I had intended to sit and write today about the year gone by, being the silly season and all...and I will but with a slightly different slant.
Hub has been feeling a little down lately so it's been my job to bring him back up. He's lamenting that we have to go and "chase" work, that work isn't coming to us, that doing what we're doing is a step backwards for him; and so it goes on...
I see it a slightly different way.
You see, back in February this year we lost everything. And when I say everything, I literally mean EVERYTHING.
We were property developers, and in the space of 10 years we turned less than $1m into a portfolio worth somewhere between $25m and $30m! We went from $0 income to passive income in the order of $750,000 per annum.
That's some serious achievement. We had done it carefully, considerately and cautiously....but the GFC hit and banks became nervous.
All we had to do next was buy our dream home.
Then the banks turned in to C's; lied to us, deceived us. In their morally bankrupt way they created a problem for us then refused to help us fix the problem THEY CREATED!
Those who were our partners in growth and success (and who made a shit-load of money out of us) had turned into the smiling assassins.
Like I said C's! I'll never forgive them.
So, our company was wound up by court order. Bank took possession of our portfolio (and our only source of income) and the finance company repossessed our work car.
We got the car back a week or so later, but that was THE moment for me. That was the moment when my world crumbled. It was only a car, for heaven's sake, and I didn't care about the car. But it was the act of the repossession itself that struck my nerve and made me realise just what shit it was that we were put in to.
Thoughts about how I was going to pay the rent, the school fees, feed the kids started racing through my head. It was honestly torture.
But the real worst bit was telling the family. I didn't want all the tears, the hugs, the kisses, the "you'll do it again" words of support, encouragement and wisdom. I just didn't want to hear it, so we waited about a month or so before spilling the beans. And yes, I got the tears, the hugs and the words of support. And it was nice, but I still didn't want to hear it all.
Hub never told me this, but he asked his mother if we could move in with her. The bitch said NO! Can you believe it? She let her daughter with her 4 unruly kids live with her, but not her only son with his 2 well behaved, well mannered children. He actually never told me about it till a few weeks ago. I'll never forgive her for that. She makes food for her daughters almost every week; she never offered us one single plate of food for our kids. Not One! I'll never forgive her for that either.
But they're other stories.
We had to start again. No choice about it. It was that or go and get jobs. Now getting a job would seem the most sensible thing to do. But, how do 2 people who haven't worked for an employer for 20years or so go and work for someone else?
Well, despite the wealth of experience I have, I could not get a job!!! Hub didn't even try. We were fortunate enough that we had landed ourselves a contracting job only a month or so earlier so we decided to turn what was something that was just going to keep us going in between developments into the thing that would see us up and running proper again.
Then we land another job in a competative tender situation. We weren't the cheapest by $100k, but we were able to successfully demonstrate that we were the better choice. Only last week we signed contracts on our third job, and this one came to us off the signboard we put up at the first job. Again, it was a competative tender situation, but we went in to it full of confidence in our prices and a can-do attitude. Not only that, we managed to build a fantastic rapport with the clients, which is always a must.
Hub said to me one day "I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm not achieving anything".
I was kind of stunned to hear that. How can you say that, I asked. "We are achieving a hell of a lot. We are giving people their dreams; we're doing it honestly, with integrity, and people are happy because of what we're doing. If you ask me, that's a hell of an achievement.
That was a month ago.
So, as I sit here reflecting on the year gone by, surprisingly, I'm not dwelling on what I've lost; I'm not bitter and twisted about what had happened to us. In fact, it's barely a blimp on the time-line in my minds eye. Instead, I see that we, Hub and I, have taken a desperate situation and made it work for us. We're not out of the woods by any means; we're in the momentum building stage. But it will all come good....sooner than we think; of that I'm sure.
All I see when I cast my mind's eye over the last year is good, and achievement, and I'm so grateful for everything that's happened....even the really bad stuff.
Merry Christmas to everyone and may 2011 be an awesome year full of good health and happiness.
Till next time...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Kids in the kitchen...
I love watching Masterchef, so when I heard that there was going to be a Junior Masterchef my son and I agreed we'd watch the series.
He loved it!
So, we're watching the grand finale last night and of course they had to bring out the pattisier (sp?) Adriano Zumbo. His creations are just incredible and something alot of adult cooks couldn't manage, let alone children.
So, the Pear Perfection is the final challenge. Jack is 6 points behind Isabella.
And both kids did a bloody brilliant job of reproducing 5 of them each.
I thought Jack's presentation in the middle of each large bun was a bit sloppier than Isabella's, but who am I to judge, right?
So, challenge is over and scoring completed and it's time to reveal the final scores to each of the finalists.
Each judge, there were 5, were scoring out of 10.
Jack was first; 10, 10, 11, 11, 11.
Now...I'm all for encouraging children to do their absolute best, and both kids really did blitz the challenge.
But when did 11 out of 10 become OK? It's either 10 out of 10 or it's not.
Has society gone so mad that kids can't lose by a significant margin because it might just be too emotionally damaging for them?
I thought that the judges giving him 11 out of 10 was just plain wrong. The score was out of 10, not out of 11.
I know, I'm sounding like a cold hearted bitch right now, but seriously...?
These days kids get medals for participation in school! Isn't a "good job" or "well done" good enough anymore?
Why must we cotton-ball our kids? Is it to protect them from failure? Is it to protect their self esteem?
Failure (or not winning, as the case may be) is a good lesson for kids to learn, and in my opinion it's much better for them to learn it while they're young so they know how to deal with it when they're an adult.
Am I wrong to think like this?
He loved it!
So, we're watching the grand finale last night and of course they had to bring out the pattisier (sp?) Adriano Zumbo. His creations are just incredible and something alot of adult cooks couldn't manage, let alone children.
So, the Pear Perfection is the final challenge. Jack is 6 points behind Isabella.
And both kids did a bloody brilliant job of reproducing 5 of them each.
I thought Jack's presentation in the middle of each large bun was a bit sloppier than Isabella's, but who am I to judge, right?
So, challenge is over and scoring completed and it's time to reveal the final scores to each of the finalists.
Each judge, there were 5, were scoring out of 10.
Jack was first; 10, 10, 11, 11, 11.
Now...I'm all for encouraging children to do their absolute best, and both kids really did blitz the challenge.
But when did 11 out of 10 become OK? It's either 10 out of 10 or it's not.
Has society gone so mad that kids can't lose by a significant margin because it might just be too emotionally damaging for them?
I thought that the judges giving him 11 out of 10 was just plain wrong. The score was out of 10, not out of 11.
I know, I'm sounding like a cold hearted bitch right now, but seriously...?
These days kids get medals for participation in school! Isn't a "good job" or "well done" good enough anymore?
Why must we cotton-ball our kids? Is it to protect them from failure? Is it to protect their self esteem?
Failure (or not winning, as the case may be) is a good lesson for kids to learn, and in my opinion it's much better for them to learn it while they're young so they know how to deal with it when they're an adult.
Am I wrong to think like this?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Dream a little dream...
For as long as I can remember, I've rarely remembered my dreams; and those that I have remembered have often turned into reality.
But last night I had the most bizzare dream that it woke me up instantly:
I was in this giant shopping centre, and with me were my daughter (but I never saw her face in the dream...I just "knew" it was her), my son, my sister, her husband.
We were all walking on the top level of the shopping centre and my Brother In Law was playing with my daughter G as they were walking. At the top level there were only a few shops and there was this architectural art structure that spanned the void in the middle of floor. The void went right from the top floor down to the bottom floor.
Anyway, this architectural art consisted of a ladder type structure sitting in a channel stretching from one side of the void to the other. There were rails but they were splayed...what I mean is that where I was standing on one side of the shopping level they were quite a distance away from the edges of this ladder structure, and they moved inwards so that by the time you were at the other side of the floor they were relatively close to the ladder structure. They were there for effect only and not for safety, so they couldn't be relied upon for safety.
Anyway, people were actually able to walk across this ladder structure to get to the other side instead of walking around the whole floor of the shopping centre.
My sister was walking in front of us all and she walked around the floor to the other side of the structure. My Brother In Law decided to walk across the structure. As he was playing with my daughter, she followed him, and they both started bunny-hopping across the structure to get to the other side.
I stayed on my side of the structure with my son behind me, just watching my BIL and daughter till they finished their little crossing.
BIL made it to the other side but he didn't completely get off the structure - he still had one leg on it and the other on the solid ground for the shopping centre floor. He turned around to watch say something to my sister whilst my daughter was making the last of her bunny-hops across.
On her last hop, her foot missed the channel and got stuck between the ladder/channel and the railing that I mentioned earlier.
She stood up and turned her head down to see where her foot was and she turned a bit far and toppled over into the space between the ladder and the rail and fell. She got wedged in that space.
Now, this shopping centre was 5 levels high!
I screamed and started running around the floor to try and grab her before she became unwedged and fell completely, but I didn't make it in time, and she slipped through and started free-falling to the bottom.
She landed on the very bottom floor, hitting the ground stomach first, like a little rag doll. I shuddered at the thud and immediate thought, Oh My God, she's dead"...before I even got to her.
I don't know how I managed to get down to the ground floor so quickly, but in a blink I was there by her side.
And as I kneeled down to look at her I realised that during her fall she had morphed from being MY daughter into being my Sister's daughter.
I looked around and screamed for my son and he was gone, never to be seen again.
And then I woke up.
It was so weird. I'd love to know what it all means, so if anyone knows how to interpret dreams please drop me a comment.
But last night I had the most bizzare dream that it woke me up instantly:
I was in this giant shopping centre, and with me were my daughter (but I never saw her face in the dream...I just "knew" it was her), my son, my sister, her husband.
We were all walking on the top level of the shopping centre and my Brother In Law was playing with my daughter G as they were walking. At the top level there were only a few shops and there was this architectural art structure that spanned the void in the middle of floor. The void went right from the top floor down to the bottom floor.
