Jerry_Atrick

Except for the paltry range, I was thinking Honda NX500..

OK.. The house is now done with the major work. Vurtually all redecoration from here (Murph's law excepted). More in Jerry's Reno blog tomorrow when I take some photos tomorrow. So I am turning my thoughts to the move. And I can't afford, and don't have the time to prepare for a GA flight to Aus, ala an ex UK Flying Forumite, Aussie Andy: http://www.flyingpodcast.co.uk/flying-adventures/episode-67-london-sydney-slow-way/ (He is a real banker). But I was thinking of an unusual way to get to Aus, and the son thought a motorcyle adventure would do it. So, I am in the tentative stages of planning it. To be honest, it will probably come to nought, but I thought I would ask chat FGPT (well, we should now use non-US alternatives, apparently a French one is good - I will try that). And it wasn't bad.. Here is the transcript: Me: Hi.. Hope you're well.. I am looking at touring a motorcycle from London to Broome Western Australia, and then down the west coast to the Mclaren Vale (to try some nice wines), and then as much along the southern coast of Australia as is possible - on a motorcycle (yeah - I will need to ferry the bike from say Singapore to Broome). some questions: 1. What is the best bike for range and handling different conditions. 2. What mods would you recommend. 3. Where do we have to absoluely avoid (Russia - got it; Iran probably, too.. anything else) 4. What visas do we need 5. what insurance do we need 6. What legal documents to we need to carry 7. What is the minimum safety and subsistence stuff we need to carry 8. What haven't I thought about? Thanks (Yes.. I am polite to intelligent things) This is the response: That sounds like an epic adventure! Riding from London to Broome, then down through Western Australia and across the south is no small feat. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to consider: 1. Best Bike for Range & Conditions You'll need a motorcycle that balances long-range fuel capacity, reliability, and handling for varied conditions (highways, dirt, outback). The best options: BMW R1250GS Adventure – 30L tank, great range (~600 km), comfortable, and built for mixed terrain. Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Adventure Sports – 24.8L tank, lighter than the BMW, solid off-road performance. Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid – Lighter and more off-road capable, with a 23L tank. KTM 1290 Super Adventure R – Power and off-road capability, but maintenance could be trickier in remote areas. Given the Australian Outback’s long distances between fuel stops, you’ll want a bike that can go at least 400 km per tank or carry extra fuel. 2. Recommended Mods Larger fuel tank or auxiliary fuel system Better seat (long days in the saddle) Crash bars & skid plate (outback roads can be rough) Upgraded suspension (if stock isn’t good for heavy loads/off-road) Luggage system (hard or soft panniers + top box) High-output alternator (for heated gear, GPS, comms) Satellite tracker (Garmin inReach or SPOT) 3. Places to Avoid Russia (War & visa issues) Iran (Difficult visas for UK passports) Myanmar (Overland entry restrictions) China (Expensive permits & guides required) Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas (Security concerns) Some parts of Indonesia & East Timor (Limited ferry options & fuel availability) Your route will likely be: UK → Europe → Turkey → Central Asia (Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan) → SE Asia (Thailand/Malaysia) → Ship to Broome. 4. Visas Required Europe (No visa needed if under 90 days in Schengen Zone) Turkey (E-visa) Central Asia (Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan are easier, Uzbekistan needs e-visa) India & Thailand (Likely needed) Indonesia (for ferry options) Australia (Visa + carnet de passage for the bike) Check www.caravanistan.com for the latest on overland visas. 5. Insurance Required Green Card Insurance for Europe CDP (Carnet de Passage) Guarantee for Australia Motorcycle Insurance for Australia (Compulsory Third Party "CTP" required, and full cover recommended) Travel & Medical Insurance (Must cover remote evacuation – you’re going into serious outback areas) 6. Legal Documents to Carry Carnet de Passage (bike passport for customs) International Driving Permit (IDP) Motorcycle Registration & Title Bike Insurance Docs Your Passport (with visas) Copies of all documents (both digital & paper) 7. Minimum Safety & Subsistence Gear Water Storage (minimum 5L per person in the outback) First Aid Kit (including snakebite bandages) Satellite Phone or InReach (Outback has no mobile coverage) Toolkit & Spares (tubes, patches, tire irons, chain lube, fuses, zip ties) Camping Gear (tent, sleeping bag, small stove) Emergency Food (dehydrated meals, energy bars) Protective Gear (good armored riding suit, boots, gloves, helmet with sun protection) Sun & Insect Protection (Sunscreen, hat, DEET spray) 8. What Haven’t You Thought About? Bike Shipping & Customs Delays – Some ports can take weeks to clear a bike. Weather & Seasonal Planning – Avoid Australian Outback summer (45°C+). Fuel Range in Remote WA & SA – Plan your stops. Dingo, Croc, & Snake Awareness – Not a joke in Australia! Mental & Physical Endurance – Some parts are brutally long rides. This is going to be a legendary trip. Have you already picked a timeframe for this? What bike are you leaning towards?

