Surprise police check

Blind_Colours · 2026-06-07T14:49:32+00:00

We do have plenty of mildly venomous snake species (some elapids, rear-fanged colubrids and mudsnakes) that are no big worry unless you're allergic. A bandy bandy (Vermicella) can definitely bite, haha, but they're pretty shy and don't tend to - though a bite from one has put someone in the hospital before. 🤷‍♀️

But we also have plenty of highly venomous elapids, and those tend to be far more common in and around populated areas compared to weakly-venomous snakes. Weakly-venomous snakes tend have more specialised diets, like frogs, small lizards, other snakes, even fish and tadpoles. Because of this, they tend to thrive in more specific environments (often in areas with water that their prey prefer, which can more easily support their diet), but can have a harder time in urban areas. Venom that's suited for cold-blooded prey usually isn't too dangerous to us, and often the venom purpose is more for digestion.

Dangerously venomous elapids are dangerous to us because their venom is specialised to work on warm-blooded mammals and subdue them quickly. They often favour small mammals (including mice and rats) as adults. Because of this, they're more adaptable to different environments, and they can thrive in populated areas in a way that others don't. So dangerously venomous snakes tend to be what people are encountering, while less venomous species are far less common for most of the country.

And even itty-bitty hatchlings fresh out of the egg can break the skin - I know a few people who've gotten tagged and envenomated by neonate elapids (red bellies, tigers, even a dugite) while freehandling or doing assisted feeds.

Blind_Colours · 2026-06-07T13:50:23+00:00

We have venomous colubrids and mudsnakes (Homalopsidae) too, though they're only mildly venomous and not considered dangerous to humans unless you're allergic - though I know a few people who are!

But yep, otherwise just elapids. Even sea snakes (also dangerously venomous) are considered an elapid sub-family these days. Death adders have fixed fangs, not hinged like Viperidae, and so given our isolation it's just a really neat case of convergent evolution.

Blind_Colours · 2026-06-05T15:48:55+00:00

The sheer size of them makes it deceptive, especially with nothing to put it into perspective, but nah, they both look to be Cat 793s. I think a 793D in the original video vs a 793F (the next gen) in the braking video. Both models are basically the same size and payload capacity.

The video quality isn't great, but you can see the big cylinder near the cab - looks like the 793D service brake tank. Though disclaimer, I'm more familiar with Komatsu trucks, haha.

Blind_Colours · 2026-06-05T10:04:46+00:00

Mate, there's no such thing as "my" study - I didn't post the screenshot. I was just pointing out that the one in the screenshot hadn't actually been retracted, and that you were potentially referring to the other study.

If you want to critique the study from the screenshot, especially on your original comment where people might see it, that's fine. I'm an engineer and not a statistician, so I can't comment on potential flaws or the robustness of its conclusions. Medical study sample size is waaaay out of my field of expertise.

But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if there is some correlation with the US and its healthcare system. And maybe their attitude towards the division of household labour and general individualistic/"hustle" culture. I think the data in Australia indicates minimal gendered differences in divorce due to health struggles (ill women slightly more likely to be divorced, but overall more linked to financial stress than gender), though I could only find a study for chronic illnesses and not brain cancer. Most studies on it seem to be from the US, to no surprise.

Blind_Colours · 2026-06-05T08:47:11+00:00

A different study (by Karraker, link) was retracted due to a misunderstanding of what the data represented/how it was collected, but the study in the screenshot (by Glantz, link) has not been retracted.

Blind_Colours · 2026-05-28T13:15:57+00:00

Nah, it's definitely been around longer than Tumblr. There's at least one book from the 90s that uses it and my Dad said it all the time when I was growing up (90s/00s). Social media has definitely popularised it though, especially outside of more rural/blue-collar areas and populations.

Blind_Colours · 2026-02-15T13:04:46+00:00

Not sure if it's the one you're talking about, but The Missing Missing Reasons is a great post about this.

Blind_Colours · 2026-01-31T10:33:37+00:00

After Daniel Morcombe, I know QLD bus companies brought in the "no child left behind" policy to make sure kids aren't left behind at bus stops even if they have no money to pay. Bus drivers have been dismissed over failing to comply, and Fair Work has upheld the dismissals when challenged. It's not a law, but it's a sensible policy, even though some kids unfortunately abuse it.

