Punch on: Open thread 03/01/2011

jay-ded says:

08:30am | 03/01/12

Happy New Year S.L and all Punchers.  Had a blast over the holidays and now am sad that I didn’t win the lotto and had to come back to work.  :(

TimB says:

10:12am | 03/01/12

Did anyone win Jay-ded? I didn’t hear anything.

I put in for a multi-pick with my dad, he’s currently sitting on the ticket- but hasn’t bothered to check it yet.

I could be a millionaire and not even know it

(probably not :( )

jay-ded says:

10:20am | 03/01/12

@TimB - There were 30 winners I think.  I was not one of them waaaaahh.  Hope you and your Dad had better luck than me.

fairsfair says:

10:49am | 03/01/12

Winner right here - hello $13!!! 

Boo-yeah!

TimB says:

10:58am | 03/01/12

Drinks at Fairs’s place. Her shout

patsy says:

12:01pm | 03/01/12

Buy a $2 jackpot lottery ticket. It’s up to $5,960,000 and you don’t have to share it!
Like Fairstar I’m always one off so I just reinvest it. I need my daydreams.

S.L says:

01:26pm | 03/01/12

Funny thing is one of my New Years resolutions is to put my lotto (and powerball) money in a hidey hole at home each day instead of buying losing tickets all the time…..........but I broke my vow for a split second today and bought a $2 LOTTERY TICKET!

Mahhrat says:

08:11am | 03/01/12

Vampire!

(So long as you explode in the sun as opposed to “shimmer”, of course.  F*ck Sighlight)

jay-ded says:

08:29am | 03/01/12

Is that because you *sparkle* in the sunshine?

nossy says:

08:11am | 03/01/12

@nihonin thats very informative there nihonin 0 some wag told me in Prisons they have no toilet doors.

nihonin says:

07:48am | 03/01/12

Don’t study them!  Too good to resist, good luck with the studies mahhrat.

SimpleSimon says:

12:40pm | 03/01/12

Hands on. Download VirtualBox and build some test servers. Then break them.

TimB says:

09:22am | 03/01/12

Adds new meaning to the phrase ‘Blowing shit up’ I guess.

fairsfair says:

10:40am | 03/01/12

Westnet. Have never been able to fault them in about six years, even with a failed modem and a couple of other small issues due to my “special abilities” with all things technology (ie I phone for support to find it works when the guy tries to help me). They are the same price as Telstra though (I think internode etc are a bit cheaper), but are streets ahead in the customer service department and it always works - which is really what you want.

TimB says:

11:05am | 03/01/12

lulz. Sory Fairs. Westnet are part of the iiNet juggernaut too.

I’m with iiNet myself, ADSL2 . I have nothing against them. Speed is good, price is affordable, and I haven’t had issues with their customer service when I’ve had to use it. Hardware design could be a little better though.

But watching them kick AFACT all over the courtroom brings a smile to my face. Go iiNet.

Wickerman says:

12:21pm | 03/01/12

If you live in an area that can get it I recommend cable. It’s a different technology than ADSL - separate cables. So since not relying phone lines & exchanges, you don’t get the issue like overloaded exchanges, rim issues, poor performance during bad weather etc. Downsides are cost per Mb ratio is higher, limited range/coverage & only two companies in NSW(where I am) do it that I know of. I personally value stability/reliability/availability over price. Also for can be used for pay TV if you choose.

Go to whirlpool DOT net DOT au for all sorts of ISP (& other) related info.

That is a good start.

SimpleSimon says:

12:44pm | 03/01/12

I went with Exetel when looking for an ISP and have been pleased with them from the start. They are extremely good value and offer line rental and phone services as well (plus Naked DSL/VoIP packages, which is handy). From what I hear, their customer service via telephone leaves a bit to be desired, so only go with them if you are a bit clued in about IT/Interwebs.

Tony of Poorakistan says:

01:13pm | 03/01/12

SimpleSimon

I’ve been using the internet pretty much since it was invented, which is why I demand decent support. Telstra, for example , have a policy of not even admitting they have a network issue until a certain number of customers have complained, at which time they INSIST that you run through their script, whether you’ve already tried it several times or not, before announcing that it is all your fault. 

And most of the other ISPs switch you through to Bangalore or Jallalabad for a quick lesson in Pushtu, Urdu or Hindi.

I want rock solid, local service and I’m happy to pay for it.

Fairsfair

Westnet were the only company, from memory, to have ever beaten Internode in the annual Customer Satisfaction survey held by Whirlpool.net.au. They did it once, were taken over by iiNet and their reputation is now is less than what it used to be.