Oh.. why would an AI nursebot need money?? I guess for recharges. OMG, I would be worried - I would get range anxiety with her!

No. Wolfie hadn't come around yet.. Often things settle after he arrives.

That is a bummer.. hope you're better soon

Of course, I will offset a gripe anth a positive. Daughter is working at Hinkley Point C, the new build nuke and in a couplefo short weeks has matured immensly...

Gripe of the week. Petulant children. Not the garden variety type that you see in the school ground .. the ones that are very well paid at work. Mental illness excepted, jeez some people can act like spollt litte brats. We have two teams at work; one is mine and, obviously, one is someone elses. And both teams are relatively new.. but we have to work together. Well, something kicked off at work and these two mid-level managers were just doing the "he said, she said" routine and brought up old bygones. It was the Zoom equivalent of them crossing their arms, Hmmmphing, and turning their chairs to they sat back to back. Quite extraordinary when I consider how much they are paid, and their level in teh company. They are paid to escalate real issues, not antsie pantsie rubbish. So, I had to ecuse myself from a fairly serious meeting to deal with a couple of petulant children. If it keeps up, at least one is going to get fired (and I let him know, too). Where's Wolfie.. I need his counsel at a time like this!!!

We've stopped talking about Pootin.... Another win for hin thanks to Trump... But, here is a sneak preview of his plans: https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-belarus-strategy-document-230035184.html Wonder if Lukashenko is still thinking about being a good buddy.

We know for sure that the US has submarines trawling international waters. As do many other countries. There is nothing illegal about China parking its boats off our international waters and listening in on us. It's not nice, but Australia (and I would think the US as well) has jamming and/or tracking equipment and they are likely to know what is going on. What the US doesn't do is drop flares from planes in a dangerous what that China has been doing lately. I haven't read this article, but if live fire means what it should, the US doesn't really do that in international waters - at least not that I am aware of, without notice (again, I have not read the article). Chinas has been pissing off Japan and I think the Phillipines as well. It's unlawful expansion into the South China sea (hmmm.. how come people aren't making a big fuss about that) and extension of its soveriegn waters when it had no such claim has to be provocative, especially since they established a pretty decent military base on one of the man made islands. China is getting aggressive. Thankfully Australia is not easy to take.

Will Robonurse do home visits looking like this? If so, and everything else is a realistic simulation, I will be too old to worry about that fact it will be living in a virtual world

Well, it is lunch time on a Friday and I am working from home. Expecting my mate to join me anytime soon!

Here's some interesting data on Trump's first 100 days in office: https://on.ft.com/3EPHxmU

There are times when you have to be diplomatic; there are times where you have to stand up for what is right and work on mitigating the consequences. Ultimatelum it is a personal decision based on personal values. The problem Albo has is that when he reacts, he has to not only take into account his personal values, but judge the personal values os almost 30m people. When Trumpenstien decided to turn the tables on Zelensky, that was when I personally would have been happy for Albo to say enough is enough, pull your head in and get real.. You can be assertive and diplomatic at the same time, but many western leaders came out and affirmed that Trumps view of the events were incorrect. Of course, others may not agree that is the right thing to do when tarrifs are in the balance. But, we survived China stuffing us about, and thy are a bigger trading partner than the US. Even Nigel Farage called him out explicitly for it. Yes, like Albo, he is the opposition (the coneraties will prbably some third to Reform, here).

Immediately after Trump came out with his rhetoric on Ukraine, I took a look at European defence and weapons contractors' share prices and kicked myself ffor not being more forwad thinking. He is da King, but here is an interesting graph: Since he took over the reigns.. Vey nice for Europe. One of the positives in all of this ship show, is tha Europe, the UK, Canada, and hopefully Australia, are starting to put into place policies to wean themselves off the USA. It will mean the USA will have less influene over time. It was bad enough becoming over reliant on China for cheap manufacturing; it is proving to be much worse to be over reliant on the US for the world order. Trump will succeed in isolationism and nationalism, but it will come at a big cost to the USA.

