Sunday, November 25. 2007As Hanrahan Once Said.....John Linton ....."Cheer up - it could get worse". So I cheered up and sure enough........ I guess if you allow stupid people to make decisions then you get to live with the consequences of stupid decisions. While I realise that most of the people who voted for Labour couldn't be expected to have any idea of what it would mean economically for themselves and everyone else how could they bring themselves to vote to have that inanely grinning, vacuous, moonfaced image made part of their daily lives? As my gran used to mutter in such circumstances 'there's nowt so queer as folk". (of course in her usage, "queer" had no connotations other than what the OED gave as its meaning in the 1950s). Being a sensible person I was taught to 'play the hand you are dealt' a very long time ago so business life goes on pretty much as usual though I'm now faced with the inevitable uncertainties that mean that each decision will take longer and, almost certainly, will result in either no decision or at best much less 'adventurous' decisions for some time. Unless you're a Union 'official' I guess everyone's in the same position so it's a little like still playing poker but for lower stakes. I'll give it a month or so before trying to make a sensible assesment of what influence Telstra has bought with their 'campaign donations' to the Labour party which will be something of a disappointment for two companies we are in the final stages of signing contracts with but, then, that's their problem to deal with and one that they'll share with a whole lot of other people. So I can say first hand that the change of government has taken around $A4 million out of the economy immediately (and maybe forever) and three immediate prospective employment positions are on indefinite hold. I doubt these minor decisions by Exetel will mean much in themselves but I also imagine that they'll be replicated to a greater or lesser extent in many businesses of our size around Australia this week and going forward for some time - perhaps for some considerable time. Just keep in mind the statement by the failed pop singer who's now our new Minister For The Environment that defines the ethics and competence of government in Australia: "we'll promise whatever's necessary - and then change it once we get elected". OK - I'm done with the pointless and pathetic whining. The really good news over night was, of course, that Manchester United lost to Bolton and Arsenal won. I spent some time yesterday trying to finalise the ADSL2 pricing structures for December and came up the best that Exetel can do given the current issues and, now, the degree of uncertainty in any major investment decision. I've finished the work more or less but one thing I noticed, and I'm undoubtedly biased, is just how difficult it is to vist an Australian ISP's web site and try and work out what you have to pay and what you actually get. With perhaps one exception it took me a long while to understand whether or not I needed a telephone line and if I did who supplied it and at what cost and then what charges would be made for the calls. Maybe its the introduction of "naked' ADSL that's introduced yet another variable not addressed clearly enough on so many web sites. I've looked at combining all of the ADSL1 and ADSL2 and the new 'naked' ADSL2 pricing but it seems to be far too much information on the one page. Maybe there are too many plan options which I'll look at reducing. My major concern is that I'd always intended to base an ADSL/VoIP service offering on the premise that Exetel could always control the costs from wholesale carriers by taking out the insurance of a flexible infrastructure deployment. With the result of the election yesterday that may well no longer be an option and I haven't had time to consider whether the whole 'naked' ADSL project will have to be put on hold. As I have other, personal, things to do today it will have to wait till Monday I think. Then of course: Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
Comments
Display comments as
(Linear | Threaded)
Ok, 3 things distress me about this post.
1) 13 albums (excluding compilations), no.1 in the charts, you can't call Midnight Oil a failure!! 2) You support ARSEnal. 3) The whole politics thing. It's Monday morning and I need more red wine. Comment (1)
1) It doesn't take much to get a number one album in the Australian charts.
2) Blame that on my Uncle Fred who (a second generation Italian migrant living in Finsbury Park)took me to my first football game at Highbury when I was 7. (as with Geelong - you don't change the team you support for the rest of your life). 3) I know I don't work well/at all when I drink alcohol so given the time and the day I, like you, will have to make to with some other form of 'make the world look a whole lot better juice' for several hours. Comments (3)
Stupid people...
I honestly think it was lost, not won. From what 'I' saw during the campaigns, I think if I was stupid I probably would have voted Labor too. I'm off to lock in an interest rate before the spending begins... Comment (1)
("I guess if you allow stupid people to make decisions then you get to live with the consequences of stupid decisions. While I realise that most of the people who voted for Labour couldn't be expected to have any idea of what it would mean economically for themselves and everyone else... etc, etc.")
