Its called Hedging your bets...

	As you may be aware, a number of changes were scheduled to come into effect on eBay.com.au on 17 June 2008. Most of these changes have been delayed by almost one month and are now scheduled to commence on 15 July 2008. PayPal Buyer Protection will still increase to $20,000 on 17 June 2008.
	Current policies regarding accepted payment methods still apply. This means PayPal is required on all listings on eBay.com.au. Other payment methods (i.e. bank deposit, cheque/money order) may also be offered until 15 July 2008. As previously communicated any listings that do not comply with eBay's Accepted Payments Policy will be removed. We strongly recommend that in order to ensure your listings comply with the Accepted Payments Policy you remove any details of payment methods other than PayPal or pay on pick up within the item description. Listings that have other payment methods offered within the payment options field will be allowed to expire as these options will not be displayed to buyers from 15 July 2008. There are a small number of categories where PayPal is not mandatory. There are also some categories that do not qualify for PayPal Buyer and Seller Protection. Learn more about these excluded categories.
	As mentioned PayPal Buyer Protection will still increase to $20,000 on 17 June 2008. To ensure you benefit from PayPal's Buyer Protection Policy, eBay strongly recommends you use PayPal when paying for your purchases on eBay.com.au. From 15 July 2008 the available payment methods will be limited to PayPal, Visa/MasterCard, or pay on pick up.
	The decision to delay these changes was made by eBay following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) draft notice issued on Thursday 12 June 2008. eBay released a media statement on Friday 13 June regarding the ACCC's draft notice. Read eBay's statement and community announcement. Please note that some of our onsite communications will still refer to changes taking place on 17 June 2008. These communications are being updated and should reflect the new date of 15 July 2008 within the coming days. Regards The eBay Team

:read: we're not allowed to introduce it right away, but we'll get this pesky legal trouble out of the way first, and then we'll screw you over.

*Apologies if you also got this email from Ebay, and this is old news.

Interestingly, I think this is the first email I've had direct regarding this, otherwise I had to get my info from the news websites and the homepage.

Btw Ebay, thanks for sending this to me on the 18TH OF JUNE

Checkout Rage

What a shocking, sad story. news.com.au

Mr Tripp was shopping at 7.30pm when an argument broke out near him. Witnesses said a female customer accused another shopper of pushing ahead of her in the queue and insulting her.
She spotted the abusive youth at a customer counter in the supermarket a moment later, and called her partner on a mobile phone.
He allegedly stormed into the store and she told him "That's the guy, that's the guy".
But he thought she was pointing at Mr Tripp, a 57-year-old structural engineer, not at the youth in the queue ahead of him. Mr Tripp was punched once in the face.
But the single blow was so hard, he collapsed unconscious on to the supermarket floor, blood gushing from his mouth and nose. He was rushed to hospital but his life support was switched off yesterday morning.

Police arrested 37-year-old Tony Virsami and charged him with murder. His partner Antoinette Richardson, 37, was also charged with murder.

The Alcopop farce continues

Liquor industry dodges law with wino-pops
Now apparently they're going to try to get around the new tax by making WinoPops. Hmm, doesn't that sound yummy. Like a West Coast Cooler on a paddle-pop stick. Or Amy Winehouse re-inventing herself as Jessica-Simpson-esque-wholesome-fun?

I digress. They're talking about them being 8%+ !
Sweet! (I Swear I'm not an alco) They will have to be between 8-22% because that's the wine classification (I wonder where low alcohol Champagne's and Light Wine's are categorized then?).

They should have ditched the stupid tax immediately. Within weeks of the stupid tax being implemented, spirit sales went up. Yeah, because that's a better alternative, letting the twits mix their own drinks. No longer can you effectively count your drinks when you mix them yourself. M and his mate Todd have been known, on many a hard night to start out with 1 finger of bourbon in a tumbler mixed with coke, and by the end of the night they've got one finger of COKE. And they wonder why their heads are sore in the morning...

