Friday Dilemma

ClubsNSW is set to introduce a fresh new effort to combat schoolyard intimidation, insisting on a principal’s reference for young job seekers so they can rule out those who had been involved in bullying. It’s a bold step, which ClubsNSW chief executive Anthony Ball says could be a deterrent for any young person worried about their future job prospects.

“If students have engaged in serious bullying, cyber stalking or threatening behaviour clubs will not hesitate to reject their job application,” Ball said.

Students who own up to and show remorse for their schooldays’ behaviour may be given an exemption. The thing is, some of the nicest adults you’ll meet will admit after a few wines to having indulged in some pretty nasty bullying at school. One woman I know, who is a selfless, generous, intelligent adult, didn’t attend her first school reunion because she was worried about what reception she would get from some of the people she socially tormented at school.

So today’s question - once a bully always a bully? How long should you pay for your teenage bad deeds?

Another Puncher was picking up their Friday night take-away last week from the local MSG-emporium. The young woman at the counter was quietly spoken and polite. Her boss, not so much.

Said boss kept touching up the young staffer on the back and bottom. She looked uncomfortable. The Puncher was tempted to intervene and tell him off, but backed off for fear of getting her in trouble or putting her job at risk.

When is the right time to butt in?

This is the latest TIME magazine cover which hit American news stands yesterday.

It’s a picture of 26 year old mum, Jamie Lynne Grumet of Los Angeles, breastfeeding her three year old son, Aram.

Grumet believes breastfeeding a child this old is “biologically normal” and has posted several pictures of herself breastfeeding Aram on her blog. 

It’s caused a storm in America and you can read all about that here.

And check out this news.com.au story - some experts say breastfeeding up to seven years is ‘natural’.

There’s plenty to say on this issue. One Puncher’s first reaction was concern for the child when he grows up and how much he’ll be teased at school.

What’s your gut reaction? Eeww, or whatever?

Follow The Punch on Twitter: @thepunchhq

Got out of the office twice this week, in the name of something faintly resembling real journalism.

On the first trip, I saw wasted, starving people in strange coloured clothing perform a strange, dangerous dance before an adoring audience. On the second trip, I saw exactly the same thing.

My trips were to Fashion Week and the TAB.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Fashion Week vs jumps racing" »

One Punch reader’s next door neighbour has a huuuuuge beast of a dog. In Latin, it’s a gigantasaurus canineteethobeast. Said Punch reader doesn’t have particularly good relations with this neighbour. The dog has gone off leash in the past and came menacingly close to the reader’s three-year-old daughter.

Last week, another neighbour on the cul de sac told this reader that they’re going to call the council after the pitbull-esque monster barktastically blockaded the neighbour in their home.

In normal times, this action would be a positive development. But the Punch reader is having a party in the not-too-distant future. Maintaining stable relations with the neighbours is imperative at least until the party has safely concluded. And given past tensions over Fido, the Punch reader is sure to take the blame for any council action.

So. Should our reader try put the kybosh on their anti-dog neighbour’s complaint plans until after the party is over in a couple of weeks? Or should neighbourhood safety be the immediate prerogative?

Send us your Friday dilemmas. feedback@thepunch.com.au

No doubt you’ve heard the rather disturbing news overnight that a Jetstar pilot was texting midflight, which resulted in an aborted landing when he forgot to deploy the landing gear.

It’s pretty funny, only it’s not too, for a whole bunch of super obvious reasons.

Just recently, I was in the hands on a young driver who was navigating with the use of their phone as we drove around the suburbs. They had eyes more for their small electronic device than the road. I didn’t say anything, but I should have.

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: what to do about texting drivers?" »

I was ordering my meal out at dinner the other night. As usual, I ordered a steak and handed the waitress the menu back. “Thanks mate,” I said.

“Mate?”, a friend I was eating with asked. The friend had an issue with me calling someone of the opposite sex “mate”, and the waitress agreed. “I’m not ‘mate’,” she said. “I get called dude by the guys in the kitchen all the time though, but it’s okay.”

