I very recently moved from one part of Australia to another, and, while it was still apparent where I was before, it is much, much more apparent in the new city just how successful "Covid" was at transferring wealth from the bottom end to the top end.

Almost everything here is cashless, including fucking vending machines (so you can't get change) and public transport (which must now always be prepaid). The suburb I am in has lost the majority of its small businesses, which either sold up and flogged off their assets, or are in the process of doing so. These "vacant" sites are then being replaced by towers. Expensive, shiny, poorly-built towers, financed almost solely by Chinese money.

I also just had someone overcharge me massively for what the products she was on-selling are worth, only to say "Covid" as the justification (in reality, lack of competition in the immediate area is the real reason). She also justified "Covid" for why I can't get a fucking electrician to come fix something in my apartment (a fridge - long story)...

Covid, Covid, fucking Covid. Or if it's not that, it's "security" or "sustainability". Like my University cutting back on services, staff, facilities, and even teaching (I study and work in Science, right. They've cut field trips, because the lecturers can't be effed. Meaning one of the only really useful areas of my courses are now gone)... You now even need to apply for "special permission" to use the library after hours, which you have to "justify" by carrying the "permission" around with you on a brand new, specialised app...

I realise Australia may be a fairly extreme outlier, on certain things (never mind that the building I am staying in is owned by a Hong Kong shell company, and all the writing on signs is in Chinese. And never mind the fact that the University is utterly compliant to the Chinese, too), but still, this all feels very... Off. Most of my friends seem able to see it, too, to some extent (though some of them blame it on everything from "racism" to "teh patriarchay!" to "capitalism"), and even the local subreddits seem to be waking up to it...

So yeah, while "Agenda 2030" may not be a reality yet, I really do think that "our leaders" are 100% committed to it, as is much of the business community... It's happening, and unless people really do start to push back, I do think that's where we're headed. We shouldn't bury our heads in the sand about that fact.

/endrant

Because that’s what it feels like. At least in Australia…

Most amusing part of the day? Watching male simps fall over themselves to “acknowledge stronk women” and/or say how bad men are, and/or call for the abolition of their own gender… 😑

Much cringe.

How many days a year do we need like this, honestly?

All the “Shut the fuck up, there’s an International Men’s Day too, reeee!” just makes this all the more amusing…

Funny how woke corporate only mentions the “other” day on this day, and only then as a “comeback” to people complaining…

Eugh.

It was extremely “cult-like”, and I only saw them on public transport/in various public places…

The entire city shut down (it has a habit of doing that, ngl), for fucking Harry Styles…

As I was stuck at an unrelated, but affected event/location… Two hours I waited for an Uber that never came (cancelled on me twice), followed by taxis that never came… Ended up having to walk about 5km. At midnight…

Fuck that stupid fucking crossdressing douche. 👎🏻

Did give me the opportunity to meet two out of town women (separately) on public transport, though. One of whom was like… Let’s say extremely compatible…

Was that worth it? Fuck no. But it’s just about the only positive I got out of it, lol…

But yeah, seeing women in their 40s and 50s wearing feather boas while “squeeing” over a degenerate..? Yeah that’s something, lol…

Here's a good little insight into how bullshit life is in Aus, in this regard, right now (without having any sort of "Social Security Numbers", it's worth pointing out).

I have an appointment this week with a private doctor. In order to have my private health cover, which I already pay for, cover part of the costs of this very expensive appointment, I have to download three apps, one for the insurer, one for the government health care system (Medicare), and one for "MyGov", which you need to use to even access the Medicare one.

I then have to "link" the Medicare and MyGov accounts, which is an extremely tedious process, and can only be done via computer. For some reason, my name is listed slightly differently on one of the two (middle names...), which may mean that I have to either go in in person to a so-called "service centre", to sort the shit out, or else be on hold on the phone for six hours, in order to get that "fixed"...

Then there's Uni, which now also requires me to download an MFA app to my phone (specific to them, of course. They just had to make their own), in order to access literally anything. But that's not enough - oh no, you also have to have access to any old phone you have previously used, and have the app on there, in order to set up your new one, to then jump through 10 more hoops, and then maybe, just maybe, you might be able to get in to your Uni "account" and actually do shit like enrol, and access email...

