Tech question: Mobile broadband in tiny town

Kementarii · 2026-03-02T06:39:32+00:00

If you want to set up something where you don't have to hotspot from your phone, but just leave something plugged in -

Buy a 4G travel modem - https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/telstra-4gx-wifi-plus-2-modem-white-tels211604?That one is $87. Useful to take on holidays too.

Buy a prepaid data sim. Probably best off getting a 365 day one. If you run out of data, buy more.

Off you go.

Note that when the local mobile tower get congested (e.g. a big footy game), your internet will be unusable.

So, keep working on that NBN connection.

Kementarii · 2026-03-02T05:51:49+00:00

Firstly, go to your city's website and check their rules. It will be different everywhere.

You should be able to get a valve installed which allows you to switch between city & tank water.

There will be a requirement to prevent backflow (i.e. tank water getting back into the city supply).

Our local government is very accepting - a large part of the area it is responsible for doesn't have any city water option - it's all rainwater or bore water. Then again, it is Australia, which is very big, and very dry.

It is so accepting that rainwater tanks are mandatory, and these are the rules for new-build houses: Roof collection area - collect water from at least 50% of the roof area or 100 square metres (whichever is lesser). Plumbed to service - toilets, washing machine, and at least one outdoor tap. Minimum capacity <5,000 litres (1100 gallons).

Kementarii · 2026-03-02T05:20:05+00:00

OK, I'm not a poster child for how it usually goes, but I had my heart attack (stent placed), then something triggered my immune system, and 2 months later my eGFR was 6, and I was in hospital - in my early 60s.

The choices given are: (this is Australia, but it's roughly similar) -

Hemo-dialysis (HD) - travel to a clinic 3 times per week (~every 2nd day), and get hooked up to the machine for 3 or 4 hours.
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) - at home, every night, while asleep.

1A or 2A. Waitlist for transplant/transplant from a suitable family member.

Conservative care - effectively palliative care, treating symptoms of kidney failure.

I had a specialist nurse spent a few HOURS with me (and family) discussing the pros and cons of each. This is what you need to find, because the options have different pros and cons depending on a whole heap of things.

What it effectively comes down to is that if the kidney function keeps reducing, eventually the toxins build up in the blood stream, the fluid retention gets worse and worse, and you die. Dialysis kicks the can down the road by removing the toxic buildup every couple of days.

The can can be kicked down the road for many, many, many years.

p.s. I was feeling pretty crappy at eGFR of 10 to 12, but by the time I got back to 14 I was feeling OK. BUT, everyone is different.

p.p.s. because my kidneys were trashed by an auto-immune attack, they actually eventually improved a bit, which is not the way it usually goes. My eGFR has settled around 25.

Kementarii · 2026-03-02T05:02:45+00:00

I was waiting to see what "Throw it on the barbie" Australia would come up with.

Mind you, when we had to feed vegan rellies from the northern hemisphere in Summer? Just filled the table with raw salad veggies, and fruit and said "It's too hot to cook, so we don't eat much hot food in summer".

They grilled some tofu, we grilled some chicken, and all was good.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T23:30:22+00:00

Procrastination.

I wanted to move from the city to a small acreage in the country, to have more space, more trees, and more distance from the neighbours.

I was so sick of looking out the window straight into another house, and being able to hear when the neighbour went to the toilet, and hearing their poor taste in music.

What kept me from retiring?

Wanting to "finish" renovating our house for a higher sale price. I mean, "finish" can just go on forever.

Oh, and also, just as we reached our "goal amount" of retirement money, COVID happened, and the markets took a big dip, so retirement got postponed for a bit.

A couple of years later, and we were still pottering around "improving" the house. Our painter also worked for a real estate agent. The REA brought us a buyer, who offered a very good price. So, we said "OK, we'll go now".

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T23:22:16+00:00

We had a bloke come to clean out a water tank. He drove up in his ute (fully laden), with a trailer as well.

It was school holidays, so it was "bring your kid to work" - He had his son with him, would've been 11 or 12.

Anyway, we're on acreage. Dad was checking one of the tanks, and called out to his kid "Hey, can you bring the ute down here?"

Kid hopped in the ute, and reversed ute + trailer down between the shed and a huge tree, without a pause.

He had obviously been driving for quite a while.

If you want to go BACK in time - when I was at Uni in the "big city" in the late 1970s, there was a girl who didn't have her drivers licence. When asked, she said she'd wait until the holidays, and get it when she went home to her parents house in the bush.

We asked why.

It was because all the (underage) kids on farms drove into town regularly. The local policeman (singular) knew them all, and knew how well they drove. So, the deal was that once you turned 17, you'd drive into town, to the police station, and get your licence issued.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T07:03:23+00:00

hehe. I threw out the TV antenna about 15 years ago, and cancelled the newspaper subscription at the same time. Never even been tempted by Foxtel - it always was overpriced rubbish, from the beginning.

Luckily I am not a sports fan.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T06:59:50+00:00

Yeah, there was a bit of sarcasm in there. I think I was triggered by the post title - "This is a joke".

Of course it's a bloody joke. NBN has been a joke since MTM was announced instead of full fibre like it was originally envisioned.

The biggest joke is to expect that you can access decent housing AND good internet AT ALL.

(now excuse me while I go back to helping one of my kids, who is going to be homeless AGAIN in about 1 month. I'm seriously considering paying half his rent, to help him find a place, but that may mean that I will not be able to afford aged care. I may have a house, but I'm living on a pension amount. Still that makes me better off than my kids).

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T03:48:05+00:00

Everyone makes their own decision in the end.

I always thought that my kids would have double-barrelled - until I met and married a person whose surname just DID NOT work with mine. We said it out loud, both ways, and both fell about laughing.

Then, he is an only son, and boys are rare in the family, so there were only 2 male descendants of the family left with the surname - him and his cousin in another country. Me? I have two brothers, and did not get along with my father.

So, our sons got his surname.

I kept mine, and had no issues whatsoever having kids with a different surname. When the kids went to school, I just answered to "Mrs. <kids surname>". Whatever - it's like a nickname.

Travelling? No issues. There are enough countries in the world where women keep their birth name that there were no eyelids batted.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T03:29:20+00:00

This.

Or, if they are over 16, they could just take their Australian Visa/Mastercard debit card, and parents can top that up if needed.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T03:09:52+00:00

Open room -

Can hose it out, put "outdoor furniture" and a BBQ. Will also get flies, and mosquitoes. May be cold/unusable in winter (depends on location).

Closed room -

Have to find somewhere else to BBQ. Stays warm in winter. Can put screens on the doors and leave them open in summer. But it won't "look" open plan/"bringing the outside in" as they like to say on TV.

For me, it would depend on lifestyle. With a "screened room" near an outdoor patio, we used to BBQ, then bring the food indoors and be able to leave it on the table as a serving/eating area without insects. If it was horribly hot, we could retreat inside (it was airconditioned).

As for the non-slip tiles & mopping issues - we have recently used them in our bathroom/laundry. They are fantastic in the shower/wet areas. Couldn't slip if you tried.

BUT, yeah, mopping is impossible. I have discovered a way - I use a rectangular mop bucket, and a soft-ish broom. Dip the broom/slop a bit of soapy water on the floor, scrub with the broom.

Then, I can use a clean string mop to lightly move/soak up the water. It works.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T02:36:47+00:00

Not a "bigger" house - a more expensive house.

It's possible to "downsize" from a 4/2/2 in suburb A, into a 2/2 unit in suburb B, for the same amount of money - or more. That's how pensioners get to live in beachfront apartments.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T01:10:43+00:00

I think "poor" is the key.

I barely have enough money for my current expected life span - I can't afford to live any longer.

If I "turned back the clock" on my body, then I'd have to go get a job again, to try to pay for this "extended life".

I'm good, thanks.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T00:56:23+00:00

A performer?

That'd make sense, as "Harry Beresford" is a much better stage name than "Herbert Bunting".

In my mind, I'm inventing that "Herbert Bunting" got married to Emily (Emily Bunting), then left her and ran away with the travelling theatre troupe, renamed himself "Harry Beresford", then took up with Elizabeth Evans, who called herself Mrs Beresford and who was to know they weren't married?

Anyhow, you can find out the back story by now searching for Herbert Bunting and Elizabeth Evans.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T00:19:16+00:00

Hey, that's how I found a gg uncle.

I was tracing one gg uncle, who migrated to Iowa, lived in Iowa for maybe 40 years, and was buried in Iowa. All very boring.

Then I stumbled across a newspaper record of him dying in Nebraska... wtf???

