Old Koreelah

11 hours ago, onetrack said:

However, with closely spaced axles, as in tandems and tri's, the intersection of the triangle load areas at depth, where they overlap, is a load concentration area at depth in the pavement, and this is what destroys roads, overloading of the lower part of the road structure, the bottom of the road base material...

Roman roads seem to have been engineered to last- perhaps because they used solid rocks closely packed together. Inca roads did as well.

Modern roads, even though subjected to massively more loads, are based on compacted fill. Short-term cost cutting often means that fill is unsuitable, not packed down properly, or the tar seal is too thin.

Tomorrow I hope to buy an old tractor and grader to fix our driveway; that could be an interesting learning experience.

1 hour ago, spenaroo said:

…its actually heavier then my dual cab ute, at over 1900kg.
around 500kg heavier then the conventional offerings

imagine what a large electric car would weigh.
cant help but wonder how the roads will hold up to the higher weight and torque of these when they are widespread

Interesting. On very hot days when tar is near molden, I bet the massive acceleration of a superbike could do more damage than a heavy truck.

47 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

Maybe we should have an aptitude test prior to issuing the Permit To Breed.

Can’t find it now, but I saw a suggestion, probably from a feminist:

At puberty, every boy should have a compulsory vasectomy and it will only be surgically reversed when a female agrees in writing to bear his children.

We are required to do intensive training before operating a car, plane, etc.

Any damned fool is allowed to produce and raise kids.

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

…We'd still be driving overweight gas-guzzlers with no safety features, if the manufacturers were left to their own self-interest aims. 

Spot on, OT.

It’s said that when asked about the ever-increasing size of his company’s cars, Henry Ford replied: Small cars make small profits!

Bastard Stopped Again!

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

It's one of the driest continents,  and we already use desal plants and have scorching temperatures.  Nev

You and I know the limitations of this land, but in many places the image is quite different. 

Humans have always been a migratory species. Waves of people reached almost every habitable bit of land long ago.

I fear the greatest migration of all has just begun, as poor people are squeezed out of home by natural disasters, wars and rising seas. Our rich, safe, empty continent will be a favoured destination. How do we respond?

2 hours ago, facthunter said:

God made the Universe in 6 days and on the seventh, HE rested.  Nev

No wonder- he must have been exhausted!

10 hours ago, onetrack said:

…At the very least, the removal of Aboriginal children from their families was done with the well-intentioned aim of trying to ensure they didn't end up aimless, drunken deadbeats, like their parents.

OT I’ll concede this is a valid point, but just a distraction from the issue.

Australia has a long and frustratingly bad history of public opinion being manipulated by the big end of town- much of it foreign-controlled. They’ll do anything to protect their tax-free gravy train exploiting our natural resources. They’ve always found it easy to whip up emotions about Aboriginal issues. This referendum debate has sure exposed some unsaviory aspects of our national culture. I’ve been apalled at some comments by people I know and respected; they are clearly parroting what they get from Right-wing shock jocks and the Daily Terrorgraph. There is still a disturbing remnant of the attitudes of our recent ancestors, who committed heinous crimes against the natives- or at least did nothing to protect them.

Looking back into Australia’s history we see so many cases where we were clearly lied to by the media or government. We never learn.
 

In a few weeks the vote will be taken and the hate campaign will be over…until the next time we try to reform our society. 

58 minutes ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Misinformation? I reckon the "yes " side has come up with a lot of that.

Their case has been fact-checked.

58 minutes ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Like how we should be ashamed of the "stolen generation".I never even heard about the stolen generation until recent years…

Bruce much of the ugly truth was kept from us, but our relatively priviledged lifestyle depended to some extent upon it. Even as a spotty youth, I saw it happen. Gentle old black folk would give up their place in the queue if a white person- even a kid- came in.

My cousins’ Granny spoke with the accent cultivated in the Cootamundra Girls Home, where stolen indig. girls were re-educated to become dutiful servants and wives for white fellas.

Putin and his diminishing circle of “friends” have one thing in common: they despise and fear western influence, because it threatens their unlimited power to control and exploit the poor, ignorant bastards inside their empires. Time for the democratic world to stop drip-feeding support to the front line.

As we sit by watching from afar, young people are being maimed in minefields, defending Europe and the rest of us from totalitarian dictators.

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Today is the first day of the Year 5784 for those of the Hebrew persuasion.

More info please; 5784 years since what happened?

On 15/9/2023 at 8:19 AM, old man emu said:

I've got a roll of vinyl floor covering to put down in the kitchen (when I get that far with the reno)…

OME we covered all our floors with vinyl about twenty years ago. We regret it now, after a couple of falls caused by a few drops of water on the floor. You might not see a spill, but it makes vinyl lethally slippery.

Our little kid once wrote a letter to my mum, adressed Nanny XXXXX, (Town).

It was delivered a couple of days later.

5 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

Yes, Agree with nomadpete. It must be hard sometimes to share stuff like that, particularly on a forum where most of us have never met. But sharing these things brings back perspective and balance. 

Thanks fellas for your thoughts. Most people never talk about their deepest hurts- but carrying it in silence can do untold damage to their lives. Most of us don’t know what to say to people who have lost someone; just remembering is often a comfort, rather than avoiding the issue. 

The kids we lost would have been nearly forty now. We still remember their birthdays and some people close to us do as well. A mother never forgets the loss, but we’ve been incredibly lucky to have one survive and thrive, then give us three grandies. Heaps of people never get to enjoy that.

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

I've managed to survive for 74 years with no middle name. My parents weren't prepared enough to provide a middle name, so I never got one.

Just yesterday I discovered the middle name of a teenager to whom we are Godparents.

His parents were so upset when our son was stillborn that they used his name for their newborn.
Our stillborn daughter’s name lives on in another friend’s kid. Very thoughtful people!

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

… I've found at least 14 people in my State with my name.

I know a girl who often jets off overseas and has mobs of trouble at customs; an exact namesake of hers, of a similar age, is a convicted drug trafficker!

Given that the No case is telling verifiable fibs and trying to scare people about non-existant threats, why would anyone vote against this overdue reform? Sensible, safe, well-run countries like Finland, Norway and New Zealand have given their Indig people a voice (or far more) and the sky didn’t fall.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/voices-around-the-world-indigenous-representation-in-other-countries-20230830-p5e0r4.html

OME I appreciate the necessity of the full name on a Crim check, but my main beef is banks and every other insitution also which insist I use my middle name, even when I challenge them to find anyone else on the planet with my name.

Instead of using a bit of common sense, they are just following orders (the Nuremburg Defence).

9 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

My ancestors (about 4 generations ago) had farmland in North Qld and they happily welcomed the local nomadic indigenous   to come every year and party in their traditional style.

There are stories of both sides. It is unbalanced to cherrypick the negative stories. Nobody seems to count the positive stories.

There are plenty of positive stories, but no enough make it to the media- bad news sells more papers!
I know farmers who protect ancient occupation sites, who get along well with old indig people. 

Applied science has it’s place, but pure research got us to where we are today. It was usually done by dogged individuals with boundless curiosity, sometimes supported by wealthy benefactor or a government grant.

Today, the bean-counters are in control. They want everything documented, often to a rediculous degree and are stiffling any lateral insights. One example: yesterday I finally got around to updating my Working With Children Check. Filled in all the documentation online and took it to the Registry with all my ID. As I don’t like using my middle name, I’d left it off the form. But no, a queue of people had to wait while my whole application was redone to include the middle name, a totally unnecessary excercise, because my name is already unique; nobody else on the planet uses that name!