Notices by Tim Richards (timrichards@aus.social)

@hazz223 @sophie Terrible engagement for followers on whichever platform you crosspost to. Feels like a bot rather than you in person.

@homelessjun @skinnylatte @mekkaokereke I see, that's difficult. Banks here in Australia are required to offer low-income people on government benefits a no-fee account.

@skinnylatte @mekkaokereke We have an instant payment system between different banks here in Oz too. The US has always seemed way behind on payments tech. At least American publishers have stopped sending me foreign currency cheques! Almost impossible to bank them here nowadays.

Good god. If I contact a call centre, it's because I have a problem that's out of the ordinary. How will an AI agent (aka talking website) be useful in solving that?
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Big banks use artificial intelligence to help assess home loans, call centres soon may be fully automated https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-24/home-loans-artificial-intelligence-big-four-banks-automation/104504224

#AI #Banks #Australia

Interesting piece by Ross Gittins. According to him, from now on we'll have fewer workers than jobs, not the other way around. So the problem with housing now partly involves finding people to build all the needed new homes.

"The half century in which jobs were always scarce has ended, and we’re back to the opposite problem: not enough workers to do all the work that needs doing.

"Why? In five words: the ageing of the population..."

#Australia #auspol https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/get-this-into-your-head-we-are-now-short-of-workers-not-jobs-20241022-p5kkak.html

For Traveller today in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, I write about a great Freddie Mercury walking tour in Montreux, Switzerland.

Is this real life? Or is it just fantasy? Read it in print today by picking up the paper - I'll share it here when it goes online.

#FreddieMercury #Queen #Montreux #Switzerland #Tour #Travel #Music #History

These artificial islands that have been dotted around Melbourne's waterways are pretty cool. I often see birds nesting in them. This one is just outside Docklands Library.

#Melbourne

Lovely day down here at Docklands. Pity to spend it inside the library. I might sit outside at lunchtime.

#Melbourne #MelbourneWeather

As much as I love visiting the US, I shake my head when I hear its politicians say "Violence is not who we are." Pure denial.

#USA https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/violence-at-home-violence-abroad-let-s-stop-pretending-this-is-the-american-way-20240916-p5kb08.html

Hi Los Angeles people. I'll be in your funky city next month for a few days, and I'm looking for a good restaurant on the new Metro K Line along Crenshaw Blvd to include in an article about LA Metro highlights. Something specifically American would be great, maybe soul food/Southern cuisine. Could you recommend?

#LA #USA #LosAngeles #Food cc @skinnylatte

Jeez Kindle prices have really shot up. Just looked up a new non-fiction ebook and it costs US$20! Too much. It's not the same as owning a physical book after all, you don't even technically own it - so I don't think it should cost as much.

#books #bookstodon

Atmospheric ghost sign on the side of a former general store in Colbinabbin, Victoria.

#victoria #australia

Good morning from Melbourne! Here's another winter day.

#Melbourne

That's odd. The UK election is being held on the USA's Independence Day, while the US election is being held on the UK's Guy Fawkes Night.

Don’t know if we can draw anything from that, but it's curious...

#UKpol #USpol

"Losing the PR war." Would the killing of tens of thousands of civilians have something to do with that? It's a puzzler.

#Israel #Palestine #War

@goatsarah @EveOfTheFuture My brother, who lived for a while in the UK, called this the "There is a war on" attitude.

Loads of good Filipino restaurants in Melbourne these days; here's the latest.
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Filipino restaurant Askal opens in Melbourne CBD with pork sisig platters and purple ube negronis

(maybe paywalled) #Melbourne #Food cc @drei https://www.theage.com.au/goodfood/melbourne-eating-out/filipino-food-continues-to-flourish-at-this-hotly-anticipated-cbd-restaurant-20240223-p5f7aw.html

I'm reading a book about the history of spelling (Spell it Out) and it's more interesting than you'd think.

Did you know that arctic was originally pronounced "artic", but the pron changed after some wise guys added the 'c' to make it look more like its Latin source?

Also, that ghost gained its 'h' entirely because Flemish typesetters preferred the look of the Flemish word "gheest"?

And apparently honey was once spelled "huni", but that looked like a collection of incomprehensible short downward strokes in cursive script, so it was changed to something more visually distinctive.

Fascinating. To me anyway. :)

#Words #Language #EnglishLanguage

Melbourne Mastodon Meetup!

@mike, @ThermiteBeGiants, @NarrelleMHarris and I would like to get together IRL for some drinks, and you're all invited...

On: Thursday 18 January, from 6pm
At: The Quiet Man pub, 271 Racecourse Road, Flemington
PT: Newmarket Station or Tram 57 (Stop 24).

We can meet for a drink in the front bar, and there'll be a table booked in the dining room from 6.30pm. (Find menu etc here: https://www.thequietman.com.au/)

If you can definitely make it, could you let me know by replying below? Then I can get the numbers right when booking the table.

See you there! (Please boost for reach)

#Melbourne #Australia #Meetup

@joannaholman Hmm what is the "and more"?