Comments by "Helmuth Schultes" (@helmuthschultes9243) on "IWrocker"
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Over use of A/C and lack of dual flush toilets stand out to me.
Dual flush saves massive quantities of potable water, excluding modern systems using recycled water for flushing and garden use. There are many places where sufficient good quality water is critically short for population. Do not waste good quality pure water for flushing in unnecessary volume. Also saves volume into sewage works and evaporation ponds or waste outflow to lakes, rivers and/or ocean.
One common problem of A/C is wasteful use and wasteful temperature settings. Use of entire house conditioned and that effectively 24hrs a day, even while unoccupied is extremely wasteful. Keep the conditioning to used areas only. If no one is home keep it off. A typical house, which normally is also insulated can be left many hours and minimal temperature change happens, quickly recovered in minutes after reactivation. Keep the A/C on a timer, so off while all are at work, school, at sport etc. All can be fine when switched on before arriving home. The temperatures should track outdoors conditions. Why in hell, set 15 to 16 degC, say around 60°F in summer, so if entering from outside in light clothing have such cold conditions that one needs to put on a sweater of jacket, to stop shivering. Then in winter dial up 23 to 26°C, upper 70°F, so entering from outside in warmer clothing, needing to strip down almost to the thermal underwear, to keep from sweating like in a sauna. We had the problem in college, where library, lecture rooms and study rooms were such skew conditions, so before seating in these places, you either had to put on or strip off clothes, to keep from chivering or sweating/dozing off while inactive for some time, yet while around campus both indoors and outdoors different clthing was needed for comfort.
Save energy, do the opposite, set cold values in winter, so the clothes, short of thick jackets are right indoors no need to strip off, and set the warmer values while outdoors is hot, over 30°C, mid 90s°F upwatds, in the clothes worn outside the temperature inside is then just nicely cool, but not so cold that warmer clothes are needed. Now given these low and high settings are so right, whichever are used, why bother runnong the A/C at all while outdoor temperatures are in that range. The human body is quite capable in that range with moderate clothes worn. Also seems most US homes have a refriggeration type A/C and seperate furnace for heating. Why so few reverse cycle A/C systems, that pump heat in either direction? In cooling mode it takes heat inside, sheds it outside, much as a refrigerating sytem, but in heating chills outside air, and sheds heat indoors. In effect using outside conditions to dump or draw energy needed for cooling or heating respectively. Power use is a fraction of the two classic A/C and furnace systems. For very cold conditions the classic heater for living area is fine, be it wood, gas or electric.
Only do cooling and heating of actual occupied space not all the house. I for instance have no A/C at all, and summer regularly is 30 to 40°C , 90 to 105°F or higher a few times, a fan is used, window shutters keep much heat out during the day, and free air passage over night cools the interior well. Yes the nights do at times stick in above 30°C, and a fan is nice but sleeping in very light cotton night gear without any blankets or sheets cover is fine. Winter a small electric fan heater is fine in living area, and a good doona or blanket still is fine for sleeping, even with near 0°C, 32°F, and extra blanket if colder. The energy use is a fraction of that of people cooling and heating in extreme. Wearing clothing appropriate to climate is best. Do not wear summer beach gear indoors for winter outside and keep to light airy clothing in summer.
Waste disposal units, also not good environmentally, destroy the recycle by compost possibility, amd the US hanit of oversized food packages, th iui d over sized meals particularly high waste of foods, well suited to composting, results. The ground up food vegetanle matyer compromises the bacteroal breakdown cycles of sewage plants leaving higher solids settled and needing clearing far more frequently.
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I got into work with BOSCH in 1977, and in 1979 I visited Bosch Development near Stuttgart. It was here riding the bus to work where I first saw UNIMOG vehicles around most farms and some in other roles including village Fire Brigade. Being into 4WD since late 1960s I was enthused by a versatile 4x4 vehicle with lots of capabilities. As it turned out there were a couple of Unimogs at work used for injection and electronic ignition development, so I had chance to get into one for a close look oh the drool over its features. Sadly at the time only dreams.