I for one, don’t really see the problem with this. What’s wrong with being a guy and calling a girl “mate”? Sometimes people say “mate” in a patronising way, in the same way that “sport”, “champ” and “champion” are often said. But this was just a simple, clean, down-the-line “thanks mate”.

On the flipside, I probably wouldn’t call my significant other “mate”. What do you reckon - is mate an appropriate word for me to use in this scenario? Are you my mate on this?

Good Friday. It’s the annual day of, if you’re like me and you don’t have to work, not a whole lot. There’s some footy on. The pub’s not open. And (hopefully) the sun’s shining.

But I’m hosting a late lunch for the family (serving 4) this evening, a confusing prospect because I’m a carnivore and I can’t be carnivorous because of Good Friday. I’m not really across what the other food groups have to offer, if really anything at all. I got in trouble from some readers early this week for disparaging the humble broccoli and I figure this evening’s as good as ever to expand my, and my guests’, palate.

So my fridge is stocked up with some essentials and some weird stuff. BUT COULD SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME? I need recipes and good meal ideas that don’t involve the consumption of meat, pronto. Something that would particularly impress people who have little faith in my food prep abilities. I’m sure the vegos out there have some particularly good ideas.

Look at this explosion of nuts, bolts, wires and assorted metal doo-dats. Just look at it.

It’s the first page of the instruction booklet for the rowing machine I recently purchased from my local Big W, and the large black words on the side of the box said “easy to assemble”. Easy my big fat (but for long!) backside.

I bought the machine having spotted it in a mailbox catalogue. The catalogue said nothing about self-assembly until the extremely fine print on the very last page, which I originally missed. So when I went to the store, I was a little surprised they gave me a box. Like I say, though, the box said “easy to assemble”.

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: Does this look “easy to assemble”?" »

A Puncher writes: I’ve had a long and fruit(salad)ful relationship with my barista. He always asks how my day’s going. Knows my complicated coffee order right off the bat. There’s service with a smile and small-talk with sizzle.

But lately I’ve been awarded an array of discounts and freebies that would put FlyBuys or MyerOne to shame. There’s discounted fruity muffins. Free fruit salads. Free coffees! Lately, I come back to the office cradling half a supermarket worth of food. They’re busy enough that they don’t have to get rid of that much food by foisting it onto customers like me.

I’d never think of going anywhere else. But lately I’ve been wondering: is this my barista’s way of hitting on me? I’m worried that any romantic entanglements could jeopardise my extensive collection of freebies, run up my food bills and ruin a perfectly satisfactory customer-barista relationship. What do you think? Are those clouds in my coffee, or love hearts?

You remember Steven Bradbury. He’s the short track speed skater who won gold when all his opponents fell over at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 10 years and a few weeks ago. Well, this week Bradbury himself tripped up.

At a function to launch the West Coast Eagles AFL season, the former peroxide blond talked about his career as a skater, saying “The only person who would have spent more time on the ice than me was Ben Cousins”.

He has since apologised. Personally, I think it was a great gag. As a guideline, the first rule of satirical humour should always be this: is the target of the humour deserving of mocking? In the case of the kids with cancer so cruelly lampooned by The Chaser, the answer was clearly no. But Ben Cousins? Hmmm.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: thin ice or fair crack at a dope?" »

We’ve all been there. You’re going about your day and everything feels normal until, someone taps you on the shoulder and tells you that you have your t-shirt on back to front. Or that your socks are tucked into your pants. And horror of all horrors, there is a piece of loo paper hanging off your shoe. Cringe.

Here’s the dilemma: what is the best way to respond to these helpful bits of information? Is a smile of thanks enough, or do you need to stop and say thank you? Or is it okay to just kind of ignore them? After all, it’s kind of embarrassing.

A friend of The Punch went on a first date a few days ago. The chemistry had been heating up between the pair at work for a good month and she thought if she splashed some white wine and tossed some fine food into the equation things just might bubble over into sexytime.

So they sat down at a flash restaurant one weekday evening. Things were going well, she thought. He’d laughed at all her jokes and kept touching her hand. So after dessert had been vacuumed up, she leaned in and asked: “Wanna come back to my place?”

