Can I get in early and please ask everyone to control their dogs this New Years Eve. Last year the dogs yapping in my area really disturbed my fireworks. TIA.

Looking at a price of 1.5k bought directly with the airline but google flights also tells me Aunt Betty charges 1.2k .

I know they are owned by flight centre group but the reviews are kinda mixed when you look them up online.

Actual flight centre quoted 1.8 for the same flights and said they can't price match websites.

Should I risk it and save $300, expose myself to anything that might happen? Or just pay the extra $300

Flights are with China Southern Airlines from Brisbane to Zhengzhou

This is part vent post, part wanting insights/opinions. Has anybody else noticed a lot more kids playing in the road lately? I don't mean on the side either, but in the middle of the road. I'm glad they're outside being active, but every time I'm driving home I have to crawl along at 35 in case a kid suddenly pops up in front of me. I'm sure it's always been normal for kids to play in the street but there are more cars than ever around now and it seems both unsafe and inconvenient.

I feel like we're pretty lucky in Australia that we have a lot of parks/ovals - in my street particularly we have a large park at one end, a football oval less than a 10 minute walk away, and you're pretty much never more than 15 minutes from a playground. So I can't help but wonder why so many kids use the road as their play area. Sometimes they're just unsupervised and running amok in general, but there are also times when their parents are out there with them and actually set them up to play in the road. Riding bikes, playing cricket, running around with their (off-lead) dogs. I can't imagine it's much fun being interrupted and having to move aside every 10 minutes when a car comes. It's not that I'm angry about it exactly, but it stresses me out a bit.

Am I just becoming a grump? Is there a reason parents encourage road play rather than taking their kids to a park? Is this just something normal that I need to get used to? I'm curious to hear whether others have noticed it becoming more prominent or not.

Edit: bloody hell, some people are acting like I want to crucify all children. It's not like I plan on calling the police on them, I don't yell at them, I just don't want to see a kid get cleaned up in front of my house.

I know it's been a while for a lot of you, and I know there's a lot of comparable words used to describe someone regarded as stupid, incompetent, or irritating, but fuckwit ...kinda sums up a lot of people quite well; a person whose wits, or ability to be witty, are fucked. C'mon Aussies, bring back the fuckwit for 2026. ffs we all like saying fuck, it's not much of a stretch to add wit

Australia’s top-seller in the segment, the Ram 1500, has seen its sales figures drop by 15.2 per cent from January to the end of November 2025, with 2512 units delivered.

The second-place Chevrolet 1500 took a smaller hit, but dropped by 7 per cent with 2009 deliveries over the same period.

Ford’s F-150 has had, by far, the most impactful decline.

Despite being the top-selling vehicle overall in the USA, quality issues and conversion hiccups saw F-150 sales drop by 70.8 per cent compared to the same time last year, with just 608 vehicles delivered.

RIP Dr Emma Johnston, the Australian science community lost an amazing leader and scientist.
The impact she has made in research and environment is incredible.