This is so interesting. I’m a slow and cautious EV driver with an older 1T Minicab-MiEV which runs light truck tyres. My hoon friends look aghast and would never drive such a dinky car. It weighs less than half a standard ICE ute. But I’ve been told my tyres need changing after only around 20k-30k km. Minicabs do have tiny tyres and I do more highway than city driving, so that is likely part of the equation, but it could be that there really is something more to this that EVs run through tyres faster, and not just because of weight. Which sucks as particulates in the environment are often from tyre wear 😞

new EVs are definitely overpriced, but secondhand ones, for the brave, are an excellent option. Ask me how I know 😁

Look up vipassana. This is a Buddhist practise and offered in structured meditation retreats around the world, & where choosing not to speak is not only viewed positively, it is required by all participants, and may give you some insight into the human condition. I have always wanted to attend one but life hasn’t given me the opportunity to do so yet.

The only change I’ve made has been to stop buying imported fresh fruit: specifically grapes from the USA. This year berries have remained very cheap this winter due to the warmer weather, so it’s been an easy swap.

I’m much more concerned about next year.

as a buyer of not one, not two, but three second hand EVs from Japan, I can confidently say that they are cheaper once they are older, but guess what… batteries are outlasting most projections by a significant amount.

There are indeed buyers for older secondhand EVs. And while new buyers are paying a premium, this is an excellent democratising feature of this new market.

I’m sure they will find ways around this.

And those of us who refused the algos by simply not using the sites that have been at the forefront of developing these weapons are over here, anyway.

this was the comment I came here for

well, half the population is of less than average intelligence… 😐​

hmm, this seems somewhat to tell a different story?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign-exchange_reserves_of_China

The true breakdown of total reserves is not public, but it does seem to me that the actions of China are bolstering stability far more than the US at this stage, and I expect to see further decline in USD holdings globally as the US implodes its former soft power supremacy.

China has been quietly selling off its USD for a decade. The geopolitical alliances have been shifting for a while, but Hormuz just pushed it into high gear.

Personally I now avoid doing business with US companies where possible and am looking into Bank of China for banking - getting away from anything that sends money to the US where I can. I doubt I’m the only one.

oh yes another reason to avoid. The list gets longer every day.

yes, but politically these days (since March 2026) it seems much smarter to reject the US completely, it does not feel at all as stable as China now. I mean China’s power is what has stopped the cost oil sky-rocketing into the stratosphere this year. China is clearly in control and the US is a dumpster fire now bent on destroying the globalisation it once created.

it is still something to celebrate, it’s only if past this point the new coal fired power stations contribute more than retiring ones and new solar. That’s the metric to watch.

given the current political climate I’m surprised they allow USD anymore. I’d expecting them to be sucking up more to China and requiring RMB.

technically you can push the Coles gates open, but they don’t really swing. I hate them and they usually don’t like me, and I actively avoid Coles for all but emergencies specifically because of them (and oh the Palantir contact too of course).

I have Mitsubishi Minicab-MiEV, it weighs about 1T, and is very stable even in high winds, is the battery plus light commercial tyres that really help!

and still, they authorise more giant data centres

we are so fucked

no no noey no

about time!!​