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[Ruthless_Barbarian]

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition) Blu Ray Box Set for $42 delivered from Amazon UK

Doesn't ship to AU

EDIT: It does, you have to change seller to amazon and pay $1.24 extra. Not a bargain anymore.

i dunno!

seems cheap to me if you split it 3 or 4 way

lol!

$250pw when i first moved to melb for my mushroom farm

Cheap? How many mushrooms have you had today?

 

[Poimandres]

Can't malaria lay dormant for more than a decade before doing its thing? I should probably get checked, come to think of it, since when I visited a jungle a few years back I hated the malaria meds so much I just stopped taking them.

Yeah, I don't know really. I guess I should probably find out! They say that if you go to certain places (mine was Thailand) it's common to be exposed to malaria and your body produces antibodies, but most of the time people don't actually get full blown malaria so it's no big deal. Still, for blood giving purposes they can't risk it.

I decided not to take any malaria meds, and walked around with my shirt off in thongs like a good 'strayan should.

Spoiler

I never take my shirt off... I'm pasty

 

[HolyCheck]

We're on half that for a big 3 bedroom house with a huge backyard and 2 sheds, 10 minutes north of the CBD.

prossy?

 

[jambo]

prossy?

Almost. Broadview.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Doesn't ship to AU

EDIT: It does, you have to change seller to amazon and pay $1.24 extra. Not a bargain anymore.

Strange, I was sure I copied the direct Amazon link! $42 should be the total inc postage after VAT removal.

In any case as a disclaimer the special features are on DVD for some reason, which makes them Region 2 so you need a region free DVD player for that stuff.

The whole LotR release stuff is fucking stupid.

And the movies are boring anyway /endrant

 

[wonzo]

Gee, I wonder how many mining execs are gonna pop up on this list.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Sad, but LucasArts hadn't made a good game since Jedi Outcast.

Speaking of!

 

[Dead Man]

Gee, I wonder how many mining execs are gonna pop up on this list.

I'm going to take a punt and say... all of them.

 

[lexi]

I'm going to take a punt and say... all of them.

We need a revolution. These people are gleefully exploiting us all while destroying the planet.

 

[Dead Man]

We need a revolution. These people are gleefully exploiting us all while destroying the planet.

Line them up, I'll do the rest.

 

[HolyCheck]

friggen just worked out i've been paying 15% interest on my maxed CC every month since I had it.

fuckers told me it was 62 days interest free. but apparently the way i was using it was incorrect.

sigh

edit: false alarm, bad maths

closer 3%

 

[Fusebox]

I'm surprised you didn't get juniored for that awesome thread of yours Holy!

 

[shanshan310]

I'm surprised you didn't get juniored for that awesome thread of yours Holy!

Never forget.

 

[Jintor]

It's drizzling lightly and someone three houses away is playing smoky sax really loudly. I have an intense urge to have a flickering fluroscent lamp and to take up smoking.

 

[Omikron]

I have never created a thread 8)

 

[markot]

 

[Ruthless_Barbarian]

 

[roosters93]

Best to give them a call and make an appointment. Easy once you get into it as you make your next appointment during the checkup. I usually just leave a reminder in my phone, they have an sms reminder but it has been spotty in the past (sometimes the day after, sometimes a week before which is useless). Last 2 times I have gotten a letter in the mail which has been handy, I just chuck it up on the fridge.

I donate when I leave work at 4pm so it is pretty quiet, mainly just school kids.

EVERYBODY DONATE BLOOD YO

Yeahhhh I knowww. But the donor centre is 20 minutes away man. 20 minutes.
I used to go to school right near it so that was handy as but now it's nowhere near my home, work (99% of the time) or activities. Pain in the butt.

 

[shanshan310]

At least you are allowed to donate blood. I often think of lying on the form so they will let me, but :/

Well if you know your blood is fine I don't really see what's wrong with it. Ultimately you would be doing a great service to society in donating blood.

