The One Day of the Year

I dragged myself out of a warm bed this morning, and drove the 150km to Brisbane to march with my old unit association. There’s no-one else in this town from 7RAR, so if I want any form of reunion, this is necessary.

I’m glad I did. Apart from running into old mates and sparring partners, I met “Leafy” who was repatriated to Australia fairly early in our tour with Scrub Typhus. I hadn’t seen him for 38 years, but recognition was instant.

We marched, had a few beers, talked about old times, and enjoyed the atmosphere, which was like nothing I’ve seen before. I remember a sea of faces, people shouting “thank you!”, and an amazing mix of garb, ages and races.

The only difficulty was when I arrived in the city without any idea of where the march was forming up. I asked directions of a couple dressed in merchant navy blazers. They were Scots – with brogues so thick that I couldn’t understand a word. A young Asian woman was just as helpful, but her “Engrish” was more comprehensible.

One arresting sight was the row of motorcycles in front of the Irish Club. It was a bit like Saigon on steroids- the bikes were as prolific, but on a different scale.

Motoring in Oz

The recent passing of John Button made me reflect on his extraordinary contribution to motor vehicle production in Australia and consider the future of this vital industry.

The diminutive Button exerted a positive influence on this industry to an extent way out of proportion to his physical size, and positively influenced the lives of many Australians. He dragged motor manufacturing kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century, and is largely responsible for its relative health today.

Maybe it’s time we found another Moses to lead the industry into the future, particularly as it bears on the market for large vehicles.

Australians have traditionally been very fond of large six cylinder cars, and the latest versions of these vehicles are able to hold their own on world markets as demonstrated by the export success of (for example) the Holden Commodore.

The threat to continued success in this market is posed by the fuel consumption of these vehicles, and is the principal reason for their declining sales locally. I believe there is a marketing opportunity open to both Ford Australia and GMH presented by this threat, and the availability of LPG as an alternative fuel. This is reinforced by my own experience.

Like many Australians, I do heaps of long distance driving, and find these large and robust vehicles eminently suitable for the task. The quality of accessories such as radios, air-conditioning systems, and headlights reflect the demands of our hostile environment, and are usually more suitable to our conditions than imports. I feel qualified to judge, because I’ve driven just about every make and model in the corporate fleet in the last five years, over distances as much as 3000km per week.

My own car is an LPG equipped Falcon. The conversion is a state-of-the-art sequential vapour injection system. It has proved totally reliable, completely refined (no whiff of gas odour), and performs as well, and in some circumstances better than, the unleaded version. Note that this conversion is not the antiquated system that Ford insists on fitting to its E-Gas factory vehicles. I average 13.2 lit/100km on a mix of urban and country driving, and this costs the equivalent of driving a vehicle returning 6.6lit/100km given the difference in price between the two fuels. Because I have a toroidal (doughnut shaped) tank fitted, the folding rear seat feature is preserved. I do lose a little boot space because of the displacement of the spare, but often travel without it, using a pressure pack puncture kit. Another bonus is a range on combined fuels of about 1000km, and the flexibility this allows.

My suggestion is this – Local manufacturers should spend development money on SVI systems, and build a vehicle from the ground up around such a system. It could be marketed to cash in on the public demand for green vehicles, and would use a fuel resource that is locally produced and readily available. In 2006 Australia produced approximately 3.1 million tonnes of LPG. In the same year Australia consumed 1.9 million tonnes. Some 80% (2.5 million tonnes) of LPG production is 'naturally occurring' and is sourced directly from underground reserves associated with crude oil and natural gas production. 20% of indigenous LPG production (600,000 tonnes) is extracted from crude oil refining at the seven refineries located near Australia's major capital cities. 60% of LPG consumed is used in automotive applications across 550,000 cars and light commercial vehicles.

Australia currently exports approximately 1.5 million tonnes of LPG but also imports around 300,000 tonnes of LPG (propane) to the large East Coast market.

Surely it would be better to use this fuel (which is cleaner) than continuing to be ripped off by the oil companies. A little imaginative marketing would make all the difference. The local manufacturers have the available technology.

It’s ironic that diesel has just begun to catch on at the same time that its price is skyrocketing. A cynic would suggest a connection.

Pascal and Climate Change

Today’s Oz published the following in its letters page –

I agree with Don Aitkin that managing water and finding alternatives to oil-based energy are two huge environmental issues, but that's where our consensus ends.

