Tim Richards

Travel writer living and working on Wurundjeri land in Melbourne, Australia.

Rail travel expert, current books on sale include Heading South and Ultimate Train Journeys: World. My book The Kick of Stalin's Cow is a travel narrative about post-communist Poland. I also have a novel out in ebook form, Mind the Gap.

See my published writing at iwriter.com.au, and become a patron of my Patreon at patreon.com/timrichards.

Public Key

npub1kh5khvq8vcap06aw9tzzcy0devhn45f7qqy9wh7wcklp53l7x72s9pw4wd

NIP-05 Address

timrichards@aus-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstt6ttkqrkvwshawhz43pvz8kukte66ylqqzzhtl8vt0s6gllr09gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds40ey22

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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npub1kh5khvq8vcap06aw9tzzcy0devhn45f7qqy9wh7wcklp53l7x72s9pw4wd

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Last Notes

2026-07-06 23:27:12 UTC

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@nprofile…pfuj Sounds like a standard cat to me

2026-04-03 19:20:57 UTC

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@nprofile…9jxk No it's Saturday

2026-03-22 23:33:20 UTC

Interesting piece about supermarket theft and its intersection with the cost of living crisis. I shake my head at supermarkets installing customer-hostile security measures, when they could just reinstate staffed checkouts. (Also their dodgy behaviour over illusory discounts hasn't won them any friends.)
[gift link] https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/share/22860/2OX13elG

2026-03-22 21:46:37 UTC

Interesting. Are you a dormant Canadian?
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260318-the-rise-of-the-backup-passport

2026-03-20 21:33:53 UTC

I'm at Melbourne's Southern Cross station, about to depart by train for Clunes for the annual Booktown Festival. There's a bunch of other book lovers on the train. :)
#train #trains #Clunes #book #books
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/116/263/644/662/160/091/original/1ba7503b72babe84.jpeg

2026-03-20 00:36:02 UTC

Anyone else going to the Clunes Booktown Festival this weekend? Might see you there. @nprofile…nq2u and I are attending the Speculative Fiction panel tomorrow at 2pm.
#book #books #festival #Clunes #Victoria https://clunesbooktown.org.au/

2026-03-09 05:21:51 UTC

You can see what happened here – when the Baby Boomers were by far the biggest generation, that numerical heft convinced politicians to make life easier for them. Now the resulting wealth imbalance is causing trouble (as I remember many of us predicted it would in the 1990s when John Howard started handing out middle-class welfare).
#auspol https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/baby-boomers-now-worth-6-trillion-after-ninefold-increase-in-wealth-this-century-20260306-p5o87f.html

2026-03-03 04:30:51 UTC

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@nprofile…w0mx that sounds good value, do you have a link to the offer?

2026-03-01 22:01:16 UTC

War is not covered by travel insurance.
#travel https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/travel-plans-disrupted-by-the-war-your-insurer-is-unlikely-to-help-20260301-p5o6fl.html

2026-02-28 02:20:04 UTC

New at my Patreon... While taking a ferry from Barangaroo to Pyrmont Bay I looked up to see this appealing scene, centred on a replica of a famous ship - HMB Endeavour:
See the full image and read my post at https://www.patreon.com/posts/image-of-week-151843734
#sydney #history #australia #ship #museum
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/116/145/867/955/357/383/original/0c3b8d09d4872f3d.png

2026-02-21 06:41:27 UTC

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@nprofile…mmvc Oh yes that's a great show

2026-02-21 03:26:49 UTC

I find Apple TV to be one of the better streaming services. They do science fiction really well, and I get the impression they're more likely to give shows a second season to establish themselves.
#tv https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/why-apple-tv-is-betting-against-the-streamer-playbook-20260218-p5o3ct.html

