A few things have happened lately that have irked me a lot. Not just a bit, a whole lot. So much so that I question certain systems. Everyone does this now and then. But these ones just really got me annoyed.
The first is the Superannuation system, and the government mandated 9% contributions.
A lot has been made of superannuation funds losing money, causing some people nearing retirement age to think again. Their super fund is suddenly worth 20% less than it was twelve months ago, and they simply cant afford to retire.
As was pointed out, and I completely agree with, why should something we are legally obliged to contribute to, and have little control over, be able to lose money hand over fist?
Why should I pay 9% of my wage into a pool that may well disappear before I have a chance to use it? Can I not contribute that money where I control it? Then again, who wants the trouble of doing that? If I am being forced to pay this, then it should be protected, in the same way that banking deposits are treated. I dont give the bank my wage and then go to withdraw it only to be told "sorry sir, its all gone". Superannuation should not be any different.
Of course there is the demand that superannuation grow and prosper, leading to risk and exposure. So make it 15%, protect it, and retire later. The days of retiring at 55 and then taking a world trip are long gone. Jet travel has seen to that. People see the value in spending now, leaving the super as a necessary evil until they absolutely need it.
The second thing is Medicare, bulk billing, and child immunisations.
Again, this is another case of one of those things you have to do, at your own peril. Some people dont agree with immunisation for various reasons, and rightly so. They can be risky. We all know someone who has been impacted by immunisation side-effects, in mild or severe forms.
Case in point: #3 went for her 12 month immunisation this past week. $62 for three needles.
$62 for something that any school in the country will ask for proof of. $62 for something that if she didnt have them, she would not be allowed in daycare. $62 for something that the government medical offices have sent us letters asking "why is this overdue?". $62 for something that nobody obviously sees as 'optional'.
How much did Medicare reimburse us for the privilege of doing what is required? About half. What is going so wrong behind the scenes that the doctors feel obliged to charge double the going rate for sticking required needles into kids for three minutes? You can bet if we were in a lower socio-economic suburb we'd be bulk-billed without question.
I'm not demanding free national healthcare, but its things like this that really irritate me.
Which brings me to my third item. What compounds the doctor issue for me is the private healthcare for over 30's issue. If you're over 30 and dont have private health insurance, the government will increase your tax for the rest of your life. You have no way to remedy this. You are marked for life.
This has the seeminlgy nett effect that private hospitals are turning into money factories, and the funds are coming from private health funds. As people opt for surgery in private institutions due the 'ailing nature of public facilities', they see the cost as their basic excess. Surely $250 for fixing that dodgy knee is a small price to pay now rather than wait 2 years to get it done free by so-viewed 'second rate' doctors forced to work in the public system? It may seem a good option, but the doctor at the private institution charges the fund five times that, and the premiums inexorably go up to cover every man and his dog getting it done.
Dont sit back and say the thought hasnt crossed your mind that private hospital doctors are a better class of doctor just because of where they work. You know it has.
Its a cycle of money feeding on money, and its just one thing that stinks.
Insert tagline here...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
One of those calls
I had a great phone call in the office the other afternoon. Ostensibly it was "large format inkjet printer market research". Not a problem. Except for the lady on the other end of the line, who obviously wasnt in Australia.
Indian accent. Delays on each sentence. Difficulty grasping some Australian english terms. Asking whether I was on Melbourne time.
One of my favourite parts was the confusion created by the fact that our large format printer is (what I believed) neither inkjet or laserjet based technology.
"Is it inkjet, sir?"
"No...its a large format photocopier technology that also prints..."
"So its inkjet, sir?"
"I dont believe so, no 'ink' is involved, it uses toner."
"So its inkjet, sir?"
"Uh...no. It doesnt use ink."
"What model is it?"
"Ricoh..." yada, yada, yada.
"Give me a moment sir. I cannot find that model on Google. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Give me a moment sir. I cannot find that model on Google. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Is it a ..." at which point our Indian struggler rattles off twenty options on machine models, none of which are ours.
"Give me a moment sir. I cannot find that model on Google. Are you sure?"
"Try putting WP at the end of it."
"Give me a moment sir. Ricoh 3***WP?"
"Yes."
"OK. It says that it is inkjet technology."
"Well, it doesnt use ink, so if you reckon thats it, go for it."
"I dont understand sir?"
"Of course not...go ahead."
From there we rattled off two minutes of questions about importance of features, brand recognition, etc, etc. You know the type of thing.
