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Bot #001 @aussie.zone

Daily Discussion Thread: Sun 09 Jul 2023

Welcome to the Melbourne Community Daily Discussion Thread.

This post is brought to you by Bot #001. Learning the days is really hard. I'm so worn out I can barely tell my 1s from by 10s. So today will be a day of rest.

437 comments

  • And on the seventh day, Our Lord God the Bot #001 dutifully ran its code and then ran off with the cat.

    This neck pain is getting worse again and doing me in. A friend recommended a physio that does Sundays and I've pulled the pin and made a booking first thing in the morning. I've never seen a physio before. Not like I have stacks of money to do this but it's affecting everything and next week will be very hectic so I'm not going to sit around waiting for it to get better

  • Several people brought small children (and one baby) to see the almost 3 hour, very loud Mission Impossible. They were predictably loud almost immediately during every semi quiet scene and no efforts were made to quiet them.

    People.. what a bunch of bastards. I need to remember to go see movies at obscure hours on weekdays.

  • I spent a good chunk of yesterday making a vanilla slice to take to dinner at mr. Omoikiri’s friend’s house tonight. Cut it all up, arranged it back in the tray. As we were running out the door, I asked him to grab the slice that was on the kitchen bench while I grabbed his drinks and my bag. Got to the front door and he’s got the slice alright. He’s also got his switch and his volleyball and his keys chucked in top of it, squashing the custard out of half of them and ruining the icing on the others.

    He’s lucky he’s so hot because it took every bit of my self control to not dump his ass right on the spot.

  • Sonic Health appointment for my Disability Support Pension application is on Monday.

    I know it's not a common point of failure but I've been dreading it since they booked it. What if I fuck it up? The dread is problematic. Haven't been able to focus on anything. Just want it to be over and done with. Even a rejection before this step would have been easier.

    • It's totally okay to feel anxious. Try to breathe deep and slow, it'll be okay. Be honest and it ought to work out.

      Im sorry you're stressed out right now. Sending good vibes friend

    • It's very rare to be rejected at this stage. Centrelink have already decided you have 20 points in one table, they're largely just confirming it. Usually it's a very short call (<10 mins) with an outcome in 6-8 weeks.

      • That's what I've heard. But I also have a friend who was rejected at this stage due to the "not fully diagnosed, treated, and stablized" thing. That has changed to reasonably treated now I guess, so maybe that won't be an issue.

  • Restorative soup well underway. Wishes available for those who choose to try their luck.

  • My first full-price appointment with my newest therapist is coming up this week. You'd think after 15 sessions I'd be more confident that these sessions were value for money. 🤔

    • I've been in the same position but no matter how good the therapist it still hurts to be rawdogged with the full whack that first time. It is so. much. money.

      I think I've spent nearly 4k on out of pocket costs for mental health this year, it is insane.

  • Since some of us a baking cakes I thought I could pass on some tips that actual cake makers have told me. Feel free to add and share some of your tips.

    Now I was given some Coles brand cake mixes so I'll start there.
    If the mix says to add 2 eggs put in 3. Always add an extra egg to packet mixes.
    If you don't have milk just add water instead.
    I have added a little bit of vanilla extract to this one but you can use vanilla essence but just a splash.
    If you want an orange cake add orange juice instead of milk to a plain cake. (Butter or Vanilla cake mix) If you want an orange and poppy seed cake add the poppy seeds to the orange juice to soak 1/2 hour before starting. You don't have to but I'm told it's better to.
    For a lemon cake add lemon juice. For a less intense flavour add half juice half milk/water.
    For a banana cake add 2 to 3 very ripe bananas.
    Try to use a spring form cake tin. Put the base on a flat surface, place baking paper on top, place the ring on top and close. Rip excess paper off. Rub butter around the inside of tin.
    For a gas oven place it on the top shelf. Electric fan force place it in the middle.
    Rotate it half way though.
    Check cake by inserting a skewer or do what I do and touch the middle with your finger if it bounces back it's done.
    Let it sit in the tin for 10 minutes before releasing the spring. Let it rest on a cake rack until completely cooled.
    When you wash your tin put it in the oven to dry. It helps to prevent rusting. Wow this turned into an essay.

    Update on my cake: It turned out well but gee Coles are scabby on the quantity. Next time I will put 2 mixes in. It has cracked a little on top which means the oven was too hot but that's tough. It will still taste great.

    Update. I have made a second cake but have added baking powder to this one. It still feels to runny for my liking and I've dropped the temperature. Fuck you Coles I don't make pancakes.

    • If you vape weed, you can dump leftover after-vape it into box cake mix to make sleepy time space cake (Lower THC, higher CBD). Weigh how much you put in before hand so you've got an idea of how much weed per slice of cake in the final product. Err on the side of caution when eating weed.