2026-02-21 03:02:08 UTC

I like this take. Certainly whenever I worry I've made some bad life choices, I think of former Prince Andrew or the Liberal Party of Australia, and realise things could be far worse.
'Newspapers and magazines are very keen on the headline “How I lost 10 kilos - and kept it off”. They are less keen on the headline “I keep getting fatter and fatter – and there’s nothing I can do about it”. Yet that’s the reality for me, and I imagine for a lot of others. Why not be honest about it?
'Some say the media should try to be more positive. I’m not so sure. I’d like to see a bit more negativity, just to make me feel better.'
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/the-case-for-more-negativity-why-aspirational-media-is-making-us-miserable-20260217-p5o30t.html

2026-02-16 05:22:17 UTC

Jesus effing Christ. Who looks at the operations of ICE in the USA and thinks "That's what we need here?" The Liberal Party is deranged.
---
"The body would toughen up screening at the border, including by looking at people’s phones, similar to the controversial US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. According to two sources familiar with the plan, it would also operate in the community to enforce Labor’s new laws on hate crimes and terror symbols."
#auspol https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/social-media-searches-at-the-border-and-english-language-push-ley-s-leaked-migration-plan-20260216-p5o2o6.html

2026-02-03 21:58:14 UTC

I do like a minimalist look, but maybe that's just a yearning to be tidy. If you live in a relatively small apartment you do need to have spaces for things, and to put them away.
"we in the West have been sold a beautiful, aspirational falsehood. Minimalism – in architecture, in fashion, in interior design – is desirable because it is impossible for the ordinary person to achieve. For much of the past two years, I have looked at our overstuffed cupboards and yearned for it all to be so much less. I have craved simple lines, smooth surfaces, shelves housing only a single bottle of small-batch olive oil and four grey earthenware plates. Instead, I have reckoned with daily failure and the overabundance of family life."
#living #home https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/minimalism-is-elitist-and-exhausting-let-me-be-messy-20260128-p5nxof.html

2026-01-30 04:56:49 UTC

Jeez, who would pay good money to see this rubbish? #movie #movies #film
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/melania-documentary-screenings-delayed-at-last-minute-20260130-p5ny90.html

2026-01-10 04:12:05 UTC

We saw Rental Family yesterday at Cinema Nova.
Enjoyable film in which Brendan Fraser plays an American living In Tokyo who works for an agency which hires out actors to fulfill often awkward emotional requests (eg he has to prentend to be the long-absent dad of a young girl, to increase her chances of getting into a good school).
It's an enjoyable story, with a big dose of pathos as Fraser's character gets drawn into emotional connections with the clients, and as the ethical shortcomings of the company's practices become clear.
To their credit the movie's creators include a lot of spoken Japanese (subtitled) in addition to spoken English, which seems natural. It's well-paced too. Recommended.
#film #movie #movies #Japan cc @nprofile…nq2u @nprofile…k3fr
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/868/848/675/287/060/original/6a4d7278449270c7.jpeg

2026-01-08 22:56:24 UTC

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@nprofile…9vmh Where are you heading?

2026-01-08 04:29:30 UTC

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@nprofile…5pn3 @nprofile…kzhu Jeez I'm glad you pointed that out, I'm in the same boat. I'll suppose I'll have to get my email forwarded by my domain host.

2026-01-07 21:34:51 UTC

Fair call. I've been to a few of these! At least I had the sense to avoid the Maneken Pis and the Little Mermaid.
#travel #europe https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/europe-s-10-lamest-attractions-that-tourists-inexplicably-flock-to-20260106-p5ns1k.html

2025-12-31 13:47:47 UTC

So we're now precisely one-quarter through the 21st century. Wild concept. 2001 seems like yesterday.

