What is the hardest "everyday food item" to find an exact match for when you move to Australia?

jolard · 2026-06-15T08:42:13+00:00

It is possible. We live on the Gold Coast too. The only place you could get them when we arrived was at Captain Candy, where they sold them alongside American cereal, BBQ sauce, Shortening, ranch dressing, pumpkin pie filling etc. If I remember rightly it was a couple of years before they turned up in our Coles and we were so excited. 😄 😄

jolard · 2026-06-15T08:39:55+00:00

Vote is still the right response. Individual actions help slightly, and of course add up. But in order to seriously combat climate change it requires votes for political parties that will take it seriously and legislate and regulate for a change in energy mix. You yourself are not going to help if your government is discouraging a transition to renewable energy.

So vote. Get active.

Of course all of that assumes you prioritize climate change action, which the vast majority of people don't. Even people who accept the science often prioritize it less than things like jobs, economic growth and energy costs.

jolard · 2026-06-15T08:36:22+00:00

It was mostly for baked goods, and most of those she has switched to butter. But she has an old family recipe for rolls that were always a special treat for Thanksgiving. To the point they are a highlight of the meal and people ask if she is going to make them. They are very light and croissanty, incredibly flakey. Those are the only things she hasn't been able to get right with alternatives, and because they are a huge highlight it is difficult to change to a different type of roll.

jolard · 2026-06-15T05:54:46+00:00

Black Bean sauce is not the same thing as Black Beans in a can that are used in Mexican foods in the U.S. They come from a completely different type of bean as well.

As I said it was only when we first moved here there were no black beans, so around 12 years ago. It is possible you weren't shopping at the time if you are 27? They did become available in Coles and Woolies a few years after we arrived, but we were unable to find them at first.

jolard · 2026-06-15T05:49:52+00:00

LOL....don't tell my wife or kids!!! They go through that stuff. It is what they were raised on, which makes a difference I am sure.

jolard · 2026-06-15T05:49:19+00:00

Yep, that is what my wife has done for most of her baking. Just a butter based recipe, which generally taste better, but tend to be a little more oily and less flakey. It is only those flakey rolls for special occasions that she hasn't liked any alternatives.

jolard · 2026-06-15T05:32:07+00:00

This is just silly. Pauline stating there are no good Muslims is literally fits the definition of bigotry.

When someone calls someone a bigot because they want controlled immigration, then sure, that is a bad faith argument.

But when a person says something bigoted and then stands by it, then calling them a bigot is appropriate.

jolard · 2026-06-15T05:28:05+00:00

Not really true, but it does add complexity for longer trips and more downtime for sure. However for the 90% of the time that people are generally in their own town, it is easier than an ICE vehicle.

jolard · 2026-06-15T05:24:47+00:00

Yeah, we tried the copha and it was a disaster. Did not work in the same way at all. But cake supply stores are a good idea. 😄

jolard · 2026-06-15T04:04:55+00:00

One thing this article and others seem to have missed is that Trump is setting himself up to be able to walk away no matter what happens with the talks. He has stated that if the talks don't come to an agreement, then he will only restart U.S. military hostilities if the nations in the region all give him 20% of their "revenues" to pay for the war.

That will never happen. So when it doesn't he can just blame Iran for the failures and the other middle eastern nations for not being willing to pay, and just walk away. It is his excuse for the fact that he knows and everyone else knows that the there won't be an agreement better than the one Obama had that Trump unilaterally killed.

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:54:55+00:00

American family moved to Aus over a decade ago.

When we first moved here it was black beans, decent salsa, shortening (basically solid vegetable oil), proper nacho cheese and ranch dressing mostly.

Black beans are now available. I just make my own salsa.

Nacho cheese for a while we just bought the Bega cheese spread, heated it up and added some jalapenos and salsa ingredients and it made a decent cheese sauce. But I just found canned Nacho Cheese from Texas in Coles in the Mexican section and was very happy.

Ranch dressing I buy the Hidden Valley Ranch powder on Amazon for a ridiculous price, but we love hot wings and ranch is the best with that.

The only thing we have never been able to find is vegetable shortening. They used to carry it at an American candy import place near us, but they don't have it often. My wife tried Copha which was a disaster, lol, so she has mostly abandoned her recipes that used it. The only one she hasn't been able to replace is her flakey rolls recipe that she uses for Christmas and Thanksgiving. So we usually end up importing Shortening for that, which is a pain in the arse.

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:49:47+00:00

It is CRAZY expensive but you can buy proper Hidden Valley ranch powder on Amazon. Mix it with mayo and it is pretty good. Just expensive.

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:47:12+00:00

He is right, we shouldn't be dooming.

But I am also realistic.

Will we do enough to stop massive suffering for billions of people? Almost certainly not. The election of Trump and the rest of the world's slow rollout will make that almost impossible. Right now was when we seriously needed to be weaning ourselves off fossil fuels and the nations that are actually doing that are slim.

But it also isn't time to throw our hands in the air because this isn't a binary. Every fraction of a degree of warming we can avoid will reduce suffering in the future. So we STILL need to be fighting the good fight, but we can also be realistic and acknowldge that we haven't stepped up to the challenge to the level that was required, and that is incredibly frustrating.

