After a trip down to Margaret River, we stopped at Fermoy Estate winery on our way through. This was the last stop on the way home before the two and a half hour drive, I had to be careful that my alcohol intake was minimal. I tried a couple of wines I don’t usually purchase, the 2017 Reserve shiraz is an outstanding example of Margaret River winemaking prowess. My choice was careful, so I decided on their Reserve shiraz as I wanted a premium drink and I wasn’t disappointed. 

I normally drink their cabernet sauvignon or their Chardonnay so this was an excellent opportunity to see what else they have on offer. I am glad I did the tasting, this was an opportunity to try something new. Ok, so what is special about the shiraz? Well, 100% shiraz with 18 months in mixed new and old French oak barriques and puncheons. Pretty bold with 14.5% alcohol, it can be cellared to 2030, not going to happen for me.

I am watching the Hamas hostage release unfold on my television screen, news bulletins and social media accounts. The enormity of the hostage release has not dawned on some, this is a significant moment in the Palestinian conflict. The Hamas media wing thought they could bring anti-sematic to western countries and whilst some bought this propaganda, most saw a bunch of terrorists losing another battle. If Hamas was serious they would have released the hostages earlier, the longer they fought, the greater the Gaza destruction.

naturally Hamas has turned this into a media spectacle, only four hostages released at a time under ģreat fanfare. Hamas is trying to tell the world they are strong and undefeated, there are masked Hamas fighters swarming around with little to no discipline. Israel also took on Hezbollah to the north and neutralised that threat and sent a pretty clear message to Iran when they started firing missiles towards Israel.

Gaza is in ruins, Gaza is now rubble so there is little for Palestinians to be joyful about, if they think they can sell this as a win then they may be believing their own propaganda. The people are returning to find their homes destroyed, if they think Hamas is the answer then they are sadly mistaken. Iranian funds were used to build tunnels to fight Israel, not build a better Gaza, Palestinians allowed this mob to lead them and they are now seeing the results of their poor decisions.

Vintage timepieces are staging somewhat of a renaissance in the horological community. Omega is an excellent manufacturer of quality timepieces and I constantly desired their products. As Omega has been around for so long, they have a multitude of watches for sale on online sites so there is plenty of choices for collectors.

The Seamaster Diver 300 is a wristwatch I craved, along with the Speedmaster and the Planet Ocean. I haven’t actually worked out the point when Omega timepieces became such an obsession for me, but I knew I wanted a current model to enhance my collection. My old man had an Omega Chronostop as his starting countdown timer when he was competitively racing yachts, after some research, I believe his watch is 1967 vintage. I sailed with him in the early 1980s and I recall him using the watch to set his start sequence.

Due to my age and inexperience, we were well off the pace back then so precision timing wasn’t really required. This is now my first vintage Omega timepiece and I am an interested in expanding my vintage collection. Further strengthening my exposure to Omega, a good friend purchased a secondhand Omega Seamaster more than twenty years ago. This watch still serves him well, so I guess I have had plenty of interaction with Omega products from an early age.

What I do know now is Omega is a premium product, this is a luxury brand and is now priced accordingly. I am seeing with watch dealers and online trading forums that vintage Omega timepieces are fetching very good prices. Omega’s range is fairly extensive with 60 years of the Speedmaster in its current forms; yet you are still able to purchase a hand-wound timepiece that was official NASA issue to astronauts in the space program used in lunar exploration.

Likewise, the Seamaster was first released back in 1948 when scuba diving was back in its infancy. The Seamaster has some serious history behind the line with many options to choose from. With recent editions of the Planet Ocean, Aqua Terra, Diver 300 and Seamaster 300, the range has expanded greatly yet is still true to its heritage. A Seamaster of 1960s vintage may not make a great dive watch anymore due to the risks of flooding a fifty to sixty year old timepiece, but this makes a great collector’s item.

The Railmaster has been re-released with a three box set containing a Seamaster, Speedmaster and Railmaster limited edition timepiece. Whilst I won’t be racing out and remortgaging my house to purchase this collection, this will definitely raise the values of vintage Railmaster timepieces still held by individuals. To pick up a vintage Railmaster would be a pretty special find, they are out there, I just need to search.

Just like my old man’s Chronostop; he was still wearing the watch as a daily timepiece until he damaged the movement by flooding the case and throwing the now lifeless watch into a box on his dresser until I resurrected this fifty year old hand-wound mechanical watch. The vintage Omega market is generating more interest and prices are holding up well which is unfortunate as I would like to pick them up cheaply.

