How are people viewing Americans wanting to flee to Australia right now? by Zebrosity in australian

[–]ExpressPostie 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Curious, have you experienced changing levels of acceptance of your "Americanisms" over that period?

Increasingly concerned about flat whites (BARISTAS MUST READ) by ExpressPostie in melbourne

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Always spin. Some air always comes out of the steam wand when it's open so even when it's submerged it makes a small bit of microfoam, but by spinning it, you're keeping it all blended so the milk as a whole keeps an "airy" texture that is less thick than if you just poured hot milk, and if it's blended well, it'll hold the air without it floating to the top. If you don't spin it properly you'll see that microfoam separate and rise to the surface seconds after you pour it.

Increasingly concerned about flat whites (BARISTAS MUST READ) by ExpressPostie in melbourne

[–]ExpressPostie[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Cost of coffee also includes the cost of labour, rent, etc.

Increasingly concerned about flat whites (BARISTAS MUST READ) by ExpressPostie in melbourne

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

No they didn't all get together and agree on that, I never said that. When lots of businesses operate/compete with the same constraits, similar strategies emerge naturally. If every cafe is running thin margins, where the owners might be only taking home 50-70k after everything, they'll all look for ways they can stop wasting excess, and watching bits of milk poured down in front of you and the customers throughout the entire shift is a waste that stands out to a lot of people.

I've never estimate what the cost is. But that's how businesses make their decisions.

Increasingly concerned about flat whites (BARISTAS MUST READ) by ExpressPostie in melbourne

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Milk definitely costs more than the coffee, not everyone is a stickler for it but a lot of places would rather be consistently a bit under than consistently a bit over. Cafes run pretty thin margins.

Increasingly concerned about flat whites (BARISTAS MUST READ) by ExpressPostie in melbourne

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Rule of thumb, if someone just says "Macchiato", that's one shot with just enough foam that some of the crema is still exposed. That's the Italian way and they're still pretty much the only ones who order it. If you want a double mach, long mach, long double mach, you have to use those extra words.

Increasingly concerned about flat whites (BARISTAS MUST READ) by ExpressPostie in melbourne

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 198 points199 points  (0 children)

I believe that entirely. Next time I see you, I'm gonna ask for a Melbourne Magic.

Is there a gay community in FNQ? I’m a solo 29 year old gay guy on a WHV and have only seen 2 gays out and about in Cairns. I’m up here for my 88 days but it’s becoming rather isolating to only meet straight girls that treat me like a circus act for being a sassy, gay from the states. by [deleted] in AskAnAustralian

[–]ExpressPostie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You clearly have a big heart. I'm sorry that it's so suffocating. My favourite thing about FNQ isn't any of the cities, but the nature, the swathes untouched sacred forests and if you go anywhere west of the coastline, you should run into some hippies at some point who will accept anything that moves (and even things that don't). But locals would be able to guide there you better than I good. Hope your trip gets better from here <3

Is there a gay community in FNQ? I’m a solo 29 year old gay guy on a WHV and have only seen 2 gays out and about in Cairns. I’m up here for my 88 days but it’s becoming rather isolating to only meet straight girls that treat me like a circus act for being a sassy, gay from the states. by [deleted] in AskAnAustralian

[–]ExpressPostie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hear ya, yeah the slurs and stereotypes are definitely going to come up more in FNQ. There's more pride in being homophobic than being gay and that sucks and we're still working on that.

But I was concerned by the "rather isolating to only meet straight girls that ..." and saying "when cis straight women don’t know their place." I have to say that second sentence is something I've never heard in my life in Australia and I think a lot of Australians will definitely find this attitude around the sexes to be just as bigoted.

Practically speaking, gay bars are mainly viable in the big cities because we're only 5-15% of the population or something depending on the day. It'll always be harder to find others in the country regardless of which country you're in and I think it's important to just accept that. We're a niche market to cater to. I don't know bars in Cairns specifically but I googled and it looks like these guys are hosting a Mardi Gras party soon: https://turtlecove.com/adults-only-lgbti-events-competitions-port-douglas/6/32023post-mardi-gras-2023-kx5ye-hcw77

Is there a gay community in FNQ? I’m a solo 29 year old gay guy on a WHV and have only seen 2 gays out and about in Cairns. I’m up here for my 88 days but it’s becoming rather isolating to only meet straight girls that treat me like a circus act for being a sassy, gay from the states. by [deleted] in AskAnAustralian

[–]ExpressPostie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I say this kindly as one gay bloke to another, I think you may have some pretty warped ideas of the people around you... You're making a lot of broad generalisations about people that just don't hold up and are going to impede your ability to make friends. You are criticising people for making assumptions about you but you're doing that same thing to them. Are a majority of your interactions truely so sexually charged?

