Discussion Thread 📖 Wednesday 7 May 2025

This episode of my holiday is called BEEEEEEACH

STRONG recommend sipping a coffee by the beach and staring off into the distance. very therapeutic.
- I have substituted lemon gelato
WA? I can see why they are known for their beaches.
- Yarp. A day on Cottesloe. I've been in and out of the water all afternoon

I want to take the next two days off work specifically to stay home and eat microwaved potatoes with baked beans and cheese

SMART goals right there!
I did fried potato chips last night.
I woke up late and slept in this morning.
I blame the potato.
- Potato is innocent of all charges
you deserve it
Potatoes are so yesterday
I approve of this plan.
Potat & cheese yes! Baked beans... not unless it's a Crabbe special

So, uh...this is dessert

Its got fruit in it, so its healthy, right?

Slow day, so I stopped at Officeworks and bought a 0.05 pen and cheap sketch book....

Got more of the assessment done then emailed the teacher just now requesting an extension to Monday haha

We'll see what she says and hopefully she won't look at the time I sent the email 👀

"hmm yes my tea should be ready now" go over and pick up an empty mug with just a teabag and air in it sitting next to the boiled kettle "You are not a smart man!"

Best use for my apple watch, no lie. I put the water on the tea and say "ten minutes" to the watch and it reminds me and I no longer have cold, oversteeped tea.
also useful for reminding me to check random tasks.
Thanks for reminding me my breakfast porrige is still soaking and I haven't cooked it yet....

Good to be back down the bellarine for a bit.

Main water leak down here fixed.. but.. rocked up to another leak in the shower lol. Fixed that then the laundry sink taps decided they'd join the party.

Fixed now but honestly water wins. I concede.

My head is an awful place today, so I got an ice cream. Not sure how that was going to help, but it was delicious.

Being delicious = a win.
- It wasn't the ice cream I wanted (Magnum Ego), but it was a Connoisseur vanilla caramel brownie, so certainly a close runner up!
It might not have helped but it didn't not help either.
I'm sure your day got slightly brighter after the ice cream.
- It did and had a nice interaction with buying it! Makes a difference.

Few days off so heading down the bellarine.

Last few months has caught up w/ me so looking forward to some mindless garden things. Oxalis will be going off so will attack that (and lose). Sometimes in life it's easy to feel defeated, oxalis is there to remind us all that no, you will not win them all. The great leveller.

watch me dig up the soil and sift for the little bulbs

This was from about 50 metres away

Migraine. Just in time for me caring more about myself than work.

Took the day off.

take care, be gentle on yourself 😘

Local Colesworth had all sorts of cheesecakes reduced to clear.. lemon curd, french style, triple berries, caramel biscuit crumb and passionfruit pavlova dessert. I bought one of each and my greedy ass regrets nothing 🤤 Happy early mother's day fat ass 🤣

Thanks for the heads up. I fucking love cheesecake.
- It's just about my favourite thing! I'd be hard pressed to choose between cheesecake and tiramisu. I adore them both.
Calcium intake is important as we age, as is fruit. Add the base and you've got three food groups covered so it's all part of a balanced diet!
- I like the cut of your jib, Eagle. It's that kind of can-do attitude that makes ~~my waistline~~ this country great!

Saw a really bad car accident on my way home.

It happened on Hotham street close to the Nepean highway end.

A suv on its side all smashed up badly, I think someone was trapped inside.

Ambos only just got there as I passed by it, police and 2 fire trucks were on the way there.

Hope whoever is was is ok and didn’t get Injured by the accident.

It was that kind of day. Saw three close calls just waiting to turn left out of work. Hope they are ok

I have ordered a frankly stupid size of schnitzel

Woke up too early because neck sore. Because slept with head on a funny angle now I can’t get back to sleep and I’ll probably have a headache all day.

Really craving salmon right now... urgh. Almost done with s4 of Animal Kingdom, I'm really glad that a certain character is gone. Couldn't stand the acting. This is solidly a network show with some inconsistent characterisation but still remains entertaining. I still want J to kill everybody in the end though.

