The Tissot Visodate

The latest incarnation of the Tissot heritage range is the Visodate based on the 1950s version of the timepiece. For my tastes, this is a pretty elegant timepiece that isn't over complicated or over-powering.

I received my father's old Omega Chronostop and had the movement replaced for him. He wouldn't accept it after I had the watch repaired so I decided on the next best option, I purchased him an old style timepiece that would suit him.

The Visodate with the silver dial is best suited to my tastes, the 40 mm diameter isn't too large for a dress watch, the 11.6 mm thickness allows the watch to slip under a shirt sleeve. I think the older style logo really adds substance to the dial with the silver dial well suited to the brown leather strap. 

The Visodate was based on an innovation connected to the date function of an automatic movement. The ETA 2836-2 automatic movement has a fairly standard power reserve of 38 hours. The sapphire crystal display caseback allows viewing of the automatic movement, naturally the domed dial crystal is sapphire.  

Generally speaking I don't like the date function on watches, on this occasion I really love the day function as it adds to the dial. The indexes add simplicity to the dial allowing for the day/date windows to not over-power the dial along with minimal writing on the dial where some watch manufacturers seem to overdo it. 

Are socialist policies failing?

What we are seeing is the rise of conservative politics worldwide from the Donald Trump phenomenon, Boris Johnston returned to power after another Brexit failure and Scott Morrisson coming from behind to win the apparently un-winable election.

So, where does this leave socialist parties and their policies? Whilst there are differing opinions in some countries, currently the major industrial nations are following capitalist ideology. This will eventually swing with a return to socialist policies at some stage, but we are unsure when this will occur.

In an American presidency, there are two four year fixed terms, a president cannot call an election whenever they see fit. Nor can a president extend into a third term, their administration may remain in government with the vice president running.

This was last seen by Republican president Ronald Reagan with two terms before Republican president George H.W. Bush administered a single term in office. George H.W. Bush was seen as a single term government; however, this was really a 12 year Republican government in office.

Whilst we are seeing a Trump impeachment, this appears to be a desperate move by the Democrats who believe they hold no hope in beating Trump outright. They believe an impeachment will leave a smear over the Trump presidency and deliver the Democrats power again after one term.

What I would expect to see is Trump re-frame this feeble attempt to smear him and use this to reinvigorate his campaign. The socialist policies of Bill Shorten, Jeremy Corbyn and whoever wins the Democratic nomination look to fail again.

Departing Tenke Fungurume Mining

Well, it was all over very quickly, after just 8 months it unraveled like a train wreck. To be honest, I was glad to be out as the new management was anything but professional.

This was not new to Africa, Chinese interests were purchasing existing mining operations propped up by government funding without having the knowledge and skills to manage these operations. I can comprehend their base strategy of backward integration but you need to have a plan after buying in.

They would terminate the existing management and workforce, spruik about their superior management skills whilst running the operation into the ground. They would then import low wage and low skilled workers in and totally bugger it up.

Even the managers were clueless, they had no idea apart from their own self-inflated ideals of superiority and would then blame every person and every failure on the mistakes of the former management. Cheap low-skilled workers generally exhibit minimal productivity, this was certainly the case at TFM.

At no stage did they ever take responsibility for their own actions, the blame culture inhibited any innovation whatsoever or free thought. But I'm ok, after the Chinese influx of workers, I was in no mood to stay, I had already begun to search for work and secured a position on an upcoming project - I just had to wait for the project kick-off later in the year.

The new management told premeditated lies and created distrust, teamwork and collaboration immediately evaporated - there was no incentive to perform. A culture of laziness abounded by a lack of leadership and accountability, the national workforce saw the lazy managers and staff immediately deciding to emulate their lack of effort and application.

Developing and sustaining a values driven culture was what made Tenke Fungurume Mining a valuable asset. The new Chinese management destroyed the corporate culture in a matter of months, terminated (without compensation) the contracts of the expats and begun demobilising efficient leaders and replacing them with low quality profit squanders.

