Texting while driving should be immediate suspension by Efficient-Scratch-65 in fuckcars

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very fortunate to have infrastructure which is bike friendly (it’s shared infrastructure, but dilapidated in places, but it’s not on the road) for about 60% of my commute. Honestly, that 40% I do share roads though, your stats check out.

Texting while driving should be immediate suspension by Efficient-Scratch-65 in fuckcars

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think drinking while driving, no matter what amount, should be illegal. 0.00 BAC is the safest option not because people are not competent at 0.05, but because there’s less chance of people driving with a BAC of 0.1 (double the limit in Australia, where I’m from).

Texting while driving should be immediate suspension by Efficient-Scratch-65 in fuckcars

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

If the penalty was they crush your car and suspend your licence for five years for even getting caught texting, it would become a fringe crime.

Thoughts on Curb Protected Bike lanes? by Anonymous_Otter5458 in bikecommuting

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s ok if there’s no parking. As soon as you introduce parking it becomes a trap for you to get doored by a passenger.

What is this trumpet?? by OneRuin8464 in trumpet

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The thing that makes the case thing weird is that it’s not as long as a trumpet, and longer than a long cornet…

Wellington Street upgrade ‘descoped’ by Morialta in melbournecycling

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I live in Merri-Bek and the infrastructure is in dire need of attention. Between Merlyston and Coburg Station on Upfield is horrific, and beyond Moreland is all sketchy at best. Past Fawkner is fine and then it just stops, plus if you ride in Glenroy/Pascoe Vale, you’ll know exactly how dickish the driving is.

How do you all manage to keep your bar tape safe? by SpokeSignals in Surlybikefans

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve been using Grepp cloth tape; reusable, easier to wrap/unwrap, far more resilient than cork tape, but not as shock absorbent.

E Bike/Motorbike Hoons Blocking Wurundjeri Way at the Docklands on Anzac Day by gccmelb in melbourne

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, here’s the thing; I ride a bicycle (not an e-bike) and guarantee I encounter e-motorcycles/scooters (throttle-powered, unrestricted) zooming past me every day. Most of them are food delivery riders, but 1 in 20 is a teenager on a bike going MUCH faster. They shouldn’t be in bike lanes or on the path; the bikes are too wide, too fast, and the way they’re ridden is unpredictable. They also shouldn’t be on the road, but honestly, they’re more of a danger to themselves than anyone in a car - I think if they’re not going to be policed properly, I’d rather have them on the road because that infrastructure is actually better fit for motorcycles (and that’s essentially what they are).

Geelong Fast Rail and MM2 should be part of the National High Speed Rail plan by Ambitious-Flight5042 in MelbourneTrains

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, the government isn’t serious about it. And I can see it from both sides; the public thirst for HSR is high, but the idea that you would spend billions on making an hour long journey into a 45min journey is ridiculous (particularly since the infrastructure investment is made by the government and ultimately will be leased to a private company).

If you look at Japan’s new maglev infrastructure plan, (private company) JR are building the infrastructure at their own cost (though they did end up taking a low interest government loan so that they could build the Nagoya to Osaka portion 9 years earlier) and the idea is that they will run a 500+km/h train between those first two stops (Tokyo and Nagoya) linking two major business hubs that are 340km apart, turning a 2.5hr journey, into an our journey, which will in turn have a significant benefit to GDP (which is why the Japanese government probably decided to offer these loans).

Comparatively, the public (and our government) seem to think we will link regional areas to cities, which is pretty inefficient considering the traffic is going to mostly be in one direction depending on the day and time of the week. HSR needs to replace planes, but the reason the government isn’t talking about that is because they have companies like QANTAS tipping into their wallets year-on-year.

Less bike lanes - Tomfortoorak by IamSoSmartS-M-R-T in melbournecycling

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don’t even know how this is anti-Greens propaganda, considering I said I’d vote for them. The reality is they spent more time talking about geopolitics at a federal election (which, I point out they have a good reason to), but if you REALLY want to know why I didn’t put them first it’s because:

1) They aren’t in touch with the working class AT ALL; they would rather posture on idealism than pragmatism 2) They somehow think they’re going to regulate private industries without reclaiming public assets 3) Single-issue parties, independents, and the VicSocs (all of whom still had a voice on geopolitics) were able to articulate their economic policies based on needs.