🐟
- That's it I'm buying some to treat myself tonight. and I'll have it with baby spinach and baby lemon. and maybe baby potatoes. and baby fat and baby oil

Removalist is booked. I got the quote online and just spoke to them on the phone for the first time. Lady I spoke to seemed very nice which is I think a good sign.

Noice!
You don't have to answer ofc but which removalist did you use?
I've only ever used Man with a Van (when I moved from Epping to the CBD, and again from CBD to Brunswick), prior moves were done with family help.
I found man with a van to be pretty easy, they were really cool and gave me a lift in the cab when I moved from Epping to the CBD as I don't drive, so I could let them in at the destination haha
- A place called Kevin Removalists. Their quote was middle of the range, they were not a pain in the butt to deal with, and their reviews were mostly positive. I went with 3 movers instead of 2 so I can get it over and done with as soon as possible.

hits delivery man with a stick WHAR PAKIGE

I need them parts to put in the overflow diverter for my tanksies! So I can overflow them into other tanksies! And then pump that into a huge tanksie! Except when I don't want to, then it all goes to stormwater

My pakige has been taken to the post office. This is possibly an indication that my front porch was already full, so I am prepared for getting in the front door to be a bit of a challenge again tonight.
Hopefully your overflow diverter is not diverted and you can overflow at will shortly.
- oh the irony, my diverter package hath not arrived and your package hath been diverted

Fucking silverware. I hate cleaning it but it looks pretty in my kitchen.

...Marge...?!

Question for the parents or any teachers/child cares in the group: Tinyest turned 2 last month and had his MCH nurse appointment. they asked us to think about school. ::: spoiler Sketchy maths and schooling questions Since he will be 5 in April 2028 he could start school then. if so we'd want to do 3 year old and 4 year old kinder starting next year. But we can delay him, start in '29 instead, just because he would be VERY young.

Not sure whats "best" here. If school is 13 years (assuming no repeats) if he starts in '28 he'd be 18 when he is in year 12? Or in '29 he'd be 19 in year 12, therefore 18 in year 11... Lots of responsibility in the decision making here (especially for someone who still thinks a goat says "baaa"). And I just dont think I've got enough data to make an informed choice.

:::

When he's completed 4 year old kinder they will let you know if he's ready for school and usually the kids are especially child care kids.
All schools are zoned so depending on what zone your house is, they must except him. It's not necessarily the closest but usually it is.
Um, better to be older for his class age than younger. Speaking as a family, me and my siblings were ALL at least 1 year 'young' for our classes as we started schooling in England at age 4 and went into classes based on our academic level when we arrived in Oz. My older brother was about 2 years younger than his class, and struggled mightily all his school life. Academically was just fine, but the social life difficulty was immense and ongoing. Also, boys usually mature a bit slower than girls so this was an added burden. So, given a choice, pick older rather than younger imo.
- I’m not qualified to speak (no kids) but yeah apparently this is an actual thing called ‘redshirting’
I can't give any advice but he'll be very popular being 18 in year 11.
Not a parent, but I was born in April, and turned 18 in year 12 in 2010. So the vast majority of year 12 I was legally an adult. If anything, it was fun being one of the oldest in the class haha. A lot of people in my year didn't turn 18 until after graduation though, some not until early 2011, so they were 17 for all of year 12.
I wouldn't want to be 19 in year 12, personally, just because it would look like I was held back at some point 😅
- I turned 18 in April of 1st year uni which was a bit shit.

This rain looks pretty cool from a high-rise

weather from high rise is awesome

Finally cooked stir fry Hokies noodles and washed up. Now eating.

Have dinner for at least 2 or 3 more days of meals all sorted.

Pars, ham, onions, random assorted sauces and noodles = yum yum

Cat tree is on board for delivery. Let's hope this time it's not a couch.

It could be a box of gold bricks, a mouse trap, 18 thousand dehydrated spinach packets...
- Gold bricks would be good. If it's 18 thousand dehydrated spinach packets I may not be able to fit in the door, but I could possibly resell for a profit. Trying to get it to the post office for a return would be difficult.

