Beer Garden

[Waewick]

I know a guy who has over ten years experience operating plant machinery mainly excavators but also front end loaders, as well as experience in a dump truck.

Rev, sorry to hear your mate hasn't acquired a job. His situation is obviously contributing to your angst. I have a similar story but in the other direction - a friend of mine, known each other since kindergarten, was a backhoe operator in the resi housing industry. As of 2 years ago he started work in North West WA and is now earning very decent cash. Being unskilled from a mining industry perspective he initially took a pay cut to get his foot in the door - smart lad.

Give people the opportunity, open up pathways for them to get into the mining industry without them having to jump through rings of fire that get smaller and smaller, and you will see just how many people will flock to the mines.

My wife's family is a PHD thesis in waiting. A catholic family - 9 kids (6 boys & 3 girls). Four of them believe they should be 'given' an opportunity. They whinge that luck seems to pass them by. They say they are willing to step up but stop short of taking action. They expect 'govt & industry' to provide to them a whole raft of entitlements including high-paying employment with benefits. Contrast against the other 5 who choose to 'take' opportunities. The mental contrast is stark. I'm sure this is representative of the broader population.

What rings of fire are you talking about? some specific examples would help.

I'm sure we both understand why Coober Pedy folk get mining jobs. The industries are similar, and they already live in close-ish proximity to mining ventures.

As for the plan to use FIFO workers in SA - i'm guessing but probably similar to the proposed Roy Hill approach. Bring in skilled workers and in parallel train up the locals. No FIFO workers = reduced mining industry. Do you want that?

what on earth does being catholic have to do with the story? not arguing with it because you are right, people believe they are entitled to things rather than earning them - I just found that part stuck out like a sore thumb.

[rhino]

Two of my mates from here in Adelaide work FIFO in western Queensland, one of them only started a month ago. They're radio techs. Another mate's son got a FIFO job at Prominent Hill straight out of Uni (mining engineer, but straight out of uni).

[Reb-L]

Not sure where I should put this gripe but this thread will do:

Just read that they're building a 33km subway in Thessaloniki, Greece's 2nd biggest city with some 800,000 inhabitants. This got me scratching my head more than usual. How can a bankrupt country manage to do that while Adelaide, a bigger city, in a state with seemingly endless resources and (hopefully) a somewhat stronger economy, cannot even manage a tramline of a few km from the CBD to the international airport? I'm not saying we should emulate the Greeks by any means but each time I get stranded at our fine airport I ask myself WTF is wrong.

[The Scooter Guy]

I was wrong, saw an ad in the Advertiser & only the Cunnos stores in Black Forest & Prospect are in administration. All the rest are trading as usual!

[monotonehell]

Not sure where I should put this gripe but this thread will do:

Just read that they're building a 33km subway in Thessaloniki, Greece's 2nd biggest city with some 800,000 inhabitants. This got me scratching my head more than usual. How can a bankrupt country manage to do that while Adelaide, a bigger city, in a state with seemingly endless resources and (hopefully) a somewhat stronger economy, cannot even manage a tramline of a few km from the CBD to the international airport? I'm not saying we should emulate the Greeks by any means but each time I get stranded at our fine airport I ask myself WTF is wrong.

Maybe they cant?..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teacherdud ... 905711598/

[rev]

Not sure where I should put this gripe but this thread will do:

Just read that they're building a 33km subway in Thessaloniki, Greece's 2nd biggest city with some 800,000 inhabitants. This got me scratching my head more than usual. How can a bankrupt country manage to do that while Adelaide, a bigger city, in a state with seemingly endless resources and (hopefully) a somewhat stronger economy, cannot even manage a tramline of a few km from the CBD to the international airport? I'm not saying we should emulate the Greeks by any means but each time I get stranded at our fine airport I ask myself WTF is wrong.

