Infonomad

ITALY & GREEK ISLAND CRUISE 2017

2018-01-03T17:45:00.000+10:00

Another ocean cruise, this time with Holland America, after we had had time to forget the 2014 one!

Food was great, but the main object seemed to be fleecing passengers with overpriced drinks & tours that could be had cheaper with a bit of an online search, which we did. Internet pricing was quite ridiculous & we were told by a performer that they got it for a fraction of what we were charged, so apart from the first day, we accessed it at port calls.

One thing that really annoyed us was the poor briefing on board which did not advise us of the hopon hopoff bus services available at quite a few stops & which we found out only by advice from other passengers. These were great & made sightseeing much easier without having to book an expensive paid tour.

11 Oct - flew to Venice via Hong Kong, where we had a 3 hour wait to catch our flight to Frankfurt. HK is a dump & not a patch on Singapore if you have a wait between flights. We then had a 3 hour wait in Frankfurt before boarding our flight to Venice. What a contrast to HK. Frankfurt had considered passengers with a lengthy wait by having beds in walkthrough areas - brilliant. Well done to the Germans for considering passengers - a rare consideration in airports generally!

We were booked into Hotel Centauro in Venice & had some fun getting there. The airport bus took us halfway, then we took the ferry to Rialto wharf. We would have been better getting a water taxi instead of the ferry as walking on the cobblestones in Venice is a pain & it is one of the easiest cities I have ever been to in which to get lost. The hotel was fine if a bit cramped, but quite central.

12/13 Oct - explored around St Marks, visited the Doges Palace which had an interesting museum & where we were very lucky to catch an exhibition 'Jewels of the Moguls' which was wonderful. We also took a ferry to gardens near Campo Chiesa, which were quite a pleasant change from the crowds in town, & walked back from there to St Marks during which we saw our cruise ship coming in. How locals put up with the masses of tourists whilst remaining polite & helpful, heaven knows!

14 Oct - joined the cruise in Venice & after the usual settling process went exploring.

15 Oct - cruised to our first port in Albania.

16 Oct - arrived in Sarande, Albania which was still run down after the repressive communist era & had little of interest for us.

17 Oct - now at Argostoli on the west coast of Cephalonia, which was quite a pleasant place, but we didn't have enough time to explore places of interest like Ithaca, home of Odysseus of Iliad fame.

18 Oct - on to Katakolon, part of the Peloponnese & gateway to Olympia, where we took a tour with Olympic Tours which was excellent, in fact we used them for several other tours instead of the ones organised by the ship. Opympia & the village was well worth the visit.

19 Oct - next to Nafplion, which was quite scenic with Palamidi Castle in the background of the pleasant little town. We wandered around & visited the Komboli museum with its extensive display of worry beads, so of course I had to buy some! I took the hopon hopoff bus to the castle, had a look around taking plenty of snaps of the interior & view, then walked back to town down the 999 steps. This was the most interesting of the smaller ports visited from our point of view.

20/21 Oct - on to Athens, or at least Piraeus its port & another tour with Olympic around Athens & then Ancient Corinth & the Canal the next day, both very professional & interesting. Of course, Athens is one of those places we could have spent much more time in, but that's the point of cruising, a quick look at a lot of places to determine which might reward a second visit. Naturally the Parthenon & Roman Agora were highlights, as was the Corinth Canal, which I had passed through in 1969 & remains just as memorable & impressive today. Again, we had to restrict ourselves to what we could fit into the time available.

22 Oct - now at Mykonos, a pleasant little town with the main feature of windmills.

>23 Oct - sailing into Santorini was breathtaking & the vinyards most interesting with the vines grown at ground level, but the wines were poor. Oia itself can be toured quite comfortably in a couple of hours with some spectacular views. Unfortunately our tour did not take in the Akrotiri Minoan ruins & we opted not to climb the cliff by donkey, using the cable car instead - much more comfortable!

24 Oct - at sea.

25 Oct - into Naples, a very interesting city & gateway to several different areas like Sorrento, Amalfi, Pompei, & Capri which we didn't have time to visit, so will put it on our bucket list for another time.

26-30 Oct - cruise ends in Civitaveccia, port for Rome, where we disembark & head for our hotel Dei Borgia. We booked in for several days to enable us to have a quick look around Rome. Again, the hopon hopoff busses were excellent & convenient. The crowds, however, at all major attractions were horrific. We managed to fit in the usual tourist attractions, Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Forum, Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps & Vatican. The Vatican museum has a marvellous display of ancient egyptian artifacts & if you are thinking of going to Egypt I'd suggest you don't waste your time, as you would avoid getting sick & see more by visiting this museum instead! The other artifacts from Assyrian & other civilizations were also great, but the Sistine chapel left us cold. Once again, we could have spent more time, with Rome a convenient spot for tours to Naples, Pompeii, Catacombs, etc, but it didn't appeal as much as Naples.

30 Oct-2 Nov - We took the fast train to Florence & our hotel the Garibaldi Blu. Hopon hopoff busses were again a convenient way to sightsee & we found Fiesole village in the hills above the city a lovely spot, but with too little time to enjoy fully. The Leonardo museum is a must to appreciate the man's genuis. The only disappontment was our visit to the Boboli Gardens, which were an absolute ripoff. We make a point of visiting gardens whereever we visit, but these were very poor, consisting mainly of walkways between avenues of trees or hedges. We should have visited more galleries to truly appreciate the art scene, but by this time we were ruined out & had seen more than enough art & churches too, so were glad to head for home.

The weather for the whole trip had been wonderful apart from our last couple of days when it turned cool & damp, but what made the trip for me was finding an old childhood friend awaiting us at our hotel in Florence. She had flown out from London to meet us, so we enjoyed some catching up & sharing stories with her.

P&O Cruise 2014 & River Cruise France 2015

2018-01-01T17:18:00.002+10:00

Somehow our ocean cruise with P&O in 2014 & the river cruise through the centre of France slipped through the cracks & I never commented on them, so here goes, better late than never!

PACIFIC CRUISE WITH P&O DEC 2014

An ocean cruise that slipped through the cracks was one we did with P&O Pacific Pearl, which Jan won. No doubt I forgot it because it was quite forgettable!

Briefly, Food & service - couldn't fault it. Shows - Davidia excellent, magician good, rest very amateur. I've seen better high school performances. Art seminars excellent. Rest of cruise boring.

Isle of Pines snorkelling woeful with bleached coral, better at Green Is.

Lifou crap, no buses or taxis at landing which was dirty, only tours, so we didn't get to see what we wanted.

Port Vila OK but grubby & expensive being boat day.

Considering we were in duty free area drinks on board were exorbitant as was internet. The cruise was slanted to the young who wanted to party at night - one young bloke told us he paid $630 for it, - or to compulsive shoppers.

AVALON CRUISE THROUGH CENTRE OF FRANCE OCT 15

Having previously enjoyed a cruise with Avalon from Amsterdam to Budapest in 2012, we decided to book with them again for a cruise through the centre of France in 2015, taking in the First World War battlefields as well. Below is a summary of the trip & our thoughts on it.

Overall impressions of our French cruise - great, but not as scenic as the one we did Amsterdam to Budapest some years ago, and again, we could not fault the Avalon boat & crew. Also, we were told before we went that the French were rude & Paris was dirty & full of graffiti. However, we found the French friendly, polite, only too willing to help & very tolerant of my fractured french language skills! Paris was certainly not dirty compared to some places we have been & its graffiti no worse. A cruise like this is perfect to give one an overview of a place in comfort & enables one to decide what areas or places to revisit.

One thing that is essential in planning a trip is NOT to leave flight bookings to your friendly travel agent alone - you really need to check everything yourself, or you end up spending 6 hours in a transit lounge like we did in Hong Kong, which is a dump! We were booked throught to Paris, then backtracked down to Nice where we were met & transferred to our hotel in Moraco, which was very pleasant & Monaco/Monte Carlo was interesting.

19 Oct - We spent the next day on an interesting tour of Nice before a 4 hour trip to Arles where we boarded our boat.

20/21 Oct - Arles was a rundown place with many buildings looking derelict, but the Roman amphitheatre was very good & worth a visit. Bull running/fighting is held in Aug/Sep., although the bulls are not killed (it is not the barbaric style practised in Spain), but apparently it is much patronised by the Spanish. The town was very run down with many derelict buildings again & shops opened very late. A pity the Mistral was blowing & it was cold.

22 Oct - On to Uzes which was lovely with the impressive Roman acqueduct Pont du Gard on the way. Then reboarded to go on to Avignon where the ruined Popes palace was less than interesting, except as a reminder of the power & obscene wealth of the church.

23 Oct - Viviers & little of interest in what is supposed to be an unspoiled medaeval village.

24 Oct - Tournon & Vienne, great Roman ruins & pleasant little town with a great market at Tournon. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the Chateau de la Batie which is in private hands.

25 Oct - Lyon, beautiful centre of silk production in the 18th century& we would have loved to spend more time here. Well worth a revisit to explore the aspects of it as the centre of French resistance during the Second World War.

26 Oct - Macon & Tournus, which we did not visit, opting to take a tour to the Chateau Cormatin which was well worth it with its moat & lovely gardens. Then on to Chalon-sur-Saone where we disembark next day to catch a train to Paris.

27- 29 Oct - Paris, which I think is one of the most liveable of cities, much more so than London where I had lived & worked for nearly 5 years in the '70s. We visited the Palace of Versailles was quite disappointing although impressive for its size & the gardens were not much compared to others we have seen. Prinneys Palace at Brighton was much more interesting in that it showed the difference between the upstairs & downstairs life & conditions & possibly because it was more intimate. We also did the obligatory show at the Moulin Rouge & sauntered round the usual tourist destinations. We can thoroughly recommend the Batobus for hopon, hopoff stops at points of interest along its route. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the catacombs, which were closed on the only other day we had free.

We also took a tour of the battlefields of the Somme, visiting some of the allied & German cemetaries, particularly Villers-Bretonneux, where a school, which was the gift of children of Victoria to the children of that town, is now the Franco-Australian museum. It was very moving to visit these & some of the old trench lines which had been preserved. It was sobering to think that a whole generation had been decimated, particularly when I remembered stories told to me by my old Aunt & Uncle of people they knew who had gone & having met two other relatives who had been respectively gassed & severely wounded during that conflict.

As before we found Avalon to be an excellent river cruise company in all respects & will use them again. However, for anyone proposing to do some river cruising, we would recommend that they do this cruise before the Amsterdam to Budapest one, as it cannot compare in terms of interest & several places we might have liked to visit we could not, as we wanted to take an optional trip which clashed.

How True!

2013-04-12T12:26:00.001+10:00

These days legislation & regulation, presided over by unproductive bureaucrats, has stultified initiative in all spheres, with disastrous effects on world-wide economies.

Anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865) wrote:

‘To be governed is to be watched over, inspected, spied on, directed, legislated at, regulated, docketed, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, assessed, weighed, censored, ordered about, by men who have neither the right, nor the knowledge, nor the virtue...

‘To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished.'

Diary - Rhine Trip Amsterdam to Budapest 2012

2012-11-24T17:05:00.001+10:00

Neither of us had been on a cruise before & as Jan gets seasick, we opted to try a river cruise to ease us into the experience.

I had heard that the Amsterdam to Budapest trip was worth doing, so decided to try that & the following is a brief account of our experience.

First of all, we decided to repeat our use of Premium Economy air travel which we had first experienced on our trip to Africa last year & found excellent as far as seat comfort, service & meal quality was concerned. However, we had used Qantas before & on this trip were advised that British Airways was the best option & provided similar quality - RUBBISH. BA was disgusting & Jan arrived in Heathrow sick as a dog & requiring a wheelchair to get to our departure point for Amsterdam. Read my earlier blog about the experience, which ensures we will not use BA again if avoidable.

27 Sep

Canal cruise in Amsterdam followed by own walk around in the day, passing on the tour of Gassan Diamonds & Hermitage Museum optional excursion. Jan improved a lot. Didn't manage to find the flower markets unfortunately, due to time constraints before boat departure.

We were asked to complete our preferences for which of the 13 optional excursions we wanted to take & were provided with a summary of what they covered. We chose 6 which added Euro 582 to the trip cost, but they were worth it.

Viewed passing through the first of the 68 locks on the trip, a huge affair capable of taking 4 boats of our size. Other locks were not as large but the 2 deepest had an 81 foot fall!

The boat is 443 feet long & 34 wide with 47 crew, very clean & comfortable with 4 decks including the upper sky deck, a large restaurant, a large saloon & bar forward & a small rear coffee/library/TV room at the rear of the boat. We were told the boat could float in only 10cm of water because of a ballasting system. All rooms were quite spacious with TVs & free internet access. However, the latter could be affected by where we were docked & by going through locks, but was otherwise good.

In the evening, we had a talk about the difference between Holland & Netherlands, which was instructive, then off to the usual excellent 8 course dinner after which we could enjoy casual music in the forward saloon, or special performances put on at particular locations.

The only problem with the cruise was that we were fed so well we didn't feel like sampling any of the local food in any of the places visited! However, the chef generally included one local choice with the meals served, as well as having a standard reserve of 3 entrees & 3 mains available in case anyone didn't like anything on the main menu.

28 Sep

Cologne walking tour - interested to see the development since last here in mid '80s. Took the pilgrim tour of the cathedral, which was otherwise closed to tourists. Stained glass had been cleaned & the Dom impressive. Bought some Farina cologne, the first cologne produced here.

Our walking tour went past the Hohenzollern rail bridge, which we were told handles 1200 trains a day!

We went into the museum covering Roman occupation – very interesting with a stunning Dionysius Mosaic from the 2^nd century & could have spent more time there.

Concert by La Strade trio of 2 violinists & 1 guitarist in the evening - very pleasant.

29 Sep Up early to see the vinyards on steep slopes & first of the castles in the Rhine Gorge – very spectacular. Misty on the hills & cold on deck, but cleared up to a fine day so we caught a glimpse of the Lorelei statue by the river.

In to Rudesheim pm - lovely little village with a Xmas shop similar to Rothenburg's but much smaller. Gave the mechanical musical instrument museum a miss & had a Rhine wine at a small estaminet before going on to sample a Rudesheimer coffee (brandy & sugar set on fire, doused with coffee & covered in cream & choc flakes). Then ambled down the Drosselgasse, very narrow street filled with cafes & tourist shops back to the river & on board again.

Unfortunately, at Rudesheim we didn't have a chance to get up to the Niederwald monument of the statue of Germania cast from 32 tonnes of bronze to celebrate unification of Germany in 1871, perched on a hillside just north of the village, or visit Hildegard of Bingen's abbey nearby, or we would have had to forgo the walking tour of the town & we wanted to visit the Xmas shop there as well. Definitely an area worth a longer visit via road.

30 Sep on to Miltenberg. Pleasant walk down the picturesque main street & up to the Schloss, which we didn't enter, but admired the view from.

Marvellous Zither concert that afternoon by Tomy Temerson, one of only a handful of professional players world wide - very complicated instrument! Then attended a hilarious show put on by the crew at night.

1 Oct on to Wurtzburg. Bishop's palace interesting, but the guide waffled on too long - we could have done it in half the time, giving us more to spend exploring, not that there was too much else to see there, as the gardens were past their best. However, we didn't have time to wander over the old bridge to the Marienberg Fortress, which would have been interesting. The palace tour brought home the arrogance of the bishops in those days & the profligacy of the Catholic church.

A tour of the boat's galley that afternoon was interesting, as was question time with Captain Remus who fielded questions on a variety of subjects.

2 Oct on to Bamberg. Pleasant town with plenty of antique shops & good for walking. It is reputed the beer capital of Germany & famous (notorious?) for its Rauchbier, as smokey flavoured black beer, which I didn't try after watching reactions from some who did! Bought some fruit at the green markets where we found prices were on a par with Oz.

That night we were treated to the Chef's special dinner, 9 courses instead of 8! Also that night Gunzheimer Swingband entertained on board, but too late for us.

3 Oct on to Nuremberg. Very interesting town with not enough time to explore as much as we would have liked. Castle superb, but again, not enough time to do the 1.5 hour palace tour.

That afternoon we had a talk on the Main-Danube Canal, which was very interesting. We had been climbing through the locks, were now on a plateau & that night were going to be going downhill through the locks!

4 Oct on to Weltenburg Abbey via a boat trip through the Danube Gorge. Lovely trip with interesting scenery. The Abbey was ordinary until we got into the chapel, which was very ornate. The Abbey is the oldest abbey brewery in the world & the beer was excellent.

Then on to Regensberg which was worth a longer look. I discovered a golf museum by accident & it was superb. I told the tour director that he needs to announce it as a 'must see' for golfers in future.

A beer tasting later on the boat was quite interesting too, describing the various main types, but the entertainment later was a bit ordinary - Oom pa pa with a guy with the biggest moustache in Germany who was very talented, but I didn't go for the audience participation!

5 Oct we passed on Passau, as we had booked the optional Cesky Krumlov tour to see into the Czech Republic. We enjoyed a drive of over an hour to get to it & found the area we visited very interesting. Whilst most of it had been restored after the Communist era, there were still parts that showed how it was then – dirty, drab & run down - although these were slated for redevelopment & will soon disappear.

We rejoined the boat at Linz, but unfortunately didn't have time to see much of it, or visit Mauthausen, the former Nazi concentration camp. (The Austrians don't want to talk about the fact that Hitler was Austrian, preferring to refer to Kepler, composers & tortes!)

6 Oct after leaving Linz we sailed through night getting to Melk early the next morning to visit the famous baroque Abbey. Later that morning we passed through the stunning Wachau Valley which afforded some superb views of vinyards & castles on the way to Durnstein, a winegrowing village with a ruined castle above where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned on his way back from the crusades. It was quite a climb, but worth it for the views!

7 Oct on to Vienna where we experienced the first rain of the trip. We had opted for the optional tour of Schonbrunn Palace following a coach tour of the city. It was impressive, but we were pushed through it quite quickly with other tour groups before & after us. We went to an apple strudel making demonstration in the grounds which included a massive helping of the same with coffee in what looked like an old wine cellar, which was welcome as it had turned cold & wet outside.

We gave the optional classical concert that night a miss as it consisted of standard works like the Blue Danube & Radetski March & we had had enough of the cold & wet.

8 Oct saw us coaching to Bratislava in Slovakia which was quite interesting, with many antique stores. That afternoon we took an optional tour to Schlosshof Palace. It had been extensively damaged by Russian troops after the war but had largely been renovated. The grounds were beautiful but again we didn't have much time to explore fully.