Anyway, this architectural art consisted of a ladder type structure sitting in a channel stretching from one side of the void to the other. There were rails but they were splayed...what I mean is that where I was standing on one side of the shopping level they were quite a distance away from the edges of this ladder structure, and they moved inwards so that by the time you were at the other side of the floor they were relatively close to the ladder structure. They were there for effect only and not for safety, so they couldn't be relied upon for safety.
Anyway, people were actually able to walk across this ladder structure to get to the other side instead of walking around the whole floor of the shopping centre.
My sister was walking in front of us all and she walked around the floor to the other side of the structure. My Brother In Law decided to walk across the structure. As he was playing with my daughter, she followed him, and they both started bunny-hopping across the structure to get to the other side.
I stayed on my side of the structure with my son behind me, just watching my BIL and daughter till they finished their little crossing.
BIL made it to the other side but he didn't completely get off the structure - he still had one leg on it and the other on the solid ground for the shopping centre floor. He turned around to watch say something to my sister whilst my daughter was making the last of her bunny-hops across.
On her last hop, her foot missed the channel and got stuck between the ladder/channel and the railing that I mentioned earlier.
She stood up and turned her head down to see where her foot was and she turned a bit far and toppled over into the space between the ladder and the rail and fell. She got wedged in that space.
Now, this shopping centre was 5 levels high!
I screamed and started running around the floor to try and grab her before she became unwedged and fell completely, but I didn't make it in time, and she slipped through and started free-falling to the bottom.
She landed on the very bottom floor, hitting the ground stomach first, like a little rag doll. I shuddered at the thud and immediate thought, Oh My God, she's dead"...before I even got to her.
I don't know how I managed to get down to the ground floor so quickly, but in a blink I was there by her side.
And as I kneeled down to look at her I realised that during her fall she had morphed from being MY daughter into being my Sister's daughter.
I looked around and screamed for my son and he was gone, never to be seen again.
And then I woke up.
It was so weird. I'd love to know what it all means, so if anyone knows how to interpret dreams please drop me a comment.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Wonderful NBN...
I was listening to the radio this morning while I was doing the kid run and I heard that the Chairman of the NBN released some sort of report yesterday.
It was apparently some sort of report into what's been rolled out thus far and the uptake figures.
Get this...
So, this mob is allowed to spend $43billion of our hard earned and no one is allowed to question where our dollar is going, and what returns are being achieved?
This country really is heading up the creek without a paddle!
It was apparently some sort of report into what's been rolled out thus far and the uptake figures.
Get this...
- They won't release how much the NBN has cost the country so far,
- There are a total of 18...YES! 18 households who have subscribed to the NBN directly (through an outfit called Exitel - my spelling may be incorrect on this), and a total of 216 household subscribers through all 4 internet service providers,
- and....now this is the kicker...The GG, the wonderful Quentin Bryce has signed some sort of documentation that exempts the NBN from scrutiny by the Public Works Authority!!
So, this mob is allowed to spend $43billion of our hard earned and no one is allowed to question where our dollar is going, and what returns are being achieved?
This country really is heading up the creek without a paddle!
Friday, October 22, 2010
And a spot of good news...
I was reading the Daily Tele this morning waiting for my coffee and spilled across the front page was news that NSW Labor "power-broker" Joe Tripodi may be on his way out!
Woo-hoo!!!!
Not that Labor will win the next election, but it is a piece of good news nevertheless.
Although he says that he won't be pushed out, the powers that be in NSW Labor head office have stated that they'll be taking the pre-selection of his seat to the National Conference (or whatever it is). People in Labor are so sick of him and his endless little games that there is virtually no way he'll gain pre-selection again.
That man is just one cock-up after another, and it's really amazing how he's managed to last as long as he has.
How he became a "power-broker" I'll never know....but it says alot about Labor if someone like Tripodi weilds "power"!
On another note, how selfish of these NSW Labor politicians? They know that they're on a hiding to nowhere come March 2011 so they're all jumping ship. I think the tally is around 9 so far who have announced that they're not contesting the next election. So, they're all just fair weather friends, are they? Can handle the good times in "power" but can't fathom being on the other side of the bench?
Wimps!
Woo-hoo!!!!
Not that Labor will win the next election, but it is a piece of good news nevertheless.
Although he says that he won't be pushed out, the powers that be in NSW Labor head office have stated that they'll be taking the pre-selection of his seat to the National Conference (or whatever it is). People in Labor are so sick of him and his endless little games that there is virtually no way he'll gain pre-selection again.
That man is just one cock-up after another, and it's really amazing how he's managed to last as long as he has.
How he became a "power-broker" I'll never know....but it says alot about Labor if someone like Tripodi weilds "power"!
On another note, how selfish of these NSW Labor politicians? They know that they're on a hiding to nowhere come March 2011 so they're all jumping ship. I think the tally is around 9 so far who have announced that they're not contesting the next election. So, they're all just fair weather friends, are they? Can handle the good times in "power" but can't fathom being on the other side of the bench?
Wimps!
An attack on prosperity...
I find it incredible that treasurer Wayne Swan has said that Joe Hockey's (Shadow Treasurer) proposal that legislation be introduced preventing the banks from increasing interest rates beyond those increases announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia is an attack on the prosperity of the pillars of our economy and as such an attack on prosperity itself...or something to that effect (I was driving at the time I heard the quote so I couldn't write it down).
Excuse me Wayne, but it is the RBA that is supposed to set monetary policy in this country, not the big 4. It is the RBA that is supposed to control the economy, not the big 4.
Why should the banks be allowed to increase rates "out of cycle", to use the banks' words? Their cost of funding has now all but returned to normal.
Afterall, they have $22BILLION in profit between the big 4 this year to prove that they're not being squeezed like the poor average joe!
Here we have the big 4, who were guaranteed by us, THE TAXPAYERS, during the GFC, crying because their margins are sitting at around 1.5% instead of around 2.5 to 3%.
BIG FREAKING DEAL!
$22billion is alot of coin...certainly nothing to sneeze about.
We were propping them up during the GFC and they still want to screw us over? We're continuing to prop them up until October 2011 on deposits up to $1m and they still want to screw us over?
And why?
Bloody shareholders!
They have to get value for their precious shareholders. They need to retain profits so they can pay their measly little dividends.
Well, I have to say....I don't give a damn about the shareholders; I do give a damn about small business people who still can't get overdrafts for their business, or if they can it's only if residential security is offered and the poor business owner pays close to 11% for the privilege. I do give a damn about the poor home owners, which make up approximately only 30% of the economy, who are the ones being stung each time some stupid bureaucrat in the Government decides that more stimulis is needed, which naturally creates inflation, which in turn pushes up his interest rates.
I give a damn about the state of our economy, and whilst I can't stand Glenn Stevens (Govenor of the Reserve Bank of Australia), they're the ones charged with the responsibility of guiding our ship, not the money-hungry, greedy, so-and-so's that are the banks.
Wayne, pull your bloody head in and do something good for a change. Stop the banks from doing whatever the hell they want and look after the average joe.
Excuse me Wayne, but it is the RBA that is supposed to set monetary policy in this country, not the big 4. It is the RBA that is supposed to control the economy, not the big 4.
Why should the banks be allowed to increase rates "out of cycle", to use the banks' words? Their cost of funding has now all but returned to normal.
Afterall, they have $22BILLION in profit between the big 4 this year to prove that they're not being squeezed like the poor average joe!
Here we have the big 4, who were guaranteed by us, THE TAXPAYERS, during the GFC, crying because their margins are sitting at around 1.5% instead of around 2.5 to 3%.
BIG FREAKING DEAL!
$22billion is alot of coin...certainly nothing to sneeze about.
We were propping them up during the GFC and they still want to screw us over? We're continuing to prop them up until October 2011 on deposits up to $1m and they still want to screw us over?
And why?
Bloody shareholders!
They have to get value for their precious shareholders. They need to retain profits so they can pay their measly little dividends.
Well, I have to say....I don't give a damn about the shareholders; I do give a damn about small business people who still can't get overdrafts for their business, or if they can it's only if residential security is offered and the poor business owner pays close to 11% for the privilege. I do give a damn about the poor home owners, which make up approximately only 30% of the economy, who are the ones being stung each time some stupid bureaucrat in the Government decides that more stimulis is needed, which naturally creates inflation, which in turn pushes up his interest rates.
I give a damn about the state of our economy, and whilst I can't stand Glenn Stevens (Govenor of the Reserve Bank of Australia), they're the ones charged with the responsibility of guiding our ship, not the money-hungry, greedy, so-and-so's that are the banks.
Wayne, pull your bloody head in and do something good for a change. Stop the banks from doing whatever the hell they want and look after the average joe.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Come one, come all....
>cue circus music
>enter circus ringmaster
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome! You're about to witness the most incredible event....a perfect backflip performed by a Prime Minister"
>cue drum roll
>cue applause
>cue circus ringmaster
"And there you have it Ladies and Gentleman...and there you have it. Round of applause, please, for Julia Gillard and her perfect backflip".
This country is in BIG trouble!
Stay tuned...
>enter circus ringmaster
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome! You're about to witness the most incredible event....a perfect backflip performed by a Prime Minister"
>cue drum roll
Julia Gillard today walked away from her election-eve promise to oppose a costly carbon tax on Australian householders.
On the Friday before the election Ms Gillard stated categorically: “I rule out a carbon tax.” (The Australian, 20 August 2010).
But today, when asked by media, would she rule out a carbon tax, she blinked:
Gillard: Look, we, we’ve said we would work through options in good faith at the committee that I have formed involving of course the Greens … We want to work through options, have the discussions at that committee in good faith.Journalist: So you are not ruling it out then?Gillard: Well look ah, you know I just think the rule-in, rule-out games are a little bit silly.
Before the election, she unambiguously ruled out a carbon tax. Now, after the election, ruling in or ruling out a carbon tax is now “a little bit silly” according to the PM.
It now looks like Julia Gillard is opening the door to a plan by Labor’s partners, the Greens, for a carbon tax.