They have a blood van at my uni. I get kind of weird about arteries but its really something I should do.

 

[Jintor]

Well if you know your blood is fine I don't really see what's wrong with it. Ultimately you would be doing a great service to society in donating blood.

Woah though

You might think your blood is fine. That doesn't mean your blood is fine.

I mean, it's not like they pour all the blood into a tank and a single bad sample contaminates the lot, but still. This be blood we're talkin' bout

 

[Kritz]

Has science gone too far?!

I just had a sweet juxtaposition spending 10 minutes explaining the rules to Pandemic to my sister, then spending approximately 10 seconds explaining the rules to Ticket to Ride.

(There is a printer on that table because it is also a scanner)

Also I tried to land a helicopter on top of another helicopter in DayZ and I thought that was kinda cool.

 

[Jintor]

You lead a crazy life Kritz

 

[Deeku]

another public holiday here today wooo i slept a lot!

 

[shanshan310]

Woah though

You might think your blood is fine. That doesn't mean your blood is fine.

I mean, it's not like they pour all the blood into a tank and a single bad sample contaminates the lot, but still. This be blood we're talkin' bout

Of course. I'm sure they run tests on the blood too. I thought DM might be referring to the fact that a significant portion of healthy Australians are forbidden from donating blood.

 

[Fusebox]

Goddamn have you guys seen that Abbott video doing the rounds on FB? You probably all discussed it pages ago but goddamn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyY-xI6zgfk

 

[Box of Bunnies]

Woah though

You might think your blood is fine. That doesn't mean your blood is fine.

I mean, it's not like they pour all the blood into a tank and a single bad sample contaminates the lot, but still. This be blood we're talkin' bout

When the sole reason they're saying your blood isn't fine is because you've had sex with another man and you might give someone icky homo germs I think the individual is able to appraise if their own blood is fine.

 

[roosters93]

last time the finger pinprick was more painful than having the needle jammed in my arm. This time, other way around

One time I went it took them 3-4 goes to find the vein. That was fun.

 

[Ruthless_Barbarian]

Goddamn have you guys seen that Abbott video doing the rounds on FB? You probably all discussed it pages ago but goddamn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyY-xI6zgfk

His silent head bob needs to be a gif!

 

[shanshan310]

His silent head bob needs to be a gif!

They need to manufacture him into one of those bobble head things you put on the back of cars.

 

[Clipper]

I would like to know what sort of questions came before the Tony Abbott clip. It's difficult to tell whether he was unable to give an answer or just purposefully giving the reporter the silent treatment out of spite (with the comical bobble)...

In other words... I think I'm asking for context :/

 

[Ruthless_Barbarian]

They need to manufacture him into one of those bobble head things you put on the back of cars.

I would like to know what sort of questions came before the Tony Abbott clip. It's difficult to tell whether he was unable to give an answer or just purposefully giving the reporter the silent treatment out of spite (with the comical bobble)...

In other words... I think I'm asking for context :/

Shit happens.

Reporter: Soldier died.
Abbot: Sh*t happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG38_9ALk3k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wT9XS_TvzQ

 

[Fredescu]

I would like to know what sort of questions came before the Tony Abbott clip. It's difficult to tell whether he was unable to give an answer or just purposefully giving the reporter the silent treatment out of spite (with the comical bobble)...

In other words... I think I'm asking for context :/

I have a feeling it was from the "shit happens" thing, but I could be wrong.

edit: got dun beat

 

[roosters93]

I would like to know what sort of questions came before the Tony Abbott clip. It's difficult to tell whether he was unable to give an answer or just purposefully giving the reporter the silent treatment out of spite (with the comical bobble)...

In other words... I think I'm asking for context :/

Here you go. The interview starts at about 1:25 with the video footage they're talking about first.

Mark Riley seems like a bit of a twat.

edit: Damn you death. My context's better!

"Tony Abbott has a reboot"

lol

 

[Fredescu]

Mark Riley seems like a bit of a twat.

