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octave

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Everything posted by octave

  1. Having botched the COVID response Trump now seeks to appoint a rabid anti-vaxxer to head the Department of Health and Human Services. He seeks to appoint someone with little experience running a huge department such as Defence, even though he seems to have many serious character flaws. I find it hard to understand how anyone can listen to Trump and not think he is deluded. Remember this Trump suggests 'injection' of disinfectant to beat coronavirus and 'clean' the lungs Whilst many politicians over-promise and under-deliver Trump excels at this "going to build a big beautiful wall and the Mexicans are going to pay for it" Of course this never happened. This from his last term so maybe be we should consider current promises. End the war in Ukraine within 24 hours? End inflation although he is now walking that one back. Make Canada the 51st state? Take over Greenland? He even refused to rule out economic OR military means. He thinks windmills kill whales. He thinks that tariffs are a tax on other countries. He claims he will deport millions of undocumented workers without taking into account those businesses that rely on these people to do jobs that Americans won't do. Business owners warn Trump’s deportation plan could shut them down Turning back the clock regarding a woman's right to choose. He wants to bring back prayer to school and remove drugs but doesn't seem to give a sh1t about the proliferation of guns. To me, a great leader needs many qualities but an important one is humility. The man literally cannot say anything without telling how wonderful Trump is. "My last inauguration, the biggest crowd ever, everyone says that, there has never been a crowd bigger" He can't even accept that in 2020 he lost. If you search out concession speeches from past presidents Dem or GOP they are magnanimous in accepting the result. In my opinion, he does not have the character for the job.
  2. What Biden did was within the current law. Taking advantage of current law whilst admitting that it should be changed may be less than perfect but better than nothing. As far as I am concerned I think it would be fair to prosecute and punish Hunter to the level of any other citizen having committed the same offences. Likewise, I do not believe that being elected president should shield anyone from prosecution. The P***y grabber-in-chief was convicted by a jury of his peers but has so far been spared the punishment that an ordinary person would suffer. This seems to be a far bigger injustice. Pardoning the worst January 6 is also more hideous.
  3. octave

    F****** ACL

    No need to worry about me GON , baiting the far right is somewhat of a hobby of mine, I even have an email address specifically for this purpose. When I get bored I will block them.
  4. octave

