monkeysarefun

I hope the cops didn't base their case on you picking that out of a lineup of ute suspects because it has 4 doors and looks Japanesey or maybe Volkswagonesy ( apologies if I'm being racist by judging utes on racial stereotypes). I have to ask though, how do you use your phone with those nails!?

He can't prove it. Despite his running along very quickly he didn't have a DASH cam, lol.

Oy! The ute needed a run, ok!?! Not AI in any way at all at all.

Ironic and LOLworthy maybe so but isn't it at least a little bit concerning that one or two certain "First world" " free and democratic" countries with non-compulsory voting are suddenly facing all these "issues" regarding the possibility of "voter fraud" which requires all these new "laws" that entail the showing of a limited range of compulsory "ID", and so on, the "regrettable" result being the turning away of otherwise valid voters. Not at all a hidden agenda in order to make it harder for people to vote. Not at all, at all. And after all that yous dont even get a f*#$@ sausage sandwich out of it. Wake up! FFS.

For an outsiders view of pommy shows, I'd rate "The IT crowd", "The Comic Strip presents", "The Office", the first couple of series of "Red Dwarf", "Father Ted" and "Black Books". Shows like "Dads Army" , "Last Of The Summer Wine", "Porridge" etc were shown endlessly here but I'd say they were too "English" in depicting something that didn't translate, however I did like "The Royale Family" and that one with Alf Garnett in it, since those characters were in evidence here in Australian form, and the writing was brilliant. On the other hand, we also got subjected to complete sh!t like "Mind Your Language", "Love Thy Neighbour", "Some Mothers Do Ave em" and "Are You Being Served?"

The episode of the Oz cartoon show Bluey, called "Dad Baby" where Dad Heeler pretends to give birth as part of a game with his kids was today finally made available to US audiences via the official Bluey youtube channel, after 4 years of Disney + refusing to show it. Theories why it was "banned" by Disney range from the fact that it depicts childbirth, albeit in a novelty manner including a midwife who is the bloke from next door who just wants to go and watch the cricket. Other more loopy theories involve the ridiculous idea that because the Dad is pretending to give birth it is grooming children into accepting trans stuff. Or something. Allowing for my patriotic bias, Bluey is by far the best Australian show that's been on the telly for yonks. Close second would be Mr Inbetween, then Deadloch - an Australian take on the endless billions of English and Scandinavian police dramas. Though being Australian there is a willy in the first 5 minutes - something that Father Brown never had to deal with.

Meanwhile down here in the 100% fun and no woke bullsh!t Hemisphere - heres the trailer for a 2023 Australian cinema release, it has the legit Australian Government logo of Approval at the end there and everything to prove its a 100% genuine Australian cultural item. And Mad Max 5 comes out later this month!

I guess you haven't tried these then that I spotted in the local Woolies when looking for chocolate Paddle Pops. . Nor have I! https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/821035/potong-coconut-milk-durian-pops Edge of the seat stuff in the 3rd quarter, the crowd is going nuts! Gary The Parrot goes off whenever the cheers go up, he loves raucous. As do all parrots, which is why if you want to discipline one you can't raise your voice because they love that and redo the bad thing in order to get you to shout at them again. Hopefully he's not supporting Collingwood but.

Whenever my Windows 11 updates it switches my temperature display on the home screen to @#)*%$^& farenheit.

