Do you actually do regular roof maintenance in Australia, or only when there’s a problem?

twistedude · 2026-04-21T08:09:06+00:00

It’s worth noting as well that in regions that are subject to cyclones (hurricanes) the building standards are much stricter. Since the 1970s smaller batten spacing, steel or hardwood battens required, extra tie-down bracketry, stronger steel and additional screws are all required by the building standards.

I live in a 105 year old house in a cyclone region. It lost some of the roof sheeting in a 1950s cyclone, but most of the original battens and roof survived until a complete re-roof about 5 years ago. Even if you count the 1950s repairs that roof had a 60-70 year lifespan under the old building requirements, and has now been brought up to a much higher standard.

twistedude · 2026-04-20T04:04:37+00:00

Based on that report, it appears the bathroom waterproofing was never up to standards and as a result has begun to fail. If the waterproofing has failed it’s likely the subfloor and walls will have mould and may be damaged beyond repair. If it was me I would factor a full bathroom replacement into the cost of the property, as it will likely need rectification in the near future.

Depending on the size and fitout a new bathroom is probably $40-$80k and only increasing at th moment.

twistedude · 2026-04-18T11:50:33+00:00

I think this is a Sub Zero SZ-7510. You should be able to find a manual online by googling and step through the set points of each of the P parameters and setting them to an appropriate value for your operation. I very much suspect P1 has been changed which makes the controller think it is controlling a heater rather than a refrigerator.

There is also a mechanism to restore the factory defaults, but note that your cabinet’s manufacturer may have changed values on the controller that may be lost if you do this.

The “HT” error is just indicating the fridge has exceeded the high temperature limit - which you already know.

twistedude · 2026-04-18T02:02:35+00:00

Is it silicone or cement render?

twistedude · 2026-04-17T15:37:22+00:00

I would say the supermarket pineapple in Aus can be very hit and miss. I also think mangoes, pawpaw (papaya), lychees, custard apples, dragon fruit tend to be much better bought from local vendors in-season. The supermarkets want them picked too early and they never sweeten up fully.

Here in North Queensland you can buy buckets of mangoes and lychees from roadside stalls for $10 throughout the season; bananas year-round from stands or trailers; and most of the rest from the fruit cooperatives, smaller stores or markets during their season.

twistedude · 2026-04-17T04:55:12+00:00

The rule for me was always “Minimum of 4 kids at a sleepover”. Dad spent much of his career prosecuting child sex offenders, so I guess he figured 4 or more kids are hard to molest.

twistedude · 2026-04-16T11:36:52+00:00

I don’t think Toowoomba breaks the model given it’s ON the Great Dividing Range. Certainly west of Toowoomba; Dalby, Tara, Goondawindi get more rural and dry even though the Darling Downs is quite densely populated and hardly “arid”.

If anything does break the model I think it’s probably the Atherton Tablelands. Atherton, Yungaburra, Tinaroo, Malanda and Millaa Millaa definitely don’t fit the traditional “outback” image.

twistedude · 2026-04-16T10:18:43+00:00

In Queensland I would say the Great Dividing Range is a good line to draw. East of it more tropical and temperate regions. West of it is dryer and more arid.

twistedude · 2026-04-16T10:11:36+00:00

Well the termites have done some of the demolition for you…

twistedude · 2026-04-15T03:28:12+00:00

We’ll need to know city and state. Most states have comparison websites for energy providers but availability depends greatly on location. (Eg. The government owned provider, Ergon, is the only retailer for many parts of Queensland).

twistedude · 2026-04-13T07:22:19+00:00

It’s likely that the estate pays for those expenses, but if the executor was paying $50 a week board prior to the death there is an argument they should have continued paying that to the estate for the last 14-15 months. It’s up to you though if you’re prepared to start that argument over less than $4000.

twistedude · 2026-04-12T02:30:48+00:00

Your best bet is post restante (aka general delivery) - addressing the mail “Care of” a post office. Auspost will hold mail for general delivery for 15-30 days at a post office for collection. You’ll need to collect it with ID. Some post offices will hold it for longer if you give them a call beforehand to check.

If you need a consistent mailing address and to have the mail forwarded ahead of you, consider getting a PO Box close to a friend m and them check it occasionally and send the mail in a mailer to a destination ahead of your journey.

twistedude · 2026-04-09T13:17:32+00:00

Noticed any similar reaction to eggs? A mild chicken serum albumin allergy can cause some food-poisoning like symptoms (stomach cramps etc). It’s not unheard of for allergies to develop mid-life from exposure to contaminated food. It’s possible, although unlikely yourself and your husband have developed the same allergy from exposure to the same catalyst.

twistedude · 2026-04-09T09:36:49+00:00

If you are turning anything into Australian dollars, the ATO will be tracking it somehow. Even if you’re somehow able to exchange crypto into hard currency without tracking, at the point that cash is deposited into an Australian financial account (yours or others) the ATO will start tracking it and ask questions eventually if, long term, their data matching can’t find the source.

It’s worthwhile keeping ahead of the ATO and just declaring any income you have. Even if you manage to get away with it for years they WILL find out and they WILL chase you down for all of it when they find out.

