monkeysarefun

its actually a frog that was on my front porch! ( Probably not venomous)

Noooo worries, apparently "F#*%$^&@k it again!" is rated a strong password so I'm all set for ages.

Apart from the ladybird plague of 1976 or whatever nothing says "hey overseas people - -this is what the UK is all about" better than that story.

At some point I assume my ancestors got here from the UK, maybe transported in chains , exiled from Mother England for 7 years due to a criminal act that sullied England so much - stealing a hankie or something?- that they were doomed to eke out an existence in this harsh barren land as a punishment. Please, when will our suffering here in this hell hole finally end?..

Thanks! Saves me getting my Margaret Fulton's cookbook out to see if anything rings a bell.

"Trouble with the Australians" In 1918 an average of 9 per 1,000 Australian soldiers in Europe resided in prison. Among Canadians, New Zealanders and South Africans there was an average of 1.6 per 1,000 men behind bars. Field-Marshall Douglas Haig was convinced this was due to the low standard of discipline among the Australian divisions. Picture: Slovenly Australian Soldiers It wasn't OUR war but they answered the call, all Australian troops up until Vietnam were volunteers and despite Haigs attempts to get it changed, were not allowed to have sentence of death carried out on them. "Take us or leave us, but if you want us don't whinge if we don't salute you"* *An account of an Australian privates exchange with a member of the British High command , 1917.

"Password must contain at least one numerical character" F#*%$^&@k it again!

Hey, I just realised from reading your reposting of my password attempt , if I just add say a special character like an ! at the end I reckon it'll let me use it. Thank you @iL Dottore

In the end it all comes down to pay, and in the UK probably the class structure. Here you can leave school early and get a job driving heavy plant in the WA mines and earn more than the local MP. There's heat and dust and flies but working FIFO (fly in fly out) you get one week on then 10 days off to spend back in your Perth mansion with your jetski and V8 ute.

Now you've brought it up can I just admit that I have not a clue what the *&$%$ they even are? At first I thought they were like "Deltics", which everyone on here seemed to use as a unit of money so I assumed that they too were some kind of cryptocurrency that you were all trading in. Turns out its some cake thing. Theres only 3 cakes in the southern hemisphere, the lamington, the Pavlova and the other one that I've forgotten at the moment due to it being after midnight.

I've been a civvie contractor for the Australian army then the RAAF for the last 27 years, all spent on military bases. Seeing the interaction between officers and troops has been interesting. Starting in WW1 there's been an unofficial "no d!ckheads" policy whereby if an officer is perceived as being too "officery" without first earning respect he is quickly pulled into line. Our armed forces are small numerically but pride themselves in being able to do whatever they are tasked with, and in return those in charge give them the resources and freedom to be able to do it. The same is true of the emergency services, hence why Amy Scott will no doubt get official recognition for her gallantry rather than have to justify her actions before some tribunal.

In contrast, the senior policewoman who by lucky chance happened to be on site and was quickly able to discharge 3 shots and drop the bloke who went on a stabbing spree, killing 6 people in Bondi Junction Plaza a couple of weeks ago has been praised by the PM down. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/13/police-officer-who-shot-bondi-junction-attacker-wielding-a-massive-knife-hailed-as-a-hero NSW police carry a Glock and a Taser. No one here would think of questioning why she chose the Glock solution...

Tell me about it! I once tried to create a password by using the ingredient list on the back of a shop bought one: SugarFortifiedWheatFlourWheatFlourCalciumCarbonateIronNiacinThiaminPasteurisedEggLemonIcingSugarLemonJuiceHumectantVegetableGlycerineAcidityRegulatorCitricAcidLemonButtercreamButterCowsMilkSugarLemonCurdSugarGlucoseSyrupButterCowsMilkWheatStarchMaizeStarchDried EggConcentratedLemonJuiceGellingAgentPectinAcidityRegulatorsCitricAcidSodiumCitrateFlavouringSaltGlucoseSyrupModifiedMaizeStarchHumectantVegetableGlycerinePreservativeCitricAcidLemonCurdSugarGlucoseSyrupButterCowsMilkWheatStarchMaizeStarchDriedEggConcentratedLemonJuiceGellinAgentPectinAcidityRegulatorsCitricAcidSodiumCitrateFlavouringSaltRapeseedOilPalmOilPasteurisedLemonJuiceHumectantVegetableGlycerineRaisingAgentsDisodiumDiphosphateSodiumBicarbonatePalmKernelOilLemonZestEmulsifierMonoandDiglyceridesofFattyAcidsAcidityRegulatorCitricAcidColourCarotenes but it told me I needed at least one special character. " F$&* it!" I thought.

Finally got to go outside in the morning to get a sunrise shot. Today was the last chance, its rain for the next week which'll put out the hazard reduction burns that are providing the smokey filters. There used to be deadbeat horses in the way, taking heroin or whatever it is they do and spoiling the shot. My house valuation has gone up by at least 62% since they've been kicked out.

They've taken their guns off them these days so they are left with expandable batons. Actually the modern day ones have definitely cleaned up their act and have a happier customer face. They roam the trains and station platforms in pairs, mainly during the off-peak daylight hours and into the evening. Not that I've ever felt threatened on trains here or seen anything occur that made me feel unsafe even when riding at night, but then again maybe its due to these guys wandering the carriages.

Conversely if you asked the cops here if they should have their guns taken off them I'd be guessing that the result would probably be exactly the reverse, its just a case of what you are used to I guess! A serious question, do security guards there, ie the ones who drive money around in Armourgard cars to deliver payrolls, collect bank takings etc there have sidearms? Here they are invariably (or used to be, theres less of them apparent these days in our cashless society) older gents, looking close to retirement age, but they'd all have a Smith and Wesson on their hips. I remember when I was doing my traineeship in 1982, Wednesdays were tech college days AND paydays and halfway through the AC circuits course two old fellas would knock on the door and lug in a cashbox and dole out our paypackets. Both had sidearms but we never thought anything of it. I guess its something we are used to but when guys like that (and the NSW transit police!) are carrying a pistol then seeing the police armed is a complete non-issue and therefore the question of "should the police be armed" is not one that even comes up here, its certainly not the end of civilisation because they are and we aren't a police state because of it.

Never overlook the lead as a potential problem. Its amazing how many times a dodgy USB lead has let me down, whether charging my phone, transferring files to a 3D printer or laser cutter etc , thats now always the first thingl I check out.

"The Mob takes the Fifth.... If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”* *Orange clown who later went on to take the fifth 440 times during a deposition before lawyers from New York Attorney General Letitia James' office in its probe into the Trump Organization's business practices.

Thats the other option, forget banning guns, just make buying the ammo a pain in the ar5e.

And here there was an awful case where a police officer responded to a call to a nursing home where a 95 year old woman was reported to be holding two knives as she walked within the facility using her walking frame. Staff alleged she refused to drop the knives when staff intervened so they called police after being unable to contact her next of kin. Senior Constable White, another officer and ambulance staff found Ms Nowland in a room holding one of the knives that had been taken from the kitchen area, according to court documents. The second officer allegedly attempted to grab the knife off her, but she raised her hand and "retreated". Senior Constable White allegedly took out and activated his taser as Ms Nowland "slowly" moved towards the group. He allegedly told Ms Nowland: "Clare, stop now, see this, this is a taser, drop it now, drop it, this is your first warning." After further discussion and "little to no reaction" from Ms Nowland, court documents state she raised the knife towards Senior Constable White's colleague. Senior Constable White then allegedly said, "Stop just … Nah, bu99er it", before using the taser. Ms Nowland fell and fractured her skull before she was rushed to hospital in a critical condition where she later died She was survived by eight children, 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren. Her family have also filed a civil case against the state of New South Wales over the incident. Senior Constable White remains suspended from duty with pay and has since been charged with manslaughter.

I'd lump the 1980's-vintage NSW Transit cops in that category! Insufficiently adequate to get into the actual cops, they patrolled the trains and stations of the NSW rail network, armed and ready to prove it at any justification. My experience of them was when 3 mates and I were going into the city one Friday night to see a band - one of my mates showed his University of Wollongong* travel card but it was denied by the ticket selling guy. . My mate said something or other under his breath and we boarded the train but unbeknown to us, the ticket guy must have had a secret button or something because 5 minutes into our trip, 2 of the NSW transit police forces finest came into the carriage and confronted us. The older one told my mate to leave the train as we pulled into Warwick Farm station and reached for his gun to make the point more obvious. The rest of us weren't sure if we were meant to follow or stay aboard, until the younger pretend cop said "Yous can go too if yous want" so we did. Warwick Farm station is a minor stop where only one in 10 trains pull into so we had quite a wait, but we still got to the venue well before the band bothered to show up. If it had come to a shoot out I reckon my mate sitting behind the two cops could have taken at least one of them out via a kidney punch or a whack behind the knees and I could have gone for the younger ones gun and held him hostage until they honoured the Wollongong travel concession card and refunded my other mate the cash discount he'd been denied. * no, not Woolloomooloo, just to fend off any M. Python fans...

To change the mood a little I've been posing down the pub walking past a locked up yard in a nearby industrial estate on the weekend and discovered the earthly remains of Herbie the Love bug. Wondering what the Kingoonya Pub mentioned on the sticker there was all about I googled it. Turns out its in outback South Australia and going by the photos on the google maps page it'd be the perfect place for many ER's to move to. It features Night skies for @PupCam Train spotting for @jamie92208 Michelin gourmet cooking for @iL Dottore An Old Landrovers support group for @TheQ Some non-psycho paddock ornaments for @Grizz A fixer-upper with appropriate gate signage for @polybear A massive shed for @Winslow Boy A non-raining bike riding experience for @New Haven Neil Umpiring opportunities for @Barry O And a look-a-like competition for @grandadbob

Oh, so you only booked the five minute argument, not the full half hour! 🙂

So POLICE safety isn't an issue there? Police here used to carry 6 shot Smith and Wessons. Following a siege where two officers were shot and killed, the shortcomings of that revolver were highlighted and the police were re-equipped with Glocks. That was in response to a government acknowledgement that the police weren't adequately equipped to do their jobs and their lives were in peril because of it. As a member of the public, I'm happy that those who risk their lives daily for us get the best equipment they can have in order to ensure THEIR safety.

Exactly. Check out videos of the police in Londons tourist spots. At least we don't have any police walking around routinely armed with machine guns. The old "England swings like a pendulum do, bobbies on bicycles two by two " needs a rewrite to mention machine pistols.