Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia and David Cameron, her British counterpart, are shown a time machine which can see 100 years into
the future.

They both decide to test it by asking a question each.

Julia goes first. “What will Australia be like in 100 years time”

The machine whirrs and beeps and goes into action and gives her a printout, she reads it out

“The country is in good hands under the new Prime Minister, crime is non-existent, there is no conflict, the economy is healthy. There are no worries”

David thinks “Its not bad this time machine, I’ll have a bit of that” so he asks “What will Great Britain be like in 100 years time?”

The machine whirrs and beeps and goes into action, and he gets a printout.

But he’s just staring at it.

“Come on David” says Julia, “What does it say”

David replies, “I’m buggered if I know, it’s all in Mandarin”

Joke supplied by Patricia Murray of Positive Life Coaching

The 2012 BRW Entrepreneur of the Year is one of the pre-eminent Australian business awards designed to discover Australians who are building and leading successful, innovative businesses and inspiring others with their vision and personal commitment.

If you believe you have what it takes to be Australia’s leading Entrepreneur and want the recognition you deserve, click on the hyperlink to give it go!

Good luck!

NBN Co is an Australian government-owned corporation tasked to design, build and operate Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN). But how does Australia compare to other countries when it comes to Internet speed and cost?

As the illustration below shows, there’s some good news (lost cost) and bad news (low speeds)…

The Australian First Home Buyer’s Grant is intended to help individuals, especially young couples to easily purchase their first home. Grants are given to these people so they can have a jump start in their burgeoning careers.

Because of the high cost of real estate today, many people, especially those who are just starting their careers are deterred to buy their own home. Some are content to rent because it fits their current financial capability.

This is the purpose of the First Home Buyer’s Grant – to help these people start their life and move them a step forward toward independence.

The First Home Buyer’s Grant was first instituted in Australia last July 1, 2000. From 2000 until 2011 the grant stayed at $7,000, by the coming of 2012, the Australian government has announced that the grant will remain at $7,000, though some expect an increase due to the increase of home costs.

First Home Buyer’s Grant is made available to those who purchase a home that is worth at least $600,000. The purpose of this condition is to help invigorate the building of houses and boost the construction industry.

Though the First Home Buyer’s Grant should help first time buyers to more easily purchase their new home, some in the real estate market tend to think that many house prices are artificially increased to meet this minimum threshold. Because of this, some argue that first time home buyers seem to be disadvantaged.

Many potential first time home buyers will be dismayed by the current status of real estate prices. Because of the minimum threshold price increase, many argue that it would be better to purchase a house without the grant at a lower price, than to avail it and acquire a higher level of debt.

Addressing this issue, on January 1, 2012, the house price limit to be eligible for the grant was set at $500,000 to $600,000. This can help people get a discount due to the increase of the grant and the increase of the coverage. An average person can have benefits up to $24,000 due to the First Home Buyer’s Grant.

You can consult a home loan calculator to see detailed information about loans so you can decide if you should apply for a grant and get your dream home now or wait a little longer.

In many areas, the real estate market is softening and many are taking advantage of the situation as an opportunity to buy. With the First Home Buyer’s Grant and falling prices of houses these days, the timing might just be right for you. To own your own home and live the Australian dream.

What a headline – I took it straight from the Channel 7 website.

Unfortunately not enough kids are reading these stories, understanding that graffiti can kill.

Graffiti is vandalism, costing companies, property owners or the public a fortune pure and simple.

What’s sad about these stories is that graffiti deaths are preventable – they can just stop vandalising property.

Hopefully this and other blog posts like it will save at least one future death.

It’s just not worth it.

Thematic Australian Map

The following were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humour (not to mention a low tolerance threshold) for cretins!

__________________________________________________

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (  UK ).

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
__________________________________________________ Read More »»

There are a lot of blogs out there that publish so much bland content that it’s refreshing to come across a collection of blogs that are interesting and intriguing.

Today’s post is a list of the Top 10 Blog Posts of 2011 published by The Exponential Growth Strategist, Dr Marc Dussault.

Listed in no particular order since each one has its own merit based on who you are and what your area of improvement (focus) is, this short list of the best blog posts of the year will inspire you to get started on your New Year’s Resolutions for 2012 right away!

