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Wednesday

9.9 out of 10 based on 9 ratings

105 comments to Wednesday

  • #
    Peter C

    Farrer By election and the importance of Voting Preferences

    Topher Field weighs in and once again uses his trays full of marbles to explain how voters preferences will determine the outcome of the Farrer by election which includes the cities of Albury and Wagga Wagga.

    Farrer is the federal electorate previously held by Susan Ley until she resigned from parliament after losing the leadership of the Liberal party.

    According to Topher it will come down to a two way contest between One Nation and independent candidate Michele Milthorpe with One Nation finishing highest on first preferences.

    However Michele Milthorpe ( who is very similar to a Teal) will get almost all the Labour and Green preferences which will propel her into first place. It will then come down to the preferences of Liberal and National voters.

    Topher expects both the Liberal and the National parties to advocate for Milthorpe on their how to vote cards, proving that they are all part of the Uniparty. Fortunately fewer that 1/3 of voters actually follow the how the vote cards. Even more voters must think for themselves and direct their own preferences if One Nation is to be successful.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TiuLIvlXvp0

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    • #
      David Maddison

      It was exceptionally selfish of Susssssan Ley to resign at this time before the Liberals had time to reform themselves and adopt some conservative policies, assuming they will do that.

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        Dennis

        The first presentation by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor (selected by two thirds of Liberal MPs voting) of the new Shadow Ministery and some mission statements regarding policies being finalised was impressive.

        The youthful but well qualified Shadow Ministers are well positioned and well suited, in my opinion, to become a future 2028 young government of cabinet ministers, and young is the key for young Australians future.

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        Steve of Cornubia

        For me, it just showed that the Libs – for once – made the right call sacking her. She was never a conservative and clearly had no loyalty to the party.

        I knew she was the wrong choice for leader on her first day, when she announced that she was going to get more women into parliament. With the nation in such strife economically, socially and facing very real geopolitical threats, to focus on so-called gender equality on day one was a huge red flag.

        Good riddance.

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        • #
          Gary S

          Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher, Lidia Thorpe, Mehreen Faruqi, Anika Wells, Tania Plibersek, Monique Ryan, Zali Steggall, Sarah Hanson-Young, Larissa Waters, Claire O’Neil, Michelle Rowland, Linda Birney – Do we need more of this?

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        Just Thinkin'

        David, just goes to show she is a SOLID member of the UNJparty.

        Just like most of the liberals.

        Self first, self last and self in-between.

        60

      • #
        Graham Richards

        The new leader needs to add a very important modification to the pending “immigration policy” up grade.put a total stop to allowing immigrants to bring siblings, parents & many other “family” members either with the immigrants or as a consistent flow of family members after the fact!! Who knows what they may be getting up to whilst living well at our expense. They must think we’re a nation of mugs!!
        All the extras usually end up living off the tax payer!!
        Of course the current “government” doesn’t mind as they’ll inevitably vote Labor!

        50

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        Gazzatron

        Agreed, it was also exceptionally selfish of her to nominate or accept nomination for the leader role when she was clearly inept and ill-suited for the role at such a perilous time for the party.

        20

    • #
      Dennis

      Regardless of first choice primary vote selection, if intent on getting rid of Albanese Labor Government in 2028, vote last three preference places in this order;

      Teals
      Greens
      Labor

      110

      • #
        Peter C

        Teals bad. Michelle Milthorpe, is a Teal in all but name.
        Therefore, to restore our country and its economy preference One Nation ahead of Michele Milthorpe

        50

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      David Maddison

      The great thing about supposed anthropogenic climate change is that all adverse weather events can be blamed on it: too hot, too cold, too much snow, not enough snow.

      It represents unlimited types of weather events to blame and unlimited opportunities for the subsidy harvesters, especially in countries with extremely stupid politicians, senior public serpents and opinions-for-hire “scientists”.

      Australia is a good example of the above.

      The United States under the TRUMP Administration is a good example of the converse.