2025-12-21 22:25:37 UTC

In Berlin this year I stayed at a *new* hotel which only had two spare power points per room. And these were rooms designed for two guests! Two people could easily have six devices to charge between them. Cue me unplugging the TV etc to charge stuff. #travel https://mastodon.social/@ASegar/115759331634621283

2025-12-01 22:59:07 UTC

F*ck off Donald. No Australian politician is going to agree to an increase in pharmaceutical costs. #uspol #auspol https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-forces-uk-to-pay-25-per-cent-more-for-new-drugs-australia-s-pbs-could-be-next-20251202-p5njzc.html

2025-12-01 06:14:07 UTC

Good headline. #AI https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/microsofts-head-of-ai-doesnt-understand-why-people-dont-like-ai-and-i-dont-understand-why-he-doesnt-understand-because-its-pretty-obvious/

2025-11-30 23:34:15 UTC

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@nprofile…vq86 i'm finding I'm reading even more in recent years, partly in parallel with streaming channels' decline in quality. Always good to have a book or two on the go.

2025-11-21 11:09:44 UTC

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@nprofile…e4ry Teeny bit psychopathic tho

2025-11-15 13:39:48 UTC

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@nprofile…w75x Gotta love a dessert that tastes like old socks

2025-11-15 13:39:10 UTC

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@nprofile…w75x The Judge Dredd comic book series (UK) is set in a post-apocalyptic future and once had a storyline where a war was fought between two sides which had adopted the logos of long-forgotten rival burger companies. :)

2025-11-15 13:28:23 UTC

Durian ice cream, anyone?
#Cambodia #food
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/553/946/674/460/312/original/a5bc8b61d7664b78.jpeg

2025-11-12 07:36:27 UTC

Good article from last year, arguing that the streaming model seems broken - shows get cancelled too quickly for audiences to actually catch up to seeing them, given we don’t have unlimited viewing time. #tv https://www.empireonline.com/tv/features/cancelled-streaming-series-audiences-cant-keep-up/

2025-11-05 21:55:59 UTC

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@nprofile…w75x Just a thong, I think. Can't say I own any. ;)

2025-11-05 21:18:17 UTC

I see the Aussie use of the word 'thong' is still alive and kicking.
#Melbourne
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/499/171/427/351/719/original/05d4ba958b4d6387.jpeg

2025-11-03 05:00:16 UTC

That's pretty arrogant, climbers https://aus.social/@jhaue/115482869131248713

2025-11-01 01:20:57 UTC

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@nprofile…w75x Seems a strange way to cook meat in general.

2025-11-01 01:13:34 UTC

Who boils chicken? Is this an American thing?
https://mastodon.social/@anon_opin/115471476804686855

2025-10-19 21:51:55 UTC

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@nprofile…e4ry yeah I suspect they don't have a permit, and I'm going to complain about them to the city council today. They're usually okay with voice complaints.

2025-10-19 21:48:53 UTC

Was up early this morning because this evil very noisy truck woke me up at 5:50 am. I went down to see what the hell it was doing, and they were sucking out by pipe some weird crumbly waste from the basement of one of the buildings in the alleyway.
I told them to tell their boss it's a problem because 200 people are trying to sleep in the building next door (ie our building!). Such are the trials of city living... It never occurs to these companies that people might be living with earshot of their middle-of-the-night noise. :/
#Melbourne
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/115/403/032/445/551/720/original/a305509f20fba456.jpeg

2025-10-13 09:33:21 UTC

Anyone else watching Slow Horses? Such a good show. I was curious whether the theme tune sung by Mick Jagger was a complete song, and - so it is!
#music #SlowHorses #tv https://music.apple.com/au/album/strange-game/1620398860?i=1620398884&l=en-GB

2025-10-13 04:07:26 UTC

It's amazing how tiny are a lot of the towns in the Wimmera. I was writing an article about the Silo Art Trail once, and looked up the populations of the towns I had visited there. They were minuscule, many between 100 and 500 people. Even the shire hub of Warracknabeal only had 2,400 people. And just over the horizon there's a city of five million! Bizarre. #Victoria https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-12/yarriambiack-warracknabeal-victoria-town-population-shrink/105774946

2025-10-11 03:30:34 UTC

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@nprofile…62fu I've been there. So busy!