And this is the bare minimum shit I have to have on my phone, just to be able to do basic shit, let alone banking or state government services (licensing et al), Covid apps/proof of "vax status", etc.

I'm so fucking sick of this nonsense. It takes up space, and time, and is just so... Unnecessary, frankly. Let alone when one of these "services" decides to arbitrarily update, or stop working...

Grr...

I imagine this isn’t so uncommon in this day and age, but…

10 years ago, I “worked” (unpaid) as a teacher for a company that was massive in its field…

At one point, it was the biggest company doing what it did (without going into too much detail - international work and travel stuff). It’s actually where we get the term “gap year” from - the company originally coined that term…

Anyway, I just looked them up - after a series of scandals, they’ve been completely liquidated. This happened during the “pandemic”, which would no doubt have eaten into their revenue streams, but still…

I would never have expected this.

Quite a weird feeling. I’m never overly surprised when it’s something like a sports team or a festival or a local business, or even a (minor) political party, but for a multinational company that I once worked for, and nearly continued working for, in the years that followed, to just cease to exist like this..? Feels a bit weird.

Like how ex-Blockbuster or RadioShack employees must feel, I guess… Or people who worked for airlines and travel companies…

It’s just… Gone.

No wonder they stopped sending me promotional emails! 😅

I was thinking about this today, because I realised that pretty much none of my Facebook "friends", who live in the same state as I currently do, give a flying fuck about this particular "hobby"...

It's actually quite rare to meet people who do like, and admit to liking, motor racing, these days, around these parts.

I go to track meets. I wear motor racing t shirts and gear sometimes (people tend to ask about band tees much more than, say, a Bathurst tee). I've been to the Bathurst 1000 twice, which is... The mecca of Aus car racing. I've always been into this since I was a kid. But yet... I've never really made friends out of it, oddly (excluding an ex who raced karts, and our mutual friend, who is an arsehole, so I won't be contacting them, lol)...

Anyway, just figured I would see what any "rev heads" here were up to, in this regard. I'm going to go to another "track meet" in a few weeks, which is like... One of the highlights of this time of year. Should be good.

Anyone else been to any races lately/planning on going to any? Obviously there's plenty of stuff on the TV, and a few decent "latest generation" games, but... In person is generally better, for this, IMHO.

What's big in your part of the world? We've established by now that I know a bit about Indycar and (less so) Nascar, but in Europe, I don't really know that much apart from Enduros, rallying and F1, lol...

Anyway, just a conversation starter, if anyone shares this common interest!

I realise that cultural differences will play a part, here, as will generational change, but I just spent the evening hanging out with my cousin’s friends, roughly 5 years younger than me, and this was the main topic of conversation…

How much they earn, for how little they actually work. How “easy” their work is. How they can afford shit like house deposits, shitty anime subscriptions, and drugs… Seriously, their main topic of conversation aside from “how much I make” was fucking drugs, and how much they hate various portions of humanity that aren’t like them…

Growing up, I was taught that this sort of shit is to be kept to yourself. Discussing salaries/earnings was a massive no-no, and don’t get me started on the drugs shit…

Especially around strangers, which I was, for most of them…

I just find it a wee bit sad that such “social norms” have become forgotten, in an era of sheer narcissism and braggadocio…

Then again, these people were also arseholes, and scumbag druggies no less, so selection bias is of course at play…

But I just find it jsrring, I guess, that something as simple as “You don’t ask, or discuss, salaries, unless it is relevant”, has fallen by the wayside, seemingly, amongst “hype”-obsessed zoomers these days…

I've gotten more into it, these last few years, but a lot of the "classics" we frequently hear referenced are actually still excellent.

Casablanca is my favourite movie of all time. To Catch a Thief is bloody good (Grace Kelly!), as is North by Northwest (Eva Marie Saint!). It's a Wonderful Life has grown on me, over time, and, as a Christmas movie, it's definitely above average, if rather bleak. Spartacus, while cheesy, is pretty good, too. The Magnificent Seven (original) is fucking great. Towering Inferno (original) is also, I feel, rather underrated, these days. Hatari (John Wayne) is great, too. Even Logan's Run (just before blockbusters really took off) is very good, if a little weird. Network is a biting satire, far ahead of its time. And the original Pelham 1,2,3 is ahead of its time, too. I didn't really like The Graduate, but the soundtrack is very good.