Then they scratched their heads when productivity rapidly declined, costs soared despite undertaking an aggressive cost-cutting program and revenue and profits plummeted. How do I know all this? As the Maintenance Training Coordinator, I was developing the core competence of the maintenance workforce and I directly viewed the decline of machine availability.

But here is the best part, instead of searching for the brightest minds and most efficient workers they just imported more low-skilled workers from China displacing the highest performing national Congolese workers until the whole knowledge base was destroyed.

It is difficult to operate a mechanised mine when all the machines are broken down and inoperable and that is exactly what happened. This is interesting to watch unfold, as we all transition to new employment, we are in contact with the nationals who remained and they are pretty unhappy how the new culture of undermining and distrust has arisen.

The Casio F-91W

I had one, it was some time ago and if I recall correctly, it was purchased at a service station, probably on the way to the airport as I didn’t want to take my good watch on an underground project where I was contracted.

I never used to wear it on my wrist, I had broken the strap and carried it in my top pocket, the Casio F-91W is a simple digital watch with few features. This was a cheap plastic wristwatch that sold well allowing Casio to build a reputation for well priced technology.

Maybe not the precursor to the G-Shock, the F-91W is a low cost timepiece that allowed branding at the entry level. Now seen as a classic, many watch collectors are seen wearing the F-91W as an anti-snobbery accessory. I really can't believe these are collectible now.

Whilst I won't be following their lead with the P-91W, I do look for lower cost options to add to my collection. I do like the dual digital/analogue aerospace timepieces and may look there for inspiration or field watches.

Will Bernie be nominated this time around?

Will we see a second term Trump presidency in 2020? That remains to be answered until later in the year, but as he is travelling at the moment - you would expect so.

Joe Biden appears to be the front-runner for Democratic nomination, but I would love to see Bernie Sanders receive the nomination. I would love to say I was able to foresee the Donald Trump presidency emerge, but I just didn't honestly see how he could win.

When he was successful, I was interested to see how he would fare. I never believed any of the slogans such as "drain the swamp" although I did expect him to be unorthodox. I am not American so I can't vote in US elections, I do follow US policy insofar as as an investor, US policy and actions affect financial markets.

Bernie is an old socialist and I would love to see some of his policies enacted, this would shake the US up a whole lot. I thought it was a mistake to run with the Hillary Clinton nomination, Donald Trump certainly had a field day with her.

For me, Bernie is an interesting prospect, the US might adapt some more social policies as opposed to their current trajectory. The US has wild variations in equality and I would love to see the US adapt social policies and look after its vulnerable citizens.

I would love to see Bernie endorsed as the Democratic nominee, that would really shake the US up. Bernie is pretty old though, I think he missed his chance four years ago when Hillary was selected over Bernie. Elizabeth Warren might be popular but billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg could give Donald a real hard run.

I can't be fired

One of the advantages of being accused of reporting corruption in the public sector is I have a job for life. I can't be fired, you can't fire a whistleblower - it's that simple.

What they can and have done is scuttled my career at the college, I will now never be promoted at any point - there will always be a reason or excuse not to. But, I can roll with that and play the long game as this is all strategy now.

I can cause maximum disruption and they can't do anything as long as my claim has merit and is not seen purely as vexatious. This is a pretty simple transaction as ethics and integrity isn't standard practice at this organisation.

Instead, I maintain my employment at the college and take leave without pay as I wish to engage in consulting work. I win again - thank you idiots. I can now engage in high paid international consultancy work and return to paid employment at the college between projects.

If the college doesn't like it then we can always head off to the Industrial Magistrate's Court and let the Magistrate make a ruling. This would be a poor option for the college as I have hard copies of all claims and correspondence, so I am able to substantiate all claims with hard evidence.

Naturally, as I live close to The West Australian newspaper owned by Seven West Media, the operator of the Channel Seven television network, we can let this play out in the media if they want to play rough.

