Uruguayans pray for rain as capital reservoir left with 10 days of water

Parrallaxx · 2023-05-25T04:00:51+00:00

In Australia we have the advantage of lots of sun and a huge percentage of our population living on the coast. Renewable energy works well for desalination because obviously you can just run the plant when you have the renewables available. Luckily enough absence of rain tends to correspond to lots of sunshine. Saying that desalination only provides a fraction of our drinking water, for instance the city where I live still relies 100% on rainfall.

Parrallaxx · 2023-05-11T09:24:34+00:00

Except for the time that Australians were asked to vote on the name of a ferry, they voted to name it after a prominent Australian environmentalist, and the Transport Minister ignored the vote and named it Ferry McFerryface instead.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/30/ferry-mcferryface-unmasked-foi-reveals-minister-chose-name-not-the-public

Parrallaxx · 2023-05-01T09:12:14+00:00

I mean if it's still available now you know where you can get a mattress for it.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-27T05:16:59+00:00

So Antarctica is the biggest island in the world?

You are a funny funny troll.

Ok I'll google it. Top three results for the word "island":
National Geographic: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/island/
"An island is a body of land surrounded by water. Continents are also surrounded by water, but because they are so big, they are not considered islands. Australia, the smallest continent, is more than three times the size of Greenland, the largest island."

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island
"An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water."
"There is a widely accepted difference between islands and continents in terms of geology. Continents are often considered to be the largest landmass of a particular continental plate; this holds true for Australia, which sits on its own continental lithosphere and tectonic plate (the Australian Plate)."

Encyclopedia Brittannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/island
"Island, any area of land smaller than a continent and entirely surrounded by water"

I can keep going?

Merriam Webster Dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/island
"a tract of land surrounded by water and smaller than a continent"

Dictionary.com https://www.dictionary.com/browse/island
"a tract of land completely surrounded by water, and not large enough to be called a continent."

Or... since you have trouble understanding the concept. From Ducksters Geography for Kids https://www.ducksters.com/geography/islands.php
"Islands are areas of land that are not connected to a continent and are surrounded by water" Therefore, if it's a continent, it's not an island.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-27T05:02:42+00:00

I was going to say Wests Executive Inn would be a good bet. I count, like, 4 traffic lights the whole way?
Google reckons it's a 7 minute drive, I think that's about right.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-27T04:09:12+00:00

That's why I said the Americas. Please learn to read properly. One big island with an isthmus down the middle.

Nice of you to keep ignoring Antarctica as well btw.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-27T03:40:34+00:00

No I'm not trolling. I'm asking by what logic does Australia get to be an island, but Antarctica isn't?
Australia is MUCH bigger than Greenland so that seems a logical place to say "ok, since Australia is SOO much bigger than Greenland, then Greenland is the biggest island and Australia is the smallest continent."

But if Australia IS an island, why isn't Antartica? By what logical step do you determine that the line that determines what is an island gets to include Australia but not Antarctica? How do you define the difference between what is small enough to be an island and what is too big.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-27T03:11:52+00:00

I can't believe someone needs to explain to you that Antarctica isn't connected to other landmasses?

Also, the Americas isn't connected to any other landmasses?

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-27T03:05:03+00:00

The logic here is how do you argue that Australia IS an island, being 3.5 times bigger than Greenland, and Antartica ISN'T an island, being only 1.6 times bigger than Australia?

By what logic do you allow Australia into island status and Antarctica not into island status?

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-27T02:53:10+00:00

Absolutely it's an arbitrary line. Definitions almost always are arbitrary. My point is that it doesn't take mental gymnastics to see that Australia belongs better with the continents than it does the islands. And to draw the line that Australia is small enough to be an island but the rest of the continents aren't makes no logical sense and only exists in the minds of those Australians that are inexplicably attached to calling it an island (I'm Australian btw).

The Americas is about 3 times bigger than Antarctica.

Antarctica is ~1.6 times bigger than Australia

Australia is ~3.5 times bigger than Greenland

Greenland is ~2.7 times bigger than New Guinea, the next biggest island.

So the biggest jump in size is between Greenland and Australia. Makes sense to put the line between the two there. Greenland is an island, Australia is a continent.

If you decide that Australia is an island, sure. But then it's consistent to also name Antarctica an island and put the line between Antarctica and the Americas, since that's the next huge jump in size. Antarctica is now the biggest island, Australia is number 2.

Now sure, definitions are arbitrary. My point was that it takes mental gymnastics to put that arbitrary definition as Australia being an island, not the other way around.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-26T21:47:20+00:00

It's not really mental gymnastics to understand that there needs to be a distinction between island and continent and Australia is on the continent side of that line because a) it is closer in size to the next biggest continent than it is to the biggest island, Greenland, and b) it dominates its tectonic plate, like the other continents.

I'd be curious to hear your mental gymnastics to argue why, if Australia is an island, why isn't Antarctica? Why isn't Africa? Why isn't the entirety of North and South America?

And before you say because they have more than one country, so does Ireland, does that make Ireland a continent? Or Timor?

How do you clearly define Australia to be an island and not those other continents?

