@ajsadauskas@aus.social
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

ajsadauskas

@ajsadauskas@aus.social

Australian urban planning, public transport, politics, retrocomputing, and tech nerd. Recovering journo. Cat parent. Part-time miserable grump.

Cities for people, not cars! Tech for people, not investors!

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ajsadauskas,
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@imoldgreeeg @Duenan If it's any consolation, I was quite literally going to post the exact same thing.

I got home last night and my voice was a little hoarse. Woke up this morning with a slightly sore throat and a runny nose.

So I pulled out a rat test, and thankfully it was negative for COVID.

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Duenan Wifey had COVID a few weeks ago. She's just recovered her sense of smell and taste now. So my concern was (despite all our best efforts) I may have caught it.

Really hope that's not the case.

I just had a nice big bowl.of soup with lots of chilli.

Anyway, I hope you get well soon 💜

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@melbaboutown @dumblederp Yeah, it's not just you.

And it's deliberate.

This article by Ed Ziltron has a really good rundown of what happened inside Google: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-men-who-killed-google/

Basically, in February 2019, there was a some corporate politicking going on within Google.

The search/tech experts (some who had been there from the start) wanted to improve search results.

The finance guys wanted to deliberately make search results worse so people would search more often and there would be more money from ads.

The finance guys won.

They replaced the head of the search team (who had been there from the very start) with the guy who had been in charge of the search engine at Yahoo at the time Yahoo stopped having its own search engine.

maegul, (edited ) to mastodon
@maegul@hachyderm.io avatar

Reflecting on the firefish/calckey "moment"

which was about a year ago now, I can't help but suspect it was a small event with wider implications on the dominance of in the

I think it was the last chance to direct the twitter migration energy into discovering new/different fedi platforms.

And it was blown, with alt-social in a weird steady/waiting state that's smaller I suspect, than what many hoped for.

@fediverse

cntd: https://hachyderm.io/@maegul/112358202238795371

1/

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@maegul For those who weren't involved, what was Firefish and what happened to it?

DJDarren, to random
@DJDarren@mendeddrum.org avatar

It’s just been pointed out to me that the reason Apple runs a trade-in programme for older devices is so they can reduce the size of the used market, and has fuck all to do with recycling.

That’s blown my tiny mind.

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@DJDarren The Verge did a documentary on this a while ago. I guarantee you will be very angry by the end of it.

Basically, back in the 1980s, there was a company called Sun Remarketing that built a business buying unsold Apple computers, refurbishing then, and supporting them.

They even went so far as to create new operating systems and upgrades for them.

Lots of people couldn't afford the latest Mac, but we're happy to buy last year's model.

Using a range of underhanded legal tactics, Apple deliberately put them out of business, resulting in thousands of working computers being deliberately dumped in a landfill.

The reason was simple: It was more profitable for Apple to dump unsold computers in a landfill and force everyone to pay full price for the latest machines.

Planned obsolescence is very much Apple's business model.

https://youtu.be/rZjbNWgsDt8?si=63sB-mT58DERKA8y

ajsadauskas,
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@maniacalmanicmania The Swannies were just too experienced, too strong for Hawthorn.

ajsadauskas,
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@CEOofmyhouse56 @Seagoon_ How many chillies did you use?

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Seagoon_ Sounds like the right amount 😋

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Seagoon_ They look so delicious 😋

I love chilli.

Growing up, every time I cooked, I'd promise mum that whatever I was making was "not that spicy".

She eventually learnt that my idea of not too spicy and hers were two very, very different things.

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Pilk @wscholermann Also, if you've got checked baggage and you're flying to Tullamarine, I suggest you bring a good book.

Because you'll be waiting... And waiting... And waiting...

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@LovesTha @Seagoon_ They look like habaneros based on the photo? But I could be wrong (and probably am).

ajsadauskas,
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@SituationCake @Seagoon_ They also have another camera pointing at where your basket is.

It's "smart" enough to notice if you place something from another shop in your basket, or if you put a bag from another shop in the bagging area.

But.

It's not smart enough to realise that Chemist Warehouse bag probably isn't something you got from Woolies.

So when you go to pay, it will show an error message, and call over an attendant.

And the attendant will take one look at it and go, yeah, that's not from here.

