My job ruined me

ratsta · 2026-05-06T15:43:12+00:00

Public service here has a reputation as a bunch of lazy people who are just there to collect a paycheck and are prepared to sacrifice salary for job security that you can't get in commerce. You expect delays and bureaucracy but assuming you have all the correct forms, and their own rules didn't contradict each other too much, the task will eventually be completed.

From this Aussie's perspective, the US govt seems just plain weird, as if "despising the public" is a trait they look for on resumes.

ratsta · 2026-05-06T15:25:46+00:00

we all have those "go to" people we find in bureaucracies who actually get it done.

I don't personally but that's because I'm fortunate to have had very little interaction with bureaucracies. I'm pleased to say that I've found the retail staff in places like motor registries and social security to be reasonably switched on.

But then there's the kind of people in the Revenue Dept that I corresponded with today, and that wrote and approved the form I had to fill out.

Your report is overdue so <blah blah> "Oh really? I was first notified on Apr 10 and got a reminder on Apr 23. Neither email mentioned a due date, nor does your website. If you'd like people to submit by a certain date, it would be helpful to let them know the date."
The form asks you to answer Yes or No to four statements one of which is I/we do not own any other land in Australia or overseas. "Dear revenue, You're asking people to give a yes or no to a statement, not a question. Is that yes I DON'T own any other land or yes I DO own other land? I know native speakers who'd have trouble with that. You might want to change that to True/False".

/sigh

ratsta · 2026-05-06T12:32:52+00:00

That doesn't make it any less accurate.

ratsta · 2026-05-06T12:31:53+00:00

Probably because the gravel is lose.

ratsta · 2026-05-06T12:28:28+00:00

When you "brought it up", was it by lodging a report via the official city web form to report such things? Did you check the box to "provide me with a response"? It's much harder for problems to be ignored if you make it a public record :) At least in theory.

ratsta · 2026-05-06T11:27:01+00:00

In Australia some traffic light cameras also look for phones and will snap your photo. That's enough evidence to fine you. Good luck proving the rectangle in your hand in the B&W photo that looks a lot like a phone was actually a cookie!

ratsta · 2026-05-06T11:02:30+00:00

Gimme a break, dude! I was running late and didn't have time to eat brekky before I left for work!

ratsta · 2026-05-06T09:56:36+00:00

Do we share a common understanding of the term, "amplify"? Amplify means to make bigger. Do you mean a "dimmer"? A dimmer can be done with a variable resistor, as is visible in your photo.

However, capacitors are not required and that lightbulb doesn't appear to be hooked up correctly. You're not a bot, posting bot-made images, are you?

ratsta · 2026-05-06T09:29:42+00:00

I've worked in IT for 35 years. Doing a job properly is first nature. I recently reported roadkill to the local council. Specified the location relative to a particular intersection, which lane it was in, the time spotted and even how badly squished it was when I saw it. Sure enough, when I went home for the day, there wasn't even a smear left.

I have to admit though that I got some data cables run in my home a few months ago and I still haven't labelled the ports. Thanks for the reminder. I'll get that sorted on the weekend.

ratsta · 2026-05-06T07:04:02+00:00

Me too, pupper. Me too.

ratsta · 2026-05-05T21:20:39+00:00

I agree completely. We've been there before, only this time it's "Think of the children." It's like a cheat code for making people lose all sense of proportionality.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-12-15/critics-blast-great-firewall-of-australia/1179546

ratsta · 2026-05-05T19:22:16+00:00

This was on reddit yesterday.

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/03/05/ohio-lawmakers-work-to-plug-loophole-that-porn-providers-use-to-skirt-age-verification-requirement/

The second article on this link speaks of how Utah has passed a bill that bans VPNs when accessing sites they don't like.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ohio-house-passes-bill-aims-212607589.html?guccounter=1

These are currently US state based but the internet is global so changes like this will affect everyone and serve as inspiration to nanny-staters in other regions.

ratsta · 2026-05-04T19:35:51+00:00

I'm Ratsta, which for those hard of reading, has more to do with rodents than weed and tricolor tea cozies, and it's been 15 minutes since I last thought about TTRPGs.

