tau @ Tau @aussie.zone

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27

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91

Joined

2 yr. ago

You're certainly right that the way I did it in school felt rather performative and didn't leave me with positive impressions of the books I had not read previously. I'm not going to say there's no purpose in trying to understand the meanings/symbolism in a work but it's not going to make a good impression on someone if that's their first introduction to the book - or worse their introduction to reading books in general.

I've no substantiation for these guesses but one thing that comes to mind is that boys were more likely to get into computers in the early eras of tech and that time sink could lead to them being less likely to build the habit of reading. TV is another possibility, Gen X was the first to grow up with TVs being widespread and boys probably spent more time on that.

That's a pretty concerning trend IMO, particularly when the article mentions 44% of Australians have issues with literacy.

If nothing else it makes for a good example of why one should be wary of laws aimed at hate speech. You can't rely on any ambiguity within them being interpreted with common sense, particularly if you've annoyed someone in a position of power.

I like the callout to On the Beach, fits well with a post apocalyptic Australian game (it's a good book, albeit not one you want to read if you're already feeling down).

It's not a fee for the beaches per se but the fee for entering the national park which covers the territory (though it is in effect paying to see beaches as that's the main reason to visit).

There’s also basically no reason to ever go there unless you’re in or supporting the military bases located there.

It does have some rather pretty beaches, best to plan on checking out all that's there to make it feel worthwhile though as they sting you $20 to see them.

Good to see some progress there, it's not going to make a huge difference at this stage but if it helps progress a more ethical meat option it will be useful in the long run.

Although I can’t imagine an Internal Combusion Engine sub being at all stealthy

Diesel electrics can be very stealthy, with the potential to be even more so than nuclear subs when trying to hide (given equivalent level of technology elsewhere in the design). What they can't do is continue being stealthy for anywhere near the time a nuclear sub can as eventually you need to come near the surface and run the diesel to recharge the batteries. Diesel electrics are also comparatively range limited - while they can travel a considerable distance nuclear subs are effectively only limited by their ability to supply the crew.

I'm going to say somewhere near this location looking towards the Gold Coast. Haven't spent time in that region so can't confirm but I'm liking my odds based on the skyline, terrain and view angle.

Regardless of the journalism it seems to be a pretty disproportionate outcome.

If it were just him stealing then getting immediately tackled I'd be more sympathetic, but considering he was assaulting people before even entering the shop I'd put decent odds on the guard not being the one to start the fight. He still shouldn't have died over it but if you're going to get into fights the chance of something going wrong is non-zero.

If it was a white kid in the ghetto the outcome would and is different. Look at the deaths in custody.

Indeed, the white kid would be more likely to die in custody if taken into it. Whether he'd be arrested in the first place is another matter but I think it's a pretty good bet that if this same situation occurred with someone of any ethnicity they'd be ending up on the ground.

Pretty sure that's an embellishment, but I can't say I ever dived into that particular rabbit hole.

People are not “placed” on the floor – that is what you do with bags, boxes and rubbish. But that was the word used by the Northern Territory police to describe the sequence of events to the media.

Because they're trying to put a neutral spin on them tackling the guy, it's no surprise.

It's like the spin they themselves have in this article with this quote:

I try to imagine a similar scene at my local Coles, where many people who have not been winners in life’s lottery also shop for little items to keep hunger at bay, but no image comes to mind.

Implying the guy was in there just shopping for little items is an interesting way to cover walking into a shop after assaulting a woman, stealing things, and getting into a fight with security when confronted. The Eulogy Song is definitely still relevant...

Agreed. Not indexing it seems a pretty deliberate move towards the same strategy as our tax brackets - capture more money each year due to inflation and occasionally make your government look good by raising the cutoff (by less than inflation).

It seems odd that they're talking about phonics being a recent thing. At the risk of dating myself I remember a phonics based system being used when I was in primary school in the late 90s, though I couldn't tell you much more since that's a while ago now and I generally spent my time in those lessons reading rather than paying attention anyway. Did it drop out of use in the meantime or something?

Parks does often give the impression that they'd rather the plebs didn't actually go into their parks, but I think them booking ghost camps might be a step too far given they could just reduce the nominal capacity further to get the same effect.

I would bet the vast majority of the problem is your second option of people booking out campgrounds to avoid others (with a side helping of those who aren't sure which day they want to go out so they book all options). Looking at who has a record of cancelling bookings would probably allow one to cut out a lot of this as I suspect you'd find a bunch of repeat offenders.

Closer to cities where demand is higher, the campsites are more desirable and therefore the ghost booking issue is worse. A higher fee discourages that. On the downside, you pay more for convenience of not having to drive far.

The tier system described appears to be more based on available facilities though rather than visitor numbers, while it does mention demand in passing this isn't quantified and the tier table shown works off facilities/servicing.

I would agree there does tend to be correlation between high demand campgrounds and highly serviced ones so you do have a point with high prices for higher tiers being necessary to some extent. I do think though that applying a state wide pricing system will end up with noticeably higher prices in a lot of places not near the major centres (or the major attractions).

The removal of fees and bookings for the unserviced and largely unmanaged tier of campgrounds is a welcome change, I did not like it when they introduced these.

Not getting 100% of the booking charge back sounds like it should cut down on people booking when they don't actually mean to turn up, so I'd say that's reasonable.

I have reservations about how expensive the higher tier charges are though, even the mid tiers are getting pricey for what's supposed to be a cheap activity.

When it comes to preferences they go to the parties/candidates in the order that you number them. Others can suggest where you send your preferences (how to vote cards being the typical method) but ultimately it's up to you.

For the house of reps if a third party doesn't win the seat you will ultimately end up voting for Labour or Liberals, because you have to number all the boxes. You'll have to decide which you like more (or least) and number accordingly. In the senate you can potentially exhaust your vote before reaching the majors (assuming you reach the minimum numbering before getting to them) but unless you truly believe both majors are the same I'd advise including them.

If you vote above the line in the senate your preferences follow party lines as you have numbered them (i.e. preferences will count towards the candidates for the first party you number, then the second and so forth). You still control what parties you're voting for and what order.

It was always a shame watching the old timber bridges get replaced with the comparatively soulless concrete designs, nice to see that some are escaping that treatment.