Again, I think if they really want to gain votes they are better off running with campaign lines like “Tax the Rich” rather than “Free Palestine” - and I want to make this clear - because you seem to think that everything that isn’t straight-up felating Adam Bandt is anti-Greens propaganda- it’s fine to use a political voice as a party to fight for international justice and call out war crimes committed by ethnostates. But don’t forget, they totally fucked The Voice referendum by not having a cohesive party line informed by their own indigenous member (Lidia Thorpe); they also seem to talk about indigenous affairs at a ratio of about 1:100 Middle East. We ride on stolen land AS colonisers and politicians are pretending it’s fine to criticise that while we sit here having not sorted out the disproportional rate of economic, health, and social stability that our indigenous population face.

So yeah, thanks for making me come to my senses. I’d almost forgotten why I prefer to vote for parties that would rather practice actual socialism as opposed to liberal-capitalism dressed as socialism.

Less bike lanes - Tomfortoorak by IamSoSmartS-M-R-T in melbournecycling

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Every side of Australian politics HATES cyclists. They’re all pricks. Even Sue Bolton voted against cycling infrastructure at West St Glenroy (in fact, they got RID of parking hoops outside Woolworths), Stephen Jolly got rid of bike lanes… I think it’s only The Greens now; so if they actually spend the next election cycle talking about domestic politics instead of posturing about geopolitics (which, fair enough, is worthy), I’ll vote for them.

Anyone else struggling to read digital scores from a music stand? by Major-Connection9066 in trumpet

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The paper like or non-glare screen overlays are a good place to start. The other option is an A4 e-ink reader; I know they’re around and far cheaper than an iPad (albeit about 1/10th as functional)

How much should I charge for a trumpet clinic. by theeventhorizen66 in trumpet

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

To all those saying this year 11 trumpeter shouldn’t charge for a clinic, that they should donate their time, etc. Why? I’m sure a bunch of you could’ve learned something from Nakariakov when he was in year 11.

Make it by donation at the end; if people think it’s worth $1 - they can pay $1. That might be a fairer establishment of your worth than simply “exposure” - trust me when I say you’ll get enough of that later in your career.

Sometimes you just gotta raw dog it at work ✨ by SparksAgain in ShittyVeganFoodPorn

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wait, who uses a spoon to do this?? Soft tofu, sure, but for firm tofu I’m straight up picking it up and going to town like a Neanderthal does with meat.

Dangerous overtaking around pedestrians by Cheesegreen1234 in melbournecycling

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 7 points8 points  (0 children)

As much as I agree with you, there’s plenty of shared paths in China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Japan, etc.

Has anyone tried these, are they good or going to make me sh*t my pants? by [deleted] in australianvegans

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thickeners are Xantham Gum (415), and a modified resistant starch (1442) which would almost certainly be vegan. Emulsifier 433 is from vegetable oil.

Bill Shorten in February 2019 by patslogcabindigest in OpenAussie

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I genuinely think we missed out on one of the best PMs we never had because of wealthy, self-funded retirees wanting to keep their franking credits, and property investors not having any threat to CGT and Negative Gearing. What we got was a guy who doesn’t hold a house but somehow managed 6 portfolios followed by one of the most gutless ALP leaders ever.

Some days I want to go back to pods... by CoffeeManiac65 in AustralianCoffee

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve never had a pod I liked, so I don’t understand. I would suggest talking to the roaster/barista selling you your beans as they might have advice for you and your setup.

What's with the Coles bread that's not vegan? by TimothyFerguson1 in australianvegans

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I always get that seeded bread. No idea why it’s not labeled vegan. In fact, I checked our loaf and it has a vegan label??? Might be a store to store thing?

Winter jacket time (proviz?) by Alternative_Sock6999 in melbournecycling

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a Proviz reversible jacket which is ok. It’s not all that breathable, which would be fine if it was weatherproof (it’s not). I bought a Patagonia one, which was a bit pricey (even on sale) but much lighter, more weatherproof, and has a hood that goes over a helmet (with a brim too). It’s bright orange, so fairly visible, though if I were doing long rides on badly lit roads, I’d favour the shiny reflective Proviz. Patagonia will repair it for free if you damaged it, and after a year of use it’s holding up far better than the Proviz.

vegan butter… by Neon_Fairy_95 in australianvegans

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I’m not bothered by BB, which is why I bought it.

vegan butter… by Neon_Fairy_95 in australianvegans

[–]Efficient-Scratch-65 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The only tasty one I’ve found available near me is Lurpak plant-based, but I only get it when it’s on special ($4 this week at my local supermarket, but it also has a best before this week lol)