History would say so, but hey, a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do – to get re-elected. And if that involves deception, well, gol’darnit, so be
FFS, they’re at it again!! Having you’d think there was a shortage of hoons in Townsville, or all the sexy crims have turned ugly, because the : the Bulletin boasting about a Townsville brothel – on the front page.
Could the local LNP be sweet-talking a perceived candidate for office? Maybe, but which office?
A business pile-up for the V8 SuperPests could have some major wash back here in the ‘Ville. Could Jenny Hill’s annual Big Day Out On The Piss be under threat? Of course, the Astonisher has chosen to treat this one with a barge pole … and of course, as usual, The ‘Pie will instead get up close and personal on the issue.
And Aaron Harper needed worry about the wrath of the voters … his Labor colleagues, right up to the top … are angry enough to give him some remedial political instructions involving a car battery, a wet towels and some nipple clips. But The ‘Pie explains why he won’t be ousted.
The Magpie is baffled by an unexpected legal outcome …
And to alleviate all those dreary clouds of concern, we take a break for a laugh at some very amusing business names ….AND … The ‘Pie knows he shouldn’t but the popular Hitler film meme is back, subject: Albo and his Yes campaign!!
Some pesky bills still loitering for the Nest’s attention from the rapidly receding EOFY … as you know, The Nest doesn’t take advertising, a hand with getting rid of them would be greatly appreciated. To make a donation, click on the button at the end of the blog.
Now onwards.
What Do Golfers And Mayor Mullet Have In Common? The Same Motto.
Like all of us, Bentley is still waiting ….
Our campaigning mayor has obviously borrowed the age-old golfing wisdom ‘Find out what works for you, then just keep doing it’. And another similarity – in both cases, it all depends on the lie – and Jenny had a whopper during the week.
This has to be pure codswallop by any measure – several actually – The first one being this closer look at the story.
So, let’s see, the Bulletin says the city is to get a multibillion dollar industrial investment ($8-$10billion … with a ‘B’) and ‘thousands of jobs (2500 are predicted but that includes tradies to build the place) … and they plonk this announcement of this massive city-changing venture on …page 5? C’mon, folks, really? With giveaway quotes including stuff like this:
Parsing the language – which The Magpie has become quite adept at doing, dealing with Magnis bullshit for some years – this has all the fingerprints of a seasoned scam artist all over it. Phrases like ‘when fully developed’, in reference to the overall quoted value, ‘conditional allocation ‘ of the Lansdown block (no mention of what conditions, and a search cannot find any reference to such conditions … almost assuredly hidden so we don’t see phrases like ‘by which time (not specified) Quinbrook will have found the funding and the manufacturers’ – because The ‘Pie will bet his tail-feathers this crowd of oily spruikers hasn’t got any money of their own. There’s also a vague rubbery reference to Quinbrook’s ‘strong relationships’ with associated industries. It is reasonable to believe that Quinbrook will seek to make it’s money by flipping the site.
But there’s more than just this yet another Leighton Smith lazy and grossly irresponsible bum-kissing extravaganza. Lazy because his story has not a single original word that differs from the media release on the TCC website, where a council media mob Shakespeare added the mayor’s single contribution about the project ‘turbo-charging Lansdown’.. and then unwisely had our mayor saying this on the council website (not in the paper):
“Quinbrook had developed and is actively constructing several of the largest solar and battery storage projects ever undertaken in the US and the UK representing billions of new infrastructure investment,” Cr Hill said.
“This is an especially exciting announcement because Quinbrook are not only the developers and sponsors, but also the project funders, which means the money is on the table.
So, Jenny’s doing long term business with a crowd that has a few lazy billions ‘on the table’ right now? Quinbrook’s actual role in any such cventures is hard to pin down, and the mayor’s bullshit about ‘money on the table’ has to be a dead-set, straight-out lie – or ignorance. The ‘Pie has reached this unfortunate conclusion after an alert and curious reader did some good ‘citizen journalism’. This sums up what no one bothered to check … and Leighton Smith, please note the last line.
The ‘Pie’s odds-on bet is that this is a repeat of the tortuous saga of Magnis and that sustected drug-dealing greaseball Frank Poullas … and yet again, all in the name of madam’s re-election campaign. And memo Jenny: being seen in a posed pic with two soon-to-be ex state MPs doesn’t assist your efforts to distance yourself from your beloved state Labor party.
An Exclusive Pic Of Jenny Hill And Dolan Hayes Talking Campaign Tactics
Eat yer heart out Bulletin!!!
Proposed Energy Policy Doesn’t Hold Water
At the Federal level, Chris Bowen has come up with a dopey policy brain fart – off-shore wind farms.
Why dopey? To The Magpie’s untrained eye, when last he looked, there was a surplus-to-requirements of land in what we currently call Australia (the ABC will probably change to something unpronounceable tomorrow.) So why anyone would go to the massive extra expense of seaborne wind turbines tends to sound a bit like Jenny Hill going about Lansdown. And while this proven technology works in waters off other nations – particularly Europe and Scandinavia, finding suitably stable sites of a useable depth off the Australian coast will be another challenge. And we can look forward to the Friends of Seagull and Flying Fish Protection Lobby to start wheeling and squealing if it ever becomes a serious proposal.
Bentley – who has decades of real-life experience in the energy sector – thinks the very suggestion is unrealistic and idiotic – but he reckons if Bowen and Chalmers ever gave this the go-ahead, they’d suddenly become a different type of Green.
The Totally Unreliable Rumour Of The Week
Michael Kern – a political aspirant?
It’s unreliable since it is based on a reported public sighting of a gaggle of local LNP types nervously watching over their shoulders while deep in hushed but intense conversation with one Michael Kern. The Magpie deep throat – on The ‘Pie’s budget, more a shallow nostril – reckons the word is the LNP might be sounding him out as a party candidate.
But then the plot thickens somewhat, when one speculates just what office would they want to put him up for? Phil Thompson is a lock as the Federal nom in Herbert and he’ll probably get re-elected no matter what happens in Canberra. That leaves two possibilities – party poohbahs might be considering Kern for a run for Crisafulli’s crusaders against Scott Stewart, the only one of our three blind mice left unopposed at this stage. The other theory is a tad off the wall, and The ‘Pie doesn’t buy it … Kern to be a party backed entrant in the Townsville mayoral race. Or maybe an arm’s length ‘nuthin’ to do wif us’ secretly funded (oh, purleese, yes it still happens everywhere!) opponent for the Mullet and Fightin’ Fran O’Callaghan.
Be interesting if anyone, or even Kern himself, wants him to run for any office. The ‘Pie’s reliable information is that he was elbowed out of the Chamber of Commerce CEO spot, seen as pretty useless and not well liked. His job was even advertised while he was overseas on a jaunt that we’re not sure who paid for … might have been a parting bonus/inducement to POQ and DCB. Then there are serious questions still hanging around about from his time as a JCU, executive, with claims he failed to handle sexual harassment and abuse cases in an acceptable manner.
