cscotthendry

Then there are the trolls. People who go out of their way to log on to discussion threads just to insult people and rile them up. I think this sadistic behaviour falls into the category of the kid standing outside the junkyard fence poking a stick at the dogs inside; which is very much like Gina Rinehart saying that Aussies should work for $2.00 a day (while she reaps billions off their backs). Some people!

Waaay cool! and done by an amateur not a TV studio.

Yeah, sorry about the thread hijack. Normal programming resumes...

Yeah, rent is a real drain. Let me know if you're heading up this way, we'll have a cuppa.

Hmmm, moving from the US, are you American, or are you returning from there? I was born in the US, but have lived here longer than I lived there. I came here at 15. BTW, you probably already sussed that Sinney is POISONOUSLY expensive. Brissy, where I live runs a very close second these days.

The most useful step towards freeing yourself from corporate serfdom, is getting out from under the mortgage. Once you can accomplish that, all else is possible. Some years ago we downsized and in doing so banished the mortgage. That move allowed me to retire at 55 and it was astonishing how much disposabe income we suddenly had available (my wife still works, by choice).

1..100 Avoid political discussions with my authoritarian conservative brother in law at all costs.

Yes, it's official, I hate you! I have to drive 2 hours to get to my plane, and that's after a half hour ferry trip to the mainland. Living on this Island is getting very old now. Usually to get some flying in the summer, I have to overnight at Watts. It's a pain, but the flying makes it worthwhile.

OMG, that's soooooo bad!

Ahhh, banks and extremist right-wing shock jocks. My pet HATES. Mark: If you want to fly at the moment, you have to get up when the birds do. If you do that, you'll get an hour or maybe even two if you're lucky. Otherwise it's like being in a tumble dryer. That's my gripe for the day.

The way to make money is to buy and sell stuff. A service based busines' income is limited by the ability of it's employees to do work. There are only so many hours in the day. On the other hand, you can sell (virtually) unlimited amounts of stuff and your income is only limited by how much stuff you can move. If you want to start up a business and your intent is just to make shiploads of money, then that's the way to go.

Tomo: That's a pretty speccy pic. I think some astronomers would be proud of a pic like that.

Hey, my option is not on there. It should have "A car with a driver in it." as an option! Seriously, the most competitive guy on the track has to be Whincup.

Well, as a yank, that helps, but Aussie Rules still looks like a bunch of women fighting over a pair of shoes at a Myer's sale, to me. The way they elbow each other and climb on each others' backs just gives me the creeps. And don't get me started on Thugby!

Any system that is aimed at making rich people pay more is doomed to fail. It's easy to get the middle and lower classes to pay more because they don't have the funds to fight off the legislation, and they never act in concert anyway. The rich on the other hand see the expenditure required as an investment. This is particularly true with large corporations. They are willing to spend millions on court cases and/or propaganda advertising as fending off these types of laws save them tens of millions. Also, the corporations and wealthy individuals will almost always unite against any attempts to get them to pay more. A case in point in the 20 million dollars the mining industry spent to fight off the original mining tax.

160% markup is not gouging? That probably wasn't a very good example of the point you were trying to make. If the other store was able to sell the same product at a lower markup and still be profitable, doesn't that suggest your product was overpriced?

Something like the Brother-in-law effect...

I had a call from a chap with an Indian accent purporting to be from Westpac bank and asking for some "personal details to confirm my identity". The call was definitely an overseas call as it had that annoying satellite delay. When I asked him what the call was about, he said that he couldn't say until my identity was confirmed. He also gave me a phone number to call to verify his authenticity. Obviously, the number he gave me would have just reconnected me with him. Instead, I looked up the Westpac number from the internet and called them. They said that WESTPAC DO NOT HAVE ANY CALL CENTERS IN INDIA. Busted! It's been said many times before but worth repeating DO NOT GIVE OUT PERSONAL DETAILS TO ANYONE WHO CALLS YOU ON THE PHONE FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. Independently research the phone number of the organisation that the caller purports to be from and call them to verify if there is an issue. I have had the same call that Ian got and I know several people who also got one of those calls, including my 85 year old mother in law. It put the fear of God into her, but fortunately she had the presence of mind to refuse to answer their questions and called me instead. Also, I no longer make donations to charities from telephone solicitations for the same reasons.

Actually we live in the age of "for-profit" everything. When we were sold the fraud of privatisation, they said the private sector is always more "efficient". In reality, all we get from private enterprise owning public infrastructure is the least service at the highest price, to produce the largest profit. The age of the bottom line rules.