Stephen Collins

Runs a sustainably-managed, dog-friendly B&B on 100 acres in the hills of the Bega Valley and works at a large dairy farm. (Mostly) retired from 20+ years of working in design of user experience, services, and organisations. Outdoorsman. Bowhunter. Gamer. Democratic socialist. Husband. (grand)Dad. DIY/Maker. RFS firefighter. 🐈and 🐕 dad. Lives in Djiringanj Yuin country. He/him/whatever works at the time.

Personal site: https://stephencollins.org/
Live + work: https://www.rocklily.com.au/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/forestvalleygames

Public Key

npub123rpxh9nxchwyfffpyv3jnqmfxm0cvhrg2rgcnudysqvgpwx6yaqmy5ath

NIP-05 Address

trib_at_aus.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9g3sntjenvthzy55sjxgefsd5ndhuxt359p5vf7xjgqxyqhrdzwspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsml3caj

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub123rpxh9nxchwyfffpyv3jnqmfxm0cvhrg2rgcnudysqvgpwx6yaqmy5ath

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Last Notes

2026-04-21 04:56:43 UTC

Spending a couple of days in Camden on Sydney’s rural outskirts for Dairy NSW board meetings and meetings with NSW farmers.
As cities overtake these formerly separate towns, and they become semirural exurbs, you wonder what they become as pressure to be more city than country increases.
The hotel we’re at is clearly a community, social, and business hub and is busy every day. It obviously performs an important role here.
As a former city person, the cycle of rural life, the very significant effects felt because of political disconnect and geopolitical instability, the “vibe” of rural towns, and the gap in culture between city and country is something I still feel very clearly; I urge my city friends to ask their country family, friends, and acquaintances how they’re doing and what lies topmost in their concerns, because they’re very different to those in the city.
#bushlife #farming #dairyfarming

2026-04-19 08:14:32 UTC

Fishy fishy fishy.
#cooking
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/116/430/370/822/057/294/original/c4e76b658f69fb3e.jpeg

2026-04-07 00:54:44 UTC

Could be a lot worse…
#bushlife
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/116/360/693/713/489/117/original/fe7f6677cc1e4529.jpeg

2026-04-04 11:11:24 UTC

Playing my first game of Cartograph, an Australian solo #ttrpg by The Ravensridge Emporium. The game is focussed on mapmaking and accompanying narrative writing describing your character’s travels. It’s pretty good, and has certainly poked my writing muscles into action.
I’m looking forward to growing the map I’m building and putting some work in to pretty it up with pencils or markers.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/116/346/131/192/987/000/original/ea60454d2abb7904.jpeg
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/116/346/131/627/013/919/original/6f568479b0709ee8.jpeg

2026-03-19 04:11:42 UTC

3 echidnas seen today. Surely that’s a good omen of some kind?
#bushlife

2026-03-17 00:13:48 UTC

Mastodon is 100% the early days of social media all over. Some of you will already be familiar with this story.
My weather station (a very nice Netatmo that has served very well) crapped out after nearly 10 years of excellent service. I asked for recommendations here for a new station that would play nicely with #HomeAssistant, and hopefully, also HomeKit. I received *many* recommendations, with Ecowitt (and the brands it manufactures for) taking the lead.
A connection on here offered me their *unopened* Ecowitt weather station for a very generous price. It arrived yesterday, and I set it up, and it's already doing a great job. Works offline, talks to Home Assistant without any problems. I just need to do a couple of bits of configuration jiggery-pokery and it will pass data to HomeKit.
This is very much how things were when I first joined Twitter in 2007. In spite of attempts at #enshittification of everything, the #fediverse is putting up a good fight.
May your day online be as satisfying as mine was yesterday.

2026-03-11 11:03:08 UTC

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if the Yanks (and friends) think Vietnam and Iraq were challenging, they haven't begun to understand the suffering lightly armed mountain tribes disappearing into the gullies will inflict upon them if they're stupid enough to invade.
Let alone how tough traversing that terrain will be for supply and mounted brigades.

