u/dpgumby69

In 1995 (or maybe 1994) I visited family in the Netherlands. My cousin was going through a death metal phase. As it happened, there was a death metal festival playing in Friesland, so off we went. From memory (I had the flyer for years and years. Now I can't find it) there were maybe 7 bands playing. The headline act were Napalm Death, along with Dutch bands Gorefest and Sinister and I'm pretty sure at least one German band.

Half way through, the next band came on:

"This song is called Coffin!" The lead singer growled.

"GRAAAAAAAAAWWW!!!"

The song was over in 30 seconds.

"This song is called Axe Murder!!!!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!"

Again, thirty seconds and it was done.

"This song is called Bleed!!!!"

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

just as I was wondering why the songs were so short, our guy yelled

"Nah, fuck this shit! We're NOFX and we're a punk band from California!"

They ripped off the long wigs they were wearing and then they launched into songs from their latest album, Punk in Drublic. The whole thing was fantastic and for me the highlight of the whole festival.

"Our drummer doesn't even have a double kicker, he's just good at drumming!"

When I got back to Australia, Punk in Drublic was on rotation on Triple J radio. Within days, I bought the CD 😊

So in another thread I posted a pic of a damaged wall and asked whether anyone can build in Australia anymore. I can see from my one pic it could look like it's just been damaged by accident, so I took some more pics today.

As you can see, the problems are quite substantial. Admittedly I have a memory like a sieve and am not acutely observant, so I can't quite recall how this all came to be. The building is somewhere between 2-4 years old. If I were to hazard a guess, something has gone wrong with the waterproof membrane. Maybe it started bubbling, and caused the render to lift. Probably where it's started to crack, the builders have come back and pulled off those pieces. It's been like this for months. Perhaps they are waiting to see if more comes loose before they repair it? I was able to flake off a little bit of tender while I was poking around.

Other photos show corrosion on a cast aluminium fitting, and what I assume is calcium carbonate leaching out of the mortar in some brickwork. And as people mentioned it's about bottom dollar, a picture of the intercom. Look at that piece of shit! Lowest bid no doubt, and probably half the price of the next lowest. And for shits n giggles, that 'triumph of modern design' bank of letterboxes at a different set of units. Designed so both you AND your mail get totally drenched if it's raining 😄

Previous thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AusProperty/s/qirRMJFwqT

I've noticed multiple large apartment blocks going up in the last five or ten years where maybe only a year or so later, workers have to come back to repair shoddy work. This is part of a garden bed. Less than four years old. It's not just this corner either. Glancing at some of it, it's been damp proofed and then render on top. I'm not a builder but it seems to me that the two materials are in no way compatible. The render can't possibly stick to the rubbery damp proofing. The damp proofing doesn't explain this corner though.

It's not just quality of work either. Some of the designs just don't seem great. We all learn somewhere, and it feels like each design is the architects first big project. And then they become an Uber driver or barista or something. So each design feels like a noobie design. Same with the trades. No one seems to stick around long enough to become a master at their trade.

Is this the future for dwellings? I live in a 1980s six pack. Boring as hell, but it's not going anywhere. I actually tell anyone thinking of buying a unit to steer clear of new builds and get a 1980s build.

Rally pack show model for attention, which has some serious 80s french rally car vibes going on.Even the standard version looks nice. Not sure if I could afford one if they come here, but if I come across some money...

https://www.drive.com.au/news/nio-firefly-electric-car-confirmed-for-australia-but-when-is-it-due/

So I have a MAME cocktail cab I built over twenty years ago. At the time I bought a 15" Viewmaster CRT monitor on sale for $99. For a number of years now it's had a problem I found difficult to describe so I let it go. It finally gave up the ghost last week. I decided to try my luck describing it to ai and wouldn't you know it one of the suggestions seemed plausible, pointing to the Horizontal Output Transistor. I tested it in situ and it appeared shorted. In situ, so I was going to remove it and test it again.

Being easily distracted I got completely sidetracked by the fact the transistor, a BU 4507AX, is Russian! Damn fascists! So then I went hunting around and found that a really reputable Australian company had them in stock. Reasonable price too so I ordered some immediately. They arrived quickly. I removed the transistor. The thermal transfer paste was really dry so I cleaned that up. Then I remembered I hadn't tested the original transistor. It works! Nuts.

I put new thermal paste on the new transistor and soldered it in. Without much hope, I powered it up and the monitor works again! Woot! I ran it for four hours and didn't notice the original problem, which used to happen multiple times in that same time period. What I think might have happened (fingers crossed) is that the dried thermal paste was causing the transistor to occasionally overheat. I think usually it probably wouldn't matter so much but the heatsink had some slight marks on it that meant the transistor wasn't as snug against it as it could be.

Hopefully it keeps working. I bought a 15" IBM CRT some time ago, almost new in the box for $50. Solely as a replacement. But it has to be decased and modified to fit. And I'd hate to chop it up now especially since I'm toying with putting a win98 PC together.

I'm not getting any younger.

I only just realised it's a game after years of seeing it when I get an internet error ☺️

Spotted in a donation box outside the money exchange at Brisbane international 😄