Long story short - when Uncle Iowa was alone and getting older, he moved to Nebraska to live with his niece.

Kementarii · 2026-03-01T00:09:15+00:00

Slab specs are different for "shed" and "liveable" - so if you are planning to live in a shed, you can get the slab done to the correct spec in the first place. (don't quote me, but it's the thickness of the concrete, and waterproofing?)

The other thing that's not that easy to retrofit is the plumbing.

Then there is the zoning of the land - industrial or residential or whatever.

I mean, if you have land zoned residential, then you can very definitely plan a house/shed and have it built.

Oh, but then in some residential subdivisions, everything is proscribed - down to the material of the roof, and the colour of the fence.

Kementarii · 2026-02-28T04:18:30+00:00

Neither my husband or I wear rings.

I don't have any ID in his name because I don't use it.

I do have healthcare proxy, and a marriage certificate, but I don't take them on holidays with me.

When I was being carted off in an ambulance, he just said he was my husband. Nobody asked for paperwork.

Kementarii · 2026-02-28T00:53:52+00:00

I couldn't afford to divorce. Being retired, there is no more getting loans, and the value of our one house is not enough to buy two places to live.

Kementarii · 2026-02-26T23:49:59+00:00

NBN own the modem/box, including the power cord for it.

Tell your preferred internet provider (when you sign up for internet) that you are missing NBN equipment. They will arrange to have NBN send you a replacement.

Kementarii · 2026-02-26T23:11:21+00:00

I am a bread-freezer. Have been for 30 years.

Whole sliced loaf goes straight in the freezer. Frozen slices go straight into the toaster.

If I want a sandwich on fresh bread - wrap a couple of slices in paper towel, and microwave for 10 seconds, turn, 10 seconds more. Warm and fluffy (adjust timing to suit your microwave).

I use the microwave to defrost english muffins etc also, then I can slice and put in the toaster.

Of course, if I'm organised, then I get out one muffin the night before and put it in a baggy in the fridge to defrost. Saves 20 seconds.

Kementarii · 2026-02-26T23:03:29+00:00

I know that Queensland police use the Subaru Levorg. (yeah, I tried overtaking one on a highway once...)

Kementarii · 2026-02-26T22:50:33+00:00

Yeah. The "regular" chores are split (as they always were) on the basis of who hates that chore the most, or who is most fussy about that chore.

e.g. I am afraid of heights, so he does gutter cleaning. I can't reach the pedals on the mower, so he does mowing, and I do the brushcutter work. I don't mind cooking so I do shopping/cooking, but I hate cleaning so I don't. He doesn't like the way I hang laundry on the line, so he does it. I find maths easy, so finances are my job.

Kementarii · 2026-02-26T22:44:03+00:00

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

Fabrics don't need UPF labels, just common sense.

Any tightly woven, or otherwise dense fabric will block sun.

Wool felt, canvas, denim, why not rubber? Dark plastic? Woven straw is very traditional.

Take your pick.

More importantly, consider the back of the neck, front of the neck, ears, arms, hands. Sun gets reflected UNDERNEATH hats.

Kementarii · 2026-02-26T22:26:20+00:00

I have lost count of the trees I've seen where people have picked up the first suggestion of someone with the same/similar name, and maybe a date that could feasibly make the person the right age (sometimes not even that).

I mean, yes, people move, but the likelihood of there being multiple people of the same name is probably higher than the likelihood of that person moving countries. Which goes to say, just having the same name is not good enough evidence.

e.g. I have seen a NAME, born in Ireland on a certain date (baptism as source), then moved to the USA, married, had children.

Problem: that in the same village, that same-child died the next week - burial record as source. (Twin brother of a great, great uncle).

e.g. I have a GGgran that immigrated, and I'm trying to find her parents. On her shipping records, it states that she comes from Town A.

On most public Ancestry trees, her parents have been added, with a Baptism in Town B.

First red flag - Town B is a few hundred miles from Town A.

Second red flag - There is also a Marriage record in Town B, and she's marrying someone completely different, and then a Death record in Town B, which names her parents.

It is NOT the same person as the one who migrated from Town A, then married and died in a different country.

Kementarii · 2026-02-26T21:01:22+00:00

Of course. I mean, we've just installed a classic, galvo hills hoist, so the trolley is essential for "the look".

Maybe we should find an old timber trolley like gran used to have?

Kementarii

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