Today's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

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Smpl Mnmlst
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#3388785 1-Jul-2025 20:36

Behodar:

Food Bag is still steadfastly refusing to proofread recipes.

"10g honey, cut into small florets"

Could be done. Make a silicone female mould of a portion of a cauliflower head. Pour honey into the mould and put it in the freezer. When solid, get the frozen honey out of the mould and, before it can soften, cut into pieces along the floret-lines.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

deepred

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#3388846 2-Jul-2025 02:36

kingdragonfly: Spiders are very helpful to agriculture in New Zealand and globally. They act as natural pest control agents, helping farmers manage insect populations without relying solely on chemical pesticides.

I know it's of little comfort, but it seems that the introduced spiders has also spread to UK and Ireland. Its venom mentioned in the article is neurotoxic (primarily affects the nervous system).

The spiders, which have not been introduced into New Zealand (yet), with bites that scare me are ones with necrotizing venoms. Worst case symptoms, unlikely

Permanent Scarring or Disfigurement
Healing may take months
often require skin grafts or surgery.
Nerve involvement or extensive tissue damage can result in long-term pain, numbness, or reduced function
Kidney failure
death
Again these spiders with necrotizing venom not here. Spiders with necrotizing venoms are Loxosceles spp. (Recluse spiders) have been introduced into Australia. There are some similar spiders on some Pacific Islands, like Hawaii.

So for now, don't get to freaked out. Trying to squash a spider will more likely get you a bite. There are about 131 spiders per square meter on average globally (Nyffeler & Birkhofer, 2017)

Spider with 'potentially sinister bite' establishes in New Zealand: One News

The noble false widow spider or Steatoda nobilis — named for its resemblance to the notorious black widow — had its first confirmed sighting in Porirua late last year.

Massey University evolutionary ecologist Steven Trewick led the efforts to confirm the identity of the spider by comparing its physical features and analysing DNA of the Porirua sample.

Since the initial sighting, the noble false widow spider had been confirmed in Christchurch, Nelson, Northland and Waikato.

Trewick said the species was already thriving in Kiwi backyards, favouring gardens, fences, outdoor furniture, and the undersides of plant pots and tarpaulins.
...

This keeps me thinking of Vincent Price's monologue in Alice Cooper's "Black Widow"...

"I regret to say that we of the F.B.I. are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way obstructed interstate commerce." — J. Edgar Hoover

"Create a society that values material things above all else. Strip it of industry. Raise taxes for the poor and reduce them for the rich and for corporations. Prop up failed financial institutions with public money. Ask for more tax, while vastly reducing public services. Put adverts everywhere, regardless of people's ability to afford the things they advertise. Allow the cost of food and housing to eclipse people's ability to pay for them. Light blue touch paper." — Andrew Maxwell

kingdragonfly

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#3389171 2-Jul-2025 21:50

For the 50th anniversary of the movie "Jaws", Amazon was asking US $30 for the DVD, about NZD $50.

US retailer CCVideo.com wants up to US $51 steelbook, or US $26 digital only.

Locally JB Hifi NZ wants NZD $89, for the steelbook version.

Way too rich for my blood, though "Mary Poppins" 50th anniversary selling price was about this much.

I think you'd be doing your children a great favor by showing them Mary Poppins over Jaws.

Though I've heard the "Child catcher" scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang traumatized some young children in the 60's, but I think most children today would likely laugh off the "Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

kingdragonfly

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#3391775 7-Jul-2025 21:50

In the USA, renter fined NZD $3,300 for each negative (and truthful) review he posted.

It's wasn't libel. In the middle of the 21 page residential lease agreement was a clause signing away his freedom of negative speech; positive reviews OK.

On the other side of the homeowner / rental fence, approximately 30% of owned homes in the USA are governed by Homeowners Associations (HOAs), about 75 million people. They are also nightmares.

