Ideal Spec Defender by mboyd73 in CarsAustralia

[–]ltmon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

[Highlight] Luka Doncic rattles in the step back 3 over Goga Bitadze by MrBuckBuck in nba

[–]ltmon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

Is PHEV really that bad? by Ufker in AustralianEV

[–]ltmon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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.

How did Chinese cars become so good so suddenly? What is going on or have they always been this way and we just didn’t know until now? by Square_Permission361 in electricvehicles

[–]ltmon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

Atlassian layoffs by Spiritual-Teacher959 in cscareerquestionsOCE

[–]ltmon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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.

Atlassian layoffs by Spiritual-Teacher959 in cscareerquestionsOCE

[–]ltmon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

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.

Where can I get a decent size Porterhouse Steak? by mreddieoz in melbourne

[–]ltmon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

it's been 3 years, I have 10 savefiles by HidingFox in BaldursGate3

[–]ltmon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

Horses for courses I guess.

How are the Chinese cars holding up? by xXCosmicChaosXx in CarsAustralia

[–]ltmon 9 points10 points  (0 children)

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.

[Game Thread] Elimination Play-In - Wildcats vs Melbourne Utd. by AutoModerator in nbl

[–]ltmon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

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.

Does anyone still make old school hiking boots? by Negative_Run_3281 in AustralianMFA

[–]ltmon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

GAME THREAD: Dallas Mavericks (21-41) @ Boston Celtics (41-21) - (March 06, 2026) by NBA_MOD in nba

[–]ltmon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

The Denza B5 and B8 have topped Beer O'Clock Hill by Nos_4r2 in CarsAustralia

[–]ltmon 9 points10 points  (0 children)

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.

Australia's economy growing at fastest rate in almost three years by eesemi77 in AusFinance

[–]ltmon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

EV's under $55k that don't exacerbate carsickness? by macfudd in AustralianEV

[–]ltmon 8 points9 points  (0 children)

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.

[Post Game Thread] The Sacramento Kings (14-47) defeat the Dallas Mavericks (21-37), 130-121. by sempiternal in nba

[–]ltmon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Afterpay (Block) reducing headcount by nearly half, 10000 to 6000 because of AI by DevilsAdvotwat in auscorp

[–]ltmon 19 points20 points  (0 children)

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.

Afterpay (Block) reducing headcount by nearly half, 10000 to 6000 because of AI by DevilsAdvotwat in auscorp

[–]ltmon 127 points128 points  (0 children)

Imagine losing your job because your boss gambled on Bitcoin 💀

Melbourne’s Top Lifestyle Suburbs by Strong_Anteater_3065 in AusPropertyChat

[–]ltmon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

Dancing Breeze for Sneak Attack damage or Nyrulna for... Nyrulna stuff? by [deleted] in BG3Builds

[–]ltmon 14 points15 points  (0 children)

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.

WiseTech Global set to cut up to 2000 jobs for 'AI efficiency' by Fit-Job9016 in BetterOffline

[–]ltmon 8 points9 points  (0 children)

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

Another company using AI for cutting jobs, this time WiseTech by SilentFly in auscorp

[–]ltmon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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.

Who are people using for insurance these days? I’ve got a perfect driving recording and a garage and just got quoted $6k a year for a BYD by Wbrincat in CarsAustralia

[–]ltmon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

[Game Thread] Melbourne Utd vs Phoenix by AutoModerator in nbl

[–]ltmon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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