What would've been four minutes worth of call ended up at ten minutes plus. All due to struggling with the model number that was of no importance at all. The obligitory questions came at the end:
"May we have your email address sir?"
"No."
Stunned silence.
"OK. Your number is 2, 94..." etc.
"Yes. They didnt teach you very well. You dont know our phone numbering system very well do you?"
"Pardon sir?"
"Never mind. Next question?"
"That completes the survey. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"
How is Bangalore today? Can you make a butter chicken? Do you prefer garlic naan or plain naan? Will Tendulkar last much longer? What are you going to do with this call you've recorded for 'quality purposes'? Why were you rude to our secretary when I wasnt in last week? Can you juggle? Why have you made me late for dinner?
"No, goodbye."
I hung up before the reply.
Insert tagline here...
Indian accent. Delays on each sentence. Difficulty grasping some Australian english terms. Asking whether I was on Melbourne time.
One of my favourite parts was the confusion created by the fact that our large format printer is (what I believed) neither inkjet or laserjet based technology.
"Is it inkjet, sir?"
"No...its a large format photocopier technology that also prints..."
"So its inkjet, sir?"
"I dont believe so, no 'ink' is involved, it uses toner."
"So its inkjet, sir?"
"Uh...no. It doesnt use ink."
"What model is it?"
"Ricoh..." yada, yada, yada.
"Give me a moment sir. I cannot find that model on Google. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Give me a moment sir. I cannot find that model on Google. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Is it a ..." at which point our Indian struggler rattles off twenty options on machine models, none of which are ours.
"Give me a moment sir. I cannot find that model on Google. Are you sure?"
"Try putting WP at the end of it."
"Give me a moment sir. Ricoh 3***WP?"
"Yes."
"OK. It says that it is inkjet technology."
"Well, it doesnt use ink, so if you reckon thats it, go for it."
"I dont understand sir?"
"Of course not...go ahead."
From there we rattled off two minutes of questions about importance of features, brand recognition, etc, etc. You know the type of thing.
What would've been four minutes worth of call ended up at ten minutes plus. All due to struggling with the model number that was of no importance at all. The obligitory questions came at the end:
"May we have your email address sir?"
"No."
Stunned silence.
"OK. Your number is 2, 94..." etc.
"Yes. They didnt teach you very well. You dont know our phone numbering system very well do you?"
"Pardon sir?"
"Never mind. Next question?"
"That completes the survey. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"
How is Bangalore today? Can you make a butter chicken? Do you prefer garlic naan or plain naan? Will Tendulkar last much longer? What are you going to do with this call you've recorded for 'quality purposes'? Why were you rude to our secretary when I wasnt in last week? Can you juggle? Why have you made me late for dinner?
"No, goodbye."
I hung up before the reply.
Insert tagline here...
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Mark Webber cracks it
Following on from Mark Webber's friendly warning of last month, those of you who have just crawled out from under a rock would be unaware that Mark Webber won the German Formula One Grand Prix last month. 132 starts for that 1st victory. I'd bet a fair few people would have given up long before that. The fact that he qualified a lot of inferior cars up the order obviously gave a bit of hope.
First Australian win since AJ in 1981. I'm surprised they had the Australian national anthem ready to go.
Insert tagline here...
First Australian win since AJ in 1981. I'm surprised they had the Australian national anthem ready to go.
Insert tagline here...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Dublin Bus has got still my €0.50!
I was just digging around in my jacket at work after doing the coffee run, and I found this:
Dublin Bus has still got my €0.50.
I wonder if I can redeem it at the office if and when I go back? That may be some years.
Insert tagline here...
Monday, May 25, 2009
"I'm not wearing a tie at all!"
In honour of Lionel Hutz, I thought I'd post this little gem of a picture I found in my local paper.
Look close...tell me whats wrong with the photo...
It sure is a bad angle, or the woman on the left isnt actually wearing pants...
It's not usually a nudist beach!
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
"Our Game Apologises"
Charles Barkley was right. And I've agreed with him for years.
Is there any more proof that sports people shouldnt be role models?
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Is there any more proof that sports people shouldnt be role models?
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Monday, May 11, 2009
Le portrait de Max
Max is my father's Fox Terrier. She's been around a while, as you can tell from the photo. She's getting on a little. While she's mellowing in some ways in her old age, you still don't leave her alone around small children, lizards or birds. Unless you want them eliminated.
Happy, crabby, jealous, intrigued, lazy, active, snappy, licky, and instinctive.
