Daily Discussion Thread: Wed 13 Sep 2023

So happy for you! It's honestly a great feeling being able to work. I mean it sucks because you don't get much time for yourself. But at the same time, having money is great.

You done did it. Congrations.

Stud Spud the Gainfully Employed!

Woop woop congrats Stud!! Time to treat yo self!

So happy for you, I hope you have a great day today in your new job!

big hugs , you deserve this 🤗😘😘🤗

Haven't been around the last couple of days, so (belated) congratulations!

You deserve it Spud, hope your first day went swimmingly!

Ahhh pizza, one of life’s essential comfort foods.

Next comes a burger!

There weather’s going to be real nice tomorrow as well which would make it perfect.

Very cool they are sending you on the road with a tech to get that experience!

🥾🥾Boots for the road

pizza buds!

But a good tired, yes? 😊🤗

Where you been? 🤔

hey

Welcome home 🤗

From outer space
I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face

Observation, look at gardens and look at people doing gardening.

Practice and start easy.

Books, read lots of books.

I would start with herbs, they are really tough and you can eat them. Nasturtiums and radishes are great for planting from seed, really easy.

MONEY. Gardening takes money. Money for tools and seed and fertiliser.

Remember when you are looking at other people's gardens you are looking at their successes, you haven't seen how many plant they have killed!

Like any other hobby. Slowly. Learn information online, tv shows, asking people who are good gardeners. Trial and error. Be observant during the trial and error, and then check what went wrong and how to do it better next time.

As for insects, you will encounter them. I wear gloves while gardening. I’ve been gardening a long time and never been bitten by a spider. So it might be a matter of small steps and maybe start with pot plants where there is a very low chance of insects and move up to outdoor gardening when you feel ready. Maybe reading up on the different kinds would help to feel better? Many insects are not only super beneficial to a successful garden, but absolutely essential. For example bees and worms. Good luck! Gardening is a fun and peaceful hobby. Oh and almost forgot, Gardening Australia on ABC is an excellent show with very good information and inspiration.

Not a huge gardening person, but I know that like it's nice being able to grow your own stuff, even if it's just spring onions. It gives them more life, and saves money too. Though I can't comment on the spiders, because I too cry whenever I see them.

My mum was a fabulous gardener, and one bit of advice she gave me was to check out what is in the local gardens around you. You can tell what plants are suited to the environment that way, and those will be more likely to survive.

Not sure about the spiders and bugs, they are pretty much part and parcel with being outside.

In regards to learning to garden, I learned most things through books and constantly reading about it, combined with continual practice. Things will continually die, fail to sprout, bolt to seed before you can eat them, get infested with pests and eaten by wildlife. The trick it to keep working at it and improve the percentage that is successful.

I would recommend you start with an actual book or two - there is tons of information on the internet, but a decent book has been structured to provide all of the basic information you need in a coherent order. Some of the info online is also of somewhat dubious accuracy.

Only thing I would add to the topics covered below (which I largely agree with), is that gardening is mostly a matter of attention to details. I find I need to spend about 10-15 minutes a day just checking on things plus time spent watering, feeding and cosseting plants. Make it part of your daily routine and it's easy. And very relaxing.

I would definitely invest in gardening gloves (cheap at Aldi) if you are nervous about bugs etc. Please don't spray poison on them - there are so many good bugs that actively help you grow things and these really shouldn't to be poisoned. Ordinary rubber gloves are good for physically squashing pests like caterpillars and cherry slugs. And believe me, once you've seen your hard work eaten by caterpillars, one becomes quite murderous where they are concerned.

Something to start with that's edible and easy (at least in summer) is peanuts. Recommend having a go at these for a starter plant in a pot as it's so easy to grow. It's a pretty plant too - very decorative and largely free from pests. They are delightfully weird too as the nuts grow on the end of the branches, just underground. And really fresh peanuts are hard to find in shops and absolutely delicious. Get the seed peanuts from Diggers or similar - ordinary supermarket ones are treated with chemicals or roasted and probably won't germinate. You will only need one or two seeds to start a plant.

