feeds from mechanics.com.au http://mechanics.com.au/rss/ en-au http://mechanics.com.au/rss/ http://mechanics.com.au/static/campfire/layouts/images/omg-logo-small.png http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/4/1/ask-the-experts/ Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST news I have for many years been mystified by the practice of giving the size of a vehicle's wheels in inches, while the remainder of a vehicle's vital statistics — power, torque, dimensions, consumption, CO2 emissions etc, are correctly given in metric. It's ridiculous that after so many years of decimalisation and metrification that publications persist with this. Do you have any explanation of why that situation should be allowed to persist in the motor trade and it ...

I have for many years been mystified by the practice of giving the size of a vehicle's wheels in inches, while the remainder of a vehicle's vital statistics — power, torque, dimensions, consumption, CO2 emissions etc, are correctly given in metric. It's ridiculous that after so many years of decimalisation and metrification that publications persist with this. Do you have any explanation of why that situation should be allowed to persist in the motor trade and its press? Toby Hagon, in his road test of the Mercedes-Benz CL63, writes in the same sentence of "massive 20-inch wheels — and tyres as wide as 275 millimetres at the rear". How crazy is that?

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/4/1/hot-laps-with-motor-sport-heavyweights/ Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST news Stephen Ottley is a white-knuckled passenger in a fast and furious race concept. I've watched a lot of motor racing but never from this perspective.I'm riding shotgun in a race-prepared Renault Megane RS250 with V8Supercar driver Rick Kelly.Alongside us, in an identical Red Bull-liveried Renault, is formula one legend David Coulthard.And I mean right alongside us. We're almost touching panels as we rocket down Albert Park's main straight.Turn one is approaching rapidly, not surprisingly given we ...

Stephen Ottley is a white-knuckled passenger in a fast and furious race concept.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/31/dream-deal-too-good-to-pass-up/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news THE most difficult thing to get your head around may be the belief that if something appears too good to be true, it probably is.Normally that's an outlook that will hold you in good stead, but only if you recognise that there are exceptions to every rule.I'm not a Knights member, they are not my first team and I have never met Nathan Tinkler, but I eagerly await the result of tonight's vote concerning the Tinkler Sports Group proposal.Like so many rugby league fans, I love the way Newcastle app ...

THE most difficult thing to get your head around may be the belief that if something appears too good to be true, it probably is.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/31/dust-flies-on-licensing/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news THE NSW Minerals Council has rejected claims that the introduction of load-based licensing at Upper Hunter mine sites would reduce dust pollution.It follows the revelation in yesterday's Newcastle Herald by former environment minister Frank Sartor that he tried to introduce the system to the region's mining industry.He said that although the charge was imposed on about 2000 other sites around NSW, mining companies remained exempt for historical reasons."I sought to remove this exemption so ...

THE NSW Minerals Council has rejected claims that the introduction of load-based licensing at Upper Hunter mine sites would reduce dust pollution.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/31/top-five/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news SINGLES1. On The Floor - Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull2. Price Tag - Jessie J featuring B.o.B.3. Sweat (David Guetta Remix) - Snoop Dogg4. S&M - Rihanna5. Born This Way - Lady GagaALBUMS1. Angles - The Strokes2. Glee: The Music - Volume 5 - Glee Cast3. F.A.M.E. - Chris Brown4. Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars5. Endgame - Rise AgainstMOVIES1. Red Riding Hood2. Rango3. Limitless4. Battle: Los Angeles5. The Mechanic

SINGLES 1. On The Floor - Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/30/crime-body-powers-go-under-the-microscope/ Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news THE way the secretive NSW Crime Commission uses its powers will be examined as part of a review by the state government to ensure appropriate "checks and balances" are in place.The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, told the Herald he was concerned that the level of scrutiny applied to the way the commission uses its extensive powers may have been weakened."I do think that when originally established there were more checks and balances before some of these powers can be used. That's what w ...

