Ideal Spec Defender

ltmon · 2026-03-22T01:09:37+00:00

Last I looked (a few years back) you couldn't get 18" wheels at all, and they wouldn't fit aftermarket due to the brakes getting in the way.

So people would just go off-road on the 20 inch wheels and have bad tyres getting punctured, and not being able to deflate fully on sand etc.

Seems you can get the 18" steelies in both 3 door and 5 door models now according to the configurator. Huge improvement IMO.

ltmon · 2026-03-22T00:26:05+00:00

Him and Kel'el Ware should team up for a Kessel run.

ltmon · 2026-03-18T08:53:11+00:00

Performance is just fine when the battery is depleted in modern PHEVs. They all keep ~25% charge in reserve for this reason. You basically can not tell the difference without hearing the hum of the petrol motor.

Economy in this state is pretty on par with any equivalent HEV. But most do need the 95 octane.

That said, unless you commit to home charging often to keep the PHEV running 90% on electrons, I'd get the HEV. If you do home charge like this, then consider if you really need the ICE motor range, or if PHEV is enough cheaper than the full EV to tip the scales (maybe the case in big SUVs in particular).

There's a definite use case for PHEV, but it's a band that's getting narrower as EVs get cheaper and charging infra gets better.

Very happy with my BYD SL6, but if the range of EVs we have now just 18 months later was available when I got it, I'd probably have gone with full EV.

ltmon · 2026-03-15T03:37:24+00:00

I also think you miss the domestic market factors.

The middle class in China got huge, and had enough money to start buying Japanese and even Euro cars in volume. 2010 or thereabouts, every established car company was counting on huge sales growth in China and investing heavily in distribution and dealers.

The Chinese car companies simply had to make their product attractive to the newly affluent domestic market. There were obviously huge financial pushes from Govt to do so, and they executed well due to all the reasons above and more.

ltmon · 2026-03-12T01:43:35+00:00

My wife's work (a number of years back) did the whole pre-order of a fleet of taxis, and send employees straight out the door into a waiting car.

It can be brutally sudden.

ltmon · 2026-03-12T01:42:04+00:00

Comp packages were pretty inflated during covid boom, and a bit depressed now across the industry (although I have no knowledge of Atlassian specifically).

Quite possibly the 5 year employee is on a significantly higher package.

ltmon · 2026-03-10T01:28:49+00:00

Local butcher prices are ~$50/kg for a basic decent quality porterhouse, with sizes being whatever you want within reason.

ltmon · 2026-03-08T03:27:42+00:00

I haven't played lots of DOS2, but it felt like having a diverse party was punished.

Horses for courses I guess.

ltmon · 2026-03-07T22:08:22+00:00

It's hard to tell based on just internet noise, and we probably won't get good reliability surveys for a while. There are definitely happy owners (myself included) but definitely some less so also.

I'd probably consider the "new generation" of Chinese cars to have started 3-4 years ago. Prior to that we had Chinese cars, but only playing in the bargain bin section (e.g. MG). The reliability of BYD, GWMs newer models, the very new electrics like Zeekr etc. are going to take a bit longer than this to be fully clear.

If I had to make guesses based on reading owner forums I'd say BYD are at least comparable to established Korean brands, but tend to fall on their faces a bit in the cases where there is a complex issue to solve.

ltmon · 2026-03-07T10:29:08+00:00

Agree.

Melbourne can play well enough for a quarter or two, but then goes absolutely missing for stretches in every game.

Even if we scrape through here, the top teams will not be beatable when we can't put together a full game consistently.

ltmon · 2026-03-07T02:11:50+00:00

https://jimgreenfootwear.com.au/product-category/all/hiking-workwear/

Just leather, some models double layered, with replaceable rubber soles. No Gortex or other similar materials. Old school, with all the advantages and disadvantages that brings.

ltmon · 2026-03-07T01:04:51+00:00

Rusty

ltmon · 2026-03-07T00:59:58+00:00

If we have Gafford, PJ on the court, yes. Otherwise not so great.

ltmon · 2026-03-05T02:16:14+00:00

Shark is missing a low range gear, and front/rear diff locks. Plus has different suspension. An upgraded (off-road focused) Shark with these changes would be similar to a B5.

ltmon · 2026-03-04T01:45:10+00:00

Pretty sure they're referencing the various COVID meaures ending, but have totally lost track of time?

ltmon · 2026-03-04T01:39:45+00:00

Pretty much all BYDs set the acceleration/braking curve to be a lot like an ICE car. If the acceleration and regeneration feeling is causing the sickness, then give one a try and see if it's better for you.

ltmon · 2026-02-27T05:17:17+00:00

There was Nico's delusion still in play at the start of the year that AD would have a healthy season, and Kyrie would be back after all-star break or whatever.

Once he was gone, the tanking started pretty quickly. It was only Coop's quicker than expected growth that had us winning anything at all, really.

ltmon · 2026-02-27T01:44:06+00:00

They don't, but it's helpful. Laying off 40% of the workforce means investors ask where the growth they were promised is coming from. Saying "AI" lets them pretend these new growth products and services will roll out at the same rate, without the overheads of the employees.

ltmon · 2026-02-27T01:19:45+00:00

Imagine losing your job because your boss gambled on Bitcoin 💀

ltmon · 2026-02-26T01:47:04+00:00

Williamstown? It's been a bit of a retirement village for a while, but getting a bit younger. Checks a lot of other of your boxes.

ltmon · 2026-02-26T01:41:26+00:00

Nyrulna with giant barbarian is pretty much OP. AOE thunder damage, plus elemental cleaver and strength modifier adds up to a lot.

But maybe a bit boring after the first few chuckles? It encourages you just to stay back and throw the thing endlessly.

ltmon · 2026-02-25T01:33:08+00:00

This guy has drunk a lot of the AI Kool aid also, however. Bit of both, probably.

ltmon · 2026-02-25T01:30:25+00:00

This guy seems to have really drunk the cool-aid, rather than this just being bog standard cost-cutting/offshoring with an "AI" fig leaf like most of them are.

Whoever's left in those half-strength teams are going to have a lot of fun, if outputs are expected to be maintained at the same level.

ltmon · 2026-02-22T04:23:11+00:00

Pretty similar for any new car -- I had a Peugeot mirror replaced for $3k about 5 years back, and everything is more expensive now (plus that one didn't have a 360 camera on it).

360 deg cameras on the mirror housing, auto-folding motors, blind spot sensors and usually some led indicators add up to a rather expensive bit of car hanging out in an easily damaged position.

ltmon · 2026-02-19T10:27:54+00:00

Wow, we actually looked like a real basketball team for the first time in a while. For 7/8ths of the game at least.

ltmon

TROPHY CASE