2025-09-09 22:51:24 UTC

Hmm is that a good thing? I could imagine losing it down a drain.
'“Our intention was to make an iPhone that feels like a piece of the future. Powerful, yet so thin and light it seems to disappear in your hands,” said industrial designer Abidur Chowdhury during the event.'
#Apple #iPhone #tech https://www.smh.com.au/technology/apple-unveils-iphone-air-its-thinnest-ever-phone-and-the-iphone-17-20250909-p5mtny.html

2025-09-07 22:56:39 UTC

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@nprofile…qgtr Surely M is the right letter to emphasise?

2025-07-27 23:29:27 UTC

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@nprofile…qgtr Fair call

2025-07-27 23:25:06 UTC

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@nprofile…qgtr The feeling is probably mutual. ;)
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/927/776/743/377/078/original/8088dce1582bda07.mp4

2025-07-26 08:59:52 UTC

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@nprofile…j90y I was just thinking that surely Apple Music etc is setting up the playlist right now

2025-07-14 07:08:29 UTC

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@nprofile…c5n8 Looks unlikely

2025-07-06 23:06:44 UTC

Fun train story.
"When Daniel Xu shuffled through a tiny side door into the dark crawl space underneath his newly purchased Melbourne home, he sensed there was a bit more inside than he expected.
"After his eyes adjusted and light filtered through, Xu was stunned: he’d just stumbled into one of the biggest homemade model railway sets he’d seen."
#train #trains #Melbourne https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/this-train-engineer-discovered-a-dreamland-under-his-new-house-created-by-the-previous-owner-20250703-p5mcdx.html

2025-05-20 05:16:14 UTC

I like the fact that Amsterdam didn't throw up just any old main train station. It made an effort.
#amsterdam #train #trains #architecture
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/538/457/967/711/217/original/5c9541e9d89a6b40.jpeg

2025-04-07 04:13:46 UTC

Reminder! The rolls for the Australian federal election on 3 May close tonight at 8pm, so if you need to enrol to vote or change the address on your enrolment, click the link below:
#auspol https://aec.gov.au/

2025-03-29 02:55:58 UTC

So well put by George Monbiot. Applies to our tepid Labor government here in Australia too. People don’t want to be regarded only as economic units, and if you block leftist reform they reach for hard-right chaos.
"The democratic recession does not begin when a far-right party takes office. It begins when a centrist party crushes hope in democracy. When Keir Starmer’s government takes a chainsaw to people’s aspirations for a fairer, greener, kinder country, he cuts off not just faith in the Labour party but faith in politics itself. The almost inevitable result, as countries from the US to the Netherlands, Argentina to Austria, Italy to Sweden show, is to let the far right in."
#UKpol #USpol #auspol https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/28/fascism-britain-neoliberalism-opened-door-for-it-labour

2025-03-28 00:26:53 UTC

One day I should probably find out what 'FOSS' means

2025-03-27 23:16:18 UTC

It's interesting how people will (rightly) feel that schools should have windows that open, but blithely accept hotels with non-opening windows. [I loathe the latter]
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/my-daughter-s-school-is-a-cbd-office-building-most-kids-don-t-see-daylight-all-day-20250320-p5ll32.html

2025-03-26 23:52:55 UTC

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@nprofile…c5n8 New one for the map?!

2025-03-25 22:09:29 UTC

One of my colleagues is pondering the lack of a great market to visit in Sydney. It is a bit of a puzzler.
"Even in Australia, you can visit some greats. Melbourne has several of at least the southern hemisphere’s finest: South Melbourne Market is perfection; Prahran Market has great produce and a strong local vibe; while Queen Victoria Market is a genuine tourist attraction that has been there for almost 150 years. Adelaide, too, has its Central Market, which is world-class.
"So … what’s going on with Sydney? Can you call yourself one of the world’s great cities when you don’t have a great market? Where do you tell visitors to Sydney to go when they want to shop for the best fresh produce and artisan goods like a local would, in a beautiful space surrounded by residents picking up a few of their favourite things."
#sydney #food #market #travel https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/truly-great-cities-all-have-one-thing-that-sydney-doesn-t-20250325-p5lmbg.html