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      • #
        Steve

        The great thing about supposed anthropogenic climate change is that all adverse weather events can be blamed on it

        Which IMO is what proves it is a scam. There absolutely MUST be an outcome that can falsify the null hypothesis. If it is unfalsifiable then it is not a legitimate hypothesis. It is an article of faith, and there is no place for faith in the scientific method. Faith is for theology and religions, which is what the climate change cult is.

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Aren’t you glad that “children in England won’t know what snow is” by 2010?

      150

    • #
      RickWill

      Not the usual record associated with snow. Rather sad in fact:
      A record 13 skiers, climbers, and hikers have died in the Italian mountains over the past week, rescuers have confirmed.

      https://au.news.yahoo.com/record-13-deaths-italian-alps-090848720.html

      Just another way cold is deadlier than hot.

      160

    • #
      el+gordo

      A Sudden Stratospheric Warming event and a collapse of La Nina is forecast to bring more snow and a wet spring.

      https://www.severe-weather.eu/long-range-2/spring-2026-forecast-la-nina-collapse-europe-seasonal-weather-fa/

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      David Maddison

      I want to see politicians, senior public serpents and medical personnel who pushed these defective products, and in Australia made them compulsory, even after there was warning of their dangers, and also banned effective alternative treatments, and even failed to do something as simple as correcting vitamin D deficiency, prosecuted.

      250

    • #
      Gee Aye

      The title does say it all- “proof at last” – meaning that all the previous hogwash statements were totally unsupported.

      btw. So is this one.

      017

  • #
    David Maddison

    In the US AI data centres are heading toward clusters of 5GW-10GW power consumption.

    It makes you wonder how Australia would power such centres as the Stupid Country continues to shut down its power stations.

    Incidentally, the CPUs, GPUs and TPUs used in traditional AI for the matrix-vector multiplication compute which is the basis of AI are very energy hungry. Analogue AI chips are being developed which are 100-1000 times more energy efficient plus in addition do in-memory compute to reduce the von-Neumann bottleneck of swapping data between CPU and memory.

    https://asteriskmag.com/issues/09/can-we-build-a-five-gigawatt-data-center

    Microsoft and OpenAI’s proposed Stargate facility reportedly could cost up to $100 billion, and North Dakota was recently approached by two companies about developing $125 billion data center clusters that could scale to 5-10 GW.

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      Graeme No.3

      The USA can transport (micro) nuclear plants by air.
      HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah, Feb 15 – The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense on Sunday for the first time transported a small nuclear reactor on a cargo plane from California to Utah to demonstrate the potential to quickly deploy nuclear power for military and civilian use.
      https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-conducts-first-air-transport-nuclear-microreactor-bid-show-technologys-2026-02-16/

      In https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2026/02/01/w-o-o-d-1-february-2026-florida-snow-warning/#comment-180914

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      • #
        John F. Hultquist

        to demonstrate the potential
        Such could have been done by moving a school bus.
        As I understood the announcement, the box was moved from where it was built to where it will be tested. Namely, the San Rafael Energy Research Lab near Orangeville for evaluation and testing. Emphasis on evaluation and testing.
        New home: 39.239894, -111.086903

        20

    • #
      KP

      “It makes you wonder how Australia would power such centres ”

      Why would we need them? We have no cutting-edge industry in the country, no massive manufacturing that needs deep market research. They would get used to predict the NRL final or cricket scores, along with the vitally important job of analysing political polls to ensure a Labor victory..

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    • #
      Dr Faustus

      Luckily Australia is blessed with a far-sighted Government which has all these AI issues under control. It’s all set out in the National AI Plan:

      https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-12/national-ai-plan.pdf

      Australia’s robust infrastructure planning processes will support growth in datacentres in a way that supports affordability and reliability for all infrastructure users. For example, data
      centres are significant energy users and consumed around 4 TWh of electricity across the
      National Electricity Market in 2024, about 2% of grid-supplied power. Australia’s Energy
      Market Operator is monitoring data centre demand and accounting for electricity demand
      from these users to triple by 2030 (AEMO 2025). The government is working with the states
      and territories, energy market bodies, network service providers and the data centre
      industry to harness opportunities from the growth of data centres to promote investment in
      renewable energy and maintain affordable energy for households and businesses.

