The DINKs

I was chatting to a few DINKs over the weekend, that is Double Income No Kids. The topic of conversation was real estate, the issues were:

• Rental prices going up when residing in the property
• The actual price being much higher than the advertised price
• Finding a suitable place

I suggested purchasing a property as their prices are coming down at the moment and with two incomes it should be easier to get finance and then easier to pay off the mortgage. That is depending on where you start in the market.

Yet purchasing has not even been considered by these DINKs. This surprised me, as I would have thought that if ever there were a time to have some stability in your living arrangements it would be when you are newly married and starting a family.

Didn’t Tell Us That One Did You?

Environmentalists have been pedalling the climate change line for a while. They have been telling us that we need to change the way we use energy in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. One of the main ways they prescribe to achieve change is to swap our 60-watt incandescent light globes with 15-watt fluorescent light globes. Sounds harmless, perhaps even a good idea, but they neglected to inform the public of one very important detail. Apart from being dull in light emittance, these fluoros contain mercury, a very potent and toxic chemical.

These globes do last a lot longer than regular globes but when they do blow they need to be disposed of properly otherwise we are looking at arguably greater environmental damage. The problem is that you can’t guarantee that everyone will dispose of the globes in the proper fashion or even be aware of the methods for disposal. In the same way no one could make all smokers dispose of their butts responsibly, no matter how hard people tried. However, I think mercury would be more damaging than cigarette butts. I would like to think that people after taking the step to obtain the new globes would become aware of the methods of disposal and to act on those methods when the time comes.

If disposed with the normal rubbish these globes end up in landfill. They would no doubt crack open under the weight of machinery and more rubbish. This allows the mercury to seep out into the soil and potentially into our water supply when it rains.

Companies handing out free light globes have an agenda, and it’s not always to help the environment and helping you in the process. The light globes might be free to you but they still get payed through a carbon-trading scheme. The federal opposition is pushing such schemes. Does anyone really know what carbon trading involves? Or are we all just going along for the ride because it sounds like a good idea?

A Fashion That’s Growing On Me

Just because it’s fashion doesn’t mean it looks good or is even in good taste. Check out any fashion show in Europe and you will understand what I mean. Weird and way out designs that are by no means practical, but are for some reason supposed to get people to buy the designers product.

Some shows display more practicality and comfort, but still not necessarily a good look. There is one look that I didn’t like at all but for some reason it doesn’t look that bad to me anymore. The look is wearing leggings under skirts or long tops.

My thinking used to be:

1. If it’s so cold that you require leggings then you should be wearing pants or a long skirt, or;
2. If it’s warm enough to wear a short skirt then the leggings shouldn’t be necessary

Neither of these situations stopped girls from wearing the leggings under their skirts. I have seen them worn in conjunction in all seasons.

It all depends on how they’re worn I guess. After all, they are the same as wearing stockings except they are cut off at the ankle. I can see the practicality also of their use in the colder months. I still don’t like leggings under shorts though, it still looks slightly ridiculous to me.

I’ve had a look around and there are forums discussing such an issue. Even women don’t get why they are back in fashion after it was assumed to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

Check out:

• Female First
• Yelp
• Fashion 18
• Brand Neusense

Church Websites

This year I have had the opportunity to visit quite a few church websites this year. The links are on the right are to those churches where I have friends in attendance. All are good examples of what church websites should look like, even though they are all quite different.

Some thoughts on church websites:

Not having one in the first place

Having a website is all about marketing and advertising, letting as many people as possible know about what you are doing. Hopefully this results in more people visiting the church and becoming members of the congregation.

Today if a church doesn’t have a website then it’s not reaching it’s full potential. Not having a website usually means that there is no one in the congregation either willing or able to produce a website, you won’t see any large congregations without a website. The layperson could be excused for questioning the existence of a church if they have no website.

Updating

You need a dedicated Webmaster who is very efficient. After all, what’s the use of trying to attract people to church through the website if the information is outdated. Old information gives a similar impression to not having a website. That is that nothing is going on here or that no one could be bothered telling us what is going on so I’m not going to waste my time. Or worse still, this church mustn’t really exist.

Appearances

Some websites can be overly elaborate with all sorts of things flashing onto the page. This can make it difficult to view if you don’t have a lightening fast connection. The best ones I have seen are very pleasant to look at yet are quite simple in their layout. Their simplicity lends well to easy navigation. If someone is able to navigate easily then they are more likely to explore the website further.

Added extras

• Podcasting
• Not many churches I have been to do this yet. As long as you have someone who knows how to record sermons in a digital format I believe it is quite an easy process. It’s also a good way of reaching the masses. It’s the way of the future as far as distributing audio is concerned. Even burning onto CD’s now is so old school. If your church already does podcasting then they are truly pioneers of their trade
• Sermon notes
• Sometimes in conjunction with podcasting, sometimes on their own, churches publish the notes of the sermon. I have found these very useful in the past.
• Other Downloads
• Eg rosters, advertising material. Useful but possibly not essential for a church just starting a website.

Who’s Responsible?

People continue to whinge about the lack of government action in certain areas of life. But where is the border between personal responsibility and government responsibility?

Housing

The media have pushed the term “rental crisis.” What crisis? People can’t afford to rent in the fancy places they want to live. Or people are being turned away because they don’t have a good record as tenants or don’t have a steady income. Do people really expect handouts all the time?

What if the government capped the price of rental properties that are privately owned? The landlord won’t have enough money for general maintenance, repairs, renovations or that one off tree fall through the living room. In the end the landlord will do nothing to the property because there is just no money. What’s the result? More ghettos and slum areas. So have we improved society by making housing more affordable?

Dare I give myself a bit of a rap by stating how I was able to buy a two-bedroom unit on my own? This is on a relatively low income as well.

House prices are on their way down now anyway. If you are looking properly you will find what you are looking for. However, if you are looking for the house on the street in the suburb then you are too picky and will find yourself on a long search.

Ambulance Fees

Certain groups are complaining about the rise in fees to get an ambulance to attend to your injuries. They say that access to this form of healthcare might be out of reach to those who need it most and in an act to avoid paying the fees they may try and get their own way to the emergency room and possibly doing themselves more damage.

That says a lot about how these people regard their health. If you are in a state that you require an ambulance, just pay the damn fee. Otherwise die quietly because it appears you don't hold your health in any high regard.

However most of the people who need ambulance attention are pensioners. These people are on a pension which means they don’t pay for transportation, their pension does. Those privately insured also are covered for the ambulance fee.

Bear in mind that the NSW Ambulance Service has been the most subsidised service in the country and the citizens should be thankful of that instead of dumping on it.

Education

A big beef with both me and Danny. Currently we have a voluntary contribution in the public system. This is because somehow the ‘lefties’ have had everyone believe that everyone deserves free education. What rubbish!! At the very most everyone deserves access to affordable education. If you don’t place value on it then you are not going to get any value out of it. I’m not so hardline right wing that I advocate privatisation of the education system but what is $500 a year? Nothing!!