On another note - wasn’t the NBN supposed to be finished by now according to the ALP? What was KRudd’s original promise? I thought it was 2012. Seems to have morphed into 2021 according to the weekend papers. And they have signed up a whole 3000 customers. This is typical of what we have com eto expect from the ALP - grandiose vision, a bloated bureaucracy and little if any, result. All done on borrowed money after they’ve emptied the piggybank on other rubbish.

Slothy says:

02:21pm | 03/01/12

“But watching them kick AFACT all over the courtroom brings a smile to my face. Go iiNet.”

That brings up an interesting point TimB. My boyfriend recently started yelling at me about my methods of… ‘obtaining’ some tv shows because Internode has just said that it will no longer refuse to share information about its filesharers when asked. Now that Internode has been folded in to the iiNet Absorbaloff, do you know if that will change?

I just need my Leverage fix okay!

fairsfair says:

02:32pm | 03/01/12

Woops. Clearly I am not up with my ISP conglomerates!

The only change I have noted in their service in the past few years is that it has gone from a normal line pick up - ie ring ring welcome to westnet this is dave speaking - to an electronic answering service. If you ring for support you get a automated voice over that tells you the wait time, you have the option to hold the line, or leave a message and they phone you back - you don’t lose your place in the queue. Once I rang and the hold time was two minutes. I left a message and they rang me back straight away. The longest hold time I have had is one hour and fifteen minutes, but they without fail - rang me back an hour and fifteen minutes later. I have no qualms with that as everyone can appreciate that people have busy periods - I have spent hours on the phone to Telstra in the past, only to speak to someone who had no idea what they are talking about. They also generally have the thickest accent a name somethign like “Malcolm” and try and tell you what the weather is like in Melbourne today - not instrested Telstra - you can jam it up your outsourced *rse. I just home that Westnet stick with their current system, as it is the only reason that I am with them.

Oh, and if the issue is signifucant - I have even received follow up calls the next day from the same person - just to make sure that things were still working for me. Oh and also, I get upwards of ten emails a week from them advising of potential network outages, issues or faults reported by other customers. They seem very upfront about things, which is quite refreshing.

jay-ded says:

10:22am | 03/01/12

Are you from Qld Aussie Battler?  It seems the Queenslanders are more friendly than any other state.  Must be because of the sunshine. 

You’re gonna miss the sun when you move to sidinee nossy. 

Aussie Battler says:

10:17am | 03/01/12

Cate - try looking at Kobo.  They allow you to purchase books even if you do not have a Kobo reader.  Both my wife and I have Sony Readers and we buy books from Kobo.
Can’t recommend others as I have no experience with them.
There are also a few free book sites that give you options of different download formats.

KH says:

12:17pm | 03/01/12

You bought something at Harvey Norman?!

This is a common error for people (not harvey norman necessarily, but ebook readers) - not all of them support all formats - its annoying, so you have to choose carefully - don’t base your purchase on price or looks, but where you can actually buy books from!  The eink screens are pretty much the same from one to another.  Try Book Depository, or just look up ‘ebooks’ on google - there are many online stores around - like Kobo, Ubooks, etc - one will sell in the format you want, but it may not be at the price you want!!!  I love my kindle…................

Cate says:

08:04pm | 05/01/12

Thanks KH & Aussie Battler.  I have just found a way to upload all books through Adobe DRM. 
However I have yet to try but my husband succeeded without too much trouble.
Thanks a million.
Cheers
Cate

jay-ded says:

11:29am | 03/01/12

@Cate.  Nope sorry Cate.  Your resume goes on file with certain “place holders” for your different experiences.  When they have a hit for a job they ring the candidates and offer to get you the interview.  I still think Candle in Sydney has my resume on file from over 15 years ago as I still get them calling me occassionally.

I always investigate the firm / employer prior to the interview.  It’s always good to know a little about the company so that you can at least talk intelligently with them about the work that they do / product that they are writing etc.

fairsfair says:

02:51pm | 03/01/12

I have had mixed success with the “interview them” track. One job I was quite chatty and asked heaps of questions. Their feedback to the employment agency was that I asked too many questions and they didn’t think I would “gel” with the group because of that. I thought that odd, but I was thankful that they were honest about it.

The second one is the job I am currently in. I went into the interview thinking I didn’t want the job. I asked heaps of questions and was quite probing in the status of the company, I expressed concerns about things that I had seen in google searches and overall quite critical of the organisation. They loved it and gave me the job. It just so happens to be the most morbidly unhappy group of people god every put breath in, but clearly they liked the interview style I took with them.