As I would require certain college representatives to give evidence under oath, this would not only derail their careers. At least one individual faces up to two years imprisonment under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2003 so they would be highly unlikely to expose him to that.

The end of the Congo for me

So maybe I was heading to Botswana, I liked my job in the Democratic Republic of Congo but that job is closing and this opportunity has come around so it is time to move on despite not wanting to leave.

However, that possibility is becoming more remote by the day, the human resources department is poorly run and not responding to phone calls or emails. I can tell this isn't a very organised company, they are unlikely to support me when problems arise and I am pretty sure they will.

It is not difficult to work out that a lack of management support will hinder staff development, an experienced worker can easily spot this before they even start. So now the Congo is finishing and Botswana is not going to be the contract I expecting to move to. Don't think it is going to happen so time to look for the next project.

Flexibility in managing your manager

I subscribe to the theory of managing up and down the employment spectrum. But what happens if you work in an environment where managerial arrogance abounds? What do you do with a manager who refuses to listen to the workers? 

The very people who perform the daily work know exactly how the job functions, they know how to improve the workplace and provide meaningful feedback on the task requirements. 

If you are inflicted with a megalomaniac manager intent in creating a divisive workplace who is only interested in riding roughshod over the workers, then a combative approach is required. 

A manager unwilling to undertake a consultative approach instead insisting on a command and control approach does not deserve the respect of workers. 

Instead, if a manager is only interested building their personal CV at the expense of good policy and workplace culture, then that manager needs to find out that organisational behaviour and culture can also make their life miserable actually harming their future prospects. 

They soon learn to fall into line and support the workplace increasing productivity and output. The trick is to make their life miserable, whilst they prefer to make team members feel the stress, they are the ones who need to feel the pressure of the job. 

United against corruption - corruption clues

These graphics are courtesy of the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) in Western Australia. My employer (forever to be anonymous) reposted on LinkedIn where I decided to both comment and download the graphics.

Questions need to be asked, does the workforce not declare corruption because they are unaware that it is going on or because they realise corruption is occurring and choose to do nothing? From an organisational level, the leadership then needs to analyse why wrongdoing isn't being reported.

There is protection for staff under the Public Sector Disclosure Act 2003, an Act is a law that has provisions to maintain the confidentially of the reporter. Part 3 [Protection] Section 13 deals with immunity incurs no disciplinary action (i) to be dismissed (ii) have services terminated (iii) breach of secrecy or confidentiality (iv).

This is where corruption begins - a lack of leadership. This may be due to weak management practices with Part 3 [Protection] Section 14 dealing with threats of detrimental action against the reporter.

A person must not take or threaten to take detrimental action against another because of a public interest disclosure with a penalty of $24,000 fine or imprisonment of 2 years (1).

Furthermore, (2) a person who attempts to commit an offence (a) or incites another person to commit an offence (b) also faces a $24,000 fine or imprisonment of 2 years. That's not a penalty to be taken lightly.

My original comment on the LinkedIn page addressed workplace culture "The culture of the organisation is determined by the worst behaviour the leadership is willing to accept. Supporting and protecting whistleblowers sends a clear message that corruption cannot be tolerated in state government organisations".

Further examining Part 3 [Protection] Section 15 deals with a person takes or threatens to take detrimental action commits an offence commits an act of victimisation that may be dealt with as a tort (1). That means proceedings against the perpetrator or employer may be taken in tort (2) with a tort being a civil wrong.

The act of victimisation may be dealt with the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 under Section 67 Victimisation and that is something an employer would be loathe to do especially if the media is present.

The costs to the organisation financially are an important consideration along with the reputational damage along with the destruction of senior management careers so they would be well advised to (apart from the obvious ethical reasons) do all they can to prevent corruption. 

