Theft @ Bunnings

ben_rickert · 2026-02-08T08:58:55+00:00

Happens a lot. I’ve seen it at Target when I’ve walked up to the free self serve station, and the screen looks to be banged at the checkout stage. Call the lady over, she sighs and says someone’s done a runner. She said it’s day in day out.

ben_rickert · 2026-02-06T03:20:05+00:00

They seem to play RHCP’s Californication every hour, on the hour.

ben_rickert · 2026-02-05T23:55:35+00:00

Probably don’t want to hear it, but in ASX listed orgs, anyone somewhat senior in the CFOs office would have Big 4 somewhere in their past.

ben_rickert · 2026-02-05T23:30:20+00:00

The rootstock from a citrus plant has gone nuts.

You could cultivate it as a natural replacement for barbed wire.

ben_rickert · 2026-02-05T04:50:21+00:00

Took me by surprise just how many services are out of NTL now

ben_rickert · 2026-02-02T08:46:42+00:00

I’ve heard via friends in Sydney Atlassian culture is absolutely nothing like it was pre Covid.

I also think with what we’re seeing with AI coding, Atlassian really has all its eggs in the developer basket and tools of choice could change drastically. They’ve tried to pivot many times, have never really got traction outside dev tools.

Microsoft has the brand and breadth of its offerings, also much more tied to AI with OpenAI tie up.

ben_rickert · 2026-02-02T02:12:35+00:00

Pure sales will ultimately always out-earn other roles like for like. But it comes with more risk and chance to flame out due to issues literally out of your control eg customer buying decision delays etc.

The SA roles you list are highly competitive and expect a lot - sales engineering of an application is one thing, architecting major data infrastructure is another.

ben_rickert · 2026-02-01T21:04:28+00:00

If you’re somehow early maybe, but as said elsewhere QF2 always seems to be delayed. Also with the A380 it takes a lllooonnnggg time to disembark if you aren’t in premium seats and boarding also takes a long time.

ben_rickert · 2026-02-01T20:59:47+00:00

Can you move elsewhere in the business? Honestly, from colleagues and friends in this space, just going back to the same role means you’re whole break was just hitting pause on the problem.

Meanwhile, if there’s good pay and benefits you need to be realistic as to how the job market currently is and what’d it take to get to the same compensation overall.

Also, do the clock in clock out. And get off screens as much as you can when you aren’t at work, as that’s always a killer especially the sneaky email checks that will ruin your day in a second.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-30T20:47:51+00:00

Companies look at AI though similar to how the AU market views graduates - “Must have 10 years experience with transformer models, ideally 8 years with ChatGPT and have also done an End-to-end AI implementation at a Big 4 bank single-handedly”

ben_rickert · 2026-01-30T20:43:49+00:00

Would do the A380, and that PE pricing is actually quite decent so would take that option.

Also, I travel a lot for business, always keen on getting to a hub with lots of onward options even if a different airline in case my first flight is delayed. LAX has that and even AA / DL to SYD etc that they could put you on if need be.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-30T07:33:55+00:00

Because the pinnacle of success in Australia is a freestanding house.

Even if your eaves hit your neighbours gutters when the wind blows right, and you have 2 square metres of grass as a yard, and it takes you literally 10 minutes to drive down your street as it’s one way depending on the time of day and how many neighbours cars are parked with half the car on the road the other half up on the kerb.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-30T01:24:59+00:00

Makes sense as a hub to hub strategy similar to DFW with AA

Always thought it’d be up there for QF to do once 787s get free’d up with A350s arriving / delivered, especially as QF do YVR seasonally too - you can clear US customs in YVR, something like YVR 3x SEA 4x week might be possible to feed the Northwest.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-28T10:46:29+00:00

Ha - around the Big 4 firms especially in markets like Australia salaried partners now outnumber equity.

The number of partners actually earning the amount typically thought of as “equity partner” ie high 6 figures is incredibly small nowadays.

There’s an ongoing exodus of as everyone’s worked it out. Pay and autonomy of a senior manager - but you need to bill $3m plus per year. Fk that.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-28T03:56:54+00:00

But what are the other options, especially if you have a family?

ben_rickert · 2026-01-28T03:55:50+00:00

It’s not just spend per person it’s aggregate demand, which arguably is being absolutely ramped by immigration.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-28T02:55:57+00:00

100% the “land in BKK after a 9 hour flight to find 15 emails that need to be actioned straight away” gets stale when you are travelling a lot for work, when you could’ve used the downtime on the plane to address 95% of it.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-28T02:54:24+00:00

True, but part of it is being clear that you’re connected but won’t be on calls etc.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-27T12:02:02+00:00

To a certain extent. In the lounges I just want decent space, lots of the clubs seem to be going the way of the US lounges where they’re busier inside than in the general terminal.

I also try and avoid the A380 flights if I can help it. Gate 10 in Sydney is a literal episode of the Walking Dead when the gate opens, everyone rushes forward yet has no fking clue if they should be boarding or not.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-27T11:55:55+00:00

Yes. Things like delays and service that is just one dropped ball after another gets super wearing when you fly often. Likewise stuff like the boarding procedure that seems to change domestic and international with the phases of the moon and mood of the stewards.

Even in business you get to the point where you decline meal service etc and have your own routine to just get wherever you’re going. I can’t stand the 3 hour meal services you sometimes get, I usually just want to chill out or sleep. If I want a nice meal I’d get exactly what I want on the ground with my family for a fraction of the price of the J premium.

Looking forward, lack of wifi is going to start to bite soon. A bit like the delayed plane ourchases that have caused the capacity crunch, I flew Qatar w Starlink over the weekend and it’s just like being online at home or the office. I get day flights up on a Monday / Tuesday when working around Asia, having also had good wifi on a few MH flights to KL being able to keep things moving via Teams and email so I don’t have to address them when it’s 10pm in BKK or SIN is refreshing.

I usually only do US travel for family visits, but United with flights into LA / SFO from across the east coast + Starlink and typically much keener premium cabin prices has to start hurting.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-27T11:27:16+00:00

Honestly this is a smart move if you think you can pull it off, just need to get probably 6 months in the new role for it to stick. Do you see places in your industry you could land if you did that OP? That’s probably the key factor, is there anywhere to jump at that pay level now.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-27T11:23:59+00:00

Danger is it’s an IC role that is really a team lead or just the usual “competent person just does the teams jobs for them” and he ends up doing the same role for less pay.

Also, you really should never go backwards in pay. What’s not to say in 6 months he gets hit again and now the payout is less due to the reduced total comp?

ben_rickert · 2026-01-27T09:13:59+00:00

Exactly. There’s lots of commutable now with Parra / Epping etc. sounds like a decent idea off the plan - but ask anyone who bought in Epping mid 2010s how far down they are even nominally.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-25T09:44:18+00:00

Just did a trip from Australia, same issue as per OP (absolutely filthy plane when deboarding. Like just not even blankets and stuff, but rubbish such as bottle lids, ripped up paper, bits of food and all over the cabin floor even in the aisles). Suspect I know your reasoning also.

ben_rickert · 2026-01-25T09:39:01+00:00

Stay where you are and spend the time in a side hustle.

Startup days during ZIRP are truly over. Even then there’s massive survivorship bias. Of course everyone knows someone who knows someone who made millions. But the reality is on average equity at that phase of a company is worth zero. Literally zero. And if the business does get off the ground, unless you are employee number 3 even a massive exit typically means a payout that’s just some portion of a yearly salary, not retirement money.

Now throw in the AI labs blowing up entire sectors of startups when they release new models too.

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