Oh and I forgot to mention. See if there’s a seed library in your area. Sometimes they’re run by the council or a library. You can ‘borrow’ seeds by taking some, planting them and letting some of your plants go to seed to ‘return’ them. Or you can donate remaining unused seeds from a packet that you bought.

Some even have gardening groups or community gardens to help you learn.

(They tend to deal with heirloom seeds though, because those are better for seed saving. If you see anything on a seed packet saying F1, or F2, or F3 then those are hybrids.

Generally with hybrids the results of the first planting will breed ‘true’ and give the best results of the mixed parent genes, but saving the seeds from that and planting again will give you mixed and kind of crappy results.

It’s up to you which you use, both heirlooms and hybrids have their good points, but just something to remember if you want to save the seeds.)

You can also buy kits from shops but they might not be amazing

Edit: This is making me wish Woolies still did those little seed giveaways rather than whatever junk they have now. They’re price gouging so I try to avoid them when possible and not all the plants were cat safe but man… it’s the only time I’ve ever been interested in the giveaways

I’ll chime in. Try container gardening! You can do a few things in pots.

I’m very much an amateur that’s dabbled with simple herbs my entire life but a few years ago I was growing spinach. Because there wasn’t room in the pot to let the plants get full size I harvested the leaves early as baby spinach.

There are guides but basically I put potting mix in a standard window box, mixed in some slow release fertiliser (Osmocote or whatever brand of granules) and planted some of the spinach seeds. Then I kept planting more seeds at intervals so more would keep coming, while gently picking the bigger leaves so the existing plants would keep producing more. (This may not get you a whole big crop but is very good to constantly get a small amount of fresh leaves ie. for a sandwich.)

This is called a few things like continuous sowing, succession planting etc. The plants ended up a little crowded but they really didn’t mind. The roots are shallow so they’re good for containers.

Some things to remember - spinach seeds need darkness to sprout, and then the seedlings need light to thrive. They tend to be a cooler weather crop. Some types are more heat resistant and resistant to bolting (going to seed) but they will bolt fast if they get too hot or dry. Don’t worry, they do that. They’re temporary plants.

Once planted they hate being moved - mix in fertiliser to the soil first before planting or use liquid, or water it in. Then sow seed straight into where you want them. If you don’t use slow release fertiliser they might want a little more when they start growing to a certain stage (was it when they get their second set of leaves?) They’re hungry bois.

Another option is to get a cutting of rosemary, strip the leaves off the bottom half, and sit it in a glass of water until roots appear. You remove the leaves from where the stem sits in water so they don’t go rotten. If you remember to water it you can plant it in an old yogurt pot. Putting it in gradually bigger pots as it outgrows them means the rosemary will get bigger and start to bush out. Pinch off the very tips sometimes so it gets nice and bushy.

If you see mint you can get a sprig and put it in a pot. It goes wild. DO NOT plant it in the ground, even if the roots are in a pot. It grows tendrils above ground and spreads like crazy. Consider a hanging pot even.

Another choice is radishes. They grow incredibly fast.

I tried to learn this and never really got the hang of it.

This is a known impossibility unless you have special powers, sort of like how the Guild bends time and space. 🤨, do you have very blue eyes?

This is amazing. Not only can you serve breakfast across the Pacific Ocean on demand, but can fold fitted sheets!!!! What sorcery is this? I need to learn. Or hand in my witchcraft brownie badge.

Omg. How?????

I tried the spoony thing but could never get the final package to look nice and neat. Your powers are suspicious...

how. need video.

Same. I get told I'm like fluoro lights coming towards them.

🤤🤤🤤 the other day I bought Woolies last two bottles and gifted one to a friend

Currently chilling on my couch in shorts and no tshirt quite comfortably

Nah. Never too late. In fact it could help you fall asleep after having a bath and relaxing.

yum, I'll buy some to make marmalade 😊

I dont normally eat a lot of fruit, other than passionfruit from the garden, but mandarin this year has been delicious!

you'll get on the first UFO out of here

I’ve been tripping out on that since the congressional hearings. Shits wild.