That night we had our farewell dinner followed by a concert by the Aphrodites, which was very pleasant.

9 Oct arrived in Budapest & did a city tour before taking an optional tour to Szentendre In Pest County, which took us to Skansen, a reconstructed rural village of thatched houses & animal pens, which was quite interesting, then on to a diamond & jewellery centre which was disappointing, as it was supposed to house the Sissi collection, but they were just some reproductions.

We returned to the boat by speedboat, which was a pleasant ride once the cabin was closed in, as it was getting cold by then.

10 Oct as we had elected to spend an extra couple of days in Budapest, we were able to book another optional tour to Puszta Farm, an animal farm with horse riding & coach displays followed by a typical Hungarian goulash lunch.

This was excellent value, although the performers all lined up for tips & as we had only Euros instead of Hungarian Forints, were largely disappointed! (We had opted to pay our tips up front as part of the tour, but it was recommended we tip the guides on the optional excursions about 1-2 Euro if we were happy with them.) This was one of the best optional tours of the trip, as we were past castles, cathedrals & abbeys by then.

Final impressions – a great trip, well organised by Avalon in very comfortable cabins (even though we were on the lowest deck), excellent food & service throughout & good company. We would recommend it to anyone without hesitation (but diet first!).

11/12 Oct
We elected to spend a couple of extra days in Budapest after the cruise to have a more extensive look around & were glad we did so, as there is a lot to see. For example, I went to the Torture Museum, which showcases life under Communism & the persecutions carried out by the Hungarian secret police. It was very sobering & gave an indelible impression of the horrors perpetrated in that era.

There were other interesting walks & monuments & we only scratched the surface.

British Airways Sucks!

2012-10-20T17:24:00.001+10:00

We booked a river cruise Amsterdam to Budapest commencing 26 Sep 12.

We had travelled to Africa on Qantas Premium Economy last year & it was brilliant, so decided to do the same to Amsterdam to connect with the cruise. The best flight link-ups were with BA & we were advised by our Flight Centre agent that BA's World Traveller equivalent to Premium Economy was as good as Qantas' - RUBBISH!!

On arrival at Cairns on 25 Sep to book in, I found that, despite being ticketed as a couple, we were seated separately. Although I got this sorted out for the first leg of our trip to Singapore & although the seats were fairly similar to Qantas', we were very disappointed with the service & food in BA's World Traveller section. It was abysmal & we would have been better saving a lot of money going Economy.

At our stopover in Singapore, I was told nothing could be done about seating us together & my best option was to see if another passenger would swap seats with one of us after take off. Fortunately I was able to do this.

The fun really started in London. Jan had been taken ill during the last hour of the flight after eating the awful breakfast & I had to arrange a wheelchair for her, then pass through the increased security operating that day. On presenting for our connection to Amsterdam we were told we were double booked & had been taken off the flight. It was obvious that BA has a policy of double booking connections from overseas flights, no doubt reasoning that they will often be late.

We were told the duty manager would attend & arrange another flight & eventually a sandy haired, ineffectual twit turned up, offered us some compensation & booked us on a flight. He said we could bypass having to go through security again by using a tunnel instead of the train connecting gates B with gates A, but didn't bother to tell us that I couldn't get the wheelchair down to it. Jan barely managed the walk & when we arrived at gate A10 all the way from B33, the pratts there told us in a couldn't care less attitude that it had closed a couple of minutes before, upon which I blew my top. Heathrow is a dump of a rabbit warren & best avoided. If you have to go to UK, use Gatwick.

We eventually managed to get another flight 2.5 hours later.

Fortunately the connection to our tour went well & put us on board without having to go to a holding hotel first, so Jan was able to go straight to bed. The tour with Avalon was excellent & exceeded our expectations - more on that in a later blog.

We then had the unenviable return flight with BA until we connected with Qantas in Hong Kong. Their Premium Economy is FAR superior to BA's World Traveller, both in terms of seating, food & service. (I will also note here that I hadn't been in HK since they opened the new airport & we found it smaller, more relaxing & easier to get around than Singapore. We will transit there in future if possible.)

So, if you plan on long trips, do NOT use British Airways World Traveller. It simply is not worth the extra over Economy & the food & service is certainly well behind Qantas.

History Repeats!

2012-10-20T16:27:00.002+10:00

I haven't posted for some time but came across some quotes I couldn't resist passing on.

I've posted before on Abe Lincoln's fiscal policy, which modern America has long forgotten, but I had not been aware of Thomas Jefferson's comments.

He seems to have been wiser even than Lincoln, but again, his wisdom has been forgotten or buried by corrupt politicians & businessmen in all countries, especially bankers. Hence this current global financial crisis.

Here's a selection:

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.'

Yet, only a few years later in 1838 the banker A B Rothschild said:

"GIVE ME CONTROL OF A NATION'S MONEY SUPPLY, AND I CARE NOT WHO MAKES ITS LAWS".

Travel & Thailand Notes

2012-07-11T11:09:00.000+10:00

I travelled to Thailand recently & here are some comments on my experiences for the benefit of fellow travellers.

In Singapore airport I had a bit of a wait & as usual wandered around the airport looking at the various changes, as Changi always seems to be remodelling. Feeling in need of a snack as opposed to a big meal, I happened to chance upon a BT Wang stall & was impressed at the snacks available, service & great coffee. Have a look at http://www.wangcafe.com/.

As I was only in Phuket for a few days, I booked into a budget hotel in Patong www.sabaideepatong.com/. It was quite adequate for my needs as I don't require luxury, the service was friendly, the rooms clean & it was well positioned not far from Jung Ceylon.

Another thing that I loved was that it was run by Turks, so there was good coffee, kebabs available at night & breakfast choices included Sucuk. I normally only eat Thai, but on occasion a change is pleasant & this place fitted the bill.

The only disappointment was Jetstar! The flight was delayed for 1.5 hours in Singapore & a further 5 hours in Brisbane with no notification although they had my email & phone no. This is not the first time I've been stuffed about by this airline & I'll be avoiding it where possible in future.

Letter to Gillard

2012-05-04T15:15:00.000+10:00

I haven't posted for some time, but couldn't pass this one up! Some brilliant spark thought up this letter to our PM:

Dear Ms. Gillard,

Please find below our suggestion for fixing Australia 's economy.

Instead of giving billions of dollars to banks that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.

You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 10 million people over 50 in the work force.

Pay them $1 million each severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire.
     Ten million job openings - unemployment fixed

2) They MUST buy a new Australian car.
     Ten million cars ordered - Car Industry fixed

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage -
     Housing Crisis fixed

4) They MUST send their kids to school/college/university -
     Crime rate fixed

5) They MUST buy $100 WORTH of alcohol/tobacco a week .......
     and there's your money back in duty/tax etc

6) Instead of stuffing around with the carbon emissions trading scheme that makes us pay for the major polluters tell the greedy bastards to reduce their pollution emissions by 75% within 5 years or we shut them down.

It can't get any easier than that!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members of parliament pay back their falsely claimed expenses and second home allowances

And if you were wondering why we can't have certain notices in public places, here's more food for thought!

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a
courthouse or Parliament, has nothing to do with offending other faiths. It is this -
You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal', 'Thou Shalt Not Commit
Adultery' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and
politicians...... It creates a hostile work environment!

South African Trip 2011

2012-01-12T14:02:00.000+10:00

In April we finally made the trip to South Africa. Jan had wanted to go on safari & I wanted to catch up with the SA relatives that I had never met, but had corresponded with. The last time one of the Ceylon Siedle's had visited SA was my Grandfather around 1904 on his way back to Ceylon from UK, so it was high time to renew the acquaintance. We duly caught up with a number of cousins in Durban and also in Howick past Pietermaritzberg. We visited the statue of Perla Siedle Gibson, The Lady in White, who use to sing for troop ships arriving in Durban during the war. The sculptor of the statue was one of my cousins, Barbara, who is an accomplished artist too.

Next, we went to stay in the tented camp at Thula Thula game lodge for a few days during which we went on several game drives. The lodge was set up by the Elephant Whisperer, Lawrence Anthony, who also authored a book of that name, which is well worth a read. We saw plenty of the elephants as well as a variety of other game, like rhino, giraffe etc, thoroughly enjoyed it & had a couple of interesting conversations at dinner with Lawrence as well.

After that, we went up to St Lucia to meet another cousin, Janine & her children, & go on a lake cruise during which we sighted more animals including hippo, mongooses & duiker. That was followed the next day by another game drive at Umfolozi, which was more open than Thula but we were lucky enough to get a close sighting of a leopard, unusual during the day.

Before leaving Thula, we paid a visit to the Sangoma, or witch doctor, who told us what he thought we wanted to hear, although the effect was somewhat lessened when he paused to answer his mobile!

We then departed for Cape Town where we did some sight seeing, but the city left us generally underwhelmed. However we did manage to get up to Table Mountain on one fine day which was superb, as were the Botanic Gardens at Kirstenbosch.

A day trip out to Cape Point was worth it, as was one to Stellenbosch & Franschoek, through the vinyards & when we go back we'll spend a bit more time there. We visited a Cheetah rehab centre on the way out there too, which we thoroughly enjoyed, especially as there were a variety of other animals there too, like Serval, Caracal, Meercats & Bat-eared Foxes.

