Punch on: Open thread 04/08/2011

nihonin says:

07:32am | 04/08/11

Gary, there’s a saying, once you start to feel sorry for a politician, they’re gone.  Never feel sorry for them, they’re not worth it.

Sceptic says:

07:54am | 04/08/11

Yes Badger that makes sense and everyone earning over $800000(sic) can stop and start getting the money from those that do.

jay-ded says:

08:06am | 04/08/11

You fishing again Badger?

The Badger says:

08:37am | 04/08/11

Sorry I meant $80000

nihonin says:

08:43am | 04/08/11

jay-ded, nah must be dole day and The Badger is a little excited I think.

The Badger says:

09:28am | 04/08/11

Actually
I think you meant $8,000,000

TimB says:

09:29am | 04/08/11

Nicole, can you please enlighten us to the nature of the personal trauma that caused Badger to turn out this way?

Leopold says:

09:53am | 04/08/11

I know i’m taking the bait here… but i’m sick of this country punishing those who actually work hard and earn the money they receive. For 4 years I worked a 3 week on, 1 week off roster (all 12hr shifts) in the middle of nowhere to EARN my 6 figure salary. I’m no burden to society, i’m on 3 volunteer committees and I donate generously to worthy causes (including the flood relief which I now get slugged again for). Yet somehow I miss out on anything which has the word rebate in it and every time there’s a tax hike, i’m the one who cops it. Flood levy? I get the biggest slice. Carbon tax? I’m the alleged 1 out of 10 that gets nothing beneficial.

The dole bludgers are a shining example of a 100% burden on this country. Those who punch a child out just to get the breeder bonus then use the money to buy more grog and ciggies.

I work for my earnings. I deserve to keep what I earn… if I wanted to support a moocher…  I’d get married.

Sceptic says:

09:55am | 04/08/11

Actually I think Badger makes sense on this one.
—- The 8 million dollar one

nihonin says:

09:58am | 04/08/11

You know what Sceptic?
I think Badger’s right as well.
8,000,000 is far too much money for a couple to make in one year.
Spread the wealth I say.

TimB says:

10:00am | 04/08/11

When I think about it, I agree with Badger as well.
Good work Badger let’s write to our reps and start some action on this.

Elphaba says:

10:05am | 04/08/11

@Leopold, well said.

I certainly don’t earn anything close to a six-figure salary, but I can see no logical reason why people who choose to work long hours and get rewarded well for it, be the first to be punished.  Of course, taxes have to be on a sliding scale,  but with something like this, where we are all carbon emitters, it makes no sense.  If we are all responsible for carbon pollution, I can’t see why we can’t all be paying for it.  At $2-5/tonne, we could all do our bit, without the rich being demonised.

Welfare is giving people the motivation to do nothing with their lives except sponge off the government.  I’m all for helping the genuinely needy, and I’m all for looking after the elderly, but it’s getting beyond a joke.

Leopold says:

10:06am | 04/08/11

On further reflection,
I have to agree with Badger.
$8,000,000 is an awful lot of money.
$3,200,000 should be plenty for any couple.

Seanr says:

10:07am | 04/08/11

Badger is just trolling but in the spirit of his post I will propose a counter argument - All jobseeker/disability pensioners etc should have their payments income managed. There should be a ban on them using the payments to buy alcohol/smokes/drugs. They should all be made to perform charity or community labour (picking up rubbish etc)...finally they should all be paid to wear tshirts stating they are on the dole or receiving a disability pension

TimB says:

10:15am | 04/08/11

Punch Team, is there any checks on the e-mail addresses of regular commentators?

I ask because the comment from “TimB” at 10:00 am was NOT from me. I suspect it was probably Badger.

Using mutiple handles is one (annoying) issue. But complete impersonation is something else again. Surely something can be done about this.

Hamish says:

10:22am | 04/08/11

Yeah Leopold I’m very sceptical about the government’s claims of what percentage of people will be worse off. I don’t know that many who are being heavily compensated. I don’t spend much time at centrelink though, you know, ‘cos I contribute to society.

The Badger says:

10:34am | 04/08/11

TimB
Sucks when someone uses your handle doesn’t it?