2025-03-18 23:33:53 UTC

Interesting development.
---
Australia's 'biggest defence export' was meant to go to the US first, but Canada snuck past Donald Trump https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-19/canada-snuck-past-trump-buy-jorn-defence-radar/105069292
#auspol #USpol #Canada

2025-03-17 23:04:53 UTC

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@nprofile…h94j Wrocław is lovely, one of my favourites. Fond of Lublin too, that gets overlooked.

2025-03-17 22:01:04 UTC

Good read. Argues that renewable energy is expanding rapidly, especially in China, and less energy is needed for more modern devices such as LED bulbs. Fossil fuels are on the way out.
"The US is taking a big risk by doubling down on fossils and combustion cars. It may find in the 2030s that it has achieved the worst of all worlds: left on the sidelines of the global electro-tech economy, while at the same dependent again on imported oil and gas.
"Will Trump end up being the man who blew America’s energy independence?"
#USpol https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/trump-s-oil-and-gas-dream-is-set-to-blow-up-in-his-face-20250317-p5lk0e.html

2025-03-14 01:48:10 UTC

I'm thinking of buying a non-Kindle e-reader to give Amazon the flick. What model has the closest functionality to Kindle, that isn't American-owned? Kobo perhaps?
#ebook #ebooks #book #books

2025-03-14 01:11:32 UTC

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@nprofile…qgtr Yeah, capitalism out of control. Was fine when it was all about spare rooms etc.

2025-03-13 23:32:20 UTC

Probably for the best. The test will be whether enough new hotel rooms can be created to serve visitors. #travel #Barcelona https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/barcelona-to-shut-down-holiday-rentals-after-court-backs-airbnb-ban-20250314-p5ljhq.html

2025-03-13 08:05:44 UTC

Good point. I have thought from time to time that the absence of an official Opposition Leader between presidential elections in the USA is a weak point in the system.
"What is missing for the Democrats is a critical tool that makes the Westminster system work in Australia: the existence of an opposition leader.
"While there are strong Democratic leaders – Hakeem Jeffries in the House and Chuck Schumer in the Senate – the absence of the role of opposition leader is an infirmity in the American system. Neither of these men will cede to the other the power to serve as an opposition leader to speak to what the Democrats will do in both the House and Senate. They will not appoint an outsider to do the job either."
#USpol https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/the-democrats-can-t-lay-a-glove-on-trump-because-they-lack-what-australia-has-20250313-p5lj7v.html

2025-03-12 03:56:45 UTC

Just watched an interesting game on the human-sized chessboard outside the State Library. The players had almost obliterated each other, to the point where black had only a king and a pawn, and white had just a king. Of course black was able to win eventually, but it was fascinating to watch.
#chess #Melbourne
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/114/147/446/074/417/876/original/ed8d1e5673e1efc9.jpeg

2025-03-10 05:53:23 UTC

Awkwardly funny. Sort of.
---
Our worst politicians are wondering if they can make Trumpism work here. Why not? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/mar/06/our-worst-politicians-are-wondering-if-they-can-make-trumpism-work-here-why-not
#auspol

2025-03-09 21:33:47 UTC

Another reason not to bother with Airbnb...
"He’d booked the apartment more than a month earlier, but barely a week before their departure, late last month, came a message from Airbnb saying his host had cancelled the booking. Instead of being hosted, he was ghosted. The property he’d booked was with a Superhost, supposedly the cream of Airbnb properties."
#travel #accommodation #airbnb https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/tim-s-airbnb-cancelled-last-minute-he-was-offered-a-bunk-instead-20250307-p5lhvv.html