Now, after the election, it appears that Labor has a secret plan to back-flip and support the tax.
Before the election, Wayne Swan said: “what we rejected is this hysterical allegation that somehow we are moving towards a carbon tax” (Meet the Press, 15 August 2010).
Mr Swan also said: “We have made our position very clear, we have ruled it out” (7.30 Report, 12 August 2010).
Julia Gillard again claimed: “There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead” (Channel 10, 16 August 2010).
The Prime Minister was today speaking at a sustainability media event. But it’s now clear she hasn’t been able to sustain her pre-election promises to rule out a carbon tax. (source)
>cue applause
>cue circus ringmaster
"And there you have it Ladies and Gentleman...and there you have it. Round of applause, please, for Julia Gillard and her perfect backflip".
This country is in BIG trouble!
Stay tuned...
What to do...
CAUTION: FREQUENT OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE IN USE.
/rant on:
I'm disgusted!
Yesterday afternoon as I was driving home from doing the kid pick-up run I was listening to the radio and the news headlines were being read.
The newsreader announced, amongst other things, that the father and mother found guilty of raping THEIR SON and posting the videos on line have been sentenced.
Guess what their sentences were?
FATHER: 9 years
MOTHER: 4 years
WHAT THE HELL?????????????
THESE SICKO FUCKWITS RAPED AND SODOMISED THEIR OWN SON....AND THEY ONLY GET 9 YEARS AND 4 YEARS???
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM???
WHAT ABOUT THIS POOR KID WHO HAS TO LIVE WITH THE MEMORIES OF WHAT'S HAPPENED TO HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE, AND THESE SICK BASTARDS ARE OUT AND ABOUT AGAIN IN 9 AND 4 YEARS???
As you can tell, I'm incredibly angry about this.
What on earth is wrong with our criminal justice system?
In the USA one would get at least 25 years for such a disgusting, awful, demoralising, twisted, soul-sapping, vomit inducing crime such as this one, and all we can do is give these WASTE-OF-SPACE THINGS WE CALL PEOPLE 9 and 4 years!!!
WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN THAT????? WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SYSTEM THAT THIS CAN BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN?????
I really think I missed my calling.
If I were a judge on this case, these people would be behind bars for so fucking long they'd probably wish they'd never been born in the first place.
I'M ANGRY...THIS IS WRONG....JUST PLAIN BLOODY WRONG!
And you know what's just as disturbing as the case itself? It's the lack of reporting on it.
I was surfing the net this morning to try and find some links to include in my post, and I couldn't find a thing.
Now, I admit that I'm not the most proficient internet surfer around, but surely something such as this couldn't be that hard to find, could it?
And, I made special attention to watch the evening news last night, and the late news last night, and the news again this morning.....hoping....just hoping that something would be mentioned about this case.
NOTHING! NOT A SINGLE BLOODY WORD!
Where are the media on this?
How can this not be reported upon?
How can what's been done to this boy (who was 9 years old, apparently) just not be broadcast...not the case so much being broadcast...but the appauling sentences handed down being broadcast.
There's alot to be said for media in this country.
I swear they treat us like mushrooms...keep us in the dark and feed us shit!
/rant off
/rant on:
I'm disgusted!
Yesterday afternoon as I was driving home from doing the kid pick-up run I was listening to the radio and the news headlines were being read.
The newsreader announced, amongst other things, that the father and mother found guilty of raping THEIR SON and posting the videos on line have been sentenced.
Guess what their sentences were?
FATHER: 9 years
MOTHER: 4 years
WHAT THE HELL?????????????
THESE SICKO FUCKWITS RAPED AND SODOMISED THEIR OWN SON....AND THEY ONLY GET 9 YEARS AND 4 YEARS???
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM???
WHAT ABOUT THIS POOR KID WHO HAS TO LIVE WITH THE MEMORIES OF WHAT'S HAPPENED TO HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE, AND THESE SICK BASTARDS ARE OUT AND ABOUT AGAIN IN 9 AND 4 YEARS???
As you can tell, I'm incredibly angry about this.
What on earth is wrong with our criminal justice system?
In the USA one would get at least 25 years for such a disgusting, awful, demoralising, twisted, soul-sapping, vomit inducing crime such as this one, and all we can do is give these WASTE-OF-SPACE THINGS WE CALL PEOPLE 9 and 4 years!!!
WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN THAT????? WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SYSTEM THAT THIS CAN BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN?????
I really think I missed my calling.
If I were a judge on this case, these people would be behind bars for so fucking long they'd probably wish they'd never been born in the first place.
I'M ANGRY...THIS IS WRONG....JUST PLAIN BLOODY WRONG!
And you know what's just as disturbing as the case itself? It's the lack of reporting on it.
I was surfing the net this morning to try and find some links to include in my post, and I couldn't find a thing.
Now, I admit that I'm not the most proficient internet surfer around, but surely something such as this couldn't be that hard to find, could it?
And, I made special attention to watch the evening news last night, and the late news last night, and the news again this morning.....hoping....just hoping that something would be mentioned about this case.
NOTHING! NOT A SINGLE BLOODY WORD!
Where are the media on this?
How can this not be reported upon?
How can what's been done to this boy (who was 9 years old, apparently) just not be broadcast...not the case so much being broadcast...but the appauling sentences handed down being broadcast.
There's alot to be said for media in this country.
I swear they treat us like mushrooms...keep us in the dark and feed us shit!
/rant off
Friday, October 15, 2010
It's the little things...
I was driving home this morning after dropping my son off at school and the traffic was just murder.
I have 2 favourite radio stations that I listen to in the car; one's a talk back station and the other is a classic rock station. I was listening to the talk back station and they were banging on about a report prepared by the Murray Darling Basin Authority. I'm not up on the detail yet, but it's got something to do with water allocations, irrigation and the like and our farmers.
I'm going to research this more and write about it because on the surface it appears that our farmer are being royally screwed over, and our farmers are one of the keys to this country's success as a nation.
Anyway, I was actually over listening to it all as they'd been talking about the issue for a couple of days and my mind just needed to switch off....I get information overload and simply can't absorb anything more when that happens...so I switched over to my classic rock station.
I'd creeped forward no more than perhaps 2km in the space of about 25 minutes (I'm really crappy at judging distance), and I was at a halt.
I'd adopted my "thinking in the car" pose and I was just kind of staring out the window but looking at nothing in particular.
A man drove past me in the opposite direction. He was moving, albeit quite slowly.
He looked straight at me, smiled and said "have a great day".
I was so surprised that I giggled, and said "thank you. You too".
It really brightened me up and I had a smile on my face the rest of the ssslllloooowwww drive home.
It's the little things like this that make humans people....or should it be that make people human?
What ever it is, it was a great gesture, so thank you anonymous man!
I have 2 favourite radio stations that I listen to in the car; one's a talk back station and the other is a classic rock station. I was listening to the talk back station and they were banging on about a report prepared by the Murray Darling Basin Authority. I'm not up on the detail yet, but it's got something to do with water allocations, irrigation and the like and our farmers.
I'm going to research this more and write about it because on the surface it appears that our farmer are being royally screwed over, and our farmers are one of the keys to this country's success as a nation.
Anyway, I was actually over listening to it all as they'd been talking about the issue for a couple of days and my mind just needed to switch off....I get information overload and simply can't absorb anything more when that happens...so I switched over to my classic rock station.
I'd creeped forward no more than perhaps 2km in the space of about 25 minutes (I'm really crappy at judging distance), and I was at a halt.
I'd adopted my "thinking in the car" pose and I was just kind of staring out the window but looking at nothing in particular.
A man drove past me in the opposite direction. He was moving, albeit quite slowly.
He looked straight at me, smiled and said "have a great day".
I was so surprised that I giggled, and said "thank you. You too".
It really brightened me up and I had a smile on my face the rest of the ssslllloooowwww drive home.
It's the little things like this that make humans people....or should it be that make people human?
What ever it is, it was a great gesture, so thank you anonymous man!
Monday, October 11, 2010
A Proud Mummy Post...
I had the most wonderful experience over the weekend with my son.
He's 6 years old and for the last 2 years he's been riding a bike with training wheels on. We've tried taking the training wheels off once before, and it wasn't very successful, so we just left one training wheel on so he could learn his sense of balance.
It worked a little, but he was still reliant upon it.
Anyway, on Sunday morning after breakfast I told Hub that we were taking the kids for a bike ride and if it's the last thing I do that day, S would ride on his own.
So, off we went.
S rode a while with the one training wheel on whilst we were instructing him on balance. You know, it's not something one can really instruct in, so off the trainer came.
With Hub holding his seat, off he went! Then, without S knowing, Hub let go of the seat and he was riding on this own.
What a proud moment (for S and for me).
And when S discovered that he'd done it on his own he started jumping up and down "I did it, Mum, I did it"!!
My heart was bursting for him.
We continued riding some more, and with each fall S was gaining more and more confidence. We told him not to get upset when he fell, because each fall meant that he was getting better and better at riding. It was just beautiful to watch.
When S had had enough we rode home. When we got home Hub stood S on a retaining wall so they were eye level and Hub gave him some beautiful words of encouragment.
All of a sudden S burst into tears! OMG, I thought....
"What's wrong"? I asked...
And little S said "Nothing. I'm just so happy. I couldn't believe that I could ride a bike, and now I can".
Bless his little heart and soul!!
He's 6 years old and for the last 2 years he's been riding a bike with training wheels on. We've tried taking the training wheels off once before, and it wasn't very successful, so we just left one training wheel on so he could learn his sense of balance.
It worked a little, but he was still reliant upon it.
Anyway, on Sunday morning after breakfast I told Hub that we were taking the kids for a bike ride and if it's the last thing I do that day, S would ride on his own.
So, off we went.
S rode a while with the one training wheel on whilst we were instructing him on balance. You know, it's not something one can really instruct in, so off the trainer came.
With Hub holding his seat, off he went! Then, without S knowing, Hub let go of the seat and he was riding on this own.