Elphaba says:

10:42am | 04/08/11

Look,
I don’t care about anyone else, I only care about myself.
What’s wrong with that?
If I make $8,000,000 I should be able to keep all of it.

Elphaba says:

10:50am | 04/08/11

OMG!  I’ve been impersonated!

I’ve arrived!

Wow Badger, you must be a sorry creature.  You’re so boring in real life you have to impersonate other Punchers.

Mods, isn’t about time this waste of oxygen was banned?

AdamC says:

11:13am | 04/08/11

Seanr, I think anyone collecting welfare for more than 6 months should be actively case-managed and, if they do not co-operate with the people trying to help them, they should lose their benefits. That, or just cut ‘em off after 12 months. T-shirts and shaming devices won’t work. We’re not talking about folks like you and I here.

Wow, the Badge is being particularly obnoxious today. What a complete tool.

fml says:

11:42am | 04/08/11

@leopold,

http://whitewhine.com/

nihonin says:

12:39pm | 04/08/11

I’ve been impersonated by the The Badger as well, geez mate, did the truth hurt that much that you needed to contradict us by using our punch handles?

Mods can you look into this for all those who have been impersonated by this oxygen thief please.

ausspud says:

01:16pm | 04/08/11

Why doesnt the government just take all our pay and give us what we need to survive.
Leave me and my money alone.

MarK says:

02:05pm | 04/08/11

I never get impersonated. Who in their right mind would want to be me?

Yuri says:

02:37pm | 04/08/11

So The Badger starts a trolling thread then populates it with lots of posts impersonating regular Punchers. IMO not the best way to spend a day, particularly as the fish aren’t biting. Looks like The Badger will go hungry tonight!

NicoleG says:

05:35pm | 04/08/11

Damn! I’ve missed all the, er, fun  

Tim, I suspect some sort of trauma to the head.

The Badger says:

06:47pm | 04/08/11

First post isn’t mine.
Want to play games?

The Badger says:

07:04pm | 04/08/11

Suppose I told you that none of those posts are from me?

TimB says:

08:04am | 04/08/11

Alternatives for the family who decided to let you sleep through a fire alarm instead of waking you up?

Good call

jay-ded says:

08:10am | 04/08/11

Wow atthepub, I think this must be a boy thing.  My boys and my husband slept through our fire alarm when it went off last week (eldest boy burnt the toast….).  Scared the crap out of me.  I ran out of my bedroom to see the kitchen filling up with smoke.  Son says “it’s okay mum, only the toast.”  Opened up all the windows and door and then turned the alarm off.  Went back down to the other end of the house and all of them are still asleep.  How can anyone sleep through that racket?

ibast says:

08:54am | 04/08/11

Maybe try poison next time.

atthepub says:

09:34am | 04/08/11

I told her that she’ll be toast next time she burns it.
Alarm right in front of my bedroom door too. Can’t even say that there was any dreams worth staying asleep for.

TheRealDave says:

09:36am | 04/08/11

She’s a very lucky girl….I can think of two reasons why…..after seeing the news.com.au pic….

S.L says:

09:56am | 04/08/11

Totally agree about Ms Pulver Pub! That’s “the public have a right to know” crap the papers scream when invading peoples privacy. Why pics of the neighbours and a list of who lives in the bloody street too?

Seanr says:

10:11am | 04/08/11

LOL TimB
I agree ATP, along with the pictures was descriptions and values to their various properties…we get it they’e rich, good for them, don’t see why I need to know “the Pulvers purchased the four-bedroom house with spectacular views in 1998 for nearly $2 million” or that they have a “ritzy Central Coast beachhouse”

Thomas Anderson says:

10:16am | 04/08/11

Regarding Madeleine Pulver, it was a pretty big story, and a very news worthy incident. I am more interested in the attacker and his motives though? A guy breaks into a house of a multi millionaire, calmly wraps a pseudo explosive around the girl’s neck, tells her that she can call the Police and goes off, presumably to watch the events unfold from afar.

Now, this is likely one of two things, either a revenge move against the family or one of its members, with the intention to inflict mental suffering on them, but not hurt them physically. In this case, we are dealing with someone who may have been offended, but not to the extent of wanting to injure or kill, or someone who does not want to cause physical harm on moral grounds.