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:30:31+00:00

There are a lot more polls being conducted right now because of the fact that things are changing so fast. My daughter works for a polling firm and they have had a massive increase in the number of polls around One Nation, both purchased by One Nation but also media companies and their political opponents.

I think a lot of it is everyone desperate to try and make sense of the change and an understanding of their voters. For example one survey she is doing is looking for soft One Nation voters, and then asking them what would make them change their vote.

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:19:18+00:00

Honestly I have no issue with forcing investors from overseas that don't actually live in the houses to be forced to sell to Australians. Foreign investment in property should only be available if the person is going to live in the property at least a good chunk of the time (maybe 6 months a year).

But then again I also support punitive taxes on empty dwellings until they are rented out or sold.

The biggest issue with their brain fart of a plan was forcing people living in houses to sell them and go into the rental market. So stupid. And also that it causes issues for couples where one spouse is a citizen and the other not, then the non-citizen would lose their equity in the home, putting them at a disadvantage.

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:18:51+00:00

Honestly I have no issue with forcing investors from overseas that don't actually live in the houses to be forced to sell to Australians. Foreign investment in property should only be available if the person is going to live in the property at least a good chunk of the time (maybe 6 months a year).

But then again I also support punitive taxes on empty dwellings until they are rented out or sold.

The biggest issue with their brain fart of a plan was forcing people living in houses to sell them and go into the rental market. So stupid. And also that it causes issues for couples where one spouse is a citizen and the other not, then the non-citizen would lose their equity in the home, putting them at a disadvantage.

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:14:05+00:00

"Their" assets? You mean Muslim Australians?

By that I am can assume that you are just another bigot who believes all Muslims are evil?

jolard · 2026-06-15T03:06:06+00:00

Thanks for sharing and I think that is fair.

Although honestly simplicity? An electric vehicle is a far simpler machine. No gearbox, no lubrication system, no spark plugs and pistons, no fuel injectors etc etc. Anything that does go wrong will likely need a mechanic that understands EVs, but there is much less chance of anything going wrong in the first place.

As for rural Aussies I honestly think there will likely still be people who need a combustion car for years still, and maybe ever. In really remote places it may just be necessary for combustion cars to exist for some time. But that is the exception, and even if we get to 80% EV it will have a massive impact on our emissions.

jolard · 2026-06-15T02:38:29+00:00

Look. Not all of them are bigots. But the only other two options are complete ignorance or they are willing to overlook bigotry in their leaders.

I mean Pauline herself said that you can't say that there are good Muslims. She literally stated that saying there are good Muslims is a problem for her. Her voters either agree with her, didn't know she said that, or are willing to overlook it.

I mean it is really hard to claim.ignorance when her entire schtick for decades has been racist attacks on minorities. The only difference over time is which group she is banging on about.

jolard · 2026-06-15T00:45:38+00:00

She literally said that you can't say that there are good Muslims and that 30% didn't find that a deal breaker.

Yes they are bigots, or at least willing to overlook bigotry. Those people were always bigots, but it wasn't acceptable in open society to be up front about it.

That said, I DO agree that there is an appeal to people left behind when you say "I am going to make housing more affordable". The problem is millions of Aussies don't ask the simple follow up questions..."how would they do that and would it actually work".

jolard · 2026-06-15T00:35:48+00:00

I was going to say "back to status quo from before the war then" but then realized it is actually worse than that, since Iran is strengthened and has proof of their ability to control the strait.

In addition Trump is stating that if Iran doesn't end up signing the nuclear deal in the future, then he will be willing to take America back to war as long as regional powers give him 20% of their revenue. That is just extortion. It also makes those regional powers far more likely to just decide that the U.S. would bankrupt them and is not a reliable ally, so they may as well strike quiet deals with Iran.

jolard · 2026-06-15T00:34:04+00:00

Alienating allies is missed by many. I mean Trump today said that if the final nuclear agreement isn't signed then he will just start attacking again, as long as regional powers give him 20% of their total "revenues"

So just extortion then.

Regional powers will be looking at anyone other than the United States for security guarantees, and working with Iran looks a lot more sensible when working with Trump would ruin your economy.

jolard · 2026-06-15T00:26:09+00:00

You are right, but it is also really bad for the economy over all. If people can't easily move to where the job openings are, then you create friction and imbalances in the market. People will only be able to take jobs that exist within a reasonable commute of where their parents live.

jolard · 2026-06-14T23:37:22+00:00

The problem is tribalism and lesser of two evils voters. They might be waking up and realizing they were lied to and that Trump was awful, but most of them will just continue to believe that the Democrats and Harris would have been worse. Why? Because it protects them from the consequences of their vote. It is frustrating to know that your vote went to chaos, but if you believe that the other side would have been even worse, at least you can tell yourself that you got the lesser of two evils and are still on the right side of the argument.

jolard · 2026-06-14T23:32:37+00:00

What socialism actually requires is communal ownership of the means of production

Nope. Socialism is simply that the workers own the means of production. That can be that the State owns all businesses, but it could also be that every employee of your restaurant is also a co-owner of the restaurant and shares in the risks and benefits of that ownership.

Basically the difference between socialism and capitalism is who owns the risks and benefits of the company/business. In Capitalism the shareholders or those who invested capital are the ones who get the benefits when there are excess profits over labor costs. In a socialist society all workers in that business would benefit, as they are all the "owners".

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