Work

My working history reads like something out of the Great Depression. I started working at the age of 9, throwing 400 papers a day in Las Vegas. Up at 1am, I ate at the casinos, then did the papers and went to school - and still managed to pull straight A's.
All through school, one way or the other, I had to work. My mother was always sick. She had one operation after another, 13 in all by the time I graduated High School. And a few more afterwards.
Looking back now, I see I was worn out by 9th grade. I just blew off school that year. I roamed the desert with my dog. All totalled, I went to school 10 days out of the year.
For God only knows what reasons, my mother had us constantly moving. I'd lived on both coasts and in 23 states by the age of 14.
For the three remaining years of high school, I tried to be a part of normal school activities. There just wasn't enough time or enough of me. If I didn't work, the bills didn't get paid. Most kids could work and save for a car or dates, trips, or whatever. I couldn't. My mother had a gambling habit. Nearly everything I made went into the house.

The USArmy gave me the best job I'd ever had. Food, clothing, and a place to sleep, and something to do most days. On top of that, they taught me a lot of stuff that I didn't think I could learn myself like Russian and electronics. And they sent me across the world.
And I got in shape. I got down to 195 lbs at one point. With my build and genetics, that meant hardly eating and running miles on miles every day. I did it. I was young and strong.
After the Army, I tried living the life of a disco dancer. I could spin an kick, split, and rise with anyone. And that was before Travolta made is a national obsession.
Then came the seizures.
For 6-7 years, I barely survived. I lost jobs, then found jobs. I could do almost anything - until a few seizures ripped my life out from under me.
No one could figure out why I was having seizures. They started less than a year after I left the service. And they remain a part of my life even now, over 30 years later.

The seizures changed my life too young. Unable to roam the bars looking for hot bands and women, I found I loved to read and study. I read, and read, anything - except novels and fiction. I read the heavy stuff: history, science, economics, psychology, technology, etc.
In fact, I read tech books these days for relaxation.
Some of it was because I wanted to be able to make a living when I got better (if that ever came.) Some of it was because I had missed out on college, and wanted to know what others were learning there.
I became a programmer because that was a job where I could do all of it. I could learn a business, then make a positive contribution to it. I became a systems analyst.

The seizures have abated. They only hit me now when I let myself become too stressed.
Dangerous things. I've had one in the deep end of a pool. If it weren't for the lifeguards, I'd be dead. When I was up hiking, I often wondered what would happen to me if I had one on a trail somewhere; or maybe just somewhere alone in the woods. Would I just freeze to death? I wonder what a bear would think of someone in a gran mal seizure?
Not that any of these worries kept me from hiking. I love the mountains too much.

The last few years have been the worst though.
I had to travel halfway around the world for my hip to give out. I only noticed when my leg swelled up and turned blue. The main vein in the leg wasn't flowing because the hip had closed it off.

The doctors treated the blood clot to save my life. But they missed the real reason, the deteriorating hip, for a couple more months.
For two years, I couldn't sit, stand, or even lie down for more than a half hour. The cartilage was gone from one hip. By the time I got it fixed, the pain of surgery was meaningless.
Two chunks of titanium replace the joint now. It doesn't work perfectly. I'd twisted my body for over 20 years as the cartilage wore out. That sort of thing just doesn't instantly repair itself.
The twisting had one knee and most of my back rubbing bone on bone. After the surgery, I had to learn to walk again. That took care of the knee, but my back has yet to figure out how things are supposed to be.

After a couple more years in Australia, I decided to go home.
I made it to Hawaii. One software miracle, and I got a golden staph infection. Two of them, in fact, along with a dozen other bacteria formed an absess on my side. The doctors rushed me into surgery, then I got to spend 33 days in an Army hospital. They treated me as if I had a gunshot wound.
With a still open wound, I made my way to the airport and returned to Australia. And here I am, wondering every day if I'll ever see the mountains of California again.
These days I work as a software trainer and web developer. The only thing I can't do really well is the design stuff. But I can hook up the databases, put them out to the Web in either Open Source or .NET, and tie it all together - sometimes in three languages.