Alternatively, this could be just a warning to, presumably, the father of the girl. In either case, the family is likely to have a pretty good idea of who it was.

Of course, we cannot exclude other possibilities, even going as far as considering the possibility of it being the work of a deluded madman attacking a random person, however unlikely that sounds.

To be sure, this is a very unusual and interesting case, and I hope NSW Police gets to the bottom of it.

TheRealDave says:

11:54am | 04/08/11

Or Thomas, it could be nothing more than some crap made up by the girl to get Daddy’s attention.

Just throwing it in there as well

S.L says:

12:35pm | 04/08/11

@TheRealDave I hadn’t thought of that and aren’t poo pooing your suggestion either!

atthepub says:

12:59pm | 04/08/11

Eighteen year old’s pretty faces (combined with info on their street address) shouldn’t be front paper news when daddy is rich and some loony has made an extortion attempt. Fancy being this girl. According to the news he made a number of threats. Would she dare go anywhere after this without a body guard? What happened to her sucks big time. But how is the media contributing? And how for real are you Dave with that comment?

Thomas Anderson says:

01:01pm | 04/08/11

Sure can be. If that was the case, I bet she started regretting it around the time the third news crew set up camp outside her house.

ausspud says:

01:19pm | 04/08/11

atthepub
They probabaly thought this was their ticket out.
I guess you can say you would of been colateral damage.

atthepub says:

01:56pm | 04/08/11

Good point. This could have been a test run. Oh well, at least they weren’t trying to nuke me like this Swede who’s splitting atoms in his kitchen.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8281185/swedish-man-caught-trying-to-split-atoms

TheRealDave says:

02:56pm | 04/08/11

@atthepub plenty of people have done far stupider things for far stupider reasons. How many times have we seen mothers, fathers, boyfriends, fiances, parents, sons, daughters get all teary on TV asking for people for information or help find someone when they were the killer all along??  I am not saying this was the case, merely that it could be another thing to add to the list.

Or if you were querying my earlier comment - I stand by it, blonde, money and that rack - she’;s a very lucky girl

fml says:

10:56am | 04/08/11

Backwards chair sitting is perfectly acceptable if you haven’t changed your undies recently and are experiencing chaffing.

nihonin says:

09:47am | 04/08/11

I quite liked it actually, in answer to your question iansand may I add -  or feme fatal?

MarK says:

02:07pm | 04/08/11

Don’t like it from the straight looks point of view. Much preferred her short do.

TheRealDave says:

09:38am | 04/08/11

Yes, how dare ‘biased’ ‘lefty’ journo’s ask serious questions and expect answers…when ‘biased’ ‘righty’ journo’s just outright make shit up ala The Australian and any ‘articles’ on the NBN

Dash says:

10:37am | 04/08/11

TheRealDave - “make shit up”? Like say “We have an East Timor Solution”, “We’ll provide a Coast Guard”, “we’ll build 260 childcare centres”, “I fully support PM Rudd” and “There will be no Carbon tax”?

Yes there are righty jouno’s just as biased. I just wanted to highlight the stupidity of the ALP claims of media bias. It smells of a “quick look over there” distraction to their Carbon tax mess.

TheRealDave says:

11:57am | 04/08/11

I’d list the crap ‘made up’ by the previous Howard regime…but alas the Punch only allows 5000 characters per post….

ALL sides of politics do it. Always have, always will. To claim one side is more biased/blatant/dishonest than the other is disingenuous at best and more like downright deceitful.

Elphaba says:

12:57pm | 04/08/11

@Shifter, I’ve got to drag myself out of bed in the morning and get straight into the shower. 

I tend to make sure my clothes are ready, lunch is made and bag packed before I go to bed, because my brain isn’t quite awake to deal wih those tasks in the morning, hehehe

According to the news, Sydney’s unseasonable warmth will be over by next week…

Tim says:

01:03pm | 04/08/11

Dash,
leave it to the Left Right Out thread.
It fits in better there.

Dash says:

01:42pm | 04/08/11

@TheRealDave - As I said, I just wanted to highlight the stupidity of the ALP claims of media bias. And you back up my comment quite nicely. Thanks.