He freaked out. He’d never sat through worse company before. The whole time he’d been batting away her hands and pretending to laugh at her jokes. And even if he was interested, this was just way, way too soon. 

This brings us to this week’s dilemma. When is it too soon to proposition someone? Aren’t we past the antiquated notion of having to go on 20 dates with someone before managing to pry a kiss out of them? Or is delayed gratification just more satisfying than its instant cousin?

Five hundred episodes and 23 seasons into its extraordinary life, the Simpsons is a pop culture phenom like no other. Interestingly, it was once regarded as counter-cultural and dangerous. Now it’s considered as American as apple pie.

Much has changed in American life over 23 years. Two generations of Bush presidents have come and gone. The internet became a tool for people other than academics and computer geeks. Greed was good. Then bad. Then good, but with bad consequences.

But one thing has stayed the same. The Simpsons have not aged. Neither has anyone else in Springfield. Homer is still 36, paunchy and severely balding. Lisa is still eight and precocious. Maggie still sucks her dummy. Mr Burns is still about 1,000 years old, not 1,023.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Should the Simpsons have grown older?" »

So the other day at Sydney’s Town Hall train station, there was a CityRail worker manning the exits with a mad mohawk just like the accompanying image of De Niro’s Travis Bickle in the movie Taxi Driver.

Call me paranoid. Call me old school. Call me totally out of touch, but it wasn’t a good look.

The guy wasn’t a train driver himself, but he works for an organisation that sends 300 tonne trains hurtling through dark tunnels every minute of the day. And there’s just something in me that wants employees of that organisation to have sensible hair.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: transport workers & personal grooming" »

Parenting. It’s the new oneupmanship. Ah, how quaint the days now seem when parents could raise their spawn in whatever manner they deemed fit, so long as it didn’t include whips and chains. Or not ones with barbs, anyway.

So. Today we present a dual dilemma, one for parents of girls, the other for parents of boys. There’s a little sexist stereotyping at play here, for which we don’t really apologise at all. The first dilemma involves the clip above.

Have you ever wondered what The Punch team does when we’re not writing stories or preparing the site for the following day? We often wonder ourselves. Apparently, a fair chunk of time is swallowed up watching videos of primadonna brats. Or should that be pre-Madonna?

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: child cruelty or harmless fun?" »

Anonymous says: Before I became a parent I thought this question was an absolute no brainer. A little smack here and there can’t hurt a child, I used to think. Especially if it’s going to help them learn to control certain behaviour and doing dangerous stuff, like crossing a road without looking.

Things are different now. My daughter is 18 months old and I couldn’t smack her for the life of me. The idea fills me with horror. Friends say that will change as she gets older, but I’m not convinced. There are other ways to teach your kids a lesson. This article in today’s Daily Telegraph advocates making smacking your kids illegal. But what do you think?

Today’s dilemma is unusually sombre, but here goes. What’s the right thing to wear to a funeral these days?

We ask this question following a recent discussion in The Punch office about the wearing of jeans. People wear jeans everywhere these days. Job interviews, weddings, work. So does that mean, it’s now okay to wear them to a funeral?

And what about the all-black thing. Is that getting a bit out-dated now?  Does it remain the only way to show respect for the person who passed away?

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Can I wear jeans to a funeral?" »

A friend of mine was forced to leave a drinks party with three friends because they spent more time scrolling through their Facebook feeds than having a proper conversation around the table. Does that ever happen to you?

Today’s dilemma: is it ever okay to ask your friend to switch off their phone while you’re getting together? And does “where” you are make a difference? For example, is it more or less offensive to check your phone around the dinner table than at a backyard BBQ?

While you’re contemplating that, check out this video from clever American blogger, Brian Perez. He’s invented the phone-stacking game. The explanation is over the jump.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Using your smartphone at dinner" »

Welcome to our regular Friday moral dilemma. This week: How much power do brides have over their bridesmaids? Is it OK to boot someone out of the wedding party because they rudely got preggo?

We all know the Bridezilla stereotype… and that it exists because there really are women who turn into heavy-breathing tantrum-throwing monsters in the lead up to the happiest day of their lives.

