@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

perkinsy

@perkinsy@aus.social

Writer (technical writing, blogging at stumblingpast.com), digital history, owner of #OfficeKitty (see profile pic). Enjoys gardening in #Melbourne #Australia

Interests:#OzHist #DigitalHumanities #documentation #WriteTheDocs #GardeningAU #Environment and watching a bit of cricket on TV.

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perkinsy, to technology
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

"You're not technical enough" is often said to women. In the Tech Leading Ladies blog, Michelle Gleeson unpacks the reasons for this and suggests how to push back on it.

https://techleadingladies.com/2024/05/21/not-technical-enough/

perkinsy, to random
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

Seen on the way to work: someone had deliberately tipped over full bins of rubbish (including food) all over the footpath.

If you are mad at the world, don't tip over full rubbish bins and make it worse for everyone.

perkinsy, to environment
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

"The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea rules carbon dioxide is an ocean pollutant"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-22/un-maritime-court-rules-carbon-dioxide-is-a-sea-pollutant/103876578

perkinsy, to environment
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

If you live in bush areas of eastern or south-eastern Australia you may want to get involved in a citizen science koala spotting project:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-05-22/citizen-science-national-koala-monitoring-program-conservation/103814822

mativity, to random
@mativity@aus.social avatar

ABC Classic presenters really selling their souls these days. Russell Torrance just compared Taylor Swift to Beethoven.

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@mativity !!!

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@mativity If one accepts this as fantasy, not historical fiction then I suppose go for it. Not my cup of tea. Comparing Beethoven to Taylor Swift has me scratching my head.

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@mativity Switch off now! Play records or CDs you own. Make your own music. Go to your nearest live music venue.

Anything but that!

arstechnica, to random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

Microsoft’s new “Recall” feature will record everything you do on your PC

Recall uses Copilot+ PC features "to take images of your active screen every few seconds."

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/microsofts-new-recall-feature-will-record-everything-you-do-on-your-pc/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@arstechnica Yuck! Yet another reason to avoid Microsoft products

perkinsy, to melbourne
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

Someone has stolen the salvia that was thriving in our street garden and covered in flowers for months. It has been carefully dug out.

One of our neighbours has given up on a nice front garden because of people stealing his plants. This is why I stick to nasturtiums and geraniums - free and easy to grow from cuttings or seeds. No-one wants to steal them.

#fuming

#Melbourne #GardeningAU

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@aeduna I agree that it is almost certainly locals. I have someone working in the business opposite who has self-appointed himself as a plant guard (and caught a thief in the act). I reckon this must have happened overnight.

Yes, security cameras may be worth it with a notice asking people to smile for the camera.

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@aeduna ooh, that is an idea. Thanks for suggesting it!

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@weezmgk I am thinking of a 'smile for the camera' with a smiley face sign. I want to make the point but do it in the spirit in which the garden was planted - to bring joy to people. It might be too subtle but I will try it and see.

I will replace the plant with another geranium. They don't seem to steal them.

perkinsy, to TechnicalWriting
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

Come to the #TechnicalWriting meetup I am running in #Melbourne this Thursday and learn about Lego Docs! Lego Docs is an activity I invented that you can run with developers/engineers to help them develop their technical writing skills. It is fun and helps participants identify crucial elements in a well-written document.

Details and sign up here: https://meetu.ps/e/MVp4p/qhmHC/i

perkinsy, to melbourne
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

I zipped in the winter inner to my raincoat this morning. Winter is nigh!

perkinsy, to random
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@Philipnschofield absolutely! My legs are sad when the cat decides she is over-heated and jumps off.

perkinsy, to melbourne
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

'Ditch the lawn' movement in southern Australia shows the benefits of removing the traditional patch of grass in front of homes and planting things that will attract birds etc.

My mother ripped up her front lawn in 1987 and again in her new place in 1993. At the time I thought it was strange but the results in both gardens convinced me that this was a great idea.

