OK, I admit it, I’m getting a little stressed about Christmas. After a good start, the shopping has all fallen in a heap over the last few weeks. I’ve still got numerous things to buy, both known and unknown. The way it’s looking, this Christmas it won’t quite be gift vouchers at twenty paces, but ... [More]
Category: Consumerism
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Read these
Two great blog posts I’ve read recently: If you’ve ever worked in a service industry, and been on the receiving end of someone’s arseholedness, have a read of this — Nice consumer takes-on Nasty. I don’t recall ever encountering people of the moronic calibre when I was working in a shop. Either I was lucky, ... [More]
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Gifts for those who need them
Sometimes I despair of the human race. Yesterday morning I was lazing in bed when I noted an advertising supplement that came with the newspaper, called something like Christmas Essentials — 64 pages of totally stupid gift ideas. Admittedly some of the featured items were okay, but it also included some of the most useless, ... [More]
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Mags (not wheels)
One of the better sides of globalisation is the huge range of literature of all types is available anywhere in the western world. Amazon and their ilk have meant I can (for example) order that obscure Beowulf graphic novel my sister craves for her birthday — even if the result is that Amazon now believes ... [More]
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A local shop for local people
I’ve lived in my suburb just over a year now, long enough that I’m getting to know the local Bentleigh shops a bit more now, and a few of the shopkeepers know me. For instance, the drycleaner lady recognises me, though like a TV news captioner, she misspells my name, and I can’t be bothered ... [More]
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The forgotten date
About once a month I go into the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) at 21 Swanston Street, fill in one of those quick deposit envelopes, and shove it with a cheque through the slot, in order to push money into one of my only remaining CBA accounts. That branch has been there for decades. It’s where I ... [More]
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A year in
So, after almost a year of having a mortgage, how’s it all going? I expected an impact on my spending. Nothing terrible, and I wouldn’t have taken it on if I thought I couldn’t sustain it. But the monthly repayment is about double what I had been paying in rent, and I’m no millionaire, so ... [More]
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Saturday’s Age
Sections that get read, then recycled (in no particular order): News Insight A2 Good Weekend Travel Yesterday’s EG, which I haven’t got around to reading yet Sections that just get recycled: Drive Domain (I’m no longer house-shopping) Business (usually; unless some big issue catches my attention) Sport (except for checking last night’s footy score… damn ... [More]
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I am not an economist
I am not an economist, but I did study it in year 11. So forgive me if this is uninformed brainless speculation, but I was thinking about yesterday’s interest rate rise. I understand the principle of the Reserve Bank of Australia fiddling with interest rates when inflation is high, to scale back demand, though I ... [More]
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Stock
In year 11+12, I studied accounting. It wasn’t the most interesting of subjects to me, but I did very well in it. The teacher was Mr Read, who was a brilliant accounting teacher. He breathed life into what could have been a very dull topic to study. There were always plenty of anecdotes to amuse ... [More]
I’ve been planning some activity for my many frequent flyer points, many tens of thousands of which were earnt over several years of paying for childcare on a credit card several years ago. It adds up, I can tell you. Firstly I’ll be jaunting down to Hobart for a few days in October with Marita. ... [More]
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Is lime green in?
What’s with all the lime green being used in corporate colours nowadays? Did Boost Juice start that trend? Is it the power colour for 2006? Other sightings: The CD case for iPod Shuffle; Australian Tax Pack 2006.