Impressions of S Africa – I had no preconceived ideas of the country, but was somewhat apprehensive about driving whilst in Durban after our experiences in Thailand & India. I need not have worried as generally driving was easy & quite well signposted with good roads by & large. The only things to watch for were the taxi minibuses whose drivers were pretty awful.

Durban had a climate similar to Brisbane & Cape Town probably like Melbourne in its changeability. One thing we noticed was the security required in residential areas & we heard some scary home invasion/burglary stories from Barbara & others. However, we did not feel insecure wandering about either city during the day & did not try it at night, sticking close to where we were staying at Holiday Inn Express in Cape Town for meals. Both cities were quite clean, water could be drunk from the tap & food was good & cheaper than at home.

Natives were polite & not pushy about us buying in markets & shops. We did not get accosted too often by beggars when we went out & the few that did were not persistent. The quality of souvenirs was not bad, although lots of the same sort of stuff was being sold wherever we went & not much appealed.

The country was preparing for elections a couple of days after we left & stories we heard indicated that politicians were similar to ours, corrupt, stupid or incompetent, but all looking after themselves first & the electorate later! It seems that the black/white divide still exists although lessening in feeling & that it will take some time for voters to change from the devils they know.

The country is quite varied & vast, so we only scratched the surface on this trip & from what we heard talking to other people another trip taking in the west of the country & up to Victoria Falls would be interesting, so another trip is planned at some stage.

Election Views

2010-08-13T15:10:00.000+10:00

Well, the Oz election is in full swing, with junk mail from candidates bombarding our letterboxes (at the cost of whole forests – funny the Greens aren't protesting about this) and extended TV time (all paid for by long-suffering taxpayers of course) boring us all to death.

Fortunately the solution to the latter, and to the interminable and ever-increasing ads on TV, lies in the greatest invention of the last century, the mute button on the remote!

Unfortunately, the solution to the former, namely having all candidates meet the costs out of their own pockets of their TV ads, printed brochures and posters that litter the landscape, is most unlikely to eventuate.

It is time we picked the best of other countries' policies on elections. For example, we could emulate Sweden, where no TV ads are allowed. or Italy where negative advertising is not allowed, or Mexico which sets a limit on ad spend. More importantly, we could insist on publication of a straightforward declaration of policies limited to one A4 sheet for each party, or candidate in the case of independents. The last thing we want is to become more like the USA with its horrendously expensive, and to outsiders idiotic, presidential campaign.

However, it can be interesting, indeed quite hilarious at times, to observe the approaches by the different parties during interviews.

At home, we christened Gillard 'Noddy', as when Rudd was in office, she was always behind him nodding agreement to his every pronouncement. Now she has successfully knifed him in the back and taken his place, she has acquired her very own 'Noddy'. It must be a Labor party requirement for high office. Unfortunately for her, it effectively prevents her from distancing herself from Rudd's policies and his disastrous mistakes like the home insulation fiasco.

Abbott at least appears on his own in most interviews, but that has not stopped him from putting his foot firmly in his mouth at times, such as when he effectively said his word could not be relied on about anything! We all knew that applied to politicians generally and it was refreshing, if embarrassing to him, to hear one finally admit it.

The Greens seem to adopt a policy of being firm on any conservation issue, as long as they don't have to observe it and someone else pays. For example, their stance on introduction of a carbon price seems to be in direct opposition to their silent acquiescence of the reams of election junk being produced. In fact, most of their other policies seem to be intent on costing taxpayers more than the other parties and that is saying something!

The independents seem to stand for anything as long as they can get their noses into the trough and obtain a slice of the many excessive perks available to those in office.

But in the end it seems we will be relegated to our usual choice of spendthrift Labor and (relatively) fiscally careful NLP, neither of whom seem to have any long term (20-50 years) plans for the country.

Political Economics

2010-06-25T11:18:00.000+10:00

In three recent articles I commented on the effects in Australia of idiotic political decisions in the current economic crisis, other countries' policies on Australia, and individual responsibilities or lack thereof.

In this article I make some comments on Keynes influence on political decisions, again with particular reference to Australia.

There is no doubt that John Maynard Keynes was a brilliant economist, very influential in the 1930s and subsequently. The latter is probably because he propounded that free markets were imperfect and that it was the job of governments to intervene.

What an irresistable invitation to any politician, although to his credit he also called politicians a bunch of liars!

Unfortunately, politicians and bureaucrats since then have lived up to his description by consistently misinterpreting and manipulating his theories to suit their own ends, to the disadvantage of the free market and consequently taxpayers generally.

What Keynes actually suggested was that, in the event of a downturn in an economy, governments should spend and therefore go into short term debt in order to stimulate it.

The important qualification was that the debt was to be short-term and the spending to be on investment into sections of the economy that created long term jobs and tax revenue from the income thus created, both company and individual.

This increased tax revenue was then to be used to pay off the short term debt as soon as possible.

During the current crisis, most if not all, governments have concentrated on throwing taxpayers' money into areas that stimulate consumption instead of investment.

This has added to the long term debt that they had built up over years in non-productive social experiments, bloated bureaucracy to administer these, and encouraging consumption over saving and investment.

Australia was one exception in that two years ago it had no debt, despite an enormous bureaucracy spread over three layers of government. Unfortunately Rudd has fixed that and plunged the country into debtor nation status since he gained power and is now seeking other sources to plunder to pay for his misguided policies.

It has been argued that Keynes theories may no longer apply in the modern world with its much more complex economy and financial system. However, the basic balance between supply and demand has not changed.

What has changed is the increased concentration on social programs and promotion of consumption, at least in the western world, at the expense of investment in productive enterprises and personal saving.

This has created an imbalance in economies that will take years to work through, mainly because Keynes theories have been consistently bastardised and manipulated by those in power to suit their own short term ends.

Government Duplicity

2010-06-24T10:30:00.000+10:00

In the current debate on the Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT), the government is squandering $38 million in taxpayers funds in an advertising campaign that is not only inept but downright misleading.

True, the miners are putting out equally misleading advertisements, but at least they are not wasting taxpayers' funds doing so.

There are several aspects of the RSPT that are worrying, leaving aside the question of whether it is unconstitutional on the grounds that a State owns the resources within its boundaries and why it is applied only to this sector. (Why not apply it to, say, banking, which could arguably be accused of ripping off customers far more than miners?)

As it stands at present, the RSPT is collected by the federal government and used for federal expenditure, which means it will go into consolidated revenue and be used for whatever social programs the government chooses. These are usually poorly researched and implemented, witness the insulation debacle, and this close to an election, likely used for pork barrelling.

Resource rich States will have revenue from mining reduced and have to lobby the federal government for a return of RSPT money to fund projects needed at State level which are currently funded from mining revenue, like rail and port infrastructure.

Included in the RSPT is the proposal that miners will get a 30% rebate on exploration costs and a 40% rebate on losses incurred. This preposterous proposal has not been shown in the advertisements put out by both sides!

Not surprising, considering that it would lead to a taxpayer backlash when they discover only a relatively small number of mining explorations lead to projects that become profitable. Most taxpayers are unaware that of the around 900 mining companies listed on the stock exchange, only a handful are successful. Who can name more than a dozen?

Of course, the public sector would benefit enormously. Think of the jobs created in this unproductive sector as departments are set up to review State government requests for funds from the RSPT and applications for rebates from mining companies for exploration costs and losses.

Naturally, by the time these applications are made, the money already collected will have been allocated to some government project elsewhere (for the so-called benefit of the community overall), so the process will be made too difficult for many miners to bother with and proposals for future works will be postponed or abandoned leading to potential job losses and future revenue.

The whole idea of private enterprise is that companies make an offer to the public via a prospectus to invest in a project by means of taking up shares in the company in the hope and expectation of making money when it is successful via dividends earned on their shares and capital appreciation of their shareholding.

Shareholders enter the arrangement in full knowledge of what they are doing and bear the consequences of loss of capital if the company fails. In short it is a personal choice.

Governments can never replicate this process, instead they simply hit taxpayers with a bill each year to fund their, often dubious, projects, which are rarely run effectively or efficiently. Personal choice is not an option.

Just consider how government departments at Federal, State or Local level, if they have any funds left over towards the end of their financial year, rush to spend them on replacing perfectly good equipment, or send staff on unnecessary so called training seminars, or any number of other projects. Who in the public sector would ever think of returning the funds to consolidated revenue so that taxes can be reduced or the funds reallocated to more deserving areas?

The Federal government would be better off addressing the issue of reducing waste and inefficiencies in the public sector than interfering in the private sector.

Perhaps some steps in these directions will be taken by the new leader Julia Gillard, but that is probably too optimistic!

Tips for Travellers to New Zealand's South Island

2010-06-10T14:21:00.000+10:00

My first article covered our trip in the North Island. This article takes up the story where we travelled over to the South Island.

At our final destination in the North Island, the city lived up to its name 'Windy Wellington' & it was cold, so we gladly handed the car in & boarded the ferry for the South Island. Rental vehicles are handed in before boarding the ferry and you pick up another on arrival in the South Island if you have booked ahead.

Tip 1 - If you have a camera it is a good idea to take photos of various aspects of your rental vehicle to avoid any disputes later about damage caused during your rental. (We did not have any problems, but if the rental company sees you taking photos they are more careful when completing the handover documents!)

The ferry over from Wellington to Pickton is a pleasant way to travel between the islands if you are not in a hurry & the weather is not too rough. The trip was calm and the dolphins put on a spectacular show – the crew said they had seldom seen so many.

