Interesting stuff

ALP just won the next election if they will follow through on the idea.

"Our post-COVID-19 economic recovery must ensure that Australia shifts away from its increasing reliance on a cheap supply of overseas, temporary labour that undercuts wages for Australian workers and takes jobs Australians could do."

it's staggering but there it is, in print.

You'd have to scrutinise it very closely given their most recent form (and ACTU for that matter).

In NZ, was it not Winston Peters' party votes that got Ardern over the line? Did she restrict or continue immigration?

Missed this

"Talking Turkey
Shatners Basoon
Dale Cooper
Factotum
Pupkin

All the same person."

Yeah thought had crossed my mind that Dale was included in the list, but not 100% but not many people would defend Herc/Uplift

It's just weird that people(not kids) would bother creating multiple active profiles, even just swapping names to me is weird unless you really didnt like your old name or lost info to log on or something.

But even then, be upfront and put it in the quote below "formerly .............."

@Terminal

Sorry only just saw your post, Thanks.

Yeah i kind of understood thats how things worked, and that the speed of development would speed up in shallow warm water like swampy area drying up.

But just didn't think things could go on so long, i thought months maybe, but never years.

"Our post-COVID-19 economic recovery must ensure that Australia shifts away from its increasing reliance on a cheap supply of overseas, temporary labour that undercuts wages for Australian workers and takes jobs Australians could do."

No one wants Jobs taken by OS workers.

But the biggest issue Australia has is high wages and high min wages, the higher these things go the more jobs go overseas.

My advice to everyone, find employment that cant go offshore, if your job can one day go offshore it most likely will, so prepare now for that day.

I agree, we pay tradies far too much.

the artist formerly known as Shatner's basoon

yeah, Germany, South Korea and Japan, those low wage basket case economies.

We should aim for Bangladesh.

And those poverty stricken Norwegians.

Yeah those low wage Danes , Swedes and Fins have really fcuked it up too.

Dived the local reef this morning and was again reminded just how many sea urchins there are. Fortunately the reminder came, not from stepping on them, but copping a visual through the clear water and small swell. The inner section was coated in urchins of all sizes.

So, a sideways question: Has anyone ever eaten one?

And I don't mean ordered uni at a Japanese restaurant, but actually dived and fetched a few then cut them open.

If so, some tips?

I know this topic might get tossed aside like the poor old frogs did but I cant be arsed starting a new thread.

Yep- snorkelled and picked up a few and straight on the barbie where the spines burnt off.

I prefer them nama (raw)- snip the spines off with scissors and cut them in half. Uni straight out of the sea is next level but definitely an aquired taste, I love it, like buttery custard with the faintest little whiff of amonia like the smell you get in the whitewater.

You can stir uni through pasta but my favourite way is 'kaisendon' which is basically a bowl of vinegared rice with mixed sashimi.

I love it!

They are very highly regarded by certain sectors of the community here in NZ
Usually the bro’s eat them out of the shell on the rocks or boat, definitely an aquired taste.
If you want to get fancy though I’m sure this would be real good

https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/recipes/kina-omelette-with-lemon-sauce

https://www.kikkoman.com/en/cookbook/search/recipe/00000067/index.html

super healthy and super delicious (if you dig raw fish)

boykee- that's a killer recipe. I'd be all over that.

I love it like the bro's- straight out of the brine and just a drop of light soy sauce.

Indo, you're a simple man. We get it. At times over the journey, I've thought you've even been a master trickster such was the eye-rolling simplicity of some of your work. I even thought the same of Tony Barber in the past. Remember him?

Anyway, it's obvious a lot of stuff goes straight through to the keeper with you. Your assessments are thus taken onboard accordingly.

Contemptuous? Yeah, nah.

Yeah.

As far as comments that have been 'disappeared', the point is that the equivalence reasoning for what qualifies for 'disappearing' is way off.

And more than one person has been blocked, and that's out of whack too.

Maybe the bosses can explain.

These threads were good. A space that wasn't narrowed down in a talkback radio/letters to the editor structure. A space to get experimental! To expand, or dissolve, or take the piss out of said bog-standard, boringly staid structures.

