The Down Under Lounge

[Miss Chicken]

It seems that there was talk in Tasmania before the last election that the BTL voting could drop to as low as 20% because of the 'very big field' - there were 54 candidates which I think was a record for Tasmania. I cannot find how many people actually ended up voting BTL.

 

[Australis]

My son and I have an idea to help with that, explaining what every person running stands for, and be able to put up their 300 word manifesto. It would also have a BBS like this attached. It may require a pit something like TNZ, which will be fun.

 

[Miss Chicken]

54 does seem to be a large amount of candidates for the Tasmania. It seems that in 2007 the field was only 24. Quite easy to vote under the line if you have to number 1-24.

 

[jaz'a]

I vote below the line occasionally, but only if I give a support vote which I expect to go to preferences. In those cases I will check who that preferential vote goes to and basically if the Liberals are above Labor I vote below the line. If they're not, I vote above.

If I'm just voting Labor I tend to get lazy and vote above the line.

 

[Australis]

I vote below the line - I don't always want my vote to go to whoever Labor has decided, so I try to work it out for myself, and put the likes of Fred Nile and Pauline Hanson last.

Thought for today:

Brit band - The Sex Pistols
Aussie band - The Celibate Rifles

Some people never noticed.

 

[jaz'a]

Miss C: You linked to a store that you've bought tote bags from in the past. In another thread. I didn't save the link but I find myself in need of one and they were pretty.

What store was it?

 

[Australis]

Miss C, did you see the Ausrora Australis last night? It looks pretty spectacular in pics. It was seen as far north as Goulburn (!). I'm going to have a look tonight, though I doubt it will reach this far. Also, Sydney light pollution.

In NSW, meanwhile, does anyone know anything about the No Land Tax Party? They're running a lot of candidates, but aside from that I can find little about what they want. One of the candidates is a pretty young lady with an Instagram account whose motto is, "When I can, I flash." Quality right there. It's weird. This is exactly why I was saying about that website idea.

 

[Australis]

Malcolm Fraser has died. As someone said, the Darth Vader of my youth and the Obi Wan Kenobi of my middle age. Did good stuff in later years, but hard to forgive for the dismissal and stuff he did as PM.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

^ I just read about his death on FB. I was too young to remember him as PM, but in his later years - he much better for what he stood for.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Miss C: You linked to a store that you've bought tote bags from in the past. In another thread. I didn't save the link but I find myself in need of one and they were pretty.

What store was it?

Sorry, i have taken a couple of days to answer but my landline died and i am waiting for a technician to fix it. Meanwhile i have bought a mobile phone to use so at least I am back on the net.

The site Ibought the ttote bags from was Society 6.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Malcolm Fraser has died. As someone said, the Darth Vader of my youth and the Obi Wan Kenobi of my middle age. Did good stuff in later years, but hard to forgive for the dismissal and stuff he did as PM.

Great description of him. I feel the same way about him.

 

[Australis]

Did you see my aurora?

 

[Miss Chicken]

Did you see my aurora?

No, I usually go to bed early so I tend to miss auroras unless a friend phones me or posts about it on Facebook.

 

[jaz'a]

Miss C: You linked to a store that you've bought tote bags from in the past. In another thread. I didn't save the link but I find myself in need of one and they were pretty.

What store was it?

Sorry, i have taken a couple of days to answer but my landline died and i am waiting for a technician to fix it. Meanwhile i have bought a mobile phone to use so at least I am back on the net.

The site Ibought the ttote bags from was Society 6.

Thanks. I googled and now I've got two on the way. Only need one but there was a Trek/Janeway one and at that price I couldn't help myself.

How long do you find they usually take?

 

[Marc]

^ I just read about his death on FB. I was too young to remember him as PM, but in his later years - he much better for what he stood for.

I was the same - start to be come aware of politics around 1983 when I was 12 so at the end of the Fraser years.

At my great aunt's funeral in 1986 it was said how 1983 was one of her favourite years - partly because Hawke beat Fraser in the election.

It's fun for Abbott - Fraser made no bones about what he thought of the current P.M (and it was it was Abbott's taking the leadership in 2009 that saw him resign from the Liberal Party).

and Abbott appearently posted on facebook about good government under Fraser (a subtle swipe at labor) but seems ignorant of what the economy did under Fraser with Howard as Treasurer. But then abbott strikes me as the sort of person who follows what other people say rather than ever looking for himself.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Miss C: You linked to a store that you've bought tote bags from in the past. In another thread. I didn't save the link but I find myself in need of one and they were pretty.

What store was it?

Sorry, i have taken a couple of days to answer but my landline died and i am waiting for a technician to fix it. Meanwhile i have bought a mobile phone to use so at least I am back on the net.

The site Ibought the ttote bags from was Society 6.

Thanks. I googled and now I've got two on the way. Only need one but there was a Trek/Janeway one and at that price I couldn't help myself.

How long do you find they usually take?

I think it took about 2 weeks, maybe two and a half. it probably a little longer for me because I am in Tasmania.

My landline is now working. The poor technicians have been run off their feet as it seems there has been major problems in my area. The technician said someone at Telstra ballsed up big time. I was given a free Telstra mug.

 

[Australis]

To go with all the mugs at Telstra.

 

[Australis]

Looking back, Fraser seems like two different men. The warm humanitarian not afraid to take the Govt to task, and the aloof and arrogant PM that ran people ragged in the 70s and 80s.

Take a look at the cover of this cartoon book. Patrick Cook was really tough on Fraser, and deservedly so. It seemed he was creating a wasteland, and it was the Franklin Dam issue that helped bring him down. And yes, he always seemed to have that stern angry face. I've been trying to find more cartoons like this, but this will have to do for now.

 

[Botany Bay]

Will catch up with everyone's posts when I can. Have had quite a week.

Yesterday I experienced something for the first time : I was the victim of fraud. It leaves you a bit shaken to be honest.

Apparently someone walked into a bank branch over two hours from where I live, and with a fake driver's licence was able to convince they bank teller to hand over every dollar from my account.

It just beggars belief this could happen. I mean, usually you have to get an SMS verification if you just want to add a new payee on your internet banking. When you call up, you get asked a series of ID questions and a password, so it's a bit puzzling what went on.

I wonder what the teller could have been thinking? You'd think it would raise a red flag or two when someone walks into a branch two hours drive away from their home address as presented on the license to advise the bank they've moved to a new address an hour from that particular branch (my bank records would show I've never set foot in either suburb, ever), oh and by the way I lost my phone as well, oh, and I have no bank card, but while you're at it, can you please give me every dollar in my account? And to top it all off the signature used wasn't really even close to mine.

Really concerning how this could happen. Lots of questions to be answered. Bottom line is I wasted all day Friday being interviewed by cops and fraud investigators, and will be without my cash for 4-6 weeks.

Change your passwords guys. And never, ever, ever let someone get a copy of your license.

 

[Australis]

The bank messed up, you should get your money back. What you need to do is figure out how they got the details. Online transaction, phishing email, snail mail stolen from letterbox, that kind of thing. It'll help the police too.

Just curious, without meaning to profile or anything, but anything about the ethnicity of the fraudster? Same as yours? A number of international gangs have been busted here and abroad doing this stuff. Did the police show you a pic? They probably have CCTV footage, you may have met the person.