Stephen

Not quite a gentleman, an eternal Mr Salteena.

Interests include but are not limited to: cider making, gardening, frugality, mandolin and music in general, computering; civil liberties, misinformation, the politics of Aotearoa; menswear, physical culture, language.

Capoeirista, cat dad, meddler, Yid.

Posts deleted regularly, so save your own copy if you want it for eternity.

Web site: https://vital.org.nz
Domestic cats: 1
Regret level: I have a few

Last Notes

2026-05-10 08:47:09 UTC

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and a thing I wouldn't have expected from a right wing politician either

2026-05-10 08:46:35 UTC

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wow! I don't know much about Hungary specifically but given the racist attitude throughout Europe and in the east in particular that seems like a big thing.

2026-04-06 08:02:44 UTC

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can't pooh-pooh any of that... entirely plausible. Buckle up, eh.

2026-04-06 02:57:23 UTC

I have these premises:
- fuel prices are going to stay high for a long time, at least a couple of years
- companies are going to pass those costs on, and *everything* is going to go up through direct and indirect effects of fuel cost increases
- the Reserve Bank must control inflation, and only has interest rates to do this with, and no ability to distinguish external from internal causes (as we've seen in the most recent RBNZ-led downturn)
- the coalition govt believes in cost-cutting and is opposed to spending and borrowing
and they lead me to conclude that never mind recession, we have a reasonable chance of depression. Firms going bust, high unemployment, house prices falling (because high interest rates and job insecurity), no compensatory govt spending. In the best case a new govt in November will take a while to get up to speed, have a public service with greatly reduced capacity thanks to the last three years of cuts, and face strong opposition from the news media and the business establishment that still owns most stuff and likes low wages and hates states meddling in markets.
So I'd be looking up now how your forebears coped 100 years ago. Make friends with your neighbours, learn ridiculous frugality tips, take in a boarder, whatever, the conditions are right.
Hope to be wrong about all this, of course.

2026-04-04 07:13:45 UTC

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I got Samin Nosrat "Salt Fat Acid Heat" as a present a few years back. There is a great coleslaw recipe in it, with onion, and as she explains, it works because the onion is macerated in lemon juice and salt... basically if you macerate onion most of what many people find offensive goes away. So yeah try a salty lemon juice or vinegar marinade for the onion before it goes in (and bonus, you can then use the liquid in the dressing) and see if you like it better.

2026-03-29 21:28:22 UTC

I see Minchins is now selling flour in 20kg amounts.
Do I know anyone in Otautahi Christchurch who would be interested in going half/third/quarter shares in either white or the high extraction flour?
(Not wholemeal for me because I won't use it up before the germ starts to go rancid).
Would be happy to go collect in the Leaf to save delivery charges.
https://minchinsmilling.co.nz/collections/all