Daily Discussion Thread: Fri 01 Dec 2023

I had one of those super vivid and engaging dreams that was so engaging that I snoozed my alarm 5 times (over 50 minutes) to get to the end of it. Felt like a therapy session that I didn't want to leave hanging.

E: also this is the first week in a while I have worked every single day. I am pretty sick of it. Next job definitely has to be part time...

I dreamt Mr Seagoon was reading one of his stories to people but they didn't know he wrote it. I was totes proud of him. 💗
And then I went to a second hand book shop /old library to look for ancient travel books but they didn't have any. There was a totes cool planetarium of Earth but there was only one person looking.
But I did find a bunch of lost jewellery in a corner off the marble steps and some of it was cool. Then I felt guilty about finding it.
Then Ted Cat meowed in my ear and patted my hair. Time for first breakfast.
- I wish my dream was so cool! I mean, I've had other cool dreams before, but this one was more about revisiting many people and places in my past as an adult and actually rewriting the story of how I relate to some of them. Also v good though and wish I had more of thosr
I got canabalistic space pirates. Yay…

whinge:
I'm annoyed. I have not done anything to deserve getting a cold. Last two times I caught something I went to a memorable event. I have been staying hydrated, eating fruits and veggies, and exercising. What do I get? A sore throat now and a cold coming up.

Stay strong baconmashbrownsugar. I believe in you 💪
- thank god
💊🍲🧸🛏️
- I will save that for the weekend when I feel worse. Thank you.
I'd be pissed off too. May your recovery be swift. 🌻
- Thank you

Thanks to everyone that popped by to say congrats yesterday! Sorry for not replying but I have been celebrating very hard. Tonight I discovered frozés and my life is better for it.

What's a froze? I think this is important information, given what the weather is going to do next week. Unrelated but maybe there is a connexion, I have just tipped over my glass of wine into my spectacles case. Bugger.
- A cross between rose and a slushie! I bought it thinking that it wouldn’t be very strong and would be more for the looks, but god damn is it boozy.
  They sell them at The Mitcham Social, if you’re ever out my way.
Dr. Omoikiri!! Congratulations!
Frozés for the win.
- Thank youuuuu
Woohoo congrats Dr Omoikiri!!
Congrats! 🥂

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.

Genesis 7:17

Enough already. Thou shall bring the sunshine to to the people asap.

Melbourne 1:12

And yea, on the 41st day the waters still fell, as it was a lesson to all those who cast doubt upon the BoM.
Melbourne 1:13
- And on the 42nd day when the heavens did clear and the earth still moist, thou shall hath humidity and mosquitoes.
  Melbourne 3:12
Be careful what you ask for. Look at the BOM forecast for Mon & Tue next week.
- Don't worry. Next week I'll be whinging that it's too hot.
- It doesn't go far enough, I'm demanding 30°C to be the minimum temperature at all times.

So this is Christmas And what have you done? Another year over Still getting fucked up the bum

Rent increases are ridiculous Shopping's a chore Can't feed the family People still poor

No backbone has Albo Keep your tears and your shit What choice do we have now? When the other's a twit

A very merry Christmas And a happy new year Shit is going up, including the price of my beer.

You’re an inspiration chief
- Thank you. I missed out on Hot Take Thursday. Better late than never.

I live two stops from the free tram zone. I am too miser to pay $10 every day and am too anxious not tapping on a tram so instead I just walk two stops 💁‍♂️ added benefit of upping my step count for the day in addition to savings

I'd totally do that too. PT is expensive for short trips yo.
I'd be happy to walk but I also wouldn't feel guilty about not paying for 2 stops.
- True but I have heard that the AOs hang 1-2 stops from the free tram zone so my anxiety 📈📈
I wouldn't judge you if you didn't touch..
It's also very healthy to have a walk
This is conflicting.
Factor in the car exhaust gases when deciding if this is healthy or not.

A friend of mine reminded me that one of my favourite things to do on a cruise is air dry on my room's balcony after a shower when underway at sea. So I tasked AI with making a majestic visualisation of that and then I did a wee bit of Photoshopping and.. BEHOLD!

one million puns have raised their heads

Woke to a bunch of people who decided to put aggro panties on and are determined to make it my problem.

