With most of the worst of the pandemic behind us here in Australia – or, at least, the first and hopefully the last wave of infections – we thought we’d take a few moments in the podcast to discuss positives that have emerged from the months of lockdown and working from home.Apparently, according to a Zoom conference that Sue sat in on (and that’s a great leap forward, right there), technology has advance by five years in the past five months, including having your apartment block’s or office’s lift knowing you are leaving before you’ve even opened your door.Quantum computing and robot-run farms are also making headway and there are even advances in electrically powered air taxis, although Jimmy reckons the biggest advance would be developing technologies to make sure they don’t crash into each other.Listen hereJimmy’s thoughts on how the pandemic has improved our lives are more prosaic – he likes having to book his gym sessions, as it means he’s less likely to talk himself out of exercising.It should be said that both of your podders admit to major technological snafus later in the podcast, both of which left them red-faced, albeit in very different ways.The podcast’s guest this week is Nadia Crighton of Pet Insurance Australia who talks about the implications of the recent revocation of “no pets” by-laws in NSW and how we can navigate this furrier and friendlier new world so that some day soon people will wonder what all the fuss was about.It’s all about respect for each other and our personal boundaries, she says, taking the time to train your dog properly and adopting basic courtesies like keeping your dog on a leash on common property and not getting into a lift with someone who doesn’t want to share it with your dog or cat.By the way, she draws the line at demanding that dogs be muzzled in lifts. "People who are scared of dogs are going to be more alarmed at the sight of one wearing a muzzle,” she says.And somewhere in there she explains why the smartest dogs aren't always the wisest choices for apartments, why low-shedding animals need just as much grooming, and why a good dog breeder will interview you, rather than the other way round.All that and more in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.Transcription in fullWith the heavy lifting done by computer and the fine-tuning done by humans, the podcast transcript is more readable than ever. Yay!Jimmy 00:00So, it seems we are gradually coming out of lockdown across Australia.Sue 00:06Fantastic!Jimmy 00:07And it got me thinking, we should try and do something positive about the effects the pandemic has had on our society and the way we live, because I'm sure there are some positives. And later on, we'll be talking to Nadia Crighton, of Australian Pet Insurance about dogs; pets in apartments and how they should be compulsory. Well, she doesn't say that. I'm Jimmy Thomson.Sue 00:33And I'm Sue Williams.Jimmy 00:36And this is the Flat Chat Wrap.[MUSIC]JimmyWhat positives have you seen come out of the pandemic and the lockdown?Sue 00:59Well, I guess we have a better idea of the importance of community and how we really need to be connected. I think perhaps we've kind of glossed over that in other times when we've been to
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Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
