My Zire71 had a LiIon battery that did require charging.

My handwriting went from perfect block lettering (engineer/draftsman) to unintelligible scrawl when I learnt graffiti.

I still try to use graffiti when I try to “type” on my AppleWatch.

If there is already a nationalised system than works, that is fantastic, it shouldn’t be privatised.

Private businesses aren’t charities, but there are benefits that a legitimately free market (not a monopoly, duopoly or cartel) can provide customers. Competition can result in dynamic improvements in value and also in service quality. A nationalised company with no competition can stagnate and be just as destructive as a commercial monopoly.

I do one better and just don’t bother wrapping.

The only way I could be lazier than that is to not bother with gifts at all.

Considering my family members fascination with shopping centres, I may just get them some pre-paid Debit Cards next year…

Nationalisation probably isn’t the option for Insurance. Regulation would be a better option.

Nationalisation of Utilities, like Water, Power, Telco, Rail, Roads, etc does make sense, but Insurance, Banking, Media needs to be private (although government-funded competitors are great at keeping the industries honest).

We have the Transport Accident Commission in Victoria that covers medical for Car accidents, but will seek remuneration from Private Insurance company’s as necessary. They also make very disturbing and visceral traffic safety ads.

This is where you go back to rules 1 and 2 if driving;

1. Don’t try to occupy the same space as someone else.
2. Don’t be a dick. (Sorry; correct rule 2 is to assume that everyone behind the wheel of a car is an idiot (including yourself)).

It could be sponsored false flag attacks or it could be any of a dozen other financiers.

I think you may be correct though. Occams Razor.

Is everyone Celebrating Australia Day/ Commiserating Invasion Day on Sunday or Monday?

I need to get the Lamb Chops for the BBQ, but don’t know exactly when I will be having them for Lunch.

…And the governments Knee-jerk legislation was due to the Telcos not investing enough in redundancy.

When a little bit of a wind can bring down the mobile network, maybe it is time to build more cell towers and make sure they have a stable battery backup.

I had a family member recently purchase an imported Lawn Mower and its Wireless features bought down his local cell network.

IANA Telecommunications Engineer, but making critical Infrastructure secure and redundant should be a high priority.

The Mirboo North outage and the mower issue only effected one of the 3 mobile network providers; starting with O and ending in S.

It is a shame that there are no other premium Android Phones that are just a handheld internet communicator. Samsungs are so full of corruptive “I want to be iPhone” bloatware that they make the Chinese phones look appealing, the Chinese phones are so full of nationalist spyware that they make Linux Phones look like a valid option (even though they are also manufactured by Chinese companies) Xperia is also full of their proprietary software, Nokia is probably the best of a bad bunch.

<sarcasm> Have you tried buying a new Pixel, and throwing your old one into landfill?</sarcasm>

BuT tHe PiXeL iS a PrEmIuM pHoNe, LiKe ThE iPhOnE!

Google will always treat their users as the product, no matter how much you pay for their hardware.

This doesn’t sound like a problem with PT -per se-, it sounds more like a problem with PT infrastructure Melbourne doesn’t have a train to the Airport either (currently) and all attempts are receiving severe political roadblocks.

Melbourne does have regular radial public transport to the CBD during peak times and the potential to have regular public transport during regular times.

Melbourne does need more connective public transport, we do have an adequate bus network, but due to congestion, it is unreliable during peak traffic times. The Suburban Rail Loop (if it gets finished before the next change of government) will be a good start, but more outer suburban lines (Frankston-Dandenong-Ringwood) would also be of benefit.

Just remember, when you are stuck in traffic, you are the traffic that you are stuck in.

It depends a lot on vehicle longevity. An EV, PHEV or even a hybrid all have batteries that degrade within (or more likely just after the expiration of) the warranty period. They batteries are often more than the car is worth. A pure ICE vehicle should keep running for decades after the warranty period has expired, as long as it is maintained to the minimum standard.

Both Toyota and Porsche claim that EVs are a WOFTAM because their vehicles typically have “infinite” lifespans, (For very small values of “infinite” 😉)

Lately, manufacturers are heading away from this mindset because it is much more profitable to sell EVs with engineered obsolescence, forcing punters to buy a new car as soon as the warranty expires.

You are right, but the greater majority of people who are sensitive to fluctuating petrol prices are either PAYE employees and get paid on Wednesday or Thursday or living off government payments, which are also paid on Thursdays.

People who are Salaried are more likely to have a company car or company fuel card, which means that they are not affected by fuel price fluctuations.

Different models of EV wear tyres at different rates, but you are correct that on average, EVs chew through tyres at a much higher rate than comparative ICE vehicles.

Also, while low profile tyres reduce the unsprung weight of a vehicle, they are much more prone to damage than vehicles with relatively smaller rims. While you may save fuel/energy on paper, all it takes is one irreparable puncture to have a much higher environmental impact.

The only EVs that are better for the environment than ICE are shared EVs (like Trains, Trams and Electric Buses) and ultralight EVs (like e-bikes and cargo e-bikes).

Driving a Lithium battery EV full-sized car is just shifting the environmental damage to different locations and cost centres.

I’m sure that this will mean that instead of fuel prices being inflated on the Friday Morning before a long weekend, they will be inflated on the Thursday Morning before a long weekend.

This will mean that that those people who fill up on Payday will be paying the inflated price, even if they are organised and plan ahead.

The reason why enabling 3G would improve coverage is because low radio frequencies do travel further and are less affected by interference.

This is why AM radio travels further than FM radio and why 4WDers used to carry UHF for local communication and AM or HF for long distance emergency communication.

It was Regulatory intervention that caused this problem.

Government: “you need to make sure that your subscribers can access 000” Telcos: “we can only do this if we disconnect 3G” G: “that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever but we will believe you and give you carte blanche to screw over your customers comply with regulatory requirements”

“The world really is wonderful”.