The scenery leaving the North Island & entering the South was pleasant with some sun to warm us up as we came into Picton down a sound that could have been in Scotland. We picked up our next hire car and drove right down to Reefton. The scenery initially was similar to where we had been in the North Island, rather boring & it was raining, but it became much more scenic as we approached the Buller river, and quite spectacular as we went up the gorge. The rain stopped after we arrived at Reefton, a neat & tidy little mining village down from the gorge, where we decided to spend the night.

Tip 2 – If you can spare the time, allow an extra day to explore the Buller gorge area.

We left for Hokitika on the West coast after enjoying a more scenic drive despite virtually continuous rain. We broke the journey at Hokitika for coffee and the town seemed to have seen some changes since we were last there. It is best known as being a centre for greenstone. We then pressed on in the rain past the Glaciers, which we had visited on an earlier trip, and stopped at Lake Paringa for the night.

Tip 3 – If you have time, Lake Paringa is noted for fishing and also allow extra to take in the sights on the way to and through the Haast Pass.

The trip from Lake Paringa to Wanaka was the most interesting part of the trip so far, with the road to Haast Pass wet but very scenic. The view from Knight's Lookout on the way to Haast was lovely and after we passed Haast Village, which we did not enter, the views grew increasingly dramatic, taking in waterfalls, hills wreathed in mist like one sees in documentaries of some of China's mountain areas. As we had visited the Glaciers before we did not stop there, but they are certainly worth a look. One traveller we spoke to felt the helicopter trip over them was the best money he had spent.

After the Pass, the road descended through country that a Scot would feel quite at home in, as it resembled areas one would see on the road to the Trossachs, around Loch Lomond, or the Campsies north of Glasgow. Wanaka was as touristy as we remembered, so we pushed on to Arrowtown over the Crown Range – a lovely route despite roadworks, with the leaves changing colour and terrific views over lakes Wanaka and Hawea – again very like Scottish lochs.

We set off for Riverton, where my partner's family live, via Flaxton and Kingston. The road then ran beside Lake Wakatipu, very scenic & again reminiscent of parts of Scotland. Unfortunately the Kingston Flyer was no longer operating; an old steam train that used to connect with the steamer Earnshaw from Queenstown & a popular tourist attraction. Apparently some idiots with grand ideas mortgaged the train to obtain finance for a major property development that never had a chance of getting off the ground, so the Flyer is now in receivership. After that, the trip south wended through rather boring dairy & sheep country & it rained all the way past Kingston.

Generally, the weather was ordinary, with one reasonable day followed by one overcast &/or wet. However, the natives were friendly, which we feel is always the main thing that makes or breaks a country for visitors. Other bonuses were that the food, beer & wine were good, the golf courses plentiful, reasonably priced & usually easily accessed - what more could one ask for, except that it never rain on a golf day?

The bits of the North Island we visited were nowhere near as scenic as the South. The best bits we saw there were the Coromandel Peninsular, with some lovely views, & the trip around Lake Taupo & over the very Scottish-like heather clad uplands to the Army Museum at Waiuro.

If I went back to the North Island, I'd make the Peninsular & Taupo my bases for golfing, as there are some good courses in those areas. In the South I mainly played near Invercargill, where there are some good courses, with Oreti Beach a tough links course & Invercargill rated in the top 5 in NZ. I also had a game at Arrowtown & there are several good courses near there too, like Jack's Point & the Hills where the NZ Open was held.

For scenery in the South Island, Buller Gorge was spectacular as was the Haast Pass. Arrowtown is also beautiful with a lovely drive from Wanaka across the Crown Range, but be aware that if you are travelling in a campervan, that route is off limits, although hire cars are OK.

Tip 4 – Make sure you check with the vehicle hire company you propose to use that they operate in both North & South Islands and also if they have any restrictions on where you can take the vehicle.

Tip 5 - If you can talk to locals or backpackers who have visited a place before you get there, do so, as it may save you a journey and disappointment.

Tips for Travellers to New Zealand's North Island

2010-06-10T14:17:00.000+10:00

Having just got back from a trip to New Zealand, during which we spent time in both North & South Islands, this first of two articles contains a few observations that may be of use to people who are looking to visit there, either for the first time or to areas that they have not already seen.

We flew into Auckland, arriving at night. Our travel agent had booked us a small hire car through Nationwide Hire Cars also known as Ezi-rent. We phoned the car rental company representative, who picked us up promptly, took us to the motel the company operated from after hours, handed the car over quickly & gave us a good briefing.

Tip 1 - If you have a camera it is a good idea to take photos of various aspects of your rental vehicle to avoid any disputes later about damage caused during your rental. (We did not have any problems, but if the rental company sees you taking photos they are more careful when completing the handover documents!)

However, our travel agent had booked us into a hotel on the north of Auckland. As it was night when we arrived, getting to the hotel was a nightmare, with Auckland's motorways resembling spaghetti junction & signposting poor.

Tip 2 - If you arrive at night in a strange town to pick up a rental vehicle, make sure your travel agent books you into accommodation near the vehicle pick-up point or that you have good maps!

Having no interest in cities, we got out of Auckland quickly the next day & explored part of the northern area, going up the east coast to Warkworth & returning via the west coast. We did not have time to go right up to the Bay of Islands. The bit we covered did not strike us as very interesting, although there were some pretty spots on the East coast, so we continued back south through Auckland & headed to the Coromandel Peninsular. The drive to Thames at the start of the Peninsular was through flat country & quite boring.

Tip 3 - I'd recommend to anyone wanting to get to the Coromandel Peninsular that they get a ferry over from Auckland as it would be more scenic than driving.

We explored the Peninsular up the West coast & down the East. There were some lovely views around the Peninsular, particularly on the North-West coast and some pleasant golf courses.

After that, we headed for Hobbitton ( Matamata) where we found it cost $58 each for a tour of the set used for the Hobbit village in Lord of the Rings, followed by a shearing demo. We felt this was a complete rip off, as as we weren't interested in sheep shearing, having seen plenty of that. We also read that the set was gutted and being prepared for the next Hobbit film, so we didn't bother going in & headed straight off to Rotoroua where we spent the night. We avoided the tourist traps of geyser parks and mud pools by walking the park near the hospital to see for free the steam vents & mud pools there, which were quite interesting but smelly, as you would expect.

Our next stop was Lake Taupo, which we explored briefly before setting off for Waiouru & the NZ Army Museum. The trip around the lake was quite scenic, but plagued by roadworks & the trip across the moors, used by the army for training, very scenic & Scottish looking with heather and dour, cloudy conditions. The Museum was excellent and there was a golf course in town, but it was raining, so we passed on a game.

We then pushed on to Palmerston North, but overnighted in a little place called Bulls – very homely & with quaint signposts, eg the library was signposted 'read-a-bull', the butcher 'eat-a-bull' etc.

The next day we continued to Wellington, where we found the drop off point for the hire car without difficulty, thanks to excellent written directions from our hire car company. The next day we walked around the Botanic Gardens, which were not particularly spectacular, but that was probably just the time of year. We also visited the Te Papa Museum, which was excellent, particularly the Maori exhibit.

Tip 4 - If you can talk to locals or backpackers who have visited a place before you get there, do so, as it may save you a journey and disappointment.

My next article will continue with our journey to the South Island of New Zealand.

What is Wrong in the Australian Economy? - Personal Responsibilities & the Economic Crisis

2010-06-10T14:14:00.000+10:00

This is the third and final article in this series commenting on various aspects of the current crisis as applicable to Australia.

The first commented on the Australian political scene, the second the effect other countries' policies have on Australia. This focusses on personal responsibilities.

In recent years the buzzword amongst libertarians has been “peoples' rights”, which completely overlooks the indisputable fact that every right carries with it a corresponding responsibility.

This, unfortunately, has been carried into schools and has led to a generation or two of adults who know all their rights, but are oblivious to their responsibilities in general and in particular the need to live within their means and support themselves by their own efforts.

Because of the deficiencies in the current education system in Australia & I suspect in other parts of the English speaking world, most will not have read any of Charles Dickens' classics, and so will be unaware of Micawber's famous quote in the novel 'David Copperfield':

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

Unfortunately some academics with political influence have not assisted by arguing that credit is good for the economy and that printing money is not only a necessary, but a good thing whenever a correction occurs in the market. They completely overlook the fact that it should be a responsibility for all sectors of society, individuals, organisations, bureaucracies, and politicians, to live within their means.

Even more unfortunately, politicians no longer accept responsibility for any mess made by their departments. Instead they clearly feel it is their right to misappropriate taxpayers funds, already gouged from the workforce and companies, to fix a mess like the insulation debacle, or to run expensive advertising campaigns explaining why they think they are right, like proposing the asinine Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT).

The companies opposing the RSPT have the right to do so to protect their international competitive edge for the benefit of Australia and are using company funds. In doing so they are also discharging their responsibility to protect the interests of their shareholders who have advanced the funds, after paying tax of course, to develop mineral resources for the benefit of all Australians.

By the same token, if politicians, on the advice of their departments or personally, make a bad decision, they have the right to fix or explain it to taxpayers. However, their responsibility is to ensure that the funds, in the interests of equity, come from their or the relevant department's existing budget, which has already been funded by taxpayers, and the persons responsible demoted or sacked, as they would be in private enterprise.