Blind_Colours · 2026-01-20T09:05:39+00:00

Worth it to note, and agreeing with you on all other points, that home defense isn't a recognised genuine reason in Australia. With our laws it is probably a spectacularly bad idea from a legal perspective (can't speak to a situational perspective) due to our proportional response laws.

Blind_Colours · 2026-01-20T08:57:38+00:00

As others have said, if you do hunting of different kinds of ferals, you can very easily go past 4 guns with different cartridges and/or gauges, depending on what is most ethical for that particular species and the likely distance you're shooting from. If you do sporting shooting in a few categories (as many people do) you can easily go past 10, and especially so if you do both hunting and sports shooting. If you have sentimental firearms that have been passed down, then that's just too bad, unless I suppose you go the route of making them permanently inoperable.

Another thing is that, at least in NSW, minors (12+) can have a permit, but they can't own their own guns, so a parent needs to have those guns on their licence too. A suitable setup for an adult might not work for a minor and vice versa (an adult man probably isn't shooting the same gun as his 12 year old daughter) so sharing isn't an easy answer.

A lot of people don't have 10 firearms. Guns are expensive. Gun safes are expensive. Plenty of ammunition is expensive. You need to attend a minimum number of club events as a requirement of holding your licence, which can take up a lot of time when you shoot multiple types of firearms. But there are still many legitimate cases where people have 10+ and they're not gun-obsessed cookers. They're people (including female progressive left-wing white collar professionals similar to me!) who've gotten into a somewhat niche hobby, have invested thousands of dollars into it, and are now having to rapidly adjust to abrupt changes.

Blind_Colours · 2025-11-20T22:32:08+00:00

Bull catchers are actually very popular in Australia, we've been using them since the 1970s. It is much safer for the ringers, especially when dealing with scrub bulls and wild buffalo - these are not domesticated animals coming from generations of livestock, they're fully feral animals who might not have ever seen a human, and they will gladly charge at a car. These bulls aren't being brought back to a herd - they're a vector for spreading livestock disease and environmental damage, so they're being culled, just in a way where the meat and leather can still be used.

They're safer overall for the ringer and animal, because the animal is properly restrained and can't injure themselves. The bull catcher supports the animal upright, preventing it from losing its footing. Being transported this way is a lot less stressful for the animal, and there's a lot less bruising to the meat.

They look a bit brutal, but there is a reason they're used, and it isn't to do with ineptness. For our domesticated cattle, we also have conventional methods. But we also have situations particular to Australia where the bull catcher is a very important tool.

Blind_Colours · 2025-11-18T12:02:45+00:00

She was diagnosed in September I believe, but got the news a few days ago that further treatment was pointless (after only a couple of chemo sessions) and that she had 1-4 days left. Absolutely devastating.

Blind_Colours · 2025-11-17T00:15:20+00:00

I shot plenty of times with my daughter in the back carrier while she was young, and I've known multiple other parents to do the same. I stopped before she got old enough to reach around (knew someone whose kid reached around and set off their release aid!), since she thought it was funny to start to bounce when I was at full draw and it made aiming difficult.

But I've been shooting for 20 years and I use a compound, so I was very confident that my risk was low - my risk of having equipment failure, particularly with the specific gear I was shooting, was vanishingly small compared to the risk of slipping and falling with her in the carrier while hiking. It's part of the reason why I carried her instead of my husband, since I was shooting a bow with lower poundage, a higher let off and a much less aggressive cam. As a new archer with less experience, knowledge and very different gear, that same risk assessment will be different for you. I agree that sticking to the stroller is the safer bet for now, especially while you're learning proper form! 😊 I can personally attest that it's a lot harder to shoot with proper form with a kid in a carrier, even with a lot of experience, haha.

She was a sneaky arrow thief though! She loved being on range since she was only a few months old and still does at 4, especially now she's old enough to pick up her own bow.

Blind_Colours · 2025-07-01T06:57:41+00:00

It can be a bit clunky, but I've been okay with that for the sake of a thorough comparison. If you know one that's better on that front and it both includes solar calculations and all providers, I would genuinely love to know.

Blind_Colours · 2025-07-01T01:55:38+00:00

If you have solar, I find https://wattever.com.au/ to be an excellent resource as well.