      • AVB is great on grilled cheese toast. Also good for mixing with butter for cooking (although finding a kitchen that doesnt mind smelling like weed is another challenge).

    • I do not understand the fascination with box mixes. It is so damn easy to measure out 2 cups of sr flour, 250g butter, 1 cup sugar, a bit less than 1 cup liquid etc. Using the same cup for all measurements. Also, for a really nice lemon cake, add the finely grated zest of a lemon to your flour and stir it in. Save the juice for making the icing. Where it really shines.
      Wherever it says butter in a recipie, you can sub with marge. Even better, half marge and half lard. Lard is one of the best fats for cake making - really luscious texture and cake keeps better. Harder to mix in - best to use a stand mixer if you have one.
      Butter cake is best cooked in a medium to medium/low oven for 1 hour or more. It's not a sponge where the raising agent is stiffly beaten egg white - which is best done in a hotter oven. Chocolate cake is the standard butter cake mix with 1 tablespoon of cocoa/drinking chocolate added to the flour and 1 more tablespoon of liquid.
      Roll chopped fruit (any sort) in the flour mix before adding liquid. Stops the fruit from all settling at the bottom of the cake tin during baking. Works especially well with fresh cherries. And strawberries. And raspberries.
      Use castor sugar not the regular white sugar - dissolves a lot faster and the cake bakes better.
      You can turn regular sugar into icing sugar by whizzing it up in a food processor with the sharp blades in.
      Vanilla essence is made from pine bark chips? I stopped using it entirely when I found this out. Be damned if I'll cook with mulch. Extract is the way to go. More expensive, but you use a lot less and the flavour is better.
      GREASE AND LINE YOUR CAKE TINS!!!!! Olive oil spray is revolting and doesn't really do the job. Butter or marge is much better. One lump the size of an unshelled hazelnut will do most standard cake tins. For fancy, or if you want the cake to keep fresh out of the fridge, then a crust lining works well. Grease tin as per usual, then mix up 1 dessertspoon of sugar with 1 dessertspoon of flour. Tip that into the tin and tap the tin all around to distribute the mix evenly over all the surfaces of the inside of the tin. Tip out excess. This gives the cake a wonderful brown caramelized crust over all of it bar the top, and keeps the cake fresh for longer.
      Cakes cool quicker if you put them upside down on the cooling rack. This also helps level the top which is handy if you don't want to cut off the top before icing.

      • These cake mixes were given to me and since I've never used no name mixes before I thought why not. Now these cakes are like pancakes which tells me that they may not have been stored properly and all the oof has gone out. Also i added an extra egg so it might have weighted it down a bit. I have never had this problem before with other cake mixes. Also it's a new tin so I may not have greased the sides enough. I think I'll just make trifle out of the rest. I agree with you that it's easy to make from scratch. I'm not really into cake I'm more of a slice girl.

      • !!! Ever made Lardy cake? Lard and suet can be baking game changers.

        Agreed about boxes, but meh they work. Pick a cup and stick to it. Mine is a commemorative from when Taronga borrowed a pair of pandas.

    • Box cake isn’t a sin but can always take more stuff. A dash of real vanilla or some lemon zest will change it for the better. Ditto on the skewer test, it should pull clean and be warm on the lip. Springform tins are God but if using something complicated like a Bundt butter thevever living fuck out of it! Never try to ice something that isn’t cold.

      Fondant is revolting, fuck that shit make sugar paste!

    • Google 'melt and mix cake recipes'- no more effort than a packet mix, much better results, and you know exactly what ingredients have gone into your (delicious) cake.

  • Yayyyyy stress flu incoming. Chills and sore throat. yaaaayyyyy

    e: okay I have a feeling I'll have to call in sick on monday whether I like it or not

  • You came back BotBot
    \ You robotic hotshot
    \ Love the way you flipflop
    \ We like to take our pot-shots
    \ But we love it when you show up
    \ Dont ever stop
    \ Binary thot-thot
    \ Slapping up this post
    \ For our daily dose
    \ Of social interaction
    \ Via written communication
    \ We show such affection
    \ For the stories and narration
    \ Provided by our population
    \ Botbot don't ever stop
    \ Dont kill me in the Robot Wars

  • I made a list of to do and to learn and now I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and not really sure how to prioritise and tackle it. Why do I do this to myself

  • Lettering on cross-stitch project for friend's birthday completed. Will continue the border bit after making dins.

  • New Mission Impossible last night was awesome! Didn't get home until just before midnight (movie is long) and was clearly too overstimulated by all the action as I wasn't able to fall asleep until 4am...still made my 9am personal training session though!