What a proud moment (for S and for me).
And when S discovered that he'd done it on his own he started jumping up and down "I did it, Mum, I did it"!!
My heart was bursting for him.
We continued riding some more, and with each fall S was gaining more and more confidence. We told him not to get upset when he fell, because each fall meant that he was getting better and better at riding. It was just beautiful to watch.
When S had had enough we rode home. When we got home Hub stood S on a retaining wall so they were eye level and Hub gave him some beautiful words of encouragment.
All of a sudden S burst into tears! OMG, I thought....
"What's wrong"? I asked...
And little S said "Nothing. I'm just so happy. I couldn't believe that I could ride a bike, and now I can".
Bless his little heart and soul!!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The 11 rules...
I saw this while blog surfing and just had to post it:
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your
mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain
forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
Link here: The 6th sense: Bill Gates speech: 11 rules kids did not and will ...
Friday, October 1, 2010
What is the appropriate etiquette...
Exactly what is the etiquette when it comes to Facebook?
I've had a woman try and be my "friend" on Facebook. She's sent like 4 friend requests and I've ignored/blocked them all.
I log on the other day for the first time in months and there waiting for me is a message from her. "Hi TTW, remember me? I'm SC. We used to do **something similar to girl guides** when we were kids".
Yeah...and??
OK...so what do I do here? I've already ignored all her friend requests. She clearly hasn't gotten the message.
My options are:
a) ignore the message and delete it;
b) send her a message back pretending to be happy to hear from her and then add her as a friend even though I really couldn't give a toss;
c) send her a message back telling her I'm not interested in connecting with her; or
d) are there any other options?
If I were her and I send a friend request to someone and they never got back to me, doesn't that mean then that the person I sent the request to doesn't want to get in touch? In my mind it does....so why then send a few more requests and a message as well?
So, what's the correct etiquette here because I have no bloody idea?
I've had a woman try and be my "friend" on Facebook. She's sent like 4 friend requests and I've ignored/blocked them all.
I log on the other day for the first time in months and there waiting for me is a message from her. "Hi TTW, remember me? I'm SC. We used to do **something similar to girl guides** when we were kids".
Yeah...and??
OK...so what do I do here? I've already ignored all her friend requests. She clearly hasn't gotten the message.
My options are:
a) ignore the message and delete it;
b) send her a message back pretending to be happy to hear from her and then add her as a friend even though I really couldn't give a toss;
c) send her a message back telling her I'm not interested in connecting with her; or
d) are there any other options?
If I were her and I send a friend request to someone and they never got back to me, doesn't that mean then that the person I sent the request to doesn't want to get in touch? In my mind it does....so why then send a few more requests and a message as well?
So, what's the correct etiquette here because I have no bloody idea?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Pay Peanuts, Get Monkeys...
I honestly just can't believe some people sometimes.
OK, this is going to be a bit of a rant, and it may get a bit ugly...
I've been working with a potential client for about 3 months now. She approached me to build her duplex project for her. I met with her one evening, went through her plans with her, went through her wants and needs etc...and then I asked the magic question..."what is your budget?"
She gave me a figure of $1m.
One always wonders about someone's honesty at this point, and I have to confess that I wondered whether she was bull-shitting me with this number...
Now, her plans were brilliant! Completed by an excellent architect at a cost to her of about $25k. One would assume that if they've spent THAT much money on architectural plans alone, then they'd pretty much want to ensure that the building that ends up the final product is a fair and honest representation of those plans? I thought that was a very fair assumption to make....afterall, why spend that much bloody money on plans if you don't intend on creating what's been drawn?
Anyway...I ring her a few weeks later after spending countless hours pouring over the plans, getting quotations and the like, and I tell her it's not going to come in at her magic million figure and would she still like me to proceed with the quotation? Yes, she would.
So, I arrange to meet with her a week or so following that conversation and present to her a complete 20-odd page quotation complete with provisional allowances specified, photographs, individual costing blah blah...the whole lock, stock and barrel.
The first question I asked her at this presentation meeting was "How much did your architect tell you this would cost?" Her reply was $2,500 per square metre. With a smile on my face I showed her my breakup that came out to $2,560 per square metre! My price came out to about $1.4m including GST.
I went through the quote and each individual item with her, showed her the corresponding quotes from relevant sub contractors so she could ascertain for herself that the price I've given her is an honest price that accurately represents the plans she's provided to me.
Her plans were brilliant - and the level of detail was fabulous. The project included open tread stairs with solid timber treads, shadow-line detail around every single ceiling, skirting and architrave, custom wardrobes and joinery, timber floors, built in fireplaces and all sorts of other bits and pieces to make a spectacular property. It's a job I could really sink my teeth into.
So, anyway, I call her a few days after our presentation and she tells me she's a bit surprised at the price. And that she really only has $1.1m to spend, and that she's already received a quotation for $960k!!!
WTF? How on earth can I be $500k more than someone else, I wondered. Then I wondered...didn't you tell your architect what your budget was?
Subsequently, I rang her architect to get some intel on this, and he confirmed that he did tell her it would cost between $1.2m and $1.4m to build.
I asked her if she would like me to have a look at it, and come up with some suggestions as to how to reduce the costs. I also told her that it's virtually impossible for the project to be built for that price. We all buy the same steel, we all buy the same concrete, we all buy the same bricks blah blah blah, so this other person must be cutting some corners somewhere.
So, back to the drawing board and another few weeks spent combing over the plans the see where costs can be cut, construction methods changed so that her (tight) budget can be accomodated.
I did it!
I removed all the shadowline detail, I included tiles instead of timber in some areas, I made the stair cases concrete instead of open tread (would you believe the open tread stair cases came in at $20k each???), and made a raft of other changes that all have an effect on the bottom line.
I managed to get the cost down to $1.135m...and at our meeting on the weekend I told her I'd wear that additional $35k so she hits her magic (revised) number. She brings along her 26year old nephew to the meeting as well, who has apparently had some experience in the construction game as a client.
Anyway, the meeting goes very well and I walk away thinking I'll get the job.
I ring her this morning and she says my price is still too high and her other quote includes everything!! I haven't included air conditioning (excuse me love, but you're NOT allowed to put air con in this project due to Basix commitments), I haven't included demolition (excuse me love, you told me NOT to), I haven't included Section 73 works (love, that's a developer expense, not a builder expense) and I haven't included open tread stairs.
Those 4 items alone add up to around $100k!
I was fine with her comments about the demolition. I told her on the weekend that if it were a deal breaker, I'd talk about it more. I was fine with her comments about the air conditioning; I'd told her several times that she can't have it and if she put it in she will be told to take it back out again.
BUT...when she told me about the open tread stairs I honestly wanted to jump through the phone line and ram her f*****g head against a brick wall. Can you tell I'm angry now?
YOU STUPID WOMAN!
You asked me to cut costs to meet your budget. Those stairs cost $20k EACH...that's $40K I've saved you...and now that's a deal breaker? This is what I was thinking, I wouldn't dare talk to someone like that.
What I did say though, was, "Now, I don't believe that. I'd really like to see that other quote". Mind you, I've asked to see it before, but she's always rebuffed me, and I've never insisted. But, when she started talking about those open tread stairs, then...I'm seeing red. Naturally, I remain calm and talk to her normally. She replies "well, when I sign the contract I'll send you a copy of it"!
So, she's going with someone else.
People are F****D! Seriously. Champagne tastes on beer budgets.
When are people going to realise that the cost of something is the cost of something?
Anyone heard the old adage "you pay peanuts you get monkeys"? Well, same applies to the construction industry. You want quality...good quality...then it costs money.
Do you honestly expect me to turn up to work everyday for the hell of it, because I've got nothing better to do? NO! It doesn't work that way. I need to get paid too, and if I don't get compensated for my time, expertise and knowledge adequately, then guess what? I don't get HOME WARRANTY INSURANCE...If I don't get Home Warranty Insurance, I can't work!!
Sure, I'll cut my margins, I've done it before, and I'll continue to do it where necessary, but there's only so much one can do this before the better alternative is to sit on my arse doing nothing other than collecting a government hand-out.
So, she's off to employ some stinking builder from the western suburbs who hasn't got any clients in the western suburbs looking to employ a dodgy builder who cuts corners.
REALITY CHECK PEOPLE...things cost what they cost; there is NO escaping that.
OK, this is going to be a bit of a rant, and it may get a bit ugly...
I've been working with a potential client for about 3 months now. She approached me to build her duplex project for her. I met with her one evening, went through her plans with her, went through her wants and needs etc...and then I asked the magic question..."what is your budget?"
She gave me a figure of $1m.
One always wonders about someone's honesty at this point, and I have to confess that I wondered whether she was bull-shitting me with this number...
Now, her plans were brilliant! Completed by an excellent architect at a cost to her of about $25k. One would assume that if they've spent THAT much money on architectural plans alone, then they'd pretty much want to ensure that the building that ends up the final product is a fair and honest representation of those plans? I thought that was a very fair assumption to make....afterall, why spend that much bloody money on plans if you don't intend on creating what's been drawn?
Anyway...I ring her a few weeks later after spending countless hours pouring over the plans, getting quotations and the like, and I tell her it's not going to come in at her magic million figure and would she still like me to proceed with the quotation? Yes, she would.
So, I arrange to meet with her a week or so following that conversation and present to her a complete 20-odd page quotation complete with provisional allowances specified, photographs, individual costing blah blah...the whole lock, stock and barrel.
The first question I asked her at this presentation meeting was "How much did your architect tell you this would cost?" Her reply was $2,500 per square metre. With a smile on my face I showed her my breakup that came out to $2,560 per square metre! My price came out to about $1.4m including GST.
I went through the quote and each individual item with her, showed her the corresponding quotes from relevant sub contractors so she could ascertain for herself that the price I've given her is an honest price that accurately represents the plans she's provided to me.