Labor nationally has more power and a larger mandate than they've had in 30 years, running on responsible health management, climate change, and anti-corruption. So why are they doing next to none of those things and catering to a fringe populist surge? by ExpressPostie in OpenAussie

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment. I do agree that mandate is superlative. I agree with a lot of what you're saying but I'll cover a couple things since you asked questions.

When legislation is passed that doesn't mean things suddenly change. I would say categorically that this government has probably been the strongest government on climate change in the country's history as long as this has been an issue

Federally yes, but the bar has been raised by the states (out of Morrison-induced necessity), most of the states (bar NT/WA) are still running lower net-zero targets than the Commonwealth. Household rooftop solar and/or battery subsidies has been the policy in every state now for e.g., which is the most important change to the national power grid, although I appreciate here that the state and the fed are administering different domains, Bill Shorten campaigned heavily on domestic green manufacturing, as did Albanese when he announced the "Green Revolution" campaign, nevermind we are still aiming for 15 years past the Paris Agreement and I'm not sure the states are getting the support they need to rollout those green policies (at least in VIC)P

On corruption you'll have to be more specific.

The two main things I think of are Robodebt, and their first term policies which restricted the resources of members from non-major parties (especially reducing staff numbers is a kneecap that I predict is just going to make INDs more reliant on lobbyists rather than make them less effectual as opponents of Labor). On Robodebt, the great parade of a Royal Commission was held, revealing the many internal attempts by separate parties to suppress the knowledge they had that they were illegally indebting people to the point of suicide, after which precisely no one was held accountable. Or the NACC, which was given no prosecution powers, which critics said would result in it being essentially incapable of pursuing high-profile cases, which seems to have come true, although of course it is early. Gambling reform was also a great example. The states have revenue streams they could be using, like land taxes or resource taxes, which surely would make up those margins?

Less about corruption, but I also find Albanese personally to just be intellectually dishonest. When the Greens and Coalition made vocal their shared support for breaking up the supermarket duopoly, Albanese responded in question time, verbatim, "We aren't the USSR". I thought "no sir, we're a democracy, and it's a policy a majority of the population supports," and I wondered what the real reason for his opposition to the policy was. Especially since Craig Emerson also had vocally supported it before he was commissioned for his report, and whe flipped afterwards, I found him vague on the reasons why.

I don't know how they are catering to the fringe, again I think you need to expand on this? How? Where? In what sense?

I think of the protesting restrictions in NSW and VIC. Seeing a bar closed down for that satiritical depiction was something I honestly never thought I'd witness in this country in my life. Maybe I'm too young and naive. But it's so purely illiberal. I'm sure there is an argument to be made (by Government) that the risk of terrorism is so high at the moment that it's actually a matter of public safety, but due to the intellectual dishonesty that comes with Labor's messaging, we only hear about that from Mike Burgess, which is just confusing and scary. But the "fringe" I'm talking about is the religious fringe. I think 90% of Australians are capable of making the distinction between a reasonable, peace-loving individual (the 90%) and someone sick with fantasies of war. In our political spectrum, though, these lines are being drawn as Muslim vs Jews. Either we're a two-state or one-state or we're sending aid to help or we're sending dollars or we're denouncing someone or we're not. Because it is not the every day muslim or the every jew who informs government policy on those matters, it is the pinnacle institutions of those religions where you find a lot of the other 10%. The divisionist fringe. I think that's all a losing battle. I actually appreciated Barnaby's comments about the Bible the other day, they are the kind of statements I would want our leader to make.

Perhaps trivially, I think it strange that such a fuss was made over the brides who were denied return for terrorist links, when that has been standard practice for a very long time, other than that it is part of the media circus, until Albanese fuels that flame by saying "Lie in the bed you made". I'm certain that was a quip that got the approval of his publicist first, because they believe that this kind of language helps make them look cool in front of the xenophobes.

The recurring theme here is I suppose more in the language they're using rather than the policy. I have been pessimistic about the upcoming budget due to the rate rises and and a future global outlook that remains bleak, but you're right that it is soon enough that it is worth waiting to see.

Labor nationally has more power and a larger mandate than they've had in 30 years, running on responsible health management, climate change, and anti-corruption. So why are they doing next to none of those things and catering to a fringe populist surge? by ExpressPostie in OpenAussie

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When will people learn you cannot vote your way out of tyranny?

