Jerry_Atrick

And this vid is 7 years old... seemed OK then, too

Below is a vid of the costs going a scenic route from Sydney to Adelaide using almost exclusively Tesla fast chargers. He was comparing the infrastructure at the time of making the vid to 18 months prior doing a similar trip. In other vids, motels don't seem to have a problem. Overnight rates seem a lot lower. Origin energy kw/h off peak rate is 34.10c per kh/h. Most batteries are under 68kv, but a Volvo EX90 has 111 of them. For the Volvo, you are looking at around $38 to go form completely empty to 100%. How many will come in at completely empty? And if we say the average is 68kv, and say they are on average coming in at 30% charge, that is about $16.25 that it will cost to fill up the car. Don't forget, you can get better deals than the standard rate, although I understand businesses may pay a higher rate. In any case, a savvy motel operator wiil add a surcharge of, say $30 and you get the convenience of a fully charged car without having to go to the servo, and they make some money on the side. If I were operating a motel, I would be happy as I can increase my revenue. Although, servos may not like it one bit. You can also see from the vid that there are quite a few charging stations - many fast or superfast. But note, there seemed to be as many, if not more charging points per station than there are bowsers/pumps per petrol station. Yes, there are times when all of the pumps at a servo are in use, but often they aren't, and this may offset some of the longer charging times. Importantly, from the vid, at least anecdotally, it appears the charging infrastructure is developing nicely. Australia is also transitioning to renewables and one would hope, in building renewables, they are taking into account the uptick in BEVs and the like when planning capacity.

There already seems to be a decent swathe of charging stations across Australia: https://evpowerhouse.com.au/ev-charging-stations-australia-map/?srsltid=AfmBOoo8KnJj5IIvv-2Suz6bToi4xWEZhtN0giYILSNQtnfMjNFCtyWK If your going from Adelaide to Perth in a Nissan Leaf, you may find it a bit tricky, but I am sure I posted a few vids of a retired engineer driving across Australia (Sydney to Perth and back, I think) with no issues. Yes, the infrastructure and standards are still immature, as he had to take a plethora (about three) different types of charging cables. Yes, some recharging sites were slow, but many had supercharging facilities. Looking at the map, where most people more often drive, range anxiety should not be a big deal. Year, there are some areas where there are none, (north west of the country desert/outback east/west of the Stuart Hwy/ and a gap between what looks like Cooktown and Cape York, but looking at that map, I certainly wouldn't be too worried for most of my driving. There are other problems; if the recharging station is the only one for eons and it is faulty, you are kinda stuck for a while. But, as BEVs are less likely to breakdown in the same way ICE cars are, if you have a fault with your engine in an ICE in the middle of nowhere, especially with the technology today, you are likely to be kinda stuck for a while as well. Also, if you are travelling and staying overnight in motels or caravan park type campsites, you can still fill while you sleep. When I am back in Aus, a BEV will be high on the list - one with decent range. Tesla is off the wish list (and the best range with 857km, Model S Plaid, strangely is not available in the country most likely to benefit from it). The Polestar does 654km on a charge (of course, these are test conditions, but if I am getting 400kms @ 110kph, I am pretty happy). And yeah, I will look at second hand ones... There are diagnostic tools that can be used to check their health.

Name of the best flight instructor I have had

We all know, cumin is a spice, right?

I was reading on some boating site that the government will normally leave you alone if living on a boat in Vic, but it is technically not allowed.. I'll try and dig it up. Just for the record, I am not a Pom, but born and bred Aussie.. Plan was two years in the UK, two years in the US and decide. But, found woman, and then one starts thinking with the wrong head. Interesting anecdote, was on a train sitting opposite an English woman about my age, and next to me and her were two young ladies (about 21-ish years of age). This was about 10 years ago. Anyway, this woman was trying to impress or relate to the two younger girls, and was constantly ogling fellas and trying to get the two girls involved. It was on a table seat and I had my laptop open working and just kept digging my head further into work, but did have the odd giggle pop up at her shenannigans. Anyway, some young bloke walks past (it is summer, and he was in a pair of jeans and tight T-shirt), and she says to the girls something like, "oh, look at his arse - that is so tight or something... Bet his French because Englishmen don't have that sort of butt." Then she realised I was sitting opposite her and she looks at me and apologises for any offence. I looked up and said, "None taken, luv. I'm 'strayan" in my best Aussie accent. I know the animals that are dangerous in Aus, and yes, I know they prefer tourists 😉 Of course... Too far from the coast though.. But, at least the state taxes would be lower!