At start of 1980s I had to undertake training for injection system application work. During a 5 month working stint I got another chance for closeup Unimog experience. It almost happened, I had opportunity to buy a second hand, development Unimog for a mere $10,000, which was way less than a new price but the vehicle was low mileage around 16,000km from memory, and a mere two years old it was superseded by design changes but matched normal sold types. Sadly I procrastinated so it was sold to another engineer whose family had a small farm.
As it turned out, I was very fortunate, the Unimog had never been built in Right Hand drive version, which I needed for Australia. As Left Hand Drive model I could not have driven much or long term in Australia except under limited special permit. As no parts ever were designed to allow Right Hand version , a conversion using standard parts was impossible, and custom rebuild virtually impossible or at least SUPER expensive. From memory three Unimogs were imported for a deep expedition to central Australia to search for the 'mythical' lost Lasseter's Gold Reef. These had a two year permit for the expedition.
Not until Australian Army contracted for Mercedes to supply Right Hand Drive vehicles for the army did a redesigned version become available. From memory near end 1980s. To add to the prior 6WD army landrovers used prior to getting these bigger tougher Unimogs.
I had opportunity on one summer Red Cross Canoe marathon event to use my Nissan Patrol with Warn Electric winch to unbogg an Army Unimog on a sandy river bank flat. UNIMOG bogged? Yes bogged, which realistically is virtually IMPOSSIBLE. It took a less than brilliant young army driver to actually bury one in loose sand. Not the only vehicle getting bogged that day I would have winched and towed over fifteen vehicles out including a tow truck that someone called saying he did not think I could help, so I got him and the tow truck out.
Anyhow this young army driver first tried only two wheel drive getting rear two wheels dug in. Then in 4WD rather than slow low range gears to crawl free left it in high range and second or even third gear reving engine hard, dropped the clutch spinning all four wheels, and progressively on several such spinning efforts dug rear in deeper and front now also dug in. He argued with fellow army guys, that that was the way to get out, not slow low gear crawl. By the time his senior order him out of the truck even slow crawl did not help just churning loose sand now up to wheel gear hubs in sand. Now those wheels are BIG , must be over 1m outer diameter so the wheels would have been over 1/2m dug in. I used my winch and gave needed pull as the new driver of Unimog slowly rolled his wheels and the Unimog was free in under a minute after hooking up. It then managed to crawl off the sand slowly. Still a very impressive vehicle which driven properly can do more than most vehicles of its size.
While ex Army Unimogs have become available, and far cheaper than new price, which is still daunting for us normal humans the continued cost of maintenance and spares remains painful. So likely never to own one. It is also large as far as parking space in suburban home yards or garage (height as well as width).
A bit more feasible is a vehicle sort of in Unimog style, still in upper cost range, that is getting good reviews and kind of popular, is a IVECO model that us mere mortals could afford. It also has massive capability beyond the typical 4x4 and small to medium pickup trucks. It is worth following up, sorry Right now can not even state the model name.. just it is by IVECO.
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A month and a half, covering 13,600km of countless parks, gorges, waterfalls, rivers, beaches, reefs, rain forest, gem diggings from Victoria to Cooktown North Queensland seems to vanish as if it is a long weekend only. Time past, long before you realise, and sad to rejoin daily city grind.
Similar 2 months to Kakadu Northern Territory and to Broome Western Australia, visiting the many sites, parks, wonders galore, too many to do all possible places, as that needs years.
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Tour only a few food/ drink factories.
On school tour in Tasmania, toured the Cadbury Chocolate factory in Hobart, yummy chocolate sampling too.
in Melbourne toured the Coca Cola factory all these above in distant 1960s.
On a Queensland holiday toured the Bundaberg Rum factory.
Not so desirable, and never of interest to me as I am a STRICT NON SMOKER, had a tour of Philip Morris Cigratte factory in Melbourne, and on another VIC state school tour visited farms in remote country areas farms producing Tabaco, Drying and slicing. Couple of school boys got in trouble stealing some raw dried tabaco leaves, and chewed them. They got so sick...next day they were out of shape, urgent running regularly.
Have visited a number of Australian Wineries and vinyards, Vic and SA, some with basic tour of production areas but mostly only the cellar door tasting and sales areas.