Don’t forget 2012 is a leap year, that means you have an extra 24 hours to realise your dream(s)!

How To Find Hidden Assets In Your Business

Belief Builders and Credibility Creators

Can one idea be worth $50,000?

Why spruikers will never go away

Mentor or Motivator?

Facebook Wall Of Shame Infographic

The more you do, the more you can get done

From ‘Just A Job’ To Finding Your Calling

Cinemagraphs: “Stills” that move

2011 Australian Masters Games Gold Medallist

A safety warning courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Statistics:

• 31 Australians have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.
• 19 Australians  have died in the last 3 years by eating Christmas decorations they believed were  chocolate.
• Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after cracker pulling incidents.
• 101 Australians since 1997 have had to have broken parts of plastic toys pulled out of the soles of their feet.
• 18 Australians had serious burns in 1998 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.
• A massive 543 Australians were admitted to casualty in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with  their teeth or eye socket.
• 5 Australians were injured last year in accidents involving out of control slot cars.
• 3 Australians  die each year testing if a 9V battery works on their tongue.
• 142 Australians were injured in 1998 by not removing all the pins from new shirts.
• 58 Australians are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers and finally:
• 8 Australians cracked their skull in 1997 after falling asleep (passing out) while throwing up into the toilet.

Is your blog bland and boring like the one shown here on the left? Then there’s no wonder no one’s coming back! To get more people to read and subscribe to your blog, you need to make it visually enticing to match the intriguing content that adds value to the reader. Many writers forget that blogging is a VISUAL experience. With today’s visual media, you need to make sure you add pictures, diagrams, images, MindMaps and of course embed videos from YouTube.

A bland blog like this is created purely for SEO purposes and that won’t be worth much in the long run. Sure the immediate SEO effect will be there, but without HUMANS going to the pages, STAYING on the pages AND coming back, it will die a slow death within the indexes.

Don’t forget that when you launch a blog, you’re doing it for the end game – to have a loyal readership that wants to hear from you.

Make what you have to say exciting, appealing and attractive. Go from Bland To Brand!

Otherwise your blog will languish and all your effort will be for naught.

If you’re going to put in 90% of the effort (writing the content), why not go the extra 10% and get the REWARDS?

Just ask yourself one simple question…

“Would I read and come back to this blog?”

Australia Post have created and marketed a new stamp displaying a picture of the current Prime Minister of Australia, Ms Julia Gillard.

The prime minister had requested a recall of the stamps following concerns that they weren’t sticking.

Australia Post recently suspended a recall of the stamps after the findings of a special Senate Committee were released.

The Prime Minister was told that the stamp was not sticking to envelopes and the enraged Prime Minister demanded a full investigation.

After a month of testing and spending of $1.85 million, a special Senate Committee led by the leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, presented the following findings -

1. The stamp is in perfect order.
2. There is nothing wrong with the adhesive.
3. People are spitting on the wrong side of the stamp.

We’ve all heard of the Groupon ‘deal of the day’ phenomenon. Here in Australia we have Scoopon, Streets and handful of others.

There’s a new twist in the UK… everydaysale.co.uk is one of the UK’s leading independent discount voucher code websites with a unique ratings system and a large, ever-growing consumer audience. They offer amazing free discounts codes across dozens of categories, including computers, electronics, fashion, home and garden and health products.

Whatever you are shopping for, you can check out the hot deals at http://www.everydaysale.co.uk/.

To use a voucher code or promotional code, simply go direct to the stores website, once you are finished shopping and at the check out point, enter the voucher code into the “voucher or promotional code” box and you could save up to 50% on your bill.

They give you a complete online shopping directory based on our unique online retailer rating system. They will also recommend to you the best online retailer in each category in terms of site usability, customer service, delivery options, as well as price.

By visiting everydaysale.co.uk before you shop, you can ensure you will find the most reliable shops and the best discount offers.

Pretty cool stuff don’t ya think?

Today’s post is based on an article that was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on July 23, 2011 forwarded to us by The Gourmet Guardian, an Australian Food Safety Specialist who helps food service companies avoid food poisoning.