2026-03-05 21:33:45 UTC

Trump demanding a role in choosing Iran's next leader is hubris on a wild scale. But nothing about him surprises anyone anymore, surely.
Imagine if our PM demanded a say in choosing the leader of some random country somewhere else where he wasn't a fan of the previous leader. He'd be laughed at.
But the rest of the world is still so afraid of the US that only a handful are willing to say Trump and the US are ridiculous. There needs to be more pointing and derisive laughing rather than carefully worded diplomatic non-speak.
The US is going to bring itself down, and pull a lot of the rest of us down with it. It's the #enshittification of an entire nation.
#uspol

2026-03-03 00:38:36 UTC

If you've not yet watched the fabulous SBS series The First Inventors that looks at Australian Aboriginal technology, culture, and invention covering everything from navigation to family and kinship ties, now is the time to do it. You will spend the 3 hours it runs amazed, fascinated, and probably annoyed like I am at the ignorant attitude colonialists brought to their interaction with our First Nations. I wish this was the learning I did at school in the 80s.
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/the-first-inventors

2026-03-02 05:48:40 UTC

There's no way the major parties will allow this to happen, because they don't want rocks turned over that might show where the money for donations comes from and why we're failing to tax resource extractors properly. But, suffice to say, Senator David Pocock is both right here, and has become a first class troll of the major parties. He's an itch they hate having to scratch and he won't go away because they have nothing he wants - he's there for the people, not for power.
#auspol #prrt
https://www.davidpocock.com.au/new_senate_inquiry_proposed_to_examine_the_great_gas_giveaway

2026-03-02 01:26:10 UTC

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the correct method is to repeatedly suplex the patient until they resume breathing and a pulse is restored.

2026-02-27 21:35:50 UTC

Missed the vomit drink question.
✅✅✅✅❌✅✅✅✅✅
The Saturday Paper Quiz No. 589
I got 9/10!
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/quiz/2026/02/28?rival=1111011111

2026-02-27 07:18:01 UTC

Men (particularly, as responses are needed) of my acquaintance, but frankly anyone: the daughter of a colleague of mine is studying gender and stereotypes for a personal interest project for her Year 12 studies and needs responses to a short (it took me about 15 minutes) survey on crime and gender (particularly masculine) stereotypes.
With her permission, I am posting the link (Google Form). If you choose to respond, I encourage you to treat it with the seriousness it deserves. She's clearly doing something interesting here and might learn some very big things.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXFcg_ySqihJ7skLNPCfsb9tKSWm9cEm9wl-1UwBLABZ780g/viewform

2026-02-22 03:03:33 UTC

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more Braidwood news. It's quite the place!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-22/braidwood-nsw-heritage-listed-town-turning-point-future/106362514

2026-02-21 08:52:34 UTC

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see also Australia's best vanilla slice at the Braidwood bakery.

2026-02-21 07:46:08 UTC

This is how farming should be done. Adapt breeding (animals and plants) to the conditions, not change the land for the breeds. Post-WW2 industrial farming is incredibly destructive, chemical and drug intensive, and not in harmony with nature, climate, or humanity.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-21/braidwood-farmer-new-lamb-cooked-local-restaurant-expat-chefs/106358970?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

2026-02-21 00:36:33 UTC

A heap of leftover basil going wonky means it’s time to make a fuckton of pesto. Recipe from Diane Seed’s “The Top 100 Pasta Sauces”, which is absolutely my go-to for authentic pasta stuff.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/116/105/814/579/113/206/original/c985f4e808169862.jpeg
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2026-02-19 02:30:40 UTC

Have woken around 4am the past two days. Zorsted.

2026-02-18 22:07:40 UTC

Fountain pen users of the Pachydermiverse... If you don't use a pen very often (my case) what do you do to ensure the ink in your pen (I use cartridges) doesn't dry out in the pen or evaporate?
@npub1vjm…em2f this seems a thing you might know about. Same for @npub13yx…7sek.