Just witnessed what is - to me - a new ticket inspector tactic. Three of them got on in the free tram zone, didn't do anything for a few stops outside the free tram zone, then at a stop where a fair few people were getting off - they also got off, and used their bodies to block the exit of the tram stop, physically preventing some people who were trying to get past, to check their tickets.

I literally cannot imagine being such a dweeb that I'd settle on that as a career choice.
- As far as I understand, actually being a dumbass is essential to pass the interview process to be an authorised officer; banging two sticks together, using their body to block people on ptv, and trying to put the square block in the round hole is dumbass behaviour.
I've noticed they have a type that they'll do that to.
Fucking cowards.

My parents were saying they took a mystery flight interstate back in the day. They ended up in Sydney, but still, it seems like they lived quite a bit back in the day. My mum hasn't been outside of Victoria in over ten years and says she's used to having no holidays. I wish I could surprise them with a holiday.

Reminds me of when my grandmother visited Ireland for the last time, she knew it would be the last time due to age. She lived another 15 years.
Reminds me of the last time my grandmother visited Ireland, she knew she she wouldn't be able to go again and it would be her last time due to age.
She lived another 15 years.

Today I bought a few vintage LPs, first time in months, also an Iggy Pop greatest hits cd. Nothing odd, just some classical music.

sky pretty

The sky i that beautiful delicate blue you see in old Italian paintings

🤧😷😵🛌

stares at case mm. Airflow mechanics.

Too frazzled and flustered to get my promised salmon. I can't handle any more changes of environment after psych session. I feel sensitive to every possible thing that could go wrong. I found a fix to something I urgently need to do at work. Now I'm stuck in a BSOD boot loop... Joy... the error message is CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED which sounds somewhat apt.

Oh no. Hugs. Go gently
- Go gently
  Uh, I think I heard somewhere that we shouldn't go gently ^{into that goodnight} 👀
- I thought I'd replied but classic me I'd typed it all out and forgot to hit Reply! I am going gently at the moment... RAGE is for tomorrow.
Farrk I'm so sorry Kitten, that sucks balls. Totally get ya on the post-psych sensitivity ugh.
I know it's all nuts right now, and you're feeling crappy, just make sure to set aside some self care time and treat yourself 💜💜 sending you my good vibes
- I think it was just like normal sensitivity that got ramped up to extra after psych (I got some good stuff off my chest but also brought up some tense stuff).
  I did have a moment of calming tf down on the drive back where I squeezed in a moment of observing my emotions with warmth "ah, there's the wound up toy!" and it's made a huge difference. but no more taxing the brain for tonight
I third the hugs.
it can be a comfort to do something or have something that is very familiar, fave tv show, movie, fave food,
- Thank you 💓 I pushed on with another hour of discomfort to resolve the urgent work issue I was gonna do on my work laptop, by doing it on my personal one instead (at least I worked out the bug and reported it so I feel a sense of closure and satisfaction).
  Now it is time for comfort food and tv show. and maybe I'll call/message my aunt who is with my mum. My work laptop is fubar atm so I think of it as a sign from the universe to just stop.
hugs
I was getting BAD POOL cALLER lots the other day, but it seems to have resolved itself
- It might be just me but that sounds like the name of some really bad Pornhub upload that somehow makes it all worse...
  I can't get access to the bitlocker key for this laptop to roll back the update or do anything so I'm just gonna leave it with IT to sort out. NMP!
😞 I hope this helps: 🥔
- I nearly thought that was a peanut (emoji very weird on desktop browser) and was ready to feel even more upset 😤
  but thank you for healing potat

I'm reading The Burrow at the moment. It's excellent but also set during Melbourne lockdown. I think there's enough distance now for it to not take me right back there emotionally, and it's not the focus of the book, but it's a bit weird. Reliving the easing restrictions and density limits and all that shit.

It also makes me want a pet rabbit.