2025-03-09 21:31:08 UTC

Interesting read from Ross Gittins. I do wonder if businesses have overdone the price rises a bit - have you seen the prices of casual dining dishes lately? $30 pizzas seem a bit extreme.
"Remember that, for seven whole years before this latest price surge, the inflation rate was stuck below the bottom of the 2 to 3 per cent target range, despite the Reserve’s efforts to get it up.
"Why was inflation unacceptably low? My theory is it was another self-fulfilling prophecy. Businesses weren’t game to raise their prices because no other businesses were raising theirs. Everyone was waiting for some inflationary event to give them some cover, but nothing turned up.
"Until the pandemic’s supply disruptions and the Russia-induced jump in oil and gas prices turned up. As soon as it did, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began wondering how big an increase they could get away with."
#food #inflation https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/maybe-the-inflation-surge-didn-t-happen-the-way-we-ve-been-told-20250309-p5li4j.html

2025-03-04 22:21:58 UTC

If someone could invent a way to block all posts containing screenshots from X, that would be very useful. If I wanted to read stuff from that hell site, I'd be there.
#x

2025-03-02 21:37:42 UTC

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@nprofile…j90y when I'm flying through Dubai I always like to have at least three hours between connections. Such a long slog between gates there!

2025-03-02 20:57:03 UTC

Interesting. Can't say I agree with the need for a lounge in transit; some of them are fairly unimpressive. I like to find a bar with comfy seating and park myself there.
"Any break between connecting flights that lasts longer than a couple of hours requires a lounge."
#travel #flying https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/nine-mistakes-you-should-never-make-at-an-airport-20250228-p5lfz5.html

2025-02-26 21:52:01 UTC

Fun nostalgic food article. I remember visiting the local country town pub with my family when growing up, and it was all there on the menu: prawn cocktails, steak diane, etc.
"Another oyster. Another slurp of chardonnay. As we merrily imbibed, I began to wonder what other delights from the past had been all-too-quickly pushed from the table.
"Couldn’t we perform a taste test on some devils on horseback? I remember them as fabulous but have been barely offered one since 1983. Beef Wellington fell out of favour because it was difficult to cook, but couldn’t the new generation of connected thermometers offer a safe space for the modern chef? And, as for steak diane, please bring it back, and hurry because I want it now."
#food https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/i-tried-to-stop-my-british-friend-s-atrocious-order-then-i-joined-him-20250224-p5leoy.html

2025-02-25 03:12:57 UTC

Great route for a train, some of my favourite Central European cities are on it.
#train #trains cc @nprofile…c5n8 https://social.coop/@ideogram/114062311101764166

2025-02-25 02:40:22 UTC

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@nprofile…fq0p GOD YES. I feel we need a standardised response such as RTA (Read the Article!)

2025-02-24 07:09:17 UTC

Good piece by @nprofile…zjmx about why Airbnb is more trouble than it's worth nowadays: https://www.frommers.com/tips/hotel-news/heres-why-more-and-more-people-are-done-with-airbnb-its-quite-a-list/
#travel #airbnb

2025-02-22 01:51:48 UTC

I love how when you make a statement on Mastodon, if you don’t list all the possible exemptions someone will instantly come along with a "What about...?" post. Very helpful, and by that I mean highly annoying.
#mastodon

2025-02-22 01:21:22 UTC

Good idea from Good Food - a bunch of breakfast recipes that don't involve eggs.
#food #breakfast #brunch https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/recipes/we-ve-cracked-the-secret-to-a-great-brunch-without-the-eggs-pence-20250220-p5ldu6.html

2025-02-19 23:27:11 UTC

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@nprofile…c5n8 Straight away I thought of different (further away) destinations, but you make a good case against those. What a difference being in the EU & Schengen would make!