      That single paragraph – out of a 37 page ‘show and tell’ document – is the total consideration of the energy issues. AEMO is monitoring demand and Team Albanese is working to promote renewables and “maintain affordable energy”.

      We’re in safe hands, then.

      The Conversation (unusual source) gives us a far more informative glance at the issues.

      https://stories.theconversation.com/can-australia-build-one-of-the-worlds-largest-data-centres/

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    • #
      Forrest Gardener

      A question occurs to me.

      How do these data/AI centres make money?

      Or is it the South Park underpants gnomes three stage plan all over again.
      Stage 1: collect underpants
      Stage 3: profit

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      • #
        Dr Faustus

        At this stage in development it’s still largely Underpants Gnome. But you can get a view of the potential destination from the published details of the Grok model. In two years the numbers of Grok individual monthly users have reportedly gone from tens of thousands to ~30million to 80million.

        Likely mostly using the free online version – which is fairly limited in functionality and availability. The consumer subscription for Grok4 is $30/month which gives you far greater functionality and almost constant availability priced at around the cost of a digital TV channel. Enterprise version, SuperGrok is something like $300/month.

        Grok’s revenue is reportedly currently sub-$100/quarter.

        https://www.businessofapps.com/data/grok-statistics/

        If Grok Inc can convert its millions of freebians to minimum subscribers, the potential revenue target is in the 10’s of billions.

        20

      • #
        John Connor II

        It’s not about profit, it’s about information and control over the masses.
        When AGI and ASI hit, do you seriously think the masses will be allowed to have it?
        5 times smarter than Einstein with data (dirt) on everyone.
        It’ll be controlled by governments and the military, the two least competent and trustworthy groups to be let near it.
        After all, if we can’t even have firecrackers and slingshots in nanny state Oz, why would ze blob let you have access to such vast power which could undermine them?
        Nope, it’ll all come under “national security”.
        ie the save the polly butts plan.

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          Ronin

          ” 5 times smarter than Einstein with data (dirt) on everyone.”

          Einstein crossed with Epstein.

          20

        • #
          KP

          ““The way I see AI, this is the biggest single biggest gold rush in human history. It’s going to generate so much wealth for everyone,” ”

          If someone says that to you, run a mile! When its all been found to be the usual crock of crap to get developers hands on Govt money and investors cash, most these data centers will go broke. Now the good news is, we will have a water supply and an electricity supply returned to us that will take the load off our daily usage. Plus we will have giant warehouses for distributing Temu purchases, and a great supply of computer chips for online gaming and porn, it will be a win-win situation.

          10

  • #
    David Maddison

    Yesterday I visited the Goulburn Weir in Victoriastan, Australia.

    It was built in 1891 at a time when Australia had a bright future and invested in useful irrigation and other projects.

    It was considered so significant it featured on banknotes between 1913 and 1933.

    It used to produce hydroelectricity to power its own lighting and gate operation.

    Also, unbelievably, all the cement used for the concrete used in its construction was imported from England.

    https://www.g-mwater.com.au/downloads/gmw/Storages/Goulburn_Weir_Fact_Sheet_FINAL_for_web.pdf

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  • #
    Dennis

    Thank you David, very interesting link.

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    Sambar

    A man in a dress has committed a heinous crime in America. His daughter claimed “he had mental issues”. Media reports talk about a man in a dress or a transgender MAN. I thought that once a person decided they were something else, then they truely were. Why aren’t the media reporting that a “woman” allegedly committed this act of violence.