The Thessaloniki Metro project was started before the financial crisis in Greece and Europe, as far back as the early 1990's. Construction was meant to start in 1999, but only actually started in 2006. They've been talking about a metro in Thessaloniki since the 1920's in fact.
They aren't building a 33km subway in one hit. There are three stages. There's been a lot of delays because everywhere they dig they keep unearthing artifacts from ancient times, as well as unions keep striking. The trains will be driverless, and some of the stations will feature artifacts display, with the stations built "around" them kind of. Same thing as happened in Athens. Free mini museums basically.
The European Union helps fund infrastructure projects in member states, like how the federal government here helps fund infrastructure projects in various states and territories. They also have private funding in the form of a loan from the European Investment Bank. So that's how they can afford to do it, their equivalent of a federal government is helping them pay for it. Ours wont help us because there really isn't any push for such things or justification for some of the things people in Adelaide seem to think we need, like a subway.

Thessalonikis urban pop. desnity is 19,000 per square mile. 800,000 people are included in that urban boundary. The metro area as a whole has just over 1 million.
There is nowhere in Adelaide that comes even close to that. Most of them live in apartment buildings. Most of us live in detached housing.
Over there most detached houses are in villages and towns or small cities(and by small I don't mean Adelaide small) or in exclusive suburbs full of rich snobs, ie mansions etc.
Most of the populations in the big cities there live in apartment buildings.

[SRW]

South Australia's new branding review process: http://brandingsouthaustralia.sa.gov.au/

[Wayno]

Like our northern lights, but quirky, and almost 3D:



http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=XV ... edium#t=74

from Berlin Germany.

[monotonehell]

These things have been appearing all over the world for a few years. This is why before the second Northern Lights I was calling for them to be animated. They need to improve the event each year. I thought the second showing was no where near as clever as the first.

[Omicron]

Entirely unprompted by me, my mother launched into a conversation today wishing for greater height and density along major thoroughfares and the tram line. Encourage more multi-level residential construction in appropriate areas, she said, so that local shops have half a chance to survive and younger singles or couples can bring their disposable incomes to more established suburbs.

Hooray, mother!

[Waewick]

well for what it is worth, I am going to try and make a dent on the SA water bills - specifically the calculation of sewer being based on your capital value

it is bullshit - and it is a deterrent for high density and a reward for urban sprawl.

I just have to come up with a letter that doesn't sound like it comes from a 80yr old pensioner.

[jk1237]

I'm sad that one of my favourite pubs has closed - the Crown & Sceptre on King William Street

I really hope the last half dozen pokie free pubs in the city will be able to survive caus its looking a bit grim atm

[Waewick]

pubs are getting smashed at the moment, you can't sell them and the cost of running them is sky rocketing.

I friend of mine who runs a pub is now considering closing on public holidays because the cost of labour goes up 250% making it uneconomical to remain open.

[Wayno]

given this innovation we need more CBD car parks, not cafes:

http://www.carsguide.com.au/blogs-and-s ... ee_machine

Fiat has offered a world-first with the new 500L, a Lavazza coffee-maker right in the car.

fiat-coffee.jpg (54.17 KiB) Viewed 2378 times

Precious, life-giving coffee. Is there anything else that can make your morning commute so good, so bearable? And with Fiat's new in-car feature, you don't have to even drive to a coffee shop to get your hit.

In a tie-up with Italian coffee brand Lavazza, the new Fiat 500L comes with the option of a specially-developed pod machine that delivers a fresh, piping-hot cup on the go. The coffee-maker set includes cups, spoons and a sugar holder. All it needs is a tiny patisserie plate and you could put the local barista out of business.

Similar features have been seen before as motor-show gimmickry in concept cars, but this is the first time one has been offered as an option in a production car.

Fiat Australia says the Fiat 500L is being considered for the local market, so we could see the option arrive here. “Fiat is an Italian brand and with a very proud Italian history – and they’re passionate about coffee,” Australian spokesperson Lenore Fletcher says. “So while we don’t have any conformation of that feature coming to us, I wouldn’t rule it out either.”

Fletcher doesn't think there will be any safety concerns from regulators questioning if it's safe to have water boiling in a car. Ot at least, less safe than bought coffee -- or phoning and texting.

[Nathan]

And with Fiat's new in-car feature, you don't have to even drive to a coffee shop to get your hit.

Maybe next they'll invent a coffee-maker for your kitchen, so you don't even have to leave your house to get your hit.