I believe a version of Pascal's wager (as referred to by Aitkin) does hold true in regard to climate change. If we spend lots of time and money developing cleaner energy solutions and, in the process, we lower worldwide GDP by less than 1 per cent (as suggested is likely by Nicholas Stern and others) and then find out the science was wrong, we have a cleaner, healthier, smarter, more comfortable world to live in and hand on. The reduction of wealth will be imperceptible. On the other hand, if we judge the science to be wrong now and take little action, and the science is ultimately proven to be right, it's too late.

Dean Comber Camp Hill, Qld

This nails it pretty well for me. Pascal posits that it is a better "bet" to believe that God exists than not to believe, because the expected value of believing (which Pascal assessed as infinite) is always greater than the expected value of not believing. In Pascal's assessment, it is inexcusable not to investigate this issue:
I believe the same holds for climate change, even if the issue has been over-hyped to the point of absurdity.

Early

Walking and driving are two activities that I enjoy. This has not always been the case. I’ve always enjoyed getting behind the wheel of a car, but walking has not always been a passion. It paled somewhat after months of tromping through the scrub with a heavy pack on my back and a rifle in my hand back in 1970. The fact that mines were strewn about and determined guerillas were intent on mischief also spoiled the experience a bit.

These days, I’m fortunate to live in an environment that provides lots of opportunities to both walk and drive in a pristine bushland setting, and I’m making the most of it. A daily drive to a different track each day eliminates boredom and encourages new discoveries.

Generally I’m by myself, because my wife says I walk too fast, and my daughter would prefer to stay in bed. There’s usually plenty of feathered company, particularly on the escarpment. This morning it was greenies and magpies.
On my ramblings I saw a disgruntled looking magpie. I’m not sue why he looked unhappy, as the early morning fragrance of the bush, the warmth of the sun, and the interesting colours all provided a great lift for the spirit.

The photo doesn’t do it justice. I used my mobile phone. Taking photos with these things provides a result commensurate with trying to have a phone conversation on a digital camera.

Long Lunch

I had lunch yesterday with the bloke who was my platoon commander for six months in South Vietnam in 1970. I hadn’t seen him for thirty eight years, but this was not a problem.

Driving home, I wondered why it took me so long to look him up – he’s lived fairly close for a while. Inertia is the best rationale, but it is a poor excuse. The fellowship of old soldiers is unique and valuable, and it should be fostered. We should also support each other – not that this bloke needs it – he’s had a very successful life post Vietnam.

The other great part of this exercise was the opportunity to drive my new toy a couple of hundred kilometres over interesting roads between Toowoomba and the Scenic Rim.

All in all, a very pleasant day.

Minimum Wages

The following letter was published hed in today’s Oz –

Some lateral thinking on minimum wages.

May I suggest setting the minimum wage as a fixed fraction of the total salaries of the wealthiest? The formula could be very simple. For example the minimum wage could be set at 5 per cent of the average remuneration of the top 1 per cent of all earners. In that way, every time a CEO manages to screw a few more million out of his board, everyone else will have to be paid a small increase. This will cause restraint at the top end and fairness at the bottom, and save much legal argument.

J. Whitehead, Chapel Hill, Qld

This is one of the most common-sensed proposals I’ve seen in a month of Sundays. I wonder how the captains of industry would deal with it.

I've got a pretty fair idea.

Transition Object

I drove 25km to buy the paper this morning. 

This had something to do with the fact that I now own a Mazda MX5 roadster. For years (since I was 17) I’ve wanted a sports car. Arguably, this is as close as I’ll ever get.

I reckon that at the rate my investments are being diminished by the crazy stock market, and the progress of arthritis and advancing senility, I have limited time to realise the dream.

This car was too good to miss. It has 34000 on the clock, was owned by a young married woman who drove it to work, and garaged it nightly. It has all the boring reliability of a modern Japanese car, but is a blast to drive.

This morning I drove down the mountain with the top down to buy the paper. Driving this thing gives a whole new meaning to sensory overload. It’s amazing how much more aware of your surroundings you become without a metal and glass cover over your head.

There is a downside. Cattle crates don’t mix well with open topped vehicles.

“Transition Object?”- This thing will assist in a smooth transition to old age.

Best of all, my children have automatic licenses only, so no more “Can I have the car please, Dad?” 

A six speed gearbox hopefully will be too much of a challenge.