Autumn chilliness has finally arrived, it barely reached 17 today. Half time at the Friday Night Footy, Collingwood and Carlton - one of the great rivalries in sport, another sea sawing thriller in front of 88,362 at the MCG, the largest crowd ever in a home and away game between these two teams. Do people in Melbourne have nothing better to do on a Friday night?! (2023 FA cup final crowd - 83,000, 2023 Superbowl, 72,000. ........Inventing a winter sport that is played on a massive cricket ground and thus has seating capacity to match - 5 stars!) This turned up today - a rechargeable battery compressor that'll run an airbrush. I'd never known about them until 2 days ago, does anyone have one, and if so why did you not tell me there were such magical things these days? I can replace my industrial sized noisy compressor with this handheld rechargeable battery version. There's a few different ones out there, this is mid-range price based on thinking "you get what you pay for.." It comes with 2 batteries so they can be swapped out for charging and a pretty decent pen, though I'll be using my Tamiya trigger one on it since it screws into the top no worries. They reckon it'll do 32PSI though it seems more like 20 but thats enough for what I'll use it for, just laying down colour on 3D prints. IT also comes with a metre worth of hose if you don't want the airbrush attached directly to the unit. Sure is a long way from my original airbrush back in the day - a red plastic Humbrol branded one with a syphon jar hanging underneath that ran on an aerosol tin of compressed air that would ice up after about 10 minutes!

Both the rural fire services and the state emergency services in the various states are volunteer forces, or at least those who do the frontline work are. In times of significant disasters like the 2019 bushfires they can be asked to travel across states, for weeks at a time, leaving families and jobs. Often the strain on funds is so great that they have to pay for their own travel, meals and protective clothing , on top of being on unpaid leave for weeks at a time. Some state governments did tend to take them for granted, relying on the grace of volunteers to save on having to pay professional fire and emergency personnel, but since the recent major disasters the government (at least in NSW) has been coughing up for decent equipment that is up to spec for doing what these blokes expect it to. These guys are all volunteers, the truck the camera is on stayed there in order to protect properties on the left once the firefront had passed over. Rural firetrucks have the ability to drench themselves in a curtain of water to protect the crew, which is what this one did as it sat there.

I'd say that in the US and here it'd be racial slurs reflecting a horrible past. Other than that, here at least you can say whatever the f&*&k ya want, you mad c&&*!

1853, that was pretty late in the day - I assume they'd have gone to Western Australia since the convict system was winding down in the Eastern states by then and WA needed the labour. What a hellhole.

If you are in a remote area and require medical assistance and you are an Australian citizen, then it is definitely free. The question of where you have to be in order to be considered remote enough for the free service rather than the states ambulance service can be open to contention though I have a bookshelf full of those charity teddy bears that the RFDS sell you to fund raise off of and I'd better get my moneys worth if ever I cop a heart attack west of Lightning Ridge!

Well, you sent us 162,000 back in the day, so surely one in return isn't a hardship!

Bonus points if you compile "Hunt The Wumpus" ön it.

I notice that you didn't mention horses! When young I once knelt on a bluebottles tentacles that had been washed up on the beach - bloody hell, that stung! Further to my list, I've spent many work trips in far Nth Queensland (RAAF Townsville) and the Northern Territory (RAAF Darwin and RAAF Tindal down near Katherine) and i've never ever seen anything dangerous. I wouldn't go in the water but!.. The Arafura Sea - the most impossibly blue water you could imagine, but you dare not even step on the sand in case a croc dashes out of the palm trees and puts you in a death roll! I spent my time off in the swimming pool in the motel.

He's an Australian citizen. The Australian government wants guarantees from the US that he won't face the death penalty.