Also visited Hops growing farm on that Vic school tour, Hops supply for use in beer brewing. But did not join another school tour visiting Carlton & United Brewery, but have visited several local breweries in Germany and several Wine cellars and vinyards in Germany.😊
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Basically the industry became dependant on Gov handouts, and demanded more and more tax payrr suppport. When finally told NO, NO MORE PUBLIC SUPPORT. The foreign headquarters just pulled out any future, and one by one all announced shutting down
Just Ford and Toyota keep some engineering. Holden have even sold their extensive Lang Lang Proving ground, engine plant, engineerong offices in Melbourne gone, old vehicle plant in outer east Melbourne was long shut, having gone totally to north of Adelaide at a town established largely around the Holden vehocle plant at Elizabeth. That was shut in the recent death of Aust car industry. Toyota just making large investment snd ecpansion plans fell on line to GM and Ford and also effectively pulled out. Nissan and Mitsubishi had already closed previously. Nissan had a casting plant established that for some time still made engine castings and such, but all raw castings sent to Japan for processing and machining. The Nissan plant had grown out of the original VW factory, that converted to assembly of three types, Volvo, Nissan anf Renault (from memory) to become totally Nissan. Its facilities became large warehouse/truck load distribution, engine dynes taken over by motor sport, and part of property became Holden Special Vehicles. Misubishi plant, the original Chrysler plant was shutdown some time ago.
Ford continues design and development for Ford world models, using their You Yangs Proving Ground near Geelong and engineering staff in Geelong. Original engine plant and engineering offices closed down. Ford Broadmeadows car plant is no more. Most recently the new world pickup truck model locally engineered was released.
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I do not worry at less than 2ft deep and really only get worried nearing 3ft deep, in my Toyota Landcruiser and I DO NOT HAVE A SNORKEL INTAKE that is very common here in Australia for 4x4 serious users.
I have done chest deep creek crossings, with wrapping the hood/front area entirely in a canvas tarp. Water up to base of windscreen for over 50m, 150ft.
Also used my Nissan GQ Patrol to tiwn stuck cars out of a deep flooded road, with the sedan like a Holden Commodore, so not a small comoact, but full size family car, with water up to door handle. I drove in idled my Diesel Patrol while attaching a tow rope, water running into the floor area of my 4x4, then towing the car to higher dryer ground/road area. Did six cars before I was forced to leave by Police arriving, "not my job to rescue fools" was the police attitude.
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An experience in food fraud I have seen, was a number of years ago at a large central city market in Melbourne Australia. This is a very popular market for various goods, but my main purpose was to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish/seafood. My time to visit this market was Saturdays and combined with other shopping in the Central business area. As a result my visit for fresh market goods/produce was often delayed later In the day, as the market closed mid afternoon for meat, seafood, vegetables and fruit. As a result some traders were also discounting/special deals to clear stock before closing for the day. Fruit at times for example a box of mandarines/oranges/cherries, etc for a few dollars rather than a dollar per kg.
The Seafod reduced as low as half earlier prices, though equally that late what you really wanted already sold out. That however is a product not normally well suited to return into cold storage, as spoiling too easily so high priority to sell out stock if at all possible, refreezing is not advisable on seafood.
The meat stalls also offer great discounts especially on large bulk hunks of beef, pork, lamb , goat. A lot of time you could get say a beef rump of 5 to 10kg for 2/3rd earlier price, though some with only 10% to 20% reduction.
Same on pork or lamb. Chickens half price, other items I bought were for my dog feeding like ox tongue or heart, liver and similar.
It was a surprise to see the cheating clearly on display as a meat stall was observed for that discounted sale time, pushing a large hollow needle into a big hunk of beef, while pumping water into the meat. Thereby pushing the total meat mass up. Thereby increasing the final price by having higher, significant higher, weight due to contained water. So with reduced price per kg, they merchant quite possibly still received same profit, or feasibly higher profit on the meat. Further what evidence is there that the meat sold was not so treated even at normal price times, and was just being topped up. Do we the customer notice the extra red leakage from that meat. Realistically are sold meat is hung for some time prior to sale at retail, there should be no blood dripping from any meat , no significant liquid from the hung meat anymore. How often have had meat that flows in juices when unpacked? Does it not suggest boosted weight by water loading the meat, that should be moist but not dripping.