THE way the secretive NSW Crime Commission uses its powers will be examined as part of a review by the state government to ensure appropriate "checks and balances" are in place.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/30/morris-minor-memory/ Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news I'VE stood looking blankly into the engine bay of a great many cars, and almost always they've been very old cars, so I can't explain my confusion when I looked into the engine bay of a Morris Minor at the weekend.It was at The Entrance, where we'd stopped for lunch, and I wandered over to a display provided by what I assume was the Central Coast Morris Minor club, a dozen or so Morries with their bonnets open.But where was the motor? I was looking into the engine bay of the first in line and I ...

I'VE stood looking blankly into the engine bay of a great many cars, and almost always they've been very old cars, so I can't explain my confusion when I looked into the engine bay of a Morris Minor at the weekend.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/29/dissent-on-school-funding-model/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries has broken ranks with his Coalition colleagues to argue for changes to the controversial school funding model introduced by the Howard government.Under the model introduced in 2001, the Commonwealth allocates funding to private schools according to a formula that measures the socio-economic status of a school community as determined by census data. However, because the Howard government promised that no school would be worse off under its system, under the curr ...

ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries has broken ranks with his Coalition colleagues to argue for changes to the controversial school funding model introduced by the Howard government.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/29/dissent-in-coalition-on-school-funding-model/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries has broken ranks with his Coalition colleagues to argue for changes to the controversial school funding model introduced by the Howard government.Under the model introduced in 2001, the Commonwealth allocates funding to private schools according to a formula that measures the socio-economic status (SES) of a school community as determined by census data.However, because the Howard government promised that no school would be worse off under its system, under the ...

ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries has broken ranks with his Coalition colleagues to argue for changes to the controversial school funding model introduced by the Howard government.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/29/budget-black-hole-could-tie-new-premiers-hands/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news THE $800 million deterioration in the state's finances disclosed yesterday by NSW Treasury to the incoming state government has cast a cloud over the financial flexibility of the O'Farrell government in its early years.Yesterday, the new government was told it faces a $405 million deficit for 2012-13 as a result of the slowing economy, a significant deterioration from the forecast of a $432 million surplus foreshadowed in the mid-year economic review released last December.Speaking after he was ...

THE $800 million deterioration in the state's finances disclosed yesterday by NSW Treasury to the incoming state government has cast a cloud over the financial flexibility of the O'Farrell government in its early years.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/29/funding-model-unsatisfactory-says-lib-senator/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news THE Liberal senator Gary Humphries has broken ranks with his colleagues to argue for changes to the controversial school funding model the Howard government introduced in 2001.Under the model, the Commonwealth allocates funding to private schools according to a formula that measures the socio-economic status of a school community as determined by census data.But because the Howard government promised no school would be worse off under the system, 1083 schools have had their funding entitlements ...

THE Liberal senator Gary Humphries has broken ranks with his colleagues to argue for changes to the controversial school funding model the Howard government introduced in 2001.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/29/blood-ties-tested-by-time-on-the-inside/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news WE SELDOM see plays by African-American writers on our stages. Is there a belief that the ideas and history they explore won't connect? Is it that we don't think we have the actors to make a production look and sound "authentic"?This production of Tarell Alvin McCraney's 2007 drama - cast with men of colour, from different backgrounds - shows us there are no barriers to staging such plays in Sydney.Drum and voice sweep us instantly to the bayou country of Louisiana. The time is now. Og ...

THE BROTHERS SIZE Stables Theatre, March 24 Until April 16 Reviewed by Jason Blake

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/29/rehearsals-starting-for-love-never-dies/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news Rehersals starting for Love never diesCOMPOSER Andrew Lloyd Webber has overseen this month's triumphant opening of his new London show The Wizard of Oz, and is now preparing to fly to Melbourne for the premiere of a revised version of Love Never Dies, his follow-up to The Phantom of the Opera. It will open at the Regent Theatre on May 28, directed by Simon Phillips, with rehearsals starting early April. Leads Ben Lewis and Anna O'Byrne, were chosen after the traditional round of auditions, but i ...