Yeah, that whole thing was a huge beat up. There's all sorts of reasons to hate on Abbott but I don't think he really did anything wrong there.

 

[wonzo]

There's plenty of better reasons to hate Tony Abbott for than headbob-gate, such as this:

"The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.

...

Why isn’t the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal life expectancy being 20 years less than that of the general community?"

dude literally compares abortion rights to indigenous disadvantage

 

[AdventureRacing]

There's plenty of better reasons to hate Tony Abbott for than headbob-gate, such as this:

"The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience."
...

"Why isn’t the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal life expectancy being 20 years less than that of the general community?"

Oh god damn. Not that i'm surprised to read this.

 

[Dead Man]

Well if you know your blood is fine I don't really see what's wrong with it. Ultimately you would be doing a great service to society in donating blood.

They have a blood van at my uni. I get kind of weird about arteries but its really something I should do.

I know my blood is fine, it just makes me uneasy making false medical declarations. Their ridiculous definitions of risky sexual behaviour just piss me off.

 

[EatChildren]

There's plenty of better reasons to hate Tony Abbott for than headbob-gate, such as this:

"The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.

...

Why isn’t the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal life expectancy being 20 years less than that of the general community?"

dude literally compares abortion rights to indigenous disadvantage

As I said earlier in the thread, any economy/industry benefits that could be pushed by the Coalition (not implying there are any, mind you) is completely, objectively overruled by the people behind it. Our entire country could be on the verge of economic collapse, and I could not in good conscious give my vote to that piece of shit.

 

[Dead Man]

Cross posting just because:

http://newmatilda.com/2013/04/04/how-well-do-you-know-tony-abbott

According to Datastream International, Australia’s productivity has boomed — rising for six consecutive quarters to an all-time high of 164.82 points.

Which of these observations appears on Tony Abbott’s website (no cheating!):

(a) In just five years, Labor has overseen a marked fall in Australia’s productivity performance.
(b) Australia’s worsening infrastructure inadequacies … have been a fundamental element in Australia’s recent productivity decline.
(c) Since then [2007], real household wealth has declined, productivity has stagnated …
(d) All of the above

Spoiler

d

Tony Abbott has identified three priorities for an Abbott government, should he win office.

Specifically they are:

(a) Addressing Indigenous disadvantage, increasing pensions and processing asylum seekers humanely onshore
(b) Repealing the carbon tax, instructing the navy to turn around refugee boats and starting a commission of audit
(c) Getting the budget into surplus, repealing the carbon tax, and strengthening offshore asylum seeker processing
(d) Cutting government spending, increasing productivity and implementing paid parental leave
(e) Inviting Fairfax and Murdoch to draft future media legislation, asking James Packer to revise gambling laws, and appointing Gina, Twiggy and Clive to the mining tax review panel

Spoiler

b

For the 2011 Pollie Pedal bike ride from Gold Coast to Sydney, Tony Abbott claimed from the taxpayer as expenses for “official business” on top of his salary:

(a) No reimbursement. It was a tour to raise funds for Indigenous programs and for personal self-promotion
(b) $3.45 each day for eight days
(c) $34.50 each day for eight days
(d) $345.00 each day for eight days

Spoiler

d: The trip was nine days. For eight Abbott claimed $345 per day for "official business". On the rest day he claimed $115.

More at the link.

I am not a fan of Gillard, but if Abbott becomes PM I will be devastated.

 

[senahorse]

100%, not hard to get though, it's a horrible thought seeing him as our country's future leader.

Also that interview was unfair to him, however he could have just walked away or just ended the interview instead of looking like a lunatic, I wasn't sure if he was about to snap or start crying.

 

[reptilescorpio]

I know my blood is fine, it just makes me uneasy making false medical declarations. Their ridiculous definitions of risky sexual behaviour just piss me off.

What is the reasoning behind it?

 

[Jables Swan]

Has science gone too far?!

