@damienhurrell@union.place
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

damienhurrell

@damienhurrell@union.place

Living and working on Dja Dja Wurrung country. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Vic Branch) activist. Steam locomotive enthusiast. Chorister. And lots more.

Unless specifically stated, I represent no-one but myself. Boost or Favorite does not necessarily indicate endorsement.

I'm experimenting with boosting my own content to broaden its visibility.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

damienhurrell, to Trains
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

Was fantastic to see an old friend turning a wheel again today after an 18 month overhaul

A black steam locomotive leads its train past a signal and down an grade

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Without looking it up, tell me anything you know about Lithuania or Lithuanians.

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@wilpercy @tezoatlipoca @RickiTarr Marko Ramius is the fictional captain of the nuclear missile submarine Red October, created for the book The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy, and brought to the screen by Sean Connery in the film of the same name.

damienhurrell, to random
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

How many times can a large, highly profitable apologise for the delay in answering a call before they lose all credibility?

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

I gave up at 46 minutes 28 seconds, with my issue unresolved. By my reckoning that means that they apologised for leaving me hanging about seventy times. Credibility absolutely shot.

Here's a thought, : employ more people. You'll need to apologise less, have more credibility when you do, and customers won't complain about you as much on social media.

timrichards, to random
@timrichards@aus.social avatar

I'll tell you one of the best things about Mastodon - you don't wake up to deal with another round of comments on a mildly contentious post you wrote a day ago, because the algorithm has shown it to a bunch of new people overnight. I used to hate that effect at Twitter.

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@timrichards @sister_ratched the android app defaulted to the algorithm feed, and even if I set it to the chronological feed, it persistently reset itself to the algorithm. One of the reasons I'm not even lurking over there any more.

timrichards, (edited ) to random
@timrichards@aus.social avatar

This is appalling. Such surcharges should be banned, otherwise they'll just proliferate. I imagine this surcharge isn't very prominent on the menu.

Victorian restaurant adds 10 per cent 'peak season' dining surcharge to cover staff costs https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-04/geelong-restaurant-adds-10-per-cent-peak-season-surcharge/103274900

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@timrichards possibly controversial opinion, but if I'm asking hospo to give up their public holidays and summer to serve me, then I don't think it's unreasonable for me to pay a bit more so that they are properly compensated.

I do think that the surcharge is the wrong way to do it though: there should be a different menu for different days. If the price of a steak is $40 on the normal menu, list it as $44 on a summer menu.

And make sure your staff are paid what they are due.

damienhurrell, to random
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

I detest the sort of modern thought-control being exercised by the ICC. Employers pay people for the work they do, they don't purchase a person lock, stock and barrel. Yet the practice of modern management seeks to do just that, suppressing self-expression, political thought and even expert contributions to public discourse by workers (and make no mistake, Usman is a worker) 24 hours a day, every single day. 1/2

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/everything-you-need-to-know-about-usman-khawajas-protest-for-gaza/sni15xpxf

damienhurrell, to random
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

Breaking News! uses report from the they fund to make outrageous claims about a technology that threatens their profits. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/22/gina-rinehart-says-renewable-energy-could-use-one-third-of-australias-prime-agricultural-land-is-she-right

damienhurrell, to Nurses
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

My - the union that represents 100,000 and in has just made a statement calling for an end to violence in the Middle East, and encouraging members to donate through the union-run international aid organisation

https://otr.anmfvic.asn.au/articles/anmf-statement-anmf-calls-for-ceasefire-and-leadership-towards-peace/

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Do you think voting should be mandatory?

BE NICE!

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@RickiTarr works best when everyone participates. Therefore I think voting rights SHOULD be universally taken up whatever the rules. Since that doesn't happen (especially in jurisdictions where the people in power see advantage in suppressing voting), it is reasonable to have laws that require all people to participate.

That forces politicians and parties to campaign and govern with an eye to the entire electorate, not just the section that votes. Which is a good outcome.

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@gocu54 @RickiTarr Should clarify, Australian-style compulsory voting is actually a requirement to attend a polling place and have your presence recorded. What you do next is a complete choice: and many do choose to return a blank or defaced ballot.

Requiring people to wander in to their local primary school or church hall a few times a decade is far less burdensome than many other things we require citizens to do.

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@melissabeartrix @gocu54 @RickiTarr section 245 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act sets the fine for not attending a voting place, and it's still $20.

http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/cea1918233/s245.html

I haven't checked all the states, but for not attending a voting place in Victoria, it's currently $92 according to the VEC

https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/voting/fines-and-reviews

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@gocu54 @RickiTarr Our leaders are part of, and accountable to, our parliaments. The "usual" way that leaders lose their jobs is that their party loses their majority at an election: those are held every three years for the Federal Parliament and every four years in most of the States. There are no term limits.

But it's become increasingly common in recent decades for government parties to vote out their leaders without an election: four of the last six Prime Ministers lost their jobs that way

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@gocu54 @RickiTarr I'm really quite puzzled by term limits. Why should a talented, popular, successful President/Governor be barred from standing and holding office for as long as they have the support of the people?

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@gocu54 @RickiTarr as I understand it, the two presidential terms thing was a convention that arose because George Washington thought two terms were enough for anyone, and when FDR broke the convention, it was codified. But that doesn't answer why.