I've got to admit, getting older just pisses me off.
I don't like the idea that I can't just take off on a 5 mile walk, much less a run. Sometimes just walking down to breakfast is a long way.
I don't like very much that I spent a few hours out dancing and my guts ache. Working out is just not what it used to be. I used to enjoy soaking my shirt in aerobics classes and the weight room. Now I'm lucky to just break a sweat.
Those years as nearly an invalid, then the muscle-eating virus in Hawaii, just took a lot of the muscle mass.
It's still there, of course. Large arms and thick legs. As long as I don't do too much, they work almost like they used to. But the days of rolling 6 ft rounds of timber onto splitters are gone.
And so I work for myself. Fewer hours at much better pay. I don't know if I'll ever be able to take a "regular" job again. I need time to myself too often.

Mentally, I suppose I'm more a Gen-Xer than a baby boomer. Acquaintences are often shocked to hear my age. They say I sound too young.
I love the Internet. I still think technology can save the world. I still want to be a part of that madness, if I can. I'm dismayed at the attitude of so many who are afraid of the Net.

Conspiracy all around

A couple times a week, the coffeehouse culture calls to me. It's more a matter of just wanting to talk with someone than anything else. My work is lonely stuff. Sitting in front of a computer for long hours gets old - or just boring.
So I end up outside some coffeehouse with a cappucino in hand.

Middle-aged men suffer from their own maturity.
Where women seem to think the biggest issues in their lives are their husbands and children, middle-aged men start seeing conspiracies everywhere. It's an easy thing to do. "They" are responsible for everything: every failing, problem, frustration, and failure in life can be assigned to the ubiquitous "they".
Thing is, some of the conspiracies are real. Which is a straw man is hard to pick out. All of these groups are a bit like Pinocchio: It's easy to tell when they're lying; but very hard to tell when one becomes real.

• al Quaida
  Reactionary terrorists intent on destroying western values. These terrorists are newcomers to the list of conspiracies. Some conspiracies have been around for thousands of years.
• Corporations
  Bankers, corporate executives. Business-minded, looking to replace government with corporate structures around the world. These people would define everyone in a secular legal system.
• FreeMasons
  A conspiracy going back to the Knights Templar, influencing governments and power brokering on religious principles
• Catholics
  Catholics are trying to return the power to the Papacy, and their fiats, the royalty (according to the conspiracy theories, anyway); and trying to gain control of all the money and governments.
• Synarchists
  Royalists and neo-Royalists, Fascists. Looking to return the power to those who have the inborn "right to rule" (see all above)
• anti-Synarchists
  Oppose the Synarchists based on the principles of the American Constitution. FDR, or Lyndon Larouche, is their god. Some people think LaRouche invented Synarchists to give himself a career.
• Neo-Conservatives
  A mix of cloistered busines and religious groups across the world These are the folks that put the two Bushes into power.
• CIA/NSA
  A fearsome power center mostly supporting American interests, but very defensive of their own power and control.
• Mafia
  These guys just want the money and the women. Manipulating governments and agencies is just a means to an end. Everyone seems to know someone in the Mafia, but no one seems to know where they are.
• Socialists
  Under the guise of terms like "progressive" and "reform", these folks either come off as anarchists or just plain old Communists.
• Communists
  For most of the world, communism is dead. The 1.6 billion+ people who live in China would stridently disagree.
• Capitalists
  This one is probably a straw man created by the Socialists and Communists. I doubt there's a group out there who calls themselves "Capitalists".
• Feminists
  These folks don't even try to hide their conspiratorial actions. They publicize it and invite others to join. The modern radical Feminists sound a lot like early 20th century Socialists though.
• Americans
  To much of the world, Americans are synonymous with the CIA. There are all sorts of irrational characteristics assigned to Americans to dehumanize them.
• Politicians
  Many people think Politicians join some sort of club that requires them to be good liars. The sad part is, most people become politicians, at least in the West, to try to "make a difference."
• China
  China is often referred to as one vast conspiracy threatening to take over the World. A little like the perception of America (or the US anyway).
• OPEC
  OPEC is another of the public conspiracies. It's a closed club though. These folks just want everyone to know they are thinking about them - while collecting money from them.
• Media
  A sort of new royalty of intellectuals conspiring to teach the whole world new lessons every day.

Most these groups share a common characteristic: They want everyone to think like they do.
To my mind, that pretty much defines a fanatic. And, if these groups exists as they're characterized, they are all groups of fanatics. Most of the characterizations are intended to dehumanize, depersonalize, and whoever is suspected of being a part of one or more of the conspiracies.