I don't think I COULD read a book with that setting. In a city I didn't know it might be different, but not Melbourne
- Neither could I. Still too soon, too close. Would need to be 10 years from the end of lockdowns imo

Beep Beep 🚚
🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋

I think you know what I want
- Working overtime 💼👔💻📞

it's a bit blowy out there, pollen level high, time for a walk and some shopping

I dosed up this morning because yesterday was a killer.
Enjoy your outing. ❤️

Water from the laundry tap vs kitchen tap. Hmmm...

The water at my place gets discoloured if it sits in the pipes too long, which is most noticeable in the kitchen because it is furthest away from the connection. The pipes probably all need to be replaced, so I just make sure I run the water for a while before I use it for drinking or cooking.
- We have PVC pipes, and realised it was the attachment on the tap that was making the water dirty!
Yeah, I have the same issue (shower tap is the worst). Old pipes be old. I have to remember to run it for a while before using - luckily water is included in rent at my current place!

I’m so enthralled by the mushroom lady’s trial. Using the different coloured plates to hers is sooo suss. But I don’t know, all this evidence so far reported seems circumstantial.

Maybe she only had a 4 piece set of good plates. Would've been interesting to see what plate the husband could've received.
- this to me sounds like clueless privileged lawyers who have never had to eat from a mismatched set
How could it be anything but circumstantial? It's rare in any murder trial to have direct evidence, and poisoning is inherently a hidden and secretive crime. Unless she actually videoed herself picking poisonous mushrooms, putting them the meal, and saying she know's they're poisonous I can't see any way you could have direct evidence.
Circumstantial evidence is not bad evidence. Once you have a reasonable amount of different bits of evidence all pointing in the same direction it becomes very solid evidence.
- I agree with you. But circumstantial evidence is good evidence when it leads to no other reasonable explanation besides intent to kill. I haven’t heard of any evidence (so far at least) that goes beyond the accused acting suss. There’s weeks of this trial to go, I’m only referring to what’s come out so far. Much more to the story to come.
So so suss, so much suss. But that's it so far. She had a different coloured plate, but her ex said she had mismatched plates.
The lying about having cancer and telling the victims, but why tell them that lie if she intended to kill them with the meal?
Lying about where the mushrooms came from when questioned, but she could have just panicked in a stressful situation.
I'm very curious to see the outcome of this tbh
- she could still just be very stupid

I think tomorrow I will spend the whole day painting furniture

Getting in the door was back to easy mode again today - package delivery was just two footstools. I now have two fluffy pink footstools to rest my feet on. They may be a touch small for Miss Meow to use as a cat bed, but I expect her to trial them out at some point anyway.

A mystery bag delivery has yielded assorted teas, a drill, condiments and seasonings, and a lil ukulele.

Matches and aeroguard too, so now I wonder whether that Elon mural is still up and how much damage I could do with those two items 🤔

Edit: oh and also I didn't really have go stress I guess; I did the research assessment and submitted that, and then did the research and loose script for the (stupid) roleplay tomorrow.

I'm loving this soundtrack 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeXdtz05Gqc

i better go buy this stuff , this and death stranding will be my first buys .🙂

I've been playing around with work's Marketing automation and it is so nice to use. So much better than Marketing Cloud. I can't wait to get in there properly.

I may be able to convince the head office team to switch the CMS to drupal too. That combination would be dream working conditions for me, it would be crazy smooth workflow

Can anyone in the baking world enlighten me as to what these are before I throw them out. Something to do with cake making/decorating.

As per Rusty Raven below. The thread on the nail bit is so it can be inserted into a foam block or chunk of bread/tumbler filled with crunched newspaper to hold it securely until the icing sets.
Looks like a piping nail - you use a piping bag to make a flower or something on it, then can transfer it once set to the cake. You hold the nail bit so you can turn it as you pipe.
- I had to watch a YT because I could not imagine how it worked lol, but now it makes total sense, thank you!
- Thank you. They're going in the bin.

good night every one 😘

Oi. That's a bit much...