Chickens that unpacked and up ended run significant juices out, along with excess internal junk that should not remain on a cleaned plucked item?
How about cut steaks, displayed in rich red form on a display tray, often falsely reddened by red light tubes added to the display cabinet lighting. But on purchase they pull and pack your purchase from a rear not so clearly visible tray at rear closer to the server. That when unpacked at home have a more brown colour than the rich red nice meat that you thought to be buying?
Bought packed fruits at a supermarket and on unpacking several internal to package items being severely bruised or even mouldy/rotting?
Boughtseveral identical items, even checking "best before date" of items on the shelf,and taking say half dozen, not looking each specific item, at home finding that two or three are actually weeks past due date? Here shops are required to not sell beyond due date or sell clearly marked down price with clear expiry highlighted. Though shops generally do not sell such just trash it. Rarely donate to charity food services. Some things like chocolate, lollies, cookies, canned/jars might be on special sale. Milk is discounted by the due date though I find that is good for many days past due date, with one exception a container some shopper dumped around the store so not kept cool all the time, but returned to chilled display. I had one a few months back that opened two days before expiry date was going off by taste. It was drained down the waste.
Honey is one that I find us often faked by added sugar. Pure honey by my experience remains quite liquid at normal indoor temperatures, not low like below freezing, but many honey containers after a a month or two are are solidifying and crystallising . Yes you can reliquify in warm water, but it is indicative of sugar loading by my experience. Last year I bought some special honey, "Leatherwood" honey, meaning harvested in an area with mainly 'Leartherwood' Eucaluptus tree blossoms, a Australian tree variety in southern and Tasmania areas, for bees to gather the nectar. It sells for a premium price due the excellent distinct flavour . However I temporary honey selling merchant stand at my local shopping centre, had it at good price, so I bought three small buckets about 1/2 litre each. Believed it genuine pure honey as many small private bee keeping people do so sometimes sell their annual product like that. Well not so good as less than a month later starting merely two weeks after purchase the honey was solidifying. I would suggest it was massively loaded by cane sugar, which is readily and cheaply available in Australia from huge cane harvests in Queensland.
It is sadly a "Buyer beware" situation, that mostly the consumer has no real chance to avoid much food fraud.
In Australia and New Zealand we have for years had severe problems with baby formula. NOT DUE TO BAD QUALITY QUITE THE OPPOSITE! China has had a series of scandals on baby formula, with various serious adulteration and contamination problems. Intentional mixing in Melanine powder, that actually caused several baby deaths and ultimate jailing and from memory even some executions of the business operators. Melanine of course is used to manufacture kitchen goods like plates, bowls and cups, a form of synthetic plastic to loosely describe it.
Our stores were being stripped of available baby formula produce, leaving store shelves empty and mothers unable to locally buy sufficient to feed their young children. The available deliveries from manufacturer to stores and store sales stock were being hoarded by people, mostly Chinese but anyone else too, buying all they could get repacking and shipping it to China to relatives and greedy traders for huge profits. The local baby formula very much in demand in China, by parents for their babies distrusting local Chinese products. Selling for up to 10 times the Australian, NZ retail value, there was huge profit. Stores and supermarkets took to restricting number of items a person could buy, say two per shopping trip and limiting shelf stock quantity put out more periodically only, to make waiting times for hoarders a difficulty. Well these hoarders were now arranging teams of people who one after another bought the limit, left to other nearby stores/supermarkets and/or returned to the same store repeatedly or later times of the same day thereby purchasing dozens to hundreds of containers per day. Whole shipments, semi-trailer loads were redirected to be packed to large containers to be trans shipped. Manufacturers were increasing production to capacity levels and still the shortages continued. Australia Postal operations were being over taxed by the number of parcels with baby formula being mailed to China. Nothing illegal so could not be stopped by any legal proceedings. Manufacturers started being careful about abnormal size orders from previous unknown and non shop/supermarket ordering systems, but again nothing to stop orders, just slow handling of clearly trans shipping based orders. One city shop was detected ordering several hundred times the past several years sale volumes, and observed moving delivered stock from one truck straight to another. They were put on limited delivery schedule but nothing could be done to refuse supply. Fortunately the critical times have eased, increased volume of manufacture direct export to China has made sufficient stock for local people secured needs.