2026-02-18 09:08:35 UTC

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Someone has used "we will revert" in correspondence to the board and I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns.
#farming #dairyfarming #governance

2026-02-18 08:58:11 UTC

Dairy NSW board meeting tomorrow. Just doing a last recheck of the papers to make sure I'm across it all.
#farming #dairyfarming #governance

2026-02-13 22:33:35 UTC

Satisfactory outcome for a set of questions with a couple of obscure ones. I am nothing if not a repository of otherwise useless information.
✅✅✅❌✅✅✅✅✅✅
The Saturday Paper Quiz No. 587
I got 9/10!
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/quiz/2026/02/14?rival=1110111111

2026-02-02 04:00:59 UTC

RFS call-out earlier. No fire, but the more common for our brigade of “assist ambos”. Just a km from my place. It wasn’t much, but made a real difference to the people we helped, particularly the fella in palliative care needing a lift from his couch to his bed that the ambos couldn’t do on their own. Sometimes you make a difference to someone by easing them along and showing a touch of compassion.
#RFS #volunteering

2026-01-31 06:06:14 UTC

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as I haven't installed it anywhere yet, @npub1l38…ky3k reamins "this *looks* good" to me. I can't imagine it would be bad, though.

2026-01-31 05:36:17 UTC

My 2019 MacBook Pro (2.4GHz Core i5, 8Gb RAM, 13” screen, 4 Thunderbolt ports, Touch Bar) now running an @npub1ulc…x3hg replacement battery (today’s project) has done me all the service it needs to.
It can’t update macOS any higher than Sequoia 15, but will certainly happily continue to do that or run some flavour of Linux such as @npub1l38…ky3k. The Touch Bar has the blinkies when at rest, but works.
I have the original box and power supply to go with it.
If you cover postage and the cost of the replacement battery kit (AU$200), I’m happy to send it to you anywhere in Australia.
#diy #repair
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2026-01-23 23:17:53 UTC

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if finance systems can extract invoice details based on standardised text, medical systems *could* do something similar. It’s an active decision not to. And thus the bad behaviour I moaned about.
That Medicare requires renewed referrals for existing treatment and testing - in this example, Alli’s post breast cancer treatment is a 5-year known chain of events - is just not okay.

2026-01-23 22:31:38 UTC

The medical referral system is 100% a cartel collaboration between practitioners.
My partner has a 2-year post surgery appointment with the surgeon who did her lumpectomy but they won’t let her show up unless she goes to her GP first. She has an established relationship with that surgeon. It’s absolutely unwarranted.
In the same vein, why the heck can’t practices send test orders and such to each other by email? Requiring a physical printed order for tests is absolute nonsense when the information will end up in a practice management system.

2026-01-15 05:53:19 UTC

Absolutely fucking bucketing

2026-01-11 23:27:23 UTC

I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to look like that.
Got the first two fingers on my right hand jammed between a trailer handle and towbar hooking up this morning.
#farming
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/879/053/865/809/771/original/81098a51a886f882.jpeg

2026-01-03 02:32:37 UTC

Cops with long arms at a sporting event will have the direct opposite effect of making people feel safer. We’re bothered by guns as a society here.
Cop brain worms in full flight on this one.
#acab
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/03/police-to-carry-long-arm-rifles-final-ashes-test-sydney-heightened-security-after-bondi-attack-ntwnfb

2025-12-25 02:57:54 UTC

If you haven’t read this yet, you should. It’s the funniest thing you will read this Christmas.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/22/edible-take-edge-off-family-christmas-day-on-floor

2025-12-12 22:29:59 UTC

Our small B&B cottage would normally be closed over Christmas to new year, but we've decided to open it up. If you feel like a post-Christmas getaway from the noise and city lights, come visit! We'll give you 10% off (Airbnb doesn't do discount codes, but I'll do it after you book and refund you if you DM me here or mention it when you book).
#travel #BAndB
https://airbnb.com.au/h/mountain-cottage-at-rock-lily

2025-11-20 20:55:49 UTC

Just a reminder that it is completely unnecessary to buy up during Black Friday sales (or other sales - there are always discounts available). It’s especially unnecessary to buy from billionaire capitalist robber baron owned businesses.
Buy your books from the local indie bookstore, your electronics from the locally owned smaller business (probably still a chain store), clothes from a smaller, independent manufacturer or a re/up-cycling specialist, and so on.
You can do it.