Brides obviously deserve some sort of say. The good Christian bride might say ‘no’ to her sister’s Antichrist-themed ra-ra skirt, for example. There may be a colour theme, or the bride could be afraid of the colour purple. These things happen.

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: Do brides get to be dictators?" »

With apologies to the venerable Hillary Clinton, whose plea to treat women with dignity has enjoyed a clear run atop this website for six hours, we now move to a lesser but no less impassioned issue.

The Australian White Ibis, better known as “Bic Macus Scabicus” or “that stupid ugly thing stealing my sandwich! Shoo! Shoo!” is a much-maligned species.

But does it deserve our derision? Does it warrant being chased across city parks by office workers with umbrellas? Or has it earned the right for a tiny slice of the affection we automatically bestow upon kookaburras, rosellas, ducklings and the Minogue sisters? That, friends, is today’s dilemma.

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: pest or downtrodden beauty?" »

OK, we’ve been avoiding this topic because we have a very strong inkling the conversation will go only one way. But let’s get it over with. Do politicians deserve a pay rise?

To be precise, do they deserve the big fat whopping pay rises which the Remuneration Tribunal seems likely to hand down? Back benchers could get an extra $40k. Prime Minister Gillard could be up for $90k more, which would mean she out-earns US pres Barack Obama and British PM David Cameron.

Bob Brown doesn’t think it’s warranted. In an ouburst which the whole of Australia is likely to agree with for once, the Greens leader said: “Our job is not to compare ourselves with ... (the) obscene salaries of some of the big bank executives, but with what hard-working teachers or senior echelons in the defence forces, the police force, the nursing profession are getting.”

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: does pollie deserve a cracker?" »

It’s been a big, long angry week with some huge issues on the agenda. This should lighten the tone somewhat.

Not that this issue is small fries. Nuh-uh. You’d have to be a dill not take this seriously. No way are way we gherkin you around on this issue.

So then. Have you ever been to a McDonald’s late at night, or anytime really, and noticed how many people cast aside their pickles?

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: lick the pickle or flick the pickle?" »

On a scale of one to ten, how much of a bad person am I? After spending at least ten minutes looking for a parking spot on Monday, and finally squeezing myself into one of those almost too-small pockets, I watched someone else drive by and knock and hit another parked car. Not just tapped. They bashed the rear bumper so hard it jangled the number plate and left a big dent. They didn’t stop and just drove on through.

Not that I was much better. I mean I should have done something. But because I was in such a rush get to where I was going I didn’t even stop to take down their number plates or anything. According to the NRMA nine out of ten people don’t leave notes. And that got me thinking, is there anything else I can do? Is it worth reporting it now anyway? Or do I deserve to feel bad for being a lazy arse?

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Hey dude, you bumped that car" »

So a Puncher got invited to a big birthday bash a little while ago.

The invitation was sent over Facebook. The Puncher was only really an acquaintance of the person whose party it was, but was happy to have been invited.

After all, the Puncher had a really good conversation with the acquaintance at a party not all that long ago.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Should I snub the two-faced host?" »

By now, you’re sick of the Cup, we’re sick of the Cup. But here’s a doozy of a dilemma regarding the luckiest and most ungrateful punter in Australia.

On Tuesday, a friend of The Punch’s went to the TAB to put on his bets. Before leaving, he asked his workmates if he could put any bets on for them.

One guy in his 60s gave our friend $6 for a “mystery box trifecta”. That’s when the TAB computer randomly selects three horses and if they run the placings any which way, the bet wins.

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: How to reward a Melb Cup angel?" »

Gwyneth Paltrow thinks good people have affairs. In a recent interview at the Venice Film Festival (where she sashayed down the carpet in a fantastic pink dress) to promote a film where she plays an adulterous wife, Paltrow claimed that almost everyone she looked up to had cheated on their partner.

“It’s like we’re flawed - we’re human beings and sometimes you make choices that other people are going to judge. That’s their problem but I really think that the more I live my life the more I learn not to judge people for what they do. I think we’re all trying our best but life is complicated. If death by virus was a punishment for extra-marital affairs there would only be three dudes left in this world right now.”