Still observed by me, are 'Asians' pushing three or four supermarket trolleys full of several brands of baby formula to the checkout. So I assume there is still profiteering or direct family supply shipping to China today.
A case of good quality product highly in demand in a place with unsatisfactory, unsafe equivalent goods.
Food safety organisations are left without sufficient powers to really assure us the consumer safety from food fraudsters. Often the entire chain of supply deny guilt in detected cases, and getting to catch the crooks with sufficient evidence after detection is hard. All seem to point at others, all covering up their own practices really quickly.
We the consumer are left the suckers in this.
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If driving the larger US pickups, you would find many 4WD destinations becomes difficult as the tracks tend to be best suited to vehicles more to say Toyota Landcruiser, and Hilux types, or the very many other 4WD vehicles, Nissan, Mazda, Isuzu, VW, Landrover, ,Mercedes, Ford, Suzuki, GM, etc
The wider and longer US pickup trucks get very tight and cumbersome. Yes many places they are fine, and many trails are also traversed by firefighting light trucks, but even these tend to be narrower. A HUMMER is impossible in many places as it is too wide, in sme places height is also an issue.
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Just another note,
The "Loose Change Menu" is significantly different loose change situation.
In Australia $1 and $2 are coins, and the $2 is physically smaller than all but 5c coin.
By comparison USA coins are all under $1, and $1 and up are all notes. With dimes, quarters and other smaller coins if any exist making such prices would require a significant number of coins.
To get $8.95 using Australian coins is not all that many. At probably minum put 4 x $2 and 1x $1, for only 5 coins up and get 5c change. Other may be 4x $2, 1x 50c, 2x 20c and a 5c, also only 8 coins. Other mixes also possible. Usually the 5c coins are a pain accumulating as change but often not spent for next purchases so often many endup in the loose change.
I a few months back cashed in accumulated coins from my jeans small front pocket, that was bulging full. I got over $57 with most from $2 and $1 coins, but also several dollars of 50c. Even 5c had over $2 so over 40 of those.
A significant weight reduction in my jeans, that actually had a trend to slide down if the belt was too loose, contributed by the mass of coins
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@timjohnun4297 I must agree, several test cars were destroyed by Japanese drivers, and some of my electronic test equipment damaged after a Japanese driver tried passing a car and trailer on a long left bend, almost having a head on crash with Telstra repair van, the Japanese driver panicked, spun 720 degrees, and went backwards of the road embankment on opposite road side taking down wo white roadside markers and ripping one rear tyre off its rim. The Nissan company banned their Japanese visitors driving any test cars and most company fleet cars, due to repeated write-off accidents. The Japanese do not cope with long distance driving, totally loosing concentration over extended distance and time driving.
Another interesting observation also for Korean and Chinese is that to hold constant speed they seem incapable of holding the gas pedal at needed state to go at desired speed. Rather they appear to modulate the pedal on/off, that on more powerful engines generates a gentle to bad surging and rocking. That on more than one trip gave passengers travel sickness, more than one ended up vomiting and refusing to ride in any car driven by the asian driver. Not so bad on under powered Auto transmission, but on larger 6 cyl or worse V8 cars no difference mA ual or auto gears.
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Bread is an interesting case. I have on long range travel purchased multigrain bread at little country bakeries, that like most multigrain bread lasts very long time. It was not stored in other than ambient in a plastic storage box with tins , other dry products, biscuits, and other snack items. Typical was two weeks before signs of any mould. Unlike white 'junk' bread that is spoiled in days, multigrain lasts longer than product based on over refined flour like in white bread.
In one case we finished a loaf at home two weeks after getting home to Melbourne Victoria, and the bread was purchased near Cairns Queensland at least a week before reaching home.