Her plans were brilliant - and the level of detail was fabulous. The project included open tread stairs with solid timber treads, shadow-line detail around every single ceiling, skirting and architrave, custom wardrobes and joinery, timber floors, built in fireplaces and all sorts of other bits and pieces to make a spectacular property. It's a job I could really sink my teeth into.
So, anyway, I call her a few days after our presentation and she tells me she's a bit surprised at the price. And that she really only has $1.1m to spend, and that she's already received a quotation for $960k!!!
WTF? How on earth can I be $500k more than someone else, I wondered. Then I wondered...didn't you tell your architect what your budget was?
Subsequently, I rang her architect to get some intel on this, and he confirmed that he did tell her it would cost between $1.2m and $1.4m to build.
I asked her if she would like me to have a look at it, and come up with some suggestions as to how to reduce the costs. I also told her that it's virtually impossible for the project to be built for that price. We all buy the same steel, we all buy the same concrete, we all buy the same bricks blah blah blah, so this other person must be cutting some corners somewhere.
So, back to the drawing board and another few weeks spent combing over the plans the see where costs can be cut, construction methods changed so that her (tight) budget can be accomodated.
I did it!
I removed all the shadowline detail, I included tiles instead of timber in some areas, I made the stair cases concrete instead of open tread (would you believe the open tread stair cases came in at $20k each???), and made a raft of other changes that all have an effect on the bottom line.
I managed to get the cost down to $1.135m...and at our meeting on the weekend I told her I'd wear that additional $35k so she hits her magic (revised) number. She brings along her 26year old nephew to the meeting as well, who has apparently had some experience in the construction game as a client.
Anyway, the meeting goes very well and I walk away thinking I'll get the job.
I ring her this morning and she says my price is still too high and her other quote includes everything!! I haven't included air conditioning (excuse me love, but you're NOT allowed to put air con in this project due to Basix commitments), I haven't included demolition (excuse me love, you told me NOT to), I haven't included Section 73 works (love, that's a developer expense, not a builder expense) and I haven't included open tread stairs.
Those 4 items alone add up to around $100k!
I was fine with her comments about the demolition. I told her on the weekend that if it were a deal breaker, I'd talk about it more. I was fine with her comments about the air conditioning; I'd told her several times that she can't have it and if she put it in she will be told to take it back out again.
BUT...when she told me about the open tread stairs I honestly wanted to jump through the phone line and ram her f*****g head against a brick wall. Can you tell I'm angry now?
YOU STUPID WOMAN!
You asked me to cut costs to meet your budget. Those stairs cost $20k EACH...that's $40K I've saved you...and now that's a deal breaker? This is what I was thinking, I wouldn't dare talk to someone like that.
What I did say though, was, "Now, I don't believe that. I'd really like to see that other quote". Mind you, I've asked to see it before, but she's always rebuffed me, and I've never insisted. But, when she started talking about those open tread stairs, then...I'm seeing red. Naturally, I remain calm and talk to her normally. She replies "well, when I sign the contract I'll send you a copy of it"!
So, she's going with someone else.
People are F****D! Seriously. Champagne tastes on beer budgets.
When are people going to realise that the cost of something is the cost of something?
Anyone heard the old adage "you pay peanuts you get monkeys"? Well, same applies to the construction industry. You want quality...good quality...then it costs money.
Do you honestly expect me to turn up to work everyday for the hell of it, because I've got nothing better to do? NO! It doesn't work that way. I need to get paid too, and if I don't get compensated for my time, expertise and knowledge adequately, then guess what? I don't get HOME WARRANTY INSURANCE...If I don't get Home Warranty Insurance, I can't work!!
Sure, I'll cut my margins, I've done it before, and I'll continue to do it where necessary, but there's only so much one can do this before the better alternative is to sit on my arse doing nothing other than collecting a government hand-out.
So, she's off to employ some stinking builder from the western suburbs who hasn't got any clients in the western suburbs looking to employ a dodgy builder who cuts corners.
REALITY CHECK PEOPLE...things cost what they cost; there is NO escaping that.
I need a drink!
.../rant off
Saturday, September 25, 2010
This is me...
I should probably write a bit of a bio on myself so if anyone bothers to read this blog they can at least know a bit about the woman behind it...so here goes:
I'm in my mid 30's, have a husband and a couple of children and the complete catastrophe of a household that that entails, which is pretty much on the go all the time. And somewhere in there I also find time to attend to work and extended family and social committments.
I do work, I work fulltime (well, as best I can juggling school hours). I'm fortunate, however, in that I'm self employed, so I have tremendous flexibility. Honestly, I don't know how women do it raising a family and working fulltime proper! Hats off to them as I couldn't cope.
So, amongst all that, now I have this blog too, which I'm really excited about.
I was raised in what some would call a Regional city in NSW and moved to the big smoke all by my lonesome when I was 17. What interesting times they were; young and naive and in a completely different city, totally broke. I was earning $180 a week on a traineeship and paying $100 of that in rent each week for a shitty little unit.
My childhood was less than ordinary. I suffered physical abuse quite regularly and was kicked out of home numerous times. I distinctly remember that fork in the road when I was 15. I looked at my mother (who was now seperated from my father), 30something, broke, working part time and destined to see out her days on a measly government pension. My choices were to either continue on the path I was on and end up like her, or make something of myself and rise above the adversity that I was experiencing.
I chose the latter.
I've been self employed in various sectors of the property industry since I was 22 years old. I've built an empire, lost the empire and am in the process of rebuilding the empire again, albeit with much more wisdom.
Not that I wasn't wise when I lost my empire (which was only very recently). I lost it only because I wasn't in control; I was at the behest of my financiers and in the end I was merely a puppet in someone else's show. I trusted in my financiers; "we want to help you grow; we're your partners in business; if you do 'this' we'll do 'that'" they would say, and I had no choice but to believe them. In the end they shafted me good and proper.
But, I've recovered; stronger, smarter and more determined than ever.
I've always had a bit of a dislike for banks. When I started my first business when I was 22, by the time I was 23 I wanted to expand it as it was going fantastically well. I approached my bank for a loan to expand the business and they refused to help.
Then they had the audacity to call me for a satisfaction survey. My exact words, and I still remember them today, were "go and get f****d. The day I don't need to rely on the likes of you will be my happiest day ever!" Needless to say, I gave them the shittiest satisfaction rating I could give.
My current aspirations include honing my writing abilities, raising my family, rebuilding my empire and potentially entering the political arena or corporate business arena.
When I say rebuilding my empire, I don't want to be the next Harry Triggaboff or Frank Lowy; I just want to be completely comfortable with a home completely paid off and at least $200k per annum in passive income. That is substantially more than enough.
I just don't want to have to worry about the bills that come in and stress about how I'm going to pay for them. I want to buy nice clothes and not even look at the price tag, and I want the power of choice! Essentially, that is what money brings. It doesn't bring happiness, it doesn't bring health or relationships - it brings choice!
I read a quote in the BRW once and it went "money doesn't buy happiness, it only alleviates misery". Having had money before, I think it's quite true.
I've dabbled in corporate business life, and I didn't like it at the time, but I'm wondering if maturity on my part may see me enjoying it now that I'm older. I just don't like the whole 9 - 5 routine (or 8 - 6 these days) and I enjoy the flexibility of self-employment.
Anything else you want to know?
I'm in my mid 30's, have a husband and a couple of children and the complete catastrophe of a household that that entails, which is pretty much on the go all the time. And somewhere in there I also find time to attend to work and extended family and social committments.
I do work, I work fulltime (well, as best I can juggling school hours). I'm fortunate, however, in that I'm self employed, so I have tremendous flexibility. Honestly, I don't know how women do it raising a family and working fulltime proper! Hats off to them as I couldn't cope.
So, amongst all that, now I have this blog too, which I'm really excited about.
I was raised in what some would call a Regional city in NSW and moved to the big smoke all by my lonesome when I was 17. What interesting times they were; young and naive and in a completely different city, totally broke. I was earning $180 a week on a traineeship and paying $100 of that in rent each week for a shitty little unit.
My childhood was less than ordinary. I suffered physical abuse quite regularly and was kicked out of home numerous times. I distinctly remember that fork in the road when I was 15. I looked at my mother (who was now seperated from my father), 30something, broke, working part time and destined to see out her days on a measly government pension. My choices were to either continue on the path I was on and end up like her, or make something of myself and rise above the adversity that I was experiencing.
I chose the latter.
I've been self employed in various sectors of the property industry since I was 22 years old. I've built an empire, lost the empire and am in the process of rebuilding the empire again, albeit with much more wisdom.
Not that I wasn't wise when I lost my empire (which was only very recently). I lost it only because I wasn't in control; I was at the behest of my financiers and in the end I was merely a puppet in someone else's show. I trusted in my financiers; "we want to help you grow; we're your partners in business; if you do 'this' we'll do 'that'" they would say, and I had no choice but to believe them. In the end they shafted me good and proper.
But, I've recovered; stronger, smarter and more determined than ever.
I've always had a bit of a dislike for banks. When I started my first business when I was 22, by the time I was 23 I wanted to expand it as it was going fantastically well. I approached my bank for a loan to expand the business and they refused to help.
Then they had the audacity to call me for a satisfaction survey. My exact words, and I still remember them today, were "go and get f****d. The day I don't need to rely on the likes of you will be my happiest day ever!" Needless to say, I gave them the shittiest satisfaction rating I could give.
My current aspirations include honing my writing abilities, raising my family, rebuilding my empire and potentially entering the political arena or corporate business arena.
When I say rebuilding my empire, I don't want to be the next Harry Triggaboff or Frank Lowy; I just want to be completely comfortable with a home completely paid off and at least $200k per annum in passive income. That is substantially more than enough.
I just don't want to have to worry about the bills that come in and stress about how I'm going to pay for them. I want to buy nice clothes and not even look at the price tag, and I want the power of choice! Essentially, that is what money brings. It doesn't bring happiness, it doesn't bring health or relationships - it brings choice!