Insert tagline here...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
It's not like nothing happened...
Sheesh! 6 weeks and I've not written anything? What's going wrong?
It's not like nothing happened...
The Boy, Little Miss and #3 are busy, busy...Good Lady Wife is real busy...I'm real busy despite a downturn in work...
It's all a bit of a headspin really. Still, I shouldn't be surprised, it happens every year about this time. Then we hit winter, and it slows down a bit.
Fingers crossed.
Insert tagline here...
It's not like nothing happened...
The Boy, Little Miss and #3 are busy, busy...Good Lady Wife is real busy...I'm real busy despite a downturn in work...
It's all a bit of a headspin really. Still, I shouldn't be surprised, it happens every year about this time. Then we hit winter, and it slows down a bit.
Fingers crossed.
Insert tagline here...
Monday, March 09, 2009
The hamstring destroying weekend of fun
This fine, feathered monday morning finds me in a little trouble at the old desk here.
You see, I offered up my services at The Boy's school on saturday for some yard work, which involved a lot of weeding of gardens followed by wheelbarrow loads of mulch spread by hand. Naturally, this involved a lot of squatting, bending, and general leg work. Not something I do a lot of, but it was good to lend a hand and get outside for a few hours of manual labour.
I felt the legs tightening that evening, but nothing too bad.
Sunday I got up early for my weekly bike ride, with just myself and one other regular attending. Whilst not setting a cracking pace like the week before, we still steamed out on the flats, definitely working the legs over. I got home and felt good, the warm up and down doing the legs good.
But now, monday, let me just say this: uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh
Insert tagline here...
You see, I offered up my services at The Boy's school on saturday for some yard work, which involved a lot of weeding of gardens followed by wheelbarrow loads of mulch spread by hand. Naturally, this involved a lot of squatting, bending, and general leg work. Not something I do a lot of, but it was good to lend a hand and get outside for a few hours of manual labour.
I felt the legs tightening that evening, but nothing too bad.
Sunday I got up early for my weekly bike ride, with just myself and one other regular attending. Whilst not setting a cracking pace like the week before, we still steamed out on the flats, definitely working the legs over. I got home and felt good, the warm up and down doing the legs good.
But now, monday, let me just say this: uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh
Insert tagline here...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Black Saturday 2009
By now the world knows about the bushfires that ripped Victoria's middle to pieces last weekend. The death toll is rising rapidly now that the fire has passed and teams are able to access townships and homes destroyed.
An opinion piece has been posted in The Age by a former fire-based magazine editor. He makes several valid points, although perhaps some people wont want to read to them right now. Points raised could have saved many lives.
I have never been close a large bushfire. I have seen what the end result is though, and through the internet I think a whole lot more people are seeing the destruction caused. Although Saturday was such a unique set of circumstances, as the author points out, they were no worse than previous fires that resulted in significantly less lives lost. Granted, people dont want someone to tell them to evacuate their home if they cant see a threat, but Saturday's fire turned and swallowed several towns that could have been emptied hours earlier.
The one point that I would distinctly agree with, no question, is the mandatory bushfire shelter or fire proof structure in fire-prone areas. There exist building standards for fire-prone areas now, and an expansion would be simple. More cost to the home-builder? Certainly.
But what's your life worth?
I sincerely hope you haven't lost any friends or family in these fires.
Insert tagline here...
An opinion piece has been posted in The Age by a former fire-based magazine editor. He makes several valid points, although perhaps some people wont want to read to them right now. Points raised could have saved many lives.
I have never been close a large bushfire. I have seen what the end result is though, and through the internet I think a whole lot more people are seeing the destruction caused. Although Saturday was such a unique set of circumstances, as the author points out, they were no worse than previous fires that resulted in significantly less lives lost. Granted, people dont want someone to tell them to evacuate their home if they cant see a threat, but Saturday's fire turned and swallowed several towns that could have been emptied hours earlier.
The one point that I would distinctly agree with, no question, is the mandatory bushfire shelter or fire proof structure in fire-prone areas. There exist building standards for fire-prone areas now, and an expansion would be simple. More cost to the home-builder? Certainly.
But what's your life worth?
I sincerely hope you haven't lost any friends or family in these fires.
Insert tagline here...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sir David Attenborough gets hate mail...
And these select Christians think of themselves as forgiving and understanding?
Link.
