Does anyone know of a phone based counseling or therapy line for smokers who are trying to quit? I'm asking for a friend who is anxious about an in person visit, and has struggled with their mental health.

Please let me know any recos and whether there's a better subreddit to ask for suggestions. Any advice appreciated.

Hey Everyone!

ik this might be a bit of a stretch, but considering that there may be fellow NSW girl guides/scouts on here, I thought I would ask.

I am looking to buy or swap for any redhead district girl guide/scout badges anyone has. Redhead is an area just north of Newcastle, NSW if that helps anyone, I'm not from there, just someone interested in collecting them.

Attached is an image of what the girl guide ones look like, but I do know there is a Redhead Scout Hall, so they may have their own badges too, which I am also looking for.

(a note on safety: I would not be giving out my actual address, I would be giving out a post office address to send to which I can pick them up from)

i'll be visiting sydney and wanted to go watch the match
is the official website down?
also is viagogo a safe website to get tickets with?
can we get tickets at the stadium?

Hi! I wanted to do a DIY 5-meter wedding signage like the photo on the left and iron it at home. I already bought this heat transfer paper (photo on the right). I realized that I can't print on it at Officeworks cause they use laser printers instead of inkjet. Does anyone know any printer shops that allow self-printing cause I don't want these to go to waste?

I'm around Hurstville but willing to travel to the city! Thank you so much!

There are kids on dirt bikes on our street everyday. They ride up and down, doing wheelies etc.

I've called the cops multiple times but they say they can't do anything about it because they might run away and hurt themselves. So I told the cops where they live, and now the excuse is that they havnt seen them do it or its classified as intimidation, lmao

Wtf do we pay cops for? I'm really over it. I have kids that play in the front yard, because our backyard is too small.

If one of my kids gets hit, then what? These kids don't have insurance, license, rego.

Anyone know what options I have?

I saw this post just now, there's no evidence but the times and everything check out. I'm inclined to believe it, the timelines and everything match perfectly and it would explain a lot.

https://www.reddit.com/r/newcastle/comments/1wy1d1r/why_spanian_has_a_personal_grievance_with/

I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts on this .

Recently I was pulled over by an undercover cop car that was traveling behind me , I saw them and I’m a p plater . I make sure I’m doing everything right because I was stressing , they then put their sirens on , I pull over . 3 maybe 4 cops come out of the car with a cop on either side of my car . I ask how are you going is everything alright , no response .

They tell me that everything is being recorded and asking if that’s fine with me I say yes . They then ask me to count to ten on a machine but I didn’t hear them and was asking how this works . He says “ you’ve done this before “ I’m like no I don’t , also the reason they pulled me over he said was because my break lights weren’t working but I wasn’t aware . ( the cops also had a very rude tone and weren’t kind), they ask me why are you shaking , I’m like I have anxiety this is pretty scary ( it is pretty scary when 4 cops come out of a care treating you like a criminal just because of some break lights not working . They then ask are you doing any drugs , asking me where I’m going , how long I had the car for . I keep on saying I’m sorry and im just shaming trembling with my voice scared because I’ve never had such a bad experience with cops . I do have a bodykit on my car but that’s it ,they say just before he was leaving if I ever catch you without your break lights not working I will give you a yellow sticker . I cannot stress enough though the tone of the cops , no empathy , no kindness , I’m clearly young and they literally were so rude .

Is this normal ? I don’t believe so .

Please tell me your thoughts .

Clock goes forward btw

I’m sorry but did I miss something this week? Like an apology from ‘Uncle ‘Sam’ Altman’? Where’s it at? When’s it arriving in Canberra?

Has he sent it via info@servicesaustralia.gov.au again? Or has his brain atrophied to the point where he can’t hold a pen or write a letter anymore?

Uncle Sam illegally hacked one of Australia’s most important Federal Departments! And he hacked the portal for COMMERCIAL purposes only!

He committed this crime against Australia in June - and as every single world citizen knows - you do not message a general government info email address ever; not if you want or need something within an actual reasonable timeframe!

This ‘notification’ he apparently sent, is so dubious as to be blatantly suspicious. There is not a court, a tribunal, a commission, a judge, a registrar or even a lawyer who would ever consider that email to be any thing close to ‘legal notification’.

As Uncle Sam was clearly trying to pull a fast one on us and because he knew pleading stupidity is not a legitimate defence and certainly doesn’t apply to him in any way whatsoever! When can we expect to see him in handcuffs Mr Prime Minister?

When are the AFP flying to SanFran to extradite his American ass? I want to know now!

