Insane Advice

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

STAY INFORMED - Mareeba - fire as at 6:49pm Sunday, 23 August 2026 (WARN-226)

Location: Between Brooks Road, Mulligan Highway, Fassio Road and Mareeba Dimbulah Road -16.9799668090535 latitude, 145.36090088803144 longitude, grid square QH23QA34
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Moderate
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-24T18:54:20.77+10:00

A fire is burning between Springs Road and Adil Road. This fire could burn for days.

Stay informed because the situation could change.

- Check for warning updates often and listen to your local radio station.

- Decide what you will do if the bushfire gets closer.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close. Smoke can make it hard to breathe.

- Do not fly drones around the fire as they affect firefighting.

- If you are in danger, call Triple Zero (000) now.
- Click here for current QFD incidents and warnings
- Click here for bushfire preparation tips
- Click here for health advice and air quality information
- Follow QFD on Facebook and X.com
- Click here for road closure information or call 131940

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Perseverance (near Crows Nest) - fire as at 2:38pm Sunday, 23 August 2026 (WARN-222)

Location: Perseverance, Palm Tree, Mount Luke, Ravensbourne, Grape Tree -27.372897129212024 latitude, 152.17663121607944 longitude, grid square QG62CP10
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-24T14:39:35.577+10:00

Thick smoke is affecting Perseverance, Palm Tree, Mount Luke, Ravensbourne, Grape Tree. This is from a fire burning near Palm Tree Road, Perserverance.

Fire crews are currently on scene. This fire is not under control. Protect yourself from the impacts of smoke.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close.

- If you are worried about your health call your doctor or 13 HEALTH (13 432 584). If it is an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) now.

- If you are affected by the smoke you may need to leave the area.

- Check for warning updates often.

- Do not fly drones around the fire as they affect firefighting.
- Click here for current QFD incidents and warnings
- Click here for bushfire preparation tips
- Click here for health advice and air quality information
- Follow QFD on Facebook and X.com
- Click here for road closure information or call 131940

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

Snakes from Above

SNAKES FROM ABOVE !
I was working and living at Badplaas Mechanical Services, the workshop was about 4km
from that sorry excuse of a town. Nice view of the mountain and grasslands all around
me, I was content. My room was powered from a couple of batteries and an inverter, as
Eskom was broken.
Rigged above my bed was an LED light, because I do love to read at night. The building
was not in a good state of repair and between the wall and the ceiling were large gaps,
this did not bother me much, until one night.
I was sitting on my bed playing a computer game, very focused on it. Something brushed
against my shoulder, thinking it was one of the huge moths they have there I absently
slapped it away. Instant pain in my left eye! Caught only a glimpse of the Mozambique
Spitting Cobra, I had just slapped, slithering under the bed. The pain was intense I
stumbled to the bathroom and washed out my eyes.
By now the left eye was totally useless, the right not much better, as a miniscule about
of venom had gotten in that eye too. My nose was a runny mess, and as I said, the pain
was incredible. There was no way I could catch that damn snake in my condition.
Fortunately I had met the resident snake catcher, Geoff. Not having his number I call my
friend Nick, owner of the workshop, and told him to get him here, quickly!
Soon the whole workshop was full of people Geoff did his thing and caught the rather
large snake. The people could not believe that I thought this whole situation was
hilarious I mean who the hell other than The Mexican Horse Thief has deadly snakes
falling on their head while they are in bed, FFS The snake had come out of the ceiling
and slithered along the lights cord, falling and landing right on top of me. I took some
Grandpa Headache Powders, and chased everyone away, after thanking Geoff, of course.
A bad, bad, painful night was had. The next day, the light hurt my eye I put a patch on it.
Geoff arrived with the snake and we took it into the bush next to the river and let her go.
I took one photo, not a good one at all, only excuse is I was still suffering from a lot of
pain at the time. The patch came off the next day, but my vision was still blurred. For
about six months after that if I was tired and did not get enough sleep my left eye would
go red and weep.
Lesson learned DO NOT slap a Mozambique Spitting Cobra.
My Guardian Angel Hard at work, if that snake had bitten rather than spat, even my
hand, I do not think I would have made the hours drive to the hospital. Face, neck or
head bite Would have been dead in an hour or less.
Maybe next time

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Stuart (near Townsville) - fire as at 12:18pm Sunday, 23 August 2026 (WARN-220)

Location: Stuart, Cluden, Oonoonba and surrounding area -19.317572221718425 latitude, 146.83989164431094 longitude, grid square QH30KQ03
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-24T12:19:21.77+10:00

Thick smoke is affecting Stuart, Cluden, Oonoonba and surrounding area. This is from a fire burning near Southern Port Road, Cluden (Ron McLean Drive).