I pity them. I really do. Perhaps its an unfortunate case of 'all tarred with the same brush', but you cant be a creationist and not a Christian. Although, you can be a Christian without being a creationist. Try it sometime.
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Link.
I pity them. I really do. Perhaps its an unfortunate case of 'all tarred with the same brush', but you cant be a creationist and not a Christian. Although, you can be a Christian without being a creationist. Try it sometime.
Insert tagline here...
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Your month by the stars - February
Aquarius - January 21 - February 19
A bout of Dengue Fever will halt your marathon pie-eating attempt, but don’t take it to heart. The support base of family and friends will still be in town after their hospital visit. You should anticipate a month-long recovery and simply try again.
Lucky letter: G
Pisces - February 20- March 20
Flying at such high altitudes is just asking for trouble. You deserve what’s coming. Listen for the phrase “Watch your six…”, then panic.
Lucky letter: C
Aries - March 21 - April 20
Your month holds promise as the total stranger you saw on the news as “the only person ever to return from an event horizon” (not the movie) awakes from a coma speaking your name.
Lucky letter: S
Taurus - April 21 - May 21
That business prospect in central Europe that you are intent on seeing should remain at a good distance for another few weeks. Just until this whole "global economic crisis” thing blows over. It’s remarkable how the human brain can adapt to tough situations and still see a sucker coming a mile off.
Lucky letter: W
Gemini - May 22 - June 21
Your neighbours are always fighting, their dog keeps coming into your yard and defecating on your lawn, and now their step-son is hooking up with your foster daughter. It can get worse though. Keep the baseball bat handy at night.
Lucky letter: B
Cancer - June 22 - July 22
There’s a Tom Jones lookalike contest on the 25th at your local entertainment venue of choice. You should enter, cause I just got a good feelin’ about this one.
Lucky letter: P
Leo - July 23 -August 21
Human Botfly larva. Google it before your upcoming trip. Take tweezers.
Lucky letter: F
Virgo - August 22 - September 23
Graphic design was always your strong point. Staying off the drink was not. Your strategy, however, will pay off handsomely when you forget about the meeting you had scheduled, and in a hung-over state, give the board of Shell the 1970 version of their own logo in the hope they forgot what it looked like.
Lucky letter: H
Libra - September 24 - October 23
Mark the 2028 Olympics down now for the debut of your as yet unborn child in the sport she will pioneer. Oh, and a boyfriend is in your near future, too.
Lucky letter: Z
Scorpio - October 24 - November 22
An old friend will re-enter your life, and your bank accounts while you are drugged and face down on your bed. You can scarcely imagine what else he will enter while you’re out. Take precautions and be very wary.
Lucky letter: L
Sagittarius - November 23 - December 22
Scandinavia used to be so friendly and open. What happened?
Lucky letter: Q
Capricorn - December 23 - January 20
New Zealand Customs officials will question the birth date on your passport as you try to get out of the country following your visit to their highly renowned plastic surgeon. They don’t take too kindly to 10-year old boys flying on their own. Rethink your level of surgery, particularly if you are a 52-year old woman.
Lucky letter: Y
Insert tagline here...
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Sydney's NYE Celebrations
The City of Sydney have announced that the theme for this year's New Year's Eve celebrations is Creation.
In a note to other groups, the City said:
Weightlifters - the theme is not Creatine. Don't break out the plastic spoons and milkshakes just yet
Christians - the theme is not Creationism. Do not expect Dinosaurs to magically appear from some unseen force only to vanish equally as fast, nor should you expect anyone to believe your story.
Darwinists - the theme is not opposed to you specifically. We're not all that stupid.
Literary persons - we are not having a live reading Gore Vidal's novel, Creation.
Iodine deficients - the theme is not Cretinism. Don't feel victimised.
Insert tagline here...
In a note to other groups, the City said:
Weightlifters - the theme is not Creatine. Don't break out the plastic spoons and milkshakes just yet
Christians - the theme is not Creationism. Do not expect Dinosaurs to magically appear from some unseen force only to vanish equally as fast, nor should you expect anyone to believe your story.
Darwinists - the theme is not opposed to you specifically. We're not all that stupid.
Literary persons - we are not having a live reading Gore Vidal's novel, Creation.
Iodine deficients - the theme is not Cretinism. Don't feel victimised.
Insert tagline here...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Kermit the...blerrrrghhhh!
"I feel kinda crook....oh no...blerrrggghhhhhhh..."
Insert tagline here...
