GRIPES

[nomadpete]

Irony is often lost by powers-that-be.

 

They don't seem to understand humour.

[spacesailor]

Different countries have very different humour..

The American humour is way over my head .

I just don't get the joke, probably not watching enough American T V .

spacesailor

[octave]

40 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

The American humour is way over my head .

Perhaps it is not over your head but beneath you.     

[facthunter]

You read stuff that comes  from the mouth of Americans like the Murdochs that definitely is not good for Australia.   Nev

[old man emu]

What passes for humour for Americans is proof positive that they haven't grasped the English language.

[onetrack]

Well, $400 for laying a bit of carpet is looking good from my end, after my final Rheem HWS bill. I griped about $312 for the service call and 5 minute solenoid valve replacement - thinking that the $198 DEPOSIT that was demanded just to arrange the service call, was INCLUDED in the $312.

 

Well, I just found out we got reamed for $312 PLUS $198, making the service call and the 5 minute solenoid replacement, come to a total of $510!!

Naturally, there was no company advice about the charges, I just picked it up going through the credit card charges. Talk about getting reamed with no lube!!

[Old Koreelah]

On 15/9/2023 at 8:19 AM, old man emu said:

I've got a roll of vinyl floor covering to put down in the kitchen (when I get that far with the reno)…

OME we covered all our floors with vinyl about twenty years ago. We regret it now, after a couple of falls caused by a few drops of water on the floor. You might not see a spill, but it makes vinyl lethally slippery.

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, Old Koreelah said:

a spill, but it makes vinyl lethally slippery.

A point well made. However, since I was given the vinyl for nothing, a man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do.

 

You comment, coming on a Saturday, took me back to my early youth. Mum worked, so Saturday arvo was housework time. My job was to do the bathroom, which included polishing the floor with Johnson's floor polish. Once the bathroom was done, I had to polish the lino in the kitchen/dining room. 

 

Tragically for me now, as I get back into making plastic scale models, Johnson's don't make Pledge liquid floor polish anymore. It's used to get a shine on clear parts for windows and canopies.

[onetrack]

You can acquire the last few bottles of the discontinued Pledge floor polish, from the QLD site below, if you're quick.

 

https://polishup.com.au/product/pledge-floor-care-multi-surface-floor-finish-798ml/

[Jerry_Atrick]

Grip of the week: https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aussie-avocado-giant-reclaimed-by-us-private-equity-20230922-p5e6r3.html

 

The FIRB is asleep at the wheel.. again...

 

China owns a percentage of land land oif Australia (and therefore a bigger percentage of the fertile land).

 

The yanks, the poms, the Japanese, the malays, even the Brazilians own most of the non-mining large corps...

 

It makes my blood boil!

 

[nomadpete]

Indeed a gripe shared by many of us.

 

Where is our food security?

 

Where do the profits go from foreign owned land?

 

Where do the taxes go from these foreign owned businesses?

 

[spacesailor]

Back to ' King Charles ' of course! . Ask any Aboriginal.  

spacesailor

[Old Koreelah]

3 hours ago, nomadpete said:

…Where do the taxes go from these foreign owned businesses?

Crickey, NP, have you found a foreign corporation that actually pays tax?

[onetrack]

It's unfortunate, but these global corporations and investors are amongst the few who have the big money to pour into the often-necessary local business operations upgrades.

 

The Chinese have poured a lot of money into agricultural operations, and their output has generally increased because of the upgrades.

 

The worst part is the likes of the Chinese taking over our fishing co-operatives, such as Geraldton Fisheries Co-op. GFC source most of their income from the W.A. rock lobster industry.

But the largest percentage of W.A. rock lobsters go straight to China - simply because of demand and pricing. The Chinese pay premium prices for our rock lobster, and Australians merely have to go along for the ride, paying the Chinese price for our own product.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Monday morning; Work...

 

at least my niece is here... Got herself a transfer herre; starts Jan (back to Melb in Nov to prepare)..

 

But, she lived in Sydney last 3 years.. and loved it! *mumble, grumble, contorted face... *

 

Two gripes for the price of one!

 

Happy Monday, fellas!

 

Yours sincerely,

GOM

(Grumpy Old Man)

[spacesailor]

S.S.C.

spacesailor

[old man emu]

Who reads the instructions?

 

I bought some paint from our favourite Red and Green hardware store today.  I wanted it tinted to a specific shade, but only needed to start off with white paint. After a chat with the staff member, I settled on a can of white paint that was cheaper than the brand whose colour chart I had picked from. When they tint paint, they print out a sticker with a whole lot of information like time and date, and ratio of tints used to make the desired colour. 

 

When I picked up the paint, I saw that the sticker had been placed over the instruction panel, so that the information there could not be read. I raised the matter with the senior in the department, saying that since I had already chosen the can of paint I wanted tinted, I didn't need the side of the can that had the "advertising" information, so why couldn't they put the label over that and leave the panel with the usage instructions uncovered? The look on his face told me that he had never thought of that.

 

I feel the need for a strongly worded letter to Management.

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

Some years ago, I complained that wet n dry fine sanding paper had stickers on that you could not peel off , and that I had to go elsewhere to buy it. All to no avail, the manager clearly knew a troublemaker when he saw one.

[Jerry_Atrick]

We had to engage a solicitor for a transaction we want to complete. I contacted the solicitor I used for my last two property buy/sells and they were most unresponsive. They are the second most reputed firm in the area (we couldn't use the most reputed firm as our counterparties has already engaged them in those previous transactions).

 

So, I decided to use a firm the broker recommended after checking thei legal council website - they seemed legit.

 

They sent their Ts and Cs and wanted the whole payment up front plus £1000 for potential disbursements.

 

Managed to get hold of the local firm of repute.. £100 deposit.. That is it.