I care not, 'tis Friday and i am above such things 🧘🧘

People with aggro panties on often have shit festering in there and want everyone else to join them in their misery, I reckon.
- yup, hence the refusal to engage. Not my circus, not my monkeys, not my shit filled panties.
Well played, most attempts to help them will lead to them telling you about more things they don't like. I guess kinda like I'm doing now?
Ahhhhhhh!

Happy (what we still call even though the seasons have obviously shifted later by at least a month) Summer!

I have the day off today. I might go to Costco.

That pallet of pickles ain't gonna buy itself.

Shane McGowan of The Pogues has died 🙁

Aye, but I reckon he lived 3 times more life than the average picanick basket, he'll always be a great person. I only got to see them in the flesh once but my god was it fun
- PS. https://theconversation.com/with-the-pogues-shane-macgowan-perhaps-proved-himself-the-most-important-irish-writer-since-james-joyce-218038

55 KILOGRAMS OF TOFU CAT LITTER crazed laughter

The “tofu” makes me imagine it’s just.. rehydrated cat litter. Rehydrated with cat urine. Spongy like tofu.
- Mr Woof thinks it's food, hydrated or not. I avoid any pellet shaped litter now to avoid unwholsome snacking incidents.
- Tofu-based, as yet unhydrated by our discerning felines. The dudes that do those wheelie bins full of firewood also do cat litter. And now i have many litters for my boxxen
Kilograms or bag litres? Because the first is fucking full on!
- Kilograms. It comes in a fuckin' wheelie bin! $210 for first with bin, $180 for subsequent swaps, helluva price https://eco247.com.au/products/my-little-eco-bin-natural-tofu-cat-litter

Successful acquisition of Christmas tree. They didn’t have any 7 footers unfortunately so maybe a 6’2” or so. Plenty of room for my topper this year.

It’s still in the car because it’s beer o clock and need a little sit down

So over locky lockdowns I was betting with myself on what time it was when waking up. Using sun, road noise, birds... I got pretty good at it with no alarm.

Anyway this morning I was 1.5 hrs off which is shameful.

I live near a school so I get to cheat at that game. Locky d was very surreal because the school bell was still there... but no students or road noise.

It's frustrating to be limited to mostly sedentary hobbies (that are still a fair amount of physical and mental work).

I decided to take it down to the very basics and speedrun a 'draw manga' book with the cheap sketchbook and supplies, beginning with drawing head proportions and they looked terrible at first... when I draw by instinct it looks kind of okay, but these looked drawn with my left hand. But I then took some advice I'd heard about many small sketches and filled a few pages with heads about the size of 20c and 50c pieces... and as I went I started to make adjustments and learn what made them look off. Then while away from it and looking at someone's real face during a conversation I realised another change that was needed etc.

So, annoyingly, grinding skill points... works. You can't just be a quick study by looking or reading, it seems you really do need to physically do it to learn. It's just so hard to stick with. It's discouraging and boring, and learning is hard work. Sometimes rarely I can focus on it really well but other times it's hard to focus on boring basics. And sitting up for long periods is tough. You're meant to draw sitting upright with good posture for your health and to make it easier/mark correctly but it is so tiring. I'd have to do the wrist stretches too if I actually did manage to grind practice drawings. :( My wrist hurts even just from using a mouse.

Maybe I can buy a portable tabletop easel to go on my lap/lap desk and work out a way to prop myself up for more support. And maybe if I had movies or music or even those dumb snippet cartoon compilations going in the background that could help me concentrate. (Sometimes it does.)

I'm thinking of Melbcat still. It's kind of good she's still being looked after because I'm still feeling pretty ordinary, but I feel guilt about leaving her there. I hope she's adjusting and coping well with the fear free techniques. She's got her favourite heated bed, her toys, and her own food... but I couldn't explain to her what was happening and tell her I would be coming back.