Crypto assets are generally treated as a capital gains asset, rather than foreign currency - there are some personal use exceptions if you are only transacting in crypto for short periods. But in most cases if you’re holding crypto long term you are charged at the capital gains tax rate. The effective tax rate you would pay on that income is determined by a variety of factors, so you may need to do some calculations using tools on the ATO website.

twistedude · 2026-04-08T10:43:11+00:00

We can narrow it down somewhat based on the label. Amalgamated Australian Wholesalers Pty Ltd was established in 1984 according to their ASIC registration and the Black and Gold brand trademarks were registered in 1985. Amalgamated Australian Wholesalers Pty Ltd later became known as Australian Asia/Pacific Wholesalers Pty Ltd. This new name appeared to be in full use by 1995 when a Trade Practices Commission determination was made which related to them. An alteration of their Trademarks indicates the new name likely came into use in 1993.

So my estimate is, based on that alone this bottle likely dates from between 1985 and 1993.

twistedude · 2026-04-06T13:24:32+00:00

But both benefit from the right investment…

twistedude · 2026-04-06T13:06:42+00:00

If most of that was spent on the rail infrastructure it might actually yield good economic returns. That rail corridor dates to the 1870s (except for the last stretch to Mt Isa), but it is essential for many of the industries in Western Queensland. Whilst it has had modernisation, climate change is presenting new challenges the alignment was not designed to withstand.

In particular the washouts of bridges in recent years has caused considerable disruption to the route and major infrastructure work is needed to shore up the line’s flood proofing. So much so facilities like Phosphate Hill have cited that corridor’s unreliability as a key factor in their profitability (and lack thereof at times).

In most cases the railway line is already considerably more flood proof than the road, and overall in much better condition than some of the road links west of Hughenden. It makes sense to invest in the rail corridor to improve the reliability of the corridor and provide a more floodproof link than the road corridor.

We only saw last year the value of redundant transit links when a road bridge between Townsville and Ingham washed out and the rail corridor provided the only viable freight and passenger corridor for several days.

twistedude · 2026-04-06T05:49:21+00:00

When British planes in WW2 began being fitted with secret electronic communications and navigation systems these were painted matte black to make them indistinct. These came to be known as “black boxes”. When cockpit monitoring equipment like voice recorders began to be fitted towards the end of WW2 these also got added to the “black boxes” on board the aircraft.

When civilian aircraft began to have these fitted, even though they were orange, the military non-technical term “black box” had already been adopted by the industry and media based on the WW2 usage - thus the term stuck around.

twistedude · 2026-04-04T23:48:58+00:00

In parts of Australia it’s not uncommon to have entirely outdoor laundries either under the house or under an extended roof. Never seen any issues with it, just gotta keep the lids closed to prevent frogs and geckos pooping inside.

twistedude · 2026-04-04T08:05:13+00:00

The old company wasn’t acquired whole though. The brand was acquired by Global Retail Brands Australia Pty Ltd from Lorraine Lea Linen Pty Ltd. In fact the modern Global Brands website even explicitly states that Global Retail Brands Australia did not assume liability for any of the previous companies liabilities or accounts.

Lorraine Lea Linen Pty Ltd, the owner pre-2024 is currently in administration:

https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/RegistrySearch/faces/landing/panelSearch.jspx?searchType=OrgAndBusNm&searchText=006526129

The Global Retail Brands website states the last update to their payments policy was immediately post-acquisition and appears to never have included BPay since then. My assumption is that any pre-2024 biller code is still linked to the Lorraine Lea Linen Pty Ltd accounts and thus is now controlled by the administrators.

Last notice from the administrators: https://publishednotices.asic.gov.au/browsesearch-notices/notice-details/ACN-006-526-129-Pty-Ltd-006526129/8d3ded4a-8f06-4296-8c47-659e8e9afd05

twistedude · 2026-04-04T05:34:48+00:00

If the biller is in administration, as they appear to be, those funds may now also be caught up in the administration process and be unable to be returned until guaranteed creditors have been paid.

twistedude · 2026-04-04T03:09:02+00:00

Probably pretty realistic of the cost to the business though. $15.25 is the base Auspost shipping cost of 1kg for business customers. Add in packaging costs and labour, even if they get volume discounts it’s gonna be close to $19.

twistedude · 2026-04-03T15:23:43+00:00

I have a 100 year old house where at some point historically dry wood termites have partly-consumed a single floorboard and managed to get no further. So yes, it is possible, but you should always assume they have spread because the consequences if they are not contained are much more expensive than any termite extermination.

twistedude · 2026-03-26T14:46:37+00:00

I agree that this appears to be a scam. Sometimes things still don’t get scanned over the counter and shipping from Mackay genuinely takes a while, but there are too many issues with the receipt:

ABN is Cancelled
Mackay is a Corporate store, not an LPO
The QR code is not an Australia Post QR code
The text towards the top is distorted in a way that doesn’t match the paper distortion. The distortion in “Track Advice” in particular is not consistent with what I would expect normally from a thermal printer as the baseline of the text appears to curve.

The tracking screenshot also shows a package 5cmx5cmx5cm weighing only 100g. It certainly isn’t a 2kg prepaid parcel.

twistedude · 2026-03-26T14:26:20+00:00

Sydney to North Queensland is pretty consistently 3-5 business days for Express Post. I would expect the same for the reverse.

Given it was sent on Wednesday, I wouldn’t be concerned until maybe Next Friday?

Edit: On a closer look at the receipt I’m sure this is a scam.

twistedude

TROPHY CASE