Can be fairly sure they are in the USA.

To grossly simplify a very expansive topic of concrete vs asphalt, vs bitumen…

Concrete = more upfront cost, slower to built. It is more durable. Costs more to repair. Less traction. More noisy to drive on due to joints.

Bitumen = cheapest up front to build. Less durable, but can still get a fairly good life out of it if designed to meet expected loads. Can be repaired more cheaply.

Asphalt. Middle ground between the two. (It’s effectively bitumen with cement binder added) Most of our freeways, major arterial roads here are asphalt.

Things that effect the choice: Different CAPEX vs OPEX strategies, especially with politics for public roads.

Local availability of materials.

Local environmental conditions i.e. freeze / thaw cycles we don’t have to deal with in most of Australia. High temperatures we do get, which does effect bitumen.

Fair to say that costs in one country for different labour and materials look a bit different too.

Guessing you are not from Australia and have never been here. Thick concrete and rebar are not typically how we construct our roads. The vast majority use flexible pavement.

Does the day need to be affixed to a particular date?

Can we not just make it the first Friday in February or something?

Not worried about any significance as long as we get a Sumner long weekend!

We use the outer suburbs as a fire break. No trees left to burn there. Just roof and road.

What if my lawn mower is battery electric?

A friend shared their account with me. Whilst their reviews focus on how a product is when new, it does not really do long term reviews of how they hold up over time. Which for bigger purchases is also just as important.

Drove from Perth to Albany yesterday. No evidence that anyone cares about double demerits.

The usual experience of course. That is people doing 80 around corners / up hills in the 110 zone, that speed up to 120+ in the overtaking lanes. Including several double trucks.

I tend to take my chances and fly past them in the overtaking lane regardless whilst hoping there isn’t a police car around.

They also banned adults from big social media who don’t want to comply with what ever data harvesting / govt spying mandate that will be implemented.

Well the politicians who are in charge of record immigration / population growth, lax building and planning standards will not have to live in one of these new estates, so why would they give a fuck?

Fancy olive oil. Hell even regular stuff costs fancy prices these days.

Gourmet pickles, sauces etc. Not stuff that you find in supermarkets though.

Wide brimmed hat.

Damn I wish I had asked for one of these!

My guess is labor themselves would rather the electorate swung to liberal than a variety of independents / minors.

My hope is that more independents and minors get in. The majors only seem to look after the 1% when it comes to economic policy.

Can you please make a government internet ID, and connect that to your social media instead?

That way social media companies will know who you really are, and the govt will be able to know what social media accounts are yours. It’s even better that way.

Not even our first rodeo. Both of our major parties are abhorrent on digital rights.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-09/government-abandons-plans-for-internet-filter/4362354

Yes! Another great point. I have a very high success rate with aldi self serve checkouts. Coles ones frequently have issues resulting in waiting for the attendant.

Another thing I like about aldi is it doesn’t have inane music and ads blasting at you over a P.A. If I go there when it’s not peak time it’s nearly silent which makes shopping feel very peaceful and makes me want to spend longer in the place.

Also much faster to navigate than colesworth due to less aisles of stuff I mostly have no interest in.

I wish infinite growth on a finite planet wasn’t somehow a forgone conclusion.

Locally, I don’t think cities get better past a certain size.

Even if we get people living in apartments instead of suburban sprawl, it still makes for too many people putting demand on natural attractions, resources etc.

Besides, I don’t see us shifting to apartments any time soon. The issue is apartments cost far too much per square metre to construct compared to suburban project homes.

Maybe it varies by industry, but I’ve been a white collar desk jockey for 18 years and I’ve never once heard of lunch theft in real life, only seen on social media.

As if the Liberals are actually going to reduce immigration though. Their policy has been mass immigration to please the owner class since John Howard.

Depends on the state. I don’t think they vary by much though. In W.A. I paid 28.7 cents per kWh. Plus a daily supply charge of 102 cents per day.

Have also had a few hundred dollarbucks worth of credits this year from the state government.