If we needed a place for our children to play we walked to a park

#GardeningAU #Melbourne

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-19/turf-lawn-grass-rewilding-biodiversity-native-gardens/103845840

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@mativity We have low rainfall here so grass left like that would probably be dead over summer. My mother ripped hers up and covered the space with pine bark. Then she planted things and created a path using pavers.

The beauty of this is she can change where paths go and easily dig new plants in. I haven't got a photo from the last garden redesign a few months ago which involved rebuilding a path.

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@mativity Irrigation from water tanks would certainly help. I am very interested to hear how your garden fares.

Rachelburch, to gardening
@Rachelburch@mastodon.social avatar

I moved into my social housing flat 5 years ago this week. My garden has gone from this to this ! Also I was finally allows and nhs wheelchair, (can only have one of you live in an accessible property ). My gardens my sanctuary from my illness, pain, extreme exhaustion.. 💚 #gardening

A wheelchair under a shelter with an array of plated pots and shrubs.

perkinsy,
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

@Rachelburch Thank you very much for sharing this transformation. Just yesterday I was asking for ideas of how to transform our small backyard of artificial turf covering concrete. Your photos are helpful

perkinsy, to melbourne
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

I am looking forward to running a meetup in next Thursday for technical writers and anyone involved in IT work. In it I will explore some fun activities that you can run with teams of engineers to help them improve their writing skills.

There's lego and games involved.

There is still space for you to come. We also would like to hear your ideas and experience in running activities to help people improve their writing skills.

Meetup details via Write the Docs Australia: https://meetu.ps/e/MVp4p/qhmHC/i

perkinsy, to random
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

A wonderful story about how an ex-footballer bought a pub to help artists bring the arts to a small Victorian town:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-18/country-publican-offers-free-room-and-board-to-artists/103609890

perkinsy, to melbourne
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

Artificial turf is really bad for the environment and can heat up to 80 or 90 degrees on a sunny day adding to the heat of the house.

When we bought our house it had a backyard with artificial turf covering a large concrete pad. What can we do to cover the concrete with something better?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-05/environmental-impacts-of-artificial-turf/102554018

perkinsy, to melbourne
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

#melbourne Beach Road is chockers with Melbournians flocking to the bay hoping to catch some #aurora action tonight. Nothing to see at the moment except for creeping fog from the south.

perkinsy, (edited ) to worms
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

Managed to do a fair bit of gardening today despite battling the start of a migraine (eventually thwarted by caffeine and rest in the afternoon). I repotted a blueberry plant that was in a way too small pot. I also repotted my $5 tubestock camellia I purchased recently.

My big success was finishing sieving my worms from their worm poo and therefore being able to retire one tray of my worm farm. It has taken me many hours over a few weekends to accomplish this because it is the first time I have done it and I didn't know what I was doing. Eventually with advice from @treevan and @earthmothering9 I got it and this morning I was much more efficient. This is what social media is so good for - sharing skills and experience as well as encouraging others.

So I cleaned up a worm tray and felt good!
<- newly learned word for me :-)

perkinsy, (edited )
@perkinsy@aus.social avatar

I used the worm poo slurry for our street garden. After a harsh summer I have been giving it some loving care. Despite the perargoniums being stunted while they held on for dear life during the period of no rain and high temperatures I pruned them a bit yesterday to encourage new growth.

I have grown the pelargonium (geranium) pictured below on the left from a cutting I took from a street planting in North Fitzroy. Those pelargoniums needed cutting to invigorate them and make them bushy. The cutting had thrived in a pot so I planted it out yesterday.

The pelargonium on the right is a slower growing variety grown from a cutting from my mother's garden. I have put it in a more sheltered position in the street garden as it is a slow grower and seems to be a bit more delicate.

While I was tending the street garden this afternoon a neighbour I have not met before stopped and said he likes seeing me take care of the garden so often. That makes me happy because that is the point of the garden. In an area covered with signs of addiction, rubbish and grafitti of the tagging variety, I want this small patch to uplift passers by and awaken in them the thought that it is possible to make things better here.

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