I have an interest in business schools. I have started looking at the top business schools in the United States and Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. What I know about a number of the top business schools in the United States is they specialise in specific areas. The Wharton School of Business specialises in marketing, so for those seeking a marketing major, Wharton could be the school for them.

Some of the famous alumni from Wharton Business School include President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. Ok, so two of those guys I respect and two I do not. Interestingly, both Buffett and Lynch are finance guys so their finance credentials are pretty good. I would tend to think Donald Trump has embellished his credentials somewhat, he would have been less than transparent about his grades but ultimately, he was there to learn how to run the family business.

Wharton Publishing offers some pretty decent reference books, I would be interested to know if these books are used as reference materials for class. I have flicked through these books at bookshops, the quality is good, I can see why they are on sale. I would be interested to know how many universities worldwide use these published books as learning tools. Does Wharton Publishing also provide the text and reference books for students or is this just a commercial venture, regardless, they have some pretty decent reference books that they publish.

Trips to not only my local shopping centre but airport lounges, international malls and shopping precincts draws my attention to the Pandora retail outlet. During international trips, I see Pandora retail outlets at all the major shopping malls, they are a pretty big deal, coverage in over 100 countries and over 7800 retail outlets.

When I wander past, I notice there is always customers browsing through not only store windows and display cases but also trying on jewellry and other items. This leads me to ponder, how successful is this retail business with their extensive coverage? In terms of international coverage, one would think the Pandora brand is very strong and successful. Yet when I read financial articles, I learn the Pandora brand is in financial difficulty with deep discounting of inventory and hence reduced margins.

Upon my limited entry into Pandora stores, I have found that the staff were friendly and quick to assist. Their merchandise is of a reasonable quality in terms of materials and workmanship. What you are paying for is their designs and creativity, I’m fine with that as that is what distinguishes a brand in a competitive marketplace. Intellectual property is a huge value proposition for a business and warrants strong defensive tactics and legal protection.

As a former business student, I have an interest in their branding, their supply chain, their distribution channels, their market positioning and their strategic direction. The leadership and executive team, whilst important are not as valued as our business text would have us believe. For me, their designs, quality and distribution channels are the determining success factors for a brand such as Pandora. The brand is well supported with a reasonable degree of consumer acceptance and customer loyalty, one expects the Pandora brand to consolidate in the short term.

We are now early in 2025 and my intention in 2024 was to dismantle the protection racket that was being run to benefit a few. I had to be aggressive in my stance; however, the abuses that were allowed to manifest under the leadership vacuum were a disgrace that must be eradicated to prevent further abuses, this still was not going to be easy.

I will endeavour to dismantle the structure that allowed the crony club to prosper; this, I believe offers the best opportunity to eradicate the patronage that afflicts us. The three stooges have abused the privileges they were gifted, they took it way too far, now they have been exposed. So, how do I go about it? I have spent 2023 collecting evidence and documenting safety compliance including the psychosocial factors incorporated in the Act, the investigation from an external contractor that was ordered after an internal complaint rocked the establishment.

So, where to from here? Well, first, the conditions that allowed the abuses to occur need to be scrutinised, these individuals like to operate under established practices, there has been misappropriation of government funds, there has been misuse of resources, there has been breaches of every clause of the Code of Conduct with the exception of the outside employment clause.

Let’s not even review the values statement of the organisation, the integrity of the organisation has been compromised. The question is why has the leadership been so lacking? Why have these certain individuals been emboldened to act in such a manner that discredits the whole organisation? Where is the accountability?

The mission statement should offer a clue, yet the vision, mission and values statement of the organisation whilst found on the intranet are largely discounted. Where is the accountability? The Code of Conduct is pretty clear, do not engage in bullying, but bugger that, people who are accused of bullying are offered promotions. The message is clear, engage in misconduct to further your career.

So, what happens next? The organisation has been investigated by an external provider, this is not the first time this has occurred. So, we need to start asking questions of upper management. Where is the oversight? The upper management needs to answer serious questions regarding their conduct, when accountability and conduct is scrutinised, they cannot continue to their behind their positions. They need to answer questions regarding their management and as this escalation will get them running for cover.

I was somewhat surprised when captured Australian citizen Oscar Jenkins was broadcast by Russian military sources. The Australian government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [DFAT] made a statement when Jenkins’ capture was broadcast in November. DFAT demanded Jenkins was not abused and held within the provisions of prisoners of war. They know they are dealing with Russians here so grave concerns were expressed by DFAT.

Video emerged where Russian soldiers were interrogating and abusing Jenkins, I was immediately surprised Russian sources would allow the release of such footage. Then I thought more about it, the Russian military has been well documented committing war crimes and they feel they will not be held to justice. Oscar Jenkins was captured in Ukraine’s eastern areas, whilst the exact area has not been reported, it was the Donbas area.