The list is far from complete, of course.
Palestinians would name Israel, the ADL, and Mossad. Israelis would name the PLO, Syria, and Iran. Blacks have formed reverse-racist business groups in the US. Blacks in Africa still blame the Europeans for everything. Any sort of racism, even the Hawaiians and Haolis, can be seen as a conspiracy.
In a two-party system, extremists in each party point to the other as a conspiracy that supports other conspiracies. All in the name of making each other into boogeymen. Every political party wants to name the other as a dark, secret conspiracy.

It's interesting how many dismiss all conspiracies as necessary in order to keep others informed of different points of view. Then go into denial about the actions of extremists.
Down through history, many groups were seen as conspiracies. The goal of all conspiracies is to control and influence the levers of power: economic, military, religion and government.

Secrecy is the key to longevity for conspiracies. The threat of an invisible hand is far more effective than open warfare, or even open declarations of goals.
When a conspiracy turns to violence, it's ready - or thinks it's ready - to take the reigns of power. The resource all require is a near hysterical fear of some sort. Al Quaida is an example. They're usually fooling themselves.
Few radicals are as disciplined and organized in their plans as Mao laid out in his Little Red Book.
The Feminists have found the hysteria about domestic violence and abuse.

There are just too many.
After a while, it becomes hard to imagine anyone who is not a part of some conspiracy or another. Even if One conspiracy feeds into another. Middle-aged men see every action as the result of the influence of one conspiracy or another; if not a conspiring group of conspiracies.
Sheesh.

Disgustingly Trustworthy

The lady who runs the convenience store around the corner tells me I can take anything I like, even if she isn't there. She's Egyptian. In her words, "You can pick up the ... things .. if I'm not here, just pick up."
"You can write down for me. .. Here.", and she points to a pad next to the cash register.

In this little coastal town, I doubt 10 people know my last name. -- They all know me as Paul (the big American).
The cafes I go to for lunch or breakfast, or just to do the coffee house thing, don't mind if I get distracted and walk out once in a while. They know I'll be back and pay up - even if I really did forget to fix it up.

I'm disgustingly trustworthy.
Sometimes I think I keep too many secrets. Business secrets, personal secrets, my own secrets, .. all of them kept. Probably even a few national security secrets I forgot long ago.
No one will ever hear them.

Characteristically, my work is something personal. Too personal really.
I want every character in a program exactly as it should be; the best possible code to accomplish the task. I'll refactor over and over until I get it right.
Back to the requirements, adjust, then look it over again. One of the bains of my existance is TDD.
Half the time, I end up with the same code I began with.

I hack and question each line, each method and strategy, until it feels and looks right.
Just a little more effort, and this would be obsessive.

Being trustworthy has its upside and downside.
The upside is I don't have the stress of stringing one story onto another. My memory might get faulty, but it is as close to the truth as I can get at the time - and people know it.
On the other hand, being trustworthy means being trusting. The air goes out of the room at times when I read a look in someone's eyes or face. But, like the dangers of freedom, that's a risk I choose to take.
The Golden Rule applies both ways to a few.

Dinner and ...

A woman invited me over for dinner with her brother and his girlfriend as a fee for looking at her laptop. I set myself up for this one. She's a great cook and I was fishing for a home cooked meal...
It'd taken me two months to find a cafe cook who'd make my omelettes the way I wanted them, and she gave me a discount to boot!
Sitting around while the roast was cooking, my eyes roamed her form. I couldn't help wondering what would happen when her brother and his girlfriend left.
Then she told me her age: 27.
It's hard to believe there are full grown women literally half my age. -- Oh well.
After dinner, and her brother had left with his girlfriend, I cleaned up a little then just went home. Was it really that long ago I would have tried to give her a juicy night to remember?
I must be getting old.

I have to admit I despise maturity. Ignorance may not be bliss, but it sure is a lot more lusty.

Barack Obama, Democratic Nominee for President of the United States

Barack Obama, Democratic Nominee for President of the United States
Originally uploaded by whileseated

What is that expression, Mr Obama?
Determination?
Courage?
A sense of Destiny?
Belief?

