Inspired after reading Elsewhere‘s frequent cycling posts, and Jennifer (ponderosa’s) memories of mountain biking, I went mountain biking for the second time in my life on Tuesday, the south of New Zealand. I’m mostly over the bruised shins, and aching muscles in most parts of my body, so I can sayContinue Reading
I walked past an ad trying to find blood donors today. As a frustrated blood donor, it annoyed me. I used to be a vaguely regular blood donor. From the time that I turned 18 (and became eligible) to around 28, I would have given blood maybe once or twiceContinue Reading
After my previous post, and a few comments there, here’s some more detail on why I don’t think proper risk rated health insurance works particularly effectively for most people. (by the way, the US market, from what I understand, doesn’t have individual health insurance rating to any large extent; youContinue Reading
I went to Sculpture by the Sea on the weekend, and was pondering, as I walked past the Bondi Pavilion that some space that was once “public” (concrete in front of the Bondi Pavilion) was now “private” at least by some definitions – it’s a cafe. My local area hasContinue Reading
I’ve been pondering a mammoth post on health care for a while. I’m not sure if I’ve got it in me tonight. Or ever. So here’s a few thoughts. Mainly from my angle as an actuary who manages insurance companies for a living. Most places that try to privatize healthContinue Reading
I was watching TV tonight (commercial station – Channel 10 if you’re interested). They cut to a news break. The top stories were: Interest rates rise (0.5% increase in the Australian cash rate) The latest NSW parliamentary scandal (minister arrested for alleged teen sex) Britney Spears files for divorce Some storyContinue Reading
There’s a Heckler in the SMH today about how boring the Melbourne Cup is. Even though I have zero interest in the race, I find it quite a fun work interruption. One Tuesday in November, we all down tools, wander into the tearoom to watch TV for about 15 minutes,Continue Reading
It’s Jacaranda time in Sydney again, and I really need to take my camera out and record what is one of the most beautiful things about living in Sydney. Morgspace has done it for me: I found this post from Morgspace showing a beautiful carpet of Jacarandas (pictured above) – which isContinue Reading
A few weeks ago, APRA released a new draft set of Prudential Standards for Life Insurance. They’re generally following the standards that were released for general insurers late last year. Basically, they require a life insurance company to have a risk management framework in place, which the guidance notes giveContinue Reading
Mr Penguin and I were discussing global warming last night. Specifically, what should we do right now if we believed that all the worst case stuff was really true? Let’s posit a scenario. In 20 years time, the climate of Australia has changed irrecovably, so that our current drought isContinue Reading