@Tim - thanks for the tip but you’ll notice this thread is for “what’s on your mind”. You’ll notice it doesn’t say, what’s on your mind that wont upset Tim.

Elphaba says:

01:45pm | 04/08/11

Oh bloody hell, I posted a reply to Shifter in a different thread, and now it makes no sense.

*slaps forehead*.

Tim says:

02:31pm | 04/08/11

Dash,
it wasn’t a tip, it was a suggestion.
I read the title of the thread and useless left, right, ALP, Liberal comments were on my mind.

Adam Diver says:

03:05pm | 04/08/11

ICB

“To claim one side is more biased/blatant/dishonest than the other is disingenuous at best and more like downright deceitful.”

To claim that both sides are equally bad, is downright stupid and lazy.

Elphaba says:

09:38am | 04/08/11

How good is it?  My walking portion of my commute to work was outstanding.  I’m couinting down to lunch…

Ben C says:

10:23am | 04/08/11

Haha, I’m loving it! Never liked winter anyway, so I’m glad we’re getting some heat going.

Elphaba says:

10:41am | 04/08/11

I must confess, I’m a bit of a fan of winter (warped, I know), but the little lick of sunshine we’re having at the moment is lovely.

If it was 25 degrees all year round, I’d be in heaven.

Dash says:

10:42am | 04/08/11

@Elphaba, meet you in Hyde park for lunch?

Elphaba says:

10:47am | 04/08/11

Lol Dash, it would take 25 mins for me to get there for where I am right now.  25 mins back, and that would give me… 10 minutes.  To eat my lunch.

I’m not sure I could make that look very dignified.

http://www.skyvalley4u.com/Logos/HomerEatingSub.jpg

The Badger says:

10:52am | 04/08/11

Awwwwwww
look at the puppy.

Dash says:

11:25am | 04/08/11

@Elphaba - yeah but think of those 10 minutes - lol

@Badger - Better a puppy than a maggot!

Shifter says:

12:07pm | 04/08/11

It was fricken cold here this morning. Invigorating!

So tired though. Does anyone else wake up ridiculously tired for no specific reason and then have to spend another 30 minutes ‘waking up’?

ausspud says:

01:26pm | 04/08/11

@Elphaba
I actually like autumn,its the best.

@Shifter
Yeh its called “life”.

TimB says:

01:46pm | 04/08/11

Spring FTW. The chill of winter is gone, the heat of summer has yet to arrive, and you don’t get as much rain as you do in autumn

Basically a season chock full of weather like today.

And Dash, I thought you were on my side of the city? (Kent St). Nowhere near Hyde Park. Maybe I’m thinking of someone else though.

King St Wharf and Darling Harbour would be pretty nice right about now.

jay-ded says:

02:12pm | 04/08/11

@ TimB - I’m with you on this, love Spring.  Brings out the smiles in everyone too. 

Shifter says:

02:24pm | 04/08/11

@ausspud - you’re making me feel old.

I should add to this, normally I’m a great morning person and up and fresh before 6:30. In the last month or so I’ve been struggling to drag myself out of bed before 7:30 and still feeling tired.

It’s starting to annoy me that I can’t start work as early as I used to.

Dash says:

02:36pm | 04/08/11

@TimB - I’m at Martin Place.

Warm & Fuzzy says:

04:37pm | 04/08/11

Oh how quaint that sounds. Did your wife pack lunch for two?

Lana Backwards says:

09:37pm | 04/08/11

Dash It would be safer and better for your family if you just went to the Pro’s

Seanr says:

10:23am | 04/08/11

Just curious, do you use bread flour or normal? bread maker or old school, all by hand?

Made a herb and cheese bread on the weekend Elphaba as we had a dinner party on..great when lightly toasted for steak sandwich and used it is a base for bruschetta as well.

Elphaba says:

10:39am | 04/08/11

@Seanr, I just use plain flour for my bread, and add bread improver, which it just the gluten that is removed from the flour during the milling process.  Replacing that makes the bread fluffy with a nice chewy texture.  I’ve used the strong bread flour as well, and I can’t tell the difference.  Old school by hand all the way.

I’ve got a basic recipe that I introduced Dash to, and I’ve modified it to make a cheese, herb and garlic version, or bread rolls, or things like cheese scrolls.