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “GOP Rep. Randy Fine Sets The Internet Ablaze with His Spicy Response to Muslim NYC Activist Calling for Banning Dogs as Household Pets and Describing Them as “Unclean”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/02/gop-rep-randy-fine-sets-internet-ablaze-his/

    40

    • #
      Forrest Gardener

      Interesting and sometimes amusing how the outrage machine works.

      One of the bad guys says something outrageous. No reaction.
      One of the good guys notices. All hell breaks loose.

      As Sir Humphrey once said, morally flexible and intellectually supple.

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    • #
      Lance

      IMHO, the moderate response is John Wick.

      My Jack Russell terrier and Whippet are worth a great deal more to me than those who deem them unclean.
      My dogs are much cleaner than most humans imagine themselves to be.

      60

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW – from today’s Coffee and Covid newsletter

    For the covid record

    Start here

    “We’ve waited a painfully long time to see this story. The New York Times, which spent the last four years labeling anyone who questioned mRNA vaccines as anti-science conspiracy theorists, ran a lusciously ironic story yesterday headlined, “Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs.“ The sub-headline was even better: RFK’s policies have “sent a chill through the entire industry,” one scientist moaned. You know what else sent a chill? Getting fired from your nursing job for declining a shot that —as it turns out— everyone now agrees doesn’t prevent infection. At best.”

    “It’s a bloodbath of red ink, spilling out of a giant needle.”

    And

    Drug company advertising under fire

    Plus AI and health

    “Our first entry in today’s AI roundup tracks the health theme, and more pandemic carnage. Last week, the New York Times ran a cutting-edge story headlined, “A.I. Is Making Doctors Answer a Question: What Are They Really Good For?” Funny— we’ve been asking the very same question. Through painful experience, we have learned that some doctors make us feel better by going away. Exhibit A:”

    More at

    https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/curtailed-tuesday-february-17-2026?

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    • #
      Forrest Gardener

      The three minute computer generated video is worth watching if you haven’t seen these videos before.

      It’s devoid of plot and is an impossibly fast paced series of disasters like plane crashes and building collapses but at the commentator notes imagine what could be done with out of copyright stories and books including the Bible.

      Hollywood will either “reinvent” itself or hopefully just go away.

      10

      • #
        John Connor II

        I saw it, and it’s just Hollywood meaningless action style rubbish.

        Why is it that people always run away in the same direction as the oncoming threat? 😎

        00

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “The University of East Anglia Discovers the Urban Heat Island Effect”

    “From the “decades late and a dollar short” department comes the peer-reviewed exercise in the obvious. Of course, UEA was always a little bit slow. If they weren’t, we’d never have been given the gift of “Climategate.” – ”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/02/16/the-university-of-east-anglia-discovers-the-urban-heat-island-effect/

    80

    • #
      another ian

      And

      “The Global Tipping Points Report 2025, Part 1: Catastrophe, Certainty, and the Architecture of Urgency”

      “Charles Rotter This begins a multipart, systematic refutation of the University of Exeter’s Global Tipping Points Report 2025. The report spans 379 pages, involves 160 researchers across 87 institutions, and explicitly targets policymakers, financial institutions, corporations, and civil society actors. It presents itself as a synthesis of climate science. In substance, it functions as a governance manifesto. It advocates financial reallocation, industrial restructuring, narrative management, le…

      This post is currently for VIP and Premium Subscribers Only.

      After 30 days it will be available to all users.”

      https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/02/17/the-global-tipping-points-report-2025-part-1-catastrophe-certainty-and-the-architecture-of-urgency/

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    • #
      David Maddison

      Just a couple of centuries too late.

      Luke Howard discovered what was to be later called the Urban Heat Island Effect and published it in The Climate of London, Volume 1, in 1818

      80

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    • #
      David Maddison

      Too late. The damage is already done. The propaganda has already been published and absorbed by the clueless.

      80

    • #
      el+gordo

      Oh wait, look over there.