Tax rates in Australia

Everyone complains they pay too much tax in Australia, there is also a cry that we are the most taxed nation in the world - that isn’t correct either. The net effects of tax by income tell us that the top 40% of salary earners in Australia pay all the tax to run the nation whilst 60% get given money by the government.

What we do see is the top 1% pay of salary earners pay 17% of the total tax in Australia, whilst the top 20% of salary and wage earners pay 60% of the total income tax burden. What we see in Australia is 46% of the population pay no tax after deductions and offsets.

That's pretty stiff but whilst many complain they pay too much tax, who really pays the greatest proportion of tax in Australia? Generally speaking, the more money you make the greater tax liability you are required to pay due to marginal tax rates so that is fair.

Due to rebates including the family rebates A and B, the vast majority of families in Australia pay no net tax. They have income tax deducted from their salaries at their marginal rate and then returned via family assistance programs, they get back the money they paid and then some.

Bank fraud - why is this so difficult to address?

Admittedly it wasn't a great deal of money, it was $649.47, but credit card fraud is fraud and it is my money. As the bank processed the transaction without my permission, so they have an obligation to follow up this fraudulent transaction.

I want to make a clear statement to the bank, this type of behaviour is unacceptable. This is not the first fraud transaction registered on my account and stalling tactics of you haven't provided the right form or signed the form is wearing thin.

As I have been into the branch on multiple occasions, I have absolutely followed bank processes and used bank staff to complete forms and provide the required signatures. They know me in the branch now, this fraud case first raised in late 2018 is still going in 2020 - amazing.

This excuse of being unable to locate my case is a pathetic excuse, all correspondence and documentation must be retained in the appropriate file. There needs to be a case officer and the matter should be escalated to appropriate supervisors and managers as required - lift your game.

QE on the agenda again

So as interest rates are lowered again by the Reserve Bank of Australia in a bid to stimulate the economy, we are still seeing economic activity stall. Whilst Australia has 28 an unbroken run of nearly three decades, this run of constant growth appears to be coming to an end.

As the interest rate on government secured bonds fall, a demand for bonds as an asset increases. By the Reserve Bank of Australia purchasing a high volume government bonds, the intention is to push down interest rates to such a low level that banks are better off lending money to businesses and households than holding cash.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is spending large quantities of newly printed cash to ease monetary policy. Government workers are not receiving pay rises, the private sector is not competing for talent with the public sector so the government is not under pressure to raise salaries and conditions to attract workers.

As an unintended consequence of the banking royal commission, tighter lending standards leading to higher levels of risk aversion made it increasingly difficult for lenders to take advantage of historically low interest rates to increase cash in the economy.

Low international interest rates are designed to increase the degree of investment and speculation in the economy by private enterprise leading to economic growth. This is not happening, once official interest rates hit 0.25% then the Reserve Bank of Australia will consider more unorthodox practices - that will be quantitative easing.

Generally speaking, an increase in money supply results in higher inflation. Yet, this has not occurred so one has to question why this has occurred. The US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have engaged in quantitative easing for what is regarded as successful outcomes.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has lowered interest rates to historically low levels and this has still failed to stimulate the economy. Economic growth has stalled, unemployment has increased to over 5% and wage growth is non-existent so I think we will be headed into QE mid to late 2020.

Opening Day at Royal Perth Yacht Club

Back for another season at the yacht club for the 2019/2020 sailing season, the Royal Perth Yacht Club opening day was a success.

This wasn't a long race, a shortened course was used as we had the opening day presentation and welcome to country, an aboriginal welcoming ceremony and a dignitary address the members.

This was a warm sunny day with a bit of breeze around to make it interesting but not a 25 knot strong wind warning. Generally, 16 to 18 knots is a decent amount of wind without getting overtaxing.

Then some drinks in the pen on the boat with the crew before heading upstairs to the clubhouse where the formal function begins. Sailing attire is not only accepted but is the norm, I sail in bare feet and no footwear is required at the bar - a great casual atmosphere.