The world media is doing it's best to scare the shizen out of mum and dad investors, claiming Gold and Silver prices are in free fall, they report the drop in $ terms because the $ number is big, For gold reporting a drop of 10% / ounce isn't as dramatic as reporting a fall of $500/ounce.
As a percentage it's nothing unusual, the problem is dressed up by the media because of the record price per ounce, they'll report a record drop in $ units for sure, but as a percetnage it's nothing unusual and has happened before. Of course panic selling takes place from small investors, the price drops, and the same coorporate Clark Kents who cried wolf are the ones buying on the cheap.
Also, an ounce isn't an ounce. Put the figures into standarised units, use $/gram or $/kilogram, because metric units are the same in every market. An ounce might be a Troy Ounce or some other Ounce, and the media is known for cherry-picking the units to maginfy the effect.
Small investors dont really move the market with Gold its Central Banks buying it in times of uncertainty as a hedge and thats why Donald Trump is good for the gold price as he creates uncertainty with his decision making.
I'm not sure what was wrong with the old one. Seemed pretty reliable and easy to understand.
I think the main problem with the old site was the growing cost to maintain it, the problem with all this technology is the minute you let it age it becomes expensive to keep functioning and secure. It's like a boat with a hull full of holes, keep patching and eventually you have no hull left and you're floating on a raft of patches. It's not dissimilar to our own website's problems.
The problem with the new site isn't really the design, once you get your head around the Favourite Locations concept it works pretty well. It could be a bit easier for new users to navigate, they needed a better onboarding experience. To me the main problem was that the high cost of the replacement basically gave people political ammunition to rally against change.
I have to work with arrange of age groups across the technology sector, my older segment is anchored in the desktop experience, we think of web experiences in terms of a keyboard and monitor first. Pretty much everybody under 40 thinks about phone first, some of them have no interest in the desktop and will sit at a workstation reading from their phone. To the oldies it looks like the youngies are bludging, the youngies think the oldies are Luddites.
I'm a Windows desktop oldie, just prefer the larger screen and keyboard.
Yep Trump got in because Americans doing it tough got desperate enough to try any alternative and again he promised simplistic solutions to difficult problems. I think it was John Lennon who said in reference to the TV band "The Monkees"people will buy anything if you market it well enough or words to that effect..
What's wrong with the Monkees
Lennon actually liked them as a comedy act and was a fan of their TV stuff but didnt see them as serious musicians...unlike somebody I know🤔😀
The LNP only need to get half a clue and a more effective leadership and that One Nation vote will disappear. That's a challenge that appears beyond them at the moment.
The One Nation support is largely a reflection of the MAGA vote in the states. Hanson pushes that theme and connection. Around 20% is about the mark. We're trailing a bit behind in Australia and some still think those policies are a recipe for success. Not here. And around November, not there either.
thats how Trump got in.
Don't underestimate an up yours vote.
Yep Trump got in because Americans doing it tough got desperate enough to try any alternative and again he promised simplistic solutions to difficult problems. I think it was John Lennon who said in reference to the TV band "The Monkees"people will buy anything if you market it well enough or words to that effect..
The LNP only need to get half a clue and a more effective leadership and that One Nation vote will disappear. That's a challenge that appears beyond them at the moment.
The One Nation support is largely a reflection of the MAGA vote in the states. Hanson pushes that theme and connection. Around 20% is about the mark. We're trailing a bit behind in Australia and some still think those policies are a recipe for success. Not here. And around November, not there either.
I think the One nation popularity is due to the appalling Labour Government and the lack of confidence in their attitude to community safety and woeful economic performance. It's a far swing to the right out of desperation and frustration with both major parties being seen as incompetent and not listening to mainstream voters. You add in the Greens who are devoid of any policies other than of the conservation variety and the simplistic policies of Hanson look appealing to voters doing it tough and Hanson's fish and chip shop owner battler image is serving her well vs the well heeled polly's with their property portfolios etc.
