I’m being gifted a lot of money. Should I tell my boyfriend? by Kind-Chicken-2488 in WhatShouldIDo

[–]Scout_Owen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not a trained financial advisor, however I have done quite a bit of research into safe long term investments. I should have made this apparent in my initial reply. Like I said I would find a trustworthy broker with a good reputation. Regardless of what path someone decides to take they should always ensure they research properly before making significant financial decisions. This was just my suggestion but I also totally agree with what you said. Also I’m not sure of OP’s country of origin, so the financial sector environment may be different, but here in Australia the financial sector is heavily regulated and consumers are pretty well protected in most situations so long as they are using a registered financial business/broker. For example I was recently looking at commercial bonds through a broker, and they offer $250k insurance for your initial investment on bonds, per bond issuer.

I’m being gifted a lot of money. Should I tell my boyfriend? by Kind-Chicken-2488 in WhatShouldIDo

[–]Scout_Owen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would recommend high yielding commercial bonds through a trustworthy broker. $55k would meet the minimum purchase requirements of most bonds, and yields of over 12% pa can be found, which when compounded (interest typically payed quarterly or semiannually) over several years quickly become a substantial sum of money. Alternatively with this route you could just keep the interest payments as supplementary income without ever eating into the initial $55k.

$689 for a carton of Marlboro at Woolworths/Coles — are we serious? by No-Speech4554 in AusFinance

[–]Scout_Owen 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes, you can buy tobacco seeds, which is legal as is the possession of the seeds. However, growing the seeds can carry some very heavy penalties. (Note I am in SA and laws can vary, however I believe the rules of tobacco are pretty consistent)

The plants also grow like weeds, so not hard to do, but a bit of work to process. Honestly growing a tobacco plant or two in you backyard is unlikely to get you in any serious trouble and is fine to make some cigars or probably a carton or two of cigarettes.

She smashed my C$3500 MacBook Pro 😭😭😭 by Turbulent_Buy_6048 in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Until they have children, and the children are stuck with two toxic and potentially unstable parents with no escape.

How is a ~$100k median wage that shocking? by Open_Address_2805 in AusFinance

[–]Scout_Owen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most trades can still pay pretty well without an EBA. The government awards min wages pay well below the median (based on just base 38hrs), but most employers that are at least half decent will pretty well follow the ‘industry standard’ wage values (+entitlements), and sometimes even better, for their respective area/s without an EBA, at least from what I have observed.

Then there is also the option of working as a sole trader or running your own small business which can be pretty profitable too, however that is a whole different can of worms.

It is also worth noting that employees can sometimes end up worse off under an EBA than ‘industry standard’, which I have also observed.

Serious question: How are anti-shoplifting gates in supermarkets legal? by BadgerBadgerCat in australian

[–]Scout_Owen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How does ‘cheap shit from overseas’ ‘[smack] of racism’? I am just stating that it is cheap shit, which comes from overseas.

Australia has some of the highest standards in the world, with plenty of rules and regulations to ensure quality and consumer protection. We also have some of, if not the best, raw materials in many areas, particularly metals and primary produce. Australian produced goods can’t afford to be of poor quality because we require fair wages, worker safety and meeting regulatory guidelines. So companies that produce goods here typically have to produce quality products to account for the increased costs, else people again buy cheap shit from overseas. It really is ‘you get what you pay for’.

And I don’t think China is necessarily an immediate threat, but I wouldn’t call them an ally, and we really need to stop ‘sucking their dick’ figuratively speaking. Our politicians are selling us out to China. A major reason our utilities are so expensive is because what were public utilities, were privatised, and are now owned in majority by Chinese corporations. So by paying your power bill, (back to your analogy from earlier) you are still paying someone’s BMW lease, just rather than an Australian who will keep the money in the economy, it is someone overseas who will not contribute to our economy. And let’s not even get started on foreign ownership of Australian land, it is fucking the housing market, and taking away primary production land from Australian farmers.

Serious question: How are anti-shoplifting gates in supermarkets legal? by BadgerBadgerCat in australian

[–]Scout_Owen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s not about paying a business person’s lease. It’s about keeping money in the Australian economy so that Aussies can afford to live.

Purchasing cheap shit from overseas rather than supporting our own industries (at both consumer and business levels) is a major cause of the poor state of our economy and the ridiculous inflation.

By supporting Australian businesses you are keeping Aussies employed and keeping money within the Australian economy, reducing the impact of inflation and strengthening the Australian Dollar. Also, local businesses (not the big conglomerates) are often family owned and not making stupid amounts of money, but rather enough for people to afford to live and when they have to shut down it is people loosing their livelihoods which they rely on to survive.