Bob Hawke said it best in September 1983 after watching Alan Bond’s 12-metre yacht, the Australia II, sail to victory in the America’s Cup: ”I tell you what, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum.” And a stellar moment in the Australian tradition of ”chucking a sickie” was born.

Australian workers took an average of 10 days each in unplanned leave last year, including sick leave, carers leave and personal leave, according to a survey by Direct Health Solutions. Sick leave is estimated to account for three-quarters of this time, or 7.5 days a year.

So are we really sick one week in the year? It’s clear employers don’t think so. According to the survey, almost three-quarters of employers surveyed believe between 10 to 25 per cent of absences are ”non-genuine”. Employers also report two in three Australian workers regard paid personal and sick leave as an entitlement.

Employers estimate this loss of work time comes at a cost to the economy of $20 to $30 billion a year and have introduced all manner of ways to control it, including requiring medical certificates and employing the services of companies such as Direct Health Solutions whereby workers must ring a registered nurse to present their ailment before taking the day off.

So are we really a nation of layabouts? Or is the tradition of the ”sickie”, like our legendary relaxed, beachside persona, more myth than reality?

Three decades on since Hawke effectively declared his national holiday, the Australian workforce is transformed. We work longer hours, the longest in the developed world on some measures.

The invention of emails, smartphones and iPads mean we are ”plugged in” to the office for more hours of the day, while the number of hours spent at physical work, but unpaid, has also risen.

A study by the Australia Institute for its inaugural national ”go home on time day” last November estimated Australians put in more than two billion hours of unpaid overtime a year. This translates to a $72 billion gift to employers each year in unpaid work, eclipsing the $30 billion employers estimate they lose from workers claiming their sick leave and personal leave entitlements.

Perhaps Australians are just stealing back what time has been stolen from them.

But then again, maybe we really are sick. And maybe we’re so sick because we work so hard.

Almost half of Australians surveyed by the Australia Institute said work commitments prevented them from doing exercise. One in four said they were ”too busy” to see a doctor.

Indeed, a separate survey by the economic modellers Econtech for the health insurer Medibank Private has looked into the problem of ”presenteeism” – the opposite of ”absenteeism”.

Econtech estimates a $26 billion hit to the Australian economy from lost productivity from workers turning up to work while really sick.

Health experts this week revealed a fourfold increase in the number of Australians suffering the flu this month compared to last year. Baffled, they speculate it could be due to more people spending more time together indoors.

Some days it really is worth staying in bed.

If you’ve never seen this uniquely Australian phenomenon, watch the video and be amazed at what Mother Nature can create… Gives a whole new meaning to “Cloud Surfing”.

Australian Cloud Formations

I teach clients presentation skills in a variety of programs and events. I often explain that it’s best to tell it like it is… But this example takes the cake.

Major General Peter Cosgrove was interviewed on the radio recently.

Read his reply to the lady who interviewed him concerning guns and children.

Regardless of how you feel about gun laws you have to love this! This is one of the best comeback lines of all time.

In a portion of an ABC radio interview between a female broadcaster and General Cosgrove who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military Headquarters.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
So, General Cosgrove, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?

GENERAL COSGROVE:
We’re going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery and shooting.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
Shooting! That’s a bit irresponsible, isn’t it?

GENERAL COSGROVE:
I don’t see why, they’ll be properly supervised on the rifle range.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
Don’t you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?

GENERAL COSGROVE:
I don’t see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
But you’re equipping them to become violent killers.

GENERAL COSGROVE:
Well, Ma’am, you’re equipped to be a prostitute, but you’re not one, are you?

The radiocast went silent for 46 seconds……..

Just last week, I posted some statistics on the costs of graffiti in Australia. Mark Mackenzie of Graffiti Eaters just sent me an article that a teenager, Ryan Smith, lost his life as he fell from a bridge as he was engaged in ‘Extreme Graffiti‘.

We’ve all been young and daring, but I am sure you’ll agree it’s sad when a life is lost to something that is preventable.

Mark and I were speaking recently about the primary source or motivation for graffiti artists – significance. Society needs to find a way for artistically oriented youth to express themselves in non-destructive ways. As we can see with this tragic example, it costs us all way too much and in the end it’s really not worth it.