I just had a sweet juxtaposition spending 10 minutes explaining the rules to Pandemic to my sister, then spending approximately 10 seconds explaining the rules to Ticket to Ride.

(There is a printer on that table because it is also a scanner)

Nice work with the two games there.

I received Flash Point and Dixit in the mail today. Both have some great components and cards in them. We played Flash Point at lunch today and we all had a ball with the game, even though the building we were fire fighting in collapsed with us inside.

 

[Dead Man]

What is the reasoning behind it?

Their reasoning? I can only attribute it to homophobia.

If you have any reason to believe you may have acquired an infection through unprotected sex, you should not donate.

Safe sex practices are vital to the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. However, 'protected sex' is not 100% effective and therefore the Blood Service's guidelines relating to sexual activity are based on the prevalence of infection in certain population groups.

The following questions are asked in regard to sexual activity:

Have you ever thought you could be infected with HIV or have AIDS?

In the last 12 months have you engaged in sexual activity with someone who you think might answer yes to any of the questions on the following:
the use of intravenous drugs, or
infection with HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HTLV, or
treatment with clotting factors?

Since your last donation or in the last 12 months have you had sexual activity with a new partner who currently lives or has previously lived overseas?

Within the last 12 months have you:

Had male to male sex (that is, oral or anal sex) with or without a condom?

Had sex (with or without a condom) with a male who you think may have had oral or anal sex (with or without a condom) with another man?

Been a male or female sex worker (e.g. received payment for sex in money, gifts or drugs?)

Engaged in sex with a male or female sex worker?

If at any time, the answer is 'yes' to any of the above questions, then you will be deferred from donating for 12 months after the last occurrence of any of the above sexual activities.

And yet they test every donation:

http://www.donateblood.com.au/about-blood/ensuring-safety

Each time you give blood, we test your donation for ABO (blood type), Rh groups (i.e. positive or negative) and red cell antibodies.

We also test all donations for 5 transfusion-transmissible infectious diseases, using 7 different tests:

HIV/AIDS
hepatitis B
hepatitis C
human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)
syphilis.

Specifically, we test for the hepatitis B surface antigen, antibody to hepatitis C, antibody to both HIV-1 and HIV-2, antibody to HTLV types I and II and antibodies to syphilis.

We also test all donations for HIV-1, hepatitis B and hepatitis C RNA using nucleic acid testing (NAT). This process is different from traditional testing because it looks for the actual presence of viruses, in this case HIV and HCV. Most other tests detect the presence of antibodies, which are the body's response to an infection and which take time to develop. NAT provides an opportunity to further improve the safety of the blood supply by reducing the "window period", which is the time between exposure to a virus to the time current tests are able to detect antibodies to the virus.

We also perform a test for malaria antibodies on donations from donors who have reported residence in, or travel to, an area with malaria.

Safe sex with someone from overseas invalidates you, male to male oral sex using a condom invalidates you.

I have lived overseas, so anyone who I have sex with cannot donate for 12 months.

Some of the restrictions make sense, but others are just over the top.

 

[HolyCheck]

Impromptu melbgaf at the mitcham pub!

 

[reptilescorpio]

Their reasoning? I can only attribute it to homophobia.


And yet they test every donation:

http://www.donateblood.com.au/about-blood/ensuring-safety


Safe sex with someone from overseas invalidates you, male to male oral sex using a condom invalidates you.

I have lived overseas, so anyone who I have sex with cannot donate for 12 months.

Some of the restrictions make sense, but others are just over the top.

Well, one reason could be attributed to homophobia (but that would be odd) but the overseas one doesn't line up with that

:/

 

[Dead Man]

Well, one reason could be attributed to homophobia (but that would be odd) but the overseas one doesn't line up with that

:/

No, the overseas doesn't, but it lines up with stupidity. If they indicated certain countries, fine. But they haven't. As for male to male oral sex with a condom, good luck getting an STD via that route. Gah, shit just makes me angry and then I rant. Sorry.