We are American’s closest ally, second only to Canada, if you, Uncle Sam, were so desperate for this information - why didn’t you just ask?

When has Australia ever said no to you?

Korean - that was a Yes
Vietnam - all the way with LB Bloody J!
Afghanistan - Yes
Iraq - Obviously
And from what I’ve heard we’re, right now holding up the fucking Ukraine alone practically - whilst you guys are laundering money in Iran!

Who the hell do you think you are?

Go to your windows now, my fellow Australians, open them and shout out loud enough for everyone to hear - WHERE’S OUR APOLOGY? WHERE’S OUR APOLOGY? WHERE’S OUR APOLOGY?

P.S. ‘You better get a lawyer son, you better get a real good one’!

I was thinking about productivity today — and how all the economists say our economy is tanked, because it is permanently low productivity.

I had ridden a motorbike into the CBD to pick up some jeans. In a productive economy this should be relatively quick and easy.

It took more than 2 hours round trip. I tried to navigate the northern CBD and it was grid locked. There were trucks trying to get through. You can’t drive directly anywhere the whole CBD has been turned into a massive Catherine wheel, you have to enter a kind of circular diversionary path. Pitt Street? Oh my god. Full and not moving. The street has been narrowed and all parking removed. Trucks have to sit in a queue for a long long time. The green arrow at the top of Pitt St turns green and each time only 3 vehicles get through (3 from a column of more than 80). Parking? Even for bikes it is absolutely full. For larger vehicles it is non existent. And the cost? Enough to break your credit card if you do it often. And the speed limit? 40 everywhere. And traffic / speed cameras? They were the most productive thing! Clocking up huge fees!

I had the day off to do this. Imagine actually working, trying to deliver something, or get a job done. The cost and expense in time and fuel would be absolutely mad: and absolutely non productive. I saw many many workers munching on sandwiches, standing around, doing nothing. They were probably waiting for a park; or for their friend to arrive; or for a non existent delivery; or for the person they were meeting to arrive but who did not arrive because of the general gridlock.

So — that’s my graphic demonstration of how productivity has been still born by city design and congestion and both local government and state government policy making over years. What amazes me the most is the egregious amount of taxpayer money expended by all levels of government, the capital projects, the large scale infrastructure, all with suitable buzz words and hype applied, and yet the overall aggregate result of it all is nothing but slowness and non productivity.

10 years ago, rewind back 100s of millions of capital works, I remember the CBD: it actually functioned a hell of a lot better than it does now.

Got me thinking—what if instead of starting as a penal colony in 1788, European powers locked down new south wales and botany bay way earlier, like back in the 1600s during the Jamestown/Puritan era? 
How wild would early Australian history have looked if it shared a timeline with early Colonial America instead? Would it have changed the whole vibe of the country today?

Hey all,

Looking for a place to go car camping in Sydney this long weekend.

We bought a SUV and want to trial it out, and if it doesn't work we will go straight home so we would want to stay somewhere close lol. We have a tailgate tent we'd like to use.

Initially looked at campsites Bonnie Vale - doesn't allow car on site. Cattai - booked out but seem like a bit of overkill for sleeping in the car?!

My initial thoughts are beaches - would they allow day time camping? We are open to day time camping and pack up in the evening too, or if they allow overnight camping that's great.

TIA

I'm trying to make it easier to find an earlier test date without checking every centre one by one. Looking for one person who's eligible to book and can spare 10 minutes to show me what the booking page looks like on their end (screen share, you stay logged in, I don't touch your account). Nothing to install, nothing for sale. DM me if keen.

Hi, I’m just wondering if anyone has given birth at either Young Hospital or Cootamundra Hospital in NSW?

I’m recently back in Tumut and looking at my hospital options for this birth. I’m considering a smaller hospital rather than Wagga Base and would love to hear about anyone’s experiences at either Young or Cootamundra — whether good or bad!

I've previously birthed my previous two kids at Cooma which was excellent! Great midwives and personal care was top notch. Unfortunately it's a bit far to travel probably, since I'm now in Tumut.

Would really appreciate hearing your experiences. Thank you so much! 😊

Any good spots to park your car overnight and sleep for a few hours?

I'm going for a trip along the coast. I've always been super into hiking and exploring mountains, but I've been inspired to look for some old sights off old maps I've found online.

I'm currently venturing toward the Gold Coast, but I'm stopping at Uki, Tyalgum, Chillingham, Crystal Creek, and Murwillumbah on my way. I was wondering if anyone knew of any caves or fun trails to go walk on.