The flip side of increasing the cost of drinking, is that drugs become a more attractive option:

"If you can buy an ecstasy pill for $20, why would you buy alcohol?" Australian Hotels Association director Bill Healey said

Also, its official, I'm a binge drinker. How ridiculous, considering I can legally drive home after 3 drinks in 3.5 hours (I add the 30 minutes to be on the safe side)

The last thing I want to say on this, annoyingly I can't find the news article I read, but Rudd has hurt himself politically in Queensland also through the Alcopop tax. There is a very narrow margin they're holding there, and the tax has hit "bundy-drinkers" hard in the hip pocket.
Can anyone say, Knee-jerk Politics?

Resume blunders

~ “I am great with the pubic.”
~ A candidate listed her e-mail address as pornstardelight@*****.com
~ One candidate’s electronic resume included links to her homepage, where the pictures were of her in the nude.
~ Hobbies: “getting drunk everynight down by the water, playing my guitar and smoking pot”
~ “One applicant used colored paper and drew glitter designs around the border” (there's standing out, and there's the patently ridiculous)

From Ask Annie

~ “I am a wedge with a sponge taped to it. My purpose is to wedge myself into someone’s door to absorb as much as possible.”

Yahoo Hot Jobs

~ “Finished eighth in my class of ten.”
~ “Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year.”
~ “It’s best for employers that I not work with people.”
~ “Let’s meet, so you can ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over my experience.”
~ “I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse.”
~ “I have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothing.”
~ “Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store.”

Humour Matters.com

~ Interests: “Gossiping.”
~ Favorite Activities: “Playing trivia games. I am a repository of worthless knowledge.” (This sounds like one I could use....)
~ Skills: “I can type without looking at thekeyboard.” (hmmm)
~ Qualifications: “Twin sister has accounting degree.”
~ Experience: “Have not yet been abducted by aliens.”
~ Objective: “I would like to work for a company that is very lax when it comes to tardiness.”
~ Education: “Have repeated courses repeatedly.”
~ Salary requirements: “The higher the better.”

~ References: “Bill, Tom, Eric. But I don’t know their phone numbers.”
~ Achievements: “First runner-up for Miss Fort Worth, 1982.”
~ Awards: “National record for eating 45 eggs in two minutes.”
~ Experience: “I was brought in as a turnaround consultant to help turn the company around.” (Hmmm, while consulting?)
~ Resume: “Spent several years in the United States Navel Reserve.” (Doing tequila body shots by the sounds of it)
~ Experience: “My father is a computer programmer, so I have 15 years of computer experience.”
~ Education: “I have a bachelorette degree in computers.”

Resumania’s Archive:

JobMob Top 10

1. Application: How large was the department you worked in with your last company? “A: 3 stories.” (Resumania)
2. A resume listed a skill as “being bi-lingual in three languages” (Ask Annie’s)
3. Background: “28 dog years of experience in sales (four human).” (Resumania)
4. In the section that read “Emergency Contact Number” she wrote “911.” (Ask Annie’s)
5. Candidate drew a picture of a car on the outside of the envelope and said it was the hiring manager’s gift. (Careerbuilder.com)
6. Languages: “Fluent in English. Also I have been heard muttering Gibberish in my sleep.” (Resumania)
7. “Directed $25 million anal shipping and receiving operations.” (ResumePower.com)
8. On one of our applications, a girl wrote ” I’m 16, I’m pregnant and I can do anything.” At the same time she turned in her application, her boyfriend handed in his. On his: “Felony for breaking and entering.” (Ask Annie’s)
9. “One candidate included clipart on their resume of two cartoons shaking hands.” (Ask Annie’s)
10. Application: “On the line that asked what “sex” he was, he wrote “occassionally”.” (Ask Annie’s)

More Netscape News

In an issue Re and I have been closely following, there is hope!

ONLINE auction site eBay has failed in its bid to force its customers to use PayPal - a company it owns - to pay for items on the website.

Last night the ACCC said it proposed to revoke eBay's application to enforce the use of PayPal for all transactions, saying it was a threat to competition.

"The ACCC is concerned eBay (would) use its market power to substantially lessen competition," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.

Woot Woot! Power to, well, the ACCC I guess, and not the people.
Its all good though. A good thing that has come out of this debacle however, is increased traffic to alternative Australian Auction sites. Yay.

------------------------------------------

In other news, a new social networking site called xt3.com has been launched by Cardinal George Pell in Sydney overnight, billed as Catholic Facebook.