Unfortunately, the apathy of voters has allowed this situation to develop. However, this apathy appears to be disappearing fast as the current correction bites into their savings and they see how they have been and are being used. Even politicians' attempts to assuage public feeling about their mistakes, by spending lavishly on welfare projects that have little real benefit & which should rightly be the responsibility of individuals, seem to be loosing any appeal they might have had.

Perhaps the pendulum is beginning to swing at last to a position of equilibrium between rights and responsibilities.

What is Wrong in the Australian Economy? - Three Observations

2010-06-07T14:59:00.000+10:00

This is the second article in this series commenting on various aspects of the current crisis as applicable to Australia.

Effects of Other Countries' Policies on Australia

In my first article I commented on the effect idiotic political decisions had on our economy. This article focusses on the effect the policies of other countries have on us.

China's growth in recent years was responsible for the boom in Australia directly attributable to the mining industry. However, this growth is now faltering because the State imagined it could control both supply and demand and spent enormously on infrastructure projects, as well as building up a massive export manufacturing sector based on cheap labour.

In consequence, China now has several towns with no inhabitants and rapidly sliding property prices. Also, in view of the falling consumer spending in the USA and Australia after various fiscal stimuli are withdrawn, China will find it more difficult to dispose of its consumer goods.

Naturally that slow down in growth will have a flow on effect on the major suppliers of raw materials to it, like Australia.

The Greek currency crisis is playing out in Europe, with various other countries, like Portugal, Spain, Ireland & Italy, likely to place additional strains on the European Union. Whilst that is proceeding, imports and exports to and from those countries are likely to be slow, with consumers being forced to tighten their belts for some time to come.

After all, Greece only has total debt of $216 billion. Portugal's debt is $288 billion, Ireland's is $862 billion, Spain's is $1.1 trillion & Italy's is $1.4 trillion! Those figures make the $1 trillion rescue package announced recently seem insignificant. To add to the mix, Hungary appears to be in difficulties and although not part of the EU, it owes money to EU banks.

Unfortunately, over the years, general voter apathy and gullibility has allowed bureaucrats and governments of all persuasions in all countries gradually to increase control in all areas, aided and abetted by vocal minority lobby groups, who usually do not see past their own restricted areas of interest.

This growth of the non productive sector has placed increased burdens on society as a whole, with increasing taxes, whether named as such, or as levies or duties. In Australia, this is carried to excess by having three layers of government - Federal, State and Local.

The fact that has been brought home very clearly in the present economic crisis, is that government spending will only postpone the day of reckoning unless the slack, when it is withdrawn, is taken up by consumer spending.

That is not likely to occur, given the significant personal debt levels in many consumer societies which do not have the savings ethic of China, Japan and some other, principally Asian, countries. A sign of this occurring at present in Australia is the slowdown in retail sales.

That is a fact that has been overlooked by the politicians and bureaucrats cocooned in their air-conditioned offices in Canberra and elsewhere, secure in the knowledge that they can force taxpayers to fund their overseas trips, assorted well padded expense accounts and excessive unfunded retirement benefits.

What is Wrong in the Australian Economy? - Three Observations

2010-06-04T17:21:00.000+10:00

There have been many comments in the media about the situation in which we find ourselves today as a result of the rampant greed displayed by financial institutions and the idiotic responses by assorted bureaucrats and politicians.

This article is the first of three commenting on various aspects of the current crisis as applicable to Australia.

Political Stupidity & its Part in the Economic Crisis

Many years ago John Maynard Keynes was held out as an economic guru and he remarked as follows about the veracity of politicians:

“Why has the world been so credulous of the unveracities of politicians? If an explanation is needed, I attribute this particular credulity to the following influences in part.
In the first place, the vast expenditures of the war, the inflation of prices, and the depreciation of currency, leading up to a complete instability of the unit of value, have made us lose all sense of number and magnitude in matters of finance.

What we believed to be the limits of possibility have been so enormously exceeded, and those who founded their expectations on the past have been so often wrong, that the man in the street is now prepared to believe anything which is told him with some show of authority, and the larger the figure the more readily he swallows it.”

Keynes theories are largely responsible for the current economic mess, in that they encourage political interference and over-regulation.

This in turn increases the cost burden to the individual taxpayer by having to comply with a plethora of petty laws and regulations and support unnecessary government departments.

It also erodes savings by the insidious effect of inflation caused by the enthusiastic use of the printing press by governments, which has a side effect of encouraging oversupply of credit.

Of course, the most recent example of this in Australia is the Resources Super Profits Tax, although its initials have given rise to an assortment of rather more appropriate names.

Even foreigners couldn't believe the stupidity of it. US commentator Dennis Gartman described it as being more typical of a South American autocrat such as Hugo Chavez, and said 'Never did we expect such nonsense from Australia. Shame on Rudd, he really should know better'.

Canada has been chortling quietly on the sidelines in anticipation of the benefits it will gain by being a more competitive place for mining investment. Other overseas companies interested in our mineral wealth will take the opportunity, if this tax is introduced, to buy into our mining sector and export any profits overseas.

What Rudd, a former bureaucrat, & his advisors, who would also seem never to have had any significant exposure to the private sector, clearly don't realise is that about A$100 million is spent in exploration costs for every economically viable deposit found and many projects in the pipeline have recently been put on hold in consequence. After all, who in their right mind would spend such large sums for a paltry 6% return?

About 41% of voting-age Australians are invested in shares. The resource sector makes up about 33.4% of the $1400 billion total market cap for the entire Australian market and superannuation funds hold around $120 billion, or 11%, invested in our resource sector.

Crippling the present and future value of the resource sector is going to make a big difference to the total value of these funds, and everyone will feel it, with voters being well placed to make their voices heard.

Hooked on Golf - Some More Tips & Tricks from a Golf Addict

2010-01-06T17:13:00.003+10:00

OK, so the festive season is over again & you've decided to get serious about golf. You've been to a beginner's class & have picked up some clubs, so what's next?

Realistically, you need to practice before you expose yourself to being savaged by the course. Sure, by all means go out with friends for a social knock around at your local course, but that is not the same as proper practice at a driving range or at some suitable venue near you, like a park (although most local authorities forbid golf practice in public parks), or a field.

As kids, our aim was to hit the ball as far as possible and we experimented with a variety of grips and stances that would achieve that, copying as much as we could from adults we saw hitting the straightest and longest ball.

Fortunately, these days young people are taught from the outset that a proper setup, ie stance, grip and alignment, is vital and that the short game is the most important part, so you see youngsters out around the practice greens chipping and putting.

I do not believe these basics can be learnt properly from articles or books. You cannot see what you are doing, so what you think you are doing may well be quite different from what you are actually doing. If you doubt this statement, get someone to video you.

Thousands of articles and books have been written on various aspects of the game, many of them contradictory, or espousing new methods, or resurrecting old ones, so you should only use these after you have been taught personally by a professional and have tried what you have been taught for a while. And no, I am not a professional trying to drum up business!

However, I recently came across a book which I found most interesting & which I feel would be of value to a beginner even before they have lessons. I have tried out some of the tips in it & they work for me. It is 'The Inner Game of Golf' by W. Timothy Galwey, which can be obtained from Amazon here

My next article will cover putting, because this is a part of the game which doesn't need too much space, but which will save you shots when you get it right.

What's Old is New

2009-11-30T16:04:00.000+10:00

Sometimes it seems everyone in authority is going quite daft! I recall a quote which went "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Unfortunately history is either not taught at schools these days, or is skewed to suit some left or right wing bigoted idiot's viewpoint, or is ignored to pander to a vocal minority.

In Australia we have recently experienced massive destruction in the southern states from bush fires. Although I live in the north, it seems to me that the solution is quite simple - burn off selectively at the most suitable time, which is what Aborigines practiced for centuries and what the older generation in the rural sector also practiced.

Unfortunately, in recent years local authorities, no doubt encouraged by politically correct nitwits in the State & Federal arena, have conveniently forgotten the lessons of history, bent over for the vocal minority greenies, many of whom have no idea what they are talking about, & reduced or forbidden burn offs.

A recent report has recalled history - ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2009) — A landmark Australian project that mitigates the extent and severity of natural savannah blazes by deploying traditional Indigenous fire management techniques is being hailed as a model with vast global potential in the fights against climate change and biodiversity loss, and for protecting Indigenous lands and culture, etc, etc Check it out here http://bit.ly/8rz9Rm

What resources we could save by studying history more closely!

Xmas Ideas for the Lazy Shopper!

2009-11-23T11:09:00.002+10:00

Christmas comes but once a year, fortunately, even if that makes me sound like Scrooge!

It has really lost much of its charm, thanks to retailers chasing the almighty dollar.

As a kid in the '50's I recall it was a magic time. As I had been sent from Ceylon to boarding school in Scotland, I spent my school holidays with my Aunt in the country outside Glasgow.

She bustled around for several weeks before Xmas making the cake & icing it, making various sweetmeats & the pudding, ordering some luxury groceries by phone from a friend in Glasgow who owned an upmarket shop, boiling the ham and making arrangements to obtain a pheasant, salmon, or other special item from various locals, who I suspect may have been poachers! I helped by licking out the bowls!

Uncle Tom set up the tree in the sitting room in bucket suitably covered with fancy paper, with pine boughs spread around under it on which the gifts would be laid & I helped him decorate it. He had spent much time in Germany & Austria before WW1 & was strongly influenced by the traditions of those countries, which included a quiet family gathering on Xmas Eve, presenting & opening gifts after a light meal & having guests in or going out to friends for a formal lunch on Xmas Day.