2025-11-12 06:11:01 UTC

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I've no connection to that community, other than friends involved. But I was a Basecamp (and other product) customer for a very long time, paying for my business and staff to use it.
The “no political discussion at work" thing ended that.

2025-11-12 05:58:28 UTC

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DHH has proved to be the absolute antithesis of everything he seemed to be when Basecamp and 37signals were at their peak.
You truly have to wonder what it will take for the Ruby community to roundly reject him.

2025-11-05 23:42:17 UTC

So, I’m one of the people Microsoft has been forced by the ACCC to email in Australia to offer a downgrade on their O365 Family subs (I'll eventually convince my family we don't need it) because they hid the option to take a version without CoPilot.
However, when you click on the link in the email to downgrade, rather than going to a page where you can do that, you go to a page where you are offered a new subscription to a single-user-only version.
Parsing the URL it goes to, it's pretty clear how to figure out what it *should* be, and you can complete the downgrade by changing the url to https://checkout.microsoft365.com/acquire/purchase?language=en-AU&market=AU&requestedDuration=Year&scenario=microsoft-365-family-classic&matchDuration=true&campaign=M365ClassicDowngrade&upsell=false
I’m fairly certain this is not what the Commission intended.
#microsoft #enshittification

2025-11-01 21:06:13 UTC

Wadbilliga NP is literally on our doorstep. We look at it from our back veranda. I'd love to know where in the park this was!
#bushlife #conservation
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/01/gumnuts-baby-how-two-abseiling-horticulturalists-rescued-specimens-from-an-endangered-tree

2025-11-01 02:46:50 UTC

The dogs were grumbling outside. Here’s why: a lace monitor about 150cm long (5’)
#bushlife
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/472/151/780/908/007/original/addcd8f890f2342c.jpeg

2025-10-16 00:11:12 UTC

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slightly related aside: alerts are currently the bane of my #HomeAssistant existence. Figuring out how to replace the alerts from a bunch of disparate ecosystems and vendor-specific apps is doing my head in.

2025-09-28 09:01:55 UTC

Right, 0300 alarm for 0400 dairy shift. ‘Night tooters!

2025-09-28 04:18:29 UTC

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I speak reasonably decent WordPress on the back end, but coding isn’t my strong suit. Static would likely do the job, but something that plays Fedi would be nice. Just have to work out where I put it.
Minor DNS fuckery will be required as the zone file is looked after by Fastmail. I’ll probably need to source some simple hosting.

2025-09-28 04:16:12 UTC

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we’re not mutual, but it is high time I had a personal site back up. And Ghost seems like the ideal backend. I shall investigate!

2025-09-26 02:38:01 UTC

Due to interminable order delays and my apathy in cancelling the order, I have ended up with a second copy of The Care of Things thanks to my local bookshop taking less than a week to get it in against the nearly 3 months from an online bookstore.
Does anybody (in Australia) want the second copy? $50 and I’ll cover postage.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/268/273/933/224/395/original/f05c32a1e0bd6af3.jpeg

2025-09-15 17:32:42 UTC

Off they go to get milked.
#dairyfarming
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/209/506/224/513/482/original/1d9b54e8bd6ead01.mp4

2025-09-06 01:26:12 UTC

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I’m not sure I can find a violin small enough to show my sympathy for the Met here.

2025-09-05 04:54:50 UTC

Wombat fam.
#bushlife
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/149/903/421/916/869/original/fe38945afc845ef5.jpeg

2025-09-05 02:26:26 UTC

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I’ve always read and usually have both fiction and nonfiction on the go. I also consume a LOT of written media online from half a dozen current affairs sites, to pop culture, to science and politics. I’d guess I average 2-3 hours deliberate reading a day.