Supermarket bread is pre baked, and shipped frozen, apparently made upto and over a month before thawing and sale. Even the fresh baked loaves,are baked from dough manufactured and frozen for upto months ahead. Just thawed and baked at the shop. White bread appears, I avoid it anyway, that seems off if over a day or two from purchase, even multigrain bread seems off within a week and a few days, nothing like 3 weeks farm fresh bread.
Flavour of the country small bakery is generally far better too than mass produced city breads.
Most general supplied breads available in many countries like USA, Australia and others, would have no chance in most of Europe. Nobody would accept bread of no texture, lousy terrible soft crusts. Bread rolls are even more so, crisp outer crusts,baked in the night, fresh baked and warm for breakfast is the only way. Typical no substance,airy, burger buns are useless.
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Clearly best to avoid such situation, may be better to reverse back out, since clearly the driver was capable of precise reversing.
Had similar circumstance once just not so right angle shaped faces, more like 60° slope down and near 75° slope up.
Problem was having just driven down a steep rocky track came round a slight right bend to find about 100m length of track had slipped off the mountain side in a big rock and dirt slide. No way forward, and a tough and rocky steps and boulders, steep climb back where we, two Suzuki LD50 had just descended. Reversing would have been extremely testing. Turn around was however also more than seemed possible.
However we both chose to try a U turn, not 3 point but more like 15 point turn.
My Suzuki had a winch but first took to trying to climb the up embankment and short reverses to tyres just on drop off similar to this video. At one stage my vehicle was at tip over at a slant, had to step out, had open top with rooftop and doors removed, so door opening clear to around ankle level. Standing out on the gravel track I held up the Suzuki by the passenger seat, waiting for a person from the other Suzuki to come and do sideways rollover support. Continued in small increments to finally face the otherway, forward up slope. The other Suzuki was then going through same exercise but somehow had a slightly better patch of up slope, had no near rollover. We both battled up the rocky slope to a larger track up top.
The whole exercise would have been impossible in any larger 4W as where we turned around the track was not much wider than the Suzuki was long. The super low 1st gear and diff ratio giving 56:1 reduction made the entire manoeuvre using the up embankment to assist possible.
The climb back up the rocky part would have been hell in reverse though probably would also have succeeded. Any larger 4WD would have not made it impossible to turn around and the low 1st/reverse gearing of most 4WD could have made reversing also impossible due to bouncing on boulders and rock ledges. A perfect case, in hard places explore ahead first on foot, you could save your vehicle and yourself from such getting permanently stuck. Larger typical US vehicles would not even have fitted on that narrow track, best suited to hiker's and trail bikes, probably not even for vehicle access.
One time I actually went up a couple of miles of a walking track, finally noting only one worn path, and regular sharp turns over protruding tree roots or rocks. The Suzuki was such fun to drive and agile that pushing through tight disused trails was always tempting.
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One caution I suggest is to not examine the average home costs as a pure number. While the pure number looks high, also the average income has to be considered. I have little feel for real average annual income, both Gross income AND what remains after tax (taxes) and basic community costs, so what remains as disposable income, that remains to pay for living expenses like food, clothes, energy (electricity, gas, car fuel) and what is able to pay off any required mortgage in reasonable time, say 15, 20 25 years, or less if feasible. Keep in mind in some countries .outrages can be huge time burdens beyond a generation, of 80 years for example.
Taking current Victoria average of, from memory in this video, like US$ 660,000, so at current exchange more like AU$ 1 million. Truely scary for many younger generation, especially the saving enough, to qualify for that loan to even endup with a mortgage, and have that first home, often associated with starting the family, with baby too.
But average wage is more like AU$80,000 so let us call the average home about 12 years of gross wages. However the modern home is now usually somewhat larger, spacious, well constructed, fully with airconditioning, double car garage, etc.
My parents arrived end of 1959 as migrants, with a few possessions I wooden crates, little but prospect of starting a new life here. Our family was two adults, two children 8 and 12 yrs old,plus a cousin just on 20 yrs old (WW II orphan) My parents got jobs as assembly line workers, with GROSS annual income summing both, of barely over £950 (pre decimal times).