    F****** ACL

    I will unsubscribe and block but I might have a little fun first. 😃
  5. octave

    F****** ACL

    I did not know whether to post this under politics or religion but I suspect religion is closest to the point. I received a political flyer from the ACL (Australian Christian Lobby). I do have a "no junk mail" sign on my letterbox and I do realise that for some reason political flyers are exempt. I do however think that where possible my wishes should be respected. I emailed the ACL stating that I was disappointed that their flyer ended up in my mailbox. This was not really a big deal, I suspect I will over the next few months get flyers from all sorts of organisations. I did think their reply was slightly tone-deaf, especially this sentence "We are a Christian political lobby group and as our fliers are definitely political, they can go into every letterbox." but, whatever, happy to move on with my life. However, I then received an email that led with this: Dear Friend, Thank you so much for signing up to receive insights from the Australian Christian Lobby! It’s great to be in this together with you. You’ve joined a grassroots movement of over 250,000 other like-minded Australians who are propelling God’s truth into the public square. WTF, I was complaining not trying to join them I replied: Unbelievable! "You appear to think I have signed up as one of you whereas I complained. It seems that as well as not respecting my wishes communicated on my mailbox you also wish to force yourself into my email inbox." Also in the fine print: You are receiving this email because you have either requested to receive emails from ACL or you have participated in an ACL campaign. To which I replied "I clearly I did neither of these things" I thought that would be the end of but then I received this gem, an email with the heading ""Dear Valued Supporter, " These people can not seem to believe that anyone could possibly disagree with them
  6. The only fees I can see on my statement are a couple of international transaction fees for some items bought from overseas. The card I have (Mastercard Platinum) has 44 days of interest-free and we usually pay it off every Friday. The card has a yearly fee of $50 but this is more than offset by rewards points that we use for Bunnings vouchers (about 4x$50 per year) some merchants occasionally charge extra fees but most businesses don't seem to. If I were to pay my rates with a credit card there would be a couple of dollars surcharge which seems irrelevant on the sort of amount however I usually would such bills by bank transfer. When it comes to banking we also don't pay any fees. We bank with Bank Australia which is a customer-owned bank. Whilst other banks are mainly concerned with pleasing the shareholders with this bank the customers are the shareholders. Whilst we don't pay any bank fees the bank does have some fees but we are able to avoid them. https://www.bankaust.com.au/banking/everyday-accounts/everyday-account-rates-and-fees#Basic-Access I think the banks with unreasonable fees rely on people's reluctance to shop around.
  7. OK although I dont really participate in this forum anymore I do occasionally have a poke around. I can't let this illogical statement go unchallenged. It is true that an EV is only as clean as the source of power used to recharge its batteries. It is also true that the petrol we burn here in Australia has been brought here by a fuel-hungry tanker ship burning pretty dirty fuel. Let's look at the rational facts. Do EVs in Victoria rely on brown coal for charging? The first point is that your statement seems to indicate that you believe that all of Victoria's power comes from brown coal. The fact is that 37.8% of Victoria's power comes from renewables. The projected and achieved targets are: 25% by 2020 (achieved) 40% by 2025 65% by 2030 (previously 50%) 95% by 2035 (new). It should be understood that the trajectory is towards cleaner power; therefore, with every year that passes, these vehicles get cleaner, whereas petrol cars remain pretty much the same. As of today the average EV is charged at least a third by cleaner electricity. I personally pay a couple of cents per KWh for green power. Yes I am aware that the actual power I get comes from a pool of electricity but my retailer buys the amount of power from renewables that equals what I use. I also generate twice as much power as I need. I have done some calculations and I believe my rooftop panels could drive an EV for 14000KM per year. I would suggest that an EV even when powered by the standard mix of power from the Victorian grid is still much cleaner than a car that's fuel is shipped in a tanker from abroad and refined (electricity hungry process) and then is put in a road fuel tanker and driven to the petrol station using more fossil fuels which by the way also come to this country in a tanker ship.
  8. If I were to compile a list of ceremonial or celebratory events that I don't believe in I doubt that smoking ceremonies would be top of the list. Are smoking ceremonies more numerous than Christmas festivities or Christian ceremonies? I am a pretty hard line atheist however I don't really mind what others do. I understand that things that mean little to me may be meaningful to others. For me it comes down to kindness and empathy. I really can't understand why you guys spend so much emotional effort on this.