US Arizona state renter fined NZD $6,600 for leaving negative reviews about property rental

Bung

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#3391778 7-Jul-2025 23:17

It wasn't a court ordered fine but a penalty in an illegal gagging clause. Commentary in US is that the penalty wouldn't be enforceable.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#3391783 8-Jul-2025 05:19

Seems like it would be in violation of the Consumer Review Fairness Act assuming that applies to rental agreements.

kingdragonfly

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#3391784 8-Jul-2025 07:15

In 6 years, only 5 companies have been actually received any action under the US "Consumer Review Fairness Act"

Each of the 5 was told to remove clauses and required to notify affected consumers and establish compliance processes.

3 of the 5 ignored the FTC, and told by the FTC "yes we mean it", and told a fine might be possible if they continue of up to $50,000.

No word if the companies were required to return their customer paid fines for negative reviews.

Behodar

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#3392844 10-Jul-2025 17:20

"To open, tear from right to left." Has an arrow pointing from left to right.

msukiwi

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#3392894 10-Jul-2025 17:38

Behodar:"To open, tear from right to left." Has an arrow pointing from left to right.

/CynicalOn Does it look right if you hold the packet upside down. Shame about the contents not getting where you wanted them! /CynicalOff

Behodar

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#3392895 10-Jul-2025 17:41

msukiwi:

/CynicalOn Does it look right if you hold the packet upside down. Shame about the contents not getting where you wanted them! /CynicalOff

Well now the arrow is pointing from right to left, but the strip needs to be torn from left to right :)

kingdragonfly

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#3392954 10-Jul-2025 18:19

I guess even one tiny ray of sunshine in this gloomy present is too much to ask.

Court blocks FTC ‘click to cancel’ rule designed to ease unsubscribing: The Washington Post

A federal appeals court has voided Biden-era plans to crack down on tough-to-cancel subscriptions, which would have required businesses to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions as it is to sign up to them.

On Tuesday, a U.S. Court of Appeals granted a petition from business groups to block the Federal Trade Commission’s rule, known colloquially as “click to cancel,” days before its scheduled date of enforcement of July 14. The court found the FTC made “fatal” procedural errors in its rulemaking process and struck down the rule.

The rule in question, announced [pre-Trump], would have required companies selling subscriptions such as gyms and streaming platforms to make the cancellation process take as few steps as signing up. It would have also required sellers to provide all relevant information to consumers before subscribing. Companies violating the rule would be subject to civil penalties.

Consumer rights groups had welcomed the rule as a safeguard to prevent customers from getting trapped into paying for a service they no longer wanted with no straightforward way to cancel their subscription. In 2024, the FTC said it was receiving an average of 70 complaints a day about the issue. “The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money,” Khan had said at the time.

But it was also fiercely opposed by business groups, which argued that the “click to cancel” rule overstepped the FTC’s mandate and would burden businesses with unfair costs and regulatory requirements.
...

bigreddog

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#3393142 11-Jul-2025 09:30

Behodar:

"To open, tear from right to left." Has an arrow pointing from left to right.

They tested that before releasing it... used a mirror to check they were doing it correctly!

freitasm

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#3393939 14-Jul-2025 17:32

An article about fatbergs, they say to not pour milk down the drain, because of the fat.

But then they write "Popping it in the rubbish is the easiest way to get rid of it - without pouring it down the drain. just make sure you leave it in its container and don’t put it in the recycling."

Ah, right. So the journalist did not remember to ask "Wait, so no more recycling for those bottles?"

Bung

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#3393942 14-Jul-2025 17:46

I see the fatberg quotes are from Australia. Maybe they need help from Fontera getting as much milkfat out of the milk as they can get away with. At least they remembered to mention the cooking oils and fat that probably do most of the damage.

gzt

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#3393943 14-Jul-2025 17:50

freitasm: An article about fatbergs, they say to not pour milk down the drain, because of the fat.

I'd be surprised if milk is a significant contributor to fatbergs in NZ, or Australia. Sounds like one of those articles with so many issues it's too many..

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