I have a wireless network point and a decent telstra fibre connection, but I have a 10GB monthly limit. Mostly that's not a big problem, except when a new Ubuntu release comes out, but it would be the main reason I'd be reluctant to leave it wide open to the world.

Do mesh networks in other places survive because they don't have bandwidth caps?

Incidentally, the latest Ubuntu release makes setting up wireless WPA2 security much easier. It's about the same complexity level as setting it up on the XP laptop and total time (including detecting I needed proprietary drivers for the network card and downloading them automatically (after asking permission)) took about 20 seconds.

sneaking up on little old ladies in parking lots on the electric motor ...

Actually, I'm reliably told that the Foundation for the Blind is really quite anti them for this reason. (cue image of blind person stepping out on a quiet street and taking a Prius in the side at 40kmh)

I've suggested that they should have someone walking in front of them with a bell, or more realistically perhaps, some sort of artificial noisemaker.

Which is why the greenies want changes. It's cheaper to go by car because you are not really paying for the true cost of running your car. Hence the carbon tax. Once that is factored in you may well find it cheaper to catch a bus to work.

I'm cheating a bit, since really we're car-pooling, but given that it costs me about $3 in gas to go to town, and $6 to park for the day (way down by westpac stadium) and it costs me and the SO $11.20 per day to catch the bus if we use multi-trip tickets ($14 if we pay cash), they could double the price of gas and it would still be tempting to take the car.

Using the car can also give me up to an extra hour of time at the end of the day compared with the bus (which can take more than an hour to get me home on occasion, plus the half hour or more of waiting for a bus that was due at 5:15pm but actually went past at 5:10, and the following one due at 5:45 will be late...) which is very attractive on days like today.

I llike the idea of public transport, and used to use it a lot more when I lived closer to town, but the reality for me has degraded in recent years.

I drove a Prius for a week a couple of months back. With a combination of open road and city driving, our estimated fuel economy for the week was ~ 5 liters per 100km. My Toyota Corolla gets about 7 litres per 100km and about a third the price.

I've been watching the G-Whiz (or Reva, as the Indian's call it - http://www.revaindia.com/) with interest for a couple of years now. The Australians have been refusing to give it a safety pass, and having seen Top Gear's video of the Reva in a 40mph crash I can't say that it thrills me either.

Reva are apparently building a new version that should pass the Australian safety requirements, and will cost "less than AUD20,000". If it passes in Australia, it will probably be accepted here.

I'm tempted, since most days I'm driving less than 30km, and mostly in city speed zones. (At the moment, my pet peeve is that it's cheaper to drive to town _and_ pay parking than it is to catch the bus - sigh.)

My efficient vehicle of interest at the moment is the Loremo, which according to the press can get 1.3 litres of diesel per 100km of travel. I'm not sure NZ diesel would be good for it though. The Loremo is due on the European market in 2009...