You’re meant to draw sitting upright with good posture for your health and to make it easier/mark correctly but it is so tiring.
You need to be aware of your posture
art is a physical activity that takes hours at a time, you need to have a posture that reduces muscle strain. Pivot from your shoulder.
Look at videos on YT by artists about how to work and how to set up your work area. Mark Carder has some good videos.
and the stamina required isn't just physical, it's also mental.
I tend to work in 4 hour blocks, work for 1.45 then I take a rest, walk, stretch, have a cup of tea, then work for another couple of hours. More than that and I am wrecked
There is a reason my favourite statue is of Watteau, a friend depicted him at work in his studio, you can see his stance is one of relaxing as much of his body as possible, he can look at both his subject and his canvas without much effort but you can see the concentration in his face, his shoulders are relaxed, he stands like someone who stands all day, shifting his weight from one leg to the other , resting an arm on his hip
https://api.art.rmngp.fr/v1/images/17/211803?t=cziuTfdlJ0G4CxdKApn7VA
- Yeah, that's the posture I need to have. It's a bit hard to achieve because I'm physically disabled (which I don't talk about much) and tire so quickly. I can still do some things but sitting up for long periods is hard and standing for too long could make me pass out.
  A lot of the time I'm lying on my side drawing digital on my phone which while more supported is pretty bad for my posture and wrist. But you know.
  Traditional is apparently better for learning though. At some point I may be able to get a recliner and a swing over desk or something
  Edit: Ahahaha... It looks like he's standing contrapposto
It’s just so hard to stick with. It’s discouraging and boring, and learning is hard work.
It's a great feeling to achieve a skill after hours of practice 😊

Anybody got a gripe? Wanna get anything off your chest? Confession perhaps? Let rip.

I'm sick of working more or less the same hours every week for over 2 years and yet I'm a casual.
On a deeper level, I'm pissed off that I didn't make more of my life due to low self esteem and confidence and a lack of self belief. Any bright spark of confidence and independence of spirit I displayed as a child was vigorously and abusively snuffed out by my parents, who wanted obedience and servitude from me. I was the dux of my school but I never believed I was good enough for anything worthwhile. I was a perpetual doormat in my early relationships, and more than occasionally a punching bag. Now I'm working as a casual in manufacturing, 50 years old, physically tired and working my arse off.
I'm pissed off that my mother's sons from her first marriage (who she blatantly loved more than me) contested her Will for a greater share of my childhood home (that they never lived in) so I didn't get to inherit that house, and that was probably my only shot at home ownership.
I'm pissed off that I was such a wimp for much of my life, too scared to take risks, too worried about failure.. and that in itself is a failure.
Wow! 🥫🪱🪱🪱. Sorry guys! Well, you did ask..
- Oh hey, I was dux and recently working in manufacturing.
- I did ask. I thought that after a certain amount of weeks (I think 26. Not sure) they have to offer you a permanent position?
I'm so tired of being stressed out and in constant pain. Not a fan of talking about it because it's such a bummer but every single day is a battle
- I don't blame you for being stressed out. I think most of us would. But we are here to listen. A bit like a free counselling service. And we care and wish you the very best.
Yes! Sweeping involves under furniture and behind doors. Not bloody good enough!
- Nah. Sweeping involves a vacuum and how far it can reach.
The opposite. I found the exact hedge clipper I was considering buying, in hard rubbish.
- Merry fucking Christmas.
This is waay more serious than hot take thurs.
- I don't mind hearing people's rants on here.
I don’t really gripe but thank you.
Not a gripe but I’m ashamed I’ve treated myself to way too much stuff in the last few days.
Also I snuck out from work early today to do shopping.
- Don't be ashamed. It is what it is. Enjoy yourself while you can. When you're older you're not going to go "Well shit I spent to much back in November 2023". Regret is useless.
If this letter from VicToads is another Fine I shall cancel Solstice
- Ooo open it.
getting the bacteria or virus or whatever it is off my upper respiratory tract 🦠
- When I'm sick I just get a scoop of Vicks and smear it on the shower floor and stand in there and hack everything up.
This week I have come to the realisation my MIL is a bad person. I don't say that lightly. She's not stupid/unaware, she's not good , she's not evil, she's over the edge of neutral and into bad.
- Mmm. I don't think she's a bad older person. I think she's always been bad. Probably always gotten her own way so she won't change. Stay true to you. You don't have to answer to anyone.
I want a 2nd cat so Gibson has a friend, but I don't have the time to spend to properly introduce them because I'm in office 5 days for the next couple of months.
A little ginger lad would really be great! We could pass the braincell back and forth lol
- Maybe in a little while when you get some time off you could adopt another cat. Ginger cats are the best.
That you don't create playlists of your Friday nights and share them with us......!
- Whoa I'm being personally attacked here 😂 I don't know how to share but I'll give it a go.
  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4MT4kuY7NRdJpz6VF49RKf?si=J_ZJuYLlRiqOcPzpPE74UQ&pi=a-WbFuq2GuQsGM

My Spotify wrapped was full of dead people - thanks to going on a deep Rodriguez and Sinead O'Connor retro this year (PSA Rodriguez Cold Fact is one of the great albums but I forgot it existed). Plus Beethoven is one of my headphone concentration go-tos ....