With cakes/biscuits/muffins, I use self-raising flour. I’ve used plain flour and added baking powder, but the results aren’t always as good.  That could be an error on the quantities on my part though.

Dash says:

11:42am | 04/08/11

Seanr, I can tell you that plain flour with the bread improver is fine. Do a two prove process. I followed Elphaba’s recepie, bought the improver from Coles and it worked out very awesome! And the old school by hand works for me.

Seanr says:

01:41pm | 04/08/11

I tend to use bread flour/plain, never tried an improver but I think I will just to see how things turn out, always by hand. cheers guys

Elphaba says:

02:15pm | 04/08/11

@Seanr, I recommend the bread improver - a packet only costs a few dollars and you only need a teaspoon per loaf.

jay-ded says:

02:14pm | 04/08/11

IRISH DIET

An Irishman was terribly overweight, so his doctor put him on a diet.

‘I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, then eat regularly again for 2 days then skip a day.

Repeat this procedure for 2 weeks.  The next time I see you, you should have lost at least 5 pounds.’

When the Irishman returned, he shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 60lbs!
 
‘Why, that’s amazing!’ the doctor said, ‘Did you follow my instructions?’

The Irishman nodded. ‘I’ll tell you though, by jaesuz, I t’aut I were going to drop dead on dat 3rd day.’

‘From the hunger, you mean?’ asked the doctor.

‘No, from the f#ckin’ skipping’.

Ben C says:

03:05pm | 04/08/11

IRISH MATHS

Paddy was going for a job interview. Because the position was fairly senior, the interviewer decided to test Paddy’s thought processes.

The interviewer asks Paddy, “Without using numbers, I want you to show me how you would get 9.”

Paddy thinks for a while, then picks up a pen and paper, and starts drawing three trees.

The interviewer asks, “How’s that supposed to make 9?”

Paddy responds, “Tree plus tree plus tree equals 9.”

The interviewer says, “OK, I want you to make 99, again without using numbers.”

Paddy picks up the pen and starts drawing birds defecating onto the trees.

The interviewer then asks, “How does that make 99?”

Paddy responds, “Dirty tree plus dirty tree plus dirty tree equals 99.”

The interviewer then says, “OK, I want you to make 100, again without numbers.”

Paddy then draws dog droppings at the base of each tree.

The interviewer asks, “OK, how does that make 100?”

Paddy responds, “Dirty tree and a turd plus dirty tree and a turd plus ditry tree and a turd equals 100.”

Paddy got the job.

hot tub political machine says:

10:44am | 04/08/11

I’m with you TheRealDave. If ever there was a country that needs high speed rail - its ours. I’d probably vote for a paedophile dollbluger if they promised me a highspeed rail network.

ibast says:

11:03am | 04/08/11

In Germany the government would have just got on with it, instead of talking about it for 30 years.  They should go and get a couple of tunnel boring machines and start from Sydney, sent one to Newcastle via Gosford and the other to Canberra via the Gong and Goulburn.

The economics of it might be borderline at he moment, but If I could get a train from Newcastle to Sydney in less than an 45 minutes, I’d seriously reconsider living in Western Sydney.

bella starkey says:

11:04am | 04/08/11

Travelling by rail is infinitely more pleasurable than by plane.

No check ins, no taking your shoes off for metal detectors, no waiting for luggage at the end. It’s brilliant. If you ever have the need, travel by rail on the North East Coast of the US. They even have free wifi and powerpoints on the trains.

Although I doubt it would ever happen, it would be brilliant if it did.

Debbie says:

11:06am | 04/08/11

What’s a “dollbluger” ? ... I can’t find that word in any dictionary.

Elphaba says:

11:18am | 04/08/11

I like flying, but for $75 (I’m assuming that’s a round trip), I’d take the train.  If only to save money.