Fire crews are currently on scene. Protect yourself from the impacts of smoke.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close.

- If you are worried about your health call your doctor or 13 HEALTH (13 432 584). If it is an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) now.

- If you are affected by the smoke you may need to leave the area.

- Check for warning updates often.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE (HAZARD REDUCTION BURN) - Mudgeeraba (near Gold Coast) - fire as at 10:35am Sunday, 23 August 2026 (WARN-219)

Location: Mudgeeraba and surrounding areas -28.091957449127484 latitude, 153.3689956889751 longitude, grid square QG61QV47
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-24T10:35:59.517+10:00

Thick smoke is affecting Mudgeeraba and surrounding areas. This is from hazard reduction burning near Clover Hill Drive.

Smoke could be in the area for days. Protect yourself from the impacts of smoke.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close.

- If you are worried about your health call your doctor or 13 HEALTH (13 432 584). If it is an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) now.

- If you are affected by the smoke you may need to leave the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

Jesus Is My Crutch

2COR129

As a pandemic pastor beginning ministry in 2020, to say I was a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement.

Even with the joy and support of co-pastoring with my spouse, the transition to a new place and vocation had its rough spots.

Ministry was not foreign to me. I have a deep love for the church and have been involved in a variety of ministries inside and outside the church since I was a child. Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Bible studies, Agape Confrontation street ministry, The Navigators, Discipleship Coordinator, Presbyterian Youth Pastor, trustee, elder, worship team member.all helped form me and continue to inform my role as pastor.

It was during this time when, as is often the case, my creative side expressed visually much of what I was wrestling with internally. I realized very quickly early on that, in my life every day, but especially as a pastor, I could not do this on my own strength.

No amount of experience, knowledge, imagination, energy, or will would make me a good and effective pastor unless I was, as the old Gospel song says,

I am not sure when the idea came to me, but one morning, in my office, I sat down and made the drawing that serves as the featured image for this post.

Along with my early ministry angst and inadequacies, I was reminded of one of my favorite verses:

But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' 2 Corinthians 12:9.

The term Jesus Is A Crutch has been used as a way to somehow discredit those who have placed their faith in a Jewish carpenter who walked the earth 2000 years ago. It does sound rather ludicrous when you think about it. But then I guess Ill keep choosing to be a fool for Christ.

You see, that day long ago at the beginning of my ministry, I embraced the idea of Jesus as my crutch. Because I realized that no matter how broken or weak or inadequate I was, if I was leaning on Jesus, that crutch would never break.

That was six years ago, and since that time, that illustration has sat on the top shelf of the bookcase in our pastors office facing our desk. I look up and see it multiple times when I am working on a sermon, listening to someone, or choosing a commentary or book. The picture is there, a kind of icon, to remind me that yeah, Jesus is my crutch. Hallelujah!

Recently, I got to wondering about using the image to create a t-shirt. The shirt arrived this week, which inspired me to put it on (smile) and write this reflection.

The shirt is available for purchase at

Proceeds help support the work of and other creative projects.

Like the image that inspired it, the tee is a reminder to me, and hopefully for you as well, that every second of every day, we need to be leaning on the everlasting arms.

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This Week In Privacy 67 will be live in 30 minutes, we'll be talking about how Microsofts Copilot had a one-click vulnerability that let attackers quietly exfiltrate data, no user interaction required beyond a sing

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. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Jacobs Well (near Ormeau) - fire as at 6:46pm Saturday, 22 August 2026 (WARN-217)

Location: Jacobs Well and surrounding areas -27.777537773149543 latitude, 153.35858813704866 longitude, grid square QG62QF33
Map:
Incident Type: Other
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-23T18:47:58.083+10:00

There is a fire near Cormorant Crescent.

There will be thick smoke in the area for hours. The incident is under control.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close. Smoke can make it hard to breathe.

- Stay away from the area if you do not need to be there.

- Check for warning updates often and listen to your local radio station.

- Do not fly drones around the incident as they affect firefighting.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

The unbridled joy of printing your favorite photos

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE (HAZARD REDUCTION BURN) - Kooralbyn (near Boonah) - fire as at 4:15pm Saturday, 22 August 2026 (WARN-216)

Location: Kooralbyn and surrounding areas -28.075474723967474 latitude, 152.86140615619564 longitude, grid square QG61KW31
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-23T16:15:26.69+10:00

Thick smoke is affecting Kooralbyn and surrounding areas. This is from hazard reduction burning near Boomerang Drive and Merton Close.

Protect yourself from the impacts of smoke.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close.

- If you are worried about your health call your doctor or 13 HEALTH (13 432 584). If it is an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) now.

