The one and only time I have been in a Rolls Royce was in late 1990 in Auckland. A funeral director was giving me and the parish priest a lift somewhere in his company’s hearse, a Rolls Royce. The vehicle had been purchased by the New Zealand government for a royal visit of HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand.…

As a Portlander who formerly commuted by bicycle, and now commutes by car I can share my reasoning: 1) my gym closed at the beginning of the pandemic, so I couldn’t shower before work; 2) the dramatic increase in homeless people addicted to meth made using the off-road cycle paths like the Springwater Trail and the…

It’s not like USA, but it’s bad enough. While the weapons being used are illegal to both own and import, crims usually find a way. The black-market value of a handgun is close to AUD 20,000 from what I’ve read. Any guns seized during police investigations get destroyed.

If the cars were stolen in the first place, they get returned to the lawful owner, or more likely, the insurance company that paid on the car. Depending on modifications, they may be determined to be unroadworthy so the owner/insurance company has to agree to remove said mods, or the car is wrecked by NSW Police.

There are some police agencies in the US that are finding it very difficult and expensive to obtain insurance precisely because they have too many claims against the policy. Insurers make them adopt better policies for training and discipline to maintain coverage. In large agencies, however, the governing body, e.g.…

As an Australian ex-pat, I’ll weigh in: I think that this is an initial requirement for current license holders. I am quite confident that the South Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport will introduce amendments into Parliament in due course that extend the licensing requirements.

I think that the people who would be interested in an RV already have one. I have stayed in travel trailers in my youth, and briefly considered buying one when we moved out of NYC to the PNW. However, I cannot make the numbers work. By the time I buy one, find somewhere to store it for the 49 weeks a year I’m at work,…

The big difference between an HOA and real government is that real governments like Federal, State, County, Municipal, School Districts and other districts, is that governments have to follow laws. If you don’t like them, you can lobby to amend them. The gated community’s HOA will find it much easier to screw with…

If you have an available 20 amp circuit in your garage, and you plug your car in when it’s parked using the supplied cable, you will be able to keep your car optimally charged (~80%) most of the time. Most cars spend most of their time parked. You can also have your local electrician install a 30 amp dryer outlet (or…

The best time to renew your passport is 6 - 12 months before it expires, and you don’t have any travel planned. I renewed mine early last year, and was anticipating an international flight in late 2022. I knew what the wait times were and did not plan on cutting it fine.

Depends on the circumstances, but there is always a no food in the vehicle rule, however, we stop for food every two hours or so.

I am not surprised that KIA is targeting Australia (and probably New Zealand), there is a significant unmet demand for larger pickup trucks in those two countries, which will likely lead to very health margins on a new vehicle, particularly if it can safely tow a heavy travel trailer. Towable RV’s (caravans) are just…

People who don’t familiarize themselves with the carryon bag rules, and the gate agents who don’t enforce them. If everyone flying on, say, Delta had a carryon bag no bigger than 22" x 14" x 9" and stowed it wheels in on its long side, there’d be plenty of room in the overhead bins for most bags. Your larger bag goes…

It’s always slow horses, fast women/men, crooked cards and straight whiskey.

I’m not sure I care whether a vehicle is “luxury” or not. My 2012 Mazda CX-9 GT FWD is in excellent mechanical condition, interior is clean - it has a few scratches, but that happens to any car. Biggest thing is that it is reliable, paid for, and not outrageously expensive to run. I’m probably going to keep it until…

There are actually very few citizens of Vatican City, mostly just those members of the Vatican Curia (civil service) and a few full-time Vatican employees. Only an infinitesimally small number of actual priest, religious brothers and sisters are citizens. If Vatican City wanted to extradite a pedo priest to face trial…

I remember reading about Cuomo’s attitude to Byford, apparently the ex-gov’s fragile ego couldn’t tolerate someone else in NY government getting better publicity than him for doing his job better. My guess is that at Amtrak, this won’t reoccur because neither President Biden nor Secretary Buttigieg are known to have…

I would argue that there are a few real sovereign citizens, but not of the USA: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, King Mswati III of Eswatini, Sultan Hatham bin Tariq of Oman, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Pope Francis of Vatican City. These are all absolute monarchs. No citizen of the USA could be considered…

When I was a child my parents drove a succession of Valiant and Falcon station wagons (this was Australia) with two kids relegated to the luggage area in the back. This was dangerous and is now illegal - you are not allowed to drive with an unrestrained passenger in the vehicle. Remember those episodes of “The Brady…

Something that screams “serial killer on the prowl for twinks”.