You would think with Albo on the ropes with regards the economy, migration, anti semitism etc that the Libs would be soaring in the polls and climbing back into poll position for the next election but alas the nationals have bailed on them again and Party Leader David Littleproud has said they cant and wont be working with Susan Ley. Right Wing Fish and Chip purveyor Pauline Hanson's popularity on the other hand has gone through the parliamentary roof and its Susan Ley looking like she is yesterday's fish and chip paper and on the way out. Libs will do their usual next dud up mentality and pick Hastie or Taylor when they should looking at some of their younger better performers... Albo might get in again by doing a Bradbury and staying off the pace while the others trip themselves up..
Most of the expensive brands are now made in China as are all of the batteries, I was a Makita fan as they were mid ranged priced and reliable and were USA and Japanese made but now they have joined the other brands in getting their stuff assembled in China. Think you can still buy Japanese made Makita in Japan but its very hard to get. Not a fan of anything Bosch, a family friend had a Bosch dishwasher that set fire and burnt down part of their house but Bosch were unhelpful and their customer service poor as they tried to avoid responsibility even though the control board in the door setting fire was a known problem. Had a liking for Hilti and Hitachi power tools back in the day as we had them at work for the elec fitters/linesman/techs but they were at the expensive end of the scale so Makita got a lot of my business.
I see them as a way forward, but not necessarily the way forward if you get my drift. I am not an early adopter of any technology so have kept my distance (we have bought 2 vehicles since 2008, and both are Petrol cars, one of which was bought 2017, the other in 2024 to replace a 2008 car that probably had another 5 to 10 years in it, but became cost benefit to ditch in favour of something else, because that car was in need of more maintenance than I liked.
The main reason not to go EV, was more cost vs benefit at the time. The car I bought was cheaper than the average good EV, and we didnt need to put a charging station in for it which made petrol win. I also liked the shape of the car I bought, over what was on offer equivalent. We gravitate to what we like the look of generally, be it food, scenery, choice of partner, etc.
I have no feedback for the validity of EV. I can only talk about rechargeable batteries in power tools, and solar panels for xmas lights and I have mixed fervour for them. I find the battery powered tools to either be under powered, or unable to last the duration required to get the job done but thats not really a true comparison. Xmas lights get stored for 10 months of the year, are made from NiMH and usually sit there and degrade in the process which limits their longevity.
Ive switched to plug in lights purely because they are brighter and more reliable, but the solar ones have their use cases such as range and isolation.
Anyway, thats my two cents. I had the Tesla's as a rule, but its more bout Musk, and his business model than anything else. Subscriptions in general annoy me.
Got no interest in EV's as the economics doesnt add up unless you are doing plenty of kms or are prepared to take a money hit for the environment(sorry Greta T). Had no trouble with Lithium batteries for power/garden tools either the expensive brand names or the cheap knock offs and we used Renogy lithium batteries/solar panels in our little Campervan and they were fine for years.
Yep well done to Alyssa Healy, agree she is good value in the commentary box and gives straight forward views on the game which I like. Interesting her other half Mitchell Starc has attributed his good form and exceptional fitness this summer to giving up the booze during the series. England it seems took the opposite approach of increasing their alcohol intake and there have been reports of players fronting up to the Perth Test overweight. Maybe Bazball should be renamed Boozeball, I cant see how McCullum survives given the English off field culture is Rat crape and the Management wont call out the bad behaviour and lack of professionalism from the playing group.
Trump is apparently offering Greenlanders 10,000 to 100,000 to switch the country to the USA If I was a Greenlander and he made it a million I'd do it in a heart-beat.
Then I'd move to Canada
Canada will be another state in the USA according to Trump..got a massive drug and homeless problem too.
Trump's plans to acquire Greenland are disturbing for Australia imho.Denmark has been a good ally, had a long-term military relationship buying USA equipment and producing fighter aircraft parts for them. It shows Trump cares little for past allegiances and is happy to throw the Danes loyalty out the window to achieve his goals and any country relying on the USA for help in a military crisis should re think it's future. If NATO collapses due to Trump taking Greenland then Putin will reshape Europe and in turn the rest of the world.
