Anthony Malloy

News from my home town :

Pubs angry at vomit tax
03jul02

PUB owners in the regional Victorian town of Shepparton are spewing over a local council’s decision to impose a so-called vandalism and vomit tax.

The City of Greater Shepparton has increased rates for licensed premises open between 3am and 6am, promising to use the extra revenue to clean up vandalism, litter, vomit, urine and other human waste left in the streets by weekend revellers.

The council expects the pub tax will generate an extra $20,000 in revenue next year, part of the cost of having a street sweeper patrol city streets on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The owner of one of the six Shepparton pubs and clubs that stand to be affected by the rate increase said the vandalism and vandal tax was unfairly targeting licensed premises.

“They’re accusing us of being responsible for litter, vandalism and human wastes such as vomit, urination and defecation,” Ray Sharawara, owner of the Shepparton’s Goulburn Valley Hotel, said.

Mr Sharawara said pubs and clubs were required, under the conditions of their liquor licences, to keep their premises and surrounding areas clean.

Not that Shepparton, population about 30,000, has a problem with vomit and vandalism, he said.

“Shepparton is just a normal provincial town, no different to any other town,” he said.

Mr Sharawara said licensed premises should not be slugged with an 11 per cent rate increase – which will cost his business about $3,000 this year – compared to the overall rate increase of five per cent.

But Shepparton’s deputy mayor Anne McCamish said the pubs and clubs had 18 months warning of the rate increase to cover the cost of cleaning up the after-effects of late-night partying.

“Obviously the problem is coming from the licensed establishments,” she said, of the mess found in the city on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

“It’s not the kind of stuff I’d want to walk in or smell or see,” she said.

“Shopkeepers clean it up at the moment and they complain bitterly to us.”

Cr McCamish said the council could not claim credit for the new tax, given its colourful name by a councillor at last night’s council meeting – the City of Greater Geelong also imposes such a tax on its licence premises.

Taken from www.news.com.au

Sitting here at my desk working away when the phone rings. Someone in Pathology needed to know the postal address for the pathology department at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Apparently being a web site designer qualifies me for this sort of task.

Just in case you may one day need the information you can find it at the following page : http://www.pennhealth.com/upmc/upmc_vi_files/mail.html.

My dad is 80. For the first time in all those 80 years he had his hair cut by a woman this week. All in all, he didn’t mind it a bit. Thinks he might go back.

Oh dear, bring the smelling salts. I need reviving. The bank gave me my $25 back.

It did come with a little slap on the wrist and whilst on hold I had to to listen to Celine Dion (I don’t really care it that’s not how it’s spelt) but I promised to be a good boy and not do it again.

We had ‘guests’ on the weekend. Rae and I love having company, sharing our house with family and friends – it’s one of the reasons we were so happy getting this new place as it has great areas for hosting people.

A girlfriend of Rae’s and her fianc? came to stay on Saturday morning. They left Sunday morning. It was the most stressful weekend we have had together and indirectly lead to a huge blow up on the Sunday night.

The key to being a good guest is kindness and consideration. These are things they need to learn :

Don’t threaten to kill, maim, hurt or strap to the fan your host’s much loved cat from the minute you walk in the door to the minute you leave.

Have more than one topic of conversation, especially if that topic of conversation is solely about how much you like shooting things

Wash you hands after going to the toilet.

At least offer to wash the dishes. (After washing your hands)

At least offer to help with meals, even if it’s just an offer to set the table. A good host will never let you anyway.

At least offer to contribute toward providing lunch, dinner or breakfast. Especially when without the host you are paying for a hotel room in a capital city.

Don’t ask the host to pay for lunch on his credit card ‘because you can claim it as a business expense’. (Hint – the tax laws changed almost 10 years ago so you can’t do this now) Don’t do this twice.

Don’t make veiled hints that you want to sleep in the host’s bed rather than the blow up mattress they purchased that day for you. If you don’t ask, you will probably get. Don’t do this three times.

Don’t insult the host because he has real coffee, not instant. Don’t do this twice.

Don’t take control of the host’s television and insist on watching rugby when (a) the host hates rugby and (b) they have a 6 year old who wants to watch cartoons.

Don’t watch wrestling. End of story.

Don’t drink all but one of your host’s beer while they are out and then not at least offer to replace it.

Don’t antagonise your host because your team happened to beat his in the football. Don’t keep this up until you leave and don’t ask the host’s daughter to put on your football beanie and then go and tease her dad. Learn sportsmanship.

Don’t pretend to know more about your host’s job than he does. Especially when you change jobs every second week and he has a skill.

Don’t try and create trouble with the host’s next door neighbour just because you happened to be told of one annoying incident with them.

Don’t pretend to know the best ice-cream shop in your host’s area when you’ve never been there before.

Don’t ask for the host’s washing machine.

Don’t pretend you know everything. The creator of the Simpsons did not create King of The Hill.

Don’t insult your host’s DVD collection.

And, finally, say thankyou when you leave.
Continue reading “The Guests That Ate Our Weekend”

Let’s see how good banks can be. (Stop laughing!) I made a mistake when internet banking recently and accidentally caused one of my accounts to be overdrawn. I fixed it up as soon as I realised the error and have emailed Westpac pointing out what a good customer I am and how I do all my business with them and how I have never done this before in the decade I’ve been with them and can I please have my $25 back.

I put my chances at zero but it’s worth a shot.

End of financial year so time to spend the little cash that I keep in my business account. Seeing as how most of my income over the past couple of months has gone to debt reduction I only had a little to spend so I picked up a nice big desk for my PC.

Up until half an hour ago my whole set up was balanced precariously on an old IKEA desk I bought in the early 90’s. It had a weird Swedish name that probably meant ‘cheap black wood’. Now I’ve graduated to the rolls royce of desks – a metre deep by almost two metres long. Scanner, printer, monitor, phone, speakers all fit across it with acres of room to spare. Combine it with an identical desk for paper work that I picked up a few months ago and I’m in desk heaven. The fact the government won’t be getting an extra hundred bucks from me makes me smile even more.