Anyone out there care to confirm or deny? How about you, Mr Kern?
Again, The ‘Pie Politely Asks, What The Fuck Is It With This Paper? This Time, Almost Literally
Seriously? A front page story that Townsville has the best what?
Complete with weak Dad-joke-level puns … so the front page list now runs … praise for a violent hoodlum who killed himself during a break-in, a gallery of the (perceived) 10 sexiest crims (that made Media Watch), pix and video links to hoons breaking a variety of laws and now brothels. Nothing wrong with sex industry stories but if the paper knows their demographics, The ‘Pie would bet this front page sold not a single paper, and may have even been a turn-off.
And -one presumes by coincidence, the paper’s clickbait site also spruiked this story, in which Townsville didn’t get a mention.
Gives a new meaning to FIFO.
Village Idiot Commits Political Suicide
Aaron Harper gets it absolutely wrong and the Townsville Bulletin gets it absolutely right.
There can be no doubt the already embattled Premier kicked Harpic’s arse ‘til his nose bled over his total lack of empathy for crime-afflicted residents and trying to play for cheap political points at last weekend’s crime protest rally. In just a few ill-chosen, cruel words, Harpic destroyed weeks of planning, logistics and the honing a big election boosting announcement about CopperString. All of which was promptly shoved well into the background by Goofy’s ill judged and undisciplined ranting. An appalled Palaszczuk ordered the Muppet for Thuringowa to back-track big time.
From comments.
The Magpie
October 30, 2023 at 11:27 am (Edit)
Seriously, this bloke has to go. And go now.
It is inconceivable that Aaron Harper can possibly consider remaining the member for Thuringowa after spitting the face of the victims of crime, and making the absurd implied claim that only LNP voters were upset with the juvenile crime wave.
The man is so detached from reality that he actually expected to be applauded just for showing up at the weekend rally, and seemed genuinely surprised that he was booed and howled down by angry victims and residents. He never seemed to realise that his weak, vacillating performance as our representative in government was partly the cause that the rally had to be held in the first place.
Then, astoundingly, Harper was so full of himself, he took to his personal coward’s castle of FB and made the public’s spontaneous reaction against his arrogant ineptitude all about him as a victim – FFS, HIM!!! – of party politics.
Well, Aaron Harper certainly knows about achieving little.
Someone with all the awareness and judgement of a sulky school kid has no business representing our best interests in Brisbane … he’s not fit for any public office … not even Townsville Council if he was stupid enough to try.
But guess what? Although there have been so far unsuccessful moves to have him kicked off the bipartisan Youth Justice Reform Select Committee, which is looking into youth justice reform across the state, Harpic will be the Labor candidate next year. He won’t be sacked mid-term or disendorsed simply because of political expediency. Labor insiders, and Palaszczuk herself, accept that all three Townsville seats aren’t worth throwing any campaign funds at, but especially at the now certain foregone conclusion that Harpic is cactus next October. So why bother wasting energy by turfing him and appointing another patsy who will meet the same fate.
There’s A Different Fate Mayor Mullet Should Be Worried About
This popped up in the Oz during the week.
It’s a sorry tale of financial woe, with new owners Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises (RACE) toting up a $2.7million loss in their first 15 months at the corporate wheel. There are all sorts of other speed bumps in there too, but it is the last par that strongly suggests it may well be the ratepayers of Townsville who should be worried.
Quote: “The company said the directors … had a plan to ensure the company could continue to operate ‘as a going concern’ BUT THIS IS RELIANT ON THE ABILITY TO RAISE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM INVESTORS.” (The Magpie’s caps and bold.)
So it looks like we’re going to cop it one way or the other … either Chief Hoon Hill will be asked to cough even more wasteful money to host this uneconomic annual circus in the city … or they’ll bugger off. Which will only disappoint the dwindling number of local fans, many of whom are losing interest now there is no Holden/Ford frisson about the Pests.
There ya go, Light-On, your tip for a question this week.
Boofhead On The Bench
We are all aware that the law can be an ass, but it seems so can judges who apply it.
Judge Brian Devereaux
Meet the judge who didn’t think a grub who made serial serious assaults on his partner, including broken bones, punching, kicking and trying to suffocate his partner over a protracted period was not a serious violent offender. So we can only assume that while usually a fine informed jurist of the highest order (he is the Chief Judge of the Queensland District Court) Judge D had a lamentable off day.
The ‘Pie’s observation is prompted by this story.
First a note to Bulletin’s headline hack – being granted parole IS NOT walking free … parole involves often severe restrictions and may include drug and alcohol testing at inconvenient and unannounced times (4am pee anyone?) and onerous limits on movement. ‘Walking free’ is the usual tabloid ploy to whip up sentiment against the judicial system. But in this case, that may be justified.
Reporter Daniel Shirkie played the story with a straight unsensational bat, including this summary of Capner’s litany of cowardice:
“In June of 2021, during a trial that was cut short by Capner’s late plea of guilty, Townsville District Court heard of how between 2011 and 2018 Capner broke bones, punched, kicked, choked and threatened to kill his partner. On one occasion, he dragged her into a shed and threatened her with a sledgehammer and knife before suffocating her until she passed out.”
During the 2020 sentencing, Chief Judge Devereaux described Capner’s actions as cruel and demeaning and refused to show leniency, sentencing him to six years at the time. ”
Tough talk, eh?
Refused to show leniency? Like hell this judge didn’t show leniency – whether the head sentence was a bit light on is a matter of opinion, but how Devereux failed to declare Capner a ‘serious violent offender’ is inexplicable. And this is an important discretion for a judge, because such a declaration would mean Capner would’ve had serve 80% of sentence – or four years – before he could even ask for parole.
The list of offences where such a judge’s order can be made are listed clearly on the Criminal Law website.
What offences are serious violent offences?
A wide range of violent and sex offences are listed in Schedule 1 of the Penalties and Sentences Act. These offences include:
- Riot;
- Carnal knowledge with or of children under 16;
- Incest;
- Maintaining a sexual relationship with a child;
- Attempt to murder
- Conspiring to murder;
- Grievous bodily harm;
- Torture;
- Wounding;
- Dangerous operation of a vehicle:
- Assaults occasioning bodily harm;
- Serious assaults;
- Rape;
- Sexual assaults;
- Kidnapping;
- Robbery;
A sentencing court may also declare an offence to be a serious violence offence if the offence:
- Involved the use of serious violence against another person; or
- Resulted in serious harm to another person; and
- The offender was sentenced to a period of imprisonment.
