TimePencil
@TimePencil@infosec.exchange
Ex-mil, ex-sec, ex-treme, & ex-plosive.
Go ahead. Squeeze me. Crack that vial and watch the fireworks erupt.
Ditching Windows as it has become spyware and adware.
Flipping to Linux.
- Comment on [Satire] Great Barrier Reef ‘not white enough’ Pauline Hanson says 19 hours ago:
- Comment on Should big tech be allowed to mine Australians’ text and data to train AI? The Productivity Commission is considering it 1 day ago:
I know I'm going to regret asking this, but why not Signal?
Yes, I know it has the disadvantage of not being decentralised, and it's not anonymous as a phone number is required.
However, for the *vast majority* of people, it is the simplest and easiest solution to gaining E2EE comms.
- Comment on Found in my parents' house's skirting board 2 weeks ago:
A half penny?
Where's the rest of it? - Comment on The original Ettamogah Pub in Albury, NSW 3 weeks ago:
- Comment on Wild kangaroo harvests are labelled ‘needlessly cruel’ by US lawmakers – but backed by Australian conservationists 4 weeks ago:
Oh, increasing the dingo population (by any method) would, as you say, definitely impact the roo population. No question!
But the *location* of that roo population matters and affects whether any cull makes economic sense.
I was a spotter and offsider for a few pro roo shooters over a few seasons.
Culling roos usually only makes sense when it benefits the farmer AND value can be extracted from the roos.
Most culls I've seen were in cattle country that was still 'close to town', usually within 1-2 hrs' drive. (I'm sure that culls also occur down in sheep country, too.)
Primary producers rarely look upon dingos favourably, and there'd be little support for increasing them.
The 'predator-prey' 'boom/bust' cycles are still common, but generally where the station's size is measured in 1000's of sq. kms. In the 'back of beyond', diesel alone costs much more than can be made from any culled roos.
Edit: check out the dingo fence...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingo_Fence - Comment on Wild kangaroo harvests are labelled ‘needlessly cruel’ by US lawmakers – but backed by Australian conservationists 4 weeks ago:
Kangaroo populations will naturally go through "boom and bust" cycles as the amount of available feed and water varies tremendously. (Aussies often forget that this is the world's driest continent.)
Mass deaths within local kangaroo populations will always occur due to drought. That's nature, and it's a bad way to die
Having 'extra' dingos manage the 'roo population' would mean they'd suffer a similar fate, just delayed by a few months, if that.
When the 'roo population fell to low numbers, the dingos would turn on whatever is available... including, as you say, livestock.
It's a complex problem, and there are no easy answers.
However, which is worse? Letting 'roos die horrible mass deaths from inevitable droughts, or controlling their numbers via managed culls, and then tapping into that resource? Most, but not all, kangaroos that are culled will die an instant death.
In fact, for those of us who eat meat, we should avoid beef, lamb, and pork. Kangaroo is FAR more sustainable from an environmental perspective...
... even if Skippy is on our National Coat of Arms. - Comment on NSW to ban people from appealing if working with children check denied 4 weeks ago:
I've not moved the goal posts.
This thread relates to 'working with children' and policies regarding background checks of those who do.
One toot read, in part, "Statistically women are the outlier offenders, around 5% or less for known sexual abuse."
You replied, "Statistically, women are more likely to just straight up kill kids so there goes your harm mitigation theory."
I asked for more information regarding your "statistics" and you provided a report related to 'filicide' in the context of 'domestic violence'. This is outside the scope of any "working with children" checks.
You wrote, "The original claims were not restricted to childcare..."
I haven't moved the goal posts at all.
This isn't a game. I am genuinely interested if you know of any statistical evidence that women, in a capacity for which they require a "working with children" background check, "are more likely to just straight up kill kids".
- Comment on NSW to ban people from appealing if working with children check denied 4 weeks ago:
Thanks.
However, that report relates to 'filicide', and this thread is discussing 'working with children'.
Are you aware of any studies that show that women (who are NOT the mother of a child victim) "are more likely to just straight up kill kids".
The report you provided seems related to 'domestic violence', and unrelated to the 'child care' sector.
- Comment on NSW to ban people from appealing if working with children check denied 4 weeks ago:
"Statistically"
I would like to see those specific statistics.
Please tell me where I can see them.
- Comment on Trial finds age assurance can be done, as social media ban deadline looms 1 month ago:
Look, here's the bottom line(s):
1.
'Age verification' systems - where a person's ID is submitted - will not work.
Kids will find a way around them.
ID verification systems are a privacy nightmare and something only a dictatorship would implement.2.
Device/OS/platform 'age restriction' features are workable, but Labor is too incompetent to liaise with the EU to implement them.3.
It is for parents to supervise and control their kids' devices, NOT for everyone else to have to provide ID just to access social media. - Comment on Trial finds age assurance can be done, as social media ban deadline looms 1 month ago:
That's right! (That's what we/you were talking about, wasn't it?)