2025-02-19 21:42:36 UTC

What do we think about lateness? A sin or forgiveable? Personally I'm nearly always early, but I think that has to do with a long history of catching public transport and factoring in extra time to deal with unexpected delays.
"Evelyn Waugh wrote: 'Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.'
"But I say lateness is hubris. An insult administered with minutes instead of words.
"And it’s often used to flaunt rank. The star enters last, every time. It is gratifying to note that many of the great perpetrators of lateness as a power move have nothing else. Lateness is their only strategy, a bluff with nothing behind it."
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/punctuality-is-for-sycophants-and-underdogs-20250213-p5lbrq.html

2025-02-16 20:58:25 UTC

True that. He has form.
'As Dutton moves to emphasise his softer side, and as 60 Minutes (on Nine, which owns this masthead) screened an episode about “the real Peter Dutton” on Sunday night, I’m reminded of how eagerly the media moved to let Scott Morrison re-invent himself in 2019, as though his past in politics meant nothing. The reality is that leaders take their habits into office: Morrison stayed flim-flam, Abbott ultra-conservative, Albanese small-target. Dutton will, presumably, continue to lean in to the politics of race.'
#auspol https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/as-dutton-parades-his-softer-side-let-s-not-forget-how-hard-he-s-played-the-politics-of-race-20250216-p5lcgx.html

2025-02-10 04:02:52 UTC

The two-step process of those gates seems ridiculously over-complicated. And I wish they'd hurry up with implementing online declarations – I did one of those while in the air last time I visited New Zealand, and it was very easy.
"Australian travellers are being forced to wait in long queues at the nation’s airports because of failures with a digital passport processing system that has been riddled with technical faults despite cost surges of more than $120 million.
"The SmartGates system has been labelled embarrassing by the Australian Airports Association, which wants the government to urgently address the problems that have caused queues at Sydney and Melbourne to snake through terminals, leaving tired passengers stranded in delays after flights of up to 14 hours."
#travel https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bali-is-more-seamless-the-passport-processing-headache-greeting-australian-travellers-20250204-p5l9kd.html

2025-02-08 00:54:24 UTC

Ha, remember when Barnaby Joyce was said to be the best Australian politician for connecting with everyday people? Now the National Party is forbidding him from campaigning outside his seat, as he's so unpopular. #auspol https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/barnaby-rule-hides-former-deputy-pm-in-his-seat-20250204-p5l9cb.html

2025-02-07 23:43:06 UTC

Hooray I have the cover story in Traveller today - about 24 great railway experiences I've enjoyed around the world.
Pick up a print copy today in The Age or Sydney Morning Herald... or read the online version here: https://www.theage.com.au/traveller/inspiration/the-world-s-24-greatest-railway-experiences-20250129-p5l84v.html
#train #trains #travel #TravelWriter
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/965/254/335/247/818/original/224b23211331e11f.jpeg
https://mediacdn.aus.social/media_attachments/files/113/965/254/734/165/570/original/ee7455af64dd6125.jpeg

2025-02-07 07:45:03 UTC

Personally I'd advise Prime Minister Albanese against going for the latest possible federal election date of 17 May - because I'll be in Europe then and bad things happen politically in Australia when I'm overseas. For example:
- I was in Poland when Gillard rolled Rudd in 2010;
- I was in Canada when Abbott was elected in 2013;
- I was in Switzerland when Morrison was re-elected in 2019.
Basically it's not worth the risk. :)
#auspol

2025-02-05 22:03:08 UTC

Infuriating how casually the hosts on Triple J radio discuss an ethnic cleansing plan, as if it's just another political policy. I mean discuss it, sure, but start from the basis that it *is* ethnic cleansing, an aid to genocide and a gross violation of human rights.
Sigh you can just imagine these people back in the 1930s chattily discussing Hitler's latest oppressive laws. They'd probably play an audio clip of him too.
#USpol #Gaza

2025-01-22 22:23:31 UTC

We do a pretty good job at home of not throwing away food. I think the key is to have specific meals in mind when you do the grocery shopping.
#food https://flipboard.com/@salon/food-2ddco4njz/-/a-Y3dtx7QoRAavs79NiM9qWA%3Aa%3A3199680-%2F0