  9. Spacey can I ask if the largest source of smoke is from Aboriginal ceremonies. At my local national park I can often smell smoke from wood fired BBQs. To be clear would ban wood fired BBQs? I find it bemusing when people bang on about a particular ceremony. As an atheist I think I think all ceremonies are bollocks (to me) however I am a well adjusted enough person to say"you know what, this means nothing to me, however it may mean something to someone else, so why have a panic attack over it. Recently I went to an art exhibition at the Melbourne Town Hall. At the opening there was a very short welcome to country and yes a tiny fire. The wording was short and to the point detailing the history of this place and welcoming all the people who have come since including all the waves of immigrants. This in no way bothered me and I can't really see why it would bother any intelligent rational person. I see little difference between this and Christian pronouncements on ANZAC day etc. The other thing that bothers me about this conversation is the idea that all Aborigines can be lumped into one category. Once we start with Muslims this or Aboriginals thar or Men this or Women that then I am out.
  10. I also like magpies although not keen on the 10% of male magpies that get a touch aggressive every September although they are just protecting their young. Here is a website where you can report attacks and also be alerted to locations with aggressive magpies. Australia's Magpie Swooping Map 2024! The red one is the extra aggressive one that got me.
  11. I say a magpie but actually, I took a bullet for the country. But this is the best ear ever, everyone says that. They say "Sir this is a great ear", "there has never been an ear this good".
  12. Onetrack I think I know what you really want. https://www.pornhub.com
  13. In YouTube recommendations list you can click on "This does not interest me" or "Don't recommend this channel" I use these features regularly and for the most part my recommendations are reasonable.
  14. I was thinking the same thing.
  15. Something I have noticed is that in the past they seemed to make contact with the helmet but lately seem to go for the ears.
  16. This f***** was pretty agro and he got me twice, once on the way out and then again on the way back.
  17. Well after an afternoon bike ride, I can confidently say that Magpie season has started.
  18. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/oppo-a79-smartphone-5g-128gb-glowing-green-oppoa79grn?istCompanyId=0403b0ba-0671-498f-aeb7-e2ff71b61924&istFeedId=00ff5695-1f12-4ff3-82f4-49dd39a43a69&istItemId=lataarmql&istBid=t&cm_mmc=Google:SEM:Always_on:RP|Technology|Gift+Cards+%26+Gifts|General||||SH|PMAX|&s_kwcid=AL!12073!3!!!!x!!&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwufq2BhAmEiwAnZqw8ihsTCsKQJ3zkIq6iD85cP-3M4HfT-k14aYCIEjG218J5-USKPR5bxoCnx0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#specifications I used to have an Oppo a76 which does not have 5g however this model has I think. The only reason I don't use my Oppo phones that I inherited a Pixel phone.
  19. I imagine whoever pays for the conversation recoups their investment in charging fees like any other business.
  20. These lamp post charging points are not free electricity. http://1,300 street lights converted to EV chargers in London
  21. I find this article to be alarmist. Whilst the owner may pay for the QR order at the table system and these costs are ultimately paid for by the customer I have don't ever recall a price differential related to my choice to order in this way. I am sure that you can find the odd place that does add a surcharge but so far I have not struck this. The article talks about patrons having to hand out private information. The payment is made by a third party so certainly this is safer than the good old days of handing over your credit card to wait staff who in the past could "skim it" You do hand over your email address. I don't see this as a problem, my Email address is out there anyway and so what if I get the promotional email (which I could block if I wanted to) The article does not detail what data can be sold. The article says "These QR codes lead you to online menus where you have to input details like your name, address and email to order your food or drink." I regularly dine out and have never ever been asked my home address. This claim seems unlikely. If I ever were to be asked my home address I would decline to do so and I don't think this would invalidate the order. "and then some even ask for a tip at the end of the process even though you haven't received your order." Well, not really, there usually will be three boxes on the payment screen for tips, something like 0% 5% 10% you can tip if you want or not. It is much more private and comfortable than being face to face with a wait staff person observing whether you tipping or not. What I like about ordering at the table is that you do have the choice (at least at places I have dined). Being an older couple I usually find the wait staff will make the point that you don't have to order that way. I find myself feeling a little bit resentful of this because I think assumptions are made because I have grey hair. I am still intellectually with it. I am bad for going out without my glasses and having to get my wife to read out the menu, With an online menu I can easily make the text bigger. There is often that awkwardness in a cafe about whether they come to the table to take the order or if you have to go to the counter. If the wait staff walk past a couple of times, do they think I have already had my order taken or are they very busy? When it comes time to leave I don't have to work out where you pay and possibly wait until someone is free. When dining with friends it avoids that awkward bill-splitting fiasco