Compel the major devices and OSes to have the feature you suggested.
Make it a requirement for all devices, and available to all users. Give parents the *option* to 'lock down' or 'age restrict' a device.
The government should otherwise steer away from their likely dystopian solution.
- Comment on Antoinette Lattouf: Court finds journalist unfairly fired over Gaza post 1 month ago:
50% of Zagorath's name is 'rath'... as in 'wrath'.
Beware the wrath of Zagorath!
- Comment on Trial finds age assurance can be done, as social media ban deadline looms 1 month ago:
Oh, I do agree with you, Zag!
I detest the notion of citizens having to provide ID, and solutions - at the device or OS level - could be implemented.
It should be a responsibility of parents to limit the social media access by their children, and NOT the 'surveillance state' solution of compelling the entire population to hand over their 'Australia Card' just to crap on about something here!
- Comment on Trial finds age assurance can be done, as social media ban deadline looms 1 month ago:
The 'ID is required for beer and smokes' example is misleading.
Most adults are NOT required to provide ID to purchase such items. Only those who look "Under 25 years" *may* be required to produce ID, and even then, that ID is NOT recorded. (An exception may the the NT for alcohol sales.)
Requiring the citizenry to provide ID to either a social media entity OR via a government controlled gateway is something that must NOT be tolerated.
A requirement such as this will 'chill' free speech, weaken our democracy, and undoubtedly expose our personal information to hackers.
It's akin to allowing a person to purchase a pen, paper, envelope, and stamps - but then demanding the writer present both their ID and the unsealed letter at a Post Office, so that one's written words may be recorded against one's name.
To paraphrase Robert Bolt, it's akin to "cutting down privacy to protect children from the devil".
If you wish to argue in favour of this incoming law, do so *after* you've sent a copy of your ID to me.
- Comment on Trial finds age assurance can be done, as social media ban deadline looms 1 month ago:
Yeah. I used to encounter something akin to the 'fall back' solution when trying to watch the odd video on YT. (The video would usually be something as innocuous as 'Bambi Meets Godzilla'... and f**king Google would want me to Sign In to view it. No.)
No matter how the government tries to protect our community's 'precious little darlings' within a week or two, some teenager will release a fully encrypted app that's onboarded by 'invitation only', where they'll collectively plan to kill us all in our beds!
- Comment on Trial finds age assurance can be done, as social media ban deadline looms 1 month ago:
Methinks Zag was suggesting (possibly) that 'age verification' should be a *device* and *operating system* (& platform) feature that would be *inactive* by default.
In other words, there should be nothing for an adult (without kids) to do in order for their devices to function as they do now.
A parent would be required to activate a 'child lock' feature on a device before handing it to their kids.
Unfortunately, all governments are too chicken-shit scared to compel parents to do this small thing.
Governments *prefer* the option of compelling ALL users to provide 'age verification' (possibly Gov't issued ID) to the relevant platforms.
For the 'Liberals' this would be a natural extension of their right wing fascism.
For the Labor party, it's merely a reflection of their general incompetence.
- Comment on I'll get a bag of those carrots that they reckon are mistaken. WCGW. 1 month ago:
No, nothing wrong.
However, due to their shape, there is the delightful possibility of the misapplication of said vegetables as a particular variety of adult toy.
(Everyone's mind went there... didn't it? Didn't it?)
- Comment on Be aware that buying electrical items from Ali Express might not be too clever. 1 month ago:
China does make a LOT of really low quality goods. However...
... those goods are made to the quality specified by the importer / wholesaler / buyer...
... because 'cheap' goods are often preferred over 'more expensive but higher quality' goods...
... by the people who buy them.Which is probably what happened in this case!
- Comment on Australians losing billions in savings due to poor management of appliance efficiency scheme, audit finds 1 month ago:
Yeah, my parents purchased a Miele.
M&D initially wanted to use the Miele app to control the washing machine.
I explained that having an IoT device connected to the same network on which they performed their internet banking was a *bad* idea. (Would Miele ever bother to patch flaws in the firmware?)
Plus, they'd be telling Miele where they lived, how often, and how, they used the machine as well as probably telling Miele their WiFi password.
I *think* that Miele's power and water consumption algorithms use the same mathematical formulae as Douglas Adams' 'bistromaths'.
- Comment on Australians losing billions in savings due to poor management of appliance efficiency scheme, audit finds 1 month ago:
- Comment on my kid is movin to AU 2 months ago:
Appreciable difference? Not really. But a 'calculable' difference. Sure!
Be sure to appreciate the HUGE difference of the landmasses in the northern and southern hemispheres.
The primary way heat "gets into" our atmosphere is via re-radiation from the "ground".
Compare the amount of "ground" between N45° and the North Pole, with that of the amount of "ocean" between S45° and the South Pole.
At perihelion (around 4th Jan.) the southern hemisphere is in summertime, but the southern oceans easily absorb any extra solar energy by being 'a little bit closer to the sun'. It's roughly equivalent to having the energy used by an extra 5000 cars arrive as solar radiation... and for *most* of that solar energy be absorbed by the ocean.