Whatever it is, it has taken you to the Presidency of the United States of America.
And the World sees my country in a whole new light as a result.
Bravo. Bravo! Hurrah!!

Barack Hussein Obama is the President-elect

America has elected a President, and people are celebrating in Kenya, Indonesia, Hawaii, and Harlem. These are groups related to the new President.
There's even a few who claim to be related in Ireland!
Parties are erupting across the US, France and Germany.
It's wonderful to see.

There is a sense of something lifted from one, something to smile about, all across the world.

When I was a child, I'd never see a black President in my lifetime. They also told me I'd never live to see the end of the Soviet Union too...

The ironies of life will never cease to amaze me.
America the Great Satan, commonly dismissed as incurably racist, still apparently ruled by fear and loathing of all things Islam or Muslim because of the fear of terrorism, -- has elected the son of a Muslim whose middle name is ... Hussein.
I don't know whether to cry or sing. Or both.

People are celebrating Obama's victory in many ways.
A man from Belfast living in Australia is roaming the streets telling everyone he meets that this is a victory for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and citing the US Constituion: "Government for the People; of the People and by the People."
He says the whole thing send chills up his spine.
The same man showed his bullet wounds to a young man saying, "I took those for this day."
We spent a couple of hours telling the young man about the silent, unsung heroes of past wars. Not many will remember the Murmansk run. His father was one of the few sailors who survived.
The old man would have been proud of America today.

Another man went to see his 4-year old grandson for the first time. He thinks his daughter has never been better. - To him, that 4-year old cuddling close to his neck is far more important.
But he's still glad Obama won.

This is something too long coming. America has shown itself again as a light to the World. A light of Hope.

Obama has so much Hope to live up to. All we can do is pray, and offer what we can of ourselves to help and support, that he is able to live up to half of what's expected of him.
You have our prayers, Mr Obama. You have our Hope, and Faith.
May God bless you and keep you. And all who are there with you.

The NYTimes put together a list of the top 25 blogs about the election. Click the slideshow link and drink it all in.

Moral Insurrection - Self Sacrifice

When I was a young man trying to find my niche in the professional world, I was the turning point for a moral insurrection. I remember the sense of astonsishment I felt. And the sense of responsibility.
Half of a corporate sales force walked off the job at a sales seminar because one owner decided to play politics with the attendees. He fired me to allow his protege to collect the sales. I had put half the attendees in the seats.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting with my sales manager and about a dozen others. All had walked off the job out of respect for me. (There's more to the story, but also little point in blowing my own horn.)

Reading the story of these telemarketers who left their seats because they would not say divisive ugly half-truths about Barack Obama makes me proud to be an American. No matter to which side of the political fence a person sits, this sort of moral courage is something that should make any American proud.
There's no question the rhetoric in that phone speil was unnecessary. The underlying motivations of these people may not be right. Barack Obama may turn out to be the anti-Christ. Who knows? If he is, even the Scriptures say no one will know.
Right now he looks like a legitimate political backlash to a miscreant administration that will bring more good than harm.

One thing I am certain of though: If more people act in their personal and professional lives based on their moral convictions, America will only be better.
Yes, I believe in America. I believe that 1000 years from now, what America stands for will be talked about as legendary. As my country is now a light of freedom and democracy to the World, that legend will only grow more powerful and more bright over the rest of human history - no matter what happens to America.
There, I've said it. It's not the first time. It will certainly not be the last.

Living outside the US places an American in the position of constantly having to explain and excuse every sin my country commits, real or imagined. It's painful to know the real courage of the American people, the heritage of my history, and the overwhelming generosity my country has shown, yet know that so many hate my country. I only wish these stories of individual moral insurrection and courage were what I heard more often.

Weekends are for...Premonition?

