers point. The prospect of flogging very expensive new boats and Pitt St captain's holds a special challenge in a ancient $1 boat.

There is a bit about the investigation and has some very forthright comments from those leading the enquiry. Plainly obvious not just smoke but a lot a real fire. Sorry can't get link working but see Smh or Age etc. Re the trial by media- that is a byproduct of the media actually getting this to our attention and ensuring it does not stay buried. Remember they raided the ABC and others to silence the story. It appears a lot will be found accountable and those that colluded or turned a blind eye will be out and charges will follow. The SAS deserve to be accountable, be able to root out the rotten, punish them and those above who are proven guilty and return to being the elite of our service. Returning confidence is vital to our national interest.

The problem is we keep giving the morons oxygen. Deoxymoron the buggers

Raymond Reddington gets the gong for me. Or Chris Hemsworth but that will get very bloody.

I do not know the soldier but do know war crimes happen and to think a Aussie is is incapable of such things ignores human nature. A aweful lot of national security laws and secrecy has been invoked in this case including current and former soldiers been muffled, threats made and journalists raided. Seems like a lot of smoke if no fire exists. I have a open mind, yes in a instant we make flash decisions but take the right path. The allegations however are not about mistakes but intentional murder. The standard is ours not what the enemy do.

Ah the torture of been on a boat. The view is bloody aweful. And the shopping just to get some protein is a arduous task. Just take gloves, wear shoes and count you fingers. Yesterday 15 blue swimmers and a awesome chilli jam cookup. Who would guess I could have way too many big crabs to eat, so I am forced to give them away to those less fortunate ie landsmen. Would post photos but the view is too big and might be overun by pirates. Had to stop fishing, not enough cold storage. Also found a new Octopussy for walrus's head but at two feet the bugger was a bit angry and strong like you would not believe. The smart bugger was a Houdini grade escapologist and can open a bucket. So returned to the blue to attack another day. No way could you remove him if he grabbed your arm bar cutting him in pieces. Oh also got squid a plenty but yet to catch a King fish. Life is tough