BrettGC

Where possible I book directly with the venue for the reasons the OP discussed. I often search for somewhere on the 3rd party site as when searching in Google and not many independent options appear. Once I know the place I want that I've found on the 3rd party site, then I search for it specifically. Mostly I end up with a better deal but there have been occasions where I've paid slightly more. Either way, I've cut out the unnecessary middle man which as Kev stated, always has extras added onto the price at the payment page. And yes, as JJ stated, rewards programs help a lot with the bigger chains, much like the airline cards do. Your mileage may vary.

Good news Jack!! My Aussie military pension is indexed against the CPI, sadly with no minimum. We're working on it though :) Funnily enough, once I reach 55 it will be indexed the same as the aged pension, which is a higher rate. By that reasoning, apparently as you age, your day to day costs will go up.

Marty got back to me pretty quickly, here's his reply: Marty and Mick are great guys, if you get in touch with Marty directly he'll be able to sort something out for you. PM me if you can't read his email address on the above picture.

The Blue Rock Resort in Burretto normally does something, both the owner and the manager are Aussie. I haven't been there on ANZAC day for about 5 years though so it may have passed into history when Marty took over as manager. I'll get in touch with him and ask.

Sorry to hear about this mate. Sounds a bit like my father's family. 12 brothers and sisters and it is messy most of the time and the rest it's just horrible. Myself and my siblings opted out years ago. My father is great, just the rest leave a lot to be desired.

It's more fun in The Philippines!! So it begs the question, why would anyone ever book Cebu Pacific again when you can't be sure if your flight is going to be cancelled or not? I'm fortunate in that I only ever travel to the major PI hubs and Dumaguete, so at least I have the PAL option (only marginally better with regards to reliability domestically). I feel for those that rely on CP in more remote locations.

Means nothing to me, I found Vegemite in Dumaguete. Life is good. Just as an aside, since I've been with the AM (angry midget), I've reacquired a taste for spam and Peck's paste!! Both things I haven't tasted since my Irish heritage Australian childhood. Has anyone else found foodstuffs that they grew up with, but because Allied forces have spent significant time in PI are still readily available? You Poms and Aussies of UK/Irish extraction would appreciate this: Under the AM's mother's kitchen sink, there's a massive bowel of dripping... Dripping on white bread with pepper on top... Oh the memories as an after school snack. When we were feeling really fancy, crumpets with butter under the grill with cheese on top. When we visited the mad Irish grandmother, that would be topped off with blood sausage. Sheet, now I'm craving an instant heart attack! Sorry Kev, just a moment of nostalgia.

Just to be clear, I know that anyone on this forum wouldn't buy an exotic pet of dubious origin of any type whether it be bird, ape, monkey, reptile, feline or whatever. If one of my previous posts implied you would, I apologise. I remember being in Singapore years ago, and walking into a store and seeing an absolutely beautiful elephant tusk ivory chess set for sale. The shop attendant could see it caught my eye and started the hard sell at about 4kUSD. I have no doubt I could've haggled him lower and it was tough to say no, but I did, I think most of you know why. I see illegally obtained exotic pets in the same vein: It's not about conservation or preservation for the owners, it's about ego. If you want to own an exotic bird it's no different but they're one of the few genus' where legally traced origins are readily available, so do your due diligence and all is good. Sorry for hijacking your thread with that Kev, but given the topic of conversation I feel it is appropriate for me to step in and say what I have.

Given that they're endangered in PNG, I'd say they're rare to buy even from legal breeding stock in what ever country they are available. Like most exotic illegal parrot exports are an a major issue in their countries of origin.

Some Google foo reveals it's a black capped lory - a native of Papua New Guinea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_lory

I had cockatiels for years, a breeding pair, even here in Australia where they're native and readily available I used to make some good money off them. Highly intelligent and actually very affectionate if you take the time. Mine had the run of the house for a couple of hours each day and for some reason they only ever used to poop in their cage - Literally "shitting in your own nest" . If I was just chilling at the computer or watching TV they always wanted to be close or sitting on some part of my body. I miss 'em. Unfortunately the next door neighbour's kid got hold of one and was a little too affectionate and the male was killed. The female only lasted about 3 months after that, moped around and then one day I woke up and she was dead in the bottom of their cage

Some of the craft beer wankers are getting away with blue murder with their pricing. To add insult to injury it's not the standard 375ml bottles either, but mostly the 330ml version. The downsizing thing has been going on in Australia ever since we started importing beer in mass quantities, which , with the exception of a rare few use the downsized bottles, and our local breweries (not craft) are starting follow suit. More importantly Jack, how much is a beer at "they of the Long Chins" now?

There's a reason I call her the Angry Midget or Short Angry One.

Down here in Australia on both PC and Android, messenger however is working on mobile.

I just woke up and SAO has sent me no less than 15 messages about FB being down...