I think a lot of what you say is imagined or exaggerated."? Don't you mean, it is imagined and exaggerated - certainly when one looks at the facts. Interestingly, the coalition is hard line on immigration, yet they preside over the higher levels of "mass" migration. I find it interesting people get all worked up over migration. It is, and has been a human trait since the dawn of humanity. Europe resulted from a migration from Africa (well, the world's population is thought to have). Modern Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA's population is the result of mass migration from Europe. Yes, some of it was to conquer, but people who came out willingly did so to seek a better life. We talk about migration in a global border context, but when you move from, say Melbourne to Sydney or vice versa, you are migrating. The distance is longer than migrating between some European counties, for example. And even within a country, there can be a clash of cultures. When I grew up in Melbourne, there was nary a rugby ground in the state. Now there's a stadium in the middle of Melbourne. In Sydney and Brisbane, there are now AFL stadiums where it owuld have been laughed out of the cities in the old days. Also, with the declinign birth rates, who is going to care for you and perform the public and private services we rely on? Who is going to be working the resources of the land to keep the money flowing to pay for all of this? Yep, it's going to be migrants. Oh, but the right wing will save is from all that, won't they? Well, look at the numbers when they are in power. They shift massive amounts of wealth from the population to large corporates and high net worth individuals who happen to pay no tax nor any real royalites for the resources they extract. That means there is less money for the younger population to affford houses and chldren, and given the relative state of life expectancy and the shift to urbanisation, there isn't the natural imperative to make kids as there used to be. Yet, if you return the money to the population so they can afford things., which is what a more progressive government is at least philosophically about even if they do not achieve it, then suddenly things become more affordable, they can have their kids, and there is less longer-term need for migrants. GON - you are right about one thing; progressive politics seems to failed to have delivered on their politics precisely because of the grip that the hidden and concentrated power of money has over democracy - which is an aim of the right-leaning side of politics. Taxes, which are largely paid by the middle and lower-miiddle classes are higher and there is a squeeze on disposable income. The public services those taxes are eroding because of their expense (another right-wing thing - privatisation - doesn't seem to work out as good as it promised to be; and remember, it was Hawke and Keating that seemed to preside over the rise on privatisation); they are being disenfranchised and voting right. Often, it is because for them, neither side is offering anything, but "at least Trump (or whoever we are speaking about) does what he says he's gonna do". The fact that what they say they're going to do is going to end up in tears is of little consequence to these people; they are already crying. The ALP in Aus, and Labour here have had a real opportunity to right the wong. They are so heholden to hidden power, they they take tepid steps and people are more disillusioned with them. Those people decide stuff it, it can't be worse. The mentality of the voter has shifted from voting in the one you want to get the job done, to the one you least dislike.