I read a quote in the BRW once and it went "money doesn't buy happiness, it only alleviates misery". Having had money before, I think it's quite true.
I've dabbled in corporate business life, and I didn't like it at the time, but I'm wondering if maturity on my part may see me enjoying it now that I'm older. I just don't like the whole 9 - 5 routine (or 8 - 6 these days) and I enjoy the flexibility of self-employment.
Anything else you want to know?
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Surge of the $AUD
Lately I've been hearing financial commentators praising the surge of the $AU in comparison to the $US and boasting that parity may soon be reached.
I have to ask, why is this such a great thing?
I'm no financial guru, but in my layman's way of thinking having the $AU on parity with the $US is not such a great thing.
Why?
Well, it's simple; it means the cost of imported goods will drop. That's great for the consumer in all of us, but what this does is 2 things:
1) makes the money spent in this country leave this country;
2) contributes to inflation.
Now, what happens when inflationary pressures start rearing its head? That's right...mortgage interest rates rise.
Having a "stronger" $AU also does something else. It makes Australian exporters more expensive and less competative in the global market. That can't be a good thing for our local business or the national economy as whole, now can it?
Our country literally survives on our exports, from mining, farming, engineering and manufacturing. If all those products become more expensive because of the rise in the $AU there will be less exports, which in turn means less taxes and so it goes.
On the flip side, it does mean that we can travel and have our dollar go farther, but I think that's a rather short-sighted and narrow view.
What do others think?
I have to ask, why is this such a great thing?
I'm no financial guru, but in my layman's way of thinking having the $AU on parity with the $US is not such a great thing.
Why?
Well, it's simple; it means the cost of imported goods will drop. That's great for the consumer in all of us, but what this does is 2 things:
1) makes the money spent in this country leave this country;
2) contributes to inflation.
Now, what happens when inflationary pressures start rearing its head? That's right...mortgage interest rates rise.
Having a "stronger" $AU also does something else. It makes Australian exporters more expensive and less competative in the global market. That can't be a good thing for our local business or the national economy as whole, now can it?
Our country literally survives on our exports, from mining, farming, engineering and manufacturing. If all those products become more expensive because of the rise in the $AU there will be less exports, which in turn means less taxes and so it goes.
On the flip side, it does mean that we can travel and have our dollar go farther, but I think that's a rather short-sighted and narrow view.
What do others think?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
If they were my kids...
I was listening to the radio yesterday morning and I heard a story about a man...
He was a taxi driver, I think, and he stopped to pick up 3 female passengers in the very early hours of Sunday morning.
Just a routine job, I bet he thought.
How wrong could he have been.
Allegedly, he was dragged out of the car and one of the passengers jumped in to the drivers seat, ran over him, and then reversed back over him!
The passengers were 1 x 21 year old and 2 x 15 year old girls! And which one was driving? One of the 15 year olds!!
What the hell are we doing to our kids today that they end up doing something like that...at 15 years old???
And where on earth were the parents of these thugs? What on earth were 15 year old girls doing out and about in the early hours of a Sunday morning when they should have been home in bed....sleeping?
Something is seriously wrong with some people!
He was a taxi driver, I think, and he stopped to pick up 3 female passengers in the very early hours of Sunday morning.
Just a routine job, I bet he thought.
How wrong could he have been.
Allegedly, he was dragged out of the car and one of the passengers jumped in to the drivers seat, ran over him, and then reversed back over him!
The passengers were 1 x 21 year old and 2 x 15 year old girls! And which one was driving? One of the 15 year olds!!
What the hell are we doing to our kids today that they end up doing something like that...at 15 years old???
And where on earth were the parents of these thugs? What on earth were 15 year old girls doing out and about in the early hours of a Sunday morning when they should have been home in bed....sleeping?
Something is seriously wrong with some people!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Fool me once, shame on you...
Fool me twice, shame on me!
Finally, after some 17 or so days we finally have a Government.
Not the Government that the majority of Australian's wanted, but a Government none the less.
Not the Government that will manage the economy better, but a Government none the less.
Not the Government that will lay a steady hand on issues moving forward, but a Government none the less.
A rainbow Coalition; a traffic light Coalition; the watermelon party - call them what you will.
The decision to install the Gillard Labor Government was expected by many given the tight count on either side. And whilst the process of installing the Gillard Government may have been constitutionally sound, it was fundamentally flawed to say the least.
How can a party who won 73 seats (versus 72) and 44% of the primary vote (versus 38%) not be given the power to run the country? Is it not clear that the majority of Australian's wanted a Liberal/National Coalition to run the country? It's clear in my mind.
This happened due to two things that operate within our system:
1) preferential voting, and
2) the self-serving nature of human beings.
In a previous entry I made reference to Labor winning as many seats as they did soley on the back of the preferences they were given. A few of the independants won their seats on the back of Liberal preferences! So, the question begs, how can a preferential vote have the same value as a primary vote? If we didn't have preferential voting then I'm confident that it would have been a complete Labor wipe-out.
So, why did the independants Oakeshott and Windsor decide to cast their vote in favour of a Gillard Government?
Well, when queried Tony Windsor made the remark that if he didn't then another election would be required and Tony Abbott would win.
Now I have to ask...what sort of childish, vindictive, disgusting, unprofessional remark is that? Is that another way of him saying "I'm ready to retire, and I really only want to do one last term, so let me have it"?
Oh! How could I forget this beauty also said by Tony Windsor with reference to the NBN, "do it once, do it right, and do it with fibre".
Is this guy stupid, or what?
Tony, ever heard of wireless, buddy? It's the next big thing. Don't you realise, mate, that by the time the NBN is completely rolled out that it will have already been superceded by newer technology? Where on earth did you get your advisers from?
By the way, where's the business plan for the NBN? Did you read it? Did you even see it? No! Wait! THERE ISN'T ONE!
I can't not make comment, either, about Oakeshott's speach. Oh My Goodness! I counted 22 minutes of grandiose, self-indulgent, self-serving tripe.
"It's going to be ugly, but beautiful at the same time"....OMG....where did this guy come from?
And...guess how much it has cost US, THE TAXPAYERS for them to cast their vote with Gillard? Ten Billion Dollars. Yes folks, that's $5b a vote!
Democracy My Arse!
Finally, after some 17 or so days we finally have a Government.
Not the Government that the majority of Australian's wanted, but a Government none the less.
Not the Government that will manage the economy better, but a Government none the less.
Not the Government that will lay a steady hand on issues moving forward, but a Government none the less.
A rainbow Coalition; a traffic light Coalition; the watermelon party - call them what you will.
The decision to install the Gillard Labor Government was expected by many given the tight count on either side. And whilst the process of installing the Gillard Government may have been constitutionally sound, it was fundamentally flawed to say the least.
How can a party who won 73 seats (versus 72) and 44% of the primary vote (versus 38%) not be given the power to run the country? Is it not clear that the majority of Australian's wanted a Liberal/National Coalition to run the country? It's clear in my mind.
This happened due to two things that operate within our system:
1) preferential voting, and
2) the self-serving nature of human beings.
In a previous entry I made reference to Labor winning as many seats as they did soley on the back of the preferences they were given. A few of the independants won their seats on the back of Liberal preferences! So, the question begs, how can a preferential vote have the same value as a primary vote? If we didn't have preferential voting then I'm confident that it would have been a complete Labor wipe-out.
So, why did the independants Oakeshott and Windsor decide to cast their vote in favour of a Gillard Government?
Well, when queried Tony Windsor made the remark that if he didn't then another election would be required and Tony Abbott would win.
Now I have to ask...what sort of childish, vindictive, disgusting, unprofessional remark is that? Is that another way of him saying "I'm ready to retire, and I really only want to do one last term, so let me have it"?
Oh! How could I forget this beauty also said by Tony Windsor with reference to the NBN, "do it once, do it right, and do it with fibre".
Is this guy stupid, or what?
Tony, ever heard of wireless, buddy? It's the next big thing. Don't you realise, mate, that by the time the NBN is completely rolled out that it will have already been superceded by newer technology? Where on earth did you get your advisers from?
By the way, where's the business plan for the NBN? Did you read it? Did you even see it? No! Wait! THERE ISN'T ONE!
I can't not make comment, either, about Oakeshott's speach. Oh My Goodness! I counted 22 minutes of grandiose, self-indulgent, self-serving tripe.
"It's going to be ugly, but beautiful at the same time"....OMG....where did this guy come from?
And...guess how much it has cost US, THE TAXPAYERS for them to cast their vote with Gillard? Ten Billion Dollars. Yes folks, that's $5b a vote!
Democracy My Arse!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tax cuts made simple...
Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.
Suppose that every day, ten people go out for dinner. The bill for all
ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this -
The first four (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh $7.
The eighth $12.
The ninth $18.
The tenth (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
They ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a problem. "Since you are all such good customers," the owner said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."
So, now dinner for the ten only cost $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So, the first four were unaffected, they would still eat for free.
What about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get their 'fair share'?
The six paying customers realised that $20 divided by six is $3.33. If they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth and the sixth would each end up being 'PAID' to eat their meal.
So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each person's bill by roughly the same amount, and proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so -
The fifth, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. The first four continued to eat for free.
Once outside the restaurant, they began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth, pointing to the tenth diner "but they got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that they got ten times more than me!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh. "Why should they get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine surrounded and beat up the tenth diner.
The next night the tenth diner didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat
down and ate without number ten. When it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
That, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax
system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit froma tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table any more. There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the Caribbean.
Suppose that every day, ten people go out for dinner. The bill for all
ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this -
The first four (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh $7.
The eighth $12.
The ninth $18.
The tenth (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
They ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a problem. "Since you are all such good customers," the owner said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."
So, now dinner for the ten only cost $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So, the first four were unaffected, they would still eat for free.
What about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get their 'fair share'?
The six paying customers realised that $20 divided by six is $3.33. If they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth and the sixth would each end up being 'PAID' to eat their meal.
So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each person's bill by roughly the same amount, and proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so -
The fifth, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. The first four continued to eat for free.
