Title. I’m still trying to get mine to work but in theory owning one of these will allow you to use a computer without a cd drive to play or rip cds, play dvds, and burn backup cds of your music. Obviously it’s better to have a computer with a cd drive but this creates options if you don’t. Pairs nicely with secondhand cds and dvds from the op shop. Look for these usb drives on eBay and at Officeworks.

Gardening Australia melbaboutown • 7 days ago • 100%

Sorry this is super late. I’ve been busy and forgot to post at the same time as the frugal thread. I also haven’t been able to do much gardening. The window boxes don’t hold much, I’m struggling with fatigue and the carrots I’m hoping would set seed are being eaten! Perhaps in future I’ll be able to do more. Have you got any plans for your garden coming into spring?

I’m not sure if anyone would be interested but Internet Archive is another free resource. They’ve recently lost a legal battle over copyright infringement resulting in the removal of 500,000 books but there’s still plenty of public domain media left. Playing *one of the audiobooks works so I assume downloading will too.

Things have been chaotic here. I recently received an Outlook reminder I’d set… but it came after the applications closed. And I am straining my tired brain to remember if that was the closing date for the previous rebate or if I missed a new one. Or even missed the previous one! However the reminder itself was very useful. I’m planning to set another reminder for next year, this time for *May or June*.

whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au

South East Asian food market, zero waste expo, Moon festival, Chinese culture, sea shanties, art exhibitions, running clubs… If any of these look good and you’re able to participate then go wild. Ps. For some reason the link preview still says August but the listed events are for September.

www.booitsbloo.com

Tip - just buy a generic tangle teezer style brush as it works fine, or use something like that you own. I’m finding for some things (generic oodie) the matting even starts to happen on cold gentle washes if I’m not careful.

Have you found a good bargain lately, made a repair, or figured out something that works for you? This is also for any topic requests, suggestions, or tips that might not require their own thread.

Gardening Australia melbaboutown • 1 month ago • 88%

Sorry it’s late. I really haven’t been doing much over winter. Something knocked over my pot of carrots and has been eating the tops, boring down into the root vegetable! I’m suspecting a possum. I really need to repot the rosemary and buy seeds to resow the cat grass. Have things been more active in your garden? Did you get some good results with winter vegies, or are you thinking ahead to spring?

Have you found a good bargain lately, made a repair, or figured out something that works for you? This is also for any topic requests, suggestions, or tips that might not require their own thread.

Food Australia melbaboutown • 3 months ago • 100%

With limits on eggs now I thought it might be good to post some substitutes and notes on what has worked vs what was not that great. For scrambled eggs and quiche I used to use silken tofu. It wasn't that pretty and didn't taste quite the same, but I seasoned it with soy sauce and didn't die. If you're willing to buy a niche product black salt contains sulfur and will give an eggy taste. Mashed banana and applesauce are often recommended - I forget if I've tried them. Yogurt was used as a substitute in muffins but I didn't like the result much. It made them a little dense and heavy. Perhaps it was that I used plain Greek yogurt rather than a thinner variety, plus muffins are supposed to be especially light. Blancmange is egg free, made using cornstarch, and can be eaten instead of custard. (Though blancmange is usually served cold and set like jelly rather than as a hot dish/sauce) There are egg free cake and biscuit recipes out there too. Egg replacer powders are a thing but are more for baking rather than egg-based dishes.

Have you found a good bargain lately, made a repair, or figured out something that works for you? This is also for any topic requests, suggestions, or tips that might not require their own thread.

Gardening Australia melbaboutown • 3 months ago • 100%

I've been a bit crook so haven't managed a lot of gardening lately. I'm just leaving my heirloom carrots in their window box until they set seed, and resowing the cat grass. Have things been more active in your garden? Are you getting some good results with winter vegies, or thinking ahead to spring?