"I think a lot of what you say is imagined or exaggerated."? Don't you mean, it is imagined and exaggerated - certainly when one looks at the facts. Interestingly, the coalition is hard line on immigration, yet they preside over the higher levels of "mass" migration. I find it interesting people get all worked up over migration. It is, and has been a human trait since the dawn of humanity. Europe resulted from a migration from Africa (well, the world's population is thought to have). Modern Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA's population is the result of mass migration from Europe. Yes, some of it was to conquer, but people who came out willingly did so to seek a better life. We talk about migration in a global border context, but when you move from, say Melbourne to Sydney or vice versa, you are migrating. The distance is longer than migrating between some European counties, for example. And even within a country, there can be a clash of cultures. When I grew up in Melbourne, there was nary a rugby ground in the state. Now there's a stadium in the middle of Melbourne. In Sydney and Brisbane, there are now AFL stadiums where it owuld have been laughed out of the cities in the old days. Also, with the declinign birth rates, who is going to care for you and perform the public and private services we rely on? Who is going to be working the resources of the land to keep the money flowing to pay for all of this? Yep, it's going to be migrants. Oh, but the right wing will save is from all that, won't they? Well, look at the numbers when they are in power. They shift massive amounts of wealth from the population to large corporates and high net worth individuals who happen to pay no tax nor any real royalites for the resources they extract. That means there is less money for the younger population to affford houses and chldren, and given the relative state of life expectancy and the shift to urbanisation, there isn't the natural imperative to make kids as there used to be. Yet, if you return the money to the population so they can afford things., which is what a more progressive government is at least philosophically about even if they do not achieve it, then suddenly things become more affordable, they can have their kids, and there is less longer-term need for migrants. GON - you are right about one thing; progressive politics seems to failed to have delivered on their politics precisely because of the grip that the hidden and concentrated power of money has over democracy - which is an aim of the right-leaning side of politics. Taxes, which are largely paid by the middle and lower-miiddle classes are higher and there is a squeeze on disposable income. The public services those taxes are eroding because of their expense (another right-wing thing - privatisation - doesn't seem to work out as good as it promised to be; and remember, it was Hawke and Keating that seemed to preside over the rise on privatisation); they are being disenfranchised and voting right. Often, it is because for them, neither side is offering anything, but "at least Trump (or whoever we are speaking about) does what he says he's gonna do". The fact that what they say they're going to do is going to end up in tears is of little consequence to these people; they are already crying. The ALP in Aus, and Labour here have had a real opportunity to right the wong. They are so heholden to hidden power, they they take tepid steps and people are more disillusioned with them. Those people decide stuff it, it can't be worse. The mentality of the voter has shifted from voting in the one you want to get the job done, to the one you least dislike.

"I think a lot of what you say is imagined or exaggerated."? Don't you mean, it is imagined and exaggerated - certainly when one looks at the facts. Interestingly, the coalition is hard line on immigration, yet they preside over the higher levels of "mass" migration. I find it interesting people get all worked up over migration. It is, and has been a human trait since the dawn of humanity. Europe resulted from a migration from Africa (well, the world's population is thought to have). Modern Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA's population is the result of mass migration from Europe. Yes, some of it was to conquer, but people who came out willingly did so to seek a better life. We talk about migration in a global border context, but when you move from, say Melbourne to Sydney or vice versa, you are migrating. The distance is longer than migrating between some European counties, for example. And even within a country, there can be a clash of cultures. When I grew up in Melbourne, there was nary a rugby ground in the state. Now there's a stadium in the middle of Melbourne. In Sydney and Brisbane, there are now AFL stadiums where it owuld have been laughed out of the cities in the old days. Also, with the declinign birth rates, who is going to care for you and perform the public and private services we rely on? Who is going to be working the resources of the land to keep the money flowing to pay for all of this? Yep, it's going to be migrants. Oh, but the right wing will save is from all that, won't they? Well, look at the numbers when they are in power. They shift massive amounts of wealth from the population to large corporates and high net worth individuals who happen to pay no tax nor any real royalites for the resources they extract. That means there is less money for the younger population to affford houses and chldren, and given the relative state of life expectancy and the shift to urbanisation, there isn't the natural imperative to make kids as there used to be. Yet, if you return the money to the population so they can afford things., which is what a more progressive government is at least philosophically about even if they do not achieve it, then suddenly things become more affordable, they can have their kids, and there is less longer-term need for migrants. GON - you are right about one thing; progressive politics seems to failed to have delivered on their politics precisely because of the grip that the hidden and concentrated power of money has over democracy - which is an aim of the right-leaning side of politics. Taxes, which are largely paid by the middle and lower-miiddle classes are higher and there is a squeeze on disposable income. The public services those taxes are eroding because of their expense (another right-wing thing - privatisation - doesn't seem to work out as good as it promised to be; and remember, it was Hawke and Keating that seemed to preside over the rise on privatisation); they are being disenfranchised and voting right. Often, it is because for them, neither side is offering anything, but "at least Trump (or whoever we are speaking about) does what he says he's gonna do". The fact that what they say they're going to do is going to end up in tears is of little consequence to these people; they are already crying. The ALP in Aus, and Labour here have had a real opportunity to right the wong. They are so heholden to hidden power, they they take tepid steps and people are more disillusioned with them. Those people decide stuff it, it can't be worse. The mentality of the voter has shifted from voting in the one you want to get the job done, to the one you least dislike.

Trump is not only looking to seel out Ukraine, but also looking to rewrite history: And wants to invute Russia back to the G7. Insane.. but probably pay back for the election interfering.