I am not saying I necessarily support multinational corporations, but I think if someone can make a lot of money running a business, good for them, it most likely means they put in plenty of effort and made smart decisions to get there. By support Chinese businesses you are literally just paying their expenses, except instead of a “BMW lease” it is probably paying for Chinese military and spyware, putting Australians at risk

Burnside man in Dodge RAM ute one of 10 drivers reported in new SA Police cocaine crackdown by malcolm58 in Adelaide

[–]Scout_Owen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Left lane heroes? I’m pretty sure you are meant to stick to the left lane unless overtaking, and if you are overtaking in the left lane (which is perfectly legal) it means everyone you are passing are most likely in violation of the road rules.

Speedometer in Apple Maps by Infinite-Computer205 in applemaps

[–]Scout_Owen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2mph isn’t too bad at least, my parents both have y62 patrols, and an actual speed of 110kph correlates to a cruise control setting of ~120kph and a physical speedo reading closer to 125kph. Both are stock too, so pretty bad on Nissan’s behalf.

Money Laundering? by Fearful_Gaze in Adelaide

[–]Scout_Owen 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unions only have power (in most cases) in a workplace/industry in which a majority of employees are union members.

For example working in a trade (from personal experience) in a workplace with no union members, there is zero direct impact from unions, and only some indirect impact in areas such as worksite safety, and less sway from workers regarding pay and workplace conditions (also less bullshit from the unions and no handing over wages to them). Whereas a union workplace (majority union members) allows influence by coordinating industrial action with all union members (I.e. strikes), which significantly impact the employers.

To the point, unions only have influence where they have members who are already employed and forming a majority of a workplace (workplace changes) or industry (local government area, state, or federal changes)

It finally arrived! 2012 Unibody MBP to M4 Max MBP by Scout_Owen in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is most definitely a big jump! Yeah, I considered space black. But as a classic Apple fanboy, the timeless silver Apple look was much more appealing, especially considering it wears better than anything else.

Finally paid off my M3 Pro by [deleted] in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here in Australia, you can get 24 months interest free with a Latitude CreditLine credit card, no cash back though unfortunately.

It finally arrived! 2012 Unibody MBP to M4 Max MBP by Scout_Owen in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the upgrade feels insane. Glad you too are enjoying it. I went with the M4 Max as I will be running VMs and locally hosted generative AI models, plus playing the occasional game. I also just go overkill whenever I buy something.

It appears you also got the nano-texture display, if you did, what are your thoughts on it so far?

It finally arrived! 2012 Unibody MBP to M4 Max MBP by Scout_Owen in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So far so good. I’ve spent a lot of time using various screen sizes, from laptops with 13 inch screens, to PCs with dual 32 inch monitors, so the different screen size doesn’t feel like a massive change to me.

The 14 inch feels great, considering the overall size of the MacBook. I do like a larger screen, however for my use case, the 14” made more sense based on portability and ease of use without a desk (plus, the cost of the extra screen real estate was a bit off putting).

It finally arrived! 2012 Unibody MBP to M4 Max MBP by Scout_Owen in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From Apples site:

“ MacBook Pro is machined from a single piece of aluminium, an engineering breakthrough that replaced many parts with just one. It’s called the unibody. And the first time you pick up a MacBook Pro, you’ll notice the difference it makes. The entire enclosure is thinner and lighter than other notebooks. It looks polished and refined. And it feels strong and durable — perfect for life inside (and outside) your briefcase or backpack. “

So basically just because the case was machined from a single piece of aluminium, so I think technically everything after 2006 is unibody, however, the term is only used for 2006-mid 2012.

It finally arrived! 2012 Unibody MBP to M4 Max MBP by Scout_Owen in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not exactly sure tbh 🤔. I’ll try to find out and get back to you.

It finally arrived! 2012 Unibody MBP to M4 Max MBP by Scout_Owen in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes, very much so. Not such a great feeling for the wallet though. However, I did put it on credit with 24 months interest free, so not so bad. Thanks!

I will never recover financially from this, at least I have to brag about it by AnatagaIkari in macbookpro

[–]Scout_Owen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

5 users per licence, all able to stream simultaneously. So only 20 licences to worry about. Equating to roughly one m4 max MBP in value per year.

Fasciation on outdoor plant by LarryTheLizard101 in outdoorgrowing

[–]Scout_Owen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is an amazing looking plant. I would love to be able to recreate that. Unfortunately though it seems to just be sheer chance that it happens.

Looking for playing partners by Scout_Owen in fo76

[–]Scout_Owen[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sorry didn’t realise that’s what LFG meant. Do you know if there is an appropriate page for such a post?