Australians had to face the death penalty question in 2015 when Indonesia executed two Australian nationals for drug trafficking. They were the ringleaders of "The Bali 9" , a small-time gang of simple folk who were co-erced into carrying heroin from Bali back to Australia. The whole operation was tracked by Australian Federal police who informed the Indonesian authorities as the gang were about to board a flight back here, meaning that they faced a potential death sentence, rather than being arrested in Australia where they'd have got time in prison instead. They were intercepted by Indonesian authorities and after a series of trials were sentenced to various amounts of jail time, ranging from decades to life, while the two ringleaders - Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran - were sentenced to death. Initially Australian public sentiment was pretty harsh - Indonesia lets it be known via huge signs in airports etc that drug trafficking means death so "they only had themselves to blame" - but as the years went on and the profile of the two ring leaders via media interviews was put out there, public sentiment changed. It was revealed that Andew Chan had become a born-again christian and spent his time running the prisons christian mission, English language classes and mentored newly arrived prisoners. Myuran Sukumaran taught English, computer science , graphic design and philosophy classes to prisoners. He was instrumental in opening up a computer and art room and also pushed unsuccessfully for an accountancy and law course to be set up. In February 2015, Melbournes Curtin University conferred Sukumaran with an associate degree in Fine Arts. He also started a business which sells artworks and a clothing brand called Kingpin Clothing. Sukumaran was appointed head of a group of over 20 prisoners, including those facing execution and housed in the prison's maximum security wing. His role included assigning tasks to prisoners under him, liaising with the guards, resolving disputes and overseeing modest penalties for those who transgressed in their jobs cleaning, gardening and making small repairs in the prison. Sukumaran painted multiple self-portraits while on Nusakambangan, the island he was transferred to pending execution. His final painting resembles a bleeding Indonesian flag. Along with Andrew Chan, he converted to Christianity while imprisoned. Prior to his death, he was working on a bachelor's degree on Fine Arts from Curtin University. Australian artist Matthew Sleeth, who ran art workshops inside Kerobokan prison, called him the "best student" he had seen. The jails governor, in a final plea to Indonesia's president stated that the two men had been instrumental in improving the spiritual and intellectual lives of the prison population and should remain there to continue their valuable work. Despite all this, in the late evening of 28th April 2015, the two Australians and 6 other prisoners were transferred by boat to the place of execution. All eight prisoners refused to be blindfolded. They were tied to cross-shaped posts so their arms were spread wide, a target was pinned above their heart and they sang "Amazing Grace" and "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" before being shot by a 12-member firing squad comprised of members of the Indonesian special forces. Amnesty International condemned the executions, describing them as "reprehensible", which by that time most Australians agreed with.

A little known service that the RFDS provides is called Memory Lane flights. "A no-cost service open to all Australians in end-of-life or palliative care, Memory Lane offers the chance to reconnect with lives, families and friends, which can mean the world. The Flying Doctor Memory Lane service supports people to visit a place of personal significance; to admire their own garden, to feel the breeze of the seaside, or to be surrounded by their loved ones and pets. Our custom-built Memory Lane vehicles enable people in end-of-life care to overcome access barriers, visiting a place that holds meaning safely and comfortably. Our expertise in transporting people to access needed health and wellbeing services means we are well-placed to deliver on our commitment." Basically its a free trip provided to anyone approaching end-of-life or in palliative care who wishes to revisit a place of special meaning to them. A specialist medical team travel with them and all care is provided free of charge during the trip. Donations pay for the service. I'm going out on a limb here by saying that I';m pretty sure that no other country provides anything like this, especially free of charge. Australia - how good is it?!

I know not of the lady of which you speak BUT we did get the unfeasibly shaped Sabrina paying a visit down here in 1961. She appeared in ads promoting a brand of high temperature automotive grease - those advertisers back then certainly knew the way to an average Australian blokes heart and wallet.

