I waited until 12 ticked over to post this.. but have a look at this absolute beast of a backpack holding $84 of groceries like a champ. I've had this backpack for maybe 7 or 8 years now, taken it half way around the world twice & on countless domestic trips, and I've used it as my daily carrier/work bag and it's as good as the day I bought it.
Can fully recommend the Osprey Farpoint 40. Never felt more confident recommending something.
lol you made me curious so I checked the receipt.. it's actually 21 items! A 2 litre bottle of white vinegar. 750ml windex. Can of bug spray. 3 trays of meat. 2 jars of pasta sauce. 2 packs of Penne. 1kg bag of rice. Bag of potato gems. And more. Some decently sized items!
I have one of those (or a very similar model), it's a great bag. I've never taken it grocery shopping, but it was great in Vietnam where it needed to be able to handle everything from walking and motorbike travel to air travel as both hand luggage and cargo. Also fully recommend.
A mystery parcel is on board for delivery today. I really wish you got the sender's name not just a tracking number with these notifications so I knew what I was getting. I have two seperate parcels with live plants expected, it would be nice to know if it is one of those so I can prepare to plant them straight away. But it could also just be the batteries I ordered.
I got an aus post message the other day. They tried to deliver my "parcel" but was unsuccessful so could I possibly click the link and correct my address. Sure now gimme my parcel. I'm still waiting. I hope it's good.
Woke up to someone sending me a bunch of pictures of someone's kids... Hopefully it's not a phishing scam because I replied telling them they have the wrong number and that I had deleted the photos.
But holy hell what a nightmare for the parents, and also worst nightmare for me having random pictures of some kids on my phone for 5 seconds (especially as a man).
Ted Cat goes out into our courtyard every second day. He loves it so much. Sniffs all the bushes and fences then rolls around on the warm outdoor paving tiles enjoying his freedom.
he's still funny lookin' . 🤭 It will take 6 months to get his full persian length fur
( the more I get to know him the more my heart breaks for him. He's very small for his breed. He's always desperate for food. He's not well socialised. He lost his fur thru neglect. He had never been out of a cage. 😔 He was in a cat mill. )
We are heading into a cashless society they say. Do your banking online, it's easy they say. Until shit hits the fan and you can't access your funds. When the gov'ment says it's save to vote online then I'll consider it. Until then I'll stick to using my card or cash thanks.
I love my virtual money and almost never use cash. But we definitely need to have more back up systems in place in case of IT failure - not just in banking, but in pretty much everything. Companies have been very quick to take the cost savings of moving to efficient computerised systems, but have neglected to put in place backup systems to provide resilient systems. At one stage when the EFTPOS system went down they could manually swipe your card through and it would be processed later, now there is nothing.
A lot of companies are running extremely outdated software, and either can't or won't spend the money to upgrade it. Which leaves them prone to breakdowns, and security breaches, leading to not just data leaks but can bring their entire system down, if (like the Fire Services) a virus gets into the system. Or in the case of my now ex health insurance company they try to upgrade but don't seem to have a plan to wind back to a stable system if it goes wrong.
Yep. I do something similar. All online purchases and bills, credit card. All real life purchases, cash. Credit card then gets paid at the post office using cash. Occasionally I have to use my debit card but limit that to big businesses only.
I'm actually sick of Optus. I'm still pissed that like my data gets leaked but all I get is a :c soz bro. But they have cheap credit, which is $30 every 45 days, and I get a butt load of calls and text. So I guess if anyone has other recommendations for either similar price and offer or cheaper that'd be nice.
Though I do refuse to go to Vodafone because they too screwed me over years ago and I can hold a grudge.
Been with Boost for over a year now. I get the yearly plan - about $200 something for a year and 160gb (not that I end up using most of it). Works out to about $20 per month and is on the Telstra network, which is great! Also 5g.
+1 for Boost for me as well. I'm still on the monthly 7GB plan for $22 but because they do data rollover I'm often at 10GB a month. Next tier is $35 for 25 GB which also includes international calls. But I think I might follow you and @bull and go for a yearly plan from next year esp now that I know I'm here for good. 13.3GB at $20/mth including those international calls... Sounds better than what I'm on.
I know you can get cheaper data elsewhere but the standout to me is the full Telstra reception, always great when out in the wop wops for fieldwork or travel. People have regularly had to borrow my phone when theirs can't connect! And still excellent in the city though I haven't extensively tested it indoors.