2025-09-03 01:04:44 UTC

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cracking track

2025-09-03 00:36:04 UTC

Everything old is new again. Tilba milk in refillable 1l bottles at the co-op in Bega. 😊
#food #dairy
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/137/561/301/363/087/original/a576083f00fdb37b.jpeg

2025-08-25 00:55:47 UTC

Yet another example of what was fundamentally a good idea for what should have been a *public* good fucked over by a get-rich-quick privatisation scheme resulting in massive oversupply in the *wrong* locations.
#disability
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-25/specialist-disability-accommodation-sda-empty-homes-four-corners/105685946

2025-08-20 21:42:41 UTC

It remains an absolute travesty that basic dental care is not provided free on Medicare. I have my regular check today, and while I can afford it, many cannot. This problem is easily fixed and it should have been years ago.
#auspol #healthcare

2025-08-06 04:16:51 UTC

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this is one of the reasons I retain Google Home devices right now. I can't yet get HA to work well for my partner and BIL who has disabilities.

2025-08-01 08:23:37 UTC

Shepherd’s pie. It’s what’s for dinner.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/952/543/248/042/381/original/e6c053be3de843a0.jpeg

2025-07-26 02:06:33 UTC

Bloody wombats got under the fence. I sprung two of them in here last night. What a pain in the arse.
Solution is, on past experience, dog poo, human wee, and either star pickets driven in and cut off at ground level, or one of the heavy concrete sleepers I have a pile of here.
Who wants to come give me a hand?
#bushlife
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/917/083/300/240/017/original/245d3c01c6ccccc0.jpeg
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2025-07-23 05:10:15 UTC

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or maybe it *is*?

2025-07-13 02:56:49 UTC

This seems extremely cool and a bright flame in the darkness of language being eroded and lost. Good on First Nations people from across the world sharing their victories with each other.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-13/native-american-fluency-model-indigenous-language-alice-springs/105462642

2025-07-13 02:14:45 UTC

It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally the doggos that visit leave us a treat.
#BedAndBreakast #BandB
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/843/509/214/031/537/original/c8bfd5dc9dfbead6.jpeg

2025-06-19 21:38:09 UTC

The problems faced by the NT are clearly structural and social, yet this weird heightened cop brain approach persists under their aggressively down-punching Chief Minster. This will never be how those problems are solved.
#ntpol
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-20/nt-police-public-safety-officers-criticism-firearms-powers/105430704?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

2025-06-17 06:19:16 UTC

This might be the most egregious example of cop brain I've seen in a while. One, that Rolfe is pitching himself as a speaker, and two that an event has booked him (the name of the event tells me pretty clearly it is going to be chock-full of tactical-casual wearing former and current responder types; you will not be able to move for polo shirts and black or tan chinos with leg pockets).
#acab
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/17/zachary-rolfe-event-speaking-circuit-ntwnfb

2025-06-14 08:55:08 UTC

Satisfactory.
✅❌❌✅✅✅✅❌✅✅
The Saturday Paper Quiz No. 554
I got 7/10!
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/quiz/2025/06/13?rival=1001111011

2025-06-13 03:03:58 UTC

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no sticks and rocks. They have to use their rageboners to fight.

2025-06-10 06:14:44 UTC

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“When Cameron came to Egypt Laaaaaand…”

2025-05-28 05:28:03 UTC

There is a lady in this room with the most amazing, swishy, Farah Fawcett/Jaclyn Smith hair. It’s great and a whole mood.
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/583/802/906/989/102/original/72043121efeddce0.mp4

2025-05-27 00:48:43 UTC

Looks like about half the surface soil from the dry bits of NSW and Victoria has been blown into the Brogo River valley by last night’s wind.
Sorry, folks.
#drought #farming
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/577/041/874/696/610/original/b9b6460b1e6a438b.jpeg

2025-05-18 08:45:32 UTC

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I have a beautiful Italian-made overcoat that I got from Blades. Haven’t worn it in about 3 years.

2025-05-18 08:23:30 UTC

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But I *used* to live there.

