The totally off-topic thread

[JessicaTam]

Discussion about education has been moved to a new thread:

General Education Discussion

 

[blackcat20]

Well that was quite the coughpy weekend. Was rear-ended waiting to turn into my street on Friday afternoon. And yesterday when I was rushing TV to the airport, dash lit up with a tonne of warning lights, power steering failed, and I only just managed to get the car to the terminal before it died. Was quite suprised security took 15 minutes to come see what I was doing given they are 1 minute drop off spots, but they were great and even offered to get someone to come jump start the car. Got RACV out as I knew it wasnt the battery, they got me going enough to get home, then RACV parts came out to my house to replace the dying alternator. I guess that's my christmas present to myself sorted :shock:

 

[JohnK]

But that's nothing to do with visas but poor performance management.

Yes. They are also very reluctant to treat someone on 457 visas differently as they don't want to be responsible for that person losing their status.

So here we have someone on a 457 visa constantly under performing and making mistakes and they are panicking thinking they will lose their job but are rewarded with salary increases instead.

Also I thought they were paying those on 457 visas ~$57,000/year. Boy was I wrong. They are earning between $80,000-$90,000/year which is the salary of a well performed IT professional with >10 years experience in Australia.

Oh well. Not long to go and I don't need to worry.

 

[get me outta here]

There goes Italy again.Good time to buy some Euros:

In a day of resignations, stocks and the euro drop after Italian PM Matteo Renzi steps down following his defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform, while the kiwi dollar slip as NZ PM John Key surprisingly resigns.

• The euro has dropped to 20-month lows as Italian PM prepares to step down

 

[andye]

TreeTop Adventure Park | TreeTops | Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle | Eco-Tourism Family Attraction Just home from work Christmas Party..... I am going to pay for it tomorrow....and prob the rest of the week. I am getting too old for this s@@t, but I did have fun. Good to know I still have a reasonable sense of balance for some of those challengers.
Dinner at Crowne Plaza afterwards.

We enjoyed the one in Sydney earlier in the year. The course for the littlies was good too

 

[Pushka]

Yes. They are also very reluctant to treat someone on 457 visas differently as they don't want to be responsible for that person losing their status.

So here we have someone on a 457 visa constantly under performing and making mistakes and they are panicking thinking they will lose their job but are rewarded with salary increases instead.

Also I thought they were paying those on 457 visas ~$57,000/year. Boy was I wrong. They are earning between $80,000-$90,000/year which is the salary of a well performed IT professional with >10 years experience in Australia.

Oh well. Not long to go and I don't need to worry.

True. It does potentially make employers feel guilty about suspension of the visa but reckon there is middle ground so good workers don't get discouraged.

John Key resigned??? Maybe he could come over here.

 

[Denali]

I finally signed up to sponsor an aussie kid whose family is struggling via Smith Family today

 

[anat0l]

Update on the laptop saga:

The unit was received by the repairers today. 3 business days via Reply Paid Parcel Post from metropolitan Brisbane... not bad. Apparently the box I sent it in has sustained minor damage.

They unpacked the unit, prepared an acknowledgement of receipt of repair and provided a preliminary completion date of 13/12/2016 (this is automatic; there was no actual repair assessment yet).

An email arrives about an hour later reporting that due to parts availability, the completion date is now predicted to be 19/12/2016.

Looks like I'll be lucky if I receive it back before Christmas... or maybe New Years.

 

[Katie]

Devastated for one of my team today. Their 10.5 month old child passed away. A congenital issue, not an accident. Utterly devastating.

 

[anat0l]

Devastated for one of my team today. Their 10.5 month old child passed away. A congenital issue, not an accident. Utterly devastating.

That's awful. Blessings to the family at this time.

 

[Denali]

Devastated for one of my team today. Their 10.5 month old child passed away. A congenital issue, not an accident. Utterly devastating.

Incredibly sad news. My thoughts for the baby and her family.

 

[JohnK]

John Key resigned??? Maybe he could come over here.

Who is John Key?

 

[a330j]

New Zealand PM

 

[Pushka]

Devastated for one of my team today. Their 10.5 month old child passed away. A congenital issue, not an accident. Utterly devastating.

It is unbearably sad for a parent to lose a child.

 

[JohnK]

New Zealand PM

Should I have known he was NZ PM? Does it show I have no interest in politics or political news?

 

[penegal]

Devastated for one of my team today. Their 10.5 month old child passed away. A congenital issue, not an accident. Utterly devastating.

Very sad to hear this Katie. There are no words.

 

[anat0l]

Should I have known he was NZ PM? Does it show I have no interest in politics or political news?

You probably may not have known unless you keep in mind these things as a matter of trivia.

I'm guessing you have little interest in politics as you might have had a good chance of knowing that fact, particularly since Key has been in the position for a while now. Then again, it's not as if it were the Australian PM; plus, NZ politics gets very rarely reported in the Australian media anyway.


For whatever it is worth, I knew that Key was the NZ PM, though I forgot how long he was actually in the position. I'm not politically minded enough to tell whether his resignation is genuinely due to the reasons he's given, or whether it's some other kind of ulterior cop out.

 

[Pushka]

John Key is very impressive and NZ is doing very well. We could do well with someone like him. While I am not a political addict I usually know a bit about Political leaders just for interest sake.

 

[moa999]

John Key is very impressive and NZ is doing very well. We could do well with someone like him. While I am not a political addict I usually know a bit about Political leaders just for interest sake.

background is very similar to Turnbull
Late to politics
Independently wealthy
Former investment banker

Also championed changing the flag (which failed on the basis that while the majority wanted change, they couldn't agree on a design), much like the republican referendum

 

[drron]

I liked this headline on the Keys resignation-
He picked his beg and lift.