The totally off-topic thread

[OATEK]

<SNIP>

I guess if you're over about 35-40, one doesn't really care about all of this. Sweeping generalisation alert!

I don't know what the situation in Melbourne is, but I'm going to place bets that Brisbane may be heading that way.

Those of us well over 35-40 y.o. remember a time when pubs in Sydney closed at 10pm, and you had to go to a Pizza Hut to get a beer any later unless you were in the city and could get to an illegal gambling casino (which I only did once - what a sheltered life I led). Of course there were other after-hours venues, but not a lot of options.

And before people get on their high-horse about us oldies, I am talking about the Vietnam war years when service personnel arrived in Sydney in their ,000s looking for a good time after some bad times to our north.

The CBD was still the go-to place, discos such as the Green Jungle etc. But although I got into a few scrapes, such as saying the wrong things to Sharpies who had a group of friends around the corner, I did not see the levels of drunkenness I see today, and I purposely avoid going into the city on a Friday or Saturday night, or when I do leave the precinct early, because of what I have seen.

I have had the unfortunate experience of sitting in emergency at the local hospital with seriously ill people as the constant stream of alcohol and drug related admissions occur, and have nothing but admiration for the doctors and nurses who deal with untold numbers of unnecessary admissions week after week.

And the good news so far, based on BOCSAR statistics (who are universally adjudged as independent and wholly reliable), is that the violence has not spilled out into other precincts to any great degree.

P.S. Better get some work done now, so will get down of my high horse for a while.

 

[coco50]

Yes, it can be brutal. A PhD can be a downright disadvantage when trying to get a 'practical' job - as you have seen with teaching and as I know occurs at the 'boots on the ground' end in agricultural and environmental consulting. PhD applicants in those fields very often (probably mostly) don't even get an interview.

A PhD that can't get a research-type job and takes something 'lower' also suffers the stigma of being perceived as much more of a failure than the average person because they have what the uninitiated perceive as the supposedly magic job-ticket 'Dr' title.

I think I like Rooflyer's approach: go and do a PhD part time as a mature-age student for the intellectual challenge - definitely not to use it as the basis for trying to get a job.

My stepson was not amused when I told him that I had got a PhD. He holds a PhD. I said that I had been to Bunnings and bought a Post hole Digger.

 

[Pushka]

Oh man these long posts are doing my head in.

 

[Flashback]

Oh man these long posts are doing my head in.

I'm with you on that one! My head has been stuck in contracts and RFP's the last few days so the last thing I feel like after a long day of that ....... is coming home to 'relax' and read TOTT and get the same!

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Oh man these long posts are doing my head in.

Yes, it is getting a bit too deep and meaningful !!

 

[Pushka]

Yes, it is getting a bit too deep and meaningful !!

Almost on topic even!

I'm with you on that one! My head has been stuck in contracts and RFP's the last few days so the last thing I feel like after a long day of that ....... is coming home to 'relax' and read TOTT and get the same!

Yep. My finger is getting tired flicking them away on the app!

 

[whatmeworry]

Oh man these long posts are doing my head in.

Some people need their own blogs...

 

[anat0l]

There's no supposedly about the effect of lockout laws.Watch Q&A from Monday night and Dr.Gordon Fulde who saw a huge reduction in ED attendances due to aklcohol and the violence it causes at St.Vincent's Sydney.
You probably are unaware of the trauma that alcohol brings.See if you can spend a few hours at night with an ED doc at a major city hospital.Can be frightening.Are you aware of how prevalent attacks on hospital staff are-and the majority due to alcohol and other drugs.Here are the figures from Adelaide with over 20 staff attacked each day across the city.
No Cookies | The Advertiser

PS-An article giving figures on the drop in violence-
Sydney's alcohol curbs reduce street violence - and fun, Australia/NZ News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

I have no doubt about the number of admissions to ED due to alcohol (and perhaps the violence which we can attach to it); heard about it variously through the news, though forgot to think about it in my post that you have quoted. Same with the statistics of assaults on paramedics and hospital staff. Obviously this touches home more for you as you work in the medical field. I'm not exactly pleased about drunken people or those involved in violence (of their own volition) being treated in ED when it displaces others who actually need treatment. Assault of medical staff is never acceptable.

Why does it have to come to this? So not just a few incidents but broadly as a society we can't be trusted to behave so now society has to be punished for it? I guess the view has been, "you've had your fun, you caused a mess, so we won't take it any more - you lose your fun." We've lost quite a vibrant night culture because we broadly can't be trusted to have a good time responsibly.

