octave

Yeah, a bit more than the normal flaring. Geelong TV tpnSrdoseofuhf9hhim6g46g10h0663885163ch46u15i7uhlcllg9g79g2i · POWER FAULT SPARKS LARGE FLARE AND FIRE RESPONSE AT GEELONG REFINERY A major alarm sounded at the Geelong Refinery today after a brief power disruption triggered a visible, smoky flare and a small grass fire on site. Viva Energy’s internal emergency response team quickly attended the scene and extinguished the fire. The company says the flare, which was noticeable from outside the refinery, is a standard pressure-relief safety device used globally to safely burn off excess materials when systems are disrupted. Fire Rescue Victoria has been notified and is supporting Viva Energy’s response. Officials stress the alarm was intended for on-site personnel only and there is no risk to the surrounding community.

The oil refinery near me is putting on a bit of a show.

That is the most important thing. I guess you will be hoping that this bodes well for your longevity and mental acuity. I can think of nothing worse than your body outliving your brain. I tell my wife that when my brain goes, she "put me to bed with a shovel" (do me in). The trouble is when I lose my keys, she does look at me strangely. Anyway, the positive: we are back from our little trip to the Grampians. We walked a substantial number of KMs. saw some awesome sights and met some lovely people and generally had a most excellent trip. Now it is back to my arduous life of retirement.

Stress tests, both ECG and Echo, are pretty important for me. They are quite safe, with only 1 in 10000 having a cardiac event (not necessarily a heart attack) If you are going to have an event, it's definitely the place to have it. During my stress echo, there was a cardiac nurse who hooked me up to the ECG and took my blood pressure during the treadmill part. There was also an echocardiographer doing the echo and a cardiologist monitoring the ECG all throughout the test. After the treadmill, they rush you to the table where they do an echo to see what your heart is doing under stress. It is better to find this out with a stress echo in a medical environment than during a stressful drive in city traffic. In my case, my heart was looked at 164bpm, and whilst it is far from normal, there is nothing dangerously abnormal at this stage. During my bush walks, which some of you seem to believe are dangerous, I seldom get above 100BPM. Bush walking is extremely good for bone density. Loss of bone density can be a major factor in fractures from falls, etc. Likewise, older folks tend to lose muscle mass. Anyway, I am not sure how this became the "health report" Perhaps this is not the right forum for this kind of post. I was elated by the whole expedition, and I thought people might be interested.

Yes, I agree, fascinating seeing it all working

Jeez the post was supposed to be joyous. Fir the record I about a year ago an stress echo where you have an echo at rest and you go on the treadmill and when you heart gets above a predetermined maximum safe rate they very quickly do another echo to observe how your heart works under stress. This test has a good rate of detecting blockages. Normally I would post a link but I am on my phone in a park after another highly dangerous walk. It feels like some of these posts are kind of condescending. We use an App called All Trails which gives accurate information about trails and their conditions, elevations etc ass well as currant track and weather. We would average about 3 walks a week although the last few days we have been in the Grampians so multiple walks a day Are usual regime includes a daily short exercise session guided by an app. We alternate between cardio, muscle building and flexibility. So we are not naive idiots wandering off until the bush. We are just sitting in a picnic ground after climbing down and up which if course was a little more arduous to see a magnificent waterfall My heart rate hovered between 90 and 100bpm

This thread is supposed to be about celebrating positives. We did not just decide one day to go on a strenuous bush walk. Since retiring 4 years ago we have done about 3 bush walks a week. There are many walks we would not do. Known bush walks are very easy to research in terms of difficulties. As far as age goes one of the greatest threats to health is inactivity. This is a threat both physical health and mental health. Depression is not uncommon amongst the aging. Whilst bush walking we do cross paths with older bush walkers who are older than us and obviously very fit. I do in fact have a cardiac condition. I do yearly stress echocardiograms. The last one whilst noting my abnormalities pronounced me to be much fitter than the average for my age (63). If we're not fit I would be having symptoms, I do not. My cardiologist advises me to keep up the exercise It is important that as we age we don't give up.

Me too, although we do often go on a bush walk that does have a narrow path with a canyon on one side that whilst we don't find it scary we do take great care. Many activities take care and planning and have the potential for bad outcomes. Many of us here have flown little aeroplanes that many would describe as dangerous. By the way in the picture of me near the cliff edge, I am about 2 metres away from the edge. The greater danger on this walk were the steep rocky areas we had to scramble up. Mrs Octave did have her feet slide from under her and landed on her arse and grazing an elbow slightly. You have to live your life though, can't stay at home wrapped in cotton wool.

