old man emu

One would have to be a fool not to accept that at some time this century personal ground transport vehicles will be normal (assuming no WW3). However, this mad dash to make them universal within the next ten to fifteen years is illogical. The problem is not in the concept of the EV, but in the very basic infrastructure that is needed to support the use of an EV by the persons who need personal transport. Consider that ogre with which we have lived for 125 years - the internal combustion engine powered vehicle. Early adopters were not Mr Everyman. The were the rich because of the cost of producing each vehicle. However, the new toys of the rich were limited in usefulness because the infrastructure was not in place to provide the fuel they needed. Retail supplies of "Motor Spirit" could only be obtained in a few places, often pharmacies. Motor spirit was expensive. In 1913 the first drive-up service station, specifically designed to sell fuels and other related products was opened in Pittsburgh. Fuel sold for the then price of twenty-seven cents per gallon (7 cents/litre), equivalent to a modern $US6.50 per gallon ($1.71/litre). While vehicle manufacturers worldwide managed to produce vehicles by the millions, but their power was low due to their low compression engines. It wasn't until 1923 that tetraethyl lead was introduced to motor spirit and that allowed for the development of higher compression engines. Even then, the compression ratio was not as high as modern engines. For example, the Daimler-Benz DB605 engine that powered the Bf109 used 87 octane fuel. Having got a half-decent fuel, there came to need to build infrastructure to distribute it and retail it. By 2024 that seems to be sorted. Now look at the EV. Manufacturers are pumping these out at rates that would leave old Henry Ford gobsmacked. However, the "fuel capacity" of EVs, while reasonably adequate for urban use, is restricted because the infrastructure to deliver it is inadequate. The scarcity of "refuelling points" is something that can be overcome relatively easily, however the problem is providing the "fuel". It's not the lack of wires, it is the capacity of those wires to meet the demand for electrons that are needed within the community that the refuelling point is located. While these present difficulties are sure to be overcome, it is ridiculous to expect them to be resolved in the very short space of time that governments seem hell bent on setting.

You are on the right track there. To my mind, it is not the followers of the spiritual life we call Judaism, but those who are entrenched in the secular side of Israel who are determined to destroy, not the followers of the spiritual life we call Islam but those who are entrenched in the secular side of Arabic Palestinianism. So the correct terms to be used are anti-Hamas and anti-Israel. It is extreme laziness to use the term 'anti-Semitic' in reporting this conflict. Historically, "semitic" was a term used in anthropology to classify the languages of the Middle East and North Africa. A member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs, including in particular the Jews and Arabs. The etymology of the word 'anti-semitism' shows that it comes from German Antisemitismus, first used by Wilhelm Marr (1819-1904) German radical, nationalist and race-agitator, who founded the Antisemiten-Liga (Anti-Semitic League) in 1879. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Marr )

While the basis of this story - Bentley going 100% EV - can be treated as a bit of an aside, think about the background. If governments are leaning towards banning ICEs of all types, what effect will such a ban be on the global economy. Imagine all container ships having to take out their oil-fired steam turbines to replace them electric motors.

Again, no thunder, no rain, but the power is still on to run the cooling fans. Gone to bed.

1800: It's pouring in the rising country east of the Newell toward the Upper Hunter. The winds are all over the place, but currently calm at my place

Mid-afternoon today it was 40.3C in the shade on the back porch. Lots of small Cu, but nothing grey.

I've just been setting up to install the final flyscreen. Stopped for smoko, so I'll get back into it now.

Forecast for Wednesday 3/1/24: Rain Actuality: Smoke haze from the Pilliga bushfires. Not a single little cotton bud of a cloud. I went walkin' down by the river Feeling very sad inside. When all at once I saw in the sky The little white cloud that cried. He told me he was very lonesome And no one cared if he lived or died, And said sometimes the thunder and lightning Make all little clouds hide.

Writing 2023 is sooooo yesterday.

Must have made the move west during recent wet seasons. The first year I was up here I was eaten alive by mozzies. I was worried that I might become allergic to their bite, never mind the diseases they are vectors for. Yesterday I went around my bedroom and cleared the spiderwebs, then I sprayed all the corners with a surface insect spray to get rid of the flying beasties. When I got into bed, I was attacked by little brown beetles crawling into my PJs as I laying on the bed without the sheet over me. I think that the only effect of the spray was to kill the spiders. I don't mind spiders, except for the cobwebs, and they do eat some mozzies. However, because I'm living in a place that has been vacant for years, I think I need to hire some of these:

