>Dick Smith 'I won the lottery of life'
https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-australian-womens-...
Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
71–80 of 115 posts
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Jaycar still does a lot of this! The one in Central Park Sydney still does a lot of workshops, they have a maker hub, sell a lot of the class electronic components and things like that. Nothing like it used to be with Dick Smith and Radio Shack everywhere, but there's still a few places around.
The maker hub is pretty cool! They have a 3D printer service, where for ~$0.40 per gram you can bring your STL file, and they will print it while you watch a movie at the Cinemas next door. I wish there were more places like this in Sydney. I have floated the idea of starting a hackerspace in Sydney City with a bunch of friends, but it has never really got beyond the talking phase. The cost of renting a small (~90 sq…
There is one in a cbd library in melb which works ok - maybe that could be an option?
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I thought he was just a proponent for "Small Australia" and by extension of that anti-immigration? Never really heard anything racist or xenophobic from him but to be fair having paid that much attention.
He chose to publicly ally himself with Pauline Hanson on the topic of immigration. Hanson has a long history of anti-immigration positions publicly justified in terms of racial/religious animus (in the 1990s targeting Asian people, more recently she has made Muslim people her primary target); when she starts trying to justify anti-immigration policies based on population growth concerns, most people (quite rightly) v…
Being anti-immigration isn't the same as being anti-[race].
That's a weird thing to tie together.
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
The historical uses of this line of reasoning are plain to see: it has been used to justify racial theory, eugenics, sterilisation of the mentally deficient. I believe I understand how strongly some environmentalists believe lower population is "the answer" especially in an Australian context of concern about water and carrying capacity of an overwhelmingly arid landscape. This isn't a random belief, it's grounded in…
If we are doing our fair share by land mass it should be 500m by 2050. I find it astonishing that people have an easier time believing we can colonise Mars than that we can colonise the centre of Australia.
We have the land mass but not the water.
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
He chose to publicly ally himself with Pauline Hanson on the topic of immigration. Hanson has a long history of anti-immigration positions publicly justified in terms of racial/religious animus (in the 1990s targeting Asian people, more recently she has made Muslim people her primary target); when she starts trying to justify anti-immigration policies based on population growth concerns, most people (quite rightly) v…
Being anti-immigration isn't the same as being anti-[race]. That's a weird thing to tie together.
I never said being anti-immigration is always about being anti-[race].
But, to quote Pauline Hanson's 1996 maiden speech to Parliament [0] (my emphasis):
> Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country.
Some people's anti-immigration sentiments are not anti-[race], but Hanson's are. If it is a "weird thing to tie together", I am not the one doing the tying, Hanson did it herself. And virtually all Australians know her history, and know where she is coming from – no doubt Smith included – and Smith chose to publicly ally himself with her anti-immigration policy. If he'd expressed his anti-immigration position without choosing to publicly invoke her name, far fewer people would have accused him of racism and xenophobia.
[0] https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pauline-hansons-1996...
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Jaycar still does a lot of this! The one in Central Park Sydney still does a lot of workshops, they have a maker hub, sell a lot of the class electronic components and things like that. Nothing like it used to be with Dick Smith and Radio Shack everywhere, but there's still a few places around.
I didn't encounter DSE until the mid 2000s when I moved to NZ, but the Jaycar of today stocks way more components than did the DSE of 20 years ago. Jaycar even keeps a stock of 74LS TTL chips behind the counter!
The DSEs of the mid-2000s where not a patch on the DSEs of the 80s & 90s - it was like all the good bits of Jaycar concentrated.
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#77Dick Smith is a legend. Great sense of humour, prioritising philanthropy and buying local. My favourite product of his was the parody of Redhead Matches, a box of matches with a woman’s face on it. Dick sold matches called “Dickheads”, with his face on them. A friend of mine growing up had Dick perform an emergency landing on their property (in his plane). He must still be an avid flyer as we both attended the same a…
I had the pleasure of meeting Dick at a Christmas party many years ago. Buying locally made, locally owned is a major priority of his and should be for every Australian.
Ironically the Dick Smiths brand is now owned by Kogan who specialise in importing and selling grey market goods in Australia.
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
I thought he was just a proponent for "Small Australia" and by extension of that anti-immigration? Never really heard anything racist or xenophobic from him but to be fair having paid that much attention.
He chose to publicly ally himself with Pauline Hanson on the topic of immigration. Hanson has a long history of anti-immigration positions publicly justified in terms of racial/religious animus (in the 1990s targeting Asian people, more recently she has made Muslim people her primary target); when she starts trying to justify anti-immigration policies based on population growth concerns, most people (quite rightly) v…
I think he was interviewed in the same documentary about immigration as Pauline Hanson.
I could be wrong but I think that was as far as it went. I remember it making me pretty uncomfortable at the time but I don't think he actually supported her or One Nation.
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Being anti-immigration isn't the same as being anti-[race]. That's a weird thing to tie together.
I never said being anti-immigration is always about being anti-[race]. But, to quote Pauline Hanson's 1996 maiden speech to Parliament [0] (my emphasis): > Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that o…
[deleted]
Re: Dick Smith (Entrepreneur)
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
His peanut butter was always known as "Dick's nut butter" amongst my friends.
In a similar vein, his "Dick Smith Electronics" stores were known as "The Big Electronic Dick".
he had a brand of matches that competed with the popular "redheads" brand, the brand name was "dickheads"