General Discussions

[Gointocarlton]

Heard today that there is many more times the amount in Beirut stored in Newcastle.  Not sure of its exact location in that city. ☠

I'd hazard a guess (no pun intended) that the storage is heavily controlled and fortified as opposed to the ticking timebomb in Beirut

[LP]

Hazmat is pretty strict in Australia, special licensing, heavy regulations, inspections, etc., etc.. Even so these incidents are not impossible, and it's nearly always human error, malicious intent rarely factors. At one location we keep relatively small quantities of powdered metals for 3D printing, each batch of any pyrolytic material has to be self-contained, have it's own locker in it's own explosion bay, in gas filled moisture barrier containers.

I read that in Beirut apparently someone had allowed fireworks to be stored in the same location/facility. I can't say it wouldn't happen, but it would be illegal here.

[Gointocarlton]

Hazmat is pretty strict in Australia, special licensing, heavy regulations, inspections, etc., etc.. Even so these incidents are not impossible, and it's nearly always human error, malicious intent rarely factors. At one location we keep relatively small quantities of powdered metals for 3D printing, each batch of any pyrolytic material has to be self-contained, have it's own locker in it's own explosion bay, in gas filled moisture barrier containers.

I read that in Beirut apparently someone had allowed fireworks to be stored in the same location/facility. I can't say it wouldn't happen, but it would be illegal here.

Not a hope in hell it would happen here.

[LP]

Not a hope in hell it would happen here.

See today's reports, some dodgy Russian involvement seems to be a trigger in Beirut.

[Gointocarlton]

See today's reports, some dodgy Russian involvement seems to be a trigger in Beirut.

Yeah just read it in the Hun, I still have full confidence that something like that (ie dodgy) wouldn't happen here, not impossible but very highly unlikely IMO.

[LP]

Yeah just read it in the Hun, I still have full confidence that something like that (ie dodgy) wouldn't happen here, not impossible but very highly unlikely IMO.

Who would have thought Putin would "accidentally" blow up a big exclusive chunk of of an ally like Beirut! :o

Where are those post COVID gas and oil supply lines, and who profits from ongoing disputes by selling munitions?

[dodge]

Someone posted that the flight from Brisbane to Darwin is a surprising 3 hrs 45 mins.  It still amazes me how big Australia is - it takes over 5 hours to get out of Australia going to Singapore from Melbourne - Brisbane is only half way to Cairns etc.  No wonder there are plenty of tourists who don't quite get how long it takes to go anywhere.  It takes about 7 hours to drive from Melbourne to the North West corner of Vic!

A mate of mine was working in London and there was a Wallbies v Scotland game in Edinburgh, so he drove up on Friday and back on Sunday.  No one believed that he went - had to produce ticket stubs as evidence - because you couldn't possibly drive that far on a weekend - admittedly it is a fair drive even for Aussies for a weekend.

[LP]

A mate of mine was working in London and there was a Wallbies v Scotland game in Edinburgh, so he drove up on Friday and back on Sunday.  No one believed that he went - had to produce ticket stubs as evidence - because you couldn't possibly drive that far on a weekend - admittedly it is a fair drive even for Aussies for a weekend.

Yes, it's truly bizarre.

My wife travelled with me to the UK when our 1st child was born, the vast majority of her relatives are UK based so it was time for her to do the circuit of grans, aunts and cousins. I was staying in Birmingham for a convention at the BEC, Birmingham was good because it was central to her family, some in Bath/Cardiff area and others over at Ipswich. When the hire company delivered the car to the hotel, the staff couldn't believe she was going to drive all that way with a Wee Bairn all by herself just for the day. They thought she should go for at least a few days or maybe even a week. It was just 2hrs in either direction, like a circuit of Port Phillip Bay from Portsea to Geelong!

[Gointocarlton]

Yes, it's truly bizarre.

My wife travelled with me to the UK when our 1st child was born, the vast majority of her relatives are UK based so it was time for her to do the circuit of grans, aunts and cousins. I was staying in Birmingham for a convention at the BEC, Birmingham was good because it was central to her family, some in Bath/Cardiff area and others over at Ipswich. When the hire company delivered the car to the hotel, the staff couldn't believe she was going to drive all that way with a Wee Bairn all by herself just for the day. They thought she should go for at least a few days or maybe even a week. It was just 2hrs in either direction, like a circuit of Port Phillip Bay from Portsea to Geelong!

Italians think we are mad how far we drive to go to places. Italy is roughly the size of Victoria (sq km wise).

[LP]

Italians think we are mad how far we drive to go to places. Italy is roughly the size of Victoria (sq km wise).

Yeah, got to be very careful of those map projections.

I don't know how many times I've had work associates tell me they are going to NZ, usually to arrive in Wellington, spend the day and then drive from Wellington to Auckland leaving at the end of the next business day. On a world map or globe it looks like Melb to Albury, 3 ~ 4 hrs, but it's more like Melb to Canberra and takes about 7hrs.