2025-05-15 05:40:35 UTC

Just watch it for 4 minutes. Revel in the craft on show.
https://youtu.be/TxvOMHoLRBY

2025-05-12 03:46:50 UTC

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I'm trying to figure out how best to do them, principally for the non-tech people of the house.
As an example, we have some Google cameras and a doorbell I don't have the money (or reasonable excuse) to replace. The Google Home app will happily alert a user on seeing vehicles, known faces, or unknown faces, packages, and notify the doorbell has been rung. Some, but not all of these things are exposed to HA. Enough that I could replace Google Home for almost all meaningful circumstances.
I'd like to replicate and replace that functionality as closely as possible in HA, with alerts to phones, a voice assistant, and on a dashboard. I'm a touch short on time and can't find someone who's done it on Reddit or the HA community, so I'm trying to figure it out slightly blind.

2025-05-12 02:59:49 UTC

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I feel this in my bones. See also my current battle with notifications.

2025-05-03 22:53:46 UTC

Day 3 of gastro/stomach flu. I am done. At least the Imodium has kicked in.

2025-05-02 01:37:19 UTC

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for people in the Bega bit of Eden-Monaro, Bega High School has it all going on with sausages, burgers, egg and bacon, cakes, drinks, and a firewood raffle.
Brogo Community Hall where I will be otoh, has nada. Then again, it will see fewer than 200 voters on the day.

2025-04-26 07:04:35 UTC

Email letting me know that my NSW NPWS all parks annual pass has been automatically renewed thanks to being an RFS volunteer.
If you’re a vollie and haven't done this, I recommend it. All fees covered in NSW parks.

2025-04-23 20:55:41 UTC

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I read several news outlets each day (as I'm sure many others here do). The frequency with which I see a similar-sounding word (that's a homophone, for interested readers) that's clearly the wrong one, or a terrible spelling that has passed through editing is anxiety-inducing.

2025-04-23 20:45:30 UTC

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this is where I, a spelling, grammar, and etymology nerd and a person who studied journalism and English lit, suggest we get a club to beat people about the head until they learn how to spell properly, and understand *why* things are spelled that way.

2025-04-21 02:29:38 UTC

Coco could best be described as “solicitous” and “demanding” when it comes to being brushed.
#catsofmastodon
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/373/595/974/731/145/original/bb5ec63b5d8e3a7d.jpeg

2025-04-19 02:39:38 UTC

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look, they’re a staple for me, but yes.

2025-04-19 02:37:35 UTC

Big seas on the coast at Camel Rock and Horse Head Rock. Gulaga looking resplendent in the sea haze.
#FarSouthCoast #hiking
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2025-04-18 23:14:05 UTC

Religion and chemistry letting me down this morning.
✅✅✅✅✅✅❌✅❌✅
The Saturday Paper Quiz No. 546
I got 8/10!
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/quiz/2025/04/19?rival=1111110101

2025-04-12 01:54:01 UTC

Helicopter fail…
✅✅✅✅❌✅✅✅✅✅
The Saturday Paper Quiz No. 545
I got 9/10!
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/quiz/2025/04/12?rival=1111011111

2025-04-11 04:00:35 UTC

Oopsie. Someone’s getting a helicopter ride to Canberra shortly. It'll be back over our place in about 30 minutes.
Rescue flights are about the only aircraft we hear.
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2025-04-08 09:56:35 UTC

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technically, humans are also straws.

2025-04-08 02:34:26 UTC

First loaf of sourdough from new starter after my last starter went manky.
Looks the goods. Ready for lunch!
#baking #sourdough
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2025-03-30 06:44:49 UTC

Feedback after an initial issue email to a certain men’s grooming product manufacturer. They responded with AI generic text and then asked for feedback on that response.
Righty-o!
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2025-03-23 23:36:35 UTC

Hard life for this working cat. Coco taking 500.
#bushlife #catsofmastodon
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2025-03-19 07:45:23 UTC

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overhead projector or gtfo

2025-03-15 03:00:15 UTC

$partner is beginning to look for a new vehicle and has decided watching video reviews is the way to go, and I just *cannot*. Just give me something to read quietly.
Also, *why the fuck* don’t cars these days have a spare tyre!?