One thing I haven't been able to read much about are the alternatives to lock outs that would "preserve" the vibrant night life and allow people to keep some liberty. Some say simply more patrolling police (which has kind of happened anyway, along with lock out laws). I don't think this would be effective, except maybe to suppress some instances of violence, especially before they get too far (though these days, it appears it only takes one punch, so it's hard to see and stop that before it happens). If someone is on the ground and out of it by being drunk or choking on vomit, police can't do much about it and will likely administer the fastest first aid they can or call the ambulance too.

Some others say that more education is needed to "reconfigure" the alcohol culture and cultivate greater control. How do you tell a generation of kids that it's not cool to get completely plastered?

Those of us well over 35-40 y.o. remember a time when pubs in Sydney closed at 10pm, and you had to go to a Pizza Hut to get a beer any later unless you were in the city and could get to an illegal gambling casino (which I only did once - what a sheltered life I led). Of course there were other after-hours venues, but not a lot of options.

And before people get on their high-horse about us oldies, I am talking about the Vietnam war years when service personnel arrived in Sydney in their ,000s looking for a good time after some bad times to our north.

The CBD was still the go-to place, discos such as the Green Jungle etc. But although I got into a few scrapes, such as saying the wrong things to Sharpies who had a group of friends around the corner, I did not see the levels of drunkenness I see today, and I purposely avoid going into the city on a Friday or Saturday night, or when I do leave the precinct early, because of what I have seen.

I don't know about the laws at the time you describe, but can I make a guess that there weren't as many or the kinds of laws there are now? The only ones I can guess from it were different liquor licensing laws related to opening times and also how many venues there were to get pi**ed.

The only inference I can gather - if you want to agree or disagree with it - is that since there were (a) less venues available, and (b) less hours they were open, there was less that could go wrong. Perhaps that is the thinking behind the changes that are being proposed, viz. we go back to these principles which seemed to work a long time ago.

I wonder what accounts for the level of drunkenness now.

 

[anat0l]

Oh man these long posts are doing my head in.

I'm with you on that one! My head has been stuck in contracts and RFP's the last few days so the last thing I feel like after a long day of that ....... is coming home to 'relax' and read TOTT and get the same!

Yes, it is getting a bit too deep and meaningful !!

Almost on topic even!



Yep. My finger is getting tired flicking them away on the app!

Some people need their own blogs...

Well, I'm sorry.

 

[PLANT]

Anyone made any money from YouTube via posting there own AFF video from blog?
How much from how many views?

 

[OATEK]

<SNIP>

I wonder what accounts for the level of drunkenness now.

I reckon there is a PHD in answering that!!

[That should get us back off/on topic!]

 

[anat0l]

I reckon there is a PHD in answering that!!

[That should get us back off/on topic!]

There are many PhDs in many things. The questions are always who will do it, and who will fund it.

 

[blackcat20]

There are many PhDs in many things. The questions are always who will do it, and who will fund it.

I'm always amazed at some of the stuff that gets funded, versus the stuff that doesnt...

 

[JohnK]

I have AFF as my home page!*

*Written, spoken and authorised by JessicaTam, Melbourne.

If not for Ninemsn I would not read any news other than the limited news articles that catch my eye on AFF.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Gotta love Muricans. Overheard near the gate boarding QF8: " no honey, we're on a Boeing 7380"...

 

[drron]

Those of us well over 35-40 y.o. remember a time when pubs in Sydney closed at 10pm, and you had to go to a Pizza Hut to get a beer any later unless you were in the city and could get to an illegal gambling casino (which I only did once - what a sheltered life I led). Of course there were other after-hours venues, but not a lot of options.

And before people get on their high-horse about us oldies, I am talking about the Vietnam war years when service personnel arrived in Sydney in their ,000s looking for a good time after some bad times to our north.

The CBD was still the go-to place, discos such as the Green Jungle etc. But although I got into a few scrapes, such as saying the wrong things to Sharpies who had a group of friends around the corner, I did not see the levels of drunkenness I see today, and I purposely avoid going into the city on a Friday or Saturday night, or when I do leave the precinct early, because of what I have seen.

I have had the unfortunate experience of sitting in emergency at the local hospital with seriously ill people as the constant stream of alcohol and drug related admissions occur, and have nothing but admiration for the doctors and nurses who deal with untold numbers of unnecessary admissions week after week.

And the good news so far, based on BOCSAR statistics (who are universally adjudged as independent and wholly reliable), is that the violence has not spilled out into other precincts to any great degree.

P.S. Better get some work done now, so will get down of my high horse for a while.