That was part of my take. Maybe I just read too much Abbie Hoffman and Paul Krassner. Yippie!

I think my pseudonyms belie the approach (if you know them or google).

And I never thought, let alone said, my way was THE way. Quite the opposite actually.

It'd be like my musical tastes storming the JJJ top 100.

Now if the threads overwhelmingly follow the talkback structure, so be it.

And if the content then reflects this, well, as I said before...

2GB or not 2GB?

That is the question.

Politics off the front page, and back in the politico basement or same same tabloid 'news' of the day, and subsequent off-the-top-of-the-head, overly emotional ranting, without any apparent consequence?

IMHO (!) one Alan Jones et al and one 2GB is more than enough.

But hey, isn't this a surfee site??

Hee hee.

Good luck.

And good night?

Ha ha 100% i am a simple man i cant believe, i didn't clue on that you are also Facto.

Even googling "Dale Cooper Swellnet" brings up threads with you, Shanter and talking turkey posting and interacting with each other, weird stuff.

Its the kind of stuff teen kids do...

I mean seriously you must just be taking the piss with this "2GB or not 2GB?" line, isn't that the exact thing Factos new profile has been throwing about lately?

Had me fooled as well.

Then again, I'm a simple handsome man too.

@freeride76

Nobody is suggesting we try to lower wages to compete with developing countries, but the reality is the bigger the gap grows between these countries and us, the less viable Australian business becomes that is competing against these offshore business..

Thats just fact and it's what we have seen happen over the last 30+ years, only way you can try to combat it is through tariffs, but that gets messy and then assume harder for lots of tech/online type stuff.

IMHO we haven't seen the end of it either, maybe with this COVID-19 thing we might see a backlash a slight reverse for a bit, but sooner or latter it will all just work it's way back, whatever makes economic sense always wins out. (especially when you are really just a part of Asia as we are, even if we dont think of ourselves in that way geographically we are)

Indo, do you know who Dale Cooper even is?

Haha. Sharp as a bowling ball.

Today's youngsters are our only hope.

And they're defo not the SN demographic.

"...definitely an aquired taste, I love it, like buttery custard with the faintest little whiff of amonia..."
Sounds a little like durian fruit. Have you eaten durian, any similarity in taste?

On all things politics here after CV it will have to be in the middle, consensus politics, no ideological folly, both sides (will there be sides?) solely asking what's good for the country if Australia is to have 1/2 a chance to not to saddle the younger generations with a lifetime of debt and much lower living standards. It has to be a war cabinet solely focused on advancing the interests of the country and its people.

We and NZ might be relatively free of CV now and so our domestic economies will thankfully start to splutter back into life soon enough but until there is a reliable vaccine or serious suppression of the virus the world economy will be dead and so the true and lasting economic implications of this pandemic are scarily yet to be realised.

That's what Cockwombles like Trump and his dumb arse insular arrogant supporters don't get. Jobs will ultimately depend on international trade and travel and who in their right mind would do either with the US in the next 1-2-3 years?

Never waste a crisis they say, well Australia right now is at a fork, one way is more of the same party politics clap trap and the other is one where we come together and all work in one direction for the good of the country now and most importantly for future generations.

I do after googling it, i never watched "Twin peaks"

You are down right weird, playing all these different characters.

You remind me of those serial killers on movie's that try to appear clever and put in quirks and patterns to what they do, wanting or knowing your deception will be discovered.

I'm guessing in real life you're the type of person others try to avoid D-C

Never eaten urchin, but my friend in USA has a business diving for them and sea cucumber to sell to the Chinese (he doesn't eat either)

But his business isn't happening at the moment, no demand with this virus.

Personally i don't get the raw seafood thing, ive tried it but just doesn't do it for me (including oysters), it's okay in sushi roll things etc but guys get off on it in Indo, when catch a Spanish mackerel or something.

Stu, the roe is delicious, but the whole thing looks like a charlie foxtrot when you break one open. Don't eat the wrong bits.

Kina (pronounced kinna) is a delicacy over here, especially among Maori.