 

[Jintor]

I know my blood is fine, it just makes me uneasy making false medical declarations. Their ridiculous definitions of risky sexual behaviour just piss me off.

better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY

 

[senahorse]

Well, one reason could be attributed to homophobia (but that would be odd) but the overseas one doesn't line up with that

:/

Straya's racist cunt, deal with it.

 

[reptilescorpio]

No, the overseas doesn't, but it lines up with stupidity. If they indicated certain countries, fine. But they haven't. As for male to male oral sex with a condom, good luck getting an STD via that route. Gah, shit just makes me angry and then I rant. Sorry.

Ah found the reasoning for the gay ban, seems like they are covering their arse after incidents in the past as cases could slip through.

Blood donation eligibility guidelines are determined by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), a division of the Food and Drug Administration. While current FDA regulations require indefinite deferral for any male-sex-male (MSM) contact, even once, since 1977, The American Red Cross and America's Blood Centers (AmericasBlood.org) have both requested changing the deferral to 12 months since last contact. The United Kingdom changed the deferral to 12 months in 2011, and Australia is currently considering dropping the deferral to 6 months.

While some consider this discrimination, it is in reality a response to epidemiological data. Current blood donation screening using HIV Nucleic Acid testing (PCR) may detect viral RNA as early as 7-10 days post-exposure. HIV antibody testing, used in conjunction with NAT, can detect infection after 12-21 days post-exposure. It is this "window period', the time between infection and detection, that the FDA is concerned about. Though window-period donations are rare, the first proven case of post-transfusion HIV since 2002 was reported in the publication listed below:

CDC "Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report" October 22, 2010 / 59(41);1335-1339

Specifics on the donor indicate unreported MSM activity over many years.

Also here is one recent case that resulted in someone contracting HIV and then suing.

"Every donor, every time is medically screened prior to donation and every unit of blood collected by LifeSouth undergoes nine separate tests to screen for infectious diseases, and those tests are the most thorough and exacting possible, meeting all federal and industry standards," said LifeSouth General Counsel Kim Kinsell.

Kinsell said that, while she cannot comment specifically on the lawsuit, the chances of a patient contracting a disease from a tested unit of blood are extremely rare but testing does have its limits. The industry association AABB states current estimates are that fewer than 1 in 1.9 million blood components testing negative is capable of transmitting HIV.

She explained that there is a small window of time between a person contracting a disease and a test being able to detect it. "Scientifically, testing has narrowed that window considerably over the years, but it still exists," Kinsell said. "So, if a person donates within that window period of time, it would be impossible to detect the disease through testing."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, most people will develop detectable antibodies, detected by the most commonly used tests in the U.S., within two to eight weeks, with an average of within 25 days of their infection. The CDC also states that 97 percent of people will develop detectable antibodies in their first three months. Some individuals will take longer.

"In the past year we've had more than a quarter-million donors trust us to supply the blood for the patients in their communities. We've supplied more than 350,000 blood components to more than 110 hospitals in the Southeast, and every donor and every unit was tested," Kinsell said.

"The biggest danger we face is people not donating. Every day cancer and trauma patients and those undergoing surgery rely on that blood being there. Their lives literally depend on it. And every blood provider in the country uses the same testing as LifeSouth to assure that blood is safe," said LifeSouth President and CEO Nancy Eckert.

Hopefully they can improve the testing further so everyone can have the chance to donate.

 

[shanshan310]

Ah found the reasoning for the gay ban, seems like they are covering their arse after incidents in the past as cases could slip through.



Also here is one recent case that resulted in someone contracting HIV and then suing.



Hopefully they can improve the testing further so everyone can have the chance to donate.

But gay men and 'people who have lived overseas' aren't the only people with HIV. If they were serious about the 'testing window' maybe they should consider waiting and testing everyone's blood. If sex was a one off thing it might make sense, but the way things are gay men have to remain abstinent for a whole year in order to donate, which is ridiculous, especially for people in monogamous relationships.