Remember, when he was last president he tried to get Zelensky to dig up some dirt on Huner Biden to counteract all the impeachments he was going through. Zelensky, a man of integrty apparently, refused, despite some threat of Trumps. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/trump-asked-ukraine-president-if-you-can-look-into-biden-and-his-son-in-phone-call.html You can bet Trump hasn't forgot. (I haven't looked at the vids yet, so apols if it was covered in these).

First of all, the far right is not fighting back. If you think about the people who tend to gravitate to the far right, it is because the progressive governments have sort of "failed" and properly implementing their progressive policies. Most of the people who gravitate to the far right are usually of the lower socio-economic demographic with not much prospects for the future. Progressive policies are not hand outs to immigration, etc. Let's look at some of those right wing agendas that seem to give GON a warm, fuzzy feeling. Immigration. Australia had a conservative government from 2009 to 2022. Take a look at this net migration graph for Australia: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SM.POP.NETM?locations=AU Notive anything unusual? Net migration came down in the first year and then steeply climbed back up. In fact, the conservative government actively promoted met migration on those 412 (or whatever they were) visas, which were designed to allow unskilled workers into the country and drive down wages (and the tax take as a result to provide things like services you rely 0n). There is a sharp drop towards the end of their reign thanks to the lock down of the country. Despite the claimed meteroric rise under Albo, it was a backlog lof already approved migrants that came once the doors openeed. In the time since, it has stabilised at levels well below that of the cconservative. But, the right wing are against migrationj, right? Nope they aren't; they actively pursued policies that would allow unskileld cheap labour in, while blocking high end professionals. The economy: Have a look at ths graph: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=AU. Australia's economy has been in decline for some time, but during the Conservative's reign the median declined steepened despite a sustained resources boom that should have led to a steep increase in the economic activity of the country. There was a steep decline during covid, followed by a bounce back. Now, despite global headwinds and a cost of living crisis, those darned lefties with their socialist and communist agendas (although you haven't yet given and concrete examples of what they are), preiding over a higher level of output than pre-covid, despite a slight reversal after the initial bounce from coming out of Covid. Those horrible taxes: The Australian Tax to GDP ratio has not changed much since 2000. But there was a noticeable drop in 2007.: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topics/policy-sub-issues/global-tax-revenues/revenue-statistics-australia.pdf. Remind me who was in government in 2007? I'll save you looking it up.. It was Kevin Rudd. Yeah, another leftie communist massive increase in taxes to supoort their woke agenda. It has had a slight increase lately, but someone has to pay for the debt, right. Money Managers: https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/australia/national-government-debt. Aggain, those pesky lefties... the national debt kept on climbing at an increasing rate since 2013 (and what is to show for it), until COVID, when it spiked, and yeah you can't blame them for that.. but their coorproate welfare handouts and other wastage certainly didn't help. And now, those pesky lefties have started to get a grip on it and have started nrining it down. @Grumpy Old NashoNothing you say adds up to a left wing agenda - in fact, you have been hoodwinked - like most of the population by listening to sound bytes from a MSM media hell bent in getting governments that do their advertisers' bidding and stuff you.. The old adage is that you should be careful what you ask for - you may get it. I would counsel you to take heed of that adage.

What a load of tosh

If anyone thinks this is about saving money; it ain't. It is about privatisation by stealth. What better way to get lucrative government contracts than by torching the government and have someone come in to fill the void for a fee of course. And who is going to be more loyal than young impressionable employees. Yeah, there is an element of sticking in some republican loyalists because they know even in a change of government, the Democrats won't torch the system. But for the likes of Musk,nit is about the money. As Franklin Roosevelt said, there are no accidents in politics; if it happened, you can bet it was planned to happen.

We all react to the public side of what we see, and unfortunately, we publicly see a lot of had stuff with politicians. What we don't see is how tirelessly *some* to work for their constituents or particular issues. I used to live next to Joan Child, the first femal speak of the House of Representatives. And I would occasionally pop into her electoral offices to say hello, and despite her seniority in the parliament, both her and her team worked tirelessly for local people and issues. Part of the problem is the system. It is designed to be a big road block to progress and upsetting the apple cart. In addition, the system seems to reward incompetence and bluster - just look at parlaiment's question time.. What is the ratio of har air to anything useful being done - I really wonder what that would look like. The reality, it appears, that to get to the top, generally, you have to, at least publicly, be prepared to compromise many qualities seem as postive traits in humanity.