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-26T01:57:49+00:00

My Italian is horrible but I did live there and was learning it for a year. The rules for Italian pronunciation are pretty consistent. Sure, they might not be the same rules as in English or Dutch, but they are consistent. And yeah they have rules for letter combinations so letters may be pronounced differently according to the letters around them, but so does English. But once you learn the rules you can basically pronounce Italian words correctly just by reading them. It's dramatically better than English where you learn all the rules and then realise that they are nonsense because there are so many words that don't obey them.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-26T01:48:55+00:00

The puzzle one for me is a great parallel. Her actions set you back in your game and cost you time. Sure you could fix it, but it'll take time.

Same with a puzzle. If you mess up someone's puzzle, yes it's not permanent, but it takes time to fix.

What she did was inconsiderate and basically says that she doesn't value time you spend doing something that you enjoy.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-26T01:09:36+00:00

Yep. I can only imagine how annoying a bunch of people sitting around all circle jerking about their IQs with each other must be.

Like I have worked with exceedingly intelligent people. World renowned in their highly academic fields. Never heard them mention IQ.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-26T01:03:58+00:00

In 2004, a New York Times reporter asked Stephen Hawking what his IQ was. “I have no idea,” the theoretical physicist replied. “People who boast about their IQ are losers.”

This. A thousand times this.

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-22T16:30:41+00:00

Hmmmm, let's see... On the one hand we have cost of living pressures forcing people to skip meals in... Australia https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/cost-of-living-meat-dairy-groceries-inflation-family-poverty/102124326 UK https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jan/26/uk-students-skipping-meals-because-of-cost-of-living-crisis New Zealand https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2023/04/cost-of-living-pensioners-living-in-pain-skipping-meals-as-inflation-pushes-essentials-out-of-reach.html

On the other hand, Louis XIVs supper apparently consisted of "four plates of soup, a pheasant, a partridge, ham, mutton, salad, pastry, fruit, and hard-boiled eggs." He ate so much food it was a damn spectacle that was popular for people to come and watch. https://dirtysexyhistory.com/2016/06/04/dining-in-the-court-of-louis-xiv/

But like, at least we can pay for overpriced strawberries in winter hey?

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-22T09:01:50+00:00

Have you been to Versailles? There's freaking huge fireplaces in every room, he had no problem with heating. Many of the modern conveniences like plumbing, showers etc are kind of moot when you have thousands of servants to bring you the hot water you need in a maybe bathtub.

Same goes for kitchen appliances, he wouldn't have ever step foot in the kitchen so the technology in the kitchen was again irrelevant to his standard of life. I'd much rather have a team of chefs than a Microwave.

Electrical lighting again a minute issue when you have a team of people lighting candles and lanterns in every room before you enter it.

I mean yeah sure healthcare, saying that he died at 76, not a short life.

So you are left with.... Sunglasses and strawberries in winter? Really?

Parrallaxx · 2023-04-17T12:31:58+00:00

Ah yes, the "I could inform you as to why you are wrong, but I can't be bothered because you are too stupid" argument. Always a classic. Right up there with the "nah, your mum" retort.

Parrallaxx · 2023-03-29T20:20:53+00:00

For context, I haven't tried an adult on the back but I have had 3 small children and a child's seat that add up to about 59kg.

Pedaling is straight forward because of the electric assist but yeah the challenge is tipping sideways when stopped. I lost it twice when I was starting out from leaning over to hit the button at crossing lights.

Saying that if you have an adult on the back they would probably also put a foot down for balance so I'd think it'd be easier?

Parrallaxx · 2023-03-29T08:30:08+00:00

So I guess the next question is how about a longtail cargo bike? I own a Vyron Haz E but there are a few other brands, namely Yuba, Tern and Tribe bikes based in Newcastle?

Parrallaxx · 2023-03-29T01:30:33+00:00

Not helpful. The vast majority of people never ride a bike and drive their cars everywhere and therefore get zero exercise getting from A to B.

Now you want to make people feel guilty for getting some exercise because it's not as much exercise as they could be getting?

Parrallaxx · 2023-03-29T00:52:31+00:00

Bosch conversion kits are very hard to come by. Bosch is great but they seem to try to stay away from the DiY kit space and just work with bike manufacturers.

Bafang are the main go to company for kits.

Parrallaxx · 2023-03-29T00:47:41+00:00

I have a friend that bought a bike from Metro Cycles in town and they converted it to electric for him a bit later. Not sure if they'd do it for a bike that they didn't sell but worth a shot, they have probably the best range of electric bikes in the city.

I had to go to Coastal Bikes in Gosford for the ebike I wanted so maybe try them if Metro falls through.

Sorry no idea regarding fabrication.... You want a sidecar for an ebike? It feels like a cargo bike would meet the same requirement but because it's not custom made would be cheaper.

Parrallaxx · 2023-03-25T19:54:49+00:00

I just checked. A rachio 3 is $450 in Australia and that's before the waterproof enclosure, fittings etc.

So my solution is roughly 1/3 the price.

Parrallaxx

TROPHY CASE

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