2025-03-02 06:00:55 UTC

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EU hosted or choice to do so? GDPR compliant? End-to-end encrypted? All traffic unable to be read by you? Custom domains? Multiple users? Masked addresses? Import from other services?
If it’s US-hosted, current circumstances indicate that it wouldn’t be a prudent choice.

2025-02-28 21:29:32 UTC

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it must be emotionally exhausting being an even halfway decent American right now. Living with that terrible feeling in the pit of your stomach every day, wondering what, where, and how things will go to pieces next.

2025-02-22 04:01:32 UTC

Before. After. New laundry alcove doors at Mountain Cottage. Bracken Cottage gets the same treatment in a couple of weeks.
The previous doors were interior slatted cedar. Great for your sunroom, not so good exposed to the weather. They were coated with years of repainting.
The new doors are exterior pine framing with 90mm merbeu decking stiles. I’ll be adding some fine fly mesh to the inside of the doors to reduce dust and leaf blow-in.
#diy #handmade
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2025-02-20 02:29:49 UTC

Mate, how am I supposed to cut up this decking if you’ve taken it over?
#bushlife #lizard #JackyDragon
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2025-02-19 03:54:42 UTC

New coarse composting basket in place. Now I need to find some kind of accelerator.
#bushlife #gardening
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2025-02-11 19:53:33 UTC

This boofhead decided to ignore its mama calling and camp in our front garden this morning. Its family group move through our front yard early most days.
It’ll reunite with the group later, but right now it’s being recalcitrant.
#bushlife #FallowDeer #DamaDama #InvasiveSpecies
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2025-02-03 04:43:58 UTC

Fedifriends we're shutting down Facebook and Instagram for our B&B and going fedi. Now, we're not the types to be overly commercial (if you follow us on those other places, you’ll know that) so we're looking for the right home. aus.social would be ideal, because then everything would have the same home. However, given server rules, aus.social seems like it's not the appropriate place for me to put our B&B's account.
We'd prefer an Australian server. Managed by someone we know.
Thoughts? Advice? They're welcome.
We're also looking for a place to put photos, and I think pixelfed.au will be it.

2025-02-02 23:59:58 UTC

The absolute fucking fragility of men who think they're being overlooked and disenfranchised… Want to be a manly man? Be good at what you do at home *and* at work. Respect others, especially people different to you (except fascists and their fellow travellers who can diaf). Have the will and curiosity to learn and understand.
This manosphere shit is so arse backwards. I will never tolerate it. I will always call it out.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-03/peter-dutton-appealling-to-young-male-voters-at-election/104886724
#auspol

2025-01-24 08:16:39 UTC

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as a local from 1978 to 2021, at no time did I hear it referred to in that way.
"Penis Owl” otoh, for the sculpture in Belconnen... often.

2025-01-22 01:58:46 UTC

4 years today since we went bush. Better health. Better mental health. 1/4 the income. Far better off overall.
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2025-01-17 05:57:13 UTC

All the double glazing is in at our place. I need to paint the architrave on this, but the new triptych window is pretty nice with its 20km+ viewpoint.
#renovations
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2025-01-09 07:28:54 UTC

Grow, little basil plants, grow.
#gardening #food
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2025-01-09 00:27:22 UTC

With Meta/Zuckerberg announcing the end of moderation on those platforms, I'm going to cease using Facebook and Instagram for personal and business purposes. I'll stay there because people I know use those things to keep in touch, but I won't post actively.
I plan to move my personal and business Instagram to pixelfed.au ( @npub16aq…vpy5 is that okay?).
Given aus.social rules, where do folks think the best place for a general social posting account for our B&B is? It's generally low-key, non-marketing stuff showing off the region, wildlife, and flora.

2024-12-23 21:45:31 UTC

Just another reason (in an increasingly long list) to kill your #Spotify acoount and switch to another music provider, ideally one that pays more acceptable rates to artists.
https://harpers.org/archive/2025/01/the-ghosts-in-the-machine-liz-pelly-spotify-musicians/