- If you are affected by the smoke you may need to leave the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE - Yeppoon (near Rockhampton) - fire as at 1:56pm Saturday, 22 August 2026 (WARN-215)

Location: Yeppoon, Taroomball, Taranganba and surrounding areas -23.15482038019041 latitude, 150.7422473865842 longitude, grid square QG56IU92
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-23T13:56:56.647+10:00

Thick smoke is affecting Yeppoon, Taroomball, Taranganba and surrounding areas. This is from a fire burning near Tanby Road and Taranganba Street, Taroomball.

Fire crews are currently on scene. Protect yourself from the impacts of smoke.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close.

- If you are worried about your health call your doctor or 13 HEALTH (13 432 584). If it is an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) now.

- If you are affected by the smoke you may need to leave the area.

- Check for warning updates often.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

AVOID SMOKE (HAZARD REDUCTION BURN) - Turkey Beach to Tannum Sands - fire as at 10:44am Saturday, 22 August 2026 (WARN-214)

Location: Rodds Bay, Turkey Beach, Tannum Sands and surrounding areas -24.030214551266816 latitude, 151.5094385116416 longitude, grid square QG55SX12
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Minor
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-23T10:45:21.23+10:00

Thick smoke is affecting Rodds Bay, Turkey Beach, Tannum Sands and surrounding areas. This is from hazard reduction burning near Harbour Drive, Rodds Bay.

Protect yourself from the impacts of smoke.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close.

- If you are worried about your health call your doctor or 13 HEALTH (13 432 584). If it is an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) now.

- If you are affected by the smoke you may need to leave the area.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

summertime at the

summertime at the
, a cauldron of
sorts, heat multiplied
by a stream of strangers, giving
unsolicited advice
.
20260821:1740
y

Sumo Dumbbell Squats

Dumbbell sumo squats are a strong lower-body exercise for emphasizing the glutes, adductors (inner thighs), quads, and hamstrings, while also challenging your core and hip stability.

Set your stance intentionally.

Brace before you descend.

Let your knees track with your toes.

Speaking With Confidence With Cat Matson: Communication Coaching For Humble Leaders
This show is for humble leaders - public servants, corporate hippies and business owners - who want to speak up and be heard without sounding pushy or arrogant...

Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory:

Thinking about doing a buzz cut (like a number 3 all over). Honestly, I absolutely hate having hair, and it's my biggest source of insecurity. I want to run in the wind, go swimming, jump in and out of a shower, dance in the rain, etc. without worries. My natural hair is *bullshit* - literally like a cross between German Shephard fur and a troll doll. It's very masculine textured, even after a decade of HRT.

But as a trans woman, a buzz cut feels pretty scary. Should I do it

Take a break

*Thanking God For His Blessings!*& Favor!*& Appreciation For Receiving Gifts!*& The Way of Wisdom!*& Testing of Your Faith!*& Further Advice Hearing!*& Doing the Word!

(James 1:12)*& (James 1:17)*& Proverbs 9:8-9

*DEAR BELOVED WELL INTENTIONED!*& GOOD HEARTED FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD GOOD FRIDAY MORNING!

. "A flagship scheme that links to is pushing people who are in & not in off the that provide them with a vital , new suggests." See: .

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Its easy to spend our lives chasing what we dont have instead of enjoying what we do.

A Tiny True Tale

. See for official warnings from the QFD. DO NOT RELY ON THIS SERVICE FOR TIMELY EMERGENCY WARNINGS.

STAY INFORMED - Goomburra (near Allora) - fire as at 1:37pm Wednesday, 19 August 2026 (WARN-206)

Location: Goomburra and surrounding areas -27.992555861377554 latitude, 152.2829805552675 longitude, grid square QG62DA31
Map:
Incident Type: FIRE VEGETATION
Alert Level: Advice
Severity: Moderate
Action: Monitor
Expires: 2026-08-20T13:38:55.843+10:00

A fire is burning near Inverramsay Road, Goomburra. It is moving towards Inverramsay Road.

Stay informed because the situation could change.

- Check for warning updates often and listen to your local radio station.

- Decide what you will do if the bushfire gets closer.

- If the smoke is thick where you are, stay inside and close windows and doors.

- If you need medication to help you breathe keep it close. Smoke can make it hard to breathe.

- Do not fly drones around the fire as they affect firefighting.

- See for a listing of ABC Local Radio stations which may be broadcasting emergency information in your area.

"If I lacked motivation, I would simply have motivation."

Bazillions of confident people online offering their solutions for depression, weight loss, ADHD, anxiety, autism, etc.

Psychotherapy research shows that advice about psychological/emotional/behavioral issues almost never works1. This is true for advice from trained therapists, but is even more pointed with advice from other people, no matter how well-meaning. One reason for this is that the from the latter often comes from a deeply incorrect model of human , especially .