I would think it more than likely that the reports where Oscar Jenkins was executed not long after the video footage was released is accurate. Whilst DFAT demanded Jenkins be treated as a prisoner of war in conjunction with international requirements, we all know the Russians are undisciplined and poorly trained. The Russian soldiers that are well known to be poorly led may have tortured and executed Jenkins as they were required to flee the area and retreat. Likewise, Russian soldiers may have wanted to make an example of Oscar Jenkins and executed him as a deterrent to other potential soldiers.

I am sitting on my lounge chair at home watching the southern California wildfires unfold on my television screen and it is almost beyond belief. We already know about the Santa Ana winds, these offshore winds blow strongly during winter. These dry winds from the inland US lack moisture, they dry out the plants and you have the conditions for a really nasty fire. Coupled with drought, this is almost a disaster waiting to happen although I read there was actually enough water, the issues are the distribution system it seems.  

The drama unfolding on television screens could be written into a soap opera, it has it all. There are dry fire hydrants, fire hydrants that lack water pressure, a fire budget stripped by $17 million, politicians infighting, even President elect Donald Trump is bashing Californian politicians including Governor Gavin Newsome calling him incompetent. Now the Governor is concerned Trump is not going to withhold federal disaster relief funds – I hope he is wrong. I read the fire department is under funded, not enough firefighters, not enough equipment and not enough fire stations, this severely damages both capability and morale. 

I am amazed and shocked at the complete devastation caused by these wildfires, whole neighbourhoods are wiped out. So what we have learned is that there have been water issues in southern California, whilst I really do not know the history behind the water shortages. However, southern California is similar to south west Australia in many respects, our rainfall has declined so we have desalination plants to supply water for the city and region. Unlike Perth, the water comes from outside Los Angeles, this has to be pumped in from way out of the city, any issues with the pumping infrastructure and I see why they are having water pressure issues.

I think back to personal experiences in my workplace, there have been some real interesting situations stemming from some of the jobs I worked. Whilst workplace bullying if rife in my workplace, I prefer the term harassment, this is allowed and even promoted by the management and their merry band of lackies who are happy to implement this style of management.

We have all worked with some interesting people, on the other hand, working in the government has exposed me to some of the dullest people I have ever met. I can’t remember the reason why I moved from the private sector to the government, it has advantages though. I gained experience in the training sector, that has been a positive and I also earned formal tertiary qualifications in training, business and management. I managed the compliance of the strategic portfolio and although our management did all they could to undermine me, I will always possess the knowledge I gained.

What I really learned in the government is the difference between strategy and tactics, how to negotiate from a position of weakness. I have learned research skills, the ability to thoroughly prepare for a meeting, documenting these meetings and events and how to influence the team to resist poor management decisions. I have never been in the army but I have read about ambush and counter-ambush tactics, you need to know how to apply this knowledge in a business setting. I have been involved in change management initiatives in the private sector from strategy formulation, planning and implementation.

I am a big believer in reviewing decisions and seeking improvements. This is very hard to do in such a spiteful working environment, but that is what you sign up for in the government. The government is all about stealing ideas, claiming the work of your peers as your own and basically undermining people. You would think this would be an easy turn-around for a seasoned manager, but the back-stabbing is phenomenal, the unwillingness to perform at anything above minimum level is engrained and the management are not up for the challenge.

I was watching a video online where the presenter Tae Kim used the term Quiet Millionaires, a bit of a derivative of The Millionaire Next Door terminology where high net worth individuals wish to remain reasonably anonymous. Generally self-made individuals tend to be pretty reclusive about money and showing off wealth. I have a large amount of respect for these quiet high net worth individuals, they are typically self-made and quiet achievers.

I picked up another term from the video, that is wealth is quiet, rich is loud, poor is flashy and I have to agree. High net worth individuals, especially self-made individuals tend to be discrete and are generally not flashy in appearance. Sure they purchase quality made garments, that does not necessarily mean designer garb, just quality that does not follow the latest fashion. Style never goes out of fashion, they tend to have the confidence to remain an individual.

What I see with self-made individuals is a quiet confidence excluded, they are not loud and brash and I have picked upon another aphorism , that is insecurity tells, confidence shows. I do like the quietly confident individuals I meet, I am not a fan of the fake it until you make it ideals. Instead, just be honest, spend your time working on yourself, some self improvement always pays off and the people around you are enhanced as well. Tae Kim has some reasonable material on YouTube so I decided to take a look at what else he had to offer, he has some interesting points of view and I will check his material out some more.