Another vote for Boost. I might switch to one of the yearly plans because I'm on Wi-Fi most of the time. I'm on monthly now. An important distinction (for those reading this who don't know) between Boost and the other Telstra-backed carriers is that Boost is the only one which uses the actual full-fat Telstra network and not their wholesale network. More info here.
Hmm, that's not too bad. Optus is 5gb for 45 days which I don't use up (only time I do is if I accidentally forget to turn on wifi while I'm watching YouTube or TikTok). But I might look into it, thank you!
I'm with aldi which uses telestra. Apart from weird reception in the garage occasionally, probably because of the tin roof, I don't have a problem. I also don't download movies and shit on the go on my phone.
I mainly use WiFi at home for streaming and talking to you lovely people. I hope that makes sense. It makes sense to me.
I would never go back to a major telco when all three sell their network wholesale for cheaper.
Telstra owns Belong, Optus owns Amaysim & Vodafone has Felix. Each of the subsidiaries are cheaper despite being under the parent company. On top of those, there are tons of third-party sellers that are just as cheap and often cheaper.
I personally use Woolworth's Everyday Mobile for the Telstra Network + -10% at Woolworths checkout once per month.
I often wonder what's the point of the major telco plans when they have cheaper plans on their subsidiaries - exclusively serving the naïve and old? Physical store for customers to slam their fist down at?
I'm with Woolworths on the Telstra network, 40 bucks and I get 65gb of data, unlimited standard calls and texts, and unlimited calls and texts to 22 other countries (happy to post the list if needed). You can also bank up 500gb of data, if you are slow at using it up.
Editing because I just went had a browse, they have lower priced plans but all plans contain the unlimited calls and texts, and unlimited calls and texts to 22 other countries.
Went to the doctors for my usual thing and mentioned a random rash that popped up on my face that's giving me grief, and now I'm on shingles watch... Fingers crossed the antihistamines I've been instructed to take for the next few days confirm its just weird allergy symptoms I've never had before.
Ok real talk, how do I fix this / make it better? the door is hollow so the putty just kept falling inside - so I started shoving some paper in there in hopes that I can fill enough for the putty to hold. And now the colour is a slight bit off as well - do I just go back to Bunnings and ask them for a new one or
The Boost app is so horrified by this repair that it crashes every time this photo loads. Or maybe it is trying to protect me, as it reminds me of my ex-husband's work.
Like @[email protected] says, you need to sand it back and paint over it. It's hard to fill a hole without something behind it - too late now, but put a piece of thin wood or similar inside the hole and then glue (you can use some string to pull it forward). That gives you a solid base to work on. I found the best technique for getting a smooth finish is to hold the spatula or scraper at close to a 90 degree angle and scrape off everything you can. If you hold the spatula more parallel it bends a little and won't create as flat a finish.
The Boost app is so horrified by this repair that it crashes every time this photo loads. Or maybe it is trying to protect me, as it reminds me of my ex-husband’s work.
For next time there are little wall repair kits from Bunnings which include special netting with a slightly sticky back. You trim it to size with a little overlap at the edges and stick it over the hole. It gives the layers of putty something to grab onto.
Apply the putty in really thin layers with the spatula scraping it as smooth as possible, letting it fully dry and sanding it flush before the next one. Sand it really flat with sandpaper around a foam sanding block because doing it with sandpaper on your fingers can leave it uneven.
For the paint it really helps to cut a 50c piece sized layer of paint from somewhere really hard to notice of the same colour (use a razorblade and kind of slice at an angle) and get it put through the paint matching machine at Bunnings.
Use a roller not a brush because you don't want visible brushmarks. Bunnings sell little disposable rollers and paint trays. Do really thin layers too with drying between, feathering the edges out with the last tiny (barely any) bit of paint left on the roller each time so it's harder to see a sudden transition. Putty and paint the sneaky spot you nicked the chip from too.
The paint colour you got mixed may differ slightly from the main spot due to different rates of fading (ie if the sample paint chip was taken from inside a wardrobe) but do your best, let it fully dry and rub a dusty rag over it at the end so it doesn't look too new.
i just got a multi purpose filler and basically did as in the video except apply the patch ( didn't get the patch ). is the patch super important? i might have to go and get the patch in that case. also need to colour match but how? i can't chip another piece of the door and take it to bunnings (which is what i did the first time, chipped a small piece from the already broken area and took it)!
Optus NBN appears to be just a DNS issue, people reporting their NBN working with third party DNS provider.
I strongly recommend not using telco for DNS regardless.
FYI for those that don't know, Optus services down nationwide, effects 10 million customers as well as payment terminals, Metro trains are also partially down.
