Random News Stories

[think positive]

I wanted to pop this here quickly now, but it deserves its own thread. Bluey has been the best advertisement over here and elsewhere that Australia has had since Crocodile Dundee. I'm telling you, the affection with which it's held, and delight at its simplicity and good-natured charm, has cut through at such a cynical moment the world over.

Normally, embassies talk meaningless nonsense, but this is absolutely right (the series has obviously achieved much greater acclaim this, but it caught my eye yesterday):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9rtOpIBphs

That’s so cute! Great story

[Skids]

Posting in another thread about a roof leak in a bank, made me think about how the use of cash has dwindled these days.

Must be close on 30 years ago, I was working in a CBA branch in Claremont, they had a roof leak in a really old building.
I was standing in this hallway behind the teller section, looking up at the high ceiling where the roof was leaking. I could smell money.
I glanced to my left and on top of this big old safe was a tray, you know the old A4 paper tray sorta thing, piled up with bundles of $50 notes.
Now I had a $5k bundle of $50's in my hand at the TAB yesterday and comparing that to the tray, I'd guess there was, at a minimum, $250k sitting in that tray.
Now, you need to notify the bank if you want to just pull out $10k cash... branches only hold a $20k float now.

[What'sinaname]

Cash is pretty much only used for criminal activities.

[LaurieHolden]

^Now, you need to notify the bank if you want to just pull out $10k cash... branches only hold a $20k float now.

There was a good segment on MMM years ago, "where did you find a bundle of cash", some cracking stories.
Cash Use and Attitudes in Australia
https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bul ... ralia.html

[Culprit]

I went inside my bank and asked to withdraw $1000 cash. The teller responded, "That's no problem, you do know it's a $3 fee?". I angrily responded, "What? It's my bank and it's my money?". She replied, "If you wish to use a teller, it's $3, however, if you walk outside and use the ATM there's no charge". The world has gone mad.

[What'sinaname]

I went inside my bank and asked to withdraw $1000 cash. The teller responded, "That's no problem, you do know it's a $3 fee?". I angrily responded, "What? It's my bank and it's my money?". She replied, "If you wish to use a teller, it's $3, however, if you walk outside and use the ATM there's no charge". The world has gone mad.

Why? That makes perfect sense. Make a sandwich yourself, it's free. Get someone to make one for you, then you expect to pay more - even if you bought all the ingredients yourself.

[stui magpie]

I went inside my bank and asked to withdraw $1000 cash. The teller responded, "That's no problem, you do know it's a $3 fee?". I angrily responded, "What? It's my bank and it's my money?". She replied, "If you wish to use a teller, it's $3, however, if you walk outside and use the ATM there's no charge". The world has gone mad.

I withdrew $2500 recently in the bank, no transaction fee. Teller just said Yep, no problems.

[nomadjack]

I went inside my bank and asked to withdraw $1000 cash. The teller responded, "That's no problem, you do know it's a $3 fee?". I angrily responded, "What? It's my bank and it's my money?". She replied, "If you wish to use a teller, it's $3, however, if you walk outside and use the ATM there's no charge". The world has gone mad.

Why? That makes perfect sense. Make a sandwich yourself, it's free. Get someone to make one for you, then you expect to pay more - even if you bought all the ingredients yourself.

Yes, but if they used your ingredients to make someone else a sandwich? They do still make a profit from interest on deposits unless I'm mistaken?

[stui magpie]

^

They make more money on what's in your account than they pay you in interest.

[roar]

I use cash most of the time when shopping at smaller shops (butchers, grocers, pizza, record shop) and when I go out socially. Good way to notice how much money I'm blowing.

[Skids]

Cash is pretty much only used for criminal activities.

That's a pretty cynical statement.

I use cash quite often. As roar said, it's the best way of keeping track of what you're spending, it's perfect for small purchases and if you're down the beach, walking the dog or taking the grandys to the park, slip a redback or a pineapple in your pocket (you never know when Mr Whippy might rock up). No big deal if it gets wet or you lose it.