In Test cricket you defend the good balls and score off the bad balls, in the shorter formats you are trying to score off every delivery.
The above is really the guts of it right ?
Yep....problem is players get paid more to try and score off every ball under the guise of entertainment and a lot of punters want fast food cricket in the time poor world of modern living. Test cricket is becoming more of a novelty and some countries are prioritising short format cricket ie Sth Africa because they cant get local sponsors for the long game but can get Indian IPL owners to invest in the SA short format game so they can keep feeding players to the IPL. England prioritised white ball cricket in New Zealand rather than having a proper warmup schedule in Australia and paid the price for a lack of preparation here for the Ashes.
As a person who know SFA about cricket, I have always wondered why a T20 or One Day Style of go the tonk is never applied in Test cricket. Or why players who are guns (bowling and batting) in the short forms are no good in the longer form. I guess the English team demonstrated it but I still cant work out the "differences" in skill set. Can the aficionados (Proff or EB) provide some simple dot points for me explaining or pin pointing the nuances (apart from the obvious length of the games) of Test and Short form Cricket.
In Test cricket you defend the good balls and score off the bad balls, in the shorter formats you are trying to score off every delivery. So Test cricket requires batsman to have good technique to defend the good deliveries unlike short format cricket where you can be a park cross batted slogger and still have success. Leaving a good ball is seen as a skill in Test cricket but a sin in the shorter formats, Australian batsman in the old days would spend some time playing County cricket or Lancashire League cricket as Professionals to tighten their techniques against the moving ball. There seems less of that these days as the County system employs less overseas professionals and is also favouring the shorter formats where the money is important. The wickets being produced for the different formats are also different with the shorter formats requiring flatter even bounced pitches with no movement" while ideal test matches start off with greeners strips initially that flatten out then turn later and help the spinners so every facet of the game is on display unlike the shorter formats where batting holds sway through the contest. The Sheffield Shield system in Australia has produced well coached players with good technique over the years and this is where the English have fallen behind in their love of the shorter format money spinning formats imho which of course are all in part connected to the IPL where players who do well in their countries domestic short format comps get picked up by Indian IPL teams. Of course some players can play across the different formats with success but when a wicket favours the bowlers these days you quickly see who the real test players are. eg David Warner made the move from the short format game to test cricket and had success everywhere but in England where technique is king, but on the green seaming wickets he failed miserably. Unfortunately the game is dominated by money now at all levels and pitches favouring bowlers are frowned upon and curators made accountable if games end early and the wicket requires serious technique and grit to survive on. Bazball is an example of where short format cricket meets test cricket and vs mug nations its had success playing the style what your initial question alluded too but has failed vs the better schooled test nations like Australia and India who still teach solid technique at a young age. Good technique is... solid basics like a balanced stance, head over the ball, and precise footwork(forward and back) with crucial mental attributes: patience, temperament, and the ability to concentrate for long periods to tire bowlers and build big scores.
From Jillian Segal's Envoy report: 2.1 From October 2023 to September 2024, antisemitic incidents surged by 316%, with over 2,000 cases reported – threats, assaults, vandalism and intimidation. In October and November 2023 alone, episodes increased over 700% compared to the previous year, reflecting incitement by those with extremist views and misinformation in the media and online. These figures exclude much of the hate online, where antisemitism has exploded. Notable incidents include the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, firebombing of a childcare centre adjacent to a Synagogue and school, firebombing of cars in residential areas and the repeated targeting with graffiti of Jewish schools and places of worship. In February 2025, ASIO Director General Mike Burgess declared antisemitism Australia’s leading threat to life.
Clearly the Government, ASIO, the AFP have had the information but Albanese has refused to act and protect Jewish citizens in this country.Think I read that 70% of Jews in Australia vote Liberal which isnt unexpected and thats probably going to spiral upwards after recent events. Its been clear that the ALP and the Greens are anti Israel and pro Palestinian, so Albanese has been in no hurry to act until now of course when under the media and world spotlight. 50% of Jews left Nazi Germany pre war so it will be interesting to see if we get a significant exit from Australia now its unsafe for them.