Note the first and second of those last three requirements – if this crime did not ‘result in serious harm’ to Capner’s ex-partner, we would like to hear from the judge on his reason for this opinion which seems to dismiss the victim’s testimony that she is living in constant fear.
And perhaps the Parole Board might like to tell us how Capner deserved parole after serving just two years … and at his first request. That’s a hell of fast Road to Damascus conversion for this cowardly troglodyte.
The 80% rule is mandatory if the head sentence is 8 years or more.
It’s sometimes not just the government failing to meet community expectations on violent crime.
The ‘Pie Knows He Shouldn’t, But …
Those often funny Hitler memes disappeared there for a while … and we probably needed a break from them … but a new one has popped up … Albo and the Yes campaign. And there is one line that made The ‘Pie almost fall off his perch laughing – you’ll know it when you hear it.
Planet Of The Apes – It’s Here.
As commentator take sides and cartoonists struggle to adequately reflect the horror and barbarity of the latest Middle East war, the elusive graffiti guru Banksy has summed it up with simple eloquence.
But the butchery of the Middle East is but just another divide in the fight for democracy in the United States.
And Purely By Coincidence … Or Is It?
The ‘Pie recently mentioned talked about the term ‘nominative determinism’, the $10 words for ‘as by name, as by nature’. Well you couldn’t make this shit up.
On The Lighter Side
Regulars around here know The Magpie’s long-standing fascination and mostly admiration for clever business names. A mate unearthed a newish batch that The ‘Pie hadn’t seen, so he shares the yuk-yuks with you, starting with his very favourite.
And this one brought back some memories of Magpie’s past.
Back in the day, there was a cosy little restaurant down in Belgian Gardens called Somewhere Nice … memory dims, might have been ‘Someplace Nice.’ The Magpie was at the Bulletin at the time, and wrote a piece imagining a Who’s On First routine between a couple going out for to dinner.
” Doll up, darlin’, we’re going to celebrate your birthday?”
“Great, where are we going?’
‘Someplace Nice.”
“Well, I’d expect to, but where, darling , you know I don’t like surprises. really where?’
‘Someplace Nice’.
‘Stop it, Con, you know I don’t like being teased. WHERE?”
‘SOMEPLACE NICE, for God’s sake.’
‘Go on your bloody own then, smartarse. You’re nasty, there are times when I wonder why I’m still here. You know, when I met you, I thought you looked like a Greek god … now you just look like a goddamn Greek!”
That last line was the subject of heated debate between the melting snowflakes of the newsroom, but the editor let it in. Like he did a comment in another column about a ‘camel toe’ being part of race day fashions … boy, didn’t that have the girlies in the newsroom in a tizzy.
Mentioning That Is The Lame Way To Lead In To This ...
Tuesday is the Big Day Out for the Nescafe Society of Australia, when the neddys go around for some cup or other. But this year for the first time, it’s not long or short odds that has everyone’s attention, it is which will some guys choose … long or short pants. Will they steal the limelight from the mares and fillies?
Evolving fashion norms? As dictated by the hidebound clenched-buttocks of the VRC Colonel Blimps? Some good larfs ahead, one imagines. And the VRC must have fallen out of favour with the global rich and famous if this Count bloke is the big drawcard this year. We are told he is (gasp! clutch pearls!) seventh in line for the Danish throne.
Bloody seventh!?! That’s the best we can do? Shame one of The ‘Pie’s old mates isn’t still with us … we could up the ante on ‘seventh’ with making the guest of honour real royalty – King Billy Cokebottle.
……………………….
That’s it for another week, some good tips from citizen journalists helped the blog along – you can too if you’ve a worthy bee in your bonnet. Comments run 24/7, feel free.
If you want to support the Nest, the button to donate is below.
You should probably stop listening to Bentley about anything to do with electricity and start listening to experts. As you said: offshore wind turbines are a proven technology.
And you should start listening to what is said – in this instance, The ‘Pie’s point about the needless extra cost when we have so much land available. And the geotechnical suitability of sites off the Australian coast – which was more a query, and happy to publish any information you’d care to offer, if you keep the reply civil.
PS And I’d back Bentley’s knowledge, although possibly not his projected analysis, any day against you.
Offshore wind is stronger and more consistent, so there are obvious reasons to want to exploit it. Declaring the zones is the first step, there’s a long path to any wind turbines being built.
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/renewable/offshore-wind
The North Sea has, for decades, been an oil and gas field supporting several national economies in the UK and Europe/Scandinavia. As the fossil fuels are being depleted that exact space is now being populated by wind farms – on a massive scale. Some of the now-obsolete oil and gas holding structures are being re-purposed to support the electricity generating industry and the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark (and others) with their extensive shallow seas are being transformed with thousands, yes, actual thousands, of wind turbines, forming a virtual forest in places. Google North Sea wind farms for some idea.
Your key words are ‘extensive shallow seas’.
But surely the main argument here in Oz is and will be whether this is this just a ruinously expensive sop to the Greens for electoral gain.
If it is ruinously expensive then there won’t be any offshore power plants built. And if there are, the costs will be borne by the power companies who can’t find a buyer for their product
That simply is completely gaga.
With a lighthouse on every wind turbine in the major shipping channels. And normally, in our great state of North Queensland, shallow waters means GBR?
Labor has lost the workers . Aaron Harper has done one better adding LNP / KAP supporters . The Street University Townsville 22 Castlemaine street Kirwan to entertain street kids . Building lease , fitout , wages , activities $500k + . Is the Queensland Governmemt still funding Thursday night activities Kingsvale Shopping centre ( the Bronx ) $200k a year . Retired Major General $200k . State Government has failed on promised Police / Nurses / Teacher numbers giving more rights to recidivist offenders than the Community of Townsville they are suppose to protect .
It’s that 1st Tuesday of November race, However in “light” of the recent divisive “Voice” nonsense, if it had got up the question of “What is the race that stops a nation???? Answer The Aboriginal race!!.
Normally, The ‘Pie would bin a comment like that, but on reflection, in terms of beneficial progress for all Australians, that is exactly what the self-seeking indigenous elite and a legacy seeking prime minister did, so let it stand. We also got a racially divided country at each other’s throats.
The “self-seeking indigenous elite” aptly describes the egregious Jacinta Price and that buffoon Warren Mundine, who have so effectively torpedoed the hopes and aspirations of their own people.
Yet more than half the country agreed with them.
The votes are in! let’s move on please.
Salty much?
The un-needed end result, that has divided a country, that is in serious hands of an incompetent.
Very clever!
Re the latest hogwash for Lansdown. What was Stewart thinking showing up at a building site with out his standard Hi-Vis Shirt and Hard Hat. Maybe he didn’t get enough notice of the event to allow him to rush home and change.
And I’d like to see the engineering calculations dealing with gyroscopic forces.