Xt3.com - representing "Christ in the third millennium" - aims to connect young Catholics before, during and after next month's World Youth Day (WYD) in Sydney.

One of the site's founders, Robert Toone, said Xt3.com could also provide a useful tool for dialogue between faiths - one of the stated aims of Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to Australia.

"I think it's a wonderful opportunity to break down some of the barriers that may exist," he said.

WYD co-ordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher also highlighted this potential.

"All sorts of young people will come in and out of this site ... they won't necessarily be Catholics or high-octane Catholics," he said.

Hmm, (Moving RIGHT past the concept of rev-head catholics LOL) not knocking Catholicism or anything, by its one of those religions that isn't neccessarily quite SO attractive to those not of the faith. Before marrying a Catholic I thought Catholics were rather strict and secular. Of course now I know that isn't true, but one of the hurdles Catholicism faces in the future is that it isn't quite as attractive to newcomers, as say, the Evangelical churches like Hillsong (nor is it as corrupted-wait did I say that? No...)
So I find it difficult to go with the idea that non-catholics will be interested in joining a Catholic Social networking scene. I could be proven wrong however.

Blogland

A special post for M, because sadly, sometimes it feels like this LOL

TSSH? Never heard of it, til now....

DISCLAIMER
I have no new or firsthand information regarding this matter, see here for updates.

Like a million other office workers who trawl the interwebs every day, I am a creature of habit. I visit the same bunch of sites every day almost. I do try to stretch myself however, and I do like to follow links to find what's beyond the looking glass, so to speak, its not always fruitful, but sometimes...

Its interesting that the blogosphere, and websites in general, have no real directory. You can go to Google with specific search terms of course, and there's Technorati as well, but I'm a paper person. Give me a choice* between the actual printed Yellow Pages, and the online version, and I'll take the printed version (*as long as I don't know what I'm looking for)
Its hard to just sort of browse the Internet, like you would flicking through a magazine.

Last week, I stumbled onto a really weird site. Even though I blog, I don't necessarily think of myself as a "blogger". The term "blogger" for me, conjures up people like Samantha Brett, Sam de Brito and Tim Blair. People who get paid to blog. I, clearly, do not get paid to blog LOL.
Interesting piece on whether "bloggers" even exist anymore at The Local

Being that I'm not "a blogger" I've never followed the politics of the interwebs, and they, like any other community, exist. A site I stumbled onto last week, details the rise, and now fall, of a blogging duo called "Caz" and "The Hack". Apparently they were quite nasty to some bloggers they didn't like, and outed them on their own site, "The Spin Starts Here"{TSSH} (no hyperlink available as the site has been taken down, the inference one assumes to be that the nasty things they wrote are indefensible now) naming names and threatening to take legal action when their behaviour was criticised. So it is with apparent glee, that a site called "The Lulz Start Here" has been created, devoted to naming and shaming "Caz" Caroline Hamilton, a Victoria Parks PR employee, and "The Hack" James/Jamie Duncan of Australian Associated Press.

Yes, this is Australian! The Age has even picked up the story, I can only imagine because an AAP staff member is involved, and because said staff member starting legal proceedings against the wrong person, then retracted the complaint, making for the beginnings of a tawdry tale indeed.
It's a very interesting read, and I couldn't help but bookmark it, even though I wasn't around to read "TSSH", though it was apparently quite popular in its day. Check it out, to see how horribly badly "anonymously" picking on people can come back to bite you.

Ok now I look like a sad supporter

11062008, originally uploaded by dataceptionist.

:(
Loss.
We'll get them back! The series is not lost!
And in case you're thinking I'm completely odd, I did my hair TUESDAY night, before the game.

Making progress on God.

No this isn't the full post, I haven't finished the book yet. Just a quick word to say this book is very interesting, but I have thrown myself back into it, and I'm about half way through. I do have to devote my entire conscious thought to it to understand some of the more scientific principles however.

Stay tuned for full review, which I'm hoping will do the book justice.
Happy Tuesday everyone :)

A round of Margarita's, barkeep!

Well the verdict on these, because I know you've all been waiting with bated breath.
I didn't mind them. The "Margarita" ones (right) weren't as nice as a real Margarita, like I'd had in a restaurant mere days before I drank these. But it was passable.