Most evenings were occupied by games like rummy, chinese checkers, tiddlywinks, & dominoes, although when guests were present they usually played bridge. We did not get TV until after 1960!

Stockings were put out at the foot of the bed on Xmas Eve for Santa to fill with fruit & nuts to keep kids quiet for some time the next day.

Most of the gifts in those days were home made, or at least modestly priced, as there were no credit cards then. Much time was spent in thinking what would be appropriate for the people you were proposing to give a gift to, followed by careful shopping around, with considerable time spent on wrapping the item and composing a carefully worded card addressed to the recipient.

These days little thought seems to be given to what gifts might be most appropriate for a person. Often shopping is left to the last minute, with items hurriedly picked from shelves, paid for by credit card & wrapped by the shop assistant.

As a kid I was a bookworm, but these days, although I still enjoy browsing in bookshops, I have taken to using the web to check out the latest offerings from authors I enjoy. Of course, this site is great for not just books

Hooked on Golf - Some Tips & Tricks from a Golf Addict

2009-11-11T17:59:00.003+10:00

In my last article, Hooked on Golf - A Slice of a Golf Addict's Tale (part 3), published on 10th September, I finished describing my inexorable slide into addiction to this exhilarating, fascinating, humbling, infuriating game & I promised to cover some tips & tricks that I have picked up over the years.

Some of these have helped me to overcome the depths of despair into which I have been plunged into from time to time by the vicissitudes of the game, when I couldn't seem to get anything right & my handicap was steadily moving out.

Others have helped me hold the game together when I've started off well, but then found my game falling apart in the middle of a competition round.

Still others have lifted my game to new levels, unfortunately usually only temporarily, as without constant practice the effect of a new technique seems to wear off, or the technique is forgotten over time & the bad old ways sneak back!

This process must inevitably be spread over several articles, as I should really start with advice for potential newcomers to the game. They may have been drawn to it after watching it on TV, or hearing friends talk, or because they have no interest in team games, or because they have retired and have time on their hands, or their doctor has advised them to get some exercise, or their wife wants them out of her hair for a while (more on that later), or any number of other reasons.

The first thing they need to understand is that the idea behind the game of golf is simple, the object being to hit a small ball from a starting point (the tee) over a variety of terrain & get it into a hole in the ground some distance away in the least number of shots using a variety of clubs.

That is not to say the game is easy! There is a vast difference between the idea and the practice, so we'll go straight into practicalities.

I am firmly of the opinion that a beginner should not spend a vast amount on equipment. After all, you may decide after the first few weeks that it is not what you were looking for. However, bearing in mind Abe Lincoln's advice that "If you have 8 hours to fell a tree, spend the first 6 sharpening your axe", professional tuition at the start is a must.

Friends who play the game will be able to advise you which club professional in the area offers the best tuition. If you live in a country area with only one club, then you may have no choice, but any professional tuition at the start is better than none. Tips from well meaning friends, however low their handicap, will only confuse until you learn the basics.

This need not be expensive either. Most club professionals have beginners classes where, for a reasonable fee, a group class is tutored once or twice a week for a few weeks & the professional may supply the clubs too from hire sets (at least in Australia in my experience).

Once you decide that the game may be worth further investigation, you have several options. You can pick up a few cheap clubs & a bag from friends or at car boot sales & hone your skills on the practice range until you feel reasonably confident to go out with friends for a social round. Or you can go on eBay, or see if your local golf shop or professional has any cheap sets available. Used balls can be obtained cheaply at the golf club, or found on the course if that is allowed.

Eventually, however, you should see a professional to get measured for clubs, as the lie angle of the clubhead and the length and flex of the club shaft have a significant effect on your game. As in every field of endeavour, some professionals are better than others at measuring & fitting you out, so discuss this with your friends who play. You should not be talked into buying a new full set at this point. If your pro is any good, he will give you some options. These could include buying a decent second hand set which can be altered to your measurements, or buying a new half set made to measure. What bag you need will depend on which option you take, or how close it is to your birthday or Christmas!

Hopefully you will feel that you know enough now to make a decision whether to investigate this wonderful game further. The next article will cover common beginners problems & what I found useful to fix these. Meanwhile here are some Hot golf booksfor light reading over the festive season, or if you want some swing tips Click Here!.

Hooked on Golf - A Slice of a Golf Addict's Tale (part 3)

2009-09-23T10:58:00.001+10:00

In part 2 I described how my interest in golf became fascination, which was one step from addiction! This article describes the final slide into addiction.

The second tee of Stirling golf course at that time faced what was to us a huge crater filled with thick rough. It was a severe challenge for a 10 year old to drive over, with only a narrow path through the rough on its left edge leading to the fairway beyond.

The right edge was guarded with gorse and broom bushes and, of course, that was where most beginners who managed to avoid the crater itself ended up, as we tended to either aim left and/or tried to force the shot with too much right arm, which led to the inevitable slice. However, there were compensations in ending up in the crater or amongst the gorse, as that was where balls were to be found, apart from our own, thereby saving some of our precious pocket money.

Having negotiated the crater, the hole was quite straightforward. A broad fairway led to a green situated part way up a rise. As beginners, we merely hacked our way around the course without paying much attention to how the ball behaved as long as it eventually went into the hole!

However, after a while our competitive instincts began to kick in and we started to compare scores to see how few strokes we needed to get the ball into the hole, which after all was the object of the game. We began to take notice how the ball behaved as we struck it in certain ways.

The first observation was that if we tried to leather the ball to get it over the crater by hitting it as hard as we could with our right arm, as was natural for a right handed person, it tended to take a fairly sharp left to right turn, ie fade or slice. This was compounded if we aimed to the left to try to avoid the crater by following the path. This was a puzzle and was our first intimation that golf was counter intuitive, although we had no words for it at that age. We had played hockey and a good swipe with lots of right arm worked well with a hockey stick, so why didn't it work with a golf club? It took quite a while to discover that the left arm was the key to keeping the shot straight; the right arm was merely along for the ride.

The next problem was deciding how to attack the green. Should one try to pitch the ball onto it or play a chip & run shot?

We soon discovered that much depended on the time of day and the season. In winter, particularly after frost, the ball would react as if the green and its approaches were concrete! Consequently a chip & run was the way to go. In summer, the approaches would be fast, but the green & its surrounds soft, particularly in the morning after watering, so a pitch shot was the answer.

You will recall from my second article that the clubs used were a half set, with the Mashie-Niblick being equivalent to a 7 or 8 iron, often with a flange which made it similar to a wedge to play. However, around the green one had to learn to play it with a very open face to get it to stop quickly. It was very easy to fluff a shot by trying to play it too softly.

The final problem was how to putt the ball into the hole. Should one use a wristy stroke, which was common in those days, or play it stiff-armed, which we heard was the modern method?

The grass used on courses in those days was often the same as that on the fairways, just cut shorter on a more prepared surface with good drainage and a watering system. Consequently it had a definite grain which affected how the ball ran, both as regards speed and direction, ie how the ball took any break. We discovered that a wristy stroke on the green was not as effective as a stiff armed one.

As the above demonstrates, we learned a lot in the first few weeks of play. Some came to the conclusion that golf was a stupid game and reverted to the team games that were encouraged. A few of us decided that there was a lot more to the game than we had first thought and began to take a serious interest in it.

That was the final step into addiction for me, as the more I played the more I discovered I had to learn, and the more I learnt about the game the more I discovered about my own character and abilities, and after 52 years I am still learning!

My next article will cover some tips and tricks I have picked up over the years which have helped ease my addiction.

Phobias & How to Overcome Them

2009-09-18T12:47:00.001+10:00

I've had a phobia about wasps ever since I was stung twice as a kid, specifically the European variety, which are far nastier than the generally tolerant native ones in Australia, so I know how scary a phobia can be.

Although I can control my reactions to some degree, I know other people may not be able to & may suffer severe reactions when they encounter their trigger, be it a spider, snake or whatever.

Until comparitively recently, the only known cures (& some of them were only partial) were hypnosis or desensitising by massive exposure to the cause of the phobia.

These days, other methods are being discovered/trialled with some success.

Tapping is one method & you can check it out at http://www.tryitoneverything.com/cmd.php?af=1032271,

Another I've just come across is at http://62c1d8vcm0m-en5848o9sbh5y0.hop.clickbank.net/ or http://tinyurl.com/nawzfd

Free Private Label Rights and Master Resale rights Products

2009-09-18T11:56:00.001+10:00

I'm never sure if giving away free items really helps get people to visit your site, or if they merely encourage tyre-kickers!

I've downloaded my share of free stuff, some of which I've found quite useful, whilst some is just awful rubbish, but I suppose that could be said of items you pay for too!

One benefit of getting free items is that they are free, so after you have downloaded them, you can take your time to open them & check them out, then send them on to targeted groups.

You may even learn some useful tips & tricks from them yourself, although if they are being given away you'd have to ask yourself if they are still valid in today's rapidly evolving internet scene.

