I have a theory, it's called coin convenience. We all know inflation has impacted the cost of living, considering most real wages haven't caught up, so in the end, most workers are worse off now compared to any other period in history. But let's put it down to some real reasons - coin convenience. For example, here is a cupcake that you love to eat and it costs $1. You get accustomed to that cost and having to front up two 50 cent pieces or a $1 coin. But then of course the cupcake people want to turn more of a profit, so they start charging $1.10. Adding that extra burden of having to account for that extra 10 cents is enough to turn people off the product. It's due to the inconvenience of coin, and not having products available for a nicely rounded figure. I think it makes sense, but it doesn't really impact places that do EFTPOS payments without any minimum transaction limit. That's my contribution to the world of economics! Hahaha.
There's a theory going on in Australia called the "masterchef effect". This is essentially the concept that due to the number of reality show themed cooking shows, you are now seeing a rise in food prices and restaurants serving overpriced pretentious fare. I think I'm inclined to agree. We're seeing a lot of ridiculous dishes out there, and I live in a city that has the most per-capita restaurants in the world. Restaurants come and go all the time. Good ones and bad ones, we just don't have the population to sustain so many. But all the newer ones have got all these overproduced dishes that are stupidly expensive and you don't feel full after eating them! Just goes to show what's indicative of society. So many people out there starving, and yet people are paying upwards of $45 for a main course somewhere. Absolutely ridiculous. That's not what cooking should be about.
Australia hosted a prestigious AIDS conference the other day, which received some media exposure due to the unfortunate fact that a lot of the leading doctors there were on board MH17, which was shot down over Eastern Ukraine. A number of these delegates have now claimed asylum in Australia, for fear of being persecuted in their own country (mostly countries of African origin). It'll be interesting to see how the government handles this, considering they've now got a racist and xenophobic view on refugees coming by boat. They previously shipped them off to offshore detention centres (read: prisons) but this current conservative government seems to favour handing them back to whatever country they came from, which is highly illegal. How is that going to work now? Will they lock these people up? Will we stop holding international events! It'll be interesting.
Due to being away, I have 10 gig of downloads to get through before midnight tonight! The question is, can I make it??
Oh I'll get there! Sooner or later. There are still lessons to be learned. Damn, work just keeps piling up! Ridiculous, absolutely. I was looking forward to having some fun this afternoon.
Just as it seems easier, it gets a lot harder. A lot harder. What does any of this mean? This is just the first step. All journeys start with the first step.
I don't think I have anything more to say.
Joaquin out.
