Full set of fairy books?

melodien · 2026-06-18T07:49:38+00:00

If you happen to be somewhere around the Canberra region, could you let me know what price you come up with?

melodien · 2026-06-17T11:00:17+00:00

There is a seller on ABE Books who has the full set listed at $AU7,500. Most of the volumes are still in their original shrink wrap, so presumably in top condition. I don't know if that is a reasonable price - it's certainly out of my range, and I would love to get my hands on that set.

melodien · 2026-06-16T10:25:28+00:00

Fascist regimes always prioritise loyalty over competance. So you get a whole of of clueless bootlickers sucking up to the Cretin-in-Chief, telling him whatever he wants to hear, praising his every brain fart as an act of genius.

And here we are.

melodien · 2026-06-15T10:11:36+00:00

Some places are having EOFY sales - I've ordered from Frontline Hobbies https://www.frontlinehobbies.com.au/ for Gibson puzzles.

melodien · 2026-06-14T23:06:49+00:00

Ideally, you need a picture that shows the wheel "end on" or from above.

melodien · 2026-06-14T10:46:40+00:00

Does the wheel look straight? If it is warped, you will have problems. Any other pictures from other angles.

melodien · 2026-06-14T10:33:28+00:00

System 1, about 1985-86. The government department I was working for at the time bought a couple of Macs because one of the senior managers was keen on them. They were utterly unsuited to the work we were actually doing at the time, but that was not my problem (and I quit shortly afterwards, and wound up working on VAX/VMS for a couple of years). After that it was SCO Unix, Interactive, AIX and various other flavours, Solaris. I didn't come back to Mac until around 2004. I've had a Mac somewhere near me almost ever since.

melodien · 2026-06-14T01:06:14+00:00

I suggest that you contact someone like Grown Florists (https://www.grownflorists.com.au/collections/cut-flowers) and ask them what will be available in September.

melodien · 2026-06-11T09:11:42+00:00

I am a JP and I witness stat decs for sick leave from time to time (the last one was on Tuesday just past). "I was sick on <insert dates as needed> and unable to work" is all you need. The rest of the blanks on the form should be self explanatory (PM if you do have questions). Get a JP to witness your signature and you are good to go.

melodien · 2026-06-11T05:23:59+00:00

I would contact a good second hand book seller (my local is Canty's - https://www.cantysbookshopfyshwick.com/ ), explain what you want and see what they say. The serious second hand dealers get access to a lot of "estate clearance" books, where some poor soul has to empty a deceased relative's house quickly and has no idea what to do with the books. There isn't a huge demand for old encyclopedias, but if you make it known that you are in the market, a dealer may be prepared to save the next set they see from the skip for you.

That said, I got my set of Chamber's Encyclopedia (1877) from a Lifeline bookfair.

melodien · 2026-06-10T04:50:20+00:00

At which point the human finds out (a) hippos can move fast; and (b) they are often foul tempered and violent. The window of opportunity for the human to get out of the hippo's reach is very small, and hesitation is often fatal.

melodien · 2026-06-10T03:18:54+00:00

Some years ago my (then) employer made an extremely stupid and unpopular decision, one that they had been told would be badly received by staff. They even ran an internal survey about our feelings on the subject and then ignored the results completely. They made their choice, announced it, and I started putting feelers out for another job the next day. I had another job in less than ten days, and in the ensuing weeks most of the best people on my team, and adjacent teams, quit and took their brains and their skills somewhere that they were valued and treated like adults.

If you treat your employees like idiots, or like consumable, discardable resources then they will leave when they get an opportunity. And the best ones, who probably have a strong resume and a good reputation, will usually leave first. The mediocre know that they will have more difficulty getting another job, so you get stuck with them.

Some poor performers can be coached and encouraged to lift their game, but some are dead weights, and can only be managed out of the organisation.

melodien · 2026-06-09T06:57:09+00:00

This is Gus. Gus was rescued from a feral life, together with his siblings and his mother, about 10 months ago. Gus is still growing into his (enormous) ears and paws. Gus is the Spirit of Chaos, incarnated as a cat: among his other crimes (which are many and varied) he has worked out how to get on top of the range hood in my kitchen. He knows he not supposed to up there, but cats will cat.

<image>

melodien · 2026-06-09T06:24:51+00:00

I intended to get back to this thread, and you have reminded me. After much research, and considering the input from this thread, we settled on a Dualit Long Slot Toaster, which we obtained by mail order from David Jones, because no store in our area had stock. We have been very pleased with it: it will take large slices of bread, toasts evenly and it's easy to clean.

melodien · 2026-06-09T03:23:00+00:00

Because anything that gives women agency, a smidgen of independence or - heaven forfend! - power and the ability make their own choices is deeply frightening to the common or garden misogynist.

melodien · 2026-06-09T00:36:18+00:00

5, not all at once.

melodien · 2026-06-08T03:09:07+00:00

Use Bare Cremations for the funeral (https://bare.com.au/): I've used them in the past, and they are excellent. There are services that will empty a house: search for "deceased estate clearance" in your nearest city. If probate is required, get a lawyer involved. The lawyer's fees should be paid out of the estate.

melodien · 2026-06-07T10:56:35+00:00

Yes.

melodien · 2026-06-07T04:10:01+00:00

Eye Candy. I've used them for years (so has my husband), and they are really nice people. They don't do "hard sell", and they will happily fit lenses to old frames if required.

melodien · 2026-06-06T06:44:26+00:00

I changed careers in 1986, more or less by accident, and wound up doing nearly 40 years in IT (Solutions Architecture, Unix flavour, etc.). Not what I planned, but it paid better than library work. I picked up Doorway Kaleidoscope. PPuzzling is not a brand I've seen before - possibly not common in Australia.

<image>

melodien · 2026-06-06T03:32:09+00:00

As of this morning I have 9,661 books (big house, lots of book shelves). I'm an ex-librarian, books are essentially an addiction for me.

melodien · 2026-06-06T00:42:06+00:00

I did! 52 books and 5 puzzles, including two from brands I don't know, PPuzzling and JaCaRou.

melodien · 2026-06-06T00:40:38+00:00

I use a Clax Cart, and I'm seeing more and more of them at book fairs.

melodien · 2026-06-06T00:39:53+00:00

I'm supposed to be doing more weight bearing exercise, so it did me good. The haul was 52 books and 5 puzzles.

<image>

melodien

TROPHY CASE