Re floating wind farms, that is.
Bentley, not to mention the super exorbitant costs associated with ‘planting’ wind turbines onto the ocean floor. A floating hotel off the Queensland coast found out the hard way re floating and stabilising such huge structures. Maintenance to steel monsters is incredible expensive and ongoing for the rest of the structures life !
Whew! Thought you might be referring to the bedroom olympics, for a moment Benters!
YUeah, The ‘Pie thought he might he referring to the matter splashed on the front page of the weekend Bulletin.
Yes, Inspector, I realized after having posted that some further clarification might be helpful.
Having spent time with the grey funnel line, I can assure you that the maintenance costs would be prohibitive. A fixed installation at sea is subject to huge forces from the sea to the wind and the sun.
I can just see a bunch of “workers” chipping away 24×7, that’s the only way to keep on top of the rust at sea.
Thought that was what sacrificial Anodes fixed?
Only where electrolysis is created. Salt air/water devours iron and other metal structures ! Typical of fuckwit politicians coming up with brain farts with zero knowledge of reality ! Won’t be long before we have them committing billions of dollars to a 14 day sporting event….Aw, hold on !!!
Jatz – this is a proven technology. Any armchair naysaying by know-nothings in the comments is just masturbatory because offshore wind turbines work and are profitable all over the world.
Again, you’re not reading what the objections are … or, no surprise,deliberately ignoring them.
You really area sad drum beater … among the other things you no doubt beat (fancy you of all people mentioning masturbation).
Try and actually engage in the debate on the relative points of argument, or don’t bother.
The objections can be ignored because they are meritless: the technology exists and is in use elsewhere.
Please address the objectionsb raised … no one around here has any reverence or trust in your wisdom, Zippy.
You don’t need to trust my wisdom, if the objections don’t engage with the fact that these things exist in the world they’re effectively just debating wanking over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Re Angels: answer has always been none, because they don’t exist …. just like a coherent argument from you.
Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t make it incoherent.
Chris Bowen is asking for expressions of interest in a new aerodrome and these guys are saying that heavier than air flight is impossible. All I have to do is point out the window at planes flying past, not going into any specific detail about corrosion or geotechnical matters.
Totally eristic. Give it a fuckin’ rest, mate.
Eristic: of or characterized by debate or argument.
That seems entirely appropriate for a debate or argument.
Your reply is … well, eristic, because the actual and fuller meaning is:
“argumentative as well as logically invalid.” Someone prone to eristic arguments probably causes a fair amount of strife amongst his or her conversational partners.
Long one of The ‘Pie’s favourite words, it is a step beyond sophistry to mean ‘aimed at winning the argument rather than finding the truth.’
The maintenance costs are not prohibitive overseas, why would they be here?
The issue raised in the blog is that it would be cheaper to build on land, not that it’s not perfectly feasible to build offshore wind turbines in the southern hemisphere.
Correct … and the difference in establishment costs. There can surely be no comparison between building in a paddock and building in deep offshore salt water.
Magpie, most of the wind farms I have seen in Australia are not “in a paddock”, they are on a range of hills – like that controversial one at Ravenshoe. On the other hand there are numerous excellent YouTube videos of for example, the German company Siemens taking special ships to prepared sites off the British coast and building one turbine tower PER DAY at sea. This is not some sop to the Greens or greenies, this is actual manufacturing business making serious money with new technology. Australia has been sitting at the bus stop for ten years while politicians twiddle their thumbs or fuck around with bullshit projects like inland rail or government subsidised coal mines.
OK, and the cost as versus your non-paddocks? And the simple question nof is this necessary anyway? And yes, this is a sop to the Greens, with Labor trying to show their progressive agenda.
Magpie offshore v onshore is not always and only about costs. Onshore, particularly on private land such as farms, there are all sorts of issues around ownership, access, poles and wires across other properties and a raft of environmental matters that vary from site to site, state to state etc. Offshore, many of those issues (though not all) can be dealt with in-house by government because private land, local and state government planning and legal issues are not involved.
Of course there is a raft of other issues offshore and depth is just one of them. But apparently there are still plenty of relatively shallow places along the (likely southern) east coast where offshore could be viable, Bass Strait being one of them. And scale matters. Specialist vessels and technology may not be worthwhile for a handful of wind turbine installations but if there are going to be hundreds, as in the North Sea, the cost comes down and the viability increases.
There is also a reality check needed here. Regardless of the efforts of Tony Abbott and other dinosaurs, in 50 years time there will be no coal-fired power stations anywhere in Australia – or much of the world. There will be hundreds of thousands of wind turbines all over the place. Someone will have to manufacture, install, maintain and replace them.
One off-shore issue for sure will indigenous ‘spirituality’.
And what a cheery dystopian picture paint, hundreds of thousands of windmills across the country … windmills in your mind.
And the inevitability of what is coming makes a nonsense of your final paragraph … there will be a couple of dozen yet to be modified, refined and economically viable nuclear small modular reactors (SMR) around the country, and if we’ve got enough brains here in Australia, two or three of the current size ones, as well. The SMV’s at the moment lose out on many fronts, economics is just one, but the industry is more or less where electronics, radios and later TVs were – until someone came up with the transistor. Advances on SMRs is happening at a steady pace.
The small modular reactors lose out by not existing as a commercially viable product. Not sure how you can class them as inevitable in any way.
Based on a reasonable assumption of technical progress. As said in my comment, not yet economically viable. How you can class them as NOT inevitable? Different product and energy source, but not so long ago, commercially viable full size electric cars were considered impossible.
Magpie, you may not have been paying attention but a quick check online reveals that there are more than 341,000 individual wind turbines installed around the globe. This is now a proven industry established at scale which will, in conjunction with solar and batteries of various kinds, likely make nuclear redundant for broad scale electricity production.
Quite the opposite.
The best Company name is right here in Townsnille. Crane hire Company in Garbutt. Stick’Em Up Hire. Probably stolen from a Company in the US.
Recently saw a pop up eatery called Naancho, Naancho Man. Read that without singing it in yourself.
The Mullet and her three dullards are become very predictable and very boring with the Landsdown fantasy. She sure is hedging a lot of potential votes on Landsdown being a sure thing. Anything she gets involved in usually means more debt for Townsville so I hope she gets Landsdown correct and it brings in money, not further debt. Then again, a side of me wants her to fuck things up royally so that the voters can finally send her sorry ass packing.
Trouble is, they probably won’t, or at least not because she fucks things up, she’d have to be as destructive as Harpic fof that to happen. We now await to see what Fran comes up with in a campaign proper.
And now Townsville Enterprise is lauding the Quinbrook scam. Claudia Brumme-Smith was fairly wetting her knickers over this gang of con artists in the Sat Astonisher Fair dinkum, don’t these hicks make even the most cursory inquiries?