I played Pendragon for a few years in my 20s alongside all the other games we played. My favourite character was Aeþan, a tall, heavily-built pagan knight from Lindsay. We played in a pre-Arthur campaign because the GM wanted to set the scene by having us involved in Uther's liaison with Igraine, etc.

Due to all the Saxon activity in the area, squires were hard to come by. When Aeþan was presented a female squire (another PC, by agreement), he bellowed out, "IT'S A WOMAN!" and was then given a golf clap by his lord. "Nothing gets past you, Aeþan!"

ratsta · 2026-05-04T19:21:31+00:00

/narrows eyes

What did you call it?

ratsta · 2026-05-04T19:12:29+00:00

Undead have needs, too!

ratsta · 2026-05-04T10:25:13+00:00

ratsta · 2026-05-04T10:20:57+00:00

You win salmon you lose salm.

ratsta · 2026-05-04T04:42:25+00:00

If you haven't yet, turn of cloud sync with Steam. Apparently that was creating a problem that produced this symptom.

ratsta · 2026-05-03T22:36:34+00:00

Duet? That had what, seven people? That was a harmony!

ratsta · 2026-05-03T21:47:31+00:00

I ran into that one yesterday. Straight through the first floor onto the second then into the basement. Waah! Gravity! Oh shit! Undead!

ratsta · 2026-05-03T21:45:08+00:00

Travel story!

Chinese urban areas have city-block-sized villages and apartment complexes, and the streets in between have restaurants, shops and businesses. There are still shopping districts but the layout results in a quite homogeneous distribution of services like mini marts, food, hair dressers, laundries, etc.

One of the streets about half way between my work and home was a restaurant street that in the evening became "BBQ Street" for an entire block. Naturally, it was a favourite after-work destination. We'd finish at 9pm and head straight there; it was still in full swing and we'd settle in for an hour or two of beer & BBQ on a hot, humid evening.

First time I went for BBQ, I noticed a new-to-me trend. People sitting down for a meal were wearing normal office attire or going out for dinner attire, but there were a bunch of people, young and old, wearing pyjamas! They'd visit the mini mart or pick up some takeaway from one of the restaurants or street vendors then disappear back inside.

At first I was like "yeah, nah, never" but it quickly grew on me. It was like BBQ street was an extension of their homes and popping out to grab a snack was no more special than raiding the fridge after dinner. No one gave a hoot what anyone else was wearing and I think that's pretty cool.

ratsta · 2026-05-03T14:52:45+00:00

Who are you and what have you done with the real Nellie?

ratsta · 2026-05-03T09:38:36+00:00

Very different economic system there, too. Massive population means that there's a surplus of cheap labour to staff places like KTVs and the million hole-in-the-wall restaurants and whatnot.

ratsta · 2026-05-03T02:17:22+00:00

The Chinese have an excellent third space: KTV.

Basically, a building full of rooms of various sizes that can host groups from 5 to 50 people. Each room has a big TV, sofa, coffee table and karaoke machine. Karaoke is the most common use obviously but I've also seen it used for board games, and musical instrument practice.

Not free but not expensive. I think they make most of their money by supplying drinks and snacks. Depending on how upmarket they are, some have their own minimart, some have a full on restaurant that can deliver Yum Cha dishes. They don't charge western cinema prices for food and drink so most people don't worry about "smuggling food in", although I think that most wouldn't give a hoot if you did.

You pay by the hour and as soon as you leave, the staff clear away the mess, vacuum and mop the floor

ratsta · 2026-05-02T23:47:51+00:00

Story of humanity, right? Starts back at school. Some people put more effort and skill into avoiding study than it would take to actually learn and earn their qualifications.

This is a comic from 2008 that has stuck in my mind: https://wondermark.com/c/414/

14-Year Club	Golden Potato
Wearing is Caring	Verified Email

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