I agree, TheRealDave, I elect on policy, not the party.  Whoever could guarantee that this would get off the ground, would have my vote.

iansand says:

11:30am | 04/08/11

I fly between Brisbane and Sydney reasonably often.  Scheduled flight time is 90 minutes, gate to gate.  I have to get to the airport at least 30 minutes beforehand (even with online checkin), but, as a worrywart traveller, I usually give myself at least 45 minutes - have you seen the queues for security in Virgin?  Travel to the airport and sorting out parking is at least another 40 - 60 minutes (and I work in Redfern, close to the airport).  At the other end, by the time I get off the plane and out the terminal door it is another 15 - 20 minutes, even without checked luggage and it is another 30 minutes to pick up a hire car and get to the Brisbane CBD.  That makes about 4 hours if I fly.

In round figures it is about 1,000 km door to door.  To match it a train has to do a very conservative 250 km/hr.  I appreciate that there will be some overlap with travel to and from the airport, but it looks pretty competitive to me.  The down side is timing.  There are flights each way at least every hour and sometimes every half hour.  Planes carry fewer people than trains, so to get the same load trains will be a lot less frequent.  I might have to wait for 3 hours for a departure with a train instead of maximum one hour for a plane.

Fares might also be an issue.  I am actually doing some travelling along the Amtrak Pacific Zephyr corridor in January.  I have trained through the desert and Rockies before, and it is a great trip.  But the fares are not always competitive with flying unless you are prepared to sit up (OK during the day but not ideal overnight), and as it is not high speed, so time and money mean that flying will be the likely option.  Sad.

hot tub political machine says:

11:33am | 04/08/11

Debbie, look it up next to the Spielling rule

Ben C says:

11:43am | 04/08/11

The idea has potential, but where would we build it, overhead or underground? Or are we replacing the current network altogether? Which would be teh best option?

ibast says:

12:19pm | 04/08/11

Ben,

The very high speed trains can’t run on conventional rail.  Not only that, you wouldn’t want it slowed by the city networks.  It would add at least half hour either end of the Sydney/Melbourne route.

Best to tunnel out of Sydney, pick up Wollongong, then tunnel through the escarpment before going overland through Goulburn and Canberra.  Would probably need to go undeground at Canberra for a bit and then back underground at the outskirts of Melbourne.

Similar thing going North to Brisbane.

They’ve got tunnelling (particularly rail) well sorted these days and it’s easier and faster then clearing and leveling land and laying track.

hot tub political machine says:

12:36pm | 04/08/11

Good points made re the fact aircraft will beat rail for passengers. But lets remember that highspeed rail can also do freight - which means less of our roads being destroyed by trucks.  I guess it also means less jobs for truckies but that may be inevitable anyway with petrol prices heading north.

Rev says:

12:45pm | 04/08/11

I love travelling by train, even if it is old and slow like the Trans-Siberian.  The north-east US Amtrak trains are pretty cheap and you end up downtown, or at the very least on the subway lines.

The Eurostar, TGV, and Shinkansen are just fantastic - to have something like that here would be great.

But I think there is one other thing to consider - it would be a great opportunity to decentralise the population of the 3 big cities somewhat.  IIRC, approximately 8 million people commute into Tokyo each day, which is bloody unreal.

I dislike this Government but high-speed rail sounds like a good idea to me.  A significant portion of the cost (resuming homes and building the track) will be required at some point in the future in any case, and it is one of those things that will only become more difficult as time goes on.

Or we could just invent teleporters.

ausspud says:

01:31pm | 04/08/11

Um it will cost over 100billion,so good luck with that.

Ben C says:

01:52pm | 04/08/11

@ ibast

I can appreciate that it would require completely new infrastructure to be built. Just thinking of some of the lines in Sydney, there’s no way we could have high speed trains on what is currently serviced by CityRail - even if the new infrastructure was in place.

It would definitely be an option for interstate travel, although it would be more a complement to air travel than a replacement. And as HTPM also said, we could do freight on it.

Let’s see which side of politics is willing to put their hand up and investigate the option.

ibast says:

02:16pm | 04/08/11

@Ben,  you need to read my reply again.  Very high speed rail cannot run on conventional track, so we’re in agreement

@Auspud, welcome to rail.  Even small projects are counted in 10s of billions.  Why do you think the rail networks haven’t kept up with the population?  The numbers are just plain scary.

jay-ded says:

02:18pm | 04/08/11

Gees, wish Brisbane had some rail infrastructure.  First time I brought my hubbie to Qld and he saw a boom gate across the road he first reaction was: 
“What the hell is that?” 
“A Boomgate”. 
“What’s a boomgate?”
“Stops drivers from going forward because a train is coming.”
“What?  Across the road?”
“Yeah babe, we’re in Qld now…..”