Well, the decoration is almost in full swing. We are starting to run low on funds, so we have to do more ourselves to get it over the line. However, there is progress. That bloody living room has been a pain, The lime plaster on the inside of the flank wall is pretty well stuffed, but at about £2k to replace, we decided we would go with a "breathable" filler, which you have to mix just right. That had been a pain. One of the partition walls plaster was pretty well stuffed, too. so it was big cut outs, and learninng to apply bog and then a skim over the top; but otherwise lots of filling. Finally it was all done; PVA over the top and then on with the base coat, which proceeded to rip out chinks op the wall that seemed OK So, more filler, and skim, and we have alomst the second application of base coat, but ran out, as did all of the stores around. So hopefully, more in today. And we aren't even perfecting the walls - we weant some imperfections in it to give it the rustic look. All this time, I have had a flu, too. .Still on the tail of it - have been for about 3 weeks - and now I look to have some ear infection. Have also been prepping the inside of the bay window surround, where I found they had painted lining paper and then just put some light coat of filler - not even skim plaster over the top of! FFS, Then, our boiler in the cottage died - and of course, it is some difficult one that plumbers hate working on - so finally got someone old school to come out, and he spent only 5 hours on a Sunday fixing it.. It is designed like a fancy European car.. looks nice, but so tightly packed, can't do anything but the simplest job without taking out the engine. And of course, the deeper we went, the more bits we found wrong that had to be replaced. £650 + VAT (20%) that you very much. Well, I will be taking another two weeks off shortly (we get 6 weeks a year off, and I carried forward 2 weeks from last year) to try another big push.

I am sure there are many that remember enough Welsh to claim knowing it, but from my visits to the South of Wales, hardly anyone spoke it at work or socially.. I can't recall overhearing anyone speaking it when I travelled there on work or play. In fact, most people I asked said they learned it and haven't spoken it since school and can't remember most of it. In the North, though, especially Wrexham and the like, people spoke it freely in the pubs, shopping centres, and occasionally in the office. I am sure there are people in the south that know it and speak it fluently and often, but where I worked, which covered Tintern in the east to Swansea; and when I expored the area as a tourist to Haverford West, I cannot recall one person openly speaking it.

Actually, funny you should mention that. The Atrick family has been discussing plans... and living in the city is not necessarily where we will be. We have to be close to decent amenities, but we have decided rather than do what we did last time (arrange job, place to live, etc) beefore we arrive, we would arrive first, buy a decent sized car, and travel around a bit to places we think we may want to settle. I guess, I will have to settle for somewhere on the coast, and yes, it is likely to be Victoria for now, but around 3 hours drive from Melbourne is doable (I will want to catch a few Hawks games when I am back!!) Son has been wanting to live on a boat for a long time, but I have told him the regs in Australia are a lot different to hear, and there are no real canal boats nor vessel carrying canal ways in Australia (I am sure there are a few). But, I recall, even last time I lived in Melbourne (2006 emigrated back), you could get a decent feed from Port Philip bay. Was thinking the Carrum/Chelsea area, but I recall around Seaford way it used to get very polluted. But all I need is a 4hp tinnie with some cover (and a trailer).

Only really the northern Welsh in numbers; In Wales, Welsh is a mandatory subject, but most southern Welsh people promptly forget it. Certainly that has been my expeience.

.. Had a response but decided it wasn't worth it.

