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Thread: Lockdown - how to stay sane?

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blurock View Post
    Caring is a thankless job, but fortunately for her, the exchange rate makes it more worthwile.
    My wife is really good at it and loves doing it. One of her patients (a guy with cerebral palsy) sent my daughters and I a long Whatsapp message about how great she is and how he appreciates having her around. Her clients rave about her. She says that she gets paid to be on holiday, watch TV, knit and talk nonsense with lonely people. She is fully booked for the next two years and the patients seem to fight over getting a booking with her. Her plan is to get citizenship using her ancestral visa. Doing so will create a base for us in the UK. My daughters and I will probably move there some time in the future. I have a client in the UK that owns an engineering company and my skillset is more than perfect for his needs...maybe one day when my daughters are done with their studies in South Africa..... (I don't like the UK as such but I am keen to travel all over Europe)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    I am stoked for you. I'm not too badly placed myself.
    Unfortunately the majority are not nearly as well positioned, or entrepreneurial, or appropriately skilled...

    And they have to eat.
    They need shelter.
    And idle hands... get up to mischief.

    Between need and boredom, fundamental disciplines that make normal society function are very likely to break down.
    The "have nots" are going to interfere with that neatly crafted life of the "haves", if the "haves" don't start laying plans to help.
    I agree with you on all counts. Another thing to consider is that this is now a worldwide problem. Moving to another country is not a solution - the solution for the individual lies in positioning oneself to quietly thrive without drawing attention to oneself.

  3. #13
    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    We are going to need programs to get people active...

    In a bigger picture sense, I have been doing some pondering on how well Capitalism is going to deal with this.
    Which leads to some Capitalism vs Socialism thinking...
    I have also started to think about capitalism in its current form and have realised that it is not capitalism that is the problem, it is greed and self-centredness. Capitalism has lifted whole nations out of poverty while communism has only created poverty and despair. Unfortunately, greed has led to globalisation which has made the world smaller and created opportunities for international groups to manipulate smaller economies. Consider the size of Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alibaba etc. viz most 3rd world countries. Their individual T/o is more than the combined GDP of most African countries. Would they then not have an influence on the governments of those countries where they are operating?

    Globalisation has also opened the doors to international money laundering and trading in currencies which can be manipulated in various ways. If you want to buy commodities from a country, would it not benefit you if a currency deteriorated in your favour? Basically, capitalism has been hijacked by corrupt crooks as we have seen in our own country.

    Is this pandemic the end of globalisation? Unrestricted movement has led to the spreading of viruses and contamination as never seen before. More people are now realising the value of local manufacturing and protection of your own IP. I am of the opinion that it will take a long time for international trade and travel to stabilize if ever. There may then be more opportunities for local manufacturing and support for local businesses. That is if we do not fall into total anarchy before a recovery can be made.
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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blurock View Post
    I have also started to think about capitalism in its current form and have realised that it is not capitalism that is the problem, it is greed and self-centredness. Capitalism has lifted whole nations out of poverty while communism has only created poverty and despair.
    Which is why I raise Socialism as the counterpoint (rather than Communism). My basic thinking is Capitalism is the wealth and production engine, and Socialism is what moderates Capitalism's societal weaknesses. Something akin to what we see in the Scandinavian countries at the moment, perhaps.

    Quote Originally Posted by Blurock View Post
    Is this pandemic the end of globalisation? Unrestricted movement has led to the spreading of viruses and contamination as never seen before. More people are now realising the value of local manufacturing and protection of your own IP. I am of the opinion that it will take a long time for international trade and travel to stabilize if ever. There may then be more opportunities for local manufacturing and support for local businesses. That is if we do not fall into total anarchy before a recovery can be made.
    This has certainly highlighted the supply chain risks associated with globalisation, particularly when a region or country dominates a part of the supply chain.

    Classic example at the moment. We can get locally made bottles for hand sanitizer, but the spray nozzle tops and pump tops are imported... and the import supply chain is totally wrecked right now.

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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    Which is why I raise Socialism as the counterpoint (rather than Communism). My basic thinking is Capitalism is the wealth and production engine, and Socialism is what moderates Capitalism's societal weaknesses. Something akin to what we see in the Scandinavian countries at the moment, perhaps.
    I agree with you, Dave. It appears as if the Scandinavian countries have the perfect recipe, unfortunately, that will only work in a first world country where people are educated and civilized. I am afraid in 3rd world countries where health services are being attacked while attending to an emergency, relief food trucks burnt (now, in Zimbabwe), schools burnt down and looted, it is not going to work. In these countries you need a responsible dictator (is that even possible?) to lay down the law and rule with an iron fist.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    Which is why I raise Socialism as the counterpoint (rather than Communism). My basic thinking is Capitalism is the wealth and production engine, and Socialism is what moderates Capitalism's societal weaknesses. Something akin to what we see in the Scandinavian countries at the moment, perhaps.