So it’s time to fess up. Do you agree with Ms Paltrow? Does EVERYONE have affairs? Or is her view just a bit too Hollywood? Post your thoughts below.

Anonymous writes: Dear Punch. Please help me properly direct my anger.

I’m set to fly to Sydney in a few weeks for a long-awaited, much-anticipated blokes’ weekend but our plans are under threat from this Qantas strike action. Normally I’d have no issue railing against the fat cats at the top.

Continue reading "Friday’s Dilemma: Hate Qantas or the workers?" »

Customer service. Big chain stores like Myer and DJs don’t worry about it. And GASP clothing have tried embraced the oldest model of retail customer service recently: just plain treating their customers like crap.

If you’ve been living under a rock, to fill you in on a story that’s been doing the rounds this past couple of weeks: Keara O’Neil was on a shopping trip down Chapel St, Melbourne, when she walked into a GASP clothing store. Hunting for bridesmaid dresses and a frock for her hen’s night, she tried on a few dresses with the helping hand of a retail assistant, who was initially helpful and cheerful.

And then he turned on her. O’Neil claimed Chris the shop assistant turned nasty, having her dig at her size 12 frame and yelling out: “Have fun shopping at Supre… I knew you were a joke the minute you walked in”.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: The customer is always right" »

Just a few weeks ago we asked for our Friday dilemma whether it’s okay for couples to snog in the park. But yesterday The NT News reported that a couple of Darwinians are taking the whole PDA thing a little too far.

“City office workers watched in disbelief yesterday as a couple went for it on the balcony of a Darwin apartment,” the story reported. Luckily (?) The NT News had a camera there to capture it for all of us and spread it around the Internet. They even took a video which they’ve laid some Bold and the Beautiful¬-esque music over.

The couple are seen dancing and. . . um, well they certainly, erm well, um, ended up doing one saucy foxtrot. In broad daylight. So this brings us to this week’s Friday dilemma. Doing it in public: yes/no?

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Sex in public. On or not on?" »

Anonymous says: “I started doing it at night when everyone else was in bed. Then sometimes on the train, while I’m on my way to work. I’ve even done it at parties, or at the pub. Everyone just used to think I was busy checking work emails. But I wasn’t.

The truth is I’m a Facebook stalker from waaay back.  And now, thanks to these pesky new changes, I’m going to have to fess up or give up before everyone catches on.  Unless, they already have.

Oh, god! Thanks very much Facebook, they’re hardly improvements you know.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: What’s a Facebook stalker to do?" »

Interesting story on the Courier Mail today via mX magazine. A “culture expert”, whatever that is, says that the rest of the world sees Australia as a dumb blonde.

The woman’s name is Patti McCarthy and her somewhat pretentious job title is “Director of Cultural Chemistry” at a company who helps overseas businesses understand Australia’s nuances. But she makes a telling point.

“A lot of people expect us to be [a dumb blonde country] because of our laid-back nature, Neighbours and Ugg boots,” McCarthy told mX.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Is Australia really a dumm blonde?" »

There are dilemmas within dilemmas within dilemmas when it comes to watching sport on telly.

The big one, which The Punch’s token sport yob Ant is always bugging us about, concerns who controls the telly in his single TV household. Basically, when Friday night crime comes on the ABC at 8.30, Ant’s wife gets control of the remote and that’s that.

But aside from all the usual dilemmas surrounding TV and sport, this weekend has thrown up a doozy. Quite simply, which sport to watch?

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: which sport to watch this weekend?" »

The Punch office is right opposite Hyde Park in central Sydney. As the weather warms up, so does the action in the park.

Walk through the park in your lunch hour, and you’ll see birds, bees and young couples who appear to be learning plenty about both.

It’s hard to look away. Well it is. Don’t even think of insulting us by pretending you’re the sort of person who doesn’t stare.

Continue reading "Friday Dilemma: is it OK for couples to snog in the park?" »

Today’s dilemma is a really simple one. In keeping with today’s theme we are asking whether Basil Fawlty was a good boss or not.

Now, obviously most people’s first instinct would be to say that he is a shocking boss, but let’s look a little deeper. He had the world’s worst waiter, the world’s bossiest wife and dithering hotel regulars like Major Gowen, who would drive anyone mad.

