Marty_d

My wife and I had a good ride yesterday. Weather was absolutely magnificent so we went to Richmond via the lovely bends of Grasstree Hill. At one point, coming the other way were half a dozen bikes which I exchanged nods with (no waving in the twisty bits!) - but the last one in line was a police bike. We don't know if he'd pulled out and was about to book them, or if it was a training ride (although they didn't look like learners), or if it was just a bored cop who decided to have a bit of fun himself. We had lunch at Pooleys vineyard, then went via Tea Tree and Brighton back to Hobart. After a coffee with Kate's brother we headed home via Taroona, which is also a great road for bikes. Very enjoyable day.

"Waved", or "gesticulated for the offender to pull over".... It's all in the perspective. 😜

Yes - these models are being built by billionaire tech bros, as a cohort possibly the most amoral set of scoundrels as exists in the USA. They are completely detached from reality. They have no concept of how normal people live. This AI race is simply a game to them. Why do they care if their company "wins" this race? They already have more money than they could spend in a hundred lifetimes.

My thoughts exactly, but said far better than I could elucidate.

I'm sorry Jerry, I don't see any upside at all to AI. I'm a programmer too, not on your level I'm sure. My employer is all gung ho about AI. Obviously if you own or run a company then you want AI. Let's face it, buying or renting an employee who works 24/7, doesn't require breaks, doesn't get pregnant, isn't an alcoholic or lazy or just distracted by all the shit that happens to humans - probably seems like a great idea. But while it benefits the shareholders at the top, what does it do for society and the other 99% of humanity? We can't all be baristas, and even now it wouldn't be hard to totally automate that. Work is part of our identity. Without purpose, what do we do? Sit around all day watching AI slop?

Even if he did pay out (and he won't), most people would have lost over $5k already in price rises, loss of benefits, loss of services etc caused by the idiot's actions to date, and would lose more if they kept the Republicans in power.

Hmmmm. So your current bike has no battery and a carbide lamp?

80

20

Hopefully Albo knows that it plays far better with the voters if he stands up to the orange man-baby.

Talking about sobering. The 1930s are coming back in Germany. AfD is, of course, cheered on by Trump and Musk. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-08/afd-win-in-germany-state-implications-for-europe-ukraine-trump/107127334

When I was young and stupid (I'm no longer young) I rode from Hobart to Surfers Paradise on my Honda VFR750 for a holiday. The viffer is a fantastic bike for throwing around corners, but it got a bit uncomfortable after 2500 km. I did it in 3 days from memory. About 800km a day is enough on a bike, especially when you're cruising at 150 and still getting overtaken by semis.

Hmm. That's not what "nork" meant when I was growing up. It was only used in the plural and usually preceded by the words "phwoah, look at those "

Starting a new topic, similar to the "tell us about your last flight" on the sister site, but for motorbikes. (Or whatever else you've been riding. Just remember it's a family site 😜) Had a lovely ride this morning, met @nomadpete and his better half for a coffee then down to Dover. From there I took the Esperance Coast road (which I've never done before - but it was a beautiful riding road), which comes out at Surges Bay. Beautiful day, no pesky cars in the way for most of it. Pure fun!

You could say the same for any hot rod.