First they came for my electricity, and I did nothing. Then they came for my gas, and I did nothing. Then they came for my electricity again, and I got mad and blogged about it. Now they have come for my internet. and my phone. and my Sky TV. I arrived back home here in …
Continue reading “All my utilities have now been arbitrarily cut off”
It’s easy to take advantage of today’s doom and gloom, but you need a stiff will and plenty of freed up capital. Here is the first of three ideas. 1: Baby Business Bank It’s hard enough these days to get finance for a house – but it has always been hard to get bank finance …
Continue reading “Three business ideas: 1: Baby Business Bank”
I was at a friend’s house the other night, and we were trying to work online. The DSL router/modem was working just fine, our phones and computers were all just fine, but no internet. The ISP was XNET, who have no phone customer service at night after 8pm – which is not exactly a quiet …
This story of busting a $15m poker scam by and Australian is fantastic – and is a wonderful demonstration of the benefits of being open with your customers. The full story is on poker community site twoplustwo, and has been going on for a while. Customers of Canadian tribe owned AbsolutePoker and UltimateBet analysed poker …
There has been lots of commentary on the Paymex debacle, and today I see that Paymex’s site is up, and there is a comment on this news entry from the “new owners”. Some advice, for free: 1: if you want us to trust you, please tell us who you are 2: If you want us …
Continue reading “Paymex is back, but why would you trust them?”
Beautiful art and science combine once again at XKCD
It was an empire. If you wanted to sell a car, then Autotrader was the place. Dealers paid huge monthly payments, and AutoTrader took home giant profits. When Trade Me entered the market AutoTrader was unable or unwilling to react online – their online offering was appalling. Inside Trade Me we used to say we …
Simple. So simple. Via an excellent NYTimes article comes news of Unigo, a site where current students talk about their universities, and where those comments are edited, grouped and displayed for prospective students to browse. The competition, such as the Princeton Review and the US New & World Report, are mired in the past – …
Continue reading “Unigo: Universities by students for prospective students”
Markets have them all the time, and it is finally here – judgment day. The day when lousy economics and fundamentals get confronted with harsh reality and bright lights. Prices plummet, businesses fail and jobs and economies fall. My portfolio was hedged against this day – indeed it even went up, though not to the …
As Jandal (JamesTurner) and Sam have commented it looks like online payments provider Paymex has faltered, or folded. Word on the street is Paymex is dead and gone as of 27/9/2008 (Jandal) Yes Paymex is gone, taking my money with it, supposedly its now caught up with BNZ..” Sam and Paymex looks ok, but who …
Telecom. Coke. MacDonalds. Insurance. Symantec. All big advertisers – far bigger than they would need to be if their products were great. Summed up perfectly by this: Courtesy of the as always excellent Indexed.
From beautiful Cape Leveque, which is North is Broome, I woke in my tent to the dawn light. After visiting a local community, it is time to return. The day before I fielded several phone calls from companies I am involved with, received the final investment documents and call for cash for a new one, …
Two interesting signs, showing that yes, you are in Western Australia. The first $22 per hour for cleaners. Despite these rates (similar for waiting tables) travellers tend to stay only a few weeks and then move on. Indeed folk arriving in, say, Broome can pick up a decent paying job within a day. The second …
Forty degrees Celcius in the sun, and I realized that I was probably not going to make it to the next gas station if I kept going to the latest gorge. So I turned around and headed for Derby, on the west of the Gibb River Road. Slowing right down, and with pumped up hard …
Halls Creek, a cross road between the Tanami Track, and the main route East, and base for a few mines, along with gateway to the Bungle Bungles. This is the $22 breakfast at the local hotel, the second best of 2 in town. Along with the instant coffee, the reconstituted and cold scrambled eggs, atrophied …
Lance Wiggs 