TheRealDave says:

03:10pm | 04/08/11

Cost is the main reason why we still have different railguages around the country and why minimal new rail has been laid in the past 60 years.

Look, at the end of the day building new shit is going to cost money. Lots of money. Whether its a new communications network or a new high speed railway. We are talking Billions with a capital B. No getting around it or trying to hide it behind glib politico-speak. Man up and be upfront about it. Yes we want to build it. Yes its going to cost capital B Biliions over several decades but we are going to be making money on it for generations. We are going to be pulling cars off the highways, planes out of the sky and trucks off the roads.

I’d rtather than than some smug bastard standing besiode a pile of our cash saying ‘Look how much I saved*’ while the place is falling apart, roads are as clogged as Fat Alberts arteries, and Telco’s are cherry picking rich suburbs to offer basic services and ignoring everyone else because they aren’t profitable enough.

*When I say ‘saved’ I mean - took more money from us than any previous government in history and held onto it instead of investing it back into the community.

Ben C says:

03:46pm | 04/08/11

@ ibast

My apologies, my wording may have caused you to be confused about my intent. My comment was more about taking your opinion and expanding on it, not expressing my own opinion as a rebuttal against yours.

But another point, would the high speed nework cover Sydney metro, or should it be used exclusively for inter-city/interstate trips?

ibast says:

04:12pm | 04/08/11

Ben, I think it would defeat the purpose to have it serving the suburban network as well.  Even if it only stopped at a few stops, getting passengers on and off these trains takes 10s of minutes, not seconds, like suburban trains.

Also consider you have to get these things up to 250km/h plus.  It’s another good reason to have these things in a tunnel on their way to the next city rather than out in the open with suburban trains.

But of course our governments would rather give people hand outs to stimulate the economy and keep them off the streets, rather than investing in a major national project that will employ thousands and inject billions into the economy

Tim says:

01:10pm | 04/08/11

I agree partly with this Hot Tub.
I pretty much don’t even bother going to read a lot of the threads these days because I know what most of the comments will be.

jay-ded says:

01:41pm | 04/08/11

That’s why I like the Open Thread HTPM.  We can talk about whatever we like and bring up any issues that we feel require discussing - like yours

MarK says:

02:09pm | 04/08/11

Of course it getting like all the rest.

It used to be much better but now has descended into mush.

TheRealDave says:

03:13pm | 04/08/11

I agree MarK, the rot started when they started giving the Liberal Party open slather to post ridiculous factually fraudulent crap as part of their run-up to the next election.

To be fair..they did let one Labor Party member post up his childhood reminices of having a treehouse a while back….

hot tub political machine says:

05:19pm | 04/08/11

@Jayded,

It’s the best thing about this place. The fact they allow an open thread and act on some reader feedback.

I wouldn’t bother posting if there wasn’t some hope of change - I’d just bugger off like a lot of alternative posters round here have.

Ben81 says:

08:34pm | 04/08/11

No it’s an old timey ultra manly beard.  Light cannot escape.

Shane From Melbourne says:

02:28pm | 04/08/11

You’re gonna get some hate mail from the Apple fanboys for that one…..

Tim says:

02:34pm | 04/08/11

Yep,
iCrap can get stuffed.

Thomas Anderson says:

03:04pm | 04/08/11

Haha, bring it!

There aren’t many things Apple owners can be proud of.

TheRealDave says:

03:15pm | 04/08/11

I agree. Shit products for the technologically clueless. And now they are suing everyone for crap they never invented themselves. The patents system is an absolute joke.

Thomas Anderson says:

04:38pm | 04/08/11

@ TheRealDave

Bingo! I call them the “technologically inept”.

Elphaba says:

02:58pm | 04/08/11

This is my favourite story about home made nuclear reactor science.