Come to think of it, they might be interested in our family business. There’s this toll bridge in Sydney…
You will notice that all announcements about Landsdown are futuristic, and purposely not planned to come to fruition (if at all) until well after next year’s election.
The same goes for the Concert Hall decision, stalled by Jenny Hill until after the election for fear of losing the local performing arts vote.
As for the TEL CEO singing from the Hill hymnbook, she is just another one of the mayor’s puppets, relying as she does on her substantial salary being funded by ratepayers.
Anyone heard if they have appointed her “advisor” yet? Fair dinkum, an advisor for an advisor – that’s a new one.
Ahh Townsville, beautiful one decade – trashed the next.
LSR, might seem a bit illogical but local government can never get funding from higher levels of government without a plan. You float the idea of a road, a concert hall, a stadium or an industrial precinct and then go to work on the fundraising focussing on new-fangled stuff like hydrogen or fancy minerals and mentioning cheap water and land. You have to pretend you have a chicken to get government to lay an egg.
True and not true.
It’s not just the necessary floating of ideas, it’s to what audience and what publicity you float them. Selling false hope with pie in the sky stuff for carefully timed re-election lies (and The ‘Pie isn’t just talking about right now) is deceitful in the extreme, as we’ve seen with some of the matters you mention and many others that have come and gone, making the mayor look foolish. (Lagoon anyone?)
But folks around here just buy it and buy it Jenny Hill’s deceptions over the years (cafe on castle Hill, The s The continuing scandal of TEL?or a shelter shed? Ferry to the stadium?) is as much a reflection on the electorate as it is on Mayor Mullet. And on those who won’t stand up for their own community and run for council.
This story in today’s Oz concerns the bullshit and lies that Magnis goes on with regarding mythical tech manufacturing and supplies with other shop-front shonks in the UK and US.
But it made The ‘Pie realise that with her promotion of the latest mob Quinbrook, Jenny Hill has changed the old saying ‘Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you’ ‘Fool me once shame on me but it got me reelected, fool me twice, good on you, you’ll get me elected again.’
If Council is handing Quinbrook partners 200 hectares I gather Civil works will need to be completed at rate payers expense. Council allocated $80 mil budget Lansdown. When will we see some accounting for this?
Be that as it may, Magnis has gone into a trading halt today prior to an announcement expected by Wednesday.
Another one?
Yes, another one. And today (Wednesday) Magnis has upped the ante with a Suspension of Quotation – until tomorrow. Talk about agile.
Now add another 24 hours to the suspension while they get their loan affairs in order. Makes it look like this sort of corporate hanky panky is par for the course in the lithium battery space.
Oh dear, Magnis is deep in the doodoo. Certain repayments have not been made and noses are out of joint. Plus there’s some doubt over whether the “$100m” gigafactory in New York state is worth as much as the debt:
“The Lender has stated that it may, amongst other matters, seek to enforce the security it has over the assets of the Borrower (and others, including iM3NY and C4V) if a resolution acceptable to the Lender (and ACP) has not been reached by 5pm (New York time) on 14 November 2023.While the Borrower has challenged the Default Notice on various grounds, the Borrower is attempting to resolve the matter with the Lender, including by seeking to procure alternative financing to refinance the Credit Facility.”
Still, trading on the ASX can resume and Frank can get on with the special exertion he is famous for.
Starting to look like a big near-miss for Townsville.
PLEASE KNEEL AND LET US PRAY
OH Lord, we, your humble servants of Thuringowa, prostrate ourselves before you and beseech thee to still the Federal hand of munificence – let Treasurer Chalmers please renege on Commonwealth funding promises for Riverside Drive. Let the greater good for thy community of Thuringowa prevail, be it better that we are suffered the travail of travelling along a goat track at Riverside rather than further suffer under the boastful, uncaring and ignorant hand of the devil’s spawn known by the name of Harpic.
We ask not that thee strike him down, we really want him still to be able to ‘walk’.
We humbly beseech you, God, for Christ’s fucking sake, mate.
Amen
This is the most piss-weak and intelligence-insulting try for going out with glory, a member who valiantly stood up for his community against the Feds … but never against the real villains, his own state Labor Party.
FFS Harper, do you think we’re all eight-years old? Stop this laughable schoolyard grandstanding, and gain what little respect is due you with an honest and honorable mea culpa resignation. Today.
And don’t let the door hit your the ample arse on your way out.
(Via Magpie email)
Very juvenile, throw a temper tantrum and dummy spit. Notice how he didn’t pick a state issues affecting our community like crime or health?. He has done his normal FB stunt with only allowing “Relevant” comments to be posted as last night the first 3 comments were all asking why he wasn’t threatening to resign if juvenile crime wasn’t addressed.
And may I ask you Harpic, explain how, in the event the Feds pull the R Drive funding, that you will go it alone and initiate some probably mythical Plan B from the state … if you are no an MP?
Seek help … but walk first.
Amen to all that Pie. Even throw in a few ‘Hail Mary’s’ for good luck.
Yeah, let it hail on his parade.
I’m interested to know why you think Harpic will keep his word – what’s changed that now you think Harpic will do what he says?
Good point.
Nah, he’s a clever slime. My bet is that he knows the money is safe and he will be beatified as putting his job on the line for his Labor supporters (not LNP constituents, hates LNP).
Alternatively, perhaps Anna has directed he go out in a blaze of glory, like a fizzer skyrocket
Question: Is it more financially beneficial to be voted out, or to resign?
Harpic, r u ok? Seriously and with the greatest concern, these emotion riddled Faecesbook rants are becoming a worry. You are definitely a slice of bread short of a loaf. Please don’t put conditions upon your ‘walking’. Just do the honourable thing and walk now. And while you are walking you might want to walk to a psychiatrists office and get some much needed help.
WOW and I mean WOW the TB facebook post about Harpic walking had 18 comments when I looked, 18 which said go, go now, get out etc etc etc not a single one supporting him.
If thats a straw poll it doesnt matter if he goes or stays the result will be the same.
The LNP should be hoping he stands again though as they could stand a monkey against him and still win the seat.
Facebook. FFS. Magpie, you once talked about Facebook like it was a sewer. Now you indulge it.
So does this sorry-arsed sponging MP, so attacking back on the same medium to his bulshit is fair enough. And very relevant to his judgement and state of mind.
And think you’ll find The Magpie’s sewer opinion was about Twitter … FB is as boring as batship and cliquey postings in which I rarely indulge. An electronic backyard fence for gossip.
On the News I noticed our “Trade Minister” Don Farrell, feeding his face and walking behind the PM chewing open mouthed, with “rosy” cheeks and trying to talk to the Chinese bloke next to him.
He looked scarily like Sir Less Paterson, who was a caricature, but he is the real thing.
