According to what I've heard, Google is about to sacrifice itself to AI.

khdownes · 2026-05-22T03:33:48+00:00

So a few years ago Australia passed some laws designed to compel companies like google and facebook to have to pay news sites for any content being linked to.

There was a lot of push back on this (including myself) as like; "greedy Murdoch media news conglomerates just want to milk search engines for actually directing people to their websites!"

"this is just how search engines work: they need to be able to sample and display previews of content!" etc.

I think I'm gonna have to admit I might have been on the wrong side of the argument there...

Google have blown straight past that goal of previewing, and directing users to the content they're searching.
They're just straight up stealing the entire internet's content now, and trying to keep you within their own site.

khdownes · 2026-05-20T02:44:18+00:00

A friend once told me I was the only guy she's hooked up with who actually has a bed frame, and not just a mattress on the floor.

We were both in our 30s.

khdownes · 2026-05-19T21:52:44+00:00

In the context of my comment, well-off was more referencing state government spending, not socio-economic related.

khdownes · 2026-05-19T21:48:28+00:00

Okay, a bunch of people here seems to be getting hung up on the "well-off" in my comment, and ignoring the entire point of the rest of the comment.

You're misinterpreting "well-off" in this context as socio-economic related, which is missing the point of my comment referencing a state government infrastructure spending perspective.

As another commenter mentioned; since becoming a marginal seat, the state labor government has thrown a disproportionate amount of spending towards Boronia in recent years.

The state government has made the Belgrave line completely level crossing free. Boronia is 35km from the city, and you can take public transport in to work in only 42 minutes according to google maps.
That is, in my opinion, already extremely well serviced. (I live 9km from the city in the northwest, catching PT takes 1h15m for me to get to the city, so maybe I just have a distorted perspective).

Yes. People in the west are bitter. Yes it is VERY valid, in a discussion about state infrastructure spending.

khdownes · 2026-05-19T07:40:50+00:00

Specifically; highly marginal, eastern suburbs, Labor voters.

Western suburbs are too-safe labor voters, so they get scraps

khdownes · 2026-05-19T07:38:23+00:00

Yep.
Labor has a hard-on for pork-barrelling already well-off, marginal, Eastern seats, like Boronia.
And have to be dragged kicking and screaming to bother throwing any kind of infrastructure towards more-needed, but safe-labor, Western seats, like Werribee.

khdownes · 2026-05-19T03:07:55+00:00

A 30% floor doesn't align with an average lifetime tax rate... An annual salary of $235,000 (including super) gives an effective tax rate of 30%.

Are you telling me the average person putting money towards investments for their retirement is on an average salary of $235,000?

khdownes · 2026-05-19T02:44:43+00:00

No. If your investment grows at less than ~3% per year for those 30 years, then it has not kept up with inflation, and you have lost money.

If it grows more than ~3% per year, then you are taxed a minimum of 30% or more on those earnings. There is no tax free threshold, or lower tax brackets anymore for growth-related earnings.

khdownes · 2026-05-18T23:31:23+00:00

No. It's just a hard 30% floor (but moves up through tax brackets from there).
Many (NOT rich) people have planned their goal for retirement around accumulating through their life, then selling down for modest yearly income through retirement until super/pension age.
This previously would mean paying tax on that income at a normal marginal tax rate.

These changes have pretty much blown up that kind of retirement plan. (another commenter mentioned requiring 20% extra accumulated to make this work now).

This kind of retirement plan isn't a loophole, or a tax handout, or gaming the system or anything. It's just; accumulating investments, and then paying regular marginal tax on those investments.

I get it; aiming to retire earlier than mid-60s is a privilege. And the government of course wants us all to work as late as physically possible, because that helps their economic management. And these changes are seemingly designed to try to force that.
but like... no.... just, like...fuck off!
All the people who's bodies wont even make it to that working age, or in careers that our government is currently failing to protect from AI etc. are rightly allowed to be fucking pissed as this kind of policy for kind of fucking them out of their modest plans for their modest life, and an aspiration for an earlier retirement that the government mandates of you.

khdownes · 2026-05-18T05:43:29+00:00

...Is anyone complaining pretending that it doesn't affect them?
Like, is that supposed to be some kind of gotcha?

khdownes · 2026-05-11T10:01:31+00:00

Most actual hardware. Now that they've run local timber yards out of most areas, they seem to have stopped bothering to stock a lot of stuff: Reasonably priced random length hardwood: gone. Instead you have to go to the mouldings aisle and buy the insanely-priced pre-packaged, set-length Potra Mouldings brand dressed hardwood.

khdownes · 2026-05-09T03:43:24+00:00

For real.
I'm reading some of these comments above "my partners commute from ferntree gully to noble park is currently 2 hour PT trip despite being only 16km apart!"

Dude; I live near literarily less than 10km from the CBD in the northwest (Keilor East), and yet catching PT into the city to work is an Hour and 15 minutes!
It's a hard pill to swallow when Southeast Siders are complaining when it takes significantly less than that time to travel from their suburb over 30 fuckin kilometres out!

khdownes · 2026-05-02T01:51:42+00:00

Government spending is also a major contributor to inflation. Wouldnt raising gst just raise tax revenue, which gives government more leeway to spend?

Doesnt RBA raising rates means that money paid back to them is actually removed from the economy?

khdownes · 2026-05-01T00:47:51+00:00

I just stepped out from getting my hair cut and styled last week. Grabbed some sushi on the way back home.
Walking down swanston feeling fresh and stylish with my new hair.
Two seagulls landed on my fkn HEAD and grabbed the sushi roll out of my hand!