I realized I haven't been to my favourite pizza shop in many months (since before I moved). They were about a 10 minute trip, but they did the best pizza and once a month or so I'd make the hike because it was very worth it. Now I'm 11 minutes away and was going to get a pizza from there delivered. Apparently their maximum delivery distance is 10 minutes, and I'm just ever so slightly beyond their delivery area
I'm very sad now. They do the best pizza, and I'd probably be willing to catch a bus there (even in this weather), but unfortunately it would be a series of 3 buses all taking about 35 minutes + a 10 minute walk, and I don't think I want pizza so badly i'd do an almost 2 hour round trip
Agreed. Call them and tell them you love love love their pizza and used to get it often, but you've moved to 11 minutes away but can they please make an exception?
I wasn't paying attention but now that I finally am, there's this something I can take up that will make my future plans way easier.
But that means I should make a decision soon, and take action within 2024.
Thought I had years. Now it's just months.
It's a most wonderful thing but AHHHHHH
Edit: further googling tells me walking through door A doesn't shut door B. It's a net gain. I can go back to worrying about how full my neopet is.
I am guessing it's either medical and/or migration related but whatever it is, hooray for good news!! Sometimes that's all you need to take action. I felt the same way when it dawned on me that I could become eligible for PR last year after over a decade of uncertainty
Pizza troubles have been resolved! I discovered apparently their on uber ears, and Uber don't care how far away you are, if you're willing to give them money they'll keep it all, give the driver 20 cents, and then they'll give you your food
Welp, good thing I'm not with Optus regarding the Internet. Now phone service...
I let my boss know, I should be able to get an uber to work, but I can't receive any calls or text which will be fun when I go home. I'll have to order the uber while in the office because the wifi doesn't extend very far.
Yeah it's not time for the noisy beast yet. Shit gotta get Dire before that gets turned on. The only rule I have with the fan is nobody's allowed to drop their guts because it the fan comes my way and I cop that, shit gonna get nasty.
It's kind of terrifying to realise just how much power Optus and telcos in general hold. One single outage and the entire country grinds to a halt. If there was ever a situation where Optus' or Telstra's CEO wanted to kill everything, that really could. Telstra especially could fuck everyone over, since they operate the 000 switchboardy thingo too. It'd be massively illegal, and they'd get sued into the shitter, but why does a private entity hold this much power?
I guess there's an argument to be made that a problem like this could happen even if private telcos didn't exist, but it still seems ridiculous that something this essential to how society works isn't owned and operated by the government...
Absolutely agree. Somewhere along the line large portions of our society got conned into believing that government was a powerful entity which they should fear, and in the name of freedom and personal rights they enthusiastically endoresed selling off as many government assets as possible, and handing all that power away from democratically elected governments to big businesses. And all that money that was received from selling assets has been passed on to individuals as lower taxes, which then got gobbled up by the companies providing the services our taxes used to pay for.
Now we are in a situation where government does not really have the power to do most of what it should be doing and the businesses that are doing essential work are using their power for personal gain. And yet we still focus on trying to cut government down - as a society we hate the idea of government employees getting decent wages and benefits, so all the best employees go to work for private businesses, who we then have to pay a fortune to as "consultants".
I'm going to push back a little. Something being government owned, in of itself does not mean it will be run better. Sometimes it's operated even more poorly.
What is prudent is appropriate incentives and penalties for how something is managed regardless of who runs it.
I agree with this. Being run by a democratically elected government (and the threat of losing votes that follows) is not a sufficient mechanism for ensuring quality operation and service.
A lack of profit incentive is a plus regardless though, IMO. Sadly the motive of the profit driven private services and their consequent lobbying seems to be diametrically opposed to the competent running of a public service
Another beautiful morning out there. I'm not used to walking in warm temperatures, I need to acclimatize - was getting hot and sweaty by the end of the dog walk, and it's only about 20 degrees.
I saw I had left some coffee undrunk at about 2pm and since I'd painstakingly hand ground the expensive beans and used expensive soy milk, I drank the rest.
Reader, this was a terrible idea.
9:37 pm and I feel like I could go on til midnight at least. Melatonin for the third night in a row even if it means feeling shitty tomorrow morning...
It was so good today, and I didn't even get that horrible loose motion. Paying for it otherwise I suppose...
I know I'll sleep well eventually, it's the getting up early enough to feel productive part that's going to be yucky. I need to get on top of my casual work commitment and end this job before December, and not feel like I'm on an effin holiday still ...