      ‘Scientists say a fifth wave of crown-of-thorns starfish is emerging on the Great Barrier Reef.

      ‘The coral-eating starfish is one of the major threats to the reef, along with climate change and weather events.’ (ABC)

      20

      • #
        farmerbraun

        So overfishing of the natural predators of the starfish?

        00

        • #
          el+gordo

          The Crown of Thorn starfish is native to the Indo Pacific and should be protected.

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          What are these “natural” predators? They begin life as plankton, as such everything predates them. The late Dr Endein suggested the painted shrimp and conch shell did so as well. In the decades since no one has shown any interest in the topic.

          00

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “BUT THEY ASSURED ME THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED: The Bacon Paradox.

    In 1998, three scientists won the Nobel Prize for discovering a molecule that saves lives. It relaxes blood vessels. It lowers pressure. It prevents heart attacks. It is called Nitric Oxide. The primary raw material for this miracle molecule is the very thing we have spent fifty years trying to banish from our breakfast tables. We are running away from the cure because we have confused it with the poison.

    Here is the inconvenient fact that the “clean eating” lobby forgets to mention. Vegetables love nitrates. They soak them up from the soil like a sponge.

    Beetroot. Rocket. Spinach. And yes, celery. These are the nitrate heavyweights. A 100g serving of rocket contains more nitrates than 5 kgs of bacon or hotdogs. If nitrates were truly the toxic assassin we are told they are, a salad would be a suicide note.

    Yet, nobody is protesting against spinach (which has twice the level of rocket). We consider these vegetables “superfoods.” We blend them. We drink them. We feed them to our children.

    So why is the nitrate in a bacon sarny a killer, but the nitrate in a beetroot a hero?

    Read the whole thing — and hands off my bacon.”

    https://dgillespie.substack.com/p/the-bacon-paradox

    Via https://instapundit.com/776937/#disqus_thread

    50

    • #
      Ross

      The general advice on foods given to us by governments has just been wrong for decades. Unfortunately, it’s been the food industry and to some extent certain agricultural groups that have incorrectly shaped dietary guidelines. Thankfully now the food pyramid has been turned upside down. So it should, its recommendations were ridiculous. The amount of daily carbohydrate servings was in excess of those used by pig producers to fatten their stock. Plus, one of the original government committees (USA) that provided advice for the food pyramid was dominated by Seventh Day Adventists- who have a vegetarian/vegan discipline. Hence, the war on saturated fat, started way back in the 1950’s. We, in Australia just blindly followed the rest of the western world.

      50

    • #
      Hanrahan

      Sadly, Australian bacon, cured properly, is multiples the cost of (Chinese?) bacon from Colworths. Check the label.

      40

    • #
      farmerbraun

      If you have ever seen a herd of cows with nitrate poisoning, you would realise that it is easily overdone , even in the absence of any nitrogen fertiliser.
      The usual cause is warm soil temperature and low sunlight , preventing synthesis of nitrate into proteins.
      Nitrate binds to haemoglobin.
      It is very nasty, and generally incurable.
      IV methylene blue can help in mild cases, but it is usually terminal.

      20

  • #
    Greg in NZ

    Molly looks like Molly sounds –

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/587124/antarctic-expedition-collects-evidence-that-ice-sheet-melted-during-previous-warm-period

    As co-chief scientist with the Crary Ice Rise drilling team, Molly (USA) sounded flabbergasted, shocked and breathless at their 3rd-time-lucky 500m-deep ice core drill, showing diatoms existed 23,000,000 years ago when Antarctic ice melted because we drive 4x4s today.

    Driving 1,100 km from Scott Base in diesel snow-groomers to set up camp whilst dressed in PVC clothing and using hot water to drill (diesel as well?) down to bedrock, then packing the retrieved material in polystyrene boxes for the return 1,100 km journey and then an aeroplane flight back home had no effect on ‘climate change’ whatsoever /facetious.