    This has certainly highlighted the supply chain risks associated with globalisation, particularly when a region or country dominates a part of the supply chain.

    Classic example at the moment. We can get locally made bottles for hand sanitizer, but the spray nozzle tops and pump tops are imported... and the import supply chain is totally wrecked right now.
    If you need spray nozzles made in SA ...one of my customers have turned his business from what he use to do to all things medical at the moment ...they make any tool required for production and then mass produce ...so if there is a need for a lot of them ...send me a pm and i will forward you his contact details... if they can fit them in ...they went from lockdown all at home to full production of essential items.

    **edit ...apprently it is not a simple process making spray nozzles... there would need to be a huge demand (at least a million) for them to make all the tools and manufacture them.

    Thanks to China's lack of supply they have opened up the market for local manufacturing.

    It is a pity this didnt happen a little earlier.

    Rainbow chicken farms have been stripped to the ground already ...nothing stops us from rebuilding them... we just need people to look past this "holiday" everyone seems to be on... China is on a roll already ...apparently offering relief packages to African countries in return for fishing rights and land to build fish farms.... it makes we wonder what we had to exchange for 30 000 masks donated by China to SA?
    Last edited by ians; 17-Apr-20 at 01:06 PM.
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    Ok so it looks like the soft lockdown once this lockdown is over (it sounds like it could be extended another 3 weeks... some people are gona go back to work but others will be required to stay at home) there are gona be lots of rules ...one of them being that everyone is gona be required to wear a face mask and replaced only a daily basis ...which means there is gona be a flippen huge market for masks.

    Anyone here supply approved masks in bulk and a reasonable price?

    Why not start mass producing mask ...i have a massive workshop... i would just need them to be approved.
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ians View Post
    Ok so it looks like the soft lockdown once this lockdown is over (it sounds like it could be extended another 3 weeks... some people are gona go back to work but others will be required to stay at home) there are gona be lots of rules ...one of them being that everyone is gona be required to wear a face mask and replaced only a daily basis ...which means there is gona be a flippen huge market for masks.

    Anyone here supply approved masks in bulk and a reasonable price?

    Why not start mass producing mask ...i have a massive workshop... i would just need them to be approved.
    Every man and his dog are making masks. I have 3 friends doing it - One in Cape Town, one in Pretoria and one in Kempton Park. The 3D printing, laser cutting and epoxy casting crowd are going at it full bore too. The money seems to be cut-throat with people trying to f...k one another over for price. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. (lots of work for crap money)

  9. #19
    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by adrianh View Post
    Every man and his dog are making masks. I have 3 friends doing it - One in Cape Town, one in Pretoria and one in Kempton Park. The 3D printing, laser cutting and epoxy casting crowd are going at it full bore too. The money seems to be cut-throat with people trying to f...k one another over for price. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. (lots of work for crap money)
    I've had to advise a client on a proposal to sell 51% of his business to a person(s) with connections, who was "awarded"??! a contract by Govt to make re-usable plastic face masks. They would pay Almost R15 mil for a 51% share BUT no cash would be injected. They proposed an assets-for-share transaction i.t.o Sec 42 which would leave my client with a loan account of R15 mil but no cash injection. The "buyer" would then assist the business in obtaining finance from banks etc. to pay for tooling and raw materials.

    This would enable the "buyer" to also share in the existing lucrative contracts of the business. The risk was further exacerbated in the price of the masks which was loaded by an additional 20% for the "guys at the top". What if the masks were not approved and could not be sold? Would the manufacturing of masks be sustainable after Covid 19?

    You can only guess what my reply was.
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  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blurock View Post
    I've had to advise a client on a proposal to sell 51% of his business to a person(s) with connections, who was "awarded"??! a contract by Govt to make re-usable plastic face masks. They would pay Almost R15 mil for a 51% share BUT no cash would be injected. They proposed an assets-for-share transaction i.t.o Sec 42 which would leave my client with a loan account of R15 mil but no cash injection. The "buyer" would then assist the business in obtaining finance from banks etc. to pay for tooling and raw materials.

    This would enable the "buyer" to also share in the existing lucrative contracts of the business. The risk was further exacerbated in the price of the masks which was loaded by an additional 20% for the "guys at the top". What if the masks were not approved and could not be sold? Would the manufacturing of masks be sustainable after Covid 19?

    You can only guess what my reply was.
    The band wagon has left the station long ago on the mask business. People are making a bit of money now due to the shortage but as soon as companies like 3M catch up all the little mushroom businesses the grew out of the $h1tPile are going to hit the wall.

    I wouldn't touch a government contract with a barge pole either - getting money out of them is near impossible and besides, they tender every year and go for the lowest price (no matter the terrible quality of the product)

    People who invest lots of resources in this sort of nonsense don't understand basic stats nor roulette - you may profit a bit in the short term but the big players that have been in the game for a long time (aka the house that has a vested interest) will crush you like a bug if you hang around too long - get in quick, make some cash and get out of Dodge before they spot you!!!!!!

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