They in six months took on purchase on 25 year mortgage, of a by current standards small home, and land for £12,000 only basic weatherboard wooden frame house, tiled roof, by current standards half the home area of lowend basic homes. All small dimensions, with 1 master bedroom, 2 small bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, small bathroom with bath tub, wash basin, outside access small laundry room that would not take more than a small washing machine and moderate wash trough, and a outside entry toilet room, no sewage, just weekly collected bucket. The lounge just big enough for a fold out sofa, couple of chairs not big enough for more than a small coffee table that had to be pushed aside to fold out the sofa, that was my parents bed for some 11 years, as the three bedrooms were children and cousin bedrooms. The master bedroom would now be regarded small as a children's room, the smaller bedrooms space for children size bed a small wardrobe, bedside table. There were no walking closets, no pantry. There was no car garage, just level bare ground no landscape garden. Fitted equipment 4 burner gas stove/ oven, lounge gas heater, on demand flowthrough gas hotwater , power points 1 each room, ceiling lights each room, no other appliances or furniture, no carpets.
All extras were separate purchased, some furniture, small tables even some chairs, constructed from wooden crates used for possessions. A 17" B/W TV was already bought in the 1 yr delay as the home was being built, while we rented a house.
That kind of property would by current standards not cost over $400,000, of which land would 75% of that amount, yet the £12,000 was comparable to over 12 years gross wages for my parents, and took 25 years to pay off, and still needed construction of a garage that also to q car space had a small Worksop and a laundry room, allowing the old house laundry space to expand kitchen a little allowing better space for the dinner table that made kitch space tight at dinner for 5 people, as dinner table would not fit in lounge space.
Yes we expanded over the year adding house extensions doubling lounge and adding a extension bedroom, a new bathroom. By the way in today's market, even with all improvements, extensions and garage, the property is barely in the $800,000 value range.
For what the present average AU$ 1 million buys, the average wage earner from two persons working, say at least $120,000 sum gross income, the housing is MORE affordable now than I the 1960s. A lot more is expected and you get people want everything and the best I.mediaty. There are so many more, Expensive, things,cards, huge TV, fancy mbole phone , computer/tablet, electronics ingeneral, appliances, all THE MUST HAVE being.
From my view, it is attitude not price that puts people off owning a home, location, features, style, all and everything demands and unwillingness to save, plan and make do.😮
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As noted, Aussies can be quite loose in language, especially commenting on idiots.
One aspect is that our dashcam videos are mainly of traffic events, bad driving, silly things, rather than crash recordings. The US and especially Russian videos seem more concentrated on crashes. While all videos can add education aspects, crashes do not teach good driving, while showing idiot drivers doing th ed wrong thing can teach better driving and above all the kinds of things a driver may have to cope with in daily driving. Possibly raising the absolute need for very defensive driving practice, keeping aware of all action on the road and constant attention, no lapse of attention, or you may suffer badly. Of course bad drivers also may learn worse driving from the idiots shown, but such drivers should not be allowed to keep their licence.
As far as adjusting to driving opposite to home land standard, it is actually only the first few hours that very special attention is required. A good driver adjusts quickly, especially on automatic cars, manual is harder, as shifting is very awkward using unfamiliar arm and hand to do shifts. Essential is keep attention, do not drive in tired state, and certainly not drunk. Within days it is relatively normal. Yes intersections and on ramp entrances to freeways can be issues, especially choosing the wrong entry to a freeway, ending up going opposite direction than intended, more so than going wrong direction on the ramp, that also can occur, fortunately there are bold signs stating wrong way.