[Skids]

Is it any wonder that Australia is becoming so uncompetitive with all the nancy handouts employers have to give?

Parental leave, not only for women, but men. they've just increased the entitlement in the mining industry to 6 months with full pay or 12 months with half pay and a bonus months' pay for returning to work!

Mining companies are now and have been paying employees for public holidays that fell in the period of any annual leave taken.

I (and old workmates) received an email from a previous employer advising me to submit my details for payment of any owing A/L days I had taken in the time I worked for them (2010-2017).
Funny how it works. My back to back was rostered on for most of the xmas/new year breaks but would sook and moan about it, so, I'd say "You take leave mate and I'll cover for you" No big deal, my kids were all grown up.
So now, he's getting $11,500 in compensation for him using A/L days on public holidays... the bloke who did an extended swing and actually worked the public holidays, gets nothing.
You work in this industry, on an even time roster... so half a year at work, understanding that sure, you might miss some long weekends but you get plenty of time off.

I'm just flabbergasted at the constant hand out mentality of todays society.

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/bh ... 601-p5dd1h

[What'sinaname]

Cash is pretty much only used for criminal activities.

That's a pretty cynical statement.

I use cash quite often. As roar said, it's the best way of keeping track of what you're spending, it's perfect for small purchases and if you're down the beach, walking the dog or taking the grandys to the park, slip a redback or a pineapple in your pocket (you never know when Mr Whippy might rock up). No big deal if it gets wet or you lose it.

$20 you might spend using cash once every fortnight isn't a scratch on the amount of cash being used for criminal activity.

[LaurieHolden]

Sir, will you be having the Grange Hermitage or the Horseshoe Crab Blood?

New Synthetic Horseshoe Crab Blood Could Mean Pharma Won’t Bleed the Species Dry
The “living fossils” have been vital for testing intravenous drugs, but a few large pharmaceutical companies are using a lab-made compound instead
A synthetic version of their blood has been produced that appears to be on course to eliminate the need to use animals in endotoxin detection. The pharmaceutical industry is beginning to accept this substitute but it has not yet ended the practice of harvesting these crabs for their blood.
Extracting the horseshoe crab’s blood involves catching and ‘bleeding’ the animals, after which they are released. Their blood does not contain hemoglobin but instead has hemocyanin, which makes the color of their blood blue. Their blood is used for the detection of bacterial endotoxins in medical applications. Cost = $15,850 per liter.

https://www.news18.com/india/in-odishas ... 44159.html

[pietillidie]

Is it any wonder that Australia is becoming so uncompetitive with all the nancy handouts employers have to give?

Parental leave, not only for women, but men. they've just increased the entitlement in the mining industry to 6 months with full pay or 12 months with half pay and a bonus months' pay for returning to work!

Mining companies are now and have been paying employees for public holidays that fell in the period of any annual leave taken.

Take a breath, then take up careful research to be certain you've got the accounting right. You're a super-smart, talented and entertaining chap, but bear in mind that old saying 'a stitch in time saves nine'? It's actually very often right.

To give you a single, simple example. Have you run the numbers on the cost of stressed parenting? Stressed parenting is strongly linked with a range of debilitating mental and emotional disorders in children, and increasingly so. Those problems in turn cost economies billions of dollars over people's lifetimes.

You might be right, but given the studies I've encountered over time, you might also be very wrong.

Remember when global warming was denied, yet will now cost trillions of dollars in perpetuity? I first studied the greenhouse effect in physical geography at uni in maybe 1993 or 1994. The mechanism was clear, and the data increasingly confirmatory over the following years.

But because of really bad accounting from ideologically motivated and feckless internet mobs who refused to cost risk (basic risk calculations finance and investment specialists do every single day), global warming denial will now cost us trillions of dollars in insurance premiums, emergency services and rebuilding, not to mention the costs of agricultural regime shift, disease and pestilence, and people movements and geopolitical tensions. And that's valuing nice-to-have things like biodiversity at zero.

Mistakes we will always make. But the key is to not repeat them such that they become bad habits. So, do a bit of digging before going too hard on things like this. You might still be right, but maybe not, too.