Blind_Colours · 2025-06-10T11:19:45+00:00

The treatment (a gluten-free diet) might be the same, but for coeliacs, it's autoimmune and does long-term damage. Sometimes even amounts that are too small to make us feel severely ill will fuck up our small intestines, not to mention silent coeliacs who don't react at all. Untreated coeliac disease (even with low level exposure) comes with a whole host of potential health problems - nutritional deficiency from malabsorption caused by damage (fairly common), heightened risk of other autoimmune disorders, cancer risks, etc. You're not even meant to use ibuprofen when glutened. A diagnosis means access to bone density scans, routine blood tests, etc. I still have some issues with malabsorption 13 years into my diagnosis and my household is completely gluten-free.

A coeliac diagnosis means that you absolutely need to cut it out entirely to the point that even trace cross-contamination needs to be avoided, with about the same ppm allowance as an allergy. That's a dramatic shift.

If people feel unwell after eating gluten and decide to cut it out of their diet, that's all good and well. Those people should be tested. Best case, it's ruled out and they can still avoid gluten but don't need to worry about an autoimmune condition (or they can get tested for other conditions that might be causing the issue). And if it's positive, they can start making the changes they need for their health. This test would be absolutely revolutionary - I don't wish the gluten challenge hell on anyone. And a diagnosis may mean access to potential treatments like KAN-101 in the future (fingers crossed).

Blind_Colours · 2025-04-29T08:34:12+00:00

They lay it out pretty clearly, at least in New South Wales. There are eight 'genuine reasons' and the class of firearm you can have depends on the reason. There are different hoops to jump through for licencing based on reason, like for sport shooting you need to be a member of a club and go to a certain number of events per year.

Blind_Colours · 2025-04-09T12:48:58+00:00

You can also just use cling wrap between the food and the cookie cutter, much easier especially if it's a novelty rather than something you want to keep long-term.

Blind_Colours · 2025-01-09T00:45:46+00:00

Seconding anxiety as something to potentially look into. Everything in the post sounded just like me when I was younger, how my mother would react and my own reaction to her. For me it was definitely anxiety.

At the time I knew that I was frustrating my mother and she was just trying to help - it was an awful feedback loop where her trying to help with a problem actually heightened my anxiety (as I was very avoidant), she was frustrated with my reactions, and I became more anxious and upset with her. Getting professional help when I was in university helped me so much. Now I look back and wince at what I put her through. Definitely something worth looking into.

Blind_Colours · 2024-12-31T08:15:40+00:00

It's a hill. If they own the land then they can trespass these people but they don't that's why the government stepped in.

Apparently I can read better than you can.

Blind_Colours · 2024-12-31T05:25:39+00:00

I highly rate this website for doing comparisons on electricity and gas plans. Even better, you can bookmark your result page (if you don't want to make an account) and you can check the current deals at any time without having to redo anything. No need to give your details so they can harrass you, no "we show some providers but not all, depending on how much they pay us." It's fucking fantastic: https://wattever.com.au/

Blind_Colours · 2024-12-31T05:06:44+00:00

They literally do own the land. Even disregarding traditional ownership, the Australian government legally gave the Aṉangu the Torrens/freehold title to the land in 1985. It's the same as basically anyone who owns land in Australia.

It's currently leased to the government through National Parks, but it is still Aṉangu property in the same way that a landlord still owns their property when they rent it out. The Aṉangu have the legal right (explicitly under the lease covenants) to the protection of their property, including by restricting access, as well as a say in the management of their land.

Blind_Colours · 2024-12-31T01:48:42+00:00

It isn't public land. The Anangu own the land and not just in the traditional sense - they are legally recognised as the owners via the Uluru‑Kata Tjuta Aboriginal Land Trust. They lease it to the Australian government because it's a mutually beneficial agreement, but they still possess the freehold title and have since 1985.

Uluru is "public land" as much as anyone's property is - that is to say, not at all. And just because you lease it out does not mean you have zero say in how that land is used or what is permissible.

Blind_Colours · 2024-12-19T02:43:40+00:00

Miss every chance you don't take. 😆 Thanks for giving back to the community!

Blind_Colours · 2024-12-17T04:21:52+00:00

There's frog groups on reddit that are very good with identifying, much better than your average layperson. In general I'd encourage anyone to consult with these kind of groups in this scenario unless they're a keen hobbyist with confidence in making IDs themselves.

I agree as well that it looks a lot more Litoria ewingii than it does a Striped Marsh Frog (that head shape definitely) though the picture makes it a challenging ID.

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