I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next season, assuming it hasn’t started yet.

I binged all of it over 2 days.

great show. haven't caught the attest season, yet - waiting for a binge oportunity

I love it! The cast is great.

This is on my list to watch after The Bear, heard great things and now again here.

Mine is just traveling to work or to places around my suburb, going to my psych, to my partners and going into the city. But most of it is work and home.

Where do you find the highlights? I can only find my insights

Edit: oh nevermind, they arrived in an email like 10 mins after I asked

I fkn hate that apartment building in the prison. Like, just a big fat eyesore.

Make it black and white and put bars on all the windows and balconies, then, maybe, it would fit the aesthetic a colonial prison-turned-shops. Ugh. Greedy mfs

Actually, looking at it, maybe I'm supposed to throw it like a discus....?

... what's in the box, what's IN the box, what's in the box today?..

Me too!

Saw these pre-covid. Delicious. I like them better than afourer or imperial or murcots. Which supermarket?

How do they compare to imperial mandarins?

Ooo, this sounds delicious.

Yeah, when I tried on my new glasses, it felt so weird. I remember when I got prescription sunglasses and I felt like I was going to vomit.

Communication and understanding can be difficult in a relationship, especially when there is distance involved.

Sending you my love. 💜💜💜

💊

I'm sick of being sick. Missing work and a funeral today. 😔

What's a body battery reading?

Breakfast of Champions!

Thank you! You are all so damn awesome! 😍😍😍

From UMG: 🔥🔥🔥

They also care very deeply about the welfare of the high court judges presiding over the matter, since alll are members of the chairman’s lounge. Although that probably seems like a wasted investment for Qantas right now.

And the mongrel is walking away whistling a merry tune, with $24m plus in his back pocket. Kinda sick making.

Sounds like a dream finding a good pillow.

Which one is that?

I just bought a new pillow because my old one is a pancake and I was getting neck pain. I’m on a Kmart budget so ordered their cheap high profile pillow with a memory foam core.

But the price of eggs is going up up up. Maybe they're harvesting surreptitious eggs from the egg farmers, rather than chickens. Which make a lot of noise so harder to be stealthy about it.

I don't like iOS on the phone. Though my list of gripes with it gets smaller each version they roll out. I cope with it on my iPad, because there just isn't an android tablet remotely as good hardware-wise.

If you're moving from Android, see whether you can borrow an iPhone and use it for a few days before you commit $1k.

Coffee please chef. And a choccy bikkie.

I'll just get a coffee for me. But I'd like to preorder for StudSpud, one triple shot flat white, and a hearty breakfast burrito to go!

They're cheap for the product and expensive for their tradies. I'd buy from them and get someone from hipages to install it. If you're replacing gas to gas it should all be pretty simple. Replacing gas w/electric you'll likely need to run a high load line from the fuse box to the stove. I'd replace with an electric induction rather than another gas given gas is getting phased out (more expensive).

Talking to the CEO is kinda cool actually.

I'd want to know what their long term plans are for the direction of customer service in the company. What goals and outcomes etc. Do they want customers to have a single point of contact at the company, or is the focus on speed and efficiency, etc. Which competitors do they want to incorporate some of their customer service approaches from? What are the biggest impacts the customer service is having on their company overall?

Is it a small company? CEO could be in a business of 10 people or 1000 people, and if it’s a small business they may want to check you will fit the ‘vibe’ of the company. Treat the interview the same way you did the first, it obviously worked! The first interview is often skills focussed, and the second interview means they think you can do the job but want to look a bit more at work style, soft skills and other fit factors, which may include meet and greet with others in the company that you’ll be working with. After the interview these people will have a chat with each other to see if they think you’ll be a good fit. So I would say be professional and try to share some aspects of your work style that you think are positives, and also take the opportunity to be engaged and ask them questions also. Remember the interview can also help you suss out if the people and organisation are somewhere you would enjoy working.

Contiguous length for water conservation. Fewer evaporate surfaces. You can always put a barrier between two sections if you want to isolate them.