    Something happened at the Oligocene/Miocene boundary 23 mya called the ‘Antarctic Thawing’ before reglaciation continued with a vengeance: the earlier Eocene ‘greenhouse climate’ was long gone, welcome to today’s ‘icehouse climate’, despite Molly & Co’s claim we are living on a ‘warming planet’. I wish!

    60

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    Rowjay

    The Oligocene/Miocene geological boundary is marked by India completing its northward sprint from Antarctica to smash into the northern landmass to form the Himalayas. I suppose that there could have been a little climatic disturbance until the global temperature resumed its downward trend since the Eocene.

    30

  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “Germany’s Climate Policy Has Moved From Politics To The Courts… And The Economy Is Paying The Price”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/germanys-climate-policy-has-moved-politics-courts-and-economy-paying-price

    More “how to” guidelines for “ElBowen ” – hopefully to not read

    20

  • #
    Hanrahan

    Steve of Cornubia
    February 18, 2026 at 7:03 am · Reply
    I think I read that EVs produce low frequency EMF radiation, which is more of a concern than that produced by phones, etc.

    Steve, this is like alarmists saying global warming causes blizzards.

    You live in a cocoon of 50Hz @ 240V in your house. You are surrounded by it. If you worry about low freq. EMF buy a tent.

    41

    • #
      KP

      “You live in a cocoon of 50Hz @ 240V in your house. ”

      A little more cell biology please H, all those different proteins in your body will resonate to different frequencies, so while you may be feeling ‘OK’ at 50Hz, there may be some terrible effects at other frequencies. Just as some enzyme is reaching for that ADP electron along comes some EMF wave and pushes it out of reach!

      We never evolved to live in the Invisible Rainbow.

      00

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Wokipedia”

    “Garbage in, garbage graduates;’

    https://x.com/RoisinMichaux/status/2022786458768019961

    “Berkeley gender and race studies students were given the task of creating and editing Wikipedia pages and filling them with critical theory/queer propaganda instead of submitting final papers — for over a decade.

    “It’s about who controls knowledge.” ”

    https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2026/02/17/wokipedia/

    Fake papers on the cheap?

    30

  • #

    Umm, this is an alternate to asking, umm, Doctor Google.

    My GP (and I’ve been with him now for eight years, both with Barbara, and now on my own) diagnosed high blood pressure, and I went and did the test ….. wearing the ‘cuff’ for 24 hours, and the results came back confirming the diagnosis.

    He placed me on Perindopril at first, and I developed the single most horrendous cough, and I thought maybe I had ‘caught’ the dreaded long Coronavirus that was all the talk.

    After ten weeks, and nothing in the way of relief, I asked him (GP) about it, and he asked what Blood pressure (BP) med I was on, and when I told him, he then responded that it was the single biggest well known side effect of that BP med. The chemist also confirmed that well known side effect, (when he asked why the BP med had changed) and it seems like I was the only one who was unaware of it.

    So he then changed it to Amlodipine.

    The cough hung on for another eight weeks, gradually diminishing until it’s all but gone now.

    However, I’m now getting some of the side effects of that second med, (and it’s a calcium channel blocker) the swollen ankles, the tiredness, the extra peeing etc.

    Okay, so the BP went up because I stopped walking for around eight months, knee problems. (the fast bowlers scourge after 20 years of it) Before that, it was okay, and now it’s okay.

    I’m back walking now, regularly, and I’ve been to an exercise physiologist who’s given me a series of ten exercises to do to augment my walking, and strengthen those areas used during the walking process, nearly all of them below the waist.

    2 subsequent visits to my GP and my BP is right back down again.

    Okay, so the question here is this. Even I know that BP meds are just to, umm, ….. manage the condition, and are not designed to cure it, and even I know that there’s no cure.

    I’ve heard some ‘talk’ that aged Garlic can be helpful for BP.

    Could any of you here confirm this, and point me at some stuff to read up on it.