This is the "nerve test"

I guess you can't fence off every cliff. You just have to rely on common sense which works most of the time When I visited this place in in the early 70s there was much less fencing. In fact there is a narrow finger of rock that stuck out over a 10 metre drop which used to be sign posted as the "Nerve test" Back then people used to walk out to the end and have there photo taken. The sign was removed many years ago I think. These days we are more safety conscious or some may say risk averse.

This is as close as I dare get to the cliff edge.

Just having a leisurely stroll up a mountain.

I wonder if different factions within the one party would become a sort of opposition. This might be similar when party's meet now to determine policy

I think this is extremely important. My concern about AI is, who will reap the benefits? If the increased profits from reducing the workforce only end up in the CEO's pocket, then it will be disastrous. This is being considered with regard to robot technology, with the idea of taxing industrial robots as if they were a paid worker. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_tax. We need to ask questions about how many hours a week we should be working. Throughout history, working hours have decreased, and for most, the standard of living has increased The thing is that the companies using AI need to have customers. If half the population is unemployed, then what will who will Amazon sell to? I think there are legitimate things to worry about; however, there are also significant gains.

I tend towards optimism. The future could be challenging for many; however, throughout history, innovation has killed off some jobs but created others. If I were still in high school, I would be choosing a career that was not so vulnerable to AI. 🇦🇺 Australia: AI “At-Risk vs High-Growth” Occupations (based on JSA & PwC 2025 data) Category Occupation AI Exposure (JSA) 2035 Outlook Why It’s at Risk / Resilient Recommended Upskilling Path ⚠️ At-Risk General Clerk / Office Clerk Very High Declining Highly routine — data entry, scheduling, record-keeping. Learn digital workflow tools, AI supervision, or shift into office management. Receptionist High Flat / Declining Routine information-handling now automated by chatbots & kiosks. Customer-experience, CRM systems, or service management. Bookkeeper / Accounting Clerk High Declining Transactional bookkeeping automatable via AI & accounting software. Cloud finance systems, financial analysis, data analytics. Call-centre Operator High Declining Voice AI and chatbots handling Tier 1 support. Escalation support, customer success, technical training. Data Entry Operator Very High Declining Fully automatable — no interpretation needed. Move into data quality assurance, analytics support, or automation oversight. Retail Cashier / Checkout Operator High Declining Self-checkouts and AI-based payment systems. Retail operations, logistics, customer service. Paralegal / Legal Clerk Medium-High Declining AI can draft, summarise, and search legal documents. Legal technology, compliance, AI-assisted legal tools. Telemarketer / Sales Rep (Outbound) High Declining Generative AI automates email and phone outreach. Digital marketing, account management, CRM analytics. Junior Programmer / Coder Medium-High Flat AI code assistants reduce entry-level demand. Software architecture, cybersecurity, prompt engineering. Warehouse Clerk / Inventory Officer Medium-High Flat Automated scanning & robotics streamline logistics. Supply chain analytics, automation maintenance, safety systems. Category Occupation AI Exposure (JSA) 2035 Outlook Why It’s at Risk / Resilient Recommended Upskilling Path 🌱 High-Growth / Resilient Registered Nurse / Midwife Low Strong Growth Requires empathy, clinical judgement, and physical presence. Clinical tech, patient data literacy, telehealth. Aged Care Worker / Personal Carer Low Strong Growth Human contact & manual support — low automation potential. Digital recordkeeping, health safety, coordination. Teacher / Education Professional Low-Medium Growth AI assists, but human guidance remains essential. EdTech tools, AI tutoring systems, curriculum design. Construction Labourer / Tradesperson Low Strong Growth Manual, outdoor, and safety-critical tasks. Robotics operation, site automation safety, project management. Cleaner / Laundry Worker Low Growth Physical/manual, not cost-effective to automate widely. Facility management, equipment maintenance. Chef / Cook Low Growth Creative, sensory, and hands-on role. Food innovation, sustainability, automation oversight. Engineer (Civil / Electrical / Mechanical) Medium Strong Growth Design work augmented, not replaced, by AI. Simulation software, AI-aided design, systems integration. Data Analyst / Scientist Medium Strong Growth AI increases productivity but expands demand for interpretation. Machine learning, ethics, visualisation. Cybersecurity Specialist Low-Medium Strong Growth Growing AI risk landscape drives demand. AI-driven threat detection, security automation. Hospitality Worker (Waitstaff / Concierge) Low Strong Growth Customer-facing, interpersonal, and dynamic. Hospitality management, digital booking systems, service design.