Friday, November 14, 2008
Song of the Week
Yeah, yeah...very lax...
But this is a great Australian song.
Oh no, not you again
Australian Crawl
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But this is a great Australian song.
Oh no, not you again
Australian Crawl
Insert tagline here...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sometimes I miss these
Sydney Buses.
Strangely enough, yeah. Public transport is OK sometimes. Gives you a chance to read those novels you want to get into, newspapers, magazines, advertising material, etc. And when you live on the bus route I do, they always start and finish looking like this. No worries about standing about swaying and lurching for an hour as you bump into other commuters.
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Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Singapore, Day Thirty-One
Yeah, yeah...this is late. Very late. But what can you do?
Singapore, Day Thirty-One, stopping off on the way home. We had a lot of chop coming out of Heathrow, the worst I've flown in by far. When you drop what feels like 6 feet in an instant, you're grateful for seatbelts. 12+ hours later, we landed in Singapore at 1pm monday. I didn't sleep on the plane, more a light doze. Of course, being 6'2" and having a seat in your knees rarely helps. I'm just thankful it wasn't 20 hours straight through.
Got to the hotel and thought about sleeping early, but pushed on. Funnily enough I enjoyed the steam and the afternoon rain, and sparked up enough to get out and get some Indian at local food court (for want of a better term). I went down the next morning and got measured up to have a suit made, and found a cheaper internet place than the first time to send emails home. Up at 6am the day after for the run home to Sydney. Landed at 7pm or so, and got out quickly through customs and quarantine. I never had a delay getting through another airport out of all the ones we went in or out of (Singapore, Frankfurt, Munich, Cork, Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heathrow), just Sydney. Makes you wonder about US airports.
Cab home to the Good Lady Wife, with the Offshoots already tucked up in bed. Presents the next morning, before The Boy and Little Lady went to daycare.
I'll fill in the rest of the trip soon. Honest.
Insert tagline here...
Singapore, Day Thirty-One, stopping off on the way home. We had a lot of chop coming out of Heathrow, the worst I've flown in by far. When you drop what feels like 6 feet in an instant, you're grateful for seatbelts. 12+ hours later, we landed in Singapore at 1pm monday. I didn't sleep on the plane, more a light doze. Of course, being 6'2" and having a seat in your knees rarely helps. I'm just thankful it wasn't 20 hours straight through.
Got to the hotel and thought about sleeping early, but pushed on. Funnily enough I enjoyed the steam and the afternoon rain, and sparked up enough to get out and get some Indian at local food court (for want of a better term). I went down the next morning and got measured up to have a suit made, and found a cheaper internet place than the first time to send emails home. Up at 6am the day after for the run home to Sydney. Landed at 7pm or so, and got out quickly through customs and quarantine. I never had a delay getting through another airport out of all the ones we went in or out of (Singapore, Frankfurt, Munich, Cork, Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heathrow), just Sydney. Makes you wonder about US airports.
Cab home to the Good Lady Wife, with the Offshoots already tucked up in bed. Presents the next morning, before The Boy and Little Lady went to daycare.
I'll fill in the rest of the trip soon. Honest.
Insert tagline here...
Monday, September 01, 2008
Singapore, Day One
Well...got to Sinkers without trouble. On time leaving Sydney, bit bumpy the first half hour, so much so they suspended the meal service! The flight smoothed out quickly though. The back seats were quite good actually, and walking room was OK. Watched Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda, read half of the book I'd bought, and stared out the windows a bit.
We landed in a misty Singapore at 5:45PM local time. By 7:20pm we were at the hotel, and went looking for a feed. Found a cheap and cheery place up the road and got spruiked inside by an amiable lady.
Came downstairs to find internet, found it (obviously), and sent messages via email to home and The Brother Man. His bag turned up!
Going to try Sentosa tomorrow, and keep an eye out for gifts we'll get on the way back through. Maybe try the big wheel they've got. It's 10:20pm here, so 20 past midnight Sydney time...
Insert tagline here...
We landed in a misty Singapore at 5:45PM local time. By 7:20pm we were at the hotel, and went looking for a feed. Found a cheap and cheery place up the road and got spruiked inside by an amiable lady.
Came downstairs to find internet, found it (obviously), and sent messages via email to home and The Brother Man. His bag turned up!
Going to try Sentosa tomorrow, and keep an eye out for gifts we'll get on the way back through. Maybe try the big wheel they've got. It's 10:20pm here, so 20 past midnight Sydney time...
Insert tagline here...
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