mycatsays

joined 2 years ago
[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thank you, this looks really good. They have an EOFY deal going for $99.

 

My current long-expiry mobile plan runs out this month, and has been discontinued. The options with the same provider (Woollies) are significantly more expensive, so I'm looking elsewhere.

My needs are minimal. An occasional phone call or text message. A few GB/month data would suffice. Any network is fine.

Because I don't need much, I don't want to spend much. Less than $200/year is preferable.

The best deal I'm seeing at the moment is OnePass $149/365 days . Do you know of anything better?

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 23 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

They don't hurt humans or pets. They'll also tend to hide, given the opportunity.

They do like to eat paper, however. One silverfish isn't a big deal, but if you see them often it's worth looking into deterrents or pest treatment. When there are lots, you'll start to notice holes in notes, books, etc — most particularly (in my experience), loose pieces of paper left undisturbed for a length of time.

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 43 points 2 weeks ago (16 children)

It looks like a silverfish to me, but I've never seen them bigger than about 1cm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Some things are going to depend on your climate, so what has worked for me may not be a good fit for you.

That said, things I've had success with as a lazy gardener in a cool temperate climate:

  • beans: pick every few days and eat fresh; keeps producing through the season
  • lettuce: choose a variety from which you can pick a few leaves at a time rather than harvesting the whole head
  • silverbeet/chard and spinach: pick leaves as needed
  • Jerusalem artichokes: takes all season to grow, but produces an abundance of tubers; use them like potatoes
  • leeks and spring onions: use the green part, leave the roots in the ground and it will regrow
  • radishes: quick to grow, can be eaten fresh or cooked
  • beets: can pick occasional leaves to eat while the roots are growing
  • perennial herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives)
  • parsley
  • Asian greens (pak choy, choy sum, tatsoi, etc)

Mostly those things have grown with little attention from me apart from water when it's dry. Many of them can be grown easily from seed, which is cheaper than seedlings but takes longer.

Let a plant go to seed and you get more for free. Leeks, spring onions, radishes, leafy greens, parsley are very easy to do this with. Save a few Jerusalem artichoke tubers for next season's crop. Let a couple of bean pods dry on the plant, save the beans and plant them next season.

If there is a community garden near you, that's a great place to ask for advice about what grows well in your area. They may also be able to help you get started with seeds or cuttings.

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 5 points 1 month ago

Yes.

Gosh, 20 years ago at uni I had science professors telling the class that we could (should) do geothermal.

Somehow it's still not a thing we even talk about doing. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 3 points 1 month ago

It's not about the age of the device, hut whether it is still meeting (or able to meet) the needs of its user(s).

If it was fully functional, would it still be meeting your needs? If yes, it's worth trying to resolve the problem(s). There are some good suggestions here for things you can try.

If the laptop wasn't really meeting your needs, or the issues the laptop is having can't be resolved, then yes it's time to replace it. (And you may not need to scrap it: sometimes an older device can be repurposed for a new job, either with you or with someone else.)

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 3 points 2 months ago

I think things vary from store to store, and I do see patterns within my local stores change every do often.

Currently my local Woollies and Coles both have a shelf in the refrigerated section where they collect the marked-down stuff. It seems to be that they'll leave things on their normal shelves for the initial markdown, then whatever doesn't sell in that first pass goes to the special shelf for further discounts.

Some days there's nothing much. Some days there's a big pile of stuff 90% off. If you're on a tight budget or just like a bargain, you check several times a week.

Idk about Coles (I'm not there as often) but I've seen Woollies doing further discounting of markdowns around 5pm. So if I'm looking for bargains, I try to go between 5 and 6.

This all applies specifically to the stores in my town, so YMMV. But observe patterns at your local (or ask if you know someone on staff) and you can probably work out their routine to your advantage.

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 15 points 2 months ago

Regional Australia (New South Wales).

Petrol prices are the highest I've ever seen. I guess that's true everywhere.

But also, on Weds when we went to Canberra we drove past two petrol stations with their signs turned off (suggesting they were completely out) — one in the city and one in the country. I've never seen that before. The country station was back on when we passed again a couple of hours later.

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Would be keen to join. But I'm not currently up to hosting, and the chances of my town setting up anywhere besides Facebook in the foreseeable future are slim to none. Sadface.

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 2 points 3 months ago

I grew up in the USA and live in Australia. I think of and refer to myself as both 'expat' and 'immigrant'.

Which word I use depends on context. I'm an American expat (context: my relationship with USA), but I'm an immigrant in Australia (context: my relationship with Australia).

I guess I'm really just using "expat" to mean "emigrant". ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 9 points 3 months ago

My current cats have Opinions (capital O) about what is or isn't food. I tried giving them variety, at least in flavour. They don't want it. The want one specific brand of fish-flavored wet food (in jelly, not gravy). They'll eat some kinds of fish-flavored kibble if wet food isn't available. Anything else, they have to be pretty desperate.

At least they both like the same stuff! But the lack of variety is 100% on them, not me.

(My previous cats would eat most things. These two are just weird.)

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Hubby is ADHD and I am not. And it's usually me trying to speak when he is silent but "still talking".

How did we get this backwards? Lol

 

Coin for scale.

This tool thing came with new door handles. There were no instructions about what to do with it, and it was not needed for the installation of the door handles.

Any ideas?

 

While the region is no stranger to grassfires, Natimuk itself has never burned.

But on Friday, January 9, on the back of days of intense heat, a ferocious, fast-moving grass fire flattened 17 homes and tore through 8,000-hectares of land.

Fire crews could not match the speed of the blaze as it ran straight towards the small town.

The anatomy of this fire offers a glimpse into a new and faster kind of bushfire — and the growing vulnerability of communities as climate change fuels dangerous conditions.

It's worth opening the article for the graphics. Scary stuff, how fast this fire moved.

 

My 2yo nephew and his parents are moving to Latvia from overseas. I'd like to send the kid birthday and Christmas presents each year, and usually the easiest way to do this is by ordering a gift online within his country/region (I live in Australia and international shipping is expensive).

What are some European online shops that ship to Latvia? At his current age I'm mostly interested in books and toys, but may need more variety as he gets older. Bonus if the store offers gift certificates, as that may be the best option until they get settled.

Thanks!

 

In my region of Australia, there are active community groups on Facebook but not really (to my knowledge) any other online spaces.

I want to move away from Facebook, but unless that local stuff exists elsewhere I can't fully quit. I'm involved in my local community garden, so I've been thinking I could set them up on a second platform (in addition to Facebook). It's only one piece of the community, but it would be something, y'know?

So I'm wondering - where does your local community garden have an online presence? What other platforms might be useful for this sort of group?

(We currently have a Facebook page open to the local community, a little-used website, and email and FB Messenger chats for members.)

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