When we built 6 years ago, we advised the builder that we wanted a Zero Energy house and that it would be audited and profiled by the SECCCA and published in their magazine.

We weren’t seeking any discount or special treatment, but it would have been a great opportunity for this builder to showcase that they are progressive.

Every step of the way, the Site Supervisor and contractors snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. It is was almost as if they were trying to sabotage the build.

It came to a head when they tried to install an “electric assist” hot water service instead of a fully electric hot water service. We never had Gas to site.

The Site Supervisor and their manager called us idiots for not wanting gas and ranted and raved. They said it was not possible to have a house in Australia without Gas hot water.

Their CEO got involved and pointed out that his house did not have Gas to site, he had two Tesla PowerWalls and 20kW of solar over two inverters and was essentially off-grid in suburbia. He got a rebate from his power company every month.

The Site Supervisor was fired and their manager was given a demotion.

Building Inspectors used to be employed by local government and were audited to prevent them being able to take bribes.

Now Building Inspectors are employed by the builder. Their whole business model is one big bribe.

I see people walk out of the supermarket without paying constantly.

They just walk out with carry-baskets full of stuff, the staff call them out and they just keep walking with no consequences! They don’t even return the baskets!

Meanwhile, us honest people at the self-checkouts get treated like a criminal if we want to purchase something that is too light for the scales to register and are treated like social deviants if we don’t want to use a loyalty card.

“Back when I was a lad, we used to commute into the city every day in our V8-powered sedan and it only took 10 minutes because petrol only cost 30c/l and there weren’t as many cars on the road.” “I expect my workers to do the same, even though petrol is $2.30/l and it takes them an hour to and from work.”

You’re thinking of a LandCruiser

https://youtu.be/IBIRnrTItGo?si=J7lL8lJWu784TOCP

Landrovers aren’t quite as amphibious.

https://youtu.be/BDfF3UJZvaY?si=FYndfTP8CokV9jiY

Even Kei Cars are getting bigger.

A Gen1 Jimny was 3620mm by 1295mm for a LWB Stockman Ute/pickup/truck

A Gen4 Jimny is 3645mm by 1475mm for a SWB 3-door.

Im sure a Seppophile who drives a ‘Murucan truck would use “Pal”.

They don’t. You need to already have one to buy one though.

We drive on the Left in Australia. That is the Drivers side.

This model was advertised as a “Wide-Body Camry” because they were so much more spacious.

In the early 2000s Jeep Australia had a policy of voiding warranty’s if the vehicle had 4WD engaged at any time.

Adjustable height hitches are practical for most tow vehicles to get a safe and level load.

The ADR 62 and Australian Standard 4177 also dictate legal ball heights for towing (basically a 50mm ball has to be no more than 400mm from the road surface).

Even the factory Towbar that was supplied with my Suzuki Jimny mounted the ball at 395mm (which was barely legal).

(Articulated Hitches like pin hitches or block hitches don’t have this restriction. I use a ball for my little garden trailer and a DO35 for my lightweight off-road camper. I have different height drop-hitches for each type of trailer.)

I have seen several towing.

One was the owner of a Health Drink company and had a mobile kitchen for events.

Another was an oversized-palatial-mansion-suite-on-wheels (caravan). It was too big to fit in the caravan park.

A cab-over is much more practical 99% of the time. An Isuzu N-Series or Hino 300 has much higher GCM, more comfortable cabin and larger bed.

They just aren’t fitted with V8-powered inadequacy compensators.

I have a neighbour that is none of those things and owns a black one. He is a big fella, and nice enough bloke, but often has to reverse back up suburban streets because he can’t get past the parked cars.

His wife has a white Tesla 3 and is stereotypical “I have a self-driving car so I don’t need to look up when I am driving”.

Who hasn’t the British upset?

• The EU
• Former Colonies
• Existing Colonies

Probably Canadians, but no one can upset a Canadian.

I’ve noticed that one of the largest fleet purchaser of oversized mega-utes are the Mobile EV recovery companies. They take a Dodge RAM, stick a Diesel Generator on the back and they can drive around, rescuing the EVs that ran out of charge.

Because they are promoting EV use, they actually get carbon credits for this.

Consumer phones in regional areas are still an issue. As @baku said, 3G has better range than 4G (which has better range than 5G). If someone in the middle of the bush, or on a country road needs to use their 5G phone, they may not have coverage.

I have a friend that had to drive 10km with a cracked skull, ribs and broken arm and leg because he didn’t have coverage on his farm. He now has 3G coverage, but not 4G.

High Tech doesn’t automatically mean MLL. There is still plenty of “High Tech” that isn’t a Techbros wet dream.

The term ‘AI’ is not not turning off customers. The actual product is turning off customers.

It has already been proven that the products claiming to be AI are just advanced enshitification and that they are inferior to traditional products.

It is time for everyone to jump off the AI bandwagon and start making products that are actually smart and aren’t just called “Smart”.