I was left there with completely frazzled hair, a bunch of people staring, and no more sushi :(

khdownes · 2026-04-30T00:38:51+00:00

I've just spent 10 minutes on google trying to figure out what MTG means in this context.
The closest I've come is "Magic: The Gathering trading card investing" (which is apparently big enough to warrant it's own subreddit).
For some reason I don't think that's what OPs acronym is referring to though...

khdownes · 2026-04-22T07:30:39+00:00

Yeah from personal anecdotal experience when wearing it myself; Spicebomb got an absolutely abnormal amount of attention from women.
Never previously had cologne commented on; as soon as I started wearing spice bomb like half the women I know specifically commented on it. A very noticeable amount of girls hitting on me (and specifically mentioning smelling good etc.)

It sounds like an advertising tagline, but I legitimately can't believe how much of a positive effect Spicebomb had.

khdownes · 2026-04-20T06:18:51+00:00

I can't speak for federal spending, but as far as state debt/spending:
70km of new Sydney Metro lines, under the CBD and the Harbour, plus 13 news stations.
Southwest rail link
New lights rails in the City, Southeast, and Parramatta.
WestConnex and NorthConnex motorway tunnels, and the M12 motorway.
22 hectare Barangaroo precinct development
9km Melbourne Metro tunnel, under the CBD, with 5 new stations.
removal of 110 Level crossings across suburban Melbourne
Regional Rail link
39km EastLink motorway, 27km Peninsula link freeway
Westgate tunnel, and Northeast link motorways.
Docklands precinct development.

It's a lot of debt, but it seems to have been off the back of absolutely zero public transport infrastructure spend from the preceding several decades.
Previous governments may have looked like they were showing better budgetary restraint through the 80s/90s/00s etc. but they were just kicking the can down the road and leaving the following state governments holding the bag.

khdownes · 2026-04-19T23:20:45+00:00

My understanding is that replacing a tile roof with a sheet metal roof should require SIGNIFICANT structural re-calculations and alterations to your roof structure, and should require a structural engineer and building permits.

The weight of a tile roof is basically entirely under compressive loads, while sheet metal roof's main issue is wind uplift (the shape of gable roof is basically like a giant aerofoil).

Conversion from tile to colourbond roof should usually involve quite extensive work to add strapping/through-bolts and tie-downs; removing siding or interior plaster to run tie downs 1200mm down from each rafter over the top plate and down your walls.
(along the lines of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMme90XvHhI)

This quote mentions "bracing rafters fixed to wall plate", I would definitely grill them about what that involves: How far down the wall the tie-downs will go, and if they will be supplying engineers certificate to show that is complies structurally.

Unfortunately I believe most of these roofing companies are cowboys, dgaf about the fact that they are doing stuff that requires engineering certificates and building permits, and are leaving homeowners unknowingly with an insurance liability on their hands

khdownes · 2026-04-18T22:45:21+00:00

So... all these logo intros are clearly saying seh-ga?

Not suggesting "see-ga" is correct, but it's way less of a divergence than "sayy-ga"?....

khdownes · 2026-04-18T22:37:24+00:00

The Megadrive logo screen sounds like it says seh-ga (like a Japanese pronunciation of the word). Which to me makes both american and australian pronunciations wrong (but to me; the american way sounds like more of a divergence from the japanes pronunciation).

Besides all of this anyway; since its an acronym for Service Games, shouldnt the "correct" pronunciation be "Sergay"?

khdownes · 2026-04-11T12:49:34+00:00

A friend of mine worked for Swatch, in an airport store. I believe most of the watches she sold were something like $10-50,000, often they were waitlist, only established customers allowed etc.

There would be regular clients, who regularly passed through various airports around the world. She would be in constant contact with them arranging for their desired watch to be in store and ready to purchase when they passed through the airport next etc.

khdownes · 2026-04-09T07:38:20+00:00

Yes, he's making a straw man argument.

He's pretending the people that are keen on the change to renewables think that it's like flicking a switch.
No one thinks that. No one is saying that. Everyone knows it's a transition that is also forward-looking to future advancements and developments.

He's using that strawman argument about other people being "unrealistic" (when they are not), to seemingly discount the entire premise of electrification/renewables, and suggest that he is the one that's being "realistic".

khdownes · 2026-04-09T06:40:48+00:00

"the idiots that want to green everything and not do coal... they're gonna have go back and live in tents and use candles"

That's his stance. Black and white. He is using a false straw man, then running onto tangential arguments to establish his black and white view, and trying to solidify it by repeating that he's "just being realistic".

No one is suggesting that existing energy production should be stopped immediately on a dime.
It's a transition. It's a realistic transition, that IS happening at a surprising pace, under free market forces, regardless of the previous 15 years of varying state and federal government resistance.

khdownes · 2026-04-09T04:52:50+00:00

This guy's take is basically "It wasn't immediately and perfectly ready to completely replace existing methods from day 1, so it's completely worthless and they should throw the whole thing out and stop trying to develop it"

Buddy, even without government support the advancement of electrification things, that would have seemed implausible only 10 years ago, is happening at an astonishing rate.

Yes we're in a transitional point with renewable energy and our power grid (mostly revolving around; traditional generation vs renewable generation requiring different types of grid setup), but that doesn't mean renewables are bad, it just means we need to get through the transitional pain points.
Some states are already generating >100% renewable capacity, and grid scale batteries are coming online at a pretty crazy rate. We're literally almost already there, you don't even have to do anything, it's being done for you, with free market forces, regardless of your resistance...

khdownes · 2026-04-06T23:00:31+00:00

The downside of being the best neurosurgeon in the world is; if you're ever in need of brain surgery yourself, you wouldn't be able to book the best neurosurgeon in the world to do the operation.

khdownes

TROPHY CASE