1 There is more nuance to this, but "advice rarely works" is still accurate.

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Radical Acceptance, Journals, and Waiting for the Tide to Turn

Daily writing prompt How do you deal with uncertainty

I dont deal with it well whatsoever.

The amount of pain Ive gone through, both self-inflicted and at the hands of many others, has left my identity with a very activated nervous system. Fireworks suspended by a rupture in spacetime. A dozen vipers sitting beneath some shadowy jungle ferns. A crescendo never ending from a phantom orchestra. A cursed locomotive always rattling across tracks during a forever midnight. All those frenetic and lurking images can describe my nervous system in one way or another.

Of course, having an severely triggered nervous system makes uncertainty absolutely awful to deal with, especially when having relationships with people, whether it is romantic, friends, or colleagues.

Therefore, Ive had to hack my own brain to deal with uncertainty. Ill gladly share what works for me. There is no magic bullet. No wondrous spear thrown by a demigod. One thing might work for a decade, but suddenly lose effectiveness. Life is dense, complicated, and elusive. Regardless, these are some things Im currently doing to deal with uncertainty.

Hack One: Radical acceptance. I learned this in my DBT skills class back in therapy. Practicing radical acceptance for a specific goal can be helpful. In this case, I look at uncertainty and I radically accept that I cannot control every little thing out there in life, or what will happen to me. I accept the chaos of existence. I dont argue about it. I dont try and reason with it. I just try to let it exist in parallel to me. Reality is a permanently unfinished painting. Nobody knows what itll fully look like.

Hack Two: Journals. I hate to say it, but journals are a great way to flex into uncertainty, and not react to things that might bring on more uncertainty after youve been trying to avoid it. Write down all the gross frustrations and garbage that other humans arent fit to hear. Lean into the ridiculous. Go full tinfoil hate crazy on those pages. Get it out of you. Go full Jackson Pollock from the soul. I try to journal once a day, usually in the morning when my cortisol levels are bonkers. Great way to capture uncertainty and radically accept it. Through a controlled form of expulsion and madness.

Hack Two (Part Two): Journals again. I just wanted to share how important it is to write down when youve gone through something challenging. Not to immortalize it or be masochistic, but to remember that you did it. You survived. You made it through. Write down that you went through a bad breakup, got cheated on, lost a job, got rejected, whatever the case. Write down that you got through it. Look back at these moments when uncertainty paralyzes you. This written reminder tells you that you survived it. You continued. You made it through whatever haunted tunnel life decided to throw at you, or you decided to travel down. Yes, that is direct reference to Spirited Away.

Hack Three: Waiting for the Tide to Turn. This is simply a glittering term for just waiting for your response to level. Uncertainty triggers an emotional wave inside of you. Before you react to any of it, you simply try to get some time to pass between and before you make any decisions that might be truly damaging or ruled by emotion. The journal is of course a method to delay it, but going for a walk, working out, playing a game, anything to sort of delay that panic that uncertainty provokes is in my mind helpful. Now, Im of course referring to situations that arent dangerous and dont require immediate life saving reactions. Please dont sit down and write in a journal if youre currently being held at gunpoint.

Thats all I got. Hopefully these hacks help you out. Sometimes a very specific type of uncertainty can trigger you, that you didnt know existed. It is unpredictable and borderline secretive. Having even a meager blueprint in how to deal with uncertainty I think is helpful.

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Ask Carla: When I rule F1

Im gonna rule the gridThrow out rules like you know we shouldSoon at the Grands Prix, youll hear the roarV10 engines evermoreIm gonna change the gamePut the street circuits all to shameListen as the real fans sing:"Get rid of Miami! Old school is king!"Next minute, I'll slash the sizeTrim the cars before your eyesThe promotersll see Spa-FrancorchampsSaved from the clutches of evil corporate scamsWell hear those screaming V10s a-ringin'Graves of hybrid

Hey Baddie Beans!

If you're feeling excited then try this: plan a day out for the week and read a suspenseful thriller. Remember to slow down when things get overwhelming.

Shuhei Yoshida warned Sandfall Interactive not to market Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as a "turn-based RPG" he thought players would overlook it because of genre stigma. They took his advice and promoted its reactive turn battles instead. The game has sold over five million copies since.

Hey Fedi friends:

Does anyone know of any good resources or communities for caring for a cat after a full dental extraction My big boy Benjen had his out a few weeks ago, and mostly it's going well, but I'm curious about things like recipes for nutritionally complete homemade soft food. I'm open to things like subreddits and Facebook groups too.

"Just talk to me. Hear me. Hold me. Make space for me."

This time last year, some on dealing with your friends' sad feelings.

Last updated: 2026-08-23

The peoples court