    I was never really one for ‘vitamin’ like products, (any of them, other than High Strength Omega 3 and Krill Oil) as my impression is that they are similar to actual meds ….. in their retail purpose, just someone selling a product, but I’m not keen on theses side effects for the raised BP.

    Oddly, that exercise physiologist was really helpful in explaining exercise and what the specific areas he was having me address for those strengthening purposes.

    I was worried that, as a 75 year old, with a pacemaker, mild COPD, mild Peripheral Neuropathy, and mild AF, on BP meds, statins, and blood thinners (for the AF) should I be working hard at walking, and I’m of an opinion that if I’m exercising (walking) then I should actually be exerting myself, working hard so to speak. I looked up the pace for someone my age to walk one mile, and it’s between 20 and 22 minutes, and if I’m not doing it in 17 minutes, then I haven’t worked hard enough. So I told this to the physio man, and he was happy for me to keep doing it at that pace, pointing out the obvious ‘riders’ to that.

    So here, the main thing is about the aged garlic thing, or am I just paying too much attention to ‘scuttlebutt’?

    Tony.

    PostScript – My recent yearly check for my pacemaker, now in place for eight years. They drape a detection device over the pacemaker and download everything across the last year related to its operation, and my heart, and they can tell how often it works, and anything else needed to know, and that’s how they diagnosed the AF (Atrial Fibrillation) hence those d@mned blood thinners. They also can tell the exact battery life, and each battery should last around ten years. Evidently, I have about one year left on mine, and strangely, the technician informed me that the next check will be in six Months, and not the 12 Month normal period. They can even tell how low the battery is because during the next test it will trigger the umm, ‘Low fuel light’, you know, (and it’s actually called that in fact) just like in your car!!

    30

    • #
      John Connor II

      From last year:
      https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/unmasking-the-great-blood-pressure

      Worry about inflammation not BP.

      One of my favourite uselesstube channels is Dr Sten Ekberg. Check him out.
      Former olympian and health expert. The difference is he’s walked the walk unlike most other uselesstube “experts”.

      00

      • #
        ozfred

        Possessing a similar set of “conditions”, discussions with my GP have compromised to a BP of 140/75 or so being perfectly “acceptable”. I can definitely tell when the base level BP meds overshoot to 125/60 or lower. Fluid levels and general exercise levels (weeding seems the most demanding – blame kikuyu) need to be considered.
        And there are plenty of other things on 40 hectares to occupy my physical exertions.

        21

      • #
        Hanrahan

        My BP varies greatly with a pulse pressure of 60 points or more common.

        What I do find is that after time in the garden [no hat, usually no shirt] my systolic can drop into the 120s. I think this is the NO effect, not Vit D.

        Sunlight exposure triggers the release of nitric oxide (NO) from pre-formed nitrates and nitrites stored in the skin, acting as a natural mechanism for systemic health benefits. This process is primarily driven by ultraviolet A (UV-A) radiation, which stimulates skin cells—particularly keratinocytes and microvascular endothelial cells—to release nitric oxide. This dermal nitric oxide contributes to vasodilation, lowered blood pressure, improved circulation, and enhanced wound healing.

        For homework read up on Martin Pall’s NO/ONOO Hypothesis.

        10

        • #
          Hanrahan

          There is always a rainbow somewhere:

          Search Assist

          Nitric oxide (NO) is produced in the body and plays a crucial role in various functions, including regulating blood pressure and promoting blood flow. Compounds in red wine, particularly polyphenols like resveratrol, may enhance the production of NO, contributing to its potential cardiovascular benefits.

          10

    • #
      Hanrahan

      I’ve got a mobile phone beside my bed that phones home each night with my pacemaker data. My six monthly check says I have about 13 yrs battery life. It may nearly last ’til I get my letter from the King. 🙂

      20

      • #
        Hanrahan

        Since the passing of Mrs H I have retired to my bedroom [don’t follow my example]. There are a dozen or so items permanently plugged in:

        3 bedside lights
        clock radio
        landline phone charger
        cell phone charger
        USB charger
        pacemaker phone
        ‘puter
        monitor
        keyboard battery charger
        air purifier
        PAP machine
        permanently wired split system air con

        The house I bought in the ’60s had a single GPO in the main bedroom, none in the other two, yet people complain that life is tough. Really?