Where is that darned envy emoji ??!???

As I was typing it, I was thinking a strange way, too. But the reality is, most of the pollution in these indexes in comprised of "made made" pollution to service people. The stats I presented above were not per capita, but per micrograms per cubic metre of air. In terms of what can reasonably be done given population density and the desire for modern accoutrements, industry, and natural features of the local environment inhibiting disbursing the pollution. It can also drive policy in remediating the air pollution levels in different ways to a sparser populated area that may have higher levels of pollution per capita. But, yeah, it's not by itself terribly useful in terms of how much pollutants everyone is breathing in at a particular time.

Someone sticking up for Aus in the US.

It's not the first time.. Apparently way back in 2015, it was done, too: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/worldtoday/almost-700-victorian-koalas-killed-in-secret-cull/6280158 Quick Google search has The Independent, SMH/The Age, and some other outlet. Though, assuming it is true, it is concerning given the cost v relocating costs

I don't know, tbh... See lots of industry and diesel fumes out of trucks in the city, still... Beijing probably has less pollution per capita in their cities as a lot of the cars are now electric: https://www.statista.com/statistics/690823/china-annual-pm25-particle-levels-beijing/

Some good news amongst the sea of unnecessary ship going on at the moment: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/tom-hawkins-turns-his-home-town-side-from-170-point-losers-to-winners-within-a-week-20250417-p5lsmd.html It is great to see, what is a recently retired AFL superstar return to his roots at Finley, which is town about 20 kms north of the NSW/Vic border on the Newell highway. He has moved back there with his wife who heralds from Deniliquin (Peter's old stomping ground for a while). Great to see him playing with his local footy club and giving them an injection of talent the deperately need. The NSW Riverina has produced some great AFL dynasties, including the Danniher's who, as I recall, are from the West Wyalong area. Finley, which is a small and possibly deteriorating town have the Hawkins dynasty (well, two generations); And it also produced Shane Crawford, the Hawthorn champion. Others from the area include John Longmire, the troubled Wayne Carey, Paul Kelly (the footballer, not the muso), and quite a few others. But most, as I understand, end up in the big smoke, or some fancier rural destinations. Great to see Tom "Tomahawk" Hawkins return to his roots.

Too far away for Chump to concetrate on for more than a few minutes. OK.. So.. where are we? I didn't see the last debate, but I heard it was as lacklustre as the first. Anyway, this is a worrying development and shows that educated people that are well off also fall for the MAGA hype. A surgeon was caught red-handed being rather vile with respect to independent candidate, Monique Ryan, herself a paediatric specialist. If the report is accurate, it makes you wonder why a surgeon, who has benefited from a progressive society and done well for himself is off on a MAGA crusade. It isn't just t have nots. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/chilling-video-captures-surgeon-tearing-down-monique-ryan-corflute-before-stomping-on-it-and-burying-it-20250418-p5lst4.html He later cast it off as a joke and made a donation, which was later refunded... Trying to cover ones tracks, I would say.. Rather ironic since one of the things he says in the video is to hide/dispose of the evidence. This sort of behaviour should not be tolerated, because even if it were a joke, which I doubt, it is the sort of thing that other nutjobs will use to justify doing it and worse. (you can disable javascript to read it)

Reflective of the people who voted him in, me thinks

Oi! As the typo king; the one with the most bewtiful typos, I have to way in on this one!

Somewhat related in terms of exposing the perniciousness of these industries, which helps fuel the fake media we get now, though better posted in a Corruption is Australia thread:

They are also going to bre representative of their big sponsors, too. The reality is we don't have a press regulator, so unless they produce something defamatory, the worst is a "please correct the record"., which they don't, and in the case of some press organisations, openly gloat that they won't. You'd be surprised at how many people I know are anti EV.. And when I engage on the debate about them, they refuse to accept the basic facts that are intuitive, they still reject them. It's like their on some sort of self-destruct mode.

So where does WD 40 fit in all of this? 😉