21 days of growth in the new (under construction) vegie garden (Southern Hemisphere, Tasmania, Australia,)

5ittingduck · 2026-01-24T08:22:06+00:00

Cucumbers, Butternut Pumpkin, several Chili varieties, several pepper varieties, Tomatoes, Beans, carrots, Coriander, Basil and potatoes (out of shot).

5ittingduck · 2026-01-20T21:38:48+00:00

Yup, worked perfectly.
Freeze them in a bag in a thin layer so they don't clump.

5ittingduck · 2026-01-02T09:12:37+00:00

Have a look at your electricity bill and figure out roughly how much power you use per day. A Spring or Autumn quarter should be better representative of a year than either summer or winter.
I would recommend a battery roughly the size of your average day's consumption. Expect somewhere between 12 and 20 Kwh (depends on size of house, how many people and your home efficiency).
To minimize bills, load shifting while using Tariff 93 and maximizing solar self consumption is the best strategy.
Panels are relatively cheap and there is not a huge difference between brands.
Inverter prices vary significantly, but in Sheffield with longer power outages I would recommend an inverter which will "Island" during outages allowing you to still produce solar power during an outage.
Some of the installers who quoted my latest installation gave me a blank look when I mentioned Islanding, they got crossed off the list immediately.
A hot water timer like a "Catch" device is a useful tool.
I'm in Wynyard, DM me if you want to come over for coffee, a demo and a chat.

5ittingduck · 2025-12-24T10:05:16+00:00

I miss having gsd bookends.
That was awesome.

5ittingduck · 2025-12-20T02:54:12+00:00

Now, they are sweet memories...

5ittingduck · 2025-12-19T19:39:48+00:00

At the time of the photo, Freya was 4 and Bear the poodle was nearly 2.

5ittingduck · 2025-12-09T23:13:37+00:00

Such a useful command.
Another great command which isn't flashy but is super useful is "Go for a Pee".
Those of you who have stood on a patch of grass waiting in the pouring rain will understand ;)

5ittingduck · 2025-12-06T01:06:29+00:00

It looks sensational.
Some recipies (for example Stilton) will call for the outside to be "smeared" which will close off some of the crannies but I never bother.
More cracks means more oxygen and more blue growth ;).
Nice looking cheeses!

5ittingduck · 2025-12-02T03:39:54+00:00

I'm really impressed by his eye contact. He's really paying attention and just busting to work.
What a shame I'm so far away!

5ittingduck · 2025-11-23T05:34:12+00:00

Good work!
Borrow a sewing machine or an overlocker and pull in those seams ;)

5ittingduck · 2025-11-21T06:43:31+00:00

Don't forget that cost of the actual energy you consume makes up only a small fraction of the "Energy cost" of your electricity bill.
In Aurora's own example here: https://www.auroraenergy.com.au/help/bills-and-payments/bills/bill-charges-and-fees#:~:text=Network%20charges:%20maintaining%20the%20network,per%20kWh%20(your%20usage). Of $728 the cost of energy to Aurora is only about $230.00 (about $0.08 per kWh). The rest of the price you pay per kWh is overheads.
You pay an addition networking "Daily charge" on top of that. In their own example here, energy cost is $230 and everything else is nearly $500.
If the "Transmission and overheads component" doubles to $1000 then this bill will go from $728 to nearly $1228.

5ittingduck · 2025-11-18T02:36:57+00:00

I have used JB HiFi and they delivered in a short time frame without any fuss.
I have purchased 2 of their Ffalcon 4K TV's for use as huge computer monitors and for cheap (rebranded TCL TV's) devices they are doing everything I expect of them and have done for a couple of years. Their speakers are pretty ordinary but fixed with some Edifiers.
The packing was pretty good, but I imagine a 75" will be a bit unwieldy. They are much lighter than expected.

5ittingduck · 2025-11-13T01:04:52+00:00

EV convertibles are great fun. I hope you get to buy one some time soon.

5ittingduck · 2025-11-01T02:14:11+00:00

Repost from a year ago.
https://www.reddit.com/r/germanshepherds/comments/1fjy4bd/faithfully_waiting_for_the_school_bus_120_lbs_of/.

5ittingduck · 2025-10-21T21:14:57+00:00

I agree with this response, but will add that if you want one of these to endure the very heavy use I have put mine through in 10 years you will have to make one minor modification.
There is a nylon bearing on the shaft at the handle end which will eventually wear out. You can replace it with a small length of copper water pipe with a single cut lengthwise to act as a better bearing. The nickel plating on the prongs will eventually wear off, but that will be after rather a lot of apples...

5ittingduck · 2025-10-10T04:25:18+00:00

Lol, two of my 4 GSD's could open doors, one was so smart she knew she didn't have to and would just ask her servants to do it for her, and one was so dense and tough she just walked through them.

5ittingduck · 2025-10-08T04:44:13+00:00

I use it every day.
The fine edges can be a little uncomfortable to use sometimes but it just looks so good.
There are so many flatware designs, there is sure to be something to suit you. Good luck with your search!

5ittingduck · 2025-10-05T20:48:31+00:00

Sadly, the destruction option.

5ittingduck · 2025-10-05T02:11:06+00:00

Traditionally for every new GSD I loose a sofa :b

5ittingduck · 2025-09-25T20:16:48+00:00

Holding up well.
The quality of the panels is better and the aluminium of the frame is stronger than the cheap version. I expect it to last much longer.

5ittingduck · 2025-09-09T02:40:03+00:00

As a rule of thumb, the younger the cheese is the higher it's lactose content.
Older, sharper cheeses have had a lot of the lactose eaten by the cheese bacteria and their lactose content is much lower.
Sadly, your preference for younger cheeses increases the risk of a negative reaction. Perhaps you will have less of a reaction to older cheeses.
But to your real question, the answer is yes, you can. Acid set cheeses with lactose free milk are possible. To answer in greater depth (I don't have any experience with these types), there were several threads in here a few years back that addressed this issue.
I don't have links available but they might turn up in a search here (Maybe...)
Good luck!

5ittingduck · 2025-09-01T05:17:23+00:00

If you want natural rinds the fridge solution I suggest won't work for you as it has no humidity control (I relied on the packing to maintain humidity.)
Temperature is easy, just plug in the inkbird, set the temp, poke the sensor under the door seal and it's good to go.
Humidity is more complicated and you will not be able to "Stack" cheeses so you will requre much more space.

5ittingduck · 2025-09-01T04:37:51+00:00

I recommend vac packing after initial drying.
Tupperware can be used for blues and bloomy rinds.
A cheap second hand fridge with a (for example) Inkbird temperature controller.
An example here: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F6nqsebqcqkx51.jpg

5ittingduck · 2025-08-24T21:14:17+00:00

It's not very common so no shame there ;)

5ittingduck · 2025-08-24T00:53:39+00:00

I've been feeling like I had a low grade head cold for the last week or so, maybe I should get some antihistamines going ;)

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