@joannaholman@aus.social cover
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar

joannaholman

@[email protected]

Bird nerd. Also has thoughts on books, Melbourne happenings, music and culture with bonus architecture, and cute animal pictures.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@sortius@infosec.exchange avatar sortius , to random

Not plugging a company, but giving my honest experience with Crumpler.

I've owned a Crumpler Mild Enthusiast for about 13 years, it's been through thick and thin, held multiple different cameras, lenses, gaming consoles, etc. I've loved it to death. The seams were starting to fail, and finally, the zipper started to fail a few weeks ago.

I knew it was terminal, but just ignored it until I had "time". Well, it made time, the zipper broke at Pride Party. Luckily it wasn't while I was out, just at a regular home pit stop.

I took it in to the "bag spa" they have in town, it used to be just down on Gertrude, but they moved.

The girl immediately said "yeh, we can fix all that, and it'll be under warranty".

Lesson, get a well made bag from a company that respects its customers and you'll never need another

joannaholman ,
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar

@sortius oh good to know. I’ve been pondering buying a crumpler satchel bag for a while, sounds like it’s worth it

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

May we be judged rightly for our crimes

coles doritos cheesy jalapeno hot cross buns
ALT
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Your Superb Owl reminder that @owlsintowels is one of the best things on the internet

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

They may not have the best reputation as a suburbs but Broadmeadows & Jacana are underrated for creature observing in suburbia. Even saw a Latham's Snipe which is on the threatened species list

Two long billed corella birds, one with wings outstretched
A great cormorant and a little black cormorant bird in a tree
A brown and black Nankeen night heron bird in a tree

A brown and black Nankeen night heron bird in a tree
ALT
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Aussie readers: the anthology of all the Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books is on sale today for $1.99 at several ebook platforms (iBooks, kindle ect)

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Slightly baffled to learn of a Polish live action role play group who pretend to be residents of an Ohio trailer park

https://www.boredpanda.com/roleplaying-4th-of-july-larp-poland/

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Sometimes how busted consumer culture is gets a bit overwhelming. I was in Kmart where they had these beaded purses. They’re super cute. What didn’t feel so cute was looking at the detail of the stitching and realising it likely can’t be done entirely (or perhaps even mostly) by machine. Someone somewhere sewed in all the beads. If this is retailing for $29, they likely weren’t paid more than $2 for all that

Small purses with various designs in seed beads on a store shelf
ALT
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Nothing says thoughtful buying like a shirt from a multinational with ethical failings manufactured in a country with worker welfare issues that happens to have an Indigenous place name slapped on it

A shirt on a clothes rack that says Naarm and has an addidas logo (Naarm is the name of the Melbourne area in the Woiwurrung language)
ALT
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

May we one day live in a time where nothing happens that justifies a news website live blog

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

I was confused as to why Melbourne Central didn’t have Christmas decorations earlier into December. Turns out they were working on their greatest absurdity yet in a centre full of absurd design choices. It is difficult to capture everything going on in there in one shot

A large atrium with a glass clone roof and a brick tower in the middle. The space is full of ginormous inflatables of insects and flowers
ALT
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Are you an Australian artist who has a cool idea art you could do in Antarctica? This opportunity could be for you!

https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-us/antarctic-arts-fellowship/

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

It's nice that there's still people making fun things on the web, like a digital version of those spring door stoppers that make satisfying sounds
https://boing.greg.technology/

@TheBreadmonkey@beige.party avatar TheBreadmonkey , to random

I always love it when scientists lose their minds when naming things. To be fair Chun was a plankton guy so as soon as he saw this badboy was like 'I SAW IT FIRST I GET TO NAME IT AND IT'S A FUCKN..... VAMPIRE SQUID! SHUT UP DAVE I'M NOT FINISHED.......... FROM HELL! YES! THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED FROM NOW ON! IN YOUR FACE - call me Plankton Boy again, I am a scientist and I deserve respect.'

'Vampire Squid From Hell' Reveals Ancient Origins

https://www.sciencealert.com/vampire-squid-from-hell-reveals-the-ancient-origins-of-octopuses

joannaholman ,
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar

@TheBreadmonkey almost as good as this species name

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Of all the things one shouldn’t rely on chatGPT written “books” for, advice on how to hunt bears safely is high on the list

A product listing for the audiobook The Ultimate Guide to Black Bear Hunting From Baiting to Stalking, Learn the Best Methods for a Safe and Successful Hunt BY Barrett Williams, ChatGPT
ALT
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

The weirdest Black Friday offer I’ve been sent so far is definitely a discount on the opportunity to feed a cassowary morning tea

Screenshot of an email with a picture of a cassowary bird that says CASSOWARY EXPERIENCE AT KYABRAM Was $39 NOW: $31.20 Feed the world’s most dangerous bird! Don’t be fooled by the Cassowary’s bright blue neck and soft feathers, those dinosaur-like feet, razor-sharp beak, and helmeted head mean this bird commands respect. Get up close from behind a safe barrier, help feed it morning tea, and hear incredible insights from the keepers who know these extraordinary birds best.
ALT
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar randahl , to random

I am shocked by how fast credit card issuers in Denmark block credit cards based on a hunch.

I have now twice had a card blocked, because their AI system saw a "suspicious usage pattern". Both times it was just me using my card normally.

It is deeply problematic, because you get no warning. You are just standing in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country, and suddenly you cannot pay the cab to the airport, because the AI God has spoken.

Is it like this in your countries as well?

joannaholman ,
@joannaholman@aus.social avatar

@randahl my Australian card does very occasionally reject small transactions (usually Bandcamp for some reason). For bigger suspicious transactions I get a notification from my banking app asking me to verify it was me. We can notify the bank about intended overseas travel so it will be less likely to flag transactions in our destination country

@joannaholman@aus.social avatar joannaholman , to random

Mastodon merch concept: kinda like this but with our mastodon/elephant creature in a Blahaj shark costume. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t seen someone make one yet

A plushie of a cat in a shark outfit
ALT