What arrogance to suppose that the great majority of Australians who chose to remove the Liberals from government have ("no idea what it means for themselves and everyone else"), apparently for no other reason than because they didn't agree with your ideals, they must be stupid. I believe that's the same sort of logic that the Liberal party themselves have displayed, and which has seen them removed from office by the voters of Australia, and the Liberal party left in tatters. I'm not a religious person, but I recall that there's a passage in the Bible that goes something like.. ("For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?") To put it in terms of the former Government... "What does it profit a country if it has a booming economy, but the greater majority of the people are struggling worse than ever before, and not gaining the benefits of that wonderful economy?" Any logical person would prefer to have the best quality products and services possible, if they could afford it. So the fact that we are now more than ever surrounded by budget outlets, and budget products, most of which carry minimal or nil service, is a pointer to the fact that Australia as a nation has drifted well along the path towards becoming a defacto 3rd world nation. Have a look around at the huge number of good business's that have foundered because they were no longer able to exist in the cut-down and cut-throat market which now exists in Australia. Perhaps I may be so bold as to point out that Exetel itself has benefitted from this situation. I think that your company would not have experienced the strong growth that it has, if the economy had been more beneficial for the general population, and not just for business. Your budget approach has been very popular because it has allowed users to have a cheaper service (with some compromises) that is equal or better than much more expensive services provided by other ISPs. In my own case, I would much rather be paying $20~$30 more per month for my current internet service, in return for a more generous bandwidth ratio and an effective person to person telephone helpdesk, IF I COULD AFFORD IT. I suspect there are others who feel the same way. Finally, I wonder if you have really grasped the message in the poem which you almost quoted. If you do indeed "play the hand you're dealt", then you might find that the future isn't quite so bleak as you currently think it's going to be. Comment (1)
Never forget that "50% of the people who vote in any election are below average intellectually".
I'm not sure what poem you're referring to but in terms of my understanding the, many and various, "messages" of the poem I quoted from; I understand that it's a common trait for people to complain about events and wish for changes that when they get them they then begin to realise that the changes brought equally unwelcome circumstances. Drought/Flood/Bush Fire is the cycle that endlessly repeats itself - we live in a truly dispiriting country and always have - except that some people make the most of the opportunities they have and count themselves lucky to have them. As a migrant who had less than nothing when I arrived in this country by myself at the age of 17 - I have never forgotten that if things look bad don't assume they'll get better without major effort on your own part and a lot of luck. I do think that Rudd/Gillard et alia will screw up the economy in a very short time and Exetel will find business very difficult to keep on track or even existing. So - allow someone who works 70 - 90 hours a week, every week, to express a small measure of disgust at having the prospect of seeing all their work go down the drain and their life's savings reduced to nothing in their 60s when it will be almost impossible to "start yet again". Hopefully you're personal life under a bunch of lying, doctrinal throwbacks to the Marxist 1950s in places far, far away will be better than the last eleven years; I know mine won't. Comments (3)
I know John Howard got a slap in the face from us the Australian people.
After reading also the stuff you post about your team i cant see how scrapping the IR laws will hurt you in any way. Your not using AWA's to rort your staff are you? If this was a pizza company i could see your drama but seriously if you pay your people right they work harder and make you more money. Who knows it may hurt now but if Rudd is smart enough Group of 9 may get the rollout and BigPongs monopoly on most Australian fraudband may be broken. As an ISP i cant see how breaking that monopoly will hurt you. As for the general state of our economy it was heading the wrong way for the last two or three years i dont think it mattered who ran the country we are all in for hard times ahead but now at least im not likely to have my personal income reduced as much to go with it. If people like me dont have money people like you wont get it off me. That simple. The internet is a nice tool but if i had to choose between that and eating or mortage payments guess what i would drop in half a second flat. Comment (1)
You may have already read that small businesses are being urged to lay off staff they have any doubts about before the work choices laws are scrapped and replaced by the previous disastrous IR processes and union thuggery.
While such things won't affect Exetel's employment of its current employees we have put on indefinite hold the hiring of any new people and stopped the orders for almost $A4 million of new equipment which, in some smallways will affect the employment of the companies who will now not receive that income. Disastrous IR laws will obviously affect the ability of company's and people's ability to spend money and, more importantly, pay their debts. Comments (3)
|
Calendar
QuicksearchArchivesCategoriesBlog AdministrationExternal PHP Application |