Hospital Humour A sweet grandmother telephoned Mount Sinai Hospital. She timidly asked, "Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?"
The operator said, "I'll be glad to help, Dear. What's the name and room number?"
The grandmother in her weak tremulous voice said, "Holly Finkel, room 302.
The Operator replied, "Let me check. Oh, good news. Her record says that Holly is doing very well. Her blood pressure is fine; her blood work just came back as normal and her physician, Dr. Cohen, has scheduled her to be discharged Tuesday."
The Grandmother said, "Thank you. That's wonderful! I was so worried! God bless you for the good news."
The operator replied, "You're more than welcome. Is Holly your daughter?"
The Grandmother said, "No, I'm Holly Finkel in 302. No one tells me squat."
1. Home building boosts construction index  Continued growth in the number of residential building projects through August lifted the overall pace of decline in the construction industry, Australian Industry Group (AIG) reported this week.
The seasonally adjusted AIG/Housing Industry Association Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) rose by 2.9 points to 42.4 (remaining below the 50 point level separating expansion from contraction). Continued growth in the number of residential building projects through August lifted the overall pace of decline in the construction industry, Australian Industry Group (AIG) reported this week. The seasonally adjusted AIG/Housing Industry Association Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) rose by 2.9 points to 42.4 (remaining below the 50 point level separating expansion from contraction). AIG Associate Director, Economics and Research, Tony Pensabene, said that reductions in engineering and commercial construction were the main negative influences on activity in August. "However, house building projects exhibited further resilience and increased for a second consecutive month, while the pace of decline eased considerably in the apartment sector." HIA Chief Economist, Dr Harley Dale remarked that the underlying house building index of the Australian PCI® is a shining light for the construction industry. "It is back in positive territory and along with a range of leading indicators is signalling a recovery in new house construction in 2009/10", Dale said. "The early stages of the recovery through the second half of 2009 will be slow, but at least we're moving in the right direction." 2. Trade-up buyers return Property owners trading up their family homes are returning to the market after a period in the deep freeze, mortgage broking firm AFG reported this week. AFG's monthly Mortgage Index shows that in August 2009, after property investors, first home buyers and refinancing were taken out of the mix, trade-up buyers accounted for 22.8 per cent of all mortgages sold. Property owners trading up their family homes are returning to the market after a period in the deep freeze, mortgage broking firm AFG reported this week. AFG's monthly Mortgage Index shows that in August 2009, after property investors, first home buyers and refinancing were taken out of the mix, trade-up buyers accounted for 22.8 per cent of all mortgages sold. This compares to a figure of just 14.3 per cent six months ago, in February 2009. AFG's Index also shows that loan to value ratios (LVRs), the value of loans expressed as a percentage of property value, eased slightly in August from 67.0 per cent to 66.3 per cent. This confirms a higher level of activity by people moving into their second or third homes, who tend to borrow proportionally less than other categories of property buyers. General Manager of Sales and Operations at AFG, Mark Hewitt, commented that the re-emergence of trade-up buyers is a further encouraging sign that markets are beginning to normalise. "AFG would like to see more state governments following the example of WA where the Keystart model is continuing to provide access to funding for borrowers who may not qualify for loans with mainstream lenders", Hewitt said. "The actions of the WA government are helping underpin the long-term sustainability of the property market in WA and it would be great to see other state governments follow their lead." AFG Mortgage Index shows that fixed rate mortgages held steady in August at 5.1 per cent of all mortgages sold, as the majority of property buyers steer away from fixed rate products which have costed in at least two future rate rises. The grip of banks on residential lending remained near its all time high in the second quarter, with banks accounting for 89.1 per cent of all mortgages sold, compared to 92.5 per cent in the first quarter 2009. 3. Look behind the green door  Owners of green houses around the country will throw open their doors this Sunday (13th September) to show and tell the rest of us what can be done to live a sustainable lifestyle in our own homes.
Now in its eighth year, Sustainable House Day allows you to wander through the homes and meet their owners who can guide you on sustainable lifestyle choices for your home and show how easy and economical the move to green living can be. Owners of green houses around the country will throw open their doors this Sunday (13th September) to show and tell the rest of us what can be done to live a sustainable lifestyle in our own homes. Now in its eighth year, Sustainable House Day allows you to wander through the homes and meet their owners who can guide you on sustainable lifestyle choices for your home and show how easy and economical the move to green living can be. Organisers Judy Celmins and Pia Vogrin say that the most positive feedback from visitors over the past years has been about the willingness of homeowners to share their stories. "Talking about the lessons they've learnt - sharing the stories that have worked and the things that didn't go so well - is just as valuable as looking through the house itself." See the sustainable house day website for details about where and when the houses in your neighbourhood will be available for viewing. 4. Happy shiny cities Sydney has lots to be happy about this week, after being rated second happiest city in the world by Forbes Magazine. Its "balmy weather" and "friendly people" ranked it just below the ultimate Carnaval city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with its "starry-eyed youngsters dancing into the dusk". Sydney has lots to be happy about this week, after being rated second happiest city in the world by Forbes Magazine. Its "balmy weather" and "friendly people" ranked it just below the ultimate Carnaval city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with its "starry-eyed youngsters dancing into the dusk". Despite our own misgivings about the efficacy of our tourist advertising, it seems Australia has quite a reputation overseas as being full of happy, sunny people sitting round enjoying barbecues. Melbourne rode into 5th place in the list on the back of this reputation, apparently, and Australia was the only country to have more than one city in the top ten. "People know it's in Australia and that it's full of Australians," reports Forbes magazine. "Therefore, it must be fun." Barcelona came 3rd in the list, for its warm weather, lively culture and "the best soccer team in the world", followed by Amsterdam because "everybody is stoned all the time. It's sex, drugs and rock and roll"! Happy indeed. Madrid, San Francisco, Rome, Paris and Buenos Aires completed the list, in that order. 5. Longer life for short straws  Sometimes it seems designers clutch at straws to find new angles for everyday furniture, but one budding artist has taken those straws and spun them into a gold idea.
The Clutch Chair is an exploratory design consisting of 10,000 drinking straws stuck together in the shape of a modular chair, making a subtle comment on our disposable culture. The piece was selected as Curators' Choice at Noise Festival 2008, a global exhibition of the very best in creative talent from people 30 and under, spanning all creative mediums. 6. Make light work for you Good lighting can be a definite plus when selling your home, but don't despair if you don't have floor-to-ceiling windows in every room. Simply make sure the lights work, as many prospective buyers flip the light switch when they walk into a room. Avoid harsh lighting; you want to create a warm glow. Regardless of how you have been using the house, take a look now and create some ambient lighting for each room; work rooms such as the kitchens and laundry can use brighter lights, while bedrooms and lounge areas might look best when lit with a couple of strategically-placed lamps. Natural light should always be flaunted, so be sure the windows are clean and in good repair. If you have blinds, shutters or curtains, clean them too, then either push them out of the way or show them to best advantage without reducing the light. | |
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