.. time to add the Pogues to that list I guess. RIP Shane McGowan. Impressed you made it to 65 old man.

meow

I've decided I won't be renewing my Costco membership when it expires at the end of the year. I'm just not coming here often enough and I don't need enough to justify it.

So I've gone out with a bang. Might be the most I've spent in one shop here without buying something big like a desk, air fryer or espresso machine.

Haven't been since Feb, membership expired in May. I don't think we'll be renewing either. We generally spend over 500 (family of 4) but over the past few years we're bringing home less and less.
I've taken this year off Costco membership. The biggest thing I've missed is the fuel. They're often the cheapest around by 10+ cents per liter. If I filled at Costco more frequently, I'd make up the cost of membership. But the only time I'm available to fill are the times when everyone else is also filling up, and I don't like sitting in line for 10-15 minutes to fill up.
I miss the BBQ chooks. I haven't really missed anything else inside. It just isn't that much cheaper than Colesworth/Aldi.

Today is Christmas tree day. I will attempt Fairfield Christmas tree “farm”. Never been so see how we go. I’m after a 7 footer 🦶

For anyone Bayside, Mordialloc Sea Scouts are selling trees, prices start from $80 for a 6-footer
Let me know how it goes. First I’m hearing of this magical place!
- Will do. Im fairly new to this part of Melbourne and got a tree from the scouts in Ivanhoe last year and that was a bit too hectic.
Back in the days when I was a classroom teacher, one of my students gave me a music box Christmas tree that’s about 30cm high. We just use that every year. Super easy!

It's beer o'clock. Cheers hooligans 🍺

Today's list will be a selection of Australia's finest 80s music made by me. 2 and a half hours of.

Pinch and a punch, my peeps…

Man, time is just… Where does it go?

Holy shit its December!?
- I only care about the first of each month to celebrate the meagre interest accrued in my savings account... got $300 for November, yay...

I didn’t get much done yesterday but it was probably good to have just taken it easy.

Chilling on the internet and suddenly it goes out because TPG is having issues. It’s back now but it reminds me of how much I rely on the internet

I read somewhere they were having DNS issues so changed to 1.1.1.1
I don’t understand these things but I think it worked.
- Mine has restored now

Bought some new Merino wool socks, they're a little thicker than I'd like, but they are very very comfy! The brand had some other styles that looked thinner, so I might give those a go. Also very very happy that they are 100% Australia-made and manufactured.

Ah Merino, so comfortable, yet so tasty to those f-ing moths. I've lost so much clothing recently, daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
- Natural mothballs, it's where it's at!
I got some of these once, washed them in hot water and they shrank to palm size and were unwearable. They were expensive too. Check the label for washing instructions and if none, wash these in cold water!
- As someone who tries to only wear natural fibres, I have made this mistake an embarrassing amount of times.
do they have pretty pictures 🤭

Wildlife Update: I count 20 bats flying south .🦇🦇

one batty-bat, two batty-bats…ah ha ha
- Peanut butter sandwiches!

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

Woke up with a sore throat. Haven't had one for years. So something soothing? And coffee.
- Got a sore throat since yesterday too. Don’t know where I caught it. I’ve barely been outside. 🍋🫚🍯☕️
Dear chef, I have woken up with the insatiable urge to yodel the "chorus", aka indigenous Taiwanese folk song stolen without credit due to the colonial belief that such things are in the public domain, from Return to Innocence by Enigma.
Could you please provide something to accompany this that is not a ☄️
- Having stepped foot on Taiwan, and so have my parents, I believe I am qualified to serve you a cup of dong ding tea, where dong ding is of the language of the coloniser. 🍵
A bowl of fruit salad please, and an iced mocha.
- 🍒🍓🥭🫐🥣 🧊🍫🥛☕️
I'll have the same as what the next person orders, only a bit fancier, and add avocado
- 🍒🍓🥭🫐🥑🥣✨ 🧊🍫🥛☕️✨

To people with air purifiers, can anyone point me to a definition of the L1 L2 L3 L4 scale for the VOC gas detection....? Eg. L1 = 0-7, L2 = 8-12

Is it not something specific to the manufacturer of your air purifier? Mine just has different coloured lights.
Fwiw when I was researching consumer grade air purifiers the consensus was that the VOC monitors on them are usually cheap and not that great, rather than use auto detect settings just put it on mid level and use a proper VOC detector to determine whether it's all good. Or something...