It wastes your time, and the attendant's time.

ajsadauskas,
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@LovesTha @Seagoon_ I just looked it up. Hotter than jalapeno, less hot than habanero. Same range as Thai chillis.

ajsadauskas,
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@ppossej @SituationCake @Seagoon_ Assuming malicious intent is the worst part. They make you feel like a shoplifter every time you enter the store!

They're the ones who took over almost all the independent supermarkets and chains. (Remember Safeway? BiLo? Franklin's No Frills? Jewel? Tuckerbag? Festival? Rainbow? SSW?)

They're the ones who jacked up prices during a cost of living crisis and made billions.

They're the ones who ripped out humans at the checkout and replaced them with self-checkouts.

They're the ones that replaced most of the brand-name products with their home brands.

They're the ones that decided to clog up their aisles by doing night full during the day to save costs.

And then they assume we're the ones with a malicious intent!

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@fullkitwanker @Seagoon_ I got one of these the last time I travelled: https://www.cashpassport.com.au/

As long as your card is a Visa or MasterCard, it should work over there in most cases. However, I would check the fees before using it overseas.

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

So they reckon that both Sydney and Melbourne have the same climate (?!), and that climate is just like England (?!?!).

No.

Just no.

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@calhoon2005 @CEOofmyhouse56 I bleached my hair in high school once. It turned out okay, but was a real pain to do.

How'd yours turn out?

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Duenan @Seagoon_ @melbourne Did you go with home made? Local pizza shop? Or Domino's?

ajsadauskas,
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@Seagoon_ @CEOofmyhouse56 @melbourne Did you end up finding one? If so, let's see 😊

And if you're still deciding, any colours you like? What colour boots? Any styles you like?

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Seagoon_ @melbourne Ugh. It's Monday tomorrow. Why do weekends have to be so short? 😔

There's a huge workload to get through, and I'm stressing about it already.

On the upside, I'm taking Thursday and Friday off.

And there's a concert that wifey and I are going to on Tuesday night 😊

I gave her the tickets for Valentine's Day. I haven't been to a concert since the pandemic.

Also, I have a song by HER stuck in my head: https://youtu.be/_iKxR-daLCo?si=X7mcQHhCZHoN2UWn

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Seagoon_ @melbourne Home made pizzas are the best 😋

Last time I made them, I stopped by Kmart to get a couple of pizza trays.

The only issue I've had is I've gone for a store-bought base, and I haven't found a good one. Which is a challenge, because wifey is a bit of a fussy eater.

(Also, wifey puts too many toppings on hers and they end up going everywhere!)

But so much tastier and fresher than you get from a pizza shop.

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Seagoon_ @RustyRaven @melbourne Here's something from the early '90s that shows just how much things have changed over the past 30-odd years.

Here's a clip of the prime minister at the time, Paul Keating, debating tax policies with the opposition leader, John Hewson.

As in, going right into details. Hewson wanted to bring in a GST, Keating opposed it.

And they debated on national TV.

On A Current Affair.

As in, the TV show with all the dodgy tradies used to cover important national issues, like how the tax system should work.

https://youtu.be/KtkixGuCwaY?si=ymA-JUZ8PifDOaFG

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

@Duenan @melbourne More cheese, or just don't overstack the thing so it has like a 5-10cm tall pile of toppings in the middle 😂

Also, better quality bases might help? I just got some Lebanese pita bread from Coles last time.

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

Eeep!

I've been posting from Mastodon to Aussie Zone, rather than directly on the site, which is why the extra @ are there. (Hopefully it still all works without them!)

ajsadauskas,
@ajsadauskas@aus.social avatar

Aaaaargh! 😱

I hope you're okay?

Many years ago, I lived in Ferntree Gully.

Beautiful suburb, lots of birds and other wildlife. Very peaceful.

But one night, I was fast asleep, when I was awakened by a rustling and scratching sound in the wardrobe.

I turned the light on, opened the wardrobe door.

AND OUT RUNS A MOUSE!!!

I jumped up on the bed and SCREAMED!

The mouse ran straight out the door as fast as it could.

I'm not sure who was more frightened — me or the mouse!

Anyway, next day I went to Bunnings and got a caulking gun and sealed up the spot where I think it got in.

Big cleanup in the kitchen and the back yard too.

That was the last I saw of it.

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