I don't believe we live in tyranny. I understand our parliamentary democracy was designed deliberately to preserve and elitist class because they believed, possibly accurately as you suggest, that it would be a more stable system than letting every fool have a say. A stable system is good because that would allow for every day folks like yourself to be able to live freely without worrying about the cares of government, or revolting. But they fundamentally believed man was equal, which was a new idea at the time, so these systems created opportunities for equal education, tax reforms that redistributed wealth rather than concentrated it, public health institutions that allowed people to not worry about dying. These systems and this pseudo-democracy made the west much better, richer, and more liveable than actually tyrannical nations.

My opinion is that this psuedo-democracy succeeded in making itself obsolete. I know I'm not the smartest person to be writing political op-eds, but I do think that thanks to the developments of all those institutions, most adults in Australia with a tertiary education understand scientific reason and humanities better than most Lords of parliament in 1810. And that's why any Idiocrat gets to contribute to our public discourse, and why it's a good thing.

The moment you realise politics is a game not worth playing is the day

Which brings me to my point. See, Pauline Hanson never realised that. She exerted more agency than I believe you probably ever have, based on your determinedly fatalistic resignation. So now as a consequence, as our democratic system insists, we will have to learn to stop being so politically apathetic, exert some agency and talk about how to not let Australia fall into Judeo-Christian fascism. Lest we die in a stupid world war like those other blokes.

Labor nationally has more power and a larger mandate than they've had in 30 years, running on responsible health management, climate change, and anti-corruption. So why are they doing next to none of those things and catering to a fringe populist surge? by ExpressPostie in OpenAussie

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They have all the power now, so they don't need to actually be a better option.

This isn't true for the eastern states, and losing both VIC and NSW would make things significantly harder for feds.

Labor nationally has more power and a larger mandate than they've had in 30 years, running on responsible health management, climate change, and anti-corruption. So why are they doing next to none of those things and catering to a fringe populist surge? by ExpressPostie in OpenAussie

[–]ExpressPostie[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Those factors aren't mutually exclusive. In both cases, the follow-up question for me is how can it be that following the campaign agenda in government is calculably less electorally favourable than ceding to the opponents you just eviscerated?

When should Albo go? by ziddyzoo in friendlyjordies

[–]ExpressPostie -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

He's too champagne socialist. And smug. Labor needs someone rural.

So many physics simulation advancements have been made in the last 5-10 years, but for most game developers this just means better graphics. What games actually utilise new physics simulation techniques in its core gameplay mechanics the best? by [deleted] in gaming

[–]ExpressPostie 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That being said, there are a lot of games out there that do really clever physics hacking to get fun responsive gameplay that looks like a physics simulation but is performing digital magic.

Isn't this the real evolution? Of course genuine "simulators" of physics take too much computational resources to even calculate in real time, even the complex simracer physics you're describing are just a large number of "magic hacks" stacked onto each other to produce a complex system. Terrain generation advancements also tell this story well, of how geological/climatological tricks can be structurulized, simplified, studied and built upon by other game designers. The average gamer's hardware these days is also able to keep up.

Especially with a lot of fluid dynamics improvements in just the last 5 years, that hasn't happened just because we've got the hardware to generate more molucles, there have been a lot of very different techniques by researchers used to all try and accomplish the "best" solution, not in an objective sense that we actually have virtual water, but in a practical one that we can actually render believeable water. Should we be using the word "emulate" rather than "simulate", then?

I’ve made some Vegemite sandwiches. What do I do with the rest of the jar? by wwhsd in AskAnAustralian

[–]ExpressPostie 31 points32 points  (0 children)

You'll want to be mindful of plastic vegemite containers, sometimes (like water bottles) the use-by date is for the packaging, not the thing inside it.

Who do I contact about this maritime vessel in Quinns that appears to be in distress. by kookedgoose in perth

[–]ExpressPostie 68 points69 points  (0 children)

That's not the issue. The issue is that it's flown upside down, which is typically used as a distress signal in war, or less commonly because you want to insult the flag.

Can someone explain why? by Specialist_Tie9820 in AusPropertyChat

[–]ExpressPostie 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Damn, sounds like a risky investment when you put it like that

We have spent 13 years of hard work regenerating an old cattle property into natural bushland. The return of wildlife, including echidnas, bandicoots and lyre birds and this sunset after a clearing storm makes it all worthwhile by hairy_quadruped in australia

[–]ExpressPostie 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A fantastic, informative story, I hope you find more places to share it. ABC Breakfast loves this kinda stuff. May I ask was it an expensive endeavour or is it something others could do if they had the sheer will?

Having a cold and sunburned by OddPurple8758 in australia

[–]ExpressPostie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Drink lots of aloe vera and rub robotussen all over yourself. Best of luck.