To somewhere else! Out of sight, out of mind is the philosophy here when it comes to that kind of thing. A couple of days ago @Ozexpatriate reflected on how few degrees of separation he is from someone killed by US gun violence. In contrast, I wouldn't be anywhere close to knowing anyone who got bitten by our wildlife, let alone died from them. Dogs are another matter, I know quite a few people - friends and family included - who have lost dogs to snake bites. Dogs tend to run in and bark at say an Eastern brown snake, ("worlds second deadliest snake!") unaware that it is not only a bat sh!t crazy snake but that when striking it can launch itself full body length and bite them in the face, which is an instant death sentence. I never did let my dogs off the leash here in summer and when the last one died of happy old age I switched to Gary The Parrot for fear that my luck would run out - seeing a dog panic, collapse and die in convulsions from a snakebite is really awful. We grow up amidst deadly stuff so it just seems normal to us. Everyone as a child was taught to not walk in the long grass in summer, not go into the water at sunset or after a storm and how to tie a tourniquet if bitten by a snake or spider. We were taught about all the other deadly stuff that is out there, although this far south there isn't the range of them compared to Queensland or the NT so we got off lightly. Basically down here apart from the usual boring snakes and spiders and sharks it is pretty much just Blue Ringed Octopuses living in rock pools that can kill you in 5 minutes. Seriously though, the risk of ever actually seeing something venomous, let alone being attacked by it is very minimal. If I was to divide my age by the number of times I've seen a particular dangerous thing it'd average out like this: Deadly snake sightings: Once every 3 years. Deadly Spider sightings: Once every 10 years. Shark sightings: Once every 20 years (and I spent every weekend at the beach in the '80's and only about a dozen times did the shark alarm go off while I was there) Deadly seasnake sightings: Once every 30 years Deadly Blue Ringed Octopus sightings: Once every 50 years Deadly jellyfish sightings: Once every 30 years Deadly horse sightings: I still have nightmares about them.......... nightmares, get it? I make myself LOL sometimes! In contrast, we have nice stuff too as compensation. I stopped in at dads on the way home. He has this " tame" King Parrot that turns up demanding food - I have them hanging around too, but my ones are very skittish, this guy was very bold, he sat on my arm and took sunflower seeds from my hand....

This used to be standard police issue here. Then in 1995 there was an incident in Crescent Head on the north coast where two police called to a domestic incident discovered that they had arrived at a house where the occupant was armed with a Ruger hunting rifle (this tragically was just before the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania that led to weapons like that being removed from the community). They were out-gunned and tragically both were fatally shot. This incident directly led to a commision of enquiry which established that the police needed greater workplace protection and so were up-gunned to Glocks.

I was searching through my Tassie pics trying to find the closeup of the Tiger snake that I'm sure I took. No luck, but I did find these shots taken in the cutely named town of Penguin. The train line doesnt quite run along the road US style but a fair stretch of it does, (includes a rare shot of the other half since she's usually camera-elusive, I had to pretend I was taking a pic of the train line ) Then its off through a picturesque flower-lined stretch that follows the road. Tasmanian Railways are 3ft 6inch so I guess its narrow gauge, and most of it is unfenced. Despite this, Tasmanians generally seem to not get killed by trains. Unlike the wildlife. Tasmania - if you can ignore the dead things all over the roads, 5 stars.

I've had one Tiger Snake (that I know about!) in my back yard, - one Sunday morning the other half comes in from outside and says "Theres a snake down by the wall, I nearly stepped on it". Me being an Australian bloke and her not being one I instantly dismissed her evaluation of the scene by suggesting "Its probably just a stick, mate", but by throwing stuff at me and calling me names she finally convinced me to go and check it out for myself and indeed it was a Tiger Snake curled up enjoying the sun. Despite my magnanimous capitulation of "oh yeah , it IS a snake." , that didn't put an end to the blows raining down upon me, but during a pause while she was looking for bigger things to hit me with I discovered that snakes have an ability to escape the second your back is turned that is only equalled by toddlers who have just discovered the skill of toddling off at a fast pace. It took a few minutes of searching to discover it cleverly hiding in the track of the sliding door of what is now my 3D printing room. Although Tiger snakes are number 7 on the top 10 "worlds deadliest snakes!" lists, they aren't batsh!t crazy like Eastern Brown snakes are - in fact in comparison they have a Zen-like "dont bother me and I won't bother you. " attitude to life so I let it be and I guess it eventually moved on (snakes are nomadic). Other places where I've nearly trodden on Tiger Snakes - jogging through the bush at work - 3 times Walking in Tasmania - 1 time. Deadly snakes: domestic bliss disrupters. 3.5 stars.