Australis13

Even some of us in Australia could see it coming. Back in 2023, one of our former PMs interviewed a member of a CIA taskforce that had created a predictive model for civil wars. Normally it's used on other countries, but they tried applying it to the US and you can guess what the results were.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/americas-coming-civil-war/id1674095396?i=1000626742633 https://open.spotify.com/episode/0MVeiDPgEtLRMsg3kMHV2K https://www.audible.com.au/podcast/Americas-coming-civil-war/B0CH8QQ4N2

At the core, my Trello system works like this:

• I have a template Trello card for a generic week. This has a checklist for each day with the tasks that I don't do by default (e.g. in my case eating breakfast/lunch/dinner isn't on it because my sense of hunger and thirst works really well!). It's typically things like doing my exercises (which I will often forget if I am busy), checking whether the cat litter tray needs cleaning before bed (at the end of the day I am tired and can miss things that should be done, so this serves as a useful reminder) or regular things that don't happen every day (like watering my indoor plants on Tuesdays and Fridays).
• I also have a Task Pool card where I note down all the things I need/should/want/would like to do. I'm currently working with an OT to help improve how I prioritise and select what to work on (this is where energy accounting comes in if you use it), but the idea so far (which mostly works) is that on Friday evening (when my wife and I discuss the weekend and the following week), I create the next week's card from the weekly template and grab any items I need/want to do that week from the Task Pool.

For more irregular activities, like holidays/trips, I also have a template card. It makes it much easier to prepare for a trip; I have checklists on that template card for:

• Things I need to do before leaving
• Things I need to take that aren't regular packing
• Normal packing list (e.g. clothes, medication, toiletries, etc.)

When I know a trip is coming up, I then create a card from the template specific to that trip and start adding things as I think of them. For example, I might be planning to visit family for a birthday or other event, so "birthday present" would go on the non-regular packing list.

Well there's a horrifying thought.

She thinks politicians need to do more to help families thrive rather than survive. "They say they are helping by giving you a discount on your power but then … the power goes up." She said she'll be voting Liberal in the upcoming federal election.

It's ignorance like this that will screw the country.

Has nobody been paying any attention to the raft of experts and just about everyone affiliated with the energy sector explaining that the LNP's nuclear plan will just led to increased costs with no relief for 15+ years? What do they think is going to happen to power prices when we have to maintain our coal-fired power stations for a decade beyond their end-of-life before the first nuclear plant comes online because the LNP stifled the transition to renewables?

Not surprised, unfortunately - saw the news headlines about the restrictions on schools and churches being removed.

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that. I don't live in the US, so I have not seen this.

I wonder how long before that actually happens - weeks or months?

I should also add that the Guardian seems to be making this more of a positive than it is. Apparently:

Jana Favero, the ASRC’s deputy chief executive, said the results showed voters had “compassion” and “a desire for humanity” when it came to people fleeing danger

But only 42% oppose "deporting asylum seekers to their country of origin, regardless of the risk of persecution or violence" and 32% oppose "the government’s powers to pay other countries to take asylum seekers or non-citizens Australia wants to deport".

I would argue only around ~40% of respondents met Favero's descriptor.

No wonder we keep voting in the LNP and ALP. They're both as bad as each other when it comes to the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.

Sounds like basically half the population doesn't have empathy.

Apparently not, sadly. I cannot believe people cannot see the parallels, but then the average Aussie probably doesn't pay any attention to US politics and the Australian coverage (even from the ABC) is not really explaining just how bad things are.

I am sorry to hear that your daughter was treated like that, but am glad you have found a more welcoming community. Unfortunately there are parts of Australia that are just as unkind to anyone who is different, particularly some of the regional areas that aren't used to any forms of diversity.

A slew of organisational tools to help me keep track of things and prevent overwhelm:

• ClickUp is really good for big projects. I can break them down into smaller pieces, set dependencies and priorities, etc. so that only the next relevant steps are shown and I don't get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work involved in a large project.
• Trello I find really handy for day-to-day stuff. I have a weekly template card with a checklist for each day and the regular activities on it. This reduces the amount of bandwidth I need to plan my day or week, as I already have a rough structure in place to build upon.
• Google Calendar (although really any calendar app should do). Use repeating events and take advantage of the email reminder options. If it's something important that I need to prepare for, I can set a reminder email a day or two (or even a week) in advance so that it doesn't sneak up on me.

Beyond that, I find it very important to keep my space organised, neat and tidy. Too much visual clutter is overwhelming. Making sure everything has its own place and is readily accessible takes a lot of hassle out of anything I have to do, whether it be day-to-day stuff or one-off tasks.