Society

Don't get me wrong... I love a bargain as much as the next guy or girl.

What I don't like however is when a computer system is implemented with little regard and isn't actively checked by a human.
It's one way to make your company look like a jack-ass.

Sorry Woolworths - you've landed yourself in such a category.

Most Australian supermarket shoppers are aware of the fuel discounts offered by Coles and Woolworths, which can slice anything from $0.03 - $0.20 per litre of the cost of your fuel. Something that's always welcome by motorists.

It's the only reason I have an everyday rewards card. Fuel discounts add up over time, even more so for myself, as I drive with LPG the majority of the time, so $0.20 off per litre on LPG is quite substantial.

During the months of April and May Woolies decided that for 8 weeks straight I would like to buy wine. I'm not talking 1 bottle either. Most 'deals' require a purchase of 6 or more bottles in a given purchase.

A sample of the Email contents is included below:

To be honest, I love a good drop of red. Probably more so than the average punter. (We normally have a few dozen on hand in the house). At the end of March I had let our stocks go down over a period of time so had restocked. This seems to have triggered their rewards system to pester me for the next 8 weeks straight. No fuel offers (which was the main selling point of the card), nor any other offer... just grog.

At 6 bottles minimum per Email over 8 weeks, anyone reading my Email from Woolworths, would think I'm an alcoholic!

The crazy thing... It backfired.
I didn't buy any wine during that period. (As I had just restocked my levels.) This form of marketing happens 'after the fact', and as such it fails. If I have already made a bulk purchase, why would I wish to repeat it shortly after, and every week for a period of 8 weeks?

Woolworths reward system needs looking at. (As does Coles for that matter). It would be more beneficial to flag such bulk purchases of your customers, then look at sending it out 'specials' say every 3,6 or 12 months... you're likely to have a bigger uptake. I can't see my car dealership sending out a "buy a brand new car" Emails if I had just taken delivery of a new vehicle.

Certainly for everyday staples, it would be nice to have these filter through regularly. However don't see these, like 25% off either Meat, Fruit or Vegies for a week. It seems to be items like Coca-Cola, Alcohol and other non-essentials. I'm not surprised though... the supermarkets know we need staples.. and are trying to increase our trolley sizes by teasing us into buying these non-basic item.

Certainly I do hope that Woolworths and Coles both learn that their average shopper has the intelligence above that of a broken trolley wheel, as the current marketing strategies to date are quite insulting.

Well I ranted in my previous post about being held hostage to Farmville.

It was in jest and was poking my adorable wife....

I bit the bullet in the end, and finally joined Facebook and even bloody Farmville.
There should be a law against that game, it's far too addictive.

So dear reader, I'm still wiping egg off my face... I held out for years and didn't see the point of it... but it looks like I've slipped and fell on it.

Though, I gotta admit this whole FB think is great for keeping in touch with long lost friends.... it's really quite scarey.
Pity one can't always seem to shake those people you'd rather forget.

I'm not yet on Twitter, but who knows what 2010 will hold in store.

Often changelogs have important information on why a package was updated. Other times, they are just humorous:

tzdata (2009n-0ubuntu0.9.04.1) jaunty-proposed; urgency=low

* Add argentinas-dst-2009.diff: Disable DST switch for Argentina tomorrow,
as the Argentina government decided yesterday. Careful planning is boring.
Thanks to Margarita Manterola for the patch! (LP: #453165)

-- Martin Pitt Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:22:39 +0200

MX is a free commuter magazine published in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

A regular feature, they ask commuters a question.



Given their time again, I think John and Claire would answer differently.

Source: PhotoBasement

I read Jacinta's post and have to agree with the statements she made.
I'm a red blooded male with crazy hormones running around my body like the next person, yet I know there is a time and a place for such things.

Let's put it in clear context. "Pr0n has no place in a technical conference presentation."

One wouldn't show pr0n related images to their own grandmother or a stranger in the street.
Use this 'stranger in the street' or 'my own grandmother' as a general guide if you are unsure.