Mosquito coils. I used to associate mosquitoes with wet places and standing water, but now I have discovered the Inland Big Grey Bastard mosquito. These things are the Jumbo Jet of the mozzie species, but despite their enormous size are as agile as a Red Bull racer. By the time you plant your foot for the first step outside, they have been in, sucked blood and received their takeoff clearance. As an airspace defence system I am using mosquito coils, which I light up and they smolder away "for up to 8 hours". That is, of course, if I can get a full one separated from the pairing they come in. I guess that when these things are manufactured they start off as a sheet of paste, like a sheet of pasta, then some sort of cutter is pressed onto the sheet to make these intertwined spirals. The problem with these coils is that the cutters don't go all the way from top to bottom. In the picture you can see where there is material between the spirals. You have to run a very thin blade along the space between the spirals to cut through that material. The problem come at the centre. When you try to separate the spirals, there is not enough gap between the ends for them to separate. Inevitably, as you try to separate them, they break off. That leaves you without that little hole, you can't put them on the stand on their tray.

I've got drinkable bore water, but I have 400 litres of rainwater for tea and coffee. The tanks got filled with a storm the week before Christmas, so I'm OK in that respect. The request for a bucket or two if you could spare it is to brighten up the lawn around the house, and freshen up the air. We are supposed to be getting rain tomorrow, but only about 15 mm total, maybe more if we can attract a storm cell. It is frustrating to see the massive cloud buildup overhead during the day, only to have it dissipate by sunset, or move off to the ranges in the east.

Put some in a bucket for me, will ya?

Not a person, but a well-loved animal celebrity. Gus the Groper, a long time resident of a southern Sydney beach has been killed illegally.

That's just one person's opinions. A lot of other expat Yanks have posted videos comparing the two cultures, with Australia II crossing the line ahead. It's possible that Yanks notice the fact that our foods are not full of corn syrup and saturated fats. We are very fortunate that immigration has brought the culinary delights from all over the World to our plates. I noticed recently that Starbucks, which failed miserably when it first tried to establish here, is taking on a new approach and ignoring placing emphasis on drawing in Australians, but preparing itself to service the return of Chinese and American tourists who have some brand loyalty to Starbucks. Don't label me a Philistine, but I prefer the lighter taste of filter coffee and was most upset when Maccas removed it from their menu.

There's more substance in the slab than in the slob it represents.

That's true. I should have rad my source more thoroughly. Bradfield was the Project Manager (or Boss Cocky) on the job.

Yep. But have you noticed that I am agreeing with you in other threads?

Unfortunately, it is most often those from the lowest economic strata who still smoke. It is little wonder that they become homeless when a packet of smokes costs well above $30 for twenty.

The Bradfield Scheme, a proposed Australian water diversion scheme, is an inland irrigation project that was designed to irrigate and drought-proof much of the western Queensland interior, as well as large areas of South Australia. It was devised by Dr John Bradfield (1867–1943), a Queensland born civil engineer, who also designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Brisbane's Story Bridge. The scheme that Bradfield proposed in 1938 required large pipes, tunnels, pumps and dams. It involved diverting water from the upper reaches of the Tully, Herbert and Burdekin rivers.These Queensland rivers are fed by the monsoon, and flow east to the Coral Sea. It was proposed that the water would enter the Thomson River on the western side of the Great Dividing Range and eventually flow south west to Lake Eyre. An alternative plan was to divert water into the Flinders River. Unfortunately for Bradfield, he didn't have the best of data relating to the amount of water produced annually by the tropical rains; the level of evaporation in inland Queensland, and the topography the water would have to pass through from east to west. The idea has been reviewed several times since Bradfield proposed it, and each review has concluded that while the idea is laudable, it is not practical. A 2022 CSIRO investigation found the scheme to be completely non-viable due to a lack of reliable water. I wonder what they think this Christmas Season.

The difference is that the Government has only a little control over the availability of tobacco imports and sales since the use of tobacco has been a cultural thing for 500 years or so. The Government, however, has the ability to stop vapes entering the country in the quantities they have been. I'm sure that there will be illegal imports, but vapes have not been around long enough to become as strong a cultural thing as tobacco.

The Yanks think that the USA is the best country in the World, but I think that they would have a better idea of what makes a country good if they were to see how the rest of the First World lives. What would they make of our 4 weeks of paid holidays; several weeks of sick leave; parental leave and public holidays? I bet they'd say something like, "How can you earn money if you don't go to work?". What about our unfair dismissal laws. There's no way an employer can tell an employee, "You're fired" on a whim. "But," they'll say, "Trade Unions are Commie organisations." To which we can counter, to a degree, that Trade Unions are the vigilantes who keep robber baron industrialists on a tight rein. I would imagine that in 2024, most Yanks will be spending more time thinking about personal economic survival than political activism.

You could've got a motel room!

Doesn't the plastic get caught between your teeth?

Ahh! paraphrasing the Lincoln quote: or is it following the W.C Fields quote: