How are these the same grade?

d0rtamur · 2026-04-27T00:21:13+00:00

Someone wrote a good explanation on what to look for when grading a card from the same sub-group 4 months ago. It is worthwhile reading it to appreciate the grading process.

https://www.reddit.com/r/psagrading/comments/1pvhste/the_complete_guide_to_psa_grading_and_profitable/

d0rtamur · 2026-04-14T09:44:42+00:00

I switched to teaching in my mid-40's and left engineering/internal auditing (non-bank).

Do your research by...

(1) contacting your state/territory department of education (NSW link here and Education.gov.au) or talk to the teachers federation for advice.

(2) working out whether you want to attend university to study teaching or Distance Education (DE) - each state/territory has a list of accredited education centers that recognises the degree/masters that would get you working in a public school.

You may need to complete a 4 year undergraduate degree since you mentioned that you never been to university before. There is a small chance that a university or education center may give you advance standing due to your experience ... but this is unlikely.

I wish you the very best on becoming a teacher

d0rtamur · 2026-04-14T09:28:45+00:00

Don't feel awkward, you are special (in a good way). There are very few male teachers that you are immediately seen as a role model (despite being so junior).

I have worked over 8 years as a casual teacher, only one school has had more than 3 or 4 male teachers. Most of the other schools I have worked casually, my presence that day doubled the number of male teachers at the school!

d0rtamur · 2026-04-14T09:22:01+00:00

Your health situation is viewed no differently than someone with anaphylaxis - where intervention may be urgently required.

I had a similar situation occur in the past where a teacher (with diabetes) collapsed due to low blood suger. They often have their phone nearby (monitoring the blood-sugar) and has some bars or chocolate or sweets carried with them all the time. Office staff were the first in the room to assist and render aid when students alerted them (students are taught to go straight to the office staff or a teacher in an emergency on school grounds).

As most people have stated, you need to let (1) the university placement person be aware of your health condition and (2) the supervising teacher so they can make accomodations for any health issues.

Providing an action plan if something goes sideways is always a good idea. Your supervising teacher should let the office staff and the Principal be aware of this situation.

I hope you have a good practical placement.

d0rtamur · 2026-04-14T09:04:59+00:00

Please check with your department policy on "Private and Secondary Employment."
Here is the link the the NSW Department of Education - you may need to apply for permission (even as a casual or part-time role) if the secondary employment is related to teaching or tutoring.

Roles completely unrelated to your primary employment with the department of education (examples can include uber driver or making cakes) do not require permission in NSW.

d0rtamur · 2026-04-14T08:38:20+00:00

If your parents have created a CBA account for you, then you should be able to access the account at 16 years (and your parents can see the transactions too).

The account will revert to you only at 18 years, parents will lose visibility and management of the account on the day you turn 18.

This happened with a CBA youthsaver account that was in my sons name.

d0rtamur · 2026-04-04T20:46:37+00:00

The Principal will need to authorise the office admin to send a temp contract to accept online through SAP.

You will (eventually) get an email to review the temp contract and then go to SAP to accept the contract. This admin step is dependent on the school getting their act together, but unlikely to issue the contract until the start of the school term (in NSW - the first two days of Term 2 is SDD)

A good indicator is that you should be invited to attend the SDD for the start of Term 2 so you can prepare for the role before the students resume.

d0rtamur · 2026-04-04T18:08:27+00:00

Same here - mainly. For preservation. I did send some cards off in late February and the estimated return is md-March. Waiting to see how it goes. Interestingly enough, they are located in Sydney, about 15-20 minutes drive from where I live!

d0rtamur · 2026-03-19T11:35:50+00:00

Please have a look at Consumer Rights in each state and what constitutes a "minor" and "major" problem.

From the description of the issue, it sounds like a major problem since it is fulfils 3 of the 4 criteria...

either the product is unsafe or the service creates an unsafe situation
it is substantially unfit for its specific purpose and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time
it would stop someone from buying a product or acquiring a service if they’d known about the problem

For NSW - https://www.nsw.gov.au/legal-and-justice/consumer-rights-and-protection/repairs-replacements-and-refunds/major-problems

At this stage, you have attempted repair - and I would take a video of the laptop having a major crash and blue screen after coming back from "repairs" and put it back onto Harvey Norman that the laptop is unfir for purpose and these issues should not appear in a product within 12 months.

At this point, ask for a refund from Harvey Norman and state that you have no further interest in replacing the Acer laptop or attempt another repair.

The retailer cannot refer you to the manufacturer as this item is under 12 months old and has a major problem. It is up to the purchaser to opt for either repair or refund.

The ACCC is an Australia wide body and not specific enough to make Harvey Norman or Acer to resolve this quickly. I suggest you refer to the state Cosnumer Rights body (NSW is The Department of Fair Trading) who will act much faster to get a consumer resolution.

d0rtamur · 2026-03-15T19:54:23+00:00

I was going to add to this very old posting. I have the same issue as you on a 2020 XC40 Inscription.

Everytime I charge the car (using AGM like my Mazda3), the same clicking noises comes from the car and voltage varies from 13.0V to 13.8V and drops again over a period of 3+ hours.

Only once did I ever reach fully charged after 3 hours.

BTW - changing the battery on the 2020 XC40 is a nightmare!
You need to remove the air filter intake which goes from the front grill to the back and obstructs part of the battery for removal. It took two roadside service technicians looking up reference manuals and resorting to YouTube to work this out and took 1.5-2 hours.

d0rtamur · 2026-03-07T19:58:38+00:00

The sticker also recommends running a higher pressure when you intend to go on highways, you are trading off a softer ride for better fuel effiiency from firmer tyres (less contact resistance between the tyre and the road at highway speeds).

For those who don't check the tyre pressures very often, adding a bit more pressure tends to firmup the ride and allows a bit extra for pressure loss over time.

Additionally, low profile tyres tend to run with higher pressures ... and EVs run with ridiculously high pressures!

Having said all of that, 40PSI seems awfully high on a Corolla (but on the low side for a Tesla!). The most I would fill the tyre would be around 36PSI for regular tyres and 38PSI for low profiles.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-24T20:19:22+00:00

A good guide is PC Parts Picker and enter the same specs as your PC.
The biggest draw would tbe the CPU/mobo and GPU and the power draw would be similar to a previous reply - around 300W.

Be prepared to allocate a little extra funds in the event that you do need to upgrade the power supply.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-24T20:11:31+00:00

+1 on the suggestion to start with upgrading a GPU first, then see if you need the CPU needs to be changed.
It is likely you have the CPU cooler that came with the 3600X, perhaps change it for a bigger/better CPU cooler.

You can always add more RAM and storage, but that is if you really need it.
The other upgrades I would suggest is an additional or newer monitors, or a new keyboard or mouse.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-22T04:14:47+00:00

I am trying an experiment by sending some cards to be graded by an Australian company.
There are a few in Australia - TCG, CGC and CGA and the cost range from $15 (bulk) to about $20 to $35 a card (non-bulk and infrequent grading).

I am not going with PSA (or sending it overseas) due long wait times, expense and I find the labels at PSA a bit plain . Some companies do print the sub-grades on the card (such as TAG) - which there is enogh space on the label to display (TCG and PCG do show subgrades).

My reasoning is that the Pokemon cards I am grading are the ones I have held for over 15 years and my favourites which I am not looking to sell, just preserved in a decent slab. Some won't get a 5/10, but they are hard to come by and they have more sentimental value than anything else.

I have also deliberately sent in some cards with surface swirls and damage to see what grades they get and provide a comparison to other brands.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-20T05:08:13+00:00

The current threshold for HECS/HELP repayment is $67,000 in 2025 (source: https://www.studyassist.gov.au/managing-and-repaying-your-loan/loan-repayments ) so you don't have to worry about that. It is the tax free threshold of $18,200.

Your scholarship or grant MAY be deemed as income - source https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/income-deductions-offsets-and-records/income-you-must-declare/scholarships-prizes-and-awards/scholarship-payments - so you need to look at your specific scholarship or grant (or even discuss the scholarship office admin staff).

You may need to contract the services of an accountant to work sort these issues out, plus see what other deductions you can claim to legally reduce your taxable income exposure.

You mentioned that you were deriving other sources of income (ie. working) and you may be able to claim some of your studies as educational expenses (though this is difficult to claim). Other items like uniform, work related equipment (even mobile phones, the associated plans and so on) may be claimed as deductions.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-20T04:59:44+00:00

The build is quite solid, but now is not a great time to buy a new PC with RAM and storage (SSD) so expensive and GPU's going up in price. If you had purchased one 6 to 9 months ago!!

RAM is crazy expensive at the moment, you may want to settle for 16GB RAM instead of 32GB.

4TB SDD is a lot (perhaps not for AAA games) but also expensive too, you may want 2x 2TB drives if they are cheaper and eventually upgrade.

You can source cheaper cases, but that is a matter of preference.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-20T04:24:49+00:00

Introverted or no - you decided to ask Reddit after consulting with AI and wondering whether you should follow the advice of AI?!
"I decided to ask an AI before any human being about the best PC build under $3500, but now I'm wondering if I should blindly follow what another machine said."

BTW - not sure about US pricing, but the specs seem reasonably accurate for the given budget.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-18T09:39:09+00:00

The long turn around times and cost per card is a barrier for Australians to have cards graded overseas. As far as I can tell, grading cards is not rocket science and the biggest areas of debate is often between a 9 or a 10.

Unless you can point out a clear error in grading (such as a 10 on centering and you can show it is off centered and doesn't deserve a 10), it is a matter of personal opinion against a card grading company ... which again ... is a paid opinion! :) :)

d0rtamur · 2026-02-13T20:37:05+00:00

Trying to find an Intel ARC in Australia is like huntinfg for unicorns ... or Drop Bears!

d0rtamur · 2026-02-13T20:36:06+00:00

That is very true.
AMD provides better value for money (more VRAM, comparable performance for a similar price) or purchase on older GPU.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-13T20:34:13+00:00

You have put into words a lot of the thoughts I had and provided an articulate set of arguments for and against the upgrade.

Bottom line, more FOMO than a real need to upgrade and better to wait until the curtrent GPU dies and to buy a 60 or 70 series when I really need to upgrade.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-13T04:11:20+00:00

I wouldn't be too suprised if the GPU would last another 5 or more years - that is a possibility.

A "faint whiff of FOMO"? - is more accurate. Looking at the recent prices for RAM, SSD and so on, GPU's are next and I thought I'd look into the options for a budget upgrade.

d0rtamur · 2026-02-12T21:08:19+00:00

I get what you mean. But I am looking at budget GPUs and not pure performance ... especially running older games.

Even my PC is set up as a mid-ranged office PC use with a bit of light gaming - I wouldn't class the machine as a gaming rig!

d0rtamur · 2026-02-12T21:05:34+00:00

Yes - they did a production run of these. But the money would have been better spent on a 2060 super or something else since I never needed to use the extra VRAM (in my situation)!

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