An ex-pat who decided to make a clean break after splitting with his wife has so far attracted 70 bids for his "entire life".
Ian Usher, from Darlington, who emigrated to Australia six years ago, is selling his house, friends and job on internet auction site eBay.
The 44-year-old said he hoped to earn about £185,000 for his Perth lifestyle.
About five hours after biddinghttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.quote.gif opened on Sunday, the highest offer was just over £314,000.
Up for auction is his three-bedroom home in the western Australian city and everything inside it, including his car, motorcycle, jet ski and parachuting gear.
He is also selling an introduction to his friends and a trial run at his job.
Mr Usher said: "Everything that I have - the furniture in the house - all has memories attached to it. It's time to shed the old, and in with the new.
"On the day it's all sold and settled, I intend to walk out of my front door with my wallet in one pocket and my passport in the other, nothing else at all.
"My current thoughts are to then head to the airport and ask at the flight desk where the next flight with an available seat goes to, and to get on that and see where life takes me from there."
'Complete lifestyle'
Joy Jones, who co-owns the rug store in Perth where Mr Usher worked as a shop assistant, said she supported the auction idea.
Her company is offering the successful bidder a two-week trial, which could be extended for three months and then become permanent.
"We thought, why not give it a go?"
Mr Usher said his friends in Perth were willing to be introduced to the highest bidder, allowing him to advertise his auction as offering a complete lifestyle.
Bidding closes at 0500 BST on 29 June.
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Sunday 22 June 2008
Friday 20 June 2008
CARD CLONING WARNING - CORNWALL
Police in Devon and Cornwall are asking cashpoint users to be on their look out following suspected card-cloning attempts in the Penzance area.
At around 10.45am yesterday, Thursday 19 June 2008, a woman was about to use a cashpoint in the Market Place, Penzance when she noticed an unusual device attached to the machine.
She took the device off and was then approached by a man who said he would take it into the bank for her – the man then ran off.
The man was described as Eastern European appearance, 5ft 7”, slim-build, short black hair wearing dark trousers and a dirty looking navy and cream jacket.
Police believe that the device was probably a skimming device. These devices are left attached to the cashpoint and when unsuspecting bankers access their accounts, the device ‘reads’ and copies their details. The thieves can then access the bank user’s account and withdraw money without authorisation.
No cash was taken from the machines on this attempt.
All banks and premises with cashpoints in Cornwall have since been warned and advised to check and monitor their cashpoints to ensure no similar devices have been placed on the machines.
Police advise anyone who notices anything suspicious when using a cashpoint machine – or who sees anyone acting suspiciously around a cashpoint – not to use the machine, report it to the bank at the first opportunity and call the police.
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At around 10.45am yesterday, Thursday 19 June 2008, a woman was about to use a cashpoint in the Market Place, Penzance when she noticed an unusual device attached to the machine.
She took the device off and was then approached by a man who said he would take it into the bank for her – the man then ran off.
The man was described as Eastern European appearance, 5ft 7”, slim-build, short black hair wearing dark trousers and a dirty looking navy and cream jacket.
Police believe that the device was probably a skimming device. These devices are left attached to the cashpoint and when unsuspecting bankers access their accounts, the device ‘reads’ and copies their details. The thieves can then access the bank user’s account and withdraw money without authorisation.
No cash was taken from the machines on this attempt.
All banks and premises with cashpoints in Cornwall have since been warned and advised to check and monitor their cashpoints to ensure no similar devices have been placed on the machines.
Police advise anyone who notices anything suspicious when using a cashpoint machine – or who sees anyone acting suspiciously around a cashpoint – not to use the machine, report it to the bank at the first opportunity and call the police.
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Thursday 19 June 2008
Illegal Downloads
Legal music downloads have certainly gained a lot of traction in recent years, thanks in part to online offerings such as the iTunes Store and the labels’ decision to finally start dropping DRM restrictions. But the fact that more and more ways to legally acquire music are available these days doesn’t particularly mean that piracy is close to coming to an end.
In fact, a recent study by the University of Hertfordshire has found that the average 14- to 24-year-old has almost 900 illegal tracks on their MP3 players. The survey, which questioned 1,200 participants, also revealed that nearly two-thirds of young people download music tracks illegally on an average of 53 songs per month.
The music industry has been struggling to cope with free-falling CD sales for some time now, and the study further shows how dramatically music consumption has changed. The British Music Rights group (which commissioned the research) has been campaigning to make legal music services more appealing, and feels the best way to do it is to have ISPs offer unlimited music download services as an additional fee to a standard broadband package. In fact, they are reportedly expecting agreements with providers such as Virgin Media in the next few weeks.
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In fact, a recent study by the University of Hertfordshire has found that the average 14- to 24-year-old has almost 900 illegal tracks on their MP3 players. The survey, which questioned 1,200 participants, also revealed that nearly two-thirds of young people download music tracks illegally on an average of 53 songs per month.
The music industry has been struggling to cope with free-falling CD sales for some time now, and the study further shows how dramatically music consumption has changed. The British Music Rights group (which commissioned the research) has been campaigning to make legal music services more appealing, and feels the best way to do it is to have ISPs offer unlimited music download services as an additional fee to a standard broadband package. In fact, they are reportedly expecting agreements with providers such as Virgin Media in the next few weeks.
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