At the risk of this heading towards the attic the USA has the most bizarre system of government and v****g of anything I have seen. You guys have no right to criticize another system of government when yours is so bad (leaving aside a few c*******t types). Although I too would like to see their rationalisation for a decision like this.

With your high car mechanics repair labor charges I can imagine how much a printer repair charge would be.
I have an HP enterprise laser printer which I bought cheap new (1/2 price) because I was a dealer then. It cost me $500 (NZD). A set of 4 toner cartridges (admittedly double capacity sizes) last cost me $1200. I did investigate buying a new printer but they only came with starter cartridges.

I have 2 Manfrotto mono-pods and they are both lever type. Twist lock types occupy a smaller space so there is that. Maybe a tripod exclusive used for travel might be twist lock but that is about the only upside as far as I can tell.

Another problem with screw type locks is when you only want to change one leg for height. You then need two hands to lock the leg. With the lever type one hand can do the job. I suppose it is what you get used to. If you start off with twist lock you would probably use them the rest of your life. Same with lever lock. BUT use a lever lock for a few days and you will never go back.

I have a 90/10 % rule. If anything is set up it will only suit 90% of who it was done for. The other 10% will find it is utter crap for them. In NZ this is for stuff like banks doing away with checks, or reward schemes requiring smart phones which 10% of the population don't have etc. It also works the other way. I find that 90% of EV owners have never bothered to calculate the true cost of owning an EV or its cost to the environment. The other 10% are good citizens and you appear to be one of those.

I do hope that all Prius owners include the cost of the 12v battery, and any labour, in their cost of running. I suspect most don't.

AS far as I am concerned the cost/value of any used EV after 5 years old is the cost of the replacement battery after the battery replacement. Before battery replacement its value is zero.
No replacement battery then the value is zero also (or maybe some small residual vale for other parts eg body panels when it is scrapped).
What does this do to its depreciation value ? So for 5 years you have had cheap running (plus tires, brake fluid etc). Then divide the total purchase price by 5 and add that to your running costs for each year. Not looking so good then.
Unless you can find a mug to buy it off you. Hertz seems to have realised this somewhat late to their cost.

It might well be that the cost of all the hardware over those 20 years, including batteries and their replacements AND the time to install and maintain it, plus the research time and the amount of time spent discarding some of the ideas which wouldn't have worked out may well have actually funded the cost of electricity. I do note that in the even of a global meltdown I don't like your chances of being able to buy the next set of replacement batteries. Just several thoughts here.

I suspect that repair costs for all the earlier EV car batteries will be high. Each new model that comes out will use a new shape and different technology for the battery packs. I think there will be little repair and more likely a full replacement and that will be expensive. I bet you anything you like that the EVs have NOT been designed to make a battery swap an easy process. The cost of the battery (if one even exists) and the swap labour will be prohibitive. They will effectively be obsolete and the whole vehicle will be scrap. So much for saving the environment. I will have no sympathy for people caught up in this as they appear to be woefully misinformed and have a belief system that is not adequate.

Sorry for repeat.

There's one in China. Type in "China's mind-bending mega bridge". Probably the second hit although the first one might be the same place. You would not want to use this in any way bearing in mind tofu construction.

There's one in China. Type in "China's mind-bending mega bridge". Probably the second hit although the first one might be the same place. You would not want to use this in any way bearing in mind tofu construction.

We've got a big fire on the hills above Christchurch at the moment (or there was earlier this afternoon). We had another biggy a few years back in roughly the same location and this was mentioned in news reports. They said that enough energy was released in that fire to equal 4 atomic bombs (I don't think the current fire will equal the previous one). It might be quite amazing how much energy/emissions etc that mother nature can release.
This fire is still going, looking a lot bigger than originally thought. Fanned by hot winds and high temperatures.

I have always enjoyed my visits to the US although they are off now as long as a certain individual, who shall remain nameless, could end up as your leader thus demoting the US to a country that no longer demands respect.

Lead-acid batteries would never win. Apart from the points you mention lead-acid batteries do not last very long especially under heavier loads. I suppose you could class this as a maintenance issue however.
Because their output voltage is less for LiFePo you need more of them and I suspect they might be slightly heavier but they self drain less and can be charged more often. Also not so inclined to self immolate. Boils down to money I guess. Whether you are wiser may also be hard to tell. I believe that wiser can be related to the ability to deal with BS and recognizing it. You sound like a thinking man - check out mguy in Australia if you want more on EV BS.