On the flipside, he was a manic lunatic with the unique gift of making even the simplest things ridicuously complicated. Hey, but we’ve all got our faults. So you tell us. Good boss? Bad boss?

BBQs are an excuse to feast on too much flesh. But sometimes, the carnivorous offerings at said gatherings are less than they might be.

There really is nothing worse than turning up at a barbie to find cardboard sausages from Woolies, boring old chops and no condiment other than tomato sauce.

This is not to subscribe to the growing cult of food wankerism. It’s just to say that a BBQ should be an excuse to blacken some quality meat cuts, rather than an event where the worst meat imaginable is cooked outdoors. There’s more to it than that.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: is it rude to take my own meat to a BBQ?" »

A 22 year refrigeration mechanic walks into a casino… and what happens next defies belief. (You can read all about it here.)

First, he finds $200 bucks on the floor. This in itself is remarkable. Have you ever been to a casino? There are starving seagulls who swoop on chips slower than gamblers dive for loose cash in one of those hell-holes.

Anyway, the guys picks up the cash and before he knows it he’s in a holding cell for three hours. Next thing he knows, a magistrate slaps him with a $500 fine, plus court costs.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Is cash on a casino floor fair gaming?" »

Anonymous says:

“It’s been awhile since I’d been in the car with dad, but when he offered to drive to my cousin’s place last Sunday, I said yep. Hey, it was a great excuse to indulge in a extra glass of wine or two. Anyway, it wasn’t at all relaxing. From the minute we turned out of the driveway, I was gripping my seat. His driving was out of hand. Forgetting to check mirrors, not indicating and one terrible moment at the traffic lights when we skimmed through a red. He’s 75 this year and always been a pretty good driver. But I’m worried about him. What if he hurts himself? What if he hurts other people? If it was anybody else I’d be ringing the cops straight away. But can I really turn in my dad?”

Can you help this reader? Post your thoughts below.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: My dad’s a bad driver. Do I dob him in?" »

It’s infuriating. Here at The Punch, we regularly call all sorts of academics for their opinions on various things. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get through.

Seriously, their phones just ring and ring and ring. And if you leave a message, good luck hearing back from them before next week. By which time the issue du jour will be well and truly fish and chip wrapping.

Why is this the case? Surely academics have fewer meetings than the rest of us. Surely they are at their desks more, right by that clunky old landline. They have mobiles too, right? With that newfangled voicemail stuff, and all.

Continue reading "Friday dilemma: Why don’t academics answer the phone?" »

You’re driving along the motorway playing “eye spy with my little eye”. That’s when you see it. Three massive suitcases full to the brim with cold, hard cash. Yep, the real McCoy. Nobody else is around and your tank is full of petrol.

This is exactly what happened on a on a slip road near Bad Kissingen in Bavaria this week and the driver handed all of the money back. Wow.

Here’s what The Punch team would do. What about you?

Lucy: I’d take two of the three suitcases because as Meatloaf said, that ain’t bad. And who says you can’t please everyone? The cops get some, along with a new case to investigate and you get a longer holiday.

Ant: I’d take the lot. No honest citizen carries cash in suitcases let alone leaves it by the road. You’re not a bad Samaritan if you spend someone elses’s ill-gotten gains. And you can quote me on that.

Tory: I’d sit on it until I could work out where the money came from, and who would be out of pocket. Then I’d decide. If it was ill-gotten gains I’d keep some then give a bunch to charity to assuage my guilt.

Last weekend, Puncher Ant Sharwood went skiing at Thredbo with a mate. To save money on overpriced snow accommodation and to avoid the tosspot ski crowd, they stayed in a small country town just below the mountains.

The motel was basic but clean, and well priced at $85 per room. After checking in on Friday evening, Ant and his mate walked to the local pub to grab a feed and a beer. They didn’t last long, as Ant explains…

“The first thing I noticed was how cold the pub was. It was freezing. Still, we ordered a meal from the bistro and to be fair, the Chicken Parmy was pretty good, even if the edges of the schnitzel were a bit burnt.