If you come across any programs that you think could re-direct their energy into a more positive direction, please place a comment here and I’ll make sure it gets the exposure it deserves.

Graffiti

In the early 1990’s Western Australian State Governments attempted to address graffiti proliferation using various methods and management models.  Despite this public concern continues to grow and so does the burden of state-wide graffiti removal costs.  A tougher approach, which focuses considerable effort on offender management and behaviour, has now been adopted. A State Graffiti Taskforce has been established to deal with the problem.

Graffiti removal costs have been estimated at up to $30 million dollars per year within Western Australia.  However, this figure is likely grossly underestimated due to the difficulty in obtaining an accurate cost largely to the nature of graffiti offences, its reporting and removal.

In 2005, the cost of criminal damage Australia wide, which included but was not limited to graffiti vandalism, was estimated to be $1.58 billion annually. This estimate is likely to be a conservative one given that graffiti vandalism, like other forms of criminal damage, is not always reported to police. It also gives no consideration to the social cost of graffiti vandalism; in particular the impact on perceptions of safety and public amenity.  It is evident throughout Western Australia regardless of the social, economic or cultural status of the community that its persistence, spread and visibility have served to heighten the public’s sensitivity to it as a threat against civic order and safety in their community

It is estimated that it costs Australians half a billion dollars a year to clean up graffiti. The police are fighting an ongoing battle and the Public Transport Authority has resources in place with 1200 cameras spread through the system at stations and platforms.

According to the government, graffiti costs the NSW economy and taxpayers more than $100 million a year.

Read More »»

5 Important Considerations When Comparing
Income Protection Insurance Quotes

If you’re looking at taking out your first income protection policy, there are 5 things to focus on whilst making your comparison:

#1 Are You Comparing Apples with Apples?
You’ll need to make sure that you’re comparing quotes for income protection policies with the same features. Make sure that you choose the same:

• Value type – whether Agreed or Indemnity Value
• Waiting Period – 14, 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days
• Benefit period – 2 years, 5 years, to age 65, or other options
• Included options – some policies include options in the base price that other policies ask you to add as an extra. For example, some companies offer superannuation guarantee contributions as part of the standard offering, for some you have to pay extra.

#2 Think About Your Entire Insurance Profile
Many companies offer a discount if you have three or more insurance policies with them. Grab a quote to determine your overall position if you were to switch your car and home insurance over to your new income insurance provider, and get the discount. This is usually around 10% – not to be sneezed at!

#3 Check the Difference Between Stepped and Level Premiums
If your potential policies offer both stepped and level premium payment options, make sure you get quotes for both. Level premiums offer much better value if you’ll keep your policy in the long term (usually 10-15 years or more); otherwise stepped premiums are better.

#4 Check How Much You’ll Pay in the Future
If your insurance is very cheap now, but will be exceptionally expensive as you age, it may not be the best overall value. Ask each company for quotes at the oldest age you expect to have your income protection insurance.

#5 Compare Retail with Superannuation-Based Policies
Many superannuation funds offer income protection insurance to members. You should compare both standard retail and super-based policies, as each can suit different circumstances.

While super-based policies generally offer a limited range of options, they can be cheaper for people who have existing health issues.

If you are looking for flexibility in your plan, or you are relatively young, healthy and a non-smoker, you might find the retail income protection offers better value.

In a recent edition of The Economist Magazine, Pankaj Ghemawat of IESE Business School in Spain points out that many indicators of global integration are surprisingly low. Only 2% of students are at universities outside their home countries and only 3% of people live outside their country of birth.

Only 7% of rice is traded across borders. Only 7% of directors of S&P 500 companies are foreigners—and, according to a study a few years ago, less than 1% of all American companies have any foreign operations.

Exports are equivalent to only 20% of global GDP. Some of the most vital arteries of globalisation are badly clogged: air travel is restricted by bilateral treaties and ocean shipping is dominated by cartels.

So what are your thoughts about the world being flat and accessible to all?

Is it just globaloney?

These questions are from potential visitors to Australia. They were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have am Aussie sense of humor.

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK).
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you’ve been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney – can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it’s only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/ gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets, especially The Taipans.