The tiny (almost insignificant) effect the earth's orbital eccentricity has on weather and climate is FAR less than that of our planet's axial tilt and the position of our continental land masses.
But, sure, if some researchers wish to tweak the underlying data used for the Milankovitch cycles, then, fine.
But our world is still on fire, and our children's future will be ashes unless we act now.
- Comment on my kid is movin to AU 2 months ago:
Ummm...
"No, it’s not the angle."
Wrong. Axial tilt IS what causes our seasons, NOT the distance from the sun.Speaking of the sun, "The sun’s orbit isn’t exactly symetrical..."
The sun's orbit? Around what? The centre of the Milky Way?
- Comment on Sovereign citizen who kidnapped her child sentenced to two years' jail 4 months ago:
Some more "research" materials regarding unrecognised "micronations":
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicronationAs usual, Australia punches above its weight in this regard...
- Comment on Why wooden bridges still have a place despite upkeep challenges 4 months ago:
@TheCriticalMember
Ah! Cool!
Thanks for clarifying.When that article was being written and edited, I'll bet there was a moment someone said, "You can't remove that line; that's a load-bearing phrase."
- Comment on Why wooden bridges still have a place despite upkeep challenges 4 months ago:
@TheCriticalMember Did you read the article?
Where did you obtain the information regarding the lifespan of a wooden bridge?To quote the article:
Built for a centurySunshine Coast Council structures and asset management engineer Simon Prytherick says 17 of the region's existing 138 vehicle bridges are constructed from timber.
"It's a material that, with proper care and maintenance, can last up to 100 years," he says.
"Timber is a fantastic choice for bridge construction, due to its sustainability."
"It can be recycled and reused, has a low carbon footprint, and even stores carbon, making it an environmentally friendly option."
Mr Prytherick says the council accounted for the challenges of termites, rotting and corrosion around bolts and fittings, and had preventative measures for each.
He says council undertakes annual inspections and maintenance, with more detailed cross-sectional inspections every five years.
- Comment on trump puts 25% tariffs on Aussie steel and aluminium 4 months ago:
- Comment on Facebook searches for Cyclone Alfred were blocked for containing content breaching 'community standards' 4 months ago:
@BlueSquid0741
Better to keep the batteries 'out' of the radio, but stored 'with' the radio.If fitted to even a simple device like a torch, pretty much any battery can leak.
If the radio's battery terminals become corroded from a leaking battery...
...well, it's not good.(Please don't ask me how I know this...)
- Comment on U16 Social Media Ban - Senate 1hr debate before the vote, some time tonight on the livestream 8 months ago:
Yes, but Social Media apps can derive location data through other means, including time zone and language settings, visible WiFi Access Points, not to mention GPS.
The Libs passed the legislation because they're corrupt.
Labor passed it because they're incompetent.Either way, it's likely that the AustGov will be the gatekeepers of 'onboarding' and re-verification of existing users.
It's a disgrace.
- Comment on An unwritten 'country code' is putting Rob's life at risk on the road, and all he's doing is turning right 8 months ago:
@Zagorath
Generally, truckies just talk to each other on UHF40 (or 29) to arrange safe overtaking.But a turn signal has always been a warning signal. It points to where one should never be.
It's not uncommon, though, for a truck that has *already* executed an overtaking manoeuvre to 'thank' the vehicle now behind them with an R-L-R-L combo of single flashes, *after* they're back on the correct side of the road.
Some truckies add a 'flourish' of one or two 'hazard light' flashes to the end of the sequence.
But, in all my years on the roads, I've only heard of recently deceased idiots who've tried overtaking a truck that has had its right-hand indicator on.
Things may have changed in the last decade, but FIIK why!
- Comment on An unwritten 'country code' is putting Rob's life at risk on the road, and all he's doing is turning right 8 months ago:
@Joshi
(In case it isn't obvious, the following applies to Australia, where we drive on the left.)I've done hundreds of thousands of clicks on country roads, and the right-turn signal has NEVER meant that it is 'safe to pass'. Never.
Most indicator stalks allow drivers to apply pressure and thus activate a turn signal's bulb, without "locking on" the relay.
This allows drivers to manually produce two or three pairs of LEFT flashes of the LEFT indicator. Like, L-L (1 sec pause) L-L (1 sec pause) L-L.
That has always been understood that the driver in front is saying, to the following driver, "I know you're there. I'm not turning off, but if you want to pass, it's clear ahead, and I'll be looking out for you."
The right-turn signal has ALWAYS ONLY meant, "Danger. Do NOT overtake me."
More than a few times, I've been in trucks with several tonnes of explosives and an impatient passenger coach, or cara-bloody-van, starts showing too much of their grill in the right hand mirror.
Giving them the L-L pattern has let them know it is clear to pass, but the right-turn signal coming on has ALWAYS meant, "Nup. No way. Don't be a bloody fool. Cool ya jets."