Continue reading "Friday’s dilemma: How to fix a grungy country pub?" »

Is it ever OK to condone theft? A reader sent us in this doozy recently…

“I recently had an employee come and see me because he was struggling financially. A not so good lawyer had not only seen him lose custody of his 3 kids in the family court, but also during the divorce settlement gave his wife almost everything.

“She’s now a single mum with 3 kids and can barley support herself so his payments to her, set by the court, leave him with little to no money of his own. He has since found a new lady friend who has two kids of her own and they have moved in together. Although done for love, this does ease the financial burden caused by rent, utilities, etc.

Continue reading "Friday’s dilemma: sympathy for a broke thief or not?" »

One of The Punch’s team members has had a very bad week. Their youngest kid wrecked their fancy schmancy $1500 Apple Mac - their home computer, not their work one - and it is beyond repair.

The little rascal in question is four years old, and shouldn’t have been on the computer by himself in the first place. Kids today, huh?

So let’s cut to the chase. Should the kid be disciplined? And if so, how? No lollies forever? A good hard smack? A stern talking to?

Continue reading "Friday’s dilemma: Kid wrecks computer, how to punish?" »

Anonymous says:

Can you really call someone a friend if they lie to you all the time? I’m starting to wonder if a once-close friend is now worth having at all. It’s not like they’re big or crazy lies, they’re just a series of continuous small ones about silly little life things (work, friendships, money) but they’re starting to add up and it’s driving me crazy. Actually, it’s making me upset.

It all started about a year ago when I made a big change in my life with my husband. At first it felt like she was keeping her distance from me, our conversations became less regular and things felt strained. But when I asked her about what she might be feeling, she’d just make up an excuse or tell me I was imagining it. One year on though and it’s starting to be confusing. Especially as I keep finding out through one way or the other (including sometimes from her partner) that what she tells me is actually not the truth.

Continue reading "Friday’s dilemma: My friend is a liar, should I ditch her?" »

Anonymous says:

I moved into my new house eighteen months ago now and have been struggling with receiving mail from the old owner ever since. I have reported it to the real estate agent and dropped bundles off more then once. I have RTS’d it with “no longer at this address” clearly written on the front, but it is still arriving. In October last year a Myer One envelope arrived and I could feel that there was a card in it…

I opened it to obtain Myer’s number to phone them and advise of the change of address (as I had sent it back to them before) and I sat on hold for over 20 minutes before I gave up. There was a $105 rewards card in there. I stared at it for weeks and then I spent it. Yesterday $20 arrived… Can I keep spending it or should I bin it to obtain sleep at night? I really enjoy the miscellaneous purchases I made with that $105.

Continue reading "Friday’s dilemma: opening somebody else’s mail" »

Here at The Punch, we pride ourselves on bringing you the big issues. This is not one of them.

That said, Punchie Ant Sharwood has been bugging me all week with this dilemma. Over to you, Ant.

So I’m sitting outside the mall with a tray of cheap takeaway sushi the other day. Two boofy tradesmen sit next to me and light up a B&H each. And I can’t bring myself to eat my sushi in front of them. I just can’t. It just feels way too… effeminate or something.

To be honest, I don’t even know why I bought the sushi in the first place. Normally I’m a laksa kinda dude if I’m having cheap mall Asian takeaway. Pretty sure I felt like something healthy that day, but I wish I’d just stuck to my culinary guns. I hate sushi. It’s clammy. Bleah.

By the way, the sushi joint was full of women. It was like an episode of Sex and the City in there. Subliminally, I think they were telling me something.

Look, I have no need to affirm my masculinity through food, or through anything really. But I just can’t help thinking that if you’re not Japanese, then sushi is fare that should be reserved for the fairer sex. Am I right or am I right?

Anonymous says:

“I changed jobs a few months ago, and at my leaving drinks a colleague told me about a senior manager who was basically stealing from the company. He had a lot of evidence, but made me promise not to tell anyone about it. They both still work there. This is a large global company who has axed a heap of people over recent years due to budget cuts. Should I report his actions to the CEO? Or should I just stay out of it since I no longer work there?”