Coles is getting into bed with Palantir . We already decided to stop shopping there.
Now Woollies is doing this.
The only other option in my town is Aldi. They’re great for some things, but don’t have the range of the duopoly.
What do you suggest as an alternative?
(At least this AI thing Woollies is implementing seems to be only online orders. I usually shop in person, so ought to be able to avoid it… for now.)
MCCAIN FOODS (AUST) PTY LTD - McCain Cheese & Bacon Pizza Pockets 400g Published 12 December 2025 Red box with yellow McCain Logo
McCain Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd are conducting a recall of the above product. The product has been available for sale in Woolworths, Coles and independent retailers including IGA nationally and online.
Date Markings: BEST BEFORE OCT 2026 A (289, 290, 291)
Problem: The presence of foreign matter (plastic, metal).
Food safety hazard: Food products containing plastic and/or metal may cause illness/injury if consumed.
What to do: Consumers should not eat this product. Consumers should return the product(s) to the place of purchase for a full refund. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice.
For further information please contact: McCain Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd 1800 000 422 customerservice@mccain.com.au mccain.com.au
This morning I have opened: Lemmy (aussie.zone), Discord, WhatsApp, Bluesky, Messenger, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube.
None of them have asked me to verify my age, neither the ones that said they would nor the ones explicitly exempt nor the ones about which we know nothing.
My Facebook and Google accounts are probably old enough that they don’t need to verify. All the other accounts are too young for that to work.
Bluesky asked me to enter my date of birth, but did not require anything to substantiate the date I entered.
I’m a Millennial, so my age isn’t an issue. But I don’t want to give anything identifying to any platform. (I like the approach aussie.zone is taking.) So I am relieved that thus far my accounts are unaffected.
But I’m also feeling a healthy dose of “where’s the boogeyman we were promised?” and wondering when the shoe is going to drop.
Tbh I would be amazed if anyone in the government knows that Lemmy exists. But we’ll see.
As of Nov 5, this is as far as the list of sites affected goes:
Services that eSafety considers will be age-restricted social media platforms
- Kick
- Snapchat
- Threads
- TikTok
- X (formerly Twitter)
- YouTube
Services that eSafety considers will not be age-restricted social media platforms
- Discord
- GitHub
- Google Classroom
- LEGO Play
- Messenger
- Roblox
- Steam and Steam Chat
- YouTube Kids
Cats aren’t pack animals, but they do socialise with humans, other cats, and other animals. They don’t all have the same personality and some will tend to be more social than others.
In general, I would say that if a cat normally has human company most of the day (e.g. a human who doesn’t work or works from home), human company can be enough (circumstances vary). But in general, if the human(s) are gone a lot of the time then it can be lonely for a single cat. In that case it’s worth getting them a four-footed companion.
We had a cat who preferred having us to herself rather than sharing us with another cat. But we could see that she got lonely when we had to leave her by herself, so it seemed better that she had a companion cat even if she didn’t want a friend.
At our current house, the yard is open and various neighbourhood cats will come into the space. Our boy accepts two of them. I don’t know if they are “friends”, but they come to visit and he’s chill with them. Any other cat coming into the yard, he tries to fight off. Some fascinating cat politics going on.
Yes and no. That kind of diversifying is ideal, but much more achievable in a city. And I know plenty of people who simply don’t have the time to make so many stops. There’s a reason the big stores get most of the business, and it’s not that we approve of their practices.
For my part: We do use the butcher. We don’t have a fruit and veg store. Markets are twice a month, but they’re an unreliable source of produce here. Specialty shops are also limited outside of cities, and often more expensive.
I’ll continue muddling along as best I can, which already involves sourcing things from non-duopoly options when I can. But that’s a far cry from the ideal.
I just think it is too simplistic to say “just stop shopping there”. Many people don’t have that luxury of choice.