Anyway, I came across this site which has over 220 Free-Products including a vast assortment of Private Label Rights and Master Resale Rights Products which I found interesting. See what you think; you've nothing to loose:

http://tinyurl.com/ktvvq6

Money Management

2009-09-09T12:57:00.000+10:00

Following from my last blog on fiscal management, I came across an interesting article which helps with personal financial discipline, something that seems to have gone by the board for many people for many years, as the banks have encouraged profligacy with their easy issuance of credit cards and many parents have failed to educate their children in money management & thrift.

I have seen several similar suggestions, but this is probably about the simplest to implement & I reproduce it below.

The Five Account System, by Stuart Goldsmith (www.stuartgoldsmith.com)

Now I want to tell you about a powerful but simple idea for controlling spending and building wealth. This idea is so simple, that when you read it you're likely to dismiss it as 'too obvious'. Please don't. I use this exact idea myself and have done for many years. Also, American Guru Frederic Lehrman has such firm belief in this idea, that he tours the world lecturing on the subject. By the way, check out his excellent audio series 'Prosperity Consciousness' available from Nightingale Connant. Superb stuff.

The idea runs like this:-

The human brain is not terribly good at handling big projects. If you say to your subconscious 'go get a million pounds', it will really flounder because 'one million pounds' is not a concept easily grasped by the brain. It's just too big a number. Too big a project.

However, the brain is very good at doing lots of smaller manageable tasks in a serial fashion.

“Open a savings account and put £50 in it” is a task you can easily do. No problem.

Going back to our theme of discipline, a command such as: “Save for thirty years and you can retire independently wealthy” is just too much for the brain. It cannot really contemplate five years, let alone thirty. The task is just too huge, and this is why people don't bother. They say to themselves “Heck, I know that thirty years of saving will make a lot of money, but thirty years is a long time and anything could happen. I'll spend it all now.”

Alcoholics are not told: “You must give up drink and for the rest of your life - you cannot ever touch another drop.” No. The 'rest of your life' is just too big a project. Instead they are told: “Forget the rest of your life. Don't think about it. The trick is not to drink today. Stay sober one day at a time.”

One Small Step
So the trick is to realise that the brain can't handle big projects and to break these big projects down into bite-sized pieces. This is the way any large project gets completed. “Put a man on the moon!” is a ludicrous command to the average brain. It's utterly impossible to contemplate the enormity of such a task. The only way to handle it is to start cracking it down into smaller parts and putting teams of people to work on each task.

Thus 'propulsion systems', 'human environment', 'medical', 'food and water', 'navigation', 'power supply' and so on are all set up as separate tasks. Then, within those groups, the tasks are broken down even further. Eventually, you have tens of thousands of manageable tasks such as: “Build a 12-volt power supply which can deliver 3 amps continuous, weighing not more than 0.5Kg and occupying a space of 10cm x 5 cm x 4.5cm”. Now that's a task which any electronics engineer can comprehend and get cracking on. But “Put a man on the moon”? Forget it! I don't know how to do that!

Okay, here's how to apply this to your spending and savings habits. It's called the 'five account' method. It works. Please don't dismiss it. Give it a try.

To operate this system, you must set up five accounts at your bank or building society (or even both - it doesn't matter where the accounts are located). Here are the five accounts:
1. Income Account.
2. Cheque Account.
3. Financial Independence Account.
4. Large Purchases Account.
5. Cash Account.
Here we are using the ability of the mind to handle small units/projects. We are breaking up our finances into manageable chunks. There are rules associated with each account, and of course, each account has a specific purpose, hopefully suggested by its name! Typically, accounts 3, and 4 would be Building Society 'deposit' accounts, and accounts 1, 2 and 5 would be normal bank accounts or Building Society 'current' accounts.

Here are the rules:

Income Account
This has just one function. It's the account into which you pay all the money you receive from all sources. Your pay cheque, the cheque for selling the car, your second job salary, gifts of money, whatever. Every penny you receive gets paid into this account and nowhere else. This also makes your accounts and tax computations easy. Just look down the statements for this account, and all your income is listed. The only function of this account is to receive your income, and to distribute it, by standing order, to the other four accounts. No money leaves this account apart from payments to the other four accounts. You do not have a cheque book on this account. Most importantly you do not have a 'cash-card' on this account. It is impossible for you to go to the bank and withdraw money from this account. That's done automatically by standing order, to the other four accounts. I hope I have made myself clear.

Cheque Account
If you have a bank account already, this is the sort of account you will have. It's a 'current' account with a cheque book. That's all. The difference is that at present, your salary cheque (etc) is probably paid into this account. That's now changed. The only income into this account is by transfer from the Income Account. The cheque account is for paying bills. You do not write cash cheques or cheques for any other goodies on this account. You do not have a ‘hole in the wall’ card on this account.

Here's how it works. When you get a bill, you lay it to one side in a pile. A bill is just a request for payment, it is not an actual payment until you have paid it. When you have a suitable pile of bills you have to pay, you add them all up. Let's say the total is £391.62p. You write out a slip to transfer exactly this amount from your income account, into your cheque account, pop it in an envelope, and mail it to the bank. Obviously you can do this on line too. You then write out exactly £391.62 in cheques to pay the bills, and mail the lot. Any bills which are paid by standing order also go through this cheque account so you have to allow for these. Better still is to pay all utility bills by cheque. This gives you total control. You will never be overdrawn.

Cash Account
To stay solvent you must decide how much cash you need a week, and then never spend more. To determine this, look back over your cash withdrawals for the last six months. Decide if you could live on less. Come up with a sensible figure. Let's say it's £150 a week. Now set up a standing order to transfer £150 a week from your Income Account to your Cash Account.
Your Cash Account will have an ATM cash card, and nothing else. When you need cash, you go to a hole in the wall, use this card, and withdraw cash. If you need more cash £150 is transferred. Guess what? This is called discipline - having a limit on the number of sweeties you can withdraw from the jar at any one time, and not just using the card to withdraw the gas bill money or the rent because you 'need a few quid' to spend on whatever trash you think you ‘need’ right now. Sorry to sound harsh. Been there, done that.. Set it up so that you can't get cash from any other account apart from your cash account. This is to stop temptation. Making sense so far? It's a powerful system, I don't mind telling you.

Now you must sit down and decide two things:-

a) How much you can afford to save each month. This should ideally be 10% of your net income. Don't say 'no way'. I never met a person who couldn't save 10% of their income, no matter how little that income was. You can always live on 90% of what you earn.

b) How much you want to allocate each month towards saving for large purchases. This means T.V. dish-washers, holidays, furniture etc. I suggest another 10%, leaving 80% of your salary to split between the cheque account and the cash account.

Let's say you have decided on 10% and 10%. Set up two more standing orders. The first one transfers 10% from the Income Account to the Financial Independence Account. The second transfers 10% from the Income Account to the Large Purchases Account. This should happen automatically, each month after your salary has cleared. You don't have to take a monthly decision to save, it's done for you. If you had to take a monthly decision to save, that decision would ALWAYS be: “I can't afford to save this month because of x, y and z. I'll start next month.” So make it automatic. Also, these standing orders come out FIRST, immediately after your pay cheque (or whatever) has been paid in. You save first and spend what's left.

Why? Because there's never anything left if you spend first and then try to save.

Large Purchases Account
This is what its name suggests. Whenever a large purchase comes up, look at this account. If there's enough money to buy the item, then go for it. This is what the account is for, to spend on large purchases. The money in this account is not for saving, or paying bills.
It's for spending on goodies. So spend it. If there's not enough money in the kitty, then forget it, you can't afford the item. No debate. No argument. You can't afford it. How do you know you can’t afford it? Simple – there’s not enough cash in the account. Go away until you have accumulated enough in the account.

Compare that to what most (undisciplined) people do when faced with a large purchase. They buy it anyway. They use the electricity, rent and gas money and then hope that 'something' will turn up. Or they buy it anyway and pay for it over months or years with money which they have already allocated for other things. In other words, they are spending their salary several times over and 'hoping' that 'it will be all right'.

Sad.

This account is usually a Building Society account with a 30-day withdrawal notice. That makes you think for a month before spending the loot - so no impulse purchases! You withdraw the money in cash, or counter cheque made out to the store/person you are buying the item from.

Financial Independence Account
This is the best and most exciting account. The purpose of it is to make you independently wealthy at some point in the future. Make this a Building Society Account with the longest possible withdrawal notice (120 days?) and the highest interest rate. The trick here is that you never withdraw the money from this account! Never. No excuses, no exceptions, no emergencies. Consider this money to be gone forever. You'll get interest on this account. At first it will be pitiful. Leave it to build and build. Eventually, you will get enough interest to 'buy' you a week of life! Then enough to 'buy' you a month of your life back (e.g. interest equivalent to one month's salary). Then a year, then several years. Eventually you will be able to give up work altogether.

If you get a sudden windfall of money, put half of it into this account, and do whatever you like with the rest.

Okay, that's the idea. Simple, huh? But very powerful. It's not just for the poor and needy.

I use this system myself. Everyone needs to set limits on their spending. It doesn't matter how much you're earning, you can always dream up ways of spending until there is nothing left.

Please, please consider using this system. It's a bit of a pain to set up, but not that tricky. You could do it in an afternoon. The sheer thrill and power of having your finances under precise control has to be experienced. I promise that if you operate this system you will be happier and more wealthy.

It takes discipline, though....

About the only thing I would disagree with him is in the last paragraph, which advocates leaving savings in the Financial Independence Account. My feeling is that when savings reach a reasonable amount, they should be used to generate additional wealth by investing them in shares, property or some other medium, but that is another subject!