The article then gets all whiney about parking payment methods. I have just returned home from town (Geelong) and I have my parking app open in front of me. I parked for 59 minutes and 1 second. The total cost was $3.95 of which 41 cents was a service charge. The card the money comes from is also free because I pay it off well within the interest-free period. There are 3 benefits of using this app. The first is it is extremely quick, no fiddling with coins or getting out a credit card. 2 You only pay for the parking you actually use. Instead of saying "I will probably need an hour but I better get extra just in case" you get the extra and cancel it when you return to your car. You only pay for what you use. 3 If you are away from your car and you plans change and you need longer you can just add time remotely. Before I adopted this app my parking cost for my Monday morning town trip was between 6 and 7 dollars usually because I had to allow extra in case I was delayed getting back to the car. There is no more jogging back to the car because the parking is about to run out. I am happy for people to use whatever means of payment they want, I make no judgement and anyway, it is really none of my business. Personally I am happy to learn how to use new methods I am capable assessing their pros and cons.
  22. Geelong. Pretty stable and reliable.
  23. Unless people hold large amounts of cash they will always be reliant on the power and phone network. People who say they only use cash get their cash from the bank system or perhaps they draw cash out when making a debit card transaction. The person using cash drows it out through the digital network, puts it in thier wallet or purse then hands it over to the shopkeeper. I cut out thee middle part of that chain and don't put it in my wallet but send it straight to the shopkeeper. By the way I ave been in a supermarket when the power goes out and they immediately closed the store
  24. I did read the whole article. My point stands that EV sales (BEV, PHEV) have not "fallen off a cliff" The proportion of BEV to HEV has shifted recently, whether this is permanent or temporary, time will tell. Remember the Channel 7 story about Tesla graveyards in Melbourne that they suggested was growing at 40000 cars a month? This "graveyard" must be enormous by now. The automotive market (all cars) for August was down by 10.6 percent on last August. change is not usually linear but there will be ups and downs
  25. I don't know about "full bottle" (are you saying I drink too much?) but seriously - I am not suggesting that we should shred all the money and knock old ladies' purses out of their hands etc. I am not sure if you need to be particularly tech-savvy to operate a card account. As time goes on there will be fewer people who use cash this is the trajectory. I am questioning to what degree we should artificially slow down this change. I have no problem with ensuring certain levels of cash supply or services. I do however think we should not be forcing business owners to deal in cash if they do not wish to. The proposed legislation I linked to suggested that a business would be compelled to take cash up to $10000, which to me is crazy. We should not compel the taxi driver working at night to carry around excessive cash. In times gone by taxi drivers being bashed and robbed was a common occurrence. This morning we am off to our favourite cafe. We have become quite friendly with the owner and even gone out socially. This business is not so much a cafe but more of a hole-in-the-wall type business. This business is still in its first year. The owner is passionate about what he does and this place is becoming quite busy at times. He is usually there by himself. When you order he quickly types it into a screen on his side of the counter and then immediately goes back to making coffee. On the customer side of the counter is another screen where your order appears and you can tap your card or phone or whatever. In a one-person operation like this, there simply is not time to stand waiting while someone rummages through their wallet or purse. My point is that he should not be compelled to take cash if it does not fit in with his business model. I am actually not sure if he does take cash but I have never seen anyone offer cash. I would suggest that most people of any age are able to operate a bank account. With age people do lose ability though. My mother is in care and I now operate her bank accounts for her (anyone need a loan?) Although her ability to operate her bank accounts has deteriorated this also applies to using cash. As for me being "full bottle" on technology, I would say not especially. Something I think is crucial as I age is to not get stuck in a bygone era because this leads eventually to helplessness. If I don't understand how to do something I find out how to do it. It is all too easy to give up. Although my 92-year-old mother is not particularly tech-savvy I am pretty proud of the way she still is able to use her laptop (with a bit of tech support over the phone from us which can be arduous sometimes). Every Sunday night she will Facetime with her friend in England. They were nurse together 70 years ago. It is important not to give up on learning new things whilst you have the capacity to do so. I am fine with the government ensuring a certain level of cash facilities for those who are unable to use cash or for whatever reason don't wish use cash but as this number dwindles I guess we need to be aware of the costs and benefits of subsidising these services.
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