Even some silent films (notably Metropolis by Fritz Lang, Nosferatu, etc) are pretty good too, in hindsight.

So yeah, I'm not claiming that Hollywood was ever particularly "based", or anything like that, but some of these "Silver Age" and "Golden Age" Hollywood productions are actually very, very good. Credit where credit is due.

No real point to this - just saying, if you are yet to really give "classics" like some of that lot a go, well, maybe it's worth it, for a break from all the woke shit of Current Era, lol...

Any other recommendations welcome, ha.

Strange timing. Of course it’s just how the universe “works”, but it is a bit surreal…

Jeff Beck (meningitis), I don’t know all that much about, but I’ve heard some of his music/playing before… Definitely talented, but I’m surprised he lasted this long, as a formerly drug-taking rocker…

Pell (“complications arising from hip surgery”) - a very controversial figure, in Australia and beyond. Takes his secrets to his grave, and obviously can no longer defend his own name…

Lisa-Marie (heart attack, declared brain dead after being “revived”) - that’s the most tragic one, I think. 54, tragic family history and clearly went through a lot. Seemed like a sad, damaged, volatile, fragile person. You might disagree with some of what she did, and some of the choices she made, but she certainly lived a complex life, and tried to manage the spotlight literally from when she was born, as best she could. It’s very unfortunate that, like so many celebrity families, here has been full of so many early “departures”…

Vale. Vale all. “Advertising Space” rings even more hollow now.

“There’s no earthly way of knowing what was in your heart, when it stopped going.” - 😳

I was talking to this girl who was in one of my online (at that point) classes. She didn’t want to “connect” via Facebook or Insta, but she really, really wanted my number…

From the way she spoke, and acted, and the sheer enthusiasm for everything, I assumed she must have been young, or, at least, younger than me…

I thought this a bit “mysterious”, so I tried to find her. The only place I could? LinkedIn. And fuck, what a LinkedIn…

I had never seen anything like it. It’s full of wokeness (pronouns, flags, “sovereignty never ceded”, “women in STEM”, Indigenous place names, and the most… Self-aggrandizing stuff I have seen on there for years)…

But not only that, she even has her own website… Where she posts her “work”, and also photos of herself, always wearing a suitably woke facemask, or facing away from the camera…

Even on her LinkedIn, it’s absolutely packed with photos and videos, but none of them directly show her face. That, combined with a list of achievements stretching back a decade that are really… Unusual for someone apparently without a degree (Executive Assistant to the Dean, CEO of an environmental org, etc.), just… Really weirded me out.

And yet, despite all this bullshit, she has less “Connections” on there than me (noting that I put zero effort into that place), barely has a “network”, and apparently spends all her time doing volunteer, unpaid work, for which she gets awards (and apparently “tops her class”), but apparently doesn’t actually have any evidence of a paid job, at the same time…

Anyway, I’ve seen this kind of thing before, generally from women. The kind of girl who only has paid, professional headshots on her Facebook. I always found that odd. That and all the “professional” bragging…

I just find it really weird. I suppose it is an extension of Instagram “hustle” culture, but professionalized… Though fuck, at least they attempt to look pretty, on Insta…

But yeah, I just don’t get it. I’ve truly never really understood this. Maybe it’s the depression. Maybe it’s the low self-esteem. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve achieved fuck all, in years. But I’ve never been the type of person who would hype myself up like that, on LinkedIn or whatever. If, by some miracle, I topped a class/assignment again, I really don’t think I would tell anyone much, let alone post about it!

Anyway, I just think this is a little sad, frankly. It makes me feel (much) worse, but it also makes this girl look like a complete narc, if nothing else…

Thoughts?

I realise that this is merely a symptom of current culture, but I hate it. I really do.

Here’s to a better year.

Surely they can’t push Covid for much longer, right??

Anyway, I’ve been struggling a lot this week, tbh.

New Year’s Eve was ok, even if not how I planned it (I almost had a better night, but… Effed it up, lol). Unfortunately the days before and since… Haven’t really been. But New Year’s Day is generally shit, I guess, so I’m used to that.

Anyhoo, hope yours was good, and that this year brings you some good things.

I’m just taking it day by day, myself. If I even make it to 2024, that would be a bit of a “miracle”, at this point. So I guess there’s that.

Peace.