Food Australia melbaboutown • 3 months ago • 100%

This is a very filling warming casserole from my granny, which uses a few simple ingredients and sauces them with pantry staples you probably already have. I probably should have posted this earlier when the weather was seriously cold. **Ingredients:** 1kg meat (gravy beef, chuck steak, steak) Carrots Onions 1 spoonful of olive oil (can be substituted with canola, sunflower or vegetable oil) Knob of butter (optional) **Sauce:** 5-6 forkfuls of plain flour or cornflour 1/2 tsp black pepper (or less as preferred - which I did! That's a lot of pepper) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp powdered mustard (or less as preferred - which I did! That's a lot of mustard powder and it can be hot) 3 large spoonfuls of vinegar 2 large spoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup tomato sauce **Method:** Dice meat (discard fat). Put into frying pan with olive oil and butter. Brown meat then put into casserole dish. Peel carrots and onions then slice both into rounds. Add to the casserole dish. **Make sauce:** Into a mug put flour, pepper, salt, sugar and mustard powder (dry ingredients). Then add vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. Mix well then add to casserole dish. Stir and just cover everything with water. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes. ::: spoiler Notes This is a slow moist cooking method intended for tough inexpensive cuts of meat but you can use anything you have. Stir fry beef is acceptable if that's all you can get hold of, or you can even slice in leftover cooked sausages to use them up. As a kid we sometimes had rabbit. The measurements are a bit arbitrary as this recipe came from my actual grandma. If making a large quantity of meat, veg and potatoes (big family sized) you could use tablespoons for the 'large spoonfuls' of the condiments so there's enough flavour. But when reducing the amount of meat and veg down I might have just used generous dessert spoons. The forkfuls were just normal forks heaped with flour, 'spooned' out of the bag or box. *That's a lot of black pepper and mustard powder written there*, intended to season a large family sized amount of bland meat and veg plus the potatoes. If you're scaling the amount of meat and veg down, are serving young kids, or you don't do spice at all definitely reduce the amount of those. I have a memory of making a smaller (possibly halved or less) quantity and using 1/8 tsp each of the pepper and mustard powder for myself. I found when using plain flour it tended to settle to the bottom during cooking, so I would take it out of the oven in the middle of cooking and give it a quick stir. It thickened fine. I forget the timing but if the times don't line up it's definitely much better for the casserole to be well underway or ready first - as the casserole can wait for the potatoes to finish, while with the reverse the spuds might get cold or the casserole undercooked. Don't omit the vinegar as the acidity helps tenderise tough cuts like gravy beef or chuck, and tastes good with the sweetness of the carrots. You can probably do this in a slow cooker or an instant pot. I haven't tried but it seems well suited. The big bags of brushed potatoes used to work out cheaper - if you have any children make them do the scrubbing and peeling 😏 If you don't feel like having potatoes you can add savoury dumplings in to cook. There are proper ways to make dumplings but I just used to make basic scone dough with salt and pepper, and add lumps of it maybe towards the end or when the casserole was taken out to stir? They cook in the sauce and puff up all fluffy inside. :::

Australia melbaboutown • 3 months ago • 100%

theconversation.com

I really don't want to do this again

There are also [free community meals](https://localfoodconnect.org.au/links/free-community-meals/). Please double check that the info in the links is still valid though as this seems to be from pre-pandemic. The Local Food Connect site seems to focus mainly on the North East suburbs Melbourne. For other suburbs and states you may have better luck with sites like [Foodbank](https://www.foodbank.org.au/find-food/). If you're food insecure don't be ashamed to seek help and take what you need. The system has let us down. Edit: Added community meals link

Melbourne melbaboutown • 4 months ago • 96%

www.theguardian.com

If the same cunts start talking about smashed avo and financial responsibility now I'm stealing their bones for soup

Melbourne melbaboutown • 4 months ago • 94%

www.abc.net.au

This is from May but I just saw it.

Have you found a good bargain lately, made a repair, or figured out something that works for you? This is also for any topic requests, suggestions, or tips that might not require their own thread.

Gardening Australia melbaboutown • 4 months ago • 100%

localfoodconnect.org.au

The previous Winter vegies link came from a weird source and then broke for me, so let's try again. I waited for June to post the guide for this month. Ps. It's currently displaying the seeds for June but the link is titled 'Veggie seeds that can be planted now' so it may be a page that will change and suggest appropriate different seeds if you click on it another month.

