octave

I wonder if an ideal scenario might be for areas like school zones, where the speed restrictions only apply during certain hours.

Here is another method of cleaning panels by drone, but this time the drone has a connected hose.

I think the drop is quite small and probably no more hazardous than hitting a normal speed bump at high speed. Apparently, they are used in Sweden, with one of the benefits being that they are not triggered by emergency vehicles, which I guess is a great benefit. All in all, though, I think it's probably too expensive to install and maintain. Apparently, they are being used overseas. https://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/file/2037/annex-b-actihump-leaflet

The "negative speed bump" idea may be a little overly complex, as it relies on radar. I guess if the radar fails, it stops working.

Well, it seems such a thing does exist. The good thing about it is that it only deploys for the vehicles that are speeding. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17TjHhm1De/

In no way would I try to convince you to buy an EV, but facts do matter. In terms of hitting a roo I would rather hit one in this vehicle, which has nothing critical to get damaged. I would rather hit a roo in this and probably be able to keep driving than a typical IC car. As far as cost goes, the price of EVs is falling. In fact already more economical if you consider the lifetime cost (maintenance and fuel) As far as batteries falling out, I don't really think that is a thing? As far as catching fire goes, the statistics show that IC fires are more common than EV fires. As battery chemistries change, EV fires will become almost nonexistent. Already, there are many cars on the market with LFP that have an even better fire history. Like it or not, EVs are here to stay and are only getting better year by year. Yeah, I look back at my first car, a 1970 Ford Cortina with rose coloured glasses. A carburettor that needed to be constantly adjusted, also the distributor gap. Later, I got a car with fuel injection, and then later airbags, etc., technology has never stood still.

Not sure why it being an EV makes any difference.

For those who find the article too long to read, here is a short AI summary Very Short Summary (Bullet Points) Recent revelations—including documents from Epstein’s estate—show deeper ties between Epstein and powerful political figures such as Lord Peter Mandelson. A U.S. bill to release the Department of Justice’s Epstein files is unlikely to pass due to political obstruction. The article argues that enough public evidence already exists to understand Epstein’s operations without the files. Epstein’s Network (Transnational Overview) UK: Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell, had suspected Soviet intelligence ties and may have used social events for blackmail. Ghislaine Maxwell may have procured girls even in the 1980s. Canada: Epstein allegedly became involved with sex-trafficking circles in Montreal in the early 1970s. Europe: Epstein was mentored by people in arms-trafficking circles, gaining access to elites and criminals. France: Jean-Luc Brunel, a modelling agent and serial rapist, collaborated closely with Epstein and ran agencies used for trafficking. USA: Epstein used Les Wexner’s companies as a front to recruit victims. Mike Jeffries (Abercrombie) and Donald Trump are described as part of overlapping networks using modelling fronts to access young women. Trump’s modelling agency was widely viewed as linked to trafficking. Russia: Epstein interacted with Russian intelligence (FSB) via officer Sergei Belyakov. He had relationships with women with intelligence backgrounds. He engaged in blackmail involving Bill Gates and a Russian woman. The St Petersburg Economic Forum is portrayed as a centre for prostitution and kompromat gathering. Main Conclusion Epstein’s network was global, involving sex trafficking, organised crime, financial fraud, and espionage with substantial Russian links. The U.S. government cannot be relied upon to fully investigate it—particularly under political figures with ties to these networks. Europe should take a larger role, as the case reflects broader threats to Western democracy from illiberal leaders aligned with Russia.

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.