EV ranges have increased as well as the charging speed and availability. Toyota has developed an SSB (solid state battery) with a range of 1000km and an extremely short charging time. These batteries already exist and should be on the market soon. What is still to be done is to perfect mass manufacture at a reasonable price. They say the first wave will only be in premium cars, but like with previous innovations, it will work its way down to cheaper cars. 1000k and a 10-minute recharge time will surely bury range anxiety. Apart from that, a lot of range anxiety is based on old thinking,"How far can I go between refuels?" instead of How easily can I top it up?" Unless you can not charge at home, "refuelling" an EV is much more convenient than refuelling with petrol.

I think there are crops suited to the shade of solar panels. Can crops grow better under solar panels? Here’s all you need to know about ‘agrivoltaic farming’ How shading crops with solar panels can improve farming, lower food costs and reduce emissions

We are. Most of the solar in the system is rooftop 1.3Gw (11.3 per cent of TOTAL energy generation as opposed to only 319Mw of large scale solar. I have posted this before but in the city I grew up in, the local shopping centre is full of solar on the roof and in the car park and this IS quite common at many shopping centres now. When it comes to rural solar farms, the detractors would like to have you believe that farmers are being tossed off their land or that they are being forced to host solar farms. Farmers will farm whatever they find is profitable. Let's face it, farming is a tough business. If a farmer finds cattle profitable, then that is what they are likely to farm. If a farmer needs or wants to farm energy, then that is their prerogative. Many smart farmers are realising that they can earn a better living by multiple use of their land (agrovoltaics)

I think the life span of EV batteries is proving to be better than expected. This is not just anecdotal And research from fleet management technology Geotab suggests EV batteries on the market today could last 20 years or more. That report found that newer EVs degrade by about 1.8 per cent per year, a significant drop from the 2.3 per cent degradation rate seen in 2019. Meanwhile, a study published in Nature Energy in January this year found that in the UK, EVs were achieving comparable lifespans to ICE vehicles, even under more intensive use. EV batteries may last 40 pct longer than previously thought, new study shows We have debated this before. There are pros but considerable cons to battery swap. The short times quoted at existing battery swap stations sound good, but you have to consider the relatively small number of vehicles using them. Consider these charging centres. Insights About FAQ For business The Largest EV Charging Hubs In the World I would seem a little problematic to replace these purely with battery swap without creating queues and logistical problems. On a trip with my son in NZ in his Tesla, we made 3 charging stops. All of these stops were to just top up whilst having coffee It's a piss stop. The first one was about 40 minutes in the car park of a supermarket, where we picked up some supplies and had a coffee. The other stops were no more than 10 minutes. With the battery swap system, I guess you would have to decide on the optimal swapping point. There would be no point in swapping a battery that still had substantial range. Also, on the particular trip, it would be hard to imagine battery swap facilities in the backblocks of NZ, but plenty of charging centres. Another issue is that my son's Tesla is charged solely from his solar system (except on long trips) Why on earth would he want to go to a battery swap service and pay instead of using his own clean power? In the end, the market will decide. Given that battery swap vehicles can also be charged by conventional means, people will do what is cheapest and most convenient.

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Even if you have a great tenant, it is a little unrealistic not to increase the rent. Every year, council rates increase, as well as insurance costs. A landlord also has to have enough money put aside for future repairs. Modest rent increases in line with increased costs and inflation are reasonable and necessary.

Is the end nigh? Possibly, the video would suggest that the end of the cycle may be nigh, but like the metaphorical seasons after winter comes spring so hang in there. I did do a bit of reading about Kondratiev. The consensus seems to be that his "cycle" is more useful as a metaphor rather than a predictor of timing. An article I read suggests that there is a measure of fitting the timing of events into the theory. I could be wrong but I am thinking that the video did not mention the 1987 stock market crash. The last part of the video is a little more optimistic in that it suggests how you can survive and thrive during a crash. The theory itself does suggest an inevitability to these cycles. The best an individual can do is be prepared.

According to the Opal site, this happens after 5 years of non-use. In any case, registering your card would prevent this. My Myki card is on my phone and connected to an account. When the balance falls below $10, it is automatically topped up. I don't even have to think about it

I am railing: Sir Rod Stewart reveals his epic model railway city