Especially passable (can something BE especially passable?) as a key factor in the taste of a real cocktail margarita is the salt on the rim, kind of hard to salt encrust a premix bottle, so they've somehow mixed it into the flavour of the drink. Pleasant, drinkable, I could envisage myself spending a night on them without gagging by the third bottle (I'm talking to YOU vile blue and orange WKD things).
Sierra Tequila, for those of you you aren't tequila aficionado's is the tequila that you see with the little red hat on the cap. Interestingly when I looked them up, they actually have Gold and Silver tequilas, whereas I've only really seen the Silver, and thought they didn't do gold. Personally I prefer gold to silver, which is why I usually stick to Jose Cuervo for my tequila consumption.

Anyway the "Tropic" flavour was quite nice also.

Pet Hate # 65238:
giving things stupid names that don't actually help with defining the flavour/scent/colour of something.

"Tropic" flavour is pineapple, orange & mango juices (complete with floaty pulp stuff for authenticity), with Tequila and Triple Sec. Very pleasant, and as there was such potential for the margarita flavour to be like poison and undrinkable, I bought a single of it, and a four-pack of the "Tropic". We'll see how I go with more than one, they were equally pleasant tasting, the margarita probably more so though.

Note I only had one of each drink, as I was the Designated Driver for the evening, which brings me to the second half of my evening, my first Random Breath Test!
I find it amazing I made it to 24 before having one!
I'd only had one each of the tequila things, and at 1.1 standard drinks (Re) + a glass of red wine, Thankfully I decided not to imbibe any further at the pub(s) after dinner as we'd reached that part of the evening where we could leave anytime, and I didn't want to sit there waiting for twenty minutes for the sake of a bit of vodka.
So by the time I saw the flashing lights I was actually totally confident I would pass. I was actually more concerned about possibly running down a policeman on the way into the lineup.
Interestingly, every person of driving ability I have mentioned this to, without exception, has remarked that regardless of guilt, even if they've had nothing to drink that night, they get anxious when waved in for a RBT. I couldn't count on two hands the number of times I've been waved on that I haven't almost melted in relief, so maybe that's why I wasn't worried at all, even though I had had drinks earlier in the evening.
One of the worst parts was M was passed out in the passenger seat, which probably didn't look very good.
btw- does anyone know why they ask you if your address is current on your licence? As he waited for the reading, he casually asked if I was still at "XXX Mulberry Lane" which kind of confused me. "no, I've actually moved since then, do you have a label I might use?"

To come: My account of my only other brush with the boys in blue.

One Winner to rule them all

Its ok guys, stop panicking that I've won Powerball and I'll never blog again. Thankfully I wouldn't let my win change me, and will remain grounded against all odds.

(Actual Win may or may not resemble $7.03)

Shorten Retail hours, not Extend

Gah!

I don't work in Retail anymore, but I still keenly recall the frustration of working while no one else is. I strongly beleive that shops should be closed on Sundays. We should be re-claiming family time, moving away from an Open-All-Hours lifestyle.

I remember back as a lowly checkout girl at my local Coles, a regular who I was friendly with, moved to Perth. She was a really interesting personality actually, very flightly really, flitting from job to job, boyfriend to boyfriend. She was the first person I knew of that did Temp work, and she proudly told me she was so good at it, she could ask for whatever hourly rate she wanted.
At the time this seemed soemhow fantastically glamarous, stepping into different offices all the time, being wonderfully efficient and tailored, and ....officey.
Now I kind of think of her as a bit seedy, like she could have been talking about prostitution between the lines, and it would still make sense.

Anyway, she moved to Perth, but evidently it didn't work out because she came back again to harass the Saturday night staff at her local supermarket (remarkably telling factor in her life when you think about it). One of the things that I recall most about her recount of her time in Perth was how "behind" they were, illustrated when she recounted that all the shops shut at 6pm, and noon on Sundays. Even the supermarkets.
I've never forgotten her telling that story, and even now, I read with interest stories in the papers about changes to trading times for our West Coast cousins, for its only recently they've had Sunday trade granted, and extension for supermarkets to hours similar to our own. Even regional NSW stores are open to midnight, so its hardly surprising.