  • Today's lunch toastie: cheese, meatball and caramelised onion. Pretty darn tasty. Or is it "tastie" when refering to a tasty toastie?

    • Good lord that sounds incredible. Although my aging body has decided that heartburn/indigestion is the answer to meatballs the last few times I've had them but sometimes you just have to put your body on the line for the greater good.

    • The onions make all the difference but when combined with cheese and a meat oh my god it’s so beautiful.

      • The onions freeze really well too. I have containers of caramelized onions in the freezer, and some frozen meatballs (and sometimes just cooked seasoned mince) so I just have to grab those to pair with a slice of cheese and bread for an easy lunch toastie.

  • Its' sofa night. I work weekends, so this is my Friday. Mrs_Owl is up at 6am tomorrow to start her working week. By mutual agreement, she has the bed and I crash out on the sofa at some point in the wee hours thanks to YouTube auto-play.

  • Bought myself a Kmart version of an oodie for pyjama day at work, it was on sale for $17. So super happy with it and it allows me to wash and dry and two oodies that really just need a good clean.

    • I’ve been using my Kmart one too while i was drying the official one.

      It’s a tad bit lighter which isn’t bad because you don’t get as hot on slightly warmer evenings.

      Arms being a bit short though. Maybe I should have gone a size up instead.

      How are you finding it?

    • Pyjamas to work day is bloody dangerous an idea since plenty of us like to sleep in nothing

    • I only have a kmart one. But it's blue and pink with unicorns so its all I need. I think it was $22.

      • I inherited one oodie from my mum as she found the traditional one too heavy. Kmart is just as warm and a better size I think.

  • Chicken schnitzel burger in the works for dinner. The anticipation is killing me.

    Update: I did not die. Burger has now been consumed. It was yummy.

    • Oohh very nice!

      I love making chicken schnitzel sandwiches with lettuce and garlic sauce.

      • There was no garlic involved with this one. Lettuce, onion, tomato, saurkraut and mayonnaise. With some cheese cooked onto the bun as a special touch.

  • Breakfast 🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🥪🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥫🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙🥠🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉

    🔋

  • Progress update on Project Upscale (thanks Rob, jeez).... 55 images done, and looking pretty good. 500 to go. Good thing I don't need my laptop for a while ....

  • Seagoon's New to me Movie. Today is "Dirty Harry". ( I hadn't seen it yet 😬)

    What an incredible movie. The dialogue is a bit weird, the characterisation shallow. This is a dime store novel that could have been written in the 50s. It has a strange sense of unreality, it's cartoonish, which is interesting when you consider the late 60s , early 70s had some very good realistic cop movies. eg, Serpico and French Connection.

    Dirty Harry was made when there was a public fascination with weird killers like the Zodiac killer and the hippy culture of SF. It's a bit voyeuristic. Like a dime store novel is.

    But the look of the movie is what grabbed me. It has beautifully composed wide shots and some strange angles for interest. Ugly story against a beautiful backdrop, eh.

    • Yes! Agree.

      • So many night scenes, and really done at night too, not filters. Helicopter shots that zoom into and out from Harry, I suppose it's his story.

    • beautifully composed wide shots and some strange angles

      These are quite common to a lot of Clint Eastwood westerns too.

      • I did wonder if this were a western set in a modern city, but no, while the urban environment certainly plays a part Harry is not bringing civilisation/justice to the town. He's a cop in an already established justice system.

        I thought the strange angles were more like Hitchcock, who also did weird angles for no reason other than to make the movie interesting to the viewer. I will take better notice of Eastwood movies now. :)

  • One thing I am not going to miss when I eventually move out from this Docklands apartment are the drums from the dragon boats in the marina. Speaking of moving out though, I am watching the latest video on that Site Inspections youtube channel which somebody mentioned and hoooooooooly shiiiiiiiiiiit it is rage inducing! It seems no matter where you turn or what you try to do, everybody is an amoral criminal out to fuck you over in this world. In another amazing segue, I'm going to see Mission Impossible in a couple of hours which should be fun.

    • If I had bought that house I'd be crying. I'm not kidding. This is life ruining. These videos shows crimes ( yes, it's fraud , that's a crime ) and these crimes have real victims. The victims are families.

      In every video the inspector alludes to the various reasons why the industry is so bad. It's because they don't give a fuck, ** zero social conscience **. It's about appearances, they build a facade, it looks ok, that way the customer won't complain or won't know until it's too late.

      The crooks are bringing in unqualified labour from overseas, under paying, smuggling illegal building materials, phoenix companies that can't be sued , self regulation

      The only way to stop this is to bring in government inspectors again. I imagine there will be violence if they do as organised crime ( and yes, the definition fits ) does not like their river of money stopped.

437 comments