Gardening Australia melbaboutown • 4 months ago • 100%

It's week 4 I think... doesn't matter

Maybe you just moved out of home or don't have a lot of space, maybe your jaffle iron or sandwich press broke, or your ex took it. You can still have a cheap easy hot meal with minimal washing up. Some fillings like baked bean or spaghetti jaffles do need a special jaffle iron to seal the crusts and keep it inside but plenty can be done in just a frying pan + a [multipurpose lid](https://www.kmart.com.au/product/silicone-universal-lid-41870082/) or even a plate to cover. 1. Butter an even number of bread slices on one side. 2. Place as many slices as will fit in the pan, butter side down, and put the filling on. Keep it a little more to the middle. Options include plain cheese or any variations like ham/cheese/tomato, Hawaiian etc. Shredded leftover chicken with cheese or BBQ sauce. Leftover/tinned meat sauce or stew as long as it's thick enough to quickly flip without spilling out. Leftover pasta bake or scrambled eggs. Anything you have leftover. Or you can do a sweet version like Nutella or the Elvis (banana/honey/peanut butter). 3. Put more slices of bread on top butter side up, and cover with a lid or a plate to cook it on low for a while. (5 minutes? Ten? I never actually timed it.) The combo of low heat and a lid will allow the sanga to steam a little, get heated through and let any cheese melt without quickly burning the outside. 4. Check it after a while by removing the plate/lid and lifting a corner of a sandwich with a utensil. Be extra careful not to burn your fingers if using a plate, it's not ideal for the purpose. If the sanga looks hot and melting and the bottom of the bread is golden brown then carefully flip it, replace the lid and cook the other side to the same done-ness. Put them on a plate then let them cool a bit before you cut them in half and bite in. Cook more if your pan was small.

Australia melbaboutown • 5 months ago • 98%

www.abc.net.au

I saw that they weren't going to go ahead last year, but now apparently there will be a pilot.

A 6 pack of Nexgard Spectra for large cats is $84.99 there while the same at Petcircle is $102.99. (Both without autodelivery.) There also seem to be discount codes on dry food with a discount up to $20. Definitely shop around as I've seen products vary wildly in price between sites.

This is probably common knowlege but try Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive for free e-books and music. There's the option to view in browser for no downloads. The art books are limited and be mindful that there might be copyright issues with the Internet Archive. But there may be some good finds. Edit: I think there might also be audiobooks available

Melbourne melbaboutown • 5 months ago • 94%

www.9news.com.au

Sorry, this article is older but has more general information for those who don't keep chooks. H5N1 affects birds, cows, cats, and humans (and more). High mortality rate. No known human to human transmission yet but it's global, we're like the last place that hasn't got it, and the risk to our birds is now considered high. There's a chance the virus may enter from the north when birds migrate in spring. Structure and behaviour similar to Coronavirus. In addition to direct contact or respiratory and surface transmission it can also affect the safety of fresh milk and eggs (fact check this but it seems to according to what's happening in America). Fingers crossed this doesn't become Covid 2:The Electric Boogaloo

Aussie Enviro melbaboutown • 5 months ago • 95%

www.theguardian.com

This is paraphrasing and may need fact checking. However from what I've seen of the situation in America this can have a greater than 50% mortality rate, affects humans cats and other animals, and is spreading through cows. It seems to be global however Australia seems to be one of the few places still free of it so far. If we get an outbreak here it's going to be similar to covid with the masks and disinfection, with the added recommendation of eye protection, and the issue of it affecting the safety of eggs and milk. It doesn't seem to pass from human to human *yet*? But while we seem to be in the clear for now, let's watch our butts just in case that flip occurs and it gets over here on people or migrating birds. It could be really sensible to do things like keep chickens and pet birds away from wild birds, wash hands after handling birds, use masks, be careful of having bird feeders, keep cats inside to not hunt birds... you know. Just use caution.