I came across this story in SMH today, and I find it annoying, but sad mostly. Instead of making it easier for stores to open Sundays, I beleive government should be making it harder, which is precisely what all the red tape was there for to begin with. Grr.

Flight of the conchords

The first I ever heard of this show was a link to the video "Business Time" which I thought I had embedded here somewhere, as it was the funniest thing ever, but apparently not....
Here it is, for its hilarity, once (again)

Yay! Very funny.*

After I saw this, I saw a few other songs of theirs (which may or may not have involved a drunken laptop You Tube search), and so I was rather pleased to see that Channel Ten would be running the show Sunday night. Annoyingly run at 10.10pm, the Einsteins at Channel Ten programming have moved it, to 10.40pm. Awesome guys. THANKS. Really, where should I send the box of Roses?

Anywho, so it was one of the kind of shows where I was actually kind of hesitant to watch it, because I really wanted to love it. I SO wanted to find it funny. This has happened to me before, especially when someone recommends a show or a movie to you, because "you'll love it". Well I know I already kind of loved the songs from FOTC. Its the kind of show that I think can be very hit or miss. Other shows I love that don't necessarily hit the mark with everyone : The Young Ones, Black Books. These two particular examples, M doesn't really like at all. Its all a bit bewildering for him when we go off and start quoting them. (Because aren't the best shows the quotable ones?).
And British comedy seems to be the funniest overall too doesn't it?
Well, FOTC is New Zealanders, making fun of Aussies, interspersed with jarring American accents and stereotypes, since they live in New York.

So after the first few episodes, and I was so relieved to find I did really like it, and I do find it funny. LOL funny, chuckle funny, and WTF funny. For M, its a Miss, he's not that fussed with it.

*The episode that this song features in, is showing THIS Sunday night and while its too late to watch now (It's a School Night!), I will be taping it, for future hilarity.

Some perspective...

I'm in the TOP 0.78% richest people in the world! Discover how rich you are! >>

(Based on M's and my combined income, AFTER tax.)

Isn't it funny, I never felt rich, but a little perspective can go a long way.

(Normally this box shows your actualy ranking in the world, but that makes me feel like I'm trying to be Kerry Packer, ie, a wanker.)

I would encourage you to try it yourself, and gain some financial perspective. Note, it only accepts Pounds, USD, Canadian dollars, Yen or Euro, so you will need to convert from AUD.

Dataceptionist...what are you doing right now?

Ever wanted someone else to read the jargon when you join a site? Dale Clapperton won't do it for you, But he has broken down the "Terms of Use" for Facebook, from a legal standpoint about whether it constitutes a real and binding contract, in Australia. In short, it appears, Not... Dissecting the Facebook 'Terms of Use'.

I found Dale's dissection after reading DeusExMacintosh's account of her Facebook profile being deleted. Deus requires a "seeing-eye dog" or Registered Assistance Dog, and I imagine he's a very big, very real part of her life, so it was a "joint profile" with a picture of her beautiful black labrador.
Facebook shut down her profile, telling her dogs could not have profiles. Sadly enough, not surprisingly she didn't have the energy to fight with them.

Facebook is also developing a new design to streamline profile pages, which have become cluttered with applications. Here here I say! I hate over crowded profiles! On the flipside though, I don't know what other people do, but I rarely actually look at other profiles anyway, I mostly only read my news feed. Clever though (on their part), that to operate under this method, you need to check your news feed at least once a day, otherwise you get behind and miss the updates, because once they fall off the bottom of the feed, they're gone unless you go to every page of every friend. Lame.
To preview the new design layout, and provide feedback (yeah we Love you Facey! Wank wank) you can check out the group and "become a fan"
http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPreviews?ref=s

Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71

"You have to regard every fashion with humour, to be above it, believe in it enough to give the impression of living it but not too much, so that you keep your freedom."

"The silhouette counts more than anything. It should never be overloaded."

"To be beautiful, all a woman needs is a black pullover and a black skirt and to be arm in arm with a man she loves."

"Is elegance not totally forgetting what one is wearing?"

YSL

Cup of Tea?