2025-01-22 22:05:51 UTC

Sticking to the perimeter of the supermarket for healthier food is not a bad tip (sorry, hack) - but also, buying groceries online makes it easy to ignore the overprocessed stuff.
#food #health https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/stick-to-the-perimeter-of-the-supermarket-and-six-other-ways-to-improve-heart-health-20250115-p5l4ix.html

2024-05-06 00:54:29 UTC

@npub1rky…0xq2 Hi guys, I've been having trouble uploading a panorama photo from an iPhone - it's a JPEG, but when uploaded appears only as a black rectangle. Is this an issue with the app or Mastodon? Or something else?

2024-03-12 21:55:27 UTC

Good explainer. I always keep my seatbelt buckled up when flying; never know when you might suddenly need it.
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Seatbelts on: Warning over likelihood of more unexpected bumps on planes
(maybe paywalled) #Flying #Travel https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/seatbelts-on-warning-over-likelihood-of-more-unexpected-bumps-on-planes-20240312-p5fbsb.html

2024-02-09 00:04:26 UTC

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@npub1xpc…3t05 I'm starting to wonder if social media really has to be part of my daily life. I've already ditched Facebook and Twitter. And Instagram is utterly dull.

2024-02-08 23:59:25 UTC

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@npub1xpc…3t05 Mastodon seems particularly infested by this kind of whinger. I don’t mind being reminded to add an alt-text description I've missed, but I do mind being told exactly what type of content I should be posting.

2024-02-08 23:53:26 UTC

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@npub1xpc…3t05 They just so piss me off. Entitled pricks.

2024-02-08 23:47:13 UTC

Sigh someone just complained about a link to a paywalled article, and I think it was only because I added (maybe paywalled) to the end of it. It possibly wasn't even paywalled! Don't these people have better things to do with their time?
(I've blocked him now. Tired of paywall whingers.)

2023-11-28 22:09:40 UTC

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@npub1xpc…3t05 Yeah I do think we'll cope :)

2023-11-28 20:45:35 UTC

Jeez a rep from the cruise ship industry is whinging to Sammy J on ABC Radio about docking fees going up at Port Melbourne. Hand me my tiniest violin. 🎻

2023-10-25 21:39:00 UTC

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@npub19fc…ay3c interesting how green is relatively rare on European flags, while almost everyone has red somewhere: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_Europe

2023-09-26 22:31:10 UTC

This is why I try to do fewer, longer trips, with no air travel once I'm on the ground in another continent. My six week trip in Europe this year involved 20 trains after I arrived on the ground in Lisbon.
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Mindful travel: How slowing down and changing how you holiday can help you and the world https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/i-m-a-travel-writer-but-i-can-t-do-10-overseas-trips-a-year-any-more-20230918-p5e5hl.html

2023-09-04 22:45:38 UTC

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@npub1yks…rgk5 ah I see. Did you do the rounds of all the publishers at the time?

2023-09-04 22:43:11 UTC

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@npub1sf0…8a2n @npub1xpc…3t05 well said. If the employers had to pay for commuting time, they'd suddenly be very enthusiastic about work from home. :)

2023-09-04 22:41:05 UTC

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@npub1yks…rgk5 Can you pitch it again now?

2023-09-04 00:56:32 UTC

My guess? He's unemployable. Who'd want someone who secretly appointed himself to five ministries on the payroll?
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Modern prime ministers have typically left parliament soon after defeat. So why doesn't Scott Morrison? - ABC News
#auspol https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-04/former-prime-ministers-leave-parliament-why-hasnt-morrison/102803912

2023-08-26 02:46:42 UTC

Can't wait for Melbourne to transition to a credit card payment system for public transport, that'll be one less card needed in my wallet. I still have a few business cards there to hand out though, they're an old-school thing which is hanging on.

2023-08-25 23:45:03 UTC

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@npub13vv…0sze i'd say the easiest solution is to not check your emails at the weekend.