If you feel the need to resort to showing such images, you need to ask why.
Is your presentation that dull you need to distract your audience?
Are your presentation skills that poor you need to resort to cheap stunts to keep your audience interested?
Is your knowledge on the given topic limited and needs attention to be misdirected away from the main discussion point?
Are you sure all your audience is of legal age? Being a technical conference doesn't mean there aren't minors present. Keep this in mind.
As a parent, I would be outraged if my teenage child attended such a conference to be subjected to pornographic images.

Playing the 'pr0n card' in a presentation shows a lack of maturity and disregard for your audiences intelligence.
It really isn't 'witty' at all and quite offensive.

Feel free to use humour in your presentation to liven it up, but keep it on a neutral topic and not one that is controversial.
Remember - your presentation is supposed to educate people to your point of view. You won't do this if it polarises your audience!

You would expect a backlash to your presentation if it contained anti-semitic or a white supremacist suggestions... expect the same with anything controversial.

If in doubt, why not run your presentation prior to the conference via the organisers. It's much easier cleaning up the slides prior to the presentation rather than the egg you'll have on your face.

The Australian Federal government announced the $12.2 billion Household Stimulus Package in the wake of the Worldwide Financial Downturn.

Payments are to have commenced during March, and the Tax Bonus for Working Australians in April. As yet I don't know anyone who has received them?

These payments are made up of:

• A Tax Bonus for Working Australians of up to $900 for eligible taxpayers, depending on income thresholds.
• A Single-Income Family Bonus of $900 to provide additional assistance for families that have one main income earner and may otherwise receive less assistance from the package than dual income families with similar household income.
• A Farmer's Hardship Bonus of $950 which will be paid to farmers and others receiving Exceptional Circumstances related income support.
• A Training and Learning Bonus of $950 to assist students, those returning to study or training, and some income support recipients.
• A Back to School Bonus of $950 per child to assist low- and middle-income families eligible for Family Tax Benefit A with school-age children.

Whether you are for or against them... they are coming.

Has anyone out there received their 'Bonus'?
From all reports they are to be staggered out... yet I don't know an individual yet that has received them.

Would be happy to hear from someone that has got that 'cheque in the mail' so to speak.

I find it disturbing that many who claim to be tolerant to minorities often are often bigots in other areas. They are often the first to dismiss or call out others who are intolerant in a particular area, yet unwilling to remove the log that is their eye.

In particular, the majority of people are tolerant to same-sex partnerships and fight for equal rights for these couples. They stand and shout for equality for different races or skin colour (and rightly so).

Yet I find it's become 'hip' in modern times to mock those holding religious beliefs, particularly those of Christian beliefs. This has been drummed into me more in recently time as I read more blog posts of people whining about Easter.

I find it alarming that many of those that stand on their soap-boxes and shout for basic human rights seem to misunderstand the universal declaration of human rights.

One can not claim they stand for human rights if they are not tolerant for all the human rights... this includes: "....race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status... "

Personally, I don't hold an opinion, in the religious affairs of others. They are free to express their beliefs (or not).
I do however get annoyed when so called 'tolerant' people decide to complain about those following their religious beliefs.

Fair enough, if you personally aren't a believer. That's your personal choice. However, it's rich to mock those that do. Don't also claim to be tolerant if you do mock those who hold different beliefs to your own.

Certainly Christian beliefs and holidays aren't everyone's cup of tea. However, like respecting those of other faiths such as Muslim, Buddhism, Hinduism or Judaism; those of the Christian faith should be respected and tolerated.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, some 68% of the population professed to be of Christian faith. Yes, this number is falling, however it is still the majority in this country.

Whilst audiences may not state openly their objections to your public ridicule; any such mocking of any faith is likely to alienate many readers.
So consider what you write, open bigotry of any form is not something that should be tolerated.

Excellent Free Paid Parental leave!

Thanks Kevin!!!



You can find out more about it at : http://www.free-mp-babycare.com.au/