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Tamsin made a nice post for people to ask for/post cute/happy animal pictures etc and I was reminded that not everyone outside Australia has heard of tawny frogmouths, which are very cute weird muppety looking native birds. Another very cute local animal is the quokka, which looks like if a capybara was a jovial marsupial hobbit.

( Relatively mild discussion of emotional reactions to recent events which mentions suicide and transphobia as topics )

Referendum 2023 - Postal voting - Australian Electoral Commission

It's pretty painless and quick!

COVID-19 coronavirus: WA free RAT program

And really, who doesn't want a free RAT?

Currently happily sitting under a 9kg blanket I only paid $35 for, when every other local shop I could find was like $50 for something much lighter or $100+ for something this heavy. It's just polyester and we'll see how it holds up long term but I really didn't want to pay a lot for something I wasn't even sure I'd like. The price seems to have gone up to $60, I guess they were having a sale? That's still pretty good, though, and there's a nice range of other options.

It's via a 'market partner' but I didn't have to pay extra for postage, even though it was delivered separately, no idea if that's always the case. I looked up the bedding company and it costs MORE to buy from them directly??

I only discovered it because I was ordering something else and Bunnings has fixed postage, so I was putting random things I wanted into the search bar. For non-Australians: they're a gardening and hardware store, so not a typical place to get blankets! They also sold the USB cable I wanted, so it was definitely a successful shop :)

I've only had it a few hours so can't say what overall effect it will have on my anxiety but I do feel pretty good right now. If warm, it'll likely be more pleasant when it's not mid-Summer.

Apparently appointments made with the previous link may be considered invalid :( Afaict this is the right link: https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility

As they say about the hospital centres: If you have not been directly invited to book an appointment through your employer, you will likely be turned away at one of these vaccination locations.

Apparently some otherwise eligible non-frontline workers who made hospital appointments have been turned away, while others have successfully been vaccinated. So, whether you want to to take the chance is up to you.

Sorry to anyone who got messed about by me posting the other link, in my defense it was very unclear, and even had a "Are you a front line worker?" question that let you continue if you clicked "no".

From a tumblr post. As tree pointed out it's got some built-in assumptions that don't really work for Australia, but at least they're different assumptions than the US-centric memes you usually get.
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Every now and then, when playing dating sims about historical figures, I think about an Australian version, but get bogged down in (a) the genocidal nature of most Australian history(*) (b) my intense ignorance about history in general.

But today I realise I shouldn't be taking my inspiration from Hakuoki/Ikemen Sengoku etc. I should take it from Code Realise/Ikemen Revolution etc! OUT OF COPYRIGHT LITERARY FIGURES ARE FREE REAL ESTATE.

I mean, I haven't actually read that much early Australian literature, and it's basically all also super duper racist, but I feel more comfortable glossing over the flaws of fictional characters than real people.

I'm sticking to adults, and imagining characters being made human as necessary, though if you prefer the furry version I won't judge. After a little thought and googling I came up with:

The Sentimental Bloke
The Jolly Swagman
One of McCubbin's sad people
The Kangaroo from Dot and the Kangaroo
The Man From Snowy River
The Magic Pudding(**)

Child!me had a proto-crush on all the girls from Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, but while they live as adults they look like semi-naked children and I just don't want to go there. The characters from Ginger Meggs, Blinky Bill, and the Seven Little Australians are are also squickily young, but could be fun as unromanceable side characters.

Afaict Chesty Bond is too recent to be out of copyright, which is a tragedy.

What other sexified, out of copyright Australian fictional characters would you enjoy in a dating sim or other romance story? Assuming the answer isn't "None, and you are very odd" :D

(*)I mean it wasn't especially genocidal pre-1788, but I'm not the person to make that game.
(**)Bill Barnacle etc would be easier to make sexy, but this is funnier and has Brand Recognition.

I spent yesterday getting out of jury duty and hoo boy...how I feel today sure is proof that I am way too sick for Jury Duty.
( brief mention of mental health issues )

I also try to avoid soy, coconut, and vegetable gums. Most are also gluten free, but that's not something I watch out for myself.

The first three are available internationally, for the rest you may need to be in Australia. Most are at Coles/Woolies.
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