        50

    • #
      Ross

      Tony if you want to eat something that might help with your BP, try vegetables that have high nitrates. So read comment #12 above, in today’s Open blog. Beetroot juice, celery etc have good levels. Garlic?? Haven’t heard that one.

      00

    • #
      farmerbraun

      AI confirms the therapeutic effects of garlic.
      Crushed garlic is better.
      Kyolic aged garlic is odourless , which may or may not be a factor to consider.
      There are numerous positive effects beside the cardio-vascular ones.
      But be aware of its blood -thinning activity.

      10

    • #

      Hey, thank you all, good information.

      Tony.

      00

  • #
    John Connor II

    Why There are 80,000 Harley Davidsons rotting at dealerships

    https://youtu.be/sOhIBeOQMuA?si=R3es8cP2FenLiuub

    Maybe AI will make better CEO’s..

    00

  • #
    John Connor II

    Atmospheric anomaly Wednesday

    https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_talzi8kTBa1z23obp.mp4

    The name escapes me.

    20

    • #
      el+gordo

      Lenticular clouds are fairly common in Australia, something to do with unusual atmospherics.

      00

    • #
      Greg in NZ

      Obama’s invisible friends? Punch-hole cirrus: they used to freak-out ancient people too, who wrote legends about them 👽 or it’s the Russ!ans.

      00

  • #
    John Connor II

    What happens to a car when the company behind its software goes under?

    Imagine turning the key or pressing the start button of your car—and nothing happens. Not because the battery is dead or the engine is broken but because a server no longer answers. For a growing number of cars, that scenario isn’t hypothetical.

    The lesson is clear: In today’s cars, the engine or electric motor isn’t always what keeps you moving—the software does. When that software vanishes with a bankrupt company, your car can go from daily driver to expensive paperweight overnight.

    https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02/what-happens-to-a-car-when-the-company-behind-its-software-goes-under/

    Just ask the car salesman first.😆

    40

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  • #
    Strop

    From Advance

    Proof that Labor has no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to Net Zero.

    https://youtube.com/shorts/eja_iT5_j_A?si=9ceKF18HeLKMfRoY

    90 sec video of Gerard Holland from the Page Research Centre, trying to explain the difference between a grid system and an electricity market to Labor Senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah.

    “Batteries set the price over 23% of the time last year, despite producing less than 2% of the electricity in the market”.

    The Senator, out of her depth, has no response to his explanation except the universal getout phrase, “We’re going to have to agree to disagree”.

    90

    • #
      David Maddison

      Her cluelessness is staggering.

      She is involved in voting for multi-billion dollar decisions and yet doesn’t have a clue.

      30

      • #
        Ronin

        She isn’t Robinson Crusoe either.

        10

      • #
        Jock

        None of them do.and whats worrying is that its now clear that the public servants doint know either.
        Batteries are merely a way of arbitraging the volatility in the markets. Arguing they are back up is risable. They cannot continuously provide power for days like a gas peaker or even hydro.

        00

    • #
      Ronin

      The price goes up when coal goes offline because coal was keeping the price down while it was online, not hard to see that.

      20

    • #
      Greg in NZ

      “It’s a complex situation, I don’t have the numbers in front of me, it’s complicated”.

      Calling Don:

      YOU’RE FIRED!

      00

  • #
    el+gordo

    Barnaby caught between a rock and a hard place.

    ‘What are you asking me for?’: Joyce swerves from Hanson.

    ‘Barnaby Joyce has refused to endorse his leader Pauline Hanson’s broad criticism of Muslims, in the first sign of division within the new One Nation team.’ (Oz)

    00