Are you loosing your long term memory Oatek.I remember 6 0'clock closing.But you could order as many beers as you wanted at 5.30 and drink them at your leisure.:shock:
But there were also 6.30 openers.Walking back from the night shift at the Redfern Mail Exchange with some of the regular staff and I would always be asked if I was coming in for an eye opener.Seeing I also had a day job I would decline the offer.

 

[OATEK]

But there were also 6.30 openers.Walking back from the night shift at the Redfern Mail Exchange with some of the regular staff and I would always be asked if I was coming in for an eye opener.Seeing I also had a day job I would decline the offer.

I think the First and Last near circular Quay was one of those early openers. I do remember lots of drinking offers as I left my shifts at the Mail Exchange, but was reluctant to show my amateur status.

 

[medhead]

There I was, having a bit of a bat-back-and-forth with anat01;

Umm, not just anat01 it seems. Plenty of other pointed comments in your post infer a much broader audience.

I'm trying hard to have a good discussion with yourself, and others,

in disagreement but reasonably civilised (and speaking of taking the time to understand what people are writing, the 'S' in HSEC stands for Safety - see post 48877 amongst others).

Really!!! Who KNEW!!! Is that the same meaning as in SHE, ESH and HSE?

No one has made such a claim. To claim they have is a strawman on top of a high horse. Especially when you throw in safety issues which aren't even part of the discussion.

Oh look I don't know what S means at all.

Personally, I don't find the inference of your dig at me to be civilised in any way.

Didn't see mention of you as the "anti-christ" in his post either. Lots of hyperbole often makes for a good post. It entertains, it engenders discussion etc...

You and Rooflyer seem to have the ability to re-invigorate a discussion coming as you both do from different perspectives.

I worked with an environmental agency that actually provided on the ground restoration services (eg with bulldozers etc) and monitoring of mine sites, and my view is that more than the minimum was done, but not as much as could be undertaken in a perfect world.

I'm the only person who suggested that miners cut back to only do the minimum required by the regulators when they cut costs. The comment was about people falsely accusing miners of doing the "minimum" and cutting corners. Seemed like anti-christ to me.

By The minimum I mean meeting all of the regulatory requirements to the best of their ability, working hard to do that and putting in the extra hours. What they absolutely must do. Minimum is not a comment about the standard of work but about the range of programs.

Rehabilitation is part of the minimum requirements and, as I stated, miners will do those things to the best of their ability. Community programs are not the minimum requirement. Reintroducing local extinct native wildlife is not the minimum requirement. Those are all the above and beyond things that miners do when times are good and get cut when times are bad. I've personally seen people "let go" when cuts were happening who were involved in those above and beyond programs, and not directly involved in environmental impact and monitoring activities. Among the first to go, along with corporate and IT.

That's my experience, but I guess without 35 years that experience is invalid.

 

[JohnK]

Those of us well over 35-40 y.o. remember a time when pubs in Sydney closed at 10pm, and you had to go to a Pizza Hut to get a beer any later unless you were in the city and could get to an illegal gambling casino (which I only did once - what a sheltered life I led). Of course there were other after-hours venues, but not a lot of options.

And before people get on their high-horse about us oldies, I am talking about the Vietnam war years when service personnel arrived in Sydney in their ,000s looking for a good time after some bad times to our north.

I am not worried about anyone's high horse. We clearly have an issue and it's not a small issue.

I was at the casino at about 10:00pm on Saturday night. I was at the Rewards desk and this couple were trying to get into the Sovereign room. I think that's what it's called. He must have tried to swipe his card about 29 times. He was wasted. Had to give him some instructions on how to swipe his card. Saw him a few minutes later munching on some chips. Thankfully no free alcohol on him.

I stayed until around 4:00am. I had a vodka and orange and a gin and tonic. Walking around the machines and the tables it gets harder to avoid the drunks. Why are they still being served alcohol at 4:00am when they were wasted drunk at 10:00pm? RSA is clearly not working unless they are all drinking at home to get drunk then go out. But still shouldn't be served. What happens around Fortitude Valley is worse.

I enjoy a drink as much as anyone else but I firmly believe lockout should be well before midnight and last drinks not long after. I am scared walking around at night at what some irresponsible drunk person is going to do. It's not like they can handle the drink. So I can suffer not having alcohol available at all hours to ensure some normality returns.

I hope the police and public keep up this fight. It is worth winning to keep the irresponsible drunks from causing more problems.

 

[whatmeworry]

Anyone made any money from YouTube via posting there own AFF video from blog?
How much from how many views?

I think it is $2-3000 per million views, I think. Don't quote me.