My daughter is currently in Europe on a business trip and at one conference, several conversations mentioned him at his recent visit in less than glowing terms as a Minister and a person.
Don Farrell recently parachuted a totally unqualified labor mate into a trade commissioner job in San Francisco. A public servant with years of trade experience with the US behind her had already been appointed to the role.
Why was she bumped?
Harpic is attempting to change the narrative away from his insulting the victims of ‘troubled indigenous youth’ and every other Townsvilleite who has had to spent thousands on home security.
He has failed.
Yep, not even a nice try … and insulting.
Australia needs to find a new ‘great and powerful allie’.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-06/joe-biden-donald-trump-new-polls-2024-us-election/103068460
Your not a serious person are you? And a slow learner about polls.
The US election is exactly one year away to the month, so taking that into account,
A: can you remember what the polls were saying about the Yes campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament one year out from the referendum, and
B: can you tell us what the outcome of the referendum was?
It’s going to be a busy 12 months worth of fuckwittery – US midterm elections and Queensland’s local and state government elections. There will be so much spin and unadulterated pony poo flying around that we will be up to our eyeballs in raw shit.
But as for the USA, I pity the taxpayer as they have very few options and at this point in time it’s Trump or Biden again. More than likely Trump will be in jail, it’s that serious. As for Biden, his senility and colostomy bag won’t last another term. As for Queensland we will hopefully see the back of Palletchook and the Mullet. Win win.
PR, You would think that the head honchos running the Republican & Democrat parties would wake up and find younger and intelligent persons as their candidates. Or is that wishful thinking.
Plenty of intelligence in the Dems, not quite so much in the Republicans since John McCain died. An age in politics is measured differently, where young can sensibly mean late 40s to mid-50s.
And Alha, you didn’t mention integrity and decency, but if you think about those qualities, keep an eye on folks like Hakeem Jeffries and Jamie Raskin.
Pie,
I don’t think they have that model Honda over there.
Maybe Albo agrees with you, and is sucking up to that “Great and Powerful Nation” right now!!!
Labor has always leaned towards China (as versus America) since Gough was posturing on the world stage. China’s soft socialism, as some see it, is closer to what Labor would like to achieve here.
But openly opposing the USA and siding blatantly with Peking ain’t never gunna happen … not by anyone who wants to remain in government in Australia. (Any debate on this point should not include consideration of the historical speed bump aberration of Trump).
On my drive to work this morning, I saw a child being handcuffed by the police, presumably outside the child’s home. While that is sad in itself, the lack of anyone who looked like a parent or guardian being present was even sadder.
The ‘Pie would like to think you didn’t use the word ‘child’ for a heightened emotive response, and you didn’t mention if the kid was indigenous – which is always relevant to comments in so many ways.
Perhaps we need to redefine the word child to mean someone whose feet can’t reach the pedals. A teenager or younger?
Indigenous and I would say 10-12 years old given how far the officer had to bend over to put the cuffs on.
You’d wonder if cuffs fit wrists that young? Probably need to use those plastic tie thingys.
Child is objectively the correct term to refer to a child.
Thank you Captain Obvious. Child is the ‘objective’ term to refer to anyone under the age of majority (18).
What’s your relevance?
So it’s not emotive, obviously.
I have it on good authority that yes indeed it will soon be announced by team Crisafulli that Michael Kern will be taking a stab at a local state seat. I think it’s a great move and Michael would make a good addition to the LNP ranks.
What use such an energetic name, why not Impartial Observer?
… No, wait, perhaps your right after all.
“Team Crisafulli”…the ultimate oxymoron!
Why?
You see similarities between The Kid and The Mullet’s Team Hill?
Victoria decriminalises Public Drunkenness. Coincidentally on Melbourne Cup day!
https://www.9news.com.au/national/public-intoxication-drunkenness-decriminalised-victoria-whats-changing-explained/3b98ad29-20af-41c8-acd4-f6e8fb82b4cc
BTW, anyone having a punt on the Cup? Here’s some info that may be of interest or not from the Science Editor of The Conversation Michael Lucy.
According to equine expert Cathrynne Henshall, it’s unlikely horses have any understanding that they are in a contest of speed, in which one of them will be deemed champion and the rest mere also-rans. As Henshall points out, the glossy quadrupeds have evolved to move in synchronised groups and would see no benefit (and perhaps even some risk) in getting ahead of their herd mates.
What jockeys are doing, Henshall suggests, is working hard to overcome a natural inclination to be uninterested in the whole idea of racing – a task that may feel familiar to the organisers of the event itself.
Although The ‘Pie has long experience of horses not interested in winning, apparently the information was not passed on to all gee gee’s. Like, say, Phar Lap, Winx, Black Caviar, Lonhro, and the greatest of all come-from-behind distance gallopers Deep Impact.
I noticed (but made sure I didn’t read the article) a headline in the Bullshittin advertising Townsville’s newest bubs! How exciting! Not sure if lactating Leighton, generalist reporter, digital producer, and stenographer is responsible for the article but I mean fuck me sideways, what a load of wank. These reporters must be either bored, incompetent, or both. I reckon both. What will they run a story on next – ‘Drunk upskirts from Melbourne Cup day’?
FFS, PR, don’t give them ideas!!
Your statement a serious violent offence declaration is mandatory if the head sentence is 8 years or more is wrong, the magic figure is 10 years.
Yes, your right, thanks, must’ve been bumped a couple years since I was doing court (13 years ago now) but then again, only going on memory, so maybe always was.
Why am I not surprised to hear that Kern is floating around LNP heavies?
Seems my comment a month or so ago about this very subject might be coming true.
Best place for him given his lack of actual business acumen.
Kern and Crisafulli (or the ‘kid’ as his fan base call him in the Magpie’s Nest) will both make a wonderful team when it comes to gutting the public service and also spending billions of dollars putting us deeper in debt.
You base this on what, apart from Newman’s hasty ‘too much too soon’ policies? Is there an LNP policy statement we’ve missed? Although it might be a sensible first move as new premier to do a Dan Andrews and cancel the Olympic Games, which is most certainly a financial trainwreck about to leave the rails.
BTW The Kid is the Magpie’s invention when David was elected a Townsville councillor at a young age – I wrote about him in the Bulletin as ‘Kid Crisafulli The Child Councillor from the West’. That quickly shrank to just The Kid, and he wasn’t worried by the nickname back then, but I get the feeling he’s not keen on it getting wider currency nowadays. Which is reasonable, but Magpie habits die hard.
I think that ‘the kid’ is a unique and endearing type of nickname. There is certainly a lot of other not so pleasant nicknames out there so he should be grateful. But as you know Magpie, nicknames do tend to stick. Speaking of sticking, it’s good to see Elusive Butterflog is back commenting on your blog. I thought he may have been permanently stuck under Jenny’s desk!