Image by Shutterhack via FlickrTrying to get a sense of the world in this mad moment is like trying to describe the feeling just before a storm in Oklahoma. Great power moves stealthfully. Your heart rises in your chest and your breath quickens. At once fearsome and beautiful beyond words, the skies and the earth are straining in a chorus. The heavens roll and rock with rare vibrant colors.
More power seathes through the skies than any war made by man has ever unleashed.
Yet there is a stealthy quiet to it all. As if the video were on mute. You wonder at what the animals hear and feel. Is it just some inadequacy of the human senses? Why can humans only feel the echos of such sounds?
Mind and soul strain through your eyes trying to penetrate the mystery of the skies.
There is a war about to be fought by forces far beyond the ken of mere mortals. Phrases and prose flash through your mind as you reach both inward and outward to understand: The Winds of War. Rolling Thunder. Moments of anthems from your life roam between the prose. I don't know how many times I have whistled Duello watching the skies darken.
I find myself looking at the bright blue skies over a beach and whistling again, over and over. Duello. No prisoners. From ten thousand miles away, literally the other side of the Earth, my throat tightens in memory of The Alamo.
I have known men and women who survived the Gulags, the Holocaust, the horrors of WWII on Okinawa and Taipan. Tattooed and scarred, yet smiling when I knew them. Not brave smiles, full of a false propoganda of courage. But smiles full of wonder at their own courage. That they survived to see the world after the horror.
I suppose, I hope, that someday I will smile the same way - if I survive.
It's another Saturday in the mall. People work and laugh. They smile at one another, and read the papers.

First Flit

Having lived through the 70s in America, I know the signs of inflation.
When I first wandered into Australia about 8 years ago, coffeehouse conversation often turned to how the country had changed. I was the newcomer, and from America. It seemed like everyone wanted to be the first to tell me how Australia was becoming like America.Image by Getty Images via Day
I would look closely, and listen, to try to tell if the person thought that was a good thing or a bad thing.
In time, I came to realize that Australians had an easy way to assign blame for anything that went wrong: they just blamed America and Americans. It saved a lot of thinking and worrying about the things they could change.
America was to blame, so .. Why worry? Be Happy.

The changes aussies blamed on America were kind of obvious to me:

• high and rising prices;
• rabid consumer credit;
• smaller portions and lower quality goods were more expensive;
• service cutbacks because of personnel reductions;
• and fees on everything.

They were the consumer signals of inflation and hyperinflation. I recognized them in an instant.
When I said this stuff to aussies, the response was universal. A grim shrug, then some sort of comment blaming America.
A lot of times the comment wasn't even about prices or the economy. Aussies simply took my conversational comments as an attack on Australia, and turned to an attack on America.
The thinking seemed to be there was no sense in being negative (about Australia), there was always the US to blame.

When it came time to decide to stay, I got interested in the Australian economy.
It didn't take a whole long time to figure out where the inflation was coming from. The new Liberal administration had been elected because of the aging aussie homily: "Liberals create surpluses and Labour spends the country into poverty." The new Liberal administration was fueling inflation to pay off the national debts.
Mr Howard simply started paying something to everyone. Within a year, the direct payments into the economy tripled as a portion of the GNP - from 1% to over 3%. You had to make 6 figures in Australia not to be eligible for some sort of payout.
In America, that'd be catastrophic. But Australia is a small country with a small economy. In perspective, the recent Wall Street bailout is larger than the total GNP of Australia by $100billion USD.
Converted at the current exchange rate, that's be about $163billion AUD.
And that's after all the bloating inflation in Australia for 8 years or so.

The same consumer inflation signals continued for 8 years, only getting worse and worse. The inflation rate was underreported to the population. It was supposedly 4%. The real figure was closer to 10 or 12%.
Denial is not something unique to Australia. Just look at the idiocy of the sub prime mortgages in the US.
Consumers only really became concerned, as in the US in the 70s, when the cost of petrol went through the roof. The speculators that are blamed were only reacting to real market forces. There was room for the increase and they saw it.

I got the stories. A house had cost only $60,000 in the neighborhood only two years ago. Now it was $85,000. And that was nothing compared to prices across the whole metro area, where the average house was (then) $220,000. It was much worse in Sydney.
My comments were: This is still a suburb. It's a long ways into the city. But it looks like that's changing with the plans for new freeway. This would be a good time to buy that $85,000 house. -- It's obviously going to go up a lot.
The responses from the local Australians registered their incredulity: "These houses were old. They can't get much more expensive. It'd be better to tear them down and build new houses. Houses out here will never be over $100,000."
Within 4 years, just a year or so after I heard that comment last, the same house sold for $180,000. Two years later, it was on the market for $240,000.

The market value of that old, unrenovated 1970s military housing house had tripled in 6 years. And the freeway went into service just after it was sold.

