Profile avatar
blat.at
Middle-aged SRE, he/him. British but haven't lived there since 2008, currently happily resident in Austria. In a love-hate relationship with amateur radio since 1985. OE1OMK in JN88df or OE3OMK in JN87bq, depending on what day it is. Cat staff member.
471 posts 134 followers 55 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
Posts 20 Comments 30

Happy 80th anniversary!

submitted 8 hours ago • 8 comments

The Greens increased their vote in our bit of Vienna so get to run the district for another five years. They're going to keep doing awful things like (checks notes) planting trees, widening sidewalks, 30 limits, installing bike paths and benches.. but won't SOMEONE think of the PARKING SPACES????

submitted 13 hours ago • 1 comment

Spot the Vienna polling station that serves an apartment block occupied mostly by retired cops.

submitted 14 hours ago • 0 comments

Took the daughter to have some blood drawn for a test and the phlebotomist had an impressive connection of tats and piercings. This is a positive sign as it means the lab is more concerned with hiring people who can do their job well than with “looking professional”.

submitted 15 hours ago • 0 comments

Opinion poll results tell us that 18% of first generation immigrants voted for the FPÖ, the party which never wanted them here in the first place.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

I will never understand the tolerance Austrian voters have for corruption. In Vienna alone HC Strache, FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp, ÖVP leader Karl Mahrer and the SPÖ head in one district are all under investigation for various forms of embezzlement - they don’t resign, and people still vote for them. 🤷

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Happy Wien-Wahl Day! Given how many of their posters acquire toothbrush moustaches and other appropriate defacements and have to be replaced, you’d have thought that the FPÖ party volunteers who do the groundwork would be starting to wonder why that is by now.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Strange how the same Republicans who were whipping up talk of "armed resistance" and trying to pass a bill to grant citizenship to Elián González back in 2000 to prevent his being returned to his sole surviving parent in Cuba are now totally happy to exile 2-year-old US citizens to Honduras.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Civilised countries don't handcuff non-violent suspects at all.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

News story reporting concern that average rents on private rental in Vienna have gone over €20/sqm/month for the first time - €20.41, which is £17.41 (net of electricity and heating). In UK terms that's £1.62/square foot. Best data I can find is that London rents are around £3.50-£4.50/sqft.

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

A reminder: The actual burying part is basically a sideshow when a bunch of world leaders assemble for a big state funeral. They’re really there for the sideline conversations which are allowed to happen without intense preparation and diplomatic stage management. Hence the Trump-Zelenskyy talk.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

There’s lazy stock photos, and there’s “Icelandic Passport stock photo” lazy.

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

Remember when the Vatican hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after their victory the previous year with “Ave Verum Corpus Baby Baby Yeah”? youtu.be/ydj0oSk-NBY

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

Unpopular Pete Hegseth Forced To Drink Lunch Alone

submitted 6 days ago • 370 comments

Five people sentenced for distributing neo-Nazi rock music in Germany. Well, for hate speech, use of symbols of banned organisations and inciting violence, although tbh anybody distributing neo-Nazi rock should be summarily jailed anyway for crimes against good taste because it’s really shit music.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

The Catholic Church has an upper age limit of 80 for cardinals to vote in a conclave. 108 out of 135 current electors were appointed by Francis. Just in case anyone was worrying that the old guard would force the election of another Ratzinger.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

So this just arrived and after 40 years of touch typing I'm reduced to hunting and pecking, but hopefully not for too long. Pictured next to another input device that also represents a slight evolution of a 19th century design. @s.ly

submitted 6 days ago • 3 comments

I hope someone has let David Attenborough (98) know that if any MAGA-adjacent politicians ask to meet him he is to say NO and stick to that however much they might whine about "but you need to make me Prime Minister" or "but I'm such a total superman of the Catholic Church".

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Fedex: 9/4: Envelope arrives in Vienna 14/4: They send email asking for customs info 16/4: They return it to sender because "the 7-day storage time had expired" 22/4: They inform me of this after I reply to their original email, which said nothing about a deadline Tom Hanks wouldn't be impressed.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Bayern 1 broadcasting an obit playlist - lots of slow ones and nostalgic songs with the DJs clearly instructed to be adequately reverent. They also just played "Nothing Compares 2 U" - a fine way to pay tribute to the very special place the Roman Catholic Church held in Sinead O'Connor's heart.

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment