mike carey

Ok, so perhaps this is leaping too quickly to judgment, and rather too harsh, but ...

I needed to be able to use the haha emoji for this line and another for the whole post. 🤣

This is a great thread, and as one who came out very late, even to myself, there are things here that make me think. Being old, but young in gaydom, has its challenges and contradictions. I tended to embark on efforts to learn about this environment more by watching and reading than by seeking engagement with others, but for some things the latter was necessary, or at least would have been better. I didn't rush to make up for the missed opportunities of a gay younger life but rather to take up opportunities as they arose. When I did engage in a gay social group with a very mixed age profile, as expected there were others who could offer advice that was in effect mentoring after a fashion, many younger than me. On the other hand I had life experiences from years of engagement with work and the wider society that younger members of the group found useful. They knew I hadn't navigated that part of my life as a 'declared' gay man, but seemed to value what I had to say and were happy to discuss issues with me now that I was there as an 'older' gay man. I realise that the purpose of the thread is to ask people who have extensive lived experience as gay men to explore how they can pay that experience (or those resources) forward, but don't forget that there are young gay men who would be more comfortable discussing life matters that aren't particular to this community with an older gay man than with someone else.

I've hired him a couple of times as a top. Nice guy, nice muscles, knows what he's doing and good to chat with. He's not into kissing clients if that's important to you. I plan to see him again.

I would have thought it was about drag queens, whether one was tired of them, and people debating that proposition. I'm not entirely sure how 'getting tired of' could become the key to the thread rather than 'drag queens'. Perhaps I need to contemplate that further.

Indeed! Interesting that the RBA never did that here, the old paper currency is still legal tender but shops would likely refuse to take it (well, those that still accept any cash). We can take it to any bank. More than $10k would entail those awkward questions regardless of old or new notes. Fun fact: at the Sydney Olympics the Bulgarian team came with wads of $1 and $2 notes that had been out of circulation for over 10 years. They had come from their central bank's foreign currency holdings.

Moderator's Note Gentlemen, please consider any discussion of the role of religion in how people treat LGBTI family members as now being closed and confine your comments to what your experiences have been. You can say there was a religious basis but not analyse it. Posts not doing so will be removed.

Did you actually want tourist suggestions? Or hiring recommendations?

It's been moved to the Cumming Attractions forum.

Pepperoni or supreme?

This is it: (For some reason it shows up as being started on 1/1/70 - that's a system thing. @RadioRob?)

There have been threads in the past about cheap fares, and problems with the B787 and then the B737 MAX, but post-Covid new 'issues' are presenting themselves. And some things are staying the same. Over recent weeks the stories seem to be the same around the world: delays, bad service, airlines and airports seemingly forgetting how to operate their services, and baggage. Baggage! Bags not arriving en masse or individually, and taking days or weeks to be reunited with their owners (if ever). I've seen pictures of an auditorium sized area at LHR full of bags, and read that Qantas didn't load any baggage on one Darwin-LHR flight to take on extra fuel (thoughtfully not adding to the LHR bag mountain. Almost every airport seems to be understaffed resulting in interminable queues at check-in and security. I haven't flown for a couple of months so can't speak to it first hand. In the comments on an article about the issue on One Mile At A Time, one poster said (by way of contrast with the article) that his recent travels in SE Asia and Australia had been a breeze. You wouldn't know that from our news and social media. I'm plotting a trip later in the year and QF (my only useful pot of miles) has almost no rewards available, and those that are, only in economy. I thought 'typical bastards' but another OMAAT article said it's the same everywhere. Fares to the US are insane (for the most part) even though QF has a daily A380 to LAX and UA is adding services. Fares to Europe are the same or less than LAX. (I found a Lufthansa fare to Frankfurt for less than UA to LAX even though the LH trip was via LAX and on the same UA metal for the SYD-LAX sector.) Anyone else bemused by what they are seeing or frustrated with their own air travel experiences either in the air or in the attempts to book? Hearing the funny side of things would be good too!

(One of the most polarising issues in Australia is whether it is acceptable to have pineapple on pizza, with the 'No' case being the more vehemently advocated view. I apologise if this explanation was not necessary for a US audience.)

Welcome to the forum Sam, hope that you enjoy the fun here (just don't take everything too seriously). Love the set of photos you've posted in the gallery.

I think he may be here in spirit!

A little off topic, so sue me! A Canberran on their morning walk in one of the Canberra Nature Areas captured this image of a perfect winter morning for the solstice and shared it on Twitter. (The precise moment of the solstice is at 7.13pm today, 21 June.)

Forty percent of people who die of Covid being vaccinated is not the same as 40% of people who catch Covid dying. It's true that the common cold doesn't kill 40% of people who catch one, but 40% of people who catch Covid isn't the number dying either. There may be a comparison to be made between common cold and Covid case fatality rates but this isn't it.

Tourists gonna tourist!

At the risk of derailing a discussion that includes potentially useful advice like this, the thread asks for advice for newbies. Trying to pick high and low points in the market is something that professional investors often can't do. New players are often best advised not to attempt it. Plenty of the advice offered has been good, of course.

That's interesting, in Australia interest is only tax deductible if the money has been borrowed to use for an income producing purpose, the collateral is irrelevant. So in your example, it would be the fact that it was used for a new property that made it a tax deduction not how you got the loan. Having a contractor do work at your home and include it in a job at an investment property (or attributing any other personal expenses to it) would be 'do not pass go, do not collect $200' material in this country. If someone wants property investments, there are mutual funds and ETFs that cover that market, and they enable you to make smaller investments and to spread them. Critically, obtain independent financial advice and tax advice from licensed advisers.

This gladdened my heart when I read it on twitter this morning. Everything I needed to know in life was imparted through cartoons: especially carry an umbrella everywhere in case a mouse throws an anvil or grand piano on your head

ABC journalists are always calm and composed when reporting the news: https://twitter.com/mjrowland68/status/1536457934942932993?s=20&t=J2EythntyVoFzYpaqBjC9w

Guys, cool it. He obviously doesn't want to be talked about here constantly, and given the fire storm when he is, why would he? Why assume he has something to hide? How about we talk about whether he is good as an escort rather than play pointless whack-a-mole?