Perhaps it comes back to the voluntary voting question: if a charismatic or unscrupulous leader can hold the votes of one portion of the electorate and suppress the others, then you need a mechanism to prevent them becoming a dictator for life.

DJDarren, to random
@DJDarren@mendeddrum.org avatar

Message from my Work Husband this morning, asking if I could call him. So I did.

Turns out he got hit by a car yesterday.

He's ok, just shaken up, bruised and sore. He smashed the windscreen as he rolled up the bonnet.

The driver was carted off to the cop shop after failing a breathalyser test.

But the best part is that he was recording a WhatsApp message to a friend when it happened. You can hear the pedestrian crossing beeping to say he can cross, then you can hear the car hit him.

Mad.

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@DJDarren that's awful. In Australia, the National Employment Standards - fought for and won by - provide full time workers 10 days (pro-rata for part time) paid personal leave (for personal injury/illness or caring responsibilities) which accrues if unused.

The situation your friend is in reminds me how important those standards are.

I hope something can be sorted out so he can recover at home.

damienhurrell, to Bloomscrolling
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

Blechnifolia

From the ANSPA website:
Banksia blechnifolia is a nonlignotuberous prostrate plant with branchlets lying on the ground and erect leaves rising 25-45cm in length and 4-10cm wide with deep lobes. Flowering is generally in spring but may occur in late winter, blooms occurring at ground level on long lateral branches. The cylindrical spikes are up to 16 cm high, 7-8 cm wide and pale woolly orange in colour.

Detail image of the Banksia Blechnifolia flowers, showing the yellow, thread like, knob-ended stigmas (not a botanist but I think that's right) projecting from the pink and fluffy flowers.
A close up of the Banksia Blechnifolia inflorescence, showing the thread like stigmas (I think: I'm not a botanist!) emerging from the woolly flowers

vsp, to random
@vsp@mastodon.world avatar

At this stage, it might be best to split that conference into two different and distinct parties.

Even if they elect a unity speaker (a tough battle) from the Republican bench, there isn't enough Republican-only votes for Israel aid / Gaza aid, budget (or continuing resolution) nor a package for Ukraine.

Coalition government is the only way out at this stage, and that's anathema to the entirety of that caucus.

My thoughts? If this happened in Canada, the confidence of the House is lost...

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@vsp the loss of confidence of the house doesn't ALWAYS lead to an election. If someone else can secure confidence, then they are commissioned to form government.

I think that's what's needed: someone to unite enough , , and from both parties in a unity coalition, in what's usually called in a arrangement: that is, members agree to support the leadership and keep the government open, but votes on bills are not bound.

damienhurrell, to Victoria
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

I'm a from , . We won way back in 2000 (and have fought to keep them several times since).

Ratios work: they reduce hospital and , they attract qualified nurses back into the system, and they reduce the moral harm that we suffer when wards are understaffed.

I stand in with the in : your victory will be a victory for the whole community.

https://labornotes.org/2023/10/new-jersey-nurses-two-months-strike-safe-staffing#comment-form

damienhurrell, to random
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

Look who lives in our garden: a shingleback ! (aka a bobtail or stumpy or sleepy lizard/skink)

A close up of a lizard showing its multicoloured scales (dark brown, light brown and off-white), triangular head, and dark eye.

damienhurrell, to Bloomscrolling
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

I've heard a lot about them but today I actually saw a in our garden: probably Amegilla cingulata. Feeding on Carpobrotus glaucescens, the native pigface.

A (poorly focussed) image of a blue banded bee feeding on the flower of a grevillea
A blue banded bee feeding in the flower of the Australian native pigface.

damienhurrell, to Flowers
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

Not the best conditions for photographing today (a bit breezy) but still got some shots of these pansies. I've always liked these flowers, especially the ones with dark velvety petals.

Multicoloured pansy flower, with top two petals reddish, two petals to the sides yellow with dark line markings near the throat, and the petal at the bottom yellow, marked with fine lines and a triangular patch all of which point towards the middle of the flower.
Pansy plants growing in a half barrel, showing the variety of colours these plants exhibit.

damienhurrell, to australia
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

I've just heard from a speaker from at the conference, and something struck me.

There's a lot of people saying a lot of things about the Voice and the Statement from the Heart. Today, I'm just going to use my voice, such as it is, to humbly ask that you read the statement and hear the voice of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters.

This is why you are being asked to support Voice. All else is noise.
https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/view-the-statement/

damienhurrell, to australia
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

Caledonia carnea, a terrestrial orchid native to south-eastern commonly known as Pink Fingers, have just started flowering near

Close up from above of the C. Calea flower, showing more clearly the four horizontal petals, and the interior of the labellum.

foone, to random
@foone@digipres.club avatar

As a retrotech nerd I don't dislike cheap powerful microcontrollers, ubiquitous internet connectivity, LEDs, and LCDs/OLEDs, I just dislike how many problems they solve.

damienhurrell,
@damienhurrell@union.place avatar

@foone the maturation of a technology always creates convergence and increased reliability, to the benefit of the majority.

But to the explorers, the tinkerers, the people whose joy it is to find out the why and the how, we stand beside Alexander and weep, because there is nothing more to conquer.

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