Once outside the restaurant, they began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth, pointing to the tenth diner "but they got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that they got ten times more than me!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh. "Why should they get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine surrounded and beat up the tenth diner.
The next night the tenth diner didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat
down and ate without number ten. When it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
That, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax
system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit froma tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table any more. There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the Caribbean.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
536 Brooks Hall
University of Georgia
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
I thought I'd give a plug to this outfit...www.kiva.org
For those who haven't heard of Kiva, it's a micro-loan manager.
Essentially, you make micro-loans in the amount of $25USD to burgeoning businesses in less fortunate parts of the world. I personally have lent to people in Peru, Honduras, Vietnam, Bolivia and others that slip my mind at the moment.
How it works: if there is an entrepreneur who requires a $100 loan to buy stock for his stall, Kiva and their field partners will raise those funds from 4 separate individuals in $25USD blocks.
The loans are repaid generally over 12 months or a little more, however, they are interest free loans.
The best charity one can give is to help people help themselves. I just wish I knew of a similar program for Australian entrepreneurs out there giving it a go.
For those who haven't heard of Kiva, it's a micro-loan manager.
Essentially, you make micro-loans in the amount of $25USD to burgeoning businesses in less fortunate parts of the world. I personally have lent to people in Peru, Honduras, Vietnam, Bolivia and others that slip my mind at the moment.
How it works: if there is an entrepreneur who requires a $100 loan to buy stock for his stall, Kiva and their field partners will raise those funds from 4 separate individuals in $25USD blocks.
The loans are repaid generally over 12 months or a little more, however, they are interest free loans.
The best charity one can give is to help people help themselves. I just wish I knew of a similar program for Australian entrepreneurs out there giving it a go.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Housing affordability...
I'm so over the constant chatter of a housing affordability crisis and lamenting of the first home buyer.
I've said it before elsewhere, and I'll say it again here...there is no such thing as a housing affordability crisis!
The crisis is that the younger generation think they can have everything they want when they want it and on their terms.
Well sorry to say, all you youngin's...it does not work that way!!!
Just because you grew up in a suburb that now has a median house price of $800,000 does not mean you must buy your first home in that suburb. That you do buy a house in that same suburb is merely a discretionary decision you make during the purchasing process...not a right that you are entitled to.
So, if you can't afford to meet the market in your suburb?
How about a unit? Substantially lower entry costs...
How about a different suburb? Again, lower entry costs depending of the dynamics of that different suburb.
For goodness sake...units in my area of Sydney, which is a lovely area reasonably close to the CBD, start around $350k...you can't tell me that in this day and age, for someone that is working, that this is unaffordable.
Get a grip all you young ones and learn to start at the bottom, do the hard yards and work your way up, just like everyone else!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
What a wonderful world...
Sometimes you just hear something that touches you, and makes you think to yourself "wow, that's beautiful".
A while ago I was driving home from a rather boring and difficult meeting and I tuned in to my favourite talk-back radio station. They were talking about how expensive it is to die, the cost of the grave site, the tombstone, cremation and even the requirement of a permit to allow the scattering of ashes.
Anyway, this woman calls in and says that she's 85 years old, and her husband is 87 years old, and today they're celebrating their 65th (!!!) wedding anniversary. How fantastic is that?
She then remarks, "we don't have time to think about dying and cremation and all that stuff, we're far too busy being in love and enjoying our lives together".
Now, how beautiful is that that an 85 year old woman can say she's still in love with her husband.
I hope that's me in another 50-odd years or so!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
There's an L in there...
It's not Austraya...
It's Australia.
There is an L in there.
I wish people would get it right!
It's Australia.
There is an L in there.
I wish people would get it right!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wilkie puts a nail in the country's coffin...
So, Andrew Wilkie, independant elect in Tasmania has put a nail in the coffin that is this country; announcing yesterday that he would support a Labor minority Government.
I haven't read his press release, but I've heard snippets of it played on the radio and tv. I believe, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, that he made reference to Labor's economic management and how he feels that it would be better than the Coalition's management.
How is that so?
Treasury announced that the costings of the Coalition's policies show up an $11b hole, and the Coalition have retorted that there are differences in calculations used by the Coalition as compared to those being used by Treasury.
How on earth can Treasury calculate their interest payments based on a 4.9% interest rate?????
Talk about having their heads up their backsides! Please Mr Henry, can I have some of that money that only costs 4.9% because the best I can get right now is about 7.9%! The banks, if you remember, didn't even pass on all the interest rates cuts that the RBA announced over the last 2 years, so I'd really like a bit of what you've got.
What a joke.
Anyway, even if there were an $11b hole in the Coalition's figures, isn't it a whole lot better than the $43b hole that is the NBN in Labor's costings? I should think so! Labor is so concerned about this NBN that they haven't even put it in the budget...talk about great economic management! If the CEO of a publicly listed company did that surely he'd find himself in the do-do big time?
Morons.
I was reading the BRW last week (volume 32, number 33) and there was a letter published on Page 16 (Letters to the Editor), and I thought I would reproduce it here. It was authored by a Mr Michael Johnson.
He's probably not wrong!
I haven't read his press release, but I've heard snippets of it played on the radio and tv. I believe, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, that he made reference to Labor's economic management and how he feels that it would be better than the Coalition's management.
How is that so?
Treasury announced that the costings of the Coalition's policies show up an $11b hole, and the Coalition have retorted that there are differences in calculations used by the Coalition as compared to those being used by Treasury.
How on earth can Treasury calculate their interest payments based on a 4.9% interest rate?????
Talk about having their heads up their backsides! Please Mr Henry, can I have some of that money that only costs 4.9% because the best I can get right now is about 7.9%! The banks, if you remember, didn't even pass on all the interest rates cuts that the RBA announced over the last 2 years, so I'd really like a bit of what you've got.
What a joke.
Anyway, even if there were an $11b hole in the Coalition's figures, isn't it a whole lot better than the $43b hole that is the NBN in Labor's costings? I should think so! Labor is so concerned about this NBN that they haven't even put it in the budget...talk about great economic management! If the CEO of a publicly listed company did that surely he'd find himself in the do-do big time?
Morons.
I was reading the BRW last week (volume 32, number 33) and there was a letter published on Page 16 (Letters to the Editor), and I thought I would reproduce it here. It was authored by a Mr Michael Johnson.
Did we really deserve this?
They say we get what we deserve. Never has this been more true than in the 2010 federal election.
Sadly, the outcome of the former prime minister John Howard's "comfortable society" is a country that is seemingly devoid of vision,
of leadership and has the political conversation of that of a small, inwardly focused aged-care ward.
In 2010, and at a time when someone needed to stand up, both parties chose what they believed was the safe route.
They chose to focus on the title of power not what is required of those who will wield this power on behalf of all Australians.
What the country is calling for is a vision for the future. A vision that is more than what we are at present or what we have been historically.
Australia needs a vision and a sense of purpose that harnesses the ethos of the clever country through an innovative industrial sector, that proudly claims the value-adding opportunities that our rich natural resources provide and delivers equality of opportunity that underpins the now-cliched term "a fair go for all".
The greatest tragedy is not what has been said, claimed and done, but
what has been left unsaid, ignored and removed from the national
conversation".
He's probably not wrong!
Book Review...
I recently finished reading a book I'd heard mentioned on my favourite talk back radio station.
The book is called "Betrayal" with the tagline "The underbelly of Australian Labor".
Don't you just love how underbelly has become the new descriptive for everything that's not-so-kosher?
Anyway, it's written by a guy named Simon Benson, whom I believe is a senior political journalist for the Daily Telegraph newspaper (my apologies to Simon if this is incorrect).
It's all about the NSW Labor party and in particular, the nameless, faceless, power-hungry, factional puppeteers behind the scenes. A large portion of the book talks about the attempted privatisation by Morris Iemma (former NSW Premier) of the state's electricity networks, and the struggles involved with that.
It's probably quite evident already that I am not a Labor supporter, but I must say that Morris Iemma was treated pretty bloody poorly by these people.
And, I must hand it to Michael Costa - what a character. I do admire his straight-shooting style. He says what he means, and means what he says, and I believe that he genuinely had the state's best interests in mind in the carriage of his role as Treasurer.
The book is a fantastic snapshot into how Labor runs its politics, and I've got to say that I finished the book disliking Labor more than I did before I started reading it!
It also goes some way to showing what Kevin Rudd (former Australian Prime Minister) is like. If only we'd had this book before Kevin 07!!
Paul Keating (former Australian treasurer, then Prime Minister) was quoted as saying "...where goes NSW, so goes Federal Labor".
If that's true, and I believe it is, then that's a real worry!
For anyone who's interested in politics, then I'd recommend this book. It was a good read, entertaining even.
The book is called "Betrayal" with the tagline "The underbelly of Australian Labor".
Don't you just love how underbelly has become the new descriptive for everything that's not-so-kosher?
Anyway, it's written by a guy named Simon Benson, whom I believe is a senior political journalist for the Daily Telegraph newspaper (my apologies to Simon if this is incorrect).
It's all about the NSW Labor party and in particular, the nameless, faceless, power-hungry, factional puppeteers behind the scenes. A large portion of the book talks about the attempted privatisation by Morris Iemma (former NSW Premier) of the state's electricity networks, and the struggles involved with that.
It's probably quite evident already that I am not a Labor supporter, but I must say that Morris Iemma was treated pretty bloody poorly by these people.
And, I must hand it to Michael Costa - what a character. I do admire his straight-shooting style. He says what he means, and means what he says, and I believe that he genuinely had the state's best interests in mind in the carriage of his role as Treasurer.
The book is a fantastic snapshot into how Labor runs its politics, and I've got to say that I finished the book disliking Labor more than I did before I started reading it!
It also goes some way to showing what Kevin Rudd (former Australian Prime Minister) is like. If only we'd had this book before Kevin 07!!
Paul Keating (former Australian treasurer, then Prime Minister) was quoted as saying "...where goes NSW, so goes Federal Labor".