Harder by far than driving the corresponding opposite side in the suited vehicle, is driving your normal left or right hand vehicle on roads with opposite traffic, so left hand car on left side traffic, ie UK, India, Australia, NZ, Japan. Or Right hand vehicle on right side traffic, as in most remaining world. I have as part of my fuel injection application work had all combinations , including driving in four days, each day in the same vehicle on opposite sides on sequential days, Australian Right driven, first in Germany, next day in UK, next day France, next day UK, and then back to Germany. That takes care as every day you wnd up adjusting to opposite the previous day , the easiest for me then was UK as it was the normal for me but changing in the same car does NOT help. Otherwise had many cases of same car model but mix of left and right hand versions driven on the same day. Switching driving sides every few hours, at least all on same road side. In one instance a car company engineer driving an Australian right hand car, late in the day having driven over 400km, on a narrow country road, suddenly was confronted by a tractor with hay trailer on his side of the road approaching just after a bend. In somewhat tired mental state was instantly totally confused. Was he on the wrong side? Or was the tractor on the wrong side? Well he jammed the brakes on in panic, stopped and thought it through. The tractor was wrong, about to turn across the road into a farm gate right where we stopped. We backed up a bit let the tractor tow its trailer into the farm track and then proceeded at slower speeds.
As easily visible in these Australian dashcam videos, it is essential to practice very defensive driving to keep safe, no good if the other driver is at fault a crash will cause much cost in time and inconvenience even if cash is not the issue. But as most insurance carries some cost, significant for young or newly licensed driver, contribution that is often not recoverable to guilty party. Best remains not becoming entangled in accidents (sic) in the first place. I hope to continue my luck, as other than being rear ended at intersections/stopped at pedestrian crossings and one test car being rear ended while travelling at 80 to 100kph, run off the road by a Toyota Landcruiser, driven by a over tired young school teacher with a dog in her lap and 5 Aborigines crammed in having driven over 600km on desert dirt tracks near Alice Springs, I have a 52 years of over 1 million km of driving no accidents. Not to say I have not had numerous incidents that could have even been fatal, but for skill and defensive driving to handle dangerous circumstances. Even had a 4WD up on 2 wheels around a 90 turn at an intersection, or doing 720 degree spin on muddy dirt road, recovering direction just before hitting a deep water pool on the track, that would certainly have flipped the vehicle. Not even to speak of hair raising 4WD adventures.
Remain alter and aware of all traffic around, do not drive over tired, micro naps can be fatal, and definitely zero alcohol or drugs and driving. Maintain your vehicle in safe condition.
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On those outback roads all hell catches up with you if rain hits while you are well away from the sealed main roads. Turns these wide dirt roads into impassable deep mud/clay. Roads can become quite deep water channels, and also periodical intervals cross desert water courses that are dry except hours after rain, but in pkaces csn be many meters deep and fsst flowing.
The deep muddy surface can close those roads to traffic for months.
Driving is more slippery than ice, but worse still often as it is sticky state builds up on tyres, even filling fender wells, plugging exhausts. Needing manual work to remove, exhaust pipe plug gets rock hard, much work to remove. Really stops you even trying to drive. Not that it is even legsl to try.
The grooves left by any vehicle remain, and when dry are like formed in concrete channels weaving along, making driving both difficult and hazardous, to even keeping the road unusable until regraded at huge cost. Hundreds of kilometer of the wide road regrading is very expensive. At times a single day rain can result in months of closed road, while drying out, surface is quick but deeper ground takes time keeping road in boggy state. While gazetted closed drivers breaking the closure can face truely huge fines, and result in many millions costs to repair.
Not so evident here but even in dry these roads can hide some nasty surprises . The ground is quite sandy, but also very ancient and hss a large proportion of very fine dust, which is slick clay like when wet but in dry state, gathers to low places, that when a pot hole forms, as traffic passes, ever larger nasty big pot holes, full of this dust that sits looking quite smooth like the rest of the road appearance. You come along doing significant speed and CRASH as you hit this hole casting a massive cloud of dust up. If you are lucky your vehicle survives and is able to drive on, you may end up with bruises. Worse though your suspension has just suffered fatal damage stranding your vehicle, or worse causes a major rollover crash, with fatal result. A pothole that a road train bumps through, can near swallow smaller vehicles and 4WDs.
Additionally the roads develop quite nasty ripples tuned to suspension resonances of traffic and normal dpeeds travelled. Need careful driving or aldo can cause serious problems.
By the way for Road Train drivers those suspension seats are even more essential than for other long distance haul truckers. Without these drivers would in short time destroy their bodies and internal organs.
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