Pakige arrived, and it is indeed some of my live plants. They had a bit of a rough trip, they're soaking in some water now and I'll plant them this afternoon. Hopefully not in the middle of a thunderstorm. They sent a free plant too, and I'll have to look up what it is to figure out if I can actually use it.
Edit: I think I'll have to rehome the free plant. "Scabrosa" is a type of rose, which is very thorny, tends to sucker from the roots and left unchecked can grow into an inpenetrable thicket. Sounds perfect if I want to role play Sleeping Beauty, but probably not something I can fit into my garden. Maybe I can sneak into next door's back yard and secretly plant it there. Then I could see who wins an unchecked battle for dominance: blackberry or scabrosa.
Free plants? Do you mean a weed that sprouted in one of the pots, because if not I'd love to know where you can order plants and get free ones as a bonus :D
It was in it's own pot, with "free scabrosa" written on the side. One of the other companies I was looking at had free plants if you spend a certain amount, and you got to pick which one. I can't remember which company unfortunately, but it is definitely something you can get if you look!
The food is free cupboard at Ringwood East is doing a free plant day this weekend, so I'll probably take it down there to find it a new home.
The cat has finally dropped a bomb! (Yes she'll be getting some cooked pumpkin.) There doesn't seem to have been any immediate signs of food allergy from the cheap canned food 😲 (You have no idea what a big deal this is.)
I still won't use it exclusively. It is a generic brand and I haven't found the full deal on it so there could be serious health issues down the line if it's not good and feeding too much of it. (The dry version is absolute garbage, would cause health issues and will not be touched with a ten foot pole.)
It may be so cheap due to the edible but unappetising dark meat of the tuna, and it does meet AAFCO standards which may be stricter than the lax Australian pet food standards? There has to be some catch and it may be phosphorus, freshness, ash, salt... surely Woolies brand can't be very good.
But. If there's no glaring flags I'm going to get a few more as backup tins to keep in the cupboard.
Edit: She does have hot little ears though and was sick yesterday (not unusual for her with pancreatis) so will be watching. I keep worrying about something being wrong with her food, her teeth, or her thyroid.
I really need to get that lift to the vet.
Meals For Mutts dry food just had a recall and the dry food she began refusing was Meals For Meows so maybe there was something wrong with that too (will check the date on the remaining bag). But she's only been picking at Wellness Core dry.
I'm in charge of Christmas drinks. I bought some limoncello and some bubbles. That should be alright shouldn't it? With a little spring of mint to make it fancy.
Yeah I could but I like to wait until Christmas lunch so me and the old girl can sample together and critique cheap plonk like connoisseurs. It's my gift to her.
Oddly specific question, but has anyone used both prismacolour pencils and Faber Castell polychromos pencils, and are you able to compare them....? Got some money to spend. I've always gone with prismacolours, but maybe I should change....
I still have my Derwents and I'm still a bit afraid to use them. They are Special and only to be used for Good things. I don't want to get in trouble for not appreciating them enough.
Both are a bit out of my budget so I can't personally give feedback. But when I was looking at brands I saw articles and videos comparing them. It seems to depend on your preferences and what you need out of them
My mother calls them "homeless bags", and always has. Before things got good, I remember them coming out was a sign we'd been evicted or needed to find a new couch to surf. I also always remember the handles breaking if you made them to heavy.
I finally got around to framing some pieces that have been sitting around for ages. The cross stitch cows would probably have been unframed for about 25 years now! I got the frames for various op shops a couple of years ago, and never actually got around to using them.
The orange swirly thing has no hanger on it, so I am not really sure where to put it.
I did a framing course and framed that one in a custom frame many years ago. The swirls on the dress and decorations around the outside all have beadwork as well as the cross stitch, it took years to finish.
Been both fighting and supporting my partner. She is stubbornly independent but also somewhat insecure so I'm trying to figure it all out. Reached out to a counsellor today so fingers crossed
Upside is I've started DJing again. It's been... about 15 years since I did it (at bars etc) and it's vert cathartic. I'm enjoying it although now being in apartment my timing is limited. My brother sent me some mixes I did in early-/mid -2000s which has been inspiring
I finally have some rain! With some bonus distant sky rumbles. I've just planted all the new plants that arrived today (and got a touch damp with the start of the rain) so they will be enjoying this welcome. They may have to wait until the weekend before they get their mulch though, unless I get enthusiastic after work tomorrow.
if you worked for an organisation of ~10k employees, who deals with a lot of sensitive data, how would you convince IT that they really want to install that niche bit of software that you personally use, because it suits your personal workflow, on your work computer?