If that's true, and I believe it is, then that's a real worry!
For anyone who's interested in politics, then I'd recommend this book. It was a good read, entertaining even.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
PC on overdrive...
gay a. (-er, -est) happy and full of fun; brightly coloured.
I swear, the world is going barking mad!
What on earth is wrong with the word "gay" in this song?
Well, some PC mad Principal at a Victorian public school thought there was something wrong with it, so he's banned the word and instead, replaced it with the word "fun".
What next for crying out loud?
"Kookaburra sits in the old gum treeMy punctuation of this old classis song is probably incorrect, but that's not the point of this little rant.
Merry, merry King of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh
Kookaburra, gay your life must be"
I swear, the world is going barking mad!
What on earth is wrong with the word "gay" in this song?
Well, some PC mad Principal at a Victorian public school thought there was something wrong with it, so he's banned the word and instead, replaced it with the word "fun".
What next for crying out loud?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Power of the Individual...
I was watching the Insight programme the other night (on SBS, I think), and the topic for the night was the state of the future Federal Government.
Mr Michael Lavarch (former Attorney General and now Dean of Law at QUT)made a very interesting point that I haven't heard raised anywhere else yet, and it was this (in my words):
It's not only the independants that wield so much power in the new Government (regardless of which team wins the battle), but any single individual of the 150 member Parliament has the potential to create havoc.
All it will take is one single MP to have a dummy spit about his electorate not being looked after as much as the next person's electorate, and if he doesn't get what he wants for his electorate all he need do is pull the pin, and down comes the fragile house of cards.
Now more than ever, each team will require complete loyalty and discipline from their players.
Stability? My arse!
Mr Michael Lavarch (former Attorney General and now Dean of Law at QUT)made a very interesting point that I haven't heard raised anywhere else yet, and it was this (in my words):
It's not only the independants that wield so much power in the new Government (regardless of which team wins the battle), but any single individual of the 150 member Parliament has the potential to create havoc.
All it will take is one single MP to have a dummy spit about his electorate not being looked after as much as the next person's electorate, and if he doesn't get what he wants for his electorate all he need do is pull the pin, and down comes the fragile house of cards.
Now more than ever, each team will require complete loyalty and discipline from their players.
Stability? My arse!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Our Voting System...
Now, I don't want anyone to think that this blog is going to be politics-centric; it just so happens that that's what's going on right now, and it does take my fancy...in a very layman's way.
Anyway, I had a quick chat with a friend of mine today, and he said "you didn't vote enough times in the marginal seats!"
Of course, he was joking - I've never voted more than once in an election...but it does raise questions about our existing system and the prevelance of multiple votes.
I don't have the figures on how often multiple voting occurs, but one could assume that it happens and happens often, which begs the question in a modern society such as ours, why is our voting system so archaic that multiple voting able to occur?
Anway, my solution to this is simple...why doesn't the AEC send every enrolled voter a disposable barcode that must be swiped at the polling booth? No card, no vote.
The barcode would be linked back to the voters enrolment number (or name, whatever they use to record us), and once swiped it's rendered useless, which means the individual can not vote again in a different booth. I want royalties please (seriously!).
To keep our polling anonymous, we could still use the paper polling and then wait 10 or so days for the results to be announced....or better yet, lets computerise it and get the results that same night.
How simple and easy would that be?
Use your brains, fella's....it's not rocket science! Then again, I guess you'd need to find another way to stay in a job if shock! horror! we modernised our system!
Alternatively, we could always dip our finger in a pot of ink as they do in other parts of the world!
Anyway, I had a quick chat with a friend of mine today, and he said "you didn't vote enough times in the marginal seats!"
Of course, he was joking - I've never voted more than once in an election...but it does raise questions about our existing system and the prevelance of multiple votes.
I don't have the figures on how often multiple voting occurs, but one could assume that it happens and happens often, which begs the question in a modern society such as ours, why is our voting system so archaic that multiple voting able to occur?
Anway, my solution to this is simple...why doesn't the AEC send every enrolled voter a disposable barcode that must be swiped at the polling booth? No card, no vote.
The barcode would be linked back to the voters enrolment number (or name, whatever they use to record us), and once swiped it's rendered useless, which means the individual can not vote again in a different booth. I want royalties please (seriously!).
To keep our polling anonymous, we could still use the paper polling and then wait 10 or so days for the results to be announced....or better yet, lets computerise it and get the results that same night.
How simple and easy would that be?
Use your brains, fella's....it's not rocket science! Then again, I guess you'd need to find another way to stay in a job if shock! horror! we modernised our system!
Alternatively, we could always dip our finger in a pot of ink as they do in other parts of the world!
Food Labelling...
I was doing my weekly shop at my regular supermarket on the weekend.
I needed garlic so headed over to the "fresh" produce to grab a bulb or two. There were two types on display.
The first were loose bulbs; the ones with a purple tinge to them. I recognised them to be the variety that are normally imported from Mexico. I've bought this variety before; it's a great product with an awesome flavour and aroma. I double checked the signage for the loose bulbs, and yes, it was indeed a product of Mexico.
But on this day I really wanted Australian garlic. I much prefer to choose Australian produce any day of the week over anything else. Mind you, I've purchased produce that's been imported, but I am quite selective over which country's produce I'll buy.
Anyway...the other choice was a pre-packaged variety. You know the ones, as white as snow and perfectly formed, usually slightly smaller bulbs, and about 5 or 6 bulbs to a pack.
I usually don't buy the white as snow garlic; firstly, it's bleached or sprayed or treated in some way to get that white look. Someone just decided one day that garlic should be completely white otherwise it won't be appealing! And secondly, it just doesn't have the same punchiness that proper garlic has, and that I love.
But, I checked the sign and it said product of Australia. Oh good! I picked it up and was about to throw it in the trolley when I noticed the company name on the tag; which was a distinctly non-Australian sounding company name. So I proceeded to inspect the tag quite closely.
I couldn't find anywhere any reference to the country of origin of this garlic until I pulled the tag at the point where it's stitched to the bag, and in the tiniest, most obsure writing, it says "Product of China".
Don't you just love the way these companies try their hardest to make this information almost impossible to find??? Bastards!
GRRRR!
I double checked the sign again to make sure that I was reading the signage correctly. I checked the other signs around the area to make sure there weren't any other garlic signs that I was missing. Nope. I was definately reading the correct sign.
Hmmm...what to do?
I looked around to see if there were any staff members floating around, but nope. So, I put the garlic back and continued my shopping.
I eventually came across a staff member and politely pointed out the error they'd made in labelling the garlic, and this woman just looked at me with this blank look on her face as if to say "are you serious?". I swear, her look was priceless!
Yes, luv, I am serious!
"You know", I said, "there are serious consequences for misleading labels on food produce. I suggest you go to a manager right now and get it rectified".
And off she went.
I overheard her chatting with her superior, whom I'm sure really doesn't have any authority anyway, and he said "oh really...it normally is a product of Australia".
So, they don't even bloody double check these things before they put the produce on display. And it makes me wonder what else has been mislabelled as a product of Australia when it really isn't.
The scary thing is, we wouldn't have the foggiest idea either way!
I think from now on I'll go to the markets instead. I just don't trust any of these large supermarkets any more - and it wasn't even Coles or Woolworths (both of which I refuse to shop at unless there is absolutely no avoiding it).
I needed garlic so headed over to the "fresh" produce to grab a bulb or two. There were two types on display.
The first were loose bulbs; the ones with a purple tinge to them. I recognised them to be the variety that are normally imported from Mexico. I've bought this variety before; it's a great product with an awesome flavour and aroma. I double checked the signage for the loose bulbs, and yes, it was indeed a product of Mexico.
But on this day I really wanted Australian garlic. I much prefer to choose Australian produce any day of the week over anything else. Mind you, I've purchased produce that's been imported, but I am quite selective over which country's produce I'll buy.
Anyway...the other choice was a pre-packaged variety. You know the ones, as white as snow and perfectly formed, usually slightly smaller bulbs, and about 5 or 6 bulbs to a pack.
I usually don't buy the white as snow garlic; firstly, it's bleached or sprayed or treated in some way to get that white look. Someone just decided one day that garlic should be completely white otherwise it won't be appealing! And secondly, it just doesn't have the same punchiness that proper garlic has, and that I love.
But, I checked the sign and it said product of Australia. Oh good! I picked it up and was about to throw it in the trolley when I noticed the company name on the tag; which was a distinctly non-Australian sounding company name. So I proceeded to inspect the tag quite closely.
I couldn't find anywhere any reference to the country of origin of this garlic until I pulled the tag at the point where it's stitched to the bag, and in the tiniest, most obsure writing, it says "Product of China".
Don't you just love the way these companies try their hardest to make this information almost impossible to find??? Bastards!
GRRRR!
I double checked the sign again to make sure that I was reading the signage correctly. I checked the other signs around the area to make sure there weren't any other garlic signs that I was missing. Nope. I was definately reading the correct sign.
Hmmm...what to do?
I looked around to see if there were any staff members floating around, but nope. So, I put the garlic back and continued my shopping.
I eventually came across a staff member and politely pointed out the error they'd made in labelling the garlic, and this woman just looked at me with this blank look on her face as if to say "are you serious?". I swear, her look was priceless!
Yes, luv, I am serious!
"You know", I said, "there are serious consequences for misleading labels on food produce. I suggest you go to a manager right now and get it rectified".
And off she went.
I overheard her chatting with her superior, whom I'm sure really doesn't have any authority anyway, and he said "oh really...it normally is a product of Australia".
So, they don't even bloody double check these things before they put the produce on display. And it makes me wonder what else has been mislabelled as a product of Australia when it really isn't.
The scary thing is, we wouldn't have the foggiest idea either way!
I think from now on I'll go to the markets instead. I just don't trust any of these large supermarkets any more - and it wasn't even Coles or Woolworths (both of which I refuse to shop at unless there is absolutely no avoiding it).
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