A plea from the heart by the digitally disadvantaged

A not uncommon complaint heard right across the Clarence Valley.

Dreyfuss in July 2011 on a Clarence Conversations forum:

The area around Melaleuca drive in Yamba is in desperate need of upgrading by Telstra. When the subdivision was first done telecom and the developer did some “clever” thing with the phone lines designed to save money and that now stops the residents from getting effective ADSL connections. Speeds of 0.22kbps are common, ADSL 2 is offered by Internet Service Providers (ISP) but not available, is some cases residents are being refused ADSL connections all together. When you contact Telstra about getting the lines upgraded and they say talk to your ISP, then you talk to you ISP and they say there is nothing that can be done until Telstra upgrade the phone lines talk to Telstra. NBN may be some 5 years away (if ever), the mobile reception in the area is appalling so wireless is not an option. This area is only 4 kilometres from the Yamba exchange and less than 1 kilometre from the Treeland Drive retail district! How long will the residents be forced to suffer because of the original cost cutting by Telecom (Telstra) and the Developer? I urge anybody that is affected to contact the Grafton office of Janelle Saffin 6621 9909 email Peter.ellem@aph.gov.au

AntoniusFM in August 2011 on the same forum thread:

No ADSL in Wells Crossing, satellite is no option (too slow, too much delay), so using wireless, which isn't that great (1.5 Mbps if i am lucky), especially because i need it for my work (self employed IT consultant). I would have wished the government invested a bit more in wireless technology. The NBN sounds nice, but there is no way in the world we are going to have fibre optics where I live. Very disappointing !

When ad men go bad

Oh Todd, Todd, Todd.......

what a choice of T-shirt!

Sometimes the young (and assorted others) make my heart sing - Part Four

http://youtu.be/bG7wbAfcKUI

For the purists here is Nick Cave unadorned

Some little known facts...

From the people who inhabit I Can Has Cheezburger.

The highs and lows of public hospital outpatient care according to NSW consumers

Source: Outpatient care module of the NSW Health Patient Survey 2010
Click on graphs to enlarge

In August 2011 the NSW Bureau of Health Information released Patient Care Experiences (part of the Insight series) a survey of patients using outpatient services in NSW public hospitals during February 2010.

Not surprisingly, consumers on the North Coast had mixed feeling about their experience in the larger regional public hospitals and these scored in both the higher and lower satisfaction bands.

In comparison with all public hospitals in this survey, Murwillumbah and Grafton performed well and Tweed, Lismore and Coffs Harbour performed poorly.

When compared with other non-metropolitan hospitals in the survey most fell in the middle of the rating band with only Tweed Heads in the lowest ranking.

How the emergency department experience in non-metropolitan hospitals is rated by NSW Health can be found in Performance Profiles Emergency department care Major non-metropolitan hospitals Hospital Quarterly: January to March 2011.

Christopher Monckton splutters.....

Uploaded to YouTube by countrychannel99 on Aug 8, 2011:

One of the world's most prominent, and controversial, climate change skeptics, has been in New Zealand this week. Lord Christopher Monckton, the 3rd Viscount of Brenchley, is here as part of a world lecture tour promoting climate change denial. Reporter Benedict Collins met Christopher Monckton in Auckland, and while the Viscount might not believe in global warming, it didn't take long for the interview to heat up...

http://youtu.be/5ODCTPGmERw

NBN mapping for NSW North Coast

Go to NBN CO for interactive mapping showing national broadband coverage by anticipated type in each state and region.

Just how safe is the food we buy?

 

Number of food recalls coordinated by FSANZ,
shown by recall classification,

between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2010.

 

Number of recalls by food class
from 1 January 2000 – 31 December 2010
Click on graphs to enlarge

In April 2011 a Byron Bay business was fined $1,320 for the Sale of unsuitable food - Leptin Green Coffee 800 sold on internet - contained chemical agent, bis-Desmethylsibutramine, foreign to the nature of the food. This tea (along with leptin jelly and chocolate products) originated in China according to the NSW Food Authority and, six months earlier in October 2010 it was subject to recall in Australia.

This is not the first food recall of the year as I discovered when I went to the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand website where I found this sad window on the food we eat:

July

Kellogg Cereal – Foreign Matter (hard plastic pieces) – 28 July 2011

Woolworths Minced Beef – Foreign Matter (soft plastic pieces) – 28 July 2011

Chocolate Bars – Non-compliant labelling (including the undeclared allergens peanut, tree nuts, soy, milk egg and gluten) 25 July 2011

Haigh’s Aprichoc Chocolates – Possible presence of undeclared allergen (nuts) – 11 July 2011

June

Pura Milk – Chemical Contamination (sanitiser) – 9 June 2011

Hunsa Chorizo - Microbial (Listeria monocytogenes) - 4 June 2011

May

Atlantic Salmon Terrine – Microbial (Listeria monocytogenes) – 27 May 2011

Frozen Lasagne – foreign matter (metal, plastic and cloth contamination) – 26 May 2011

Pasta Products and Frozen Pizza – foreign matter (metal, plastic and cloth contamination) – 26 May 2011