Now Rudd government has to support the inflation. So they have gone even farther than the Howard government ever dared. All bank deposits are guaranteed. More than that, all loans between banks are guaranteed. And there will be a $10.4billion payout to spark Christmas spending on December 8th.
Weirder than fiction, the Assistant Prime Minister thinks this will not be inflationary.
And just two months ago, the RBA raised interest rates to combat inflation. This month, the RBA dropped interest rates from 7.0% to 6.0%, and more cuts are expected.
Nothing inflationary in all that. Nahhhhh....

Oh, the average house in the metro area is now $385,000. In Sydney, it's over $400,000.

The Breifing

Image via WikipediaI'm trying to picture how Kevin Rudd and the new government was breifed on the economic crisis.

Someone had to orchestrate this presentation for them to have made such outlandish decisions so quickly.
Let's see.
You want them excited, but not thinking too clearly. This is not a time for real leadership. This is an opportunity.
Who would you choose to give the presentation? A dour banker type would just offend Rudd. They guy would look and sound too much like Rudd himself. No, you choose a woman.
Rudd has shown he likes women with ample bust. So, a tall blonde. Tight skirt. Heels. She'd appear in a very businesslike suit. A woman that walks like a man even in heels. It may sound impossible, but aussie women can march like troupers in heels.
Yes. That would keep them excited and just enough concentration to hear what was going to be said.
The women would feel intimidated. The men would be looking at her curves. Her demeanor would keep them all guessing. And keeping their eyes off her curves would be just the right distraction for all.

Now, what's she gonna say?
"Mr Rudd, as you know, over 65% of the Australian GNP is consumer spending. We talk up the resources sector as much as we can, but it's really only 15% of the GNP. Australia really doesn't have an agricultural or manufacturing sector of consequence compared to the consumer sector."
(Pause. Give them all a chance to nod knowingly and let their fantasies subside a little.)

"Consecutive administrations came to realize that Australia had one real resource of any consequence: Land."
"Most land in Australia would be considered prime real estate in other countries. So much of it is near business centres and the beaches, there was a lot to work with."
"The Australian consumer sector is financed by inflated land prices and building. Building creates new jobs. Good paying jobs that don't require a great deal of training."
"Profitable sales create new wealth which is then recycled through the economy as consumer spending. That consumer spending is leveraged as credit. Credit cards. Personal loans. All based on higher and higher mortgages on rapidly increasing real estate sales."
(Again pause. This is news to some around the table. The Australian capacity for denial is astounding.)

"The Howard administration saw the power of consumer spending. It keeps people happy to feel they have money in their pockets. That happiness translates into purchases of all sorts."
"To support the creation of weatlth from real estate, the Howard administration offered all sorts of incentives. Investment property tax breaks fueled new land purchases. The first home buyer grants allowed families to buy property they couldn't otherwise afford."
"When the property went up in value, the new equity was used to buy investment property. - And the cycle continued."
"In addition, in order to support the ensuing inflation, the Howard government increased the direct payments to consumers."
"In fact, even as the GNP doubled, the Howard administration paid more and more. Within two years, direct payments had tripled as a percentage of the GNP. Mr Howard wisely maintained this level throughout his 11 years in office."
"Of course, direct payments from government to consumers is always inflationary, but that was the goal of the Howard government. Mr Howard was seeking to pay off the debts of previous administrations by inflating his way out of them."
"He succeeded. Soon the government was in surplus. - Which always sounds good to the public, as you know." (Wry smile. Let those sharp blue eyes roam the room gurl...)

She's got them in the palm of her hand.
A fly on the wall would see all the little political minds whirling madly, thinking of how to make this information into political capital.

"Mr Howard never had to fear raising taxes, or any other decision in his term of government because of the increasing wealth at all levels in the country. People were happy. The quality of life was better. They could see a bright, wealthy future for themselves and their children."
"Anyone who dared to say it wouldn't happen was dismissed quickly. Such people were said to be either lazy or stupid. Or just living too well on the dole. -- As the Americans say it: 'It's the economy, stupid.' "
(Pause. Let it all sink in. Faces reveal silently the jealousy.)

"Australia created jobs from land. Those jobs created other jobs. Working people were happy and their wealth increased as though they were financial geniuses."
"And all those jobs meant taxes at all levels of government which in turn could be spent on new infrastructure and education. Australia could afford to train millions into new skills and professions."
(A quick pause looking at the Prime Minister, whose wife made her fortune from the training programs.)