‘He’?
Before Newman got in, Bligh had already savagely cut thousands of jobs in the QLD PS. Newman didn’t need to continue the annihilation.
After the Palaszczuk rabble’s bloating of the PS, there is undoubtedly a need for a clean out, particularly among the political appointments but it would be political suicide.
Butter fuckwitt. Try getting a job like mine and watch the countless number of managers that have been hired that oversee the small numbers of actual patient workers. More pen pushers than ibis at the dump. The PS needs more cut’s then when Newman was in. It’s a fucken disgrace and patient’s safety is really at risk of the low numbers of staff. Stop pushing your labor protections bullshit and fuck off. And so you know I am a union member and a delegate. I support the union movement but Labor is a waste of time and full of shit. Take that back to Hill and your cronies at the next secret meeting
Nurse Ratched – the same top-heavy bureaucratic imbalance also exists in the commonwealth court systems. Flooded by keen, inexperienced non-legal tyros whose mission is to “change the way things are done here” – usually by implementing systems that were unsuccessfully tried out the previous decade. All power, but no responsibility when things inevitably go tits-up. Advice from the coal face is dismissed and ignored.
There was a bloke – Canadian, I think – who said that, in any organisation there are two types of people; the first group dedicated to the aims and objectives of the organisation (in your case case, making ill people well again) and the second group dedicated to the organisation itself (in your case the bureaucrats dedicated to shoring up their influence and power within the hospital). He then went on to say that, in every single case, it is the latter class that gains ascendancy. This has been the case in every large organisation with which I have had dealings.
There’s a bottle of 18yo scotch in it for anyone who can tell me the name of the fellow who came up with that theory – all I can recall is that he was a journalist/philosopher (really!) of some note last century. If you know, just deliver the bottle to Malcolm and he will pass it on to me.
What a trusting fellow you are, Grumps.
That was Jerry Pournelle.
Well spotted.
What is the Pournelle law of bureaucracy?
Another “law” of his is “Pournelle’s iron law of bureaucracy”: In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals that the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.
Jerry Pournelle – Wikipedia
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Jerry_Pourn
Thanks abs. I have now written his name in a book I call my “Things I should not forget, but probably shall” book. I look forward to the whiskey.
EB, not knowing the exact number of ‘public serpents’. I would think it does need culling again.
It’s labor alternative to branch stacking.
Alah
Here are the public service numbers in shades of teal & pink.
https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/391000/queensland-public-sector-biannual-workforce-profile-mar-2023-quick-facts.PDF
The 246000 number is “full time equivalent” so even allowing for 10% of work being job share, the number heads to 270,000.
No one will quibble over the number of front line staff, but the middle managers trying to re-invent the wheel every other year to justify their jobs – they need to go.
The restaurant in Belgian Gardens was ‘Somewhere nice.” It had a great reputation until I dined there and ordered a meat pie. All ok to begin with, but, one half of the pie was still frozen and the other not. They reheated the thing and apologised and did not charge me. I would rather have had a fully heated pie and here I am thinking that the pie was made lovingly on the premises. Silly me.
Like the pie, the restaurant has long gone.
The Pie remains
Yeah, I wondered about that … was going to backread the obituaries to see if I’d missed destiny’s call.
I hear that Claudia Bum-smith from TEL is claiming a personal stake that it’s all her doing that Clover Pipelines is expanding its operation in Townsville. She is a complete shonk and chief bullshit artist as she is NOT responsible for the expansion at all. She is just sticking her label on someone else’s work, as usual. For someone who has mostly worked with makeup companies all of her life, she should stick to that.
If Crisafulli is the only alternative I’ll vote for him regardless of whether he’s a “kid” or represents the LNP.
Anyone would be better than what we’ve got at the moment.
The disorganised rabble that currently mismanages Queensland is an embarrassment.
Doug, we’ll probably have to wait until after the Local Government elections in March to see how the major parties shape up for the State election in October, especially in the Townsville seats. There seems to be an emerging element of radical conservatism in LNP ranks around the country, of the kind that is quite capable of making life difficult for moderates like Crisafulli. Remember how the Nationals dinosaurs crawled all over Deb Frecklington last time around? Anyway, I came across a nice old story about political misunderstanding which I thought you might enjoy (from the AFR a decade ago):
“Campbell Newman’s shellacking at the hands of Queensland voters last weekend in which he was ejected from his own seat and lost government has echoes in the following piece of local folklore.
The late Bob Katter senior, member for the federal seat of Kennedy, is driving his utility vehicle in the vicinity of Charters Towers with his window down when he passes an Indigenous woman on the roadside.
The woman shouts out “pig” to which Katter responds to an imagined insult with his own epithet at which point – distracted – he runs into a wild boar.
The punchline is: “It’s easy to be misunderstood.”
Echos of Hawkeys “Drovers Dog” comment!
Ahem, old timer. Think you will find it was Bill Hayden’s comment.
Yep! same election though.
Ditto Doug!
Claudia Bum-smith also visited the Bravus mine site last week. Why? What can be achieved by her doing that? Was she checking on the airstrip perhaps?
I notice that Cr Fran O’Callaghan, candidate for Mayor in 2024, has a website. Maybe it’s been up for ages? One of her aspirations for the mayoralty is that it:
“Returns to a back to basics approach, focusing on water security, roads, rubbish, parks and gardens and the presentation of our City”.
I wonder how she will deal with the pressing need expressed by state and federal governments to open up more land for residential development, more infrastructure for denser inner city residential and new-fangled industrial development, more arts/social/creative space for the growing city and some sort of environmental vision that recognises threats and opportunities? What about that lighting for the sports facilities at Riverway? These things don’t happen without leadership.
‘Back to basics’ sounds like keep your head down, mouth shut, status quo, stay nice, don’t rock the boat. Is that going to be Townsville in 2024?
That is the strangest, most convoluted logic I can remember. Trump would be proud.
Because it means don’t fuck around with sleazy carpetbagging crooks, don’t tell lies about concert halls/entertainment centres, build boardwalks for bird shit to nowhere, mismanage your own political party machinations so the ratepayer gets stuck with an $80m bill for a pipeline that but for petty politics would have been fully state and federally funded, cafes on Castle Hill and ridiculous Strand lagoons. And artificially propping up the egregious Townsville Enterprise.
Got it now?
Magpie you have often suggested that the town could do with a concert hall (or whatever semantic deviation you might suggest) and that the Riverway sports grounds should have lights so that cricket and AFL can be played there at night. Worthy aspirations for a big town like ours. Each project would require a few or many millions which is not money sitting in the treasure chest raised by rates. To avoid borrowing, these projects probably need to be funded by state or federal government and to get there requires political lobbying. Filthy though the concept might seem, that’s what mayors do. If the mayor stays at home, keeps her head down and mouth shut waiting for the cargo to land on the mountain, then someone else will do the lobbying – someone we haven’t voted for, who we don’t know or who we actually loath. Or, field left vacant, maybe it will be TEL. Not much choice but it’s our choice.