 

Gripe for people taking the pi55...

 

But result... by making one phone call.

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

I think you have a funny old system there. We have the Torrens title stuff, and you appreciate it when you go older than it goes. Once we tried to but a block at Kapunda, and the sale fell through when the seller couldn't prove he had the right to sell. Kapunda is a very old town.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I don't know too much about SA law at all, but as I recall Victorian land law, most titles were under the Westminster system, and at the time (blimey! - at least 35 years ago), there were a handful of mainly lineage held propertes that were under the Torrens system, where the land owners held the definitive title. The Westminster system changed that and required definitive title be held centrally by the government (well, I think Victoria has now privatised its Titles office!! WTF! More on that another time as I have to do some research).

 

The thing is, the Westminster system is based on what is called the Law of Property Act (1921, or 1929,  I can't recall). This basically codified all of the Torrens system, which was a bunch of common law precedents + a wish mash of random statutes, into a single legal framework, which included centralisation of a land title registry. But, rather than compel all land owners to register their titles separately, someone thought it would be a good idea to mandate that any transfer of land (remember, the UK has both leasehold and freehold titles) would result in the title being centrally registered under the Westminster system. I don't know about the other states, but that was the case in Vic back in the mid - late 80's at least. 

 

So, at least one system is based directly on the Westminster system, and from you description, I am thinking SA is not too far from it. The original Torrens system was developed in the 1300s - 1400s, where government wasn't even really central, let alone a system of administration. 

 

So, to set the record straight, We aren't behind Australia at all. In fact we (the UK) led Australia to its  system of land law (minis Mabo and native title, of course). 

 

The conceptual difference between at least Victorian land law, and English/Welsh Land Law (from a residential perspective) is when a true contact for transfer is concluded. Scots law differs slightly to English/Welsh law, in that the conclusion of a contact in the transfer of law occurs when there is evidence of an acceptance of an offer; this can be verbal or written, or some other form if it is evidenced. Under English and Welsh Law, under the Law of Property Act, it has to be written only. So, an Auction in England and Wales, if accepted by the vendor is not a legally binding contract (and hence, they are only used in rare circumstances, although they are considered a collateral contract, which I'm happy to explain sometime later). 

 

And the same occur for private sales (i.e. non-auction sales, albeit they can be executed using an agent). A verbal offer snd acceptance in other case is considered a transfer subject to [written] contract. The practical difference is that it doesn't bind the buyer and seller to the transaction, but generally considers the property to be sold. Then the process of legal and environmental searches take place, as well as property surveys (structural inspections), valuations, etc. Once everyone is happy and the price has been further negotiated based on adverse findings during what is effectively a due diligence period, there is a formal exchange of written contracts (called the exchange), and usually a week later, the transaction is completed.

 

As I understand, Scots Law (and state laws in Australia) find a contract is concluded at the verbal stage, and only  a material misrepresentation (which has a specific meaning in contract law) will allow avoidance of the contract where the parties cannot agree a reasonable price adjustment. The main disadvantage of the English/Welsh system is that one can spend quite. bit in legal and surveyor fees and, as a buyer you can be gazumped or as a seller, the buyer can walk away before the formal exchange of contracts for any reason and there is no comeback. The main advantage is exactly the same thing. If, for some reason you decide it is not the right transaction during the due diligence period, you can walk away with only the cost of what you have spent during due diligence. Since I do not bring emotions into buying or ellign property, if I lose the transaction as either a buyer or seller, I don't care. So, for me, it works.

[Jerry_Atrick]

OK.. Gripe of the week..  But before I start, a little context. I have had a couple of glassesd of fine Yering Station Pinot Noir... Long story, but U ended up cookign a Lamb Roast on a Saturday evening (almost a gaolable offence, here; Sundays are reserved for those).

 

OK.. I  stupidly decvide to get onto my Linkedin feed.. and this mate of mine, who I said likesd a lot of the anti-voice posts (note, this is not about the Voice), liked the most BS post about socialism threatening Australia (and no doubt the world). I started typing a response, which started with,  are these the posts we get since they closed down Kew Cottages (for our non-Vic members, it was a mental asylum). And yes, I know it was playing the man, but I was going to follow up with, "Care to provide evidence for your assertions?" and a couple of facts thrown in.

 

But, even though I have had a few (about 1/2 a bottle) of the fine Yering Station Pinot, I bottled it. Because, my position in the firm I work for would mean, should I be foudn out, I would put myself in an awkward position that may well mean I am shown the door. Normally I wouldn't care, but there is this reno, which the next couple of milestones are required to successfully finish to allow me to move back to Aus.

 

It is the first time I have ever been in that position.;.. And, F! I hate it..

 

That is my gripe - it is of my own doing, I hasten to add.

 

[edit] My second gripe iswhy has socIal media removed the dislike buttons or not published them? Some snowflakes from the nutcase lobby don't like it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Jerry_Atrick

[nomadpete]

1 hour ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

It is the first time I have ever been in that position.;.. And, F! I hate it..

 

That is my gripe - it is of my own doing, I hasten to add.

It is so sad that idealism often ends at the hip pocket.

 

That is not a personal criticism, it is a reality of life. I  do sympathise with the pain of your self censorship.

 

 

[nomadpete]

1 hour ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

[edit] My second gripe iswhy has socIal media removed the dislike buttons or not published them? Some snowflakes from the nutcase lobby don't like it?

Sorry Jerry. You are only allowed one gripe-of-the-week.

 

 In this brave new cotton wool era, we must not risk inflicting emotional scarring that would surely result from anybody disliking a social media post.

Edited October 28, 2023 by nomadpete

[old man emu]

The written word  is too often a poor form of communication since we also employ sound and body language to clarify what is being said. How many scenes can you create from the sentence "Come in and close the door"?