Food Australia melbaboutown • 6 months ago • 0%

www.allrecipes.com

Colesworth jacking up the cost of Ice Magic? You can make some with chocolate and coconut oil to work out much cheaper. There are heaps of recipes for "chocolate shell" so try them out

Food Australia melbaboutown • 6 months ago • 100%

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/7762680 > I don't have a recommended recipe (I'm not big on smoothies and haven't tested this out) but there are heaps of recipes out there depending on what you have. > > Apparently using full fat coconut milk or Greek yogurt helps the icypoles stay a bit softer, as will adding cornstarch, and blending in pre frozen fruit. > > You could even chuck some protein powder in and have a frozen smoothie on a stick for dinner when it's too hot to cook. > > The freezing container is a bit awkward without dedicated equipment but depending on freezer space you could freeze it onto teaspoons in small cups or muffin tins. > > Or freeze it as small icecubes and blend it again into something thick and semi-frozen like soft serve or a thickshake. Make sure your blender is up to handling ice though. I'm not liable for puffs of smoke. > > > Ps. Yogurt by itself is also ok to freeze this way. Warning: It's kind of hard so you might have to chip at it slowly, and the texture will change into something gross on defrosting though. At least Greek yogurt did when I ate it. It doesn't freeze smooth and soft like froyo from the shop. >

I don't have a recommended recipe (I'm not big on smoothies and haven't tested this out) but there are heaps of recipes out there depending on what you have. Apparently using full fat coconut milk or Greek yogurt helps the icypoles stay a bit softer, as will adding cornstarch, and blending in pre frozen fruit. You could even chuck some protein powder in and have a frozen smoothie on a stick for dinner when it's too hot to cook. The freezing container is a bit awkward without dedicated equipment but depending on freezer space you could freeze it onto teaspoons in small cups or muffin tins. Or freeze it as small icecubes and blend it again into something thick and semi-frozen like soft serve or a thickshake. Make sure your blender is up to handling ice though. I'm not liable for puffs of smoke. Ps. Yogurt by itself is also ok to freeze this way. Warning: It's kind of hard so you might have to chip at it slowly, and the texture will change into something gross on defrosting though. At least Greek yogurt did when I ate it. It doesn't freeze smooth and soft like froyo from the shop.

This is probably something you already know but a reminder doesn't hurt on such a hot day. You don't need syrup or real coffee to make an iced coffee or Big M style drink. Stirring instant coffee and sugar into a very little hot water first dissolves the crystals, avoiding the grittiness and unsweetened taste of throwing them straight into cold milk. Ice cubes or icecream optional. If you have any icecream toppings or another kind of syrup those can also be a milk flavouring.

I have no idea if anyone here would be interested, and it's only a few dollars off. But if your kid wanted some beginner paints what you get for this set isn't too bad.

Not all of them are half price. The Wonka Chocolate and Cotton Candy are not, at $15. The Chocolate is also milder but not free of mint. I haven't personally tried them (I wanted the chocolate but was too tight fisted) so can't say how true to life the flavours are or how it feels. But for $6.50 there are options like vanilla, red velvet, mango sorbet, peach ice tea, banana, strawberry, coconut whip, watermelon, grape bubblegum etc. If there's someone in your life who can't stand the burn of mint or needs extra motivation to brush perhaps one of the half price flavours might be a good gift. One caveat though: The amount of fluoride in it seems comparable to children's toothpastes so may be intended for kids and not be enough to protect adult teeth quite as well. Edit: Sorry the brand is Hi Smile Edit 2: Correction. From a really quick Google - the amount of fluoride in these is equivalent to 1100 ppm fluoride when the standard adult toothpaste is 1000 ppm fluoride, so it's actually fine. In that case maybe don't use it on kids under 6 due to risk of swallowing

The 'advanced care' roll ons are currently $2.75, and some of the aerosol cans are down to $4. I haven't tried these particular ones (and Coles are still a price gouging duopoly). But if you're game or like them and want to stock up now's the time.

Melbourne melbaboutown • 9 months ago • 100%

www.theguardian.com

This is what the Greens were pushing for. Will be watching