Your reasonable analysis doesn’t say much for Jenny hill, then, does it?
She places zero importance on the Riverway lights but was still willing to pony up $18m for a gift airstrip for a foreign mining billionaire. And its all forked tongue time when it comes to an entertainment centre … and if that turns out to be limited use concert hall for the benefit of a rarified taste in musical arts, Mayor Hill will leave us of a personal reminder of her ineptitude and indifference to the city’s well being ahead of her own hold on power.
Magpie, unfortunately the Adani airstrip, Townsville flooding and TPAC issues predate the last election. If voters were pissed off they could have given Jenny Hill the shove in 2020. By next March she will have several new ‘successes’ chalked up – most paid for by lobbied money from governments of both political stripes. If anyone wants to dislodge her they will require much political savvy and foghorn leadership. Playing nice with kid gloves and honourable intentions just won’t cut it.
Sadly true.
Back to Basics was one of Jenny’s catch cries in the last council election. We all know how well that has worked out
“Perfect Walker ‘warns’ journo”. Page 2 CM 9/11.
It wouldn’t have been ‘Lightweight Leighton”
Nah! Don’t think so. I doubt the astonisher will run the story. Even Les could teach Aaron how to handle the media.
Not a mention in the Astonisher, and probably more an ABC or TV question because as we all know, there seem to be editorial ban on Bulletin reporters asking questions.
But the story is a massive beat-up, because the headline and the general tone of the piece was implying a threat (of legal action one gathers, but then again, with Les, you never know.) When you read the quotes, it’s all News Ltd blather.
Pie, Memory Blank Walker said he’s done nothing wrong in the past 22years, leaves you thinking what he did wrong in the years before that, he gives himself an uppercut every time he opens his trap.
Did nothing wrong? He sure did … ducked when he should’ve weaved.
OK, not much point in having a blog if you can’t ask questions of no consequence. So knowing a lot of Nesters have aviation experience, can anyone tell more about that truly beautiful single engine, prop driven aircraft that has been buzzing around our skies recently?
Jets are exciting, sure, but to The ‘Pie, the sound of a majestically tuned Rolls Royce or Ptatt&Whitey or whatever power plant is just as thrilling … and in fact, this aircraft is a joy just to watch. And listen to.
Any clues?
Dont know if there is any connection, but Burdekin Aero Club have a public breakfast happening this Sunday 08.00 -11.00 . All you can eat & tea/coff for 10 notes. A Grumman AA5B TIGER is on display, and can be hired. I know nothing more, just saw the notice. Maybe it has been bopping around your part of the village for shits n giggles
Pie, the engine names you mentioned probably won’t be powering the craft that’s been buzzing your suburb lately. R/R and P and W are more commercial power plants. While I can’t name your visitors power plant, as a bit of useless info to bore you, the three main commercial aircraft engine manufacturers are Rolls Royce, Pratt and Whitney and General Electrics.
All Rolls Royce engines manufactures are named after rivers in the UK and any aviator will agree 100% with your love of the sound of a Rolls Royce engine (V 12 Griffon and Merlin in The British Spitfire anyone) !
They pilots say you can always tell a R/R engine when starting up in a big 747-400 as apposed to the other two manufacturers. They also have 3 sets of intake blades as apposed to 2 on their competitors.
Your buzzing friend probably has a Honda engine !
Another bit of info on RR Merlin engine. The US’ much vaunted WW2 Mustang, was the airframe was pretty good but the power plant was modest and its rate of climb about the same as a balloon.
Solution was to use the RR Merlin…….. built under licence by Packard, seems the “secret” was the 2 stage 2 speed Super charger design.
Interesting enough, but we have been delighted enough by the erudition, let’s not make this a aviator boffin’s corner.
You started it !
Magpie, haven’t seen or heard this aircraft. Does it have a high wing like a Cessna or low wing like a Piper or Tiger? Is the engine sound like a Cessna (ie. 4 cylinder) or like the old Red Baron biplane which has a multi-cylinder radial engine.
None of the above … it is more like a Spitfire (it isn’t though) but along those lines. And thank the aviation gods, absolutely nothing like the coughing-its-last great old Red Baron. The sound is pure propellor power. And a Cessa? Pfft!!
Looks like another Nester might have identified it.
Perhaps Jenny has upgraded her broom recently?
If only she sounded that exciting.
New model, courtesy of Claudia Broom-Smith!
(Sigh)
Pilatus PC-21 if flight tracking data is accurate.
Yep, RAAF trainer and new version of the Roulettes aerobatics team.
The PC-21 is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68B turboprop engine of 1,600 shaft horse power, which drives a five-bladed graphite scimitar propeller manufactured by Hartzell.
Now The ‘Pie knows, thank you.
11.36am Optus: We’re very sorry for the outage
We know the importance of being connected and we’re deeply sorry that your service was interrupted. We thank you for your understanding while we worked to restore our operations.
To thank you for your patience, we are providing you at least 200GB of extra data, so you can connect more during the upcoming summer. From Monday 13 November, go to optus.com.au for more details on how to add this to your service before the end of year.
We’re committed to working tirelessly to provide the value you deserve and the great network experience you expect from us.
For the most up-to-date information, as well the best ways to contact us, go to optus.com.au.
Sincerely,
Your Optus Team
The Magpie, an Optus customer for his mobile, is deeply touched.
And worth noting, an Astonisher top headline, maybe best of the year (low bar but all the same, a goody).
Just been watching the women’s Big Bash League cricket. Not too bad to watch. Some chunky bull dyke’s playing but Ellyse Perry is super hot. Anybody know if Madam Mullet has secured a game for sleepy old Townsville?
Why do you want a game up here, you couldn’t go. Well, not if you want to do what you’ve obviously been doing in your lay back armchair in your BVDs.
How is “chunky bull dykes” appropriate language?
Jonesy, tell us why it is appropriate to discuss appropriate language with someone who writes about ‘chunky bull dykes’? The phrase futile gestures comes to mind.
Especially chunky bull dykes playing “Big Bush League”.
Steady on, you’ll be giving Jonesy the conniptions.
It’s appropriate for me. You ‘woke’ fools (you are likely a bush pig with unshaven haven) are too sooky, you need to get a life.
So you’d be happy for your daughter to be called a chunky bull dyke?
What would be the problem if the daughter WAS a chunky bull dyke? There are so many variables in that loopy hypothetical (e.g. the person who says it is the one who is shamed) that it not worth pursuing further.