Breakfast Cereal – Foreign Matter (Wire Contamination) – 23 May 2011

Breakfast Cereal – Foreign Matter (Wire Contamination) – 23 May 2011

Pine Nuts – Foreign Matter (Glass Fragments) – 18 May 2011

Fetta - Microbial (E. coli) - 9 May 2011

April

Almonds – Microbial (Salmonella) – 21 April 2011

Haldiram’s Nagpur Galub Jamun (Indian Sweets) – Labelling – undeclared allergen (wheat/gluten) - 20 April 2011

Four ‘N Twenty pies – Foreign Matter (Plastic Fragments) – 7 April 2011

Marshmallow Hearts – Labelling (undeclared allergen –wheat) 7 April 2011

March

McCain Frozen Dinner - Labelling - Undeclared allergens (soy, gluten, dairy) - 31 March 2011

Lindt Milk Chocolate Easter Egg - Labelling - Undeclared allergen (peanut) 29 March 2011

Homebrand Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls – Labelling (undeclared allergen – peanut) – 18 March 2011

The Latin Seed (Weight Loss Product)– labelling (incorrect identification of seeds) – 15 March 2011

Smoked salmon - Microbial (Listeria monocytogenes) - 2 March 2011

Eggs - Microbial (Salmonella) - 2 March 2011

February

Frozen Dumplings – Labelling (undeclared allergen - peanut) – date 23 February 2011

Skinless Sausages – microbial (early spoilage of product) – 09 February 2011

January

Crumbed Fish Fillets - Labelling (undeclared allergen - peanut) – 29 January 2011

Frozen Crumbed Seafood - Labelling – (undeclared allergen - peanuts) – 25 January 2011

Organic Carob Powder - Foreign matter (metal object) - 24 January 2011

Sliced Bread Varieties – Foreign Matter (metal fragments) – 21 January 2011

Smoked Trout and Chive Dip -Microbial (listeria monocytogenes) - 21 January 2011

Frozen Crumbed Fish – Labelling (undeclared allergen – peanut) – 18 January 2011

Frozen Crumbed Fish - Labelling (undeclared allergen - peanut) – 06 January 2011

It would appear that food recalls in 2011 may possibly outstrip the 2010 total by the end of this year.

And you wonder why American society is going down the gurgler?

By-passing the electorate appears to be the norm in the good ol’ US of A which has gone a long way towards corporatizing ‘democracy’:
“At a workshop {held by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)} I attended, one Texas legislator, who moderated the forum, went as far as to say that that we are a big football team. The legislators are the football players and the corporate lobbyists and special interest group presenters are “our” coaches. {The Progressive 6^th August 2011}

A new national aged care policy is barrelling down the track towards Australia's baby boomers

The Gillard Government is assuring Australia’s baby boomers that the concerns bolded in red below will not occur:

Under this market price option, accommodation costs to high care recipients and taxpayers (the accommodation subsidy for supported residents) are likely to be higher, but consumer choice and industry sustainability would be enhanced. Care recipients, however, would continue to be charged differently according to the level of assessed care need (high or low care) not the standard of accommodation they have chosen. There is also a concern that, as providers could charge what the market would bear, care recipients could be exploited and those with a lower capacity to pay would miss out. This is a greater concern in the short term, particularly in areas where there is limited competition. [Productivity Commission,June 2011,Caring for Older Australians,Vol Two]

If you live in rural and regional areas perhaps it is time to carefully read the report and make up your own mind on what aged care policy should be before federal politicians make up theirs.

Caring for Older Australians - Overview (PDF - 1065 Kb)

Volume 1 - Caring for Older Australians - Inquiry report (PDF - 1558 Kb)

Volume 2 - Caring for Older Australians - Inquiry report (PDF - 3134 Kb)

Cupcake Day for the RSPCA on Monday 15 August 2011

Cupcake Day for the RSPCA 2011 Online Fundraising

This year the RSPCA has joined forces with Everyday Hero so that you can create your very own Cupcake Day 2011 online fundraising page to raise vital funds for the RSPCA and all creatures great and small! From here you can create your own RSPCA Cupcake Day online fundraising page to raise funds from the sale of your tasty treats.
Your online fundraising page is simple to setup and in just a matter of minutes you'll be able to email your friends, family and colleagues to ask for their support.

Cupcake Day for the RSPCA is the biggest bakeoff in the Southern Hemisphere and involves Cupcake Cooks around Australia baking cupcakes and hosting a Cupcake Party to raise vital funds for the RSPCA. Last year Cupcake Cooks around Australia joined forces to bake thousands of scrumptious cupcakes to help support the services of the RSPCA.ital funds for the RSPCA. Last year Cupcake Cooks around Australia joinedands f scrumptious cupcakes to help support the services of the RSPCA. 

Find out more here.

When Google 'Autocomplete' Goes Bad

Need to acquire some antiques in a hurry?

Not a problem. Simply contact this business in Newrybar in northern NSW. The business is very conveniently located just a short distance to the west of the Pacific Highway about 20km north of Ballina.