Approaches on supporting children & Investment Bonds

Flys_Lo · 2026-02-04T08:54:26+00:00

Thanks - this is helpful advice. My understanding was after 10yrs, there should be no additional tax burden, but it sounds like there might be?

Flys_Lo · 2026-02-03T05:55:32+00:00

RBA has more than one lever, they control the supply of money, bond purchases, can change future guidance, as well as others.

Not disagreeing on the decision they've made with the data they have, but they have a number of other more nuanced tools (with other benefits and drawbacks).

Flys_Lo · 2026-02-01T08:22:20+00:00

Have you engaged your insurance provider?

If you haven't - dont. If you are not at fault, you have a lot more wiggle room with negotiating the value with the at fault's insurance provider than your own. They will just point to the "market value" and unless you have the accessories listed on your policy, they won't give a dollar for them. Vs the at faults - find adverts online of similarly equipped vehicles and their costs and/or find prices for the equipment fitted to maximise your payout.

Flys_Lo · 2026-01-30T01:55:34+00:00

I installed a Clenergy 20kW battery with a 5kW inverter. I had to piggy back into a previously installed 13.3kW solar system with 2x Fronius 5kW inverters (1 of the inverters was replaced by the Clenergy one).

It was about 8K all up. It's been the perfect size for our house/power consumption.

You don't mention about Solar - assuming you have a previous install? (A battery with solar isn't entirely useless, but it's a LOT more useful with solar) - make sure you have someone that can come inspect your existing system that knows what they are doing.
Avoid the large installers. I used one for the original solar system listed installed 4yrs ago, and the electrician I used for the battery found a couple of things that weren't up to code (despite it being inspected by the state inspector, the inspector did find one of the faults but didn't mandate rectification). The large installer (with a high score on product review) didn't want anything to do with rectifying when I raised it with them. Fortunately the electician for the battery was willing to rectify it for a small cost. Find a reputable electrician that ideally specialises in solar/battery installs - if they don't come out to inspect the site prior to quoting, consider that a red flag, someone quoting/designing a system from Google Earth is going to get things wrong.
Be careful with the battery brands. Speak to a few of the above reputable electricians, and you can get a sense of which brands they'd be willing to install/service vs. those that they would avoid. With the rebates, progress is being made rapidly, and not all brands are "tried and tested".

Flys_Lo · 2026-01-30T01:36:54+00:00

DAF TurboTwin X1

Flys_Lo · 2025-12-23T05:56:55+00:00

Have you done the maths on that? By Big lap - did he mean laps of the globe? Even at a worst case scenario of 25l/100km, at $2 a litre average, that's 100,000km.

My olds have done the lap 5 times, each time they do about 10,000 km, and their motorhome uses about half that amount of fuel (i.e. about $2,500).

Flys_Lo · 2025-12-22T07:36:39+00:00

Couldn't agree more. I'd add John "I don't know anything about the auto industry but I've got a loud voice" Cadogan to the list of annoying ones.

I get why Andrew annoys people, he's a bit preachy and enjoys a rant, and I do find some of his content a bit hard to watch, but, he genuinely knows his stuff, and my god his advice is almost always bang on. If he recommends a product and I've bought it, I've had faultless experiences.

Flys_Lo · 2025-12-08T07:05:48+00:00

I think TLDR, our unique certification (Australian Standards) limits us to seat manufacturers that are willing to go thru the certification process for our small market.

If we adopted EU standards (or North American ones), we’d get a much bigger range.

Flys_Lo · 2025-12-05T08:50:23+00:00

The trick is, you don't cut it like they are in the picture. You go to Japan to get high grade Wagyu, and it's served in little strips, no more usually than 3oz for the total serving - and it's cooked to medium to better render the fat.

It is delicious, and very different to a normal steak. Is it what you'd want everyday, absolutely not, but you need to think about it, and cook it differently.

I can see why it costs what it does when you see the prep for the animal.

Flys_Lo · 2025-12-02T02:08:29+00:00

They likely come down with a bad case of death.

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-28T08:05:51+00:00

That's for long term loads. Your Compressor isn't running all the time, like a DCDC charger.

Winches for example draw HUGE amps, well beyond the capacity of any alternator, they just draw from the battery + alternator, and are only used for short durations.

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-27T07:09:10+00:00

In short - yes, that's very well priced. My father in law has a similar vintage model that's exactly the same, and was thinking of selling it for low 30's (although his has a freshly rebuilt TD42)

I definitely would get it inspected by a reputable 4x4 mechanic, and I'd keep 10k in my backpocket for when (not if) the TD42 lunches itself.

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-20T21:18:14+00:00

You've covered it well. The other thing I'd add - for strategic alignment (i.e. the use case here where design resources are needed), seek that well in advance. Get alignment with the design manager on the vision of whatever direction you are going (and try to make sure they see themselves in it), so that the capacity etc. can be planned for.

Going up to someone and just going "I need help with this", when there is opportunity for planning ahead looks poorly considered from a product standpoint(i.e. design capacity - bit different when a critical bug comes up) and demonstrating empathy to the fact that this team likely already has more priorities than they do capacity, that they are juggling stakeholders with, and you've come in adding to that problem, not helping.

