@piglet @astronomerritt where I grew up in Oz, a few doors down from me there was a kid named Chad.

RE: https://discuss.systems/@ricci/116022130481291531

So if mastodon.social is Sydney, aus.social is Bathurst.

#WordWeavers Feb 7: What’s the most rewarding thing about writing?

Knowing that total strangers read my books and enjoy them.

@skribe @ingram @harrym @jimbob Kicks Uruk-hai helmet in anger, gets broken toe.

'Nuff said. 😜

I should point out, that this sort of behaviour is why I avoid riding on roads most of the time. I wear bright fluoro clothes, I have my lights on during the day, and where I was IS a restricted speed area yet someone still couldn’t see me..

I probably average 1 person a week who tries to cut across my line of travel in a way that would result in a crash if I was not paying attention. I nearly hit someone last week who pulled out from a street parking spot in front of me, then decided to stop and do a u turn. I saw him trying to pull out so expected him to do so (he waited until the cars in front of me went then pulled out in front of me) but then stopping was just 🙃🖕

This last one happened as I was almost home. I have 1-2 km between my home and off road cycling paths. The amount of times I’ve had near misses in that short distance is.. a good reminder to never let my attention slip on my bike..

And a reminder to drivers to watch for bikes, especially before changing lanes or turning..

@SeaFury birb did give you a shock. Get well soon.

@troberts No filter. No pants.

When on a work video conference call...

@MrLee When I first moved to Singas at the end of the noughties, my then blog (now defunct) was getting 30-50 hits per day. Pretty shit, but it was enough to get me influencer status and a bunch of freebies from some of the PR companies here. How times have changed. 🤣

@MrLee something's up. New bots scouring content to train on.

@sandriver @harrym @jimbob you can do both.

BTW it's not just the roads and footpaths here. Even the supermarkets and food courts aren't safe. Nothing like having an uncle or aunty tooting their horn and shouting for everyone to get out of the way as they barge their way through at speed. A few months ago, I saw a kid almost run over by one. Parents scream at Uncle, but he didn't care.

@ingram @harrym @jimbob How quick we forget ARAGORN.

@andrewplord we did pass a referendum to sucede in 1933 but the mutha-fuckin' privy council overturned it.

BTW that was a fun little factoid to throw back at all the Eastern States cunts that screamed about throwing us out because we wouldn't let them in during COVID. It shut them right up, let me tell you.

I think WA and Oz are better together, but it's a marriage of convenience. It'll probably end in divorce eventually.

@andrewplord at the moment, Perth's would more likely be 'fuck off, we're full'. There's a lot of discontent about the number of immigrants, mostly from the eastern states.

@harrym @jimbob here it's definitely PMDs. No rangers here, for starters, and if there were they'd be priced out of the range (see what I did there?) of most drivers.

@jimbob @harrym it's not the same. Cars aren't allowed to drive on the footpath, especially at speed. Both the drivers and vehicle are licenced, and can be tracked down if they infringe.

The problem is the people. Here we have whole families (both parents, and a bunch of kids) crammed onto one PMD, barreling along as fast as the device will carry them.

They should be speed limited on footpaths (standard bicycles are) or licenced and restricted to road use.

@harrym @jimbob it's PMDs here. Mobility scooters that can do 30+kph. Was almost cleaned up by a gang of four of them on Monday. They were riding in the pedestrian only area with their faces glued to their phones. It's a people/poverty problem not exclusive to kids.

@jimbob @troberts the racing game? Isn't that like 30yo?

@hacks4pancakes all abusers are capable of seeing some people as complex and nuanced and treating them respectfully, while being abusive and objectifying other people. It’s just that with writers, you get a window into how they characterise different people.

If abusers went around treating everyone like crap, they’d be a lot easier to spot, and they’d probably be re-educated about acceptable behaviour much earlier in their lives.

@philip how many football pitches is that? How many Libraries of Congress?