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

The man himself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

TimB says:

03:05pm | 04/08/11

I don’t know why, but that story just reminds me of this:

“Come on, men! Smash those atoms! You there, turn out your pockets. Aha - atoms! One, two, three, four… SIX of them! Take him away! ”

TheRealDave says:

03:14pm | 04/08/11

Been perfect sunny days here in Brisvegas for the past 5 weeks

TimB says:

03:28pm | 04/08/11

Shenanigans, NICE. I picked mine up at launch. I hope you picked up Ocarina of Time too . You’re only 18 right? Have you played the game before? You would have only been a wee tot of 5 when it originally released back in 1998….

Just in case you’re not already aware, don’t forget to connect to Nintendo’s E-shop some time in the next week. There’s a big price drop due on the 12th ($249 down from $349 RRP), and as a way of rewarding the early adopters Nintendo are giving away TWENTY free downloadable games (10 NES and 10 GBA) to all of those who have connected to the E-shop before the price drop comes into effect.

Considering the quality some of the titles they’re going to hand over (The Leghend of Zelda? Metroid Fusion? Hell yes), I think the premium paid for early adoption was well worth it. It’s even better for you seeing as you only paid $300.

Shenanigans says:

03:42pm | 04/08/11

Dave…. Man, why you gotta be mean to me :p

TimB- I sure as hell did. I’m a mad Zelda fan, played every Zelda game since I was old enough to understand what it was :p so naturally OOT was my first pick. I’ve played OOT countless times before and I reckon it’s still to this day the best game I’ve ever played.

OH HELLS YEAH!! glad I got one now instead of waiting for the price drop, free games here I come!!! Which legend of Zelda though? If it’s wind waker or majoras mask I’ll be more excited then a fat kid with cake in a cake shop with free cake :p must remember to give my friend a hug and a case of alcohol of her choosing :p for letting me buy it so cheap (love having friends in retail ;p).

WOOOOO!

Shenanigans says:

03:42pm | 04/08/11

Dave…. Man, why you gotta be mean to me :p

TimB- I sure as hell did. I’m a mad Zelda fan, played every Zelda game since I was old enough to understand what it was :p so naturally OOT was my first pick. I’ve played OOT countless times before and I reckon it’s still to this day the best game I’ve ever played.

OH HELLS YEAH!! glad I got one now instead of waiting for the price drop, free games here I come!!! Which legend of Zelda though? If it’s wind waker or majoras mask I’ll be more excited then a fat kid with cake in a cake shop with free cake :p must remember to give my friend a hug and a case of alcohol of her choosing :p for letting me buy it so cheap (love having friends in retail ;p).

WOOOOO!

TimB says:

04:03pm | 04/08/11

It’s the original NES Zelda. But with any luck we’ll get a full retail release of a Majora’s Mask remake in the same style as OoT. They’ll have to create a Master Quest for it though….

There’s still 3 GBA games unannounced, so we could end up scoring the GBA version of A Link to the Past or possibly The Minish Cap.

nossy says:

06:19pm | 04/08/11

@Knemon - spot on Knemon - hence my call for the eloquent Malcolm Turnbull to step up to the plate lest Australia becomes a political laughing stock under Gillard and Abbott, two C grade pollies if ever I saw! Turnbull will restore some class and dignity to political leadership. I mean look at Question Time - its degenerated into a school for dummies - Abbott has called some 15 censure motions, all defeated - why does he bother - and the schoolyard behavour of pollies on both sides cries out for decent leadership lacking under Abbott and Gillard.

Knemon says:

07:34pm | 04/08/11

Hi nossy,

It really is a sad situation indeed. Depressing actually. I’m not sure who or what is the blame…not paid enough therefore paying peanuts attracts monkeys or are they simply a true reflection of the voters? Who knows?

I agree with you on Turnbull, as for the ALP, I would like to see Combet take over (stop laughing) as for The Greens, they’re irrelevant so it doesn’t matter. Cheers fella….

Ben81 says:

08:31pm | 04/08/11

Degenerated nossy?  More like it’s been stagnant and just as useless for a long time now.

iansand says:

07:17pm | 04/08/11

At least the bread was fresh.

stephen says:

09:24pm | 04/08/11

Yeah but you gotta wonder that if the bread was baked, how come the rat was fresh, and if the little fella crawled in after it was baked, how old’s the bloody bread ?

PS Hmmm…I think I can prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the rat in the loaf is just not pudding.