Just made a cup of this tea, Cranberry, Raspberry & Strawberry! Its got the most delightful fragrance, smells delicious. Not usually a flavoured tea fan, usually stick to good ole' Black with milk and sugar, but sometimes I fancy something different so I bought this instead. Might be a winner... (and because I DO love a pink drink, it is handily a beautiful warm reddish-pink colour)

Million Dollar Wheel of Boredom.

Wheel of Fortune has recommenced on Channel Nine in Australia. After a potted history, and after being on tv for nearly fifty years, you can imagine it would be difficult to shake up the format of the show, without losing the key successes of the show.

Enter Big Cash prizes, new personalities and "young folk". As Michael Idato states "it is one of those peculiarities of television that for many years Wheel did not offer cash prizes."

Now they're making up for lost time by offering (the chance to win) a Million Dollars. I say a chance, because if you "spin it up", you have to win the round, then win the night, for a chance at playing for the Mil.

New hosts. Well obviously this is a no brainer for a show that's been off TV for two+ years. I find Tim Campbell painful to watch however, having none of the natural TV pizazz that Larry Emdur possessed for game shows. Love him or hate him, Larry Emdur could certainly propel a game show. Kelly Landry, in what I can only assume is a clever clause negotiated by her agent;

Landry, unlike her predecessors, is no mere "letter turner"..."she is the co-host and takes a role in the show, introducing the puzzles"

WTF? She says "Phrase" and suddenly she's a co-host?
The new "high tech" letterboard appears to be no more than the letters lighting up at the touch of a button underneath the letter. There was an opportunity for Channel Nine to seriously revamp the format by, I don't know, NOT having a piece of female eye-candy who does essentially nothing but act as a high-priced clothes horse?
Lavinia Nixon was more of a "co-host" on Temptation (Sale of the Century) than Landry is on Wheel. She wishes she could be a tenth of the letter turner Adriana Xenides was.

They're both wooden, and I can't see either of them lasting. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, and its too early, they both need to settle in, but HELLO? The first week of a show like this, which has been promoted through the roof on a struggling network, it needs to have IMPACT and convince viewers to switch from Deal or No Deal, which is currently winning the time slot.

Lastly, "young folk". There is certainly a younger contestant set, as if they're trying to say "We're young! We're in touch! See our young hosts! See our young contestants winning! Please watch!"

Sorry Wheel, I'm sticking with Andrew O'Keefe, who makes you Tim Campbell, look like a cardboard cutout.

Amazing undiscovered tribes

These are thought to be the very first pictures of a previously undiscovered tribe in the Amazon Jungle. How amazing is it that there are still cultures like this surviving in the world? In the first picture, tribesmen are attempting to shoot down the helicopter with arrows (bless their little cotton socks) (well, if they had them).
It is estimated that there up up to 100 undiscovered peoples like this throughout Africa and South America. And here we sit, sipping our lattes, checking Facebook and living our technological lives.
Is it us, that don't know what we're missing, or them?

Princess - Jean P Sasson ****

Think of a Saudi Arabian Princess and what do you see? A woman glittering with jewels, living a life of unbelievable luxury. But in reality she lives in a gild4ed cage. She has no freedom, no vote, no control of her own life, no value but as a bearer of sons. Hidden behind the veil, she is a prisoner, her jailers her father, her husband, her sons.

"Sultana" is a member of the Saudi Royal family, closely related to the King. as she tells of her life, from her turbulent childhood to her arranged marriage - she lifts the veil and reveals a history of appalling oppression and shocking human rights violations such as forced marriages, sex slavery and summary executions.

Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and great courage. By speaking out, "sultana" risks bringing the wrath of the Saudi establishment upon her head and upon the heads of her children. For this reason, she has told her story anonymously.

This kind of book has become a genre of sorts. Expose style narratives about women in Eastern countries, oppressed beyond Western belief. As a genre, it is compelling reading. Each book I read, makes me want to read more of the same. Unfortunately for this story, while it is a great read, it feels dated already, which means it feels a little irrelevant. Is the situation Sultana describes in her country exactly the same now? I don't know, but this book was written and published in 1992, and I've since discovered this is the beginning of a series of 3 about Sultana. Perhaps the two follow ups will feel more relevant to the world today.