Rehersals starting for Love never dies

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/29/science-opportunity-at-knox/ Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news Knox Grammar School is a leading Australian day and boarding school for boys, located in Sydney. Knox, a Uniting Church school for boys from Kindergarten to Year 12, aims to develop, within a caring environment, young men of integrity, wisdom, compassion and faith.The summer holidays are not always about relaxing and taking time out. For two Year 12 boarders at Knox Grammar, Ben So and Paul Churton, the most recent summer holiday was about exploring new areas in science, challenging themselves t ...

Knox Grammar School is a leading Australian day and boarding school for boys, located in Sydney. Knox, a Uniting Church school for boys from Kindergarten to Year 12, aims to develop, within a caring environment, young men of integrity, wisdom, compassion and faith.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/28/abbott-declares-carbon-tax-toxic/ Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has refused to back away from his assertion that some of the claims about climate change are "absolute crap" while contending the NSW election result shows "carbon tax is toxic."Asked four times to repudiate the "absolute crap" line delivered off the cuff to a Liberal Party meeting at Beaufort in central Victoria in 2009, Mr Abbott told Sky News he had never intended to imply that climate change was crap or that mankind did not contribu ...

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has refused to back away from his assertion that some of the claims about climate change are "absolute crap" while contending the NSW election result shows "carbon tax is toxic."

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/28/hot-button/ Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news Last week's guest, Danny Schwarz — chief executive of Youth Connect — argued that we were limiting the options of our children by failing to insist on vocational training in schools. The following are excerpts from his live chat session. ■Could not agree more. Just having that exact conversation with my year 7 son last night. Six weeks into high school and already overwhelmed with the useless ba ...

Last week's guest, Danny Schwarz — chief executive of Youth Connect — argued that we were limiting the options of our children by failing to insist on vocational training in schools. The following are excerpts from his live chat session.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/28/movies/ Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news Unknown World Sounds of SandUnknown World(1951) ABC1, 12.20am (Mon)The aptly named Dr Jeremiah Morley, envisaging a nuclear holocaust and hoping to preserve a few working specimens of mankind, plans an expedition into the bowels of the planet using an atomic-powered mechanical mole known as the Cyclotran - a souped-up Studebaker with a heroic auger. Boring! It duly creates a route as a small party tunnels deep into the planet's mantle where, in cavernous precincts, colonies of intelligent people ...

Unknown World Sounds of Sand

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/27/the-walkin-pantry/ Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news The preparation room is making a comeback, reports Gina Morris.The inclusion of a walk-in storage/preparation room has become the hottest thing in kitchen design. Cosy, comforting, nostalgic and practical, its addition allows our kitchen spaces to exist chaos and clutter free."It's a growing trend," says Yvonne Abood, general manager of marketing at Metricon Homes.The walk-in pantry is now standard in several Metricon house designs. "In the past it was an optional upgrade. But mor ...

The preparation room is making a comeback, reports Gina Morris.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/27/watching-lotus-flower/ Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news Martin Boulton joins a Lotus team minus a hurt Robert Kubica in the lead-up to today's race. TEAM Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok's first lap of Friday's opening practice session didn't go to plan."That's not a good start," whispered one of the 72 people on the team after Chandhok slammed veteran driver Jarno Truli's car into the wall. Only minutes earlier the scene in the Team Lotus garage resembled an operating theatre with every person assigned a specific task.After losing Rober ...

Martin Boulton joins a Lotus team minus a hurt Robert Kubica in the lead-up to today's race.

http://www.mechanics.com.au/mechanics-articles/2011/3/27/young-and-restless/ Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST news A startling array of gigs, workshops and activities will fill Youth Week 2011, writes Wendy Preston. T he slogan for Youth Week 2011 (youthweek.nsw.gov.au), which runs from April 1 to April 10, is: "Own It!" Aimed at people aged 12 to 25, Youth Week gives them the chance to express their ideas, raise issues of concern and be entertained. Throughout the event, the community can become more aware of young people, the issues they face, their achievements and the positive contributions the ...

A startling array of gigs, workshops and activities will fill Youth Week 2011, writes Wendy Preston.