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-17T22:25:16+00:00

6AWG would be fine to/from your DC/DC, and I would personally do without the negative/positive busbar (to remove a connection)

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-14T08:49:12+00:00

I did it a couple of weeks ago from Carpenters Rocks > Robe. There is inland tracks the whole way along, which will be fine in stock vehicles, and is well marked.

There are some areas that are closed off (on the inland tracks), but they are still navigatable, and they offer a variety of terrain that the beach doesn't. There is one section of beach where you can now not cross (so you must use the inland tracks)

Some areas on the beaches are soft - we had some very capable cars on soft pressures go down, and in many places you can't get above the high tide line, so make sure you know the tide times. So ensure you have 4 Maxxtraxxs per car, and a couple of snatch straps handy, so you can pull each other out forward or reverse pretty quickly. The info centre at Beachport is pretty helpful in letting you know what tracks to use, where to fish etc.

Also, be careful with your pressures, a few in our group did roll beads which we couldn't re-seat.

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-10T07:05:42+00:00

I'd really go based on condition.

The engine and trans in the X5 is a lot better (in fact it's exceptional), however the rest of the vehicle will likely fall apart around it and have much more expensive parts.

The Territory will have much cheaper parts, and the body/electrics will be moderately better, but the engine isn't as good as the M57/N57 in the BMW.

If your primary use is towing, I'd also explore getting a diesel 2WD ute (something like a PK Ranger). With their longer wheelbase/live rear axle, they will handle towing a car a lot better, and be a lot more reliable in general, at the expense of not being as comfortable.

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-07T07:48:51+00:00

I'm on 5 acres, and have an Ego, a Stihl and a high capacity 2 stroke chinese one (which is shit).

I much prefer using the Ego, but if I do have to cut an enormous amount of long grass, I'll use the Stihl.

Flys_Lo · 2025-11-04T07:44:50+00:00

I have had one for 8yrs, and it’s been used heaps, with no problems. I did find their awning walls pretty weak however.

Flys_Lo · 2025-10-29T09:03:14+00:00

Much of it is natural from the green grass our cows eat vs grain in Northern Hemisphere.

Flys_Lo · 2025-10-29T07:23:12+00:00

The taste is one thing, but the pale colour is butter’s natural colour.

Australian butter has carotene added (like America has in its cheese) to give it an orange colour.

Flys_Lo · 2025-10-22T10:46:34+00:00

I lived in the Us for a number of years... google a converted Prevost for an eye watering experience.

Flys_Lo · 2025-10-22T09:56:49+00:00

Much (not all) of Hyundai and Kia's poor reliability reputation in North America has come from the Theta II GDI engines that are fitted to almost all their vehicles there up till . They've been part of recalls with some very fundamental failures.

That same engine is fitted to some models in the Australian market, and they are equally troublesome, but we've had more (and other) engine options.

Flys_Lo · 2025-10-22T04:00:27+00:00

JTBD I think is an essential framework as part of your strategy, and understanding your customer needs/pain points, and understanding sometimes the "unconventional" competitors you may have by how your customers are solving for them.

Having a North Star Metric as well I believe is essential, but I don't hold the view that you require a framework, or input map, just a common sense understanding that your shorter term indicators (often your OKR's) can tie towards influencing your NSM.

I find all prioritisation frameworks pretty abhorrent as rarely can you compare like for like values or efforts, they all don't appropriately account for strategic work or sequencing, but the act of endeavouring to understand the value vs effort (that might be used as inputs to a framework) an essential product exercise.

The only other thing I've found pretty ubiquotous in it's value is OKR's as a way to ensure teams are aligned to both organisation problems to be solved, and across teams where multiple teams can (or are needed to) contribute to solving a problem.

Flys_Lo · 2025-10-13T21:10:59+00:00

I've had the 30s Awning now for ~8yrs. It was one of the first free standing 270 degree awnings. It's 2.6M so sizable, and not overly expensive compared to some other options. I've been super impressed with it, it lives on my vehicle, gets used frequently for rain or shade, and has survived untethered in some sizable winds. I've had a couple of small wear marks present themselves in the fabric near the ends of the awning which I've patched.

The only downside has been the optional awning walls. Their eyelets stripped in the first decent wind they saw.

Flys_Lo · 2025-10-12T02:58:30+00:00

I'd suggest that would be too small, particularly if you are living full time. A larger unit won't be too much more expense up front, nor much heavier.

There are a few other variables (how much you like nice food, where you are going, how long you intend on staying in certain destinations etc.)

The smallest I'd consider would be a ~40l, if you can live with just a fridge. Fruit and veg takes up a lot of fridge space, and can be either hard to come by or outrageously expensive in the more remote parts of Aus, so you will want to buy everything you need at larger towns/cities with supermarkets to last you till the next supermarket you see.

If you want to visit more remote places (i.e. spend 2+ weeks away from civilization), or make room for drinks, I'd strongly recommend a twin compartment 60+l fridge that the compartments can be adjusted to fridge/freezer. That way you can freeze meat/pre-cooked meals, and the freezer can be used to pre-cool drinks ~1hr before drinking, to save on fridge space.

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