So it is quite hard to say yay or nay on that Cate. I guess you have to go with your gut feel. I am of the personal view that you as the employee are investing more in accepting the role then the employer is in you - as afterall, you stuff up - there are usually people lining up to replace you. The investment of nine hours of your day and the emotional commitment to making a job work is generally worth more to you in the initial decisions stages, than them paying you $50k pa pro rata for three weeks before they fire you (if they/you don’t think you “fit”).

If you are on the job hunt - good luck. I am looking around at the moment and not looking forward to the interview process. It can be quite stressful and this job has really messed with me. If felt so right in the inteview and selection process, but is nothing like it is presented. So I am trying to keep an open mind.

Cate says:

02:50pm | 05/01/12

Thanks Fairsfairr and Jay-ded.  A sticky point really.  Good luck to all the job hunters.  Perhaps you have to sum up the ego of those interviewing you.  Psychology maybe.  It’s so stressful when the employer misrepresents the position and you happen to be selected.  So deflating.
Happy New Year Everyone
Cate

Mahhrat says:

10:45am | 03/01/12

Fifth result.

It’s not a who, it’s a “what”.  Brewongle is the native word for “camping place”.

Bill says:

10:59am | 03/01/12

So instead of naming the grandstand after a former sporting great (like every other major sporting ground in the country), they named it ‘camping place’?

Dieter Moeckel says:

11:33am | 03/01/12

Mahhrat
A native word from where?

Max Redlands says:

11:44am | 03/01/12

Your last comment reminds me of the story of Winston Churchill. He was in some urinal one day (Westminster?) and after draining the lizard he simply buttoned his fly and walked out. He was followed by an associate who rebuked hin saying:

“At Eton they taught us to wash our hands after visiting the lavatory.”

To which Churchill replied: “At Marlborough they taught us not to piss on our hands.”

Dieter Moeckel says:

12:11pm | 03/01/12

Was that really Churchill?
I always thought it was Yale and Harvard students until I was corrected by a wag that told it as students from Sydney Unit and Uni of New South Wales.
A tale to suit all reasons perhaps.

Max Redlands says:

12:25pm | 03/01/12

That’s the way I heard it.

As you say the protagonists can be varied to taste but it’s the punchline that matters.

It certainly sounds Churchillian. cf. the following which is defintiely one of his.

Lady Astor: “Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband I’d poison your tea.”

Churchill: “And if you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

Max Redlands says:

12:46pm | 03/01/12

Quick search of the interweb suggets it is definitely one of Churchill’s, ‘tho I got his school wrong. He went to Harrow not Marlborough. He was descendant of the Duke of Marlborough which is where I made my error.

MMXII says:

12:05pm | 03/01/12

“guess who I’m now connected to ? “

Abbott’s office?

SimpleSimon says:

01:03pm | 03/01/12

Fail. Telstra’s network isn’t true 4G. It has the capacity to be someday upgraded to 4G, which is capable of “top speeds” of 1Gbps, which the NBN can handle comfortably. Telstra claim it’s “4G” network users should expect download speeds of between 2Mbps - 40Mbps, of which I experience comparable speeds (albeit on the low-end) on my fixed-line ADSL1 connection. Copper ADSL2 is already just as fast or faster than Telstra’s network, much more stable, cheaper, and more readily available. Mobile networks have their place, but they will not make the NBN obsolete any more than they did the existing telephone network.

mick e mause says:

01:03pm | 03/01/12

xinix 4g is the business U got that right

TheRealDave says:

03:21pm | 03/01/12

Here we go again, a new year and more News Limited utter crap. They should be wary after the Press Council spanked them a few weeks ago for 3 fraudulent NBN articles but it appears they still want to chance their arm misinforming the public - deliberately.

Did the erstwhile duo, both NON-technical journo’s - not that it doesn’t stop them reporting utter crap, but I digress, mention the reason for the delays in the rollout???

Hmm??

Of course not. Why mention the fact its Telstra, the ACCC and writing/re-writing legislation thats the actual reason behind the rollout delays?? Break the trend News Limited, report some actual FACTS for a change instead of complete FUD.

Good luck with that 4G connection. Hope you can maintain a connection at a fraction of the ‘advertised’ speeds. While the rest of us are enjoying 100mb goodness with upgrades to 1gb not very far away at all

jay-ded says:

12:47pm | 03/01/12

@ James A - Bit of a “tosser” remark that one isn’t it James A?  Considering that people died in the floods?

the Bulldog says:

08:41pm | 03/01/12

Bit of a tosser remark from the writer of this article who called people living through extreme heat and fire danger ‘suckers’.

Typical Qld’r.

Kurisu Sonsaku says:

07:13pm | 03/01/12

Didn’t you get the memo, get a baggy blue & collect your baggy green.

I agree, enough with the epic fails from NSW in the test team. Plenty of talent in the other states.