Myth: Receiving a package is always exciting!

Hey dog poop bags are SUPER exciting if you suddenly need one, you think your out but discover one last one stashed in your pocket or something.

Soo it's fuckoff friday..

I just set up a spensive samsung air purifier and connected to it with a phone, through the air.. which if you think about it is either genius or really fucking pointless.

I also am not inhaling formaldehyde which is something that is good.. or benzene which I presume is good too.

Changing your sleep cycle fucking sucks. Felt like an absolute Zombie all day. Hope it ends soon.

It would be interesting to hear some takes on this.

I have a car that is going to be 20 years old next year. No longer a teenager. In July, the battery died. My mum's hypothesis was that vacuuming the car and having the doors open for an extended period was what caused it, because we had changed the battery only a year prior.

A couple of weeks ago, I vacuumed the car. Then I didn't drive it for a few days. It wouldn't start. Dad says something about "phantom amps" and suggests that the Bluetooth FM transmitter plugged into the cigarette lighter could be causing it. Car has been jump-started and battery will hopefully be okay.

Both parents say it's an old car that's never been amazing with batteries. Or we've just had a run with shit batteries.

I'm just perplexed.

Possibly a battery problem, or it could be an issue with the alternator not charging it properly. Worth getting them both checked.
You don't want to be like me and have the alternator completely die suddenly while you are driving home from work and end up stranded on the side of the road for hours on a stupidly hot and humid day in the middle of a thunderstorm, on a Friday evening so that nothing can be fixed until the next week and you have to wait hours longer for a tow truck.
You've just got a shit battery. They only last about 3 years.
The alternator could be failing. You could get an auto elec to check it. Or consider one of the solar trickle chargers that go in the window to keep it topped up.
Take it for a good run. 100kmh for at least a half an hour. Short trips will kill a battery quickly.
this kind of trickle charger: https://www.amazon.com.au/POWERTECH-Trickle-Rechargeable-Windshield-Supplied/dp/B07GLW62HB/ref=sr_1_8?crid=11VRJ7FGQLC35&keywords=solar+trickle+charger+for+car+battery&qid=1701475983&sprefix=car+trickle+%2Caps%2C288&sr=8-8 not specifically this one, maybe this one, just an example.

i'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to alcohol so i often find myself standing at bars unsure what to say... when im with friends its usually something like vodka/gin w lemonade but i can't order that when im in an office gathering. what do you order at these 'socials'? prosecco?

If you want to make your order quick you just ask for a house wine then they will ask white or red? If you don't feel like alcohol ask for a lemon, lime and bitters.
- Thank you CEO. What are other popular and easy to remember drinks (not hard liqueur I guess)?

I have a gripe. The dirty fucking bats that have taken up pole position in next door's fruit trees. Squawk squawk squawk.

And poop poop poop. And the poop stinks.
- I'm gonna buy a nerf gun.
- But potentially valuable for those seeking employment as a Geisha? I'm really reaching for a silver lining here

Shopping has been done. A jigsaw puzzle of the moon, a book on the artist Goya ( n/k my fave portrait and political painter, his paintings haunt me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Goya ) a dark blue lacy top and from aldi a big box of spring rolls

Running down the work clock and eyeing my PlayStation right now. Wanting to knock off one more spreadsheet and my conscience is relatively clear for the weekend.

It's me boy, i'm the ps5, speaking to you inside your brain. Listen to me, boy. Leave the work, we don't need it!
- I listened to you earlier, apologies for not replying sooner.
What are you gonna play?
- Replaying Jedi survivor trying to get the platinum achievements

Todays' RAVE CHOON:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWBpTqqe4Sw

I'm also seeking gyoza addiction therapy. I don't care what's in them they're all really good and it's becoming a problemo.

Furiosa: A Mad Max saga trailer is out. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the young Furiosa and Chris Hemsworth as…some new character I dunno.

My hot take is this. Mad Max : Fury Road is the greatest action movie in the history of cinema.

So I will most likely go see this latest one in 2024.

greatest action movie in the history of cinema
I never understood the hype about that... I mean, it looked great, and the story and action were good, but I still thought it was just a regular modern action movie....
Will still go see this though.. Hopefully at the IMAX
- IMAX. Yessss.