"As you can see, Australia can ill afford to let this process cease."

"Japan is a case in point. The opposite of inflation is deflation. The Japanese economy slipped into a deflationary spiral in the 1990's. Prices lowered. There was no sense in buying a new home today since it would cost less next month. Japan slipped from the second largest economy to the 16th, even lower than Australia in GNP."

"Growth, and controlled inflation, is the only direction for Australia."
(Long pause. Letting it all sink in. And watching the nervous eyes around the room as ministers squirm in their seats. - They know they're caught like fish in a net.)

"Mr Rudd, and all ministers present, Australia must guarantee all bank deposits." (A quick assessment around the room)
"And further, Australia must guarantee all loans between banks."
"Australia must save Australia to preserve the lifestyle of ordinary citizens."

"Mr Rudd, further, Australia must increase the federal subsidy for new home buyers. We cannot let builders stop building, Mr Rudd. Those jobs are vital to the economy."
"If we let home values decrease, it will destroy the banking system and the future of all Australians."
(She's got to take a long breath here. Her breasts heave, pressing into her blouse and suit jacket. That was the real kill stroke: tying the health of the banks to the well-being of every Australian. - But a quick look around the room is reassuring: They all seem to agree.)

Travelling Road Shows

I've never seen 1268 political cartoons. That's how many Yahoo has on just the presidential campaign in America.
And you can't help laughing.
The humor of the campaign tells much more about the mood of the country than any poll. Humor reflects people's rage and frustration. That's why it's a release. And why it must be accurate.

John McCain would have made a great President - 10 years ago.
Now McCain is just trying to avoid being accountable for his own history, and his party.

Sarah Palin just ain't got the right stuff. But she is soooo funny! (- or is that Tina Fey?) It's hard to see Tina Fey for Sarah Palin. Uh, .. Sarah Palin for Tina Fey, sorry...

Barack Obama is so iconic, you gotta wonder if he has any idea who he really is. But he is the great leader of this campaign. He is inspirational. He is exciting. He is full of Hope and Wonder.
With any other VP but Biden, I'd find Obama irresistable. I'm too much of an idealist, and I know it.

The Feminists would fund Obama's assassination just to have Joe Biden as President.

We got two old men, one rock star, and a second place beauty contest winner.
Sheesh. - This is the leadership of the greatest nation on Earth? - the economic hyperpower?

These people make you wonder about the whole democratic process in America.

Obama doesn't come across as full of hate and revenge like so many other black candidates. But when you look at the people who support him, it's all there. He's never really experienced prejudice. The rage doesn't poison every look and smile.

It looked like Hillary would be the Democratic candidate until Oprah threw her weight behind Obama. That must've been a tough decision for her: whether to choose Hillary, a white woman, or Obama, a black man who had little of the black experience.
I can only imagine the deal to make Joe Biden the VP was done even then. Hillary, an obvious feminist leader but her own woman, as opposed to Obama who would owe his political soul to the Cause. And to cement the deal, Joe Biden.
You have to give Joe Biden credit. He can push through a bill in Congress even if it is illegal, immoral, and unconstitutional. He so believes in himself and his destiny, the words of his oath of office mean nothing.
Biden is the hidden time bomb in the Obama camp.

What happened to Bill and Hillary? I want them back!

I guess if it comes down to it, you go with the better leader - and hope for the best.

Slightly less terrified..

Image via Wikipedia

"I'm slightly less terrified today than I was on Friday," said Princeton University economist Paul Krugman, named as the winner of the Nobel prize in economics on Monday. "We're going to have a recession and perhaps a prolonged one but perhaps not a collapse."

Alright, I admit it. I read Yahoo News. I actually look at My Yahoo for a quick morning read.

Recessions have always hit Australia hard for one simple reason: Australia's economy is largely consumer spending. The consumer spending is built on easy credit, growing government payments and subsidies at all levels, and more than anything else the financially engineered housing boom.
Each spread and expanded into another to create an economy racing towards inflation.
Housing prices have gone up over 500% in the last decade under John Howard. For those who bought and sold houses, that was great news. Each dollar they borrowed or invested into a house became 5 dollars. Then they went out into the economy and distributed the wealth, which multiplied the inflationary effect across all sectors of the economy.
When the bubble got close to bursting, Howard conveniently lost the election - and a Labour government was left to deal with the consequences. Mr Howard is off wandering the world doing dinner dates.