I've eaten sea cucumber several times, it's actually pretty bland, has a sort of chewy texture. I didn't like sea urchin (uni) at first until I tried it straight from the sea- it's lovely that way. One thing that's commonly served here in Japan usually with a beer in an izakaya is pickled jellyfish (kurage) and it's really good.

I'm sure i've tried durian Patrick but can't recall when and certainly can't remember what it tasted like. It's supposed to be super stinky is that right?

Indo, sashimi has to be super fresh but the Japanese make it an artform here. Sashimi is definitely one of my favourite foods in the world.

Living in Japan I eat regularly what some people think to be quite weird but something I eat occasionally and i'll let you google it to find out, is 'Shirako'. Can be tempura or lightly grilled or even poached with a little ponzu sauce. Good with beer.

Shirako. Definitely need a beer after that

Hi Zen. Yep, generally durian has a strong odour. There are hundreds of varieties from sweet to bitter flavours. There are some people who treat durian tasting like wine tasting. A lot of people find the taste and smell of durian terrible, some hate the smell but love the taste ( I don't know if any love the smell but hate the taste... I doubt it).
Best varieties are generally considered to come from Malaysia, though some Thais would dispute that.. and Indos and Phillipinos.

It can have a custard taste and a bitter (ammonia like I guess) taste... like I said, hundreds of varieties with all manner of flavours and combos of flavour.

Ive eaten it many times, normally when i go out on a day trip with wife's family and they stop and grab one or two in a village where they are cheaper (quite expensive for Indonesians) and they spend 15 minutes trying to decide which one is the best.

To me the taste is like a mix of onions, curry and butter with a smell of dirty socks.

But it's weird you often say i will just have a little taste then you just keep eating it trying to figure out if you love it or hate it.

I've been learning how to play the guitar. If I get any good at I might start a band named Shirako... or though, the genre it would best suit would be grind/death
Are there any Japanese death/grind bands called Shirako?

Indo, on Penang island there are durian farms with road side stalls set up and they only sell durian that has fallen that day. Best eaten the day it falls they reckon and apparently the older the tree the better the taste.

There's a Thai variety called Mon Thong which is pretty sweet. Very common in Thailand.

I know people that have followed the durian seasons across the tropics. People in northern Aus are growing them now.

Alright, urchin advice and recipes too.

Just had a late session with the swell coming on. Last wave was a long one through the inside, above where I dived this morning and saw all the urchins. Mid-week the swell looks to drop off again so I'll take a bag, go for a dive, then give my tastebuds a whirl.

Thanks for the info, fellas.

Numus, ceviche and oka. All different and awesome ways to eat raw seafood.

Fr76 - “I agree, we pay tradies far too much.“

Only a non-tradie would say that

@Pattrick You sound like a connoisseur, i much prefer other tropical fruit, even just Bananas in Asia taste better so many different varieties and some are just crazy sweet and tasty.

Dont know about Oz, but in Indo those urchins hide away during the day then at night come out.

"I agree, we pay tradies far too much."

Ha ha i missed that, it is pretty true though.

Only argument that could be made against this is if you either work for someone else and dont get a standard work hour week, or if you work for yourself and then you have so many other cost to take into account.

Well is it?

I charge myself out at $60.00 per hour plus gst. I’m in construction.

I have work vehicles, machinery, insurances, employees.
How much should I be charging in your opinion?
Seriously.

Sorry Goofyfoot only just finished my post above, was helping my daughter do her school stuff.

Im a tradie he was having a poke in the ribs at me.

I get all that though, once it's all taken into account the hourly rate is much lower.

Still think tradies are overpaid though, but not complaining, IMHO most jobs are overpaid though and some under paid areas like child care workers, aged care etc

Yeah true, some are grossly underpaid.

"You sound like a connoisseur," nah, but I know a few.

goofyfoot, in Melb & Hobart, the chippies that ran commercial construction jobs that I once helped manage all charged more than that.
Their employees were around that or less.

Don't know about a death metal band called Shirako but there's Funky Monkey Babies and Bump of Chicken. They're quite popular.

If I ever started a band i'd call it 'Brown Chords'. We'd be a kinda jazz-pop fusion and we'd argue endlessly over the best durian.

Patrick yeah commercial sites charge more. I’m just on domestic sites.