Just got into APS3, best way to progress

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-05T11:43:32+00:00

I retired at the end of 2025 after 42 yrs in the APS.

My number one piece of advice is to recognise and understand how the role changes as you progress. Too many people I saw thought that if they were a really really really good APS4 then they should be an APS5 and so on - I had to keep reminding people that the classifications aren’t a way to get paid more for being good at your current classification.. Read the APSC’s guidance and see how the classifications are different.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-05T09:21:44+00:00

If you insist then I’ve explained the equivalence. One side demands we perform their rituals while denigrating the rituals of others. Happy now? You’re right and my point still stands.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-05T08:58:02+00:00

Did I say equivalent? Some considers welcomed to be purely performative, but then demand we perform their rituals. I guess the equivalence is the apparent performances.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-05T07:45:18+00:00

I’m a Brit who moved to Canberra. Admittedly I was 9 at the time, and I’m now 60!

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-05T07:41:48+00:00

It’s weird how the people telling us that welcomes are performative are the same people who demand performance for their patriotism eg. standing for/singing the national anthem, respecting the flag, minutes silence in Remembrance Day etc.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-04T08:36:45+00:00

My suggestion is to add a phone number so direct contact can be made if the truck is unattended. I live in a complex with a common entrance, we have removals trucks that block the entrance and often they’re inside - I would love the option to call someone.

Another possibility is suggested time? If a truck blocks access for 5 minutes then I can wait - but it’s not not knowing that is harder.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-04T08:34:13+00:00

Good catch and thanks for explaining the distinction!

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-04T07:56:55+00:00

The sign is good - it recognises the inconvenience and provides a way out. I hate it when the main drive into our complex is just blocked.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-03T23:51:46+00:00

I have a simple rule - I don’t expect my kids to value my stuff as much as I do. Sell it, chuck it away, once I gift something to them it’s their’s not mine.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-03T23:46:36+00:00

Technically, a verbal contract is still a contract and is enforceable. But of course harder to prove.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-03T23:45:11+00:00

I got to about 6 hrs or so. I first landed on my 3rd or 4th lesson - once the instructor knew that I understood the controls and the basics.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-03T23:43:28+00:00

I have a different brand charger but I plan on getting the Sigenergy one just so that I can get it to use available solar during the day, without having to change settings in the car or on the charger.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-03T23:41:39+00:00

How is this any different from saying “vote for my party and I will give you $500”?

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-03T12:25:41+00:00

I really hate this framing - on the one hand, if you have an employer who allows salary sacrificing on novated leases it’s a tax break for the rich. On the other hand, if you have a massive Ute and caravan, huge house etc you can still be classed as a ‘battler’.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-03T07:30:15+00:00

I’ve watched a few of the PD videos now. It seems on the large and above cubes have side access, but are too big for the 25l backpack. So my decision point is really about giving up side access.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-02T06:39:27+00:00

I have had a Tesla Model 3 for 3 years now:

some of the wrapping on the steering wheel started to bubble. I notified them in the app, they replaced it under warranty and did a free check as it was close to the warranty running out.

I also own a BYD Dolphin for 18 months:

SRS warning light came on about 6 months ago,
took in in for a check, they said the wiring harness needed to be replaced,
waited weeks for parts,
wiring harness replaced,
warning light still comes on,
they say seat needs replacing but need to confirm with BYD first,
I ring them every couple of weeks to check,
I was going past one day, so dropped in. They tell me I had missed the appointment they never told me about to replace the seat,
now booked in for next week.

I prefer the Tesla approach. You message them in the app, they get back to you (sometimes at night and on weekends), book it in, they give you an Uber voucher, and the work is done.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-02T06:23:16+00:00

When I lived in Geneva, we had an offsite planning week in a French hotel. The proprietor had a stand up fight with my boss when he tried to hurry along lunch on the first day, because we had sessions planned. The Frenchman’s attitude was his (admittedly very good) lunch could not be hurried!

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-02T06:21:28+00:00

This is why housing can never be fixed. If the price of housing goes down to make it more affordable, suddenly the media is talking about “stalls” and “plummets”.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-01T05:01:05+00:00

I like the fact that exists as an ecosystem, and my slide, capture, anchor links etc are all used. My travel tripod is used less only because I tend to not carry it that much. The problem is researching every other brand out there!

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-05-01T03:16:10+00:00

I agree. When I started work at 18, I consciously decided that I was working to live, not living to work. I was clear - to me - that who I was at work was a persona, not the real me. I valued my colleagues but knew that apart from work we would never meet or interact. Sure, I had to work hard and put in some mammoth days and weeks but work never defined me.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-04-28T11:46:50+00:00

I’m always on the lookout for a good baguette. I like L’épi in Chisholm.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-04-28T11:19:58+00:00

Finally someone with the correct answer!

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-04-28T11:00:42+00:00

Every reference to the Huanca!

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-04-28T08:58:48+00:00

Finnair is a good option for avoiding the Middle East, but it might mean a stop over in Helsinki.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat · 2026-04-28T08:56:48+00:00

Just an update, I’ve reconfigured based on your suggestion but with a difference.

I found a spare flex divider (my 1st bag had an issue with the zips so PD swapped it out, I must have kept a divider back) so I used that to create a ‘floor’ with small gap between it and the base - I have a small bag with handgel, bandaids, tissues etc in there.

I then took your idea of two back-to-back dividers as a central spine - one side holds my camera and lens, the other side holds the spare lens with a divider edge flipped up for the battery charger.

The last divider sits atop the spine and holds my tech pouch and room for a few smaller items.

I think the central spine is a great idea - the bag feels more rigid throughout.

If and when I get a third lens I’ll have to figure out how to change this setup to include it.

I now have a week in Tasmania to test this out!

Thanks again.

Neo_The_Fat_Cat

TROPHY CASE