Well that's enough for my quick provocations this morning. I have to go find some breakfast.

Australia goes bigtime: Not $700billion, but $1.4trillion

Image by David de Groot via Flickr

Guarantee of wholesale funding

In order to support confidence in funding markets and continued lending by Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions (ADIs) to Australian corporations, businesses and households, the Government will offer a guarantee on debt securities issued by Australian owned banks, locally incorporated subsidiaries of foreign banks, credit unions and building societies. (list of banks and corporations protected)

The government will, of course, assess a fee for this service.

The reason Australia's banks are "amongst the world's best" is largely because of the astounding fees banks charge.

Bank fees

The first thing a local small businessman said, "As you would." - which translates in Australian in deep sarcasm something like: "And you're surprised you're getting screwed again? Why?"
He went on to tell me he was once with Bank of Melbourne. BoM had no fees. They were bought out by WestPac (about 7 years ago.)
Now, WestPac and all the other large banks charge fees for everything:

• Customers pay a fee to have an account with the bank.
• Get a statement. Pay a fee.
  The law says the banks have to issue statements. The law doesn't say they can't charge for it...
  
• Transfer money from one internal account to another. Pay a fee.
  Oh, and there's a 36-hour wait to protect you from fraud.
• Any and every access to any account incurs a fee.
• Deposits incur a fee.
  If it's a check or credit card, there is a graduated scale of charges depending on whether the card or check is from the same bank or some other bank - and at least a 5 working day delay on any check.
• Any communication with a bank incurs a fee.
  If you call to complain about poor
  

The standing joke is you can't walk past your own bank without paying a fee. You may get mugged or trapped if you walk past a bank where you don't have an account.
A young woman tripped over a a-frame sign last week in front of an AAB branch. She was taken to the emergency room, where she was accosted by three bank employees urging her to take out an account. - The sign announced that the bank would pay 8% on 3- and 6-month CDs. The average mortgage rate is 7.74%.
NAB was begging on the street for people to give it money at a rate below what it could charge for a mortgage!

$1.4 trillion bailout announced today

Today, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced Australia's answer to the US $700billion bailout. Australia will guarantee $1.4trillion in deposits and bank to bank lending for the next 3 years.

As the 8th (or 10th depending on whose list) largest economy in the world, that may be appropriate.
But when you compare a couple of figures, it does seem a little .. uh .. scary?

Australia's GNP is about $700billion.
65% of that economy comes from consumer spending. The mining and resources sector makes up only 15% or so of that figure.
Then toss in this little factoid: Australia borrows $400billion to $700billion from the US each year.

IOW, Australia borrows almost the whole of the GNP from the US year after year. At the least, Australia borrows equal to nearly all of the consumer spending each year.
That figure hasn't been put into perspective yet. However, deposits in foreign-owned institutions and foreign deposits will not be insured under the $1.4 trillion guarantee.

Nor has anyone mentioned where Australia would get that money if it were ever needed...?

It was only a year ago the AUD was headed towards parity with the USD.

It was only a month ago everyone in Australia seemed terrified of another interest rate rise.

Now, even with an interest rate cut, nearly 35% (over 900,000 of 3.7million) of Australian mortgaged homes are in financial distress. That probably translates into: "The mortgages should be repossessed. The banks just aren't prepared for the paperwork."

You must type very fast...

Image by we-make-money-not-art via FlickrIn the Can't do anything right" and "How things change" departments:

I was doing a port mortem on a programming project that turned into a senseless fiasco, and found and email accusing me of typing too fast. Weird.
For years, I felt guilty putting on my resume that I typed 35wpm.
My third year in the Army they sent me to a 2-week typing course. The goal was to get to 20wpm accurately. 6 weeks later I was released from the course. I still think the instructors fudged my test just to get rid of me.

And now, ... I am accused of typing very fast because I responded as quickly as possible to requests for information from the team leader.

Yes, I suppose now -after 30+ years practice- I can type 55wpm accurately. I take it for granted until I remember all those years of back pains and headaches from hacking away at some keyboard.