That means if a deal was struck tomorrow BOM staff would see their pay increased 6 per cent in seven years by the time the next deal was due.

In an already frosty environment the barometer dropped even further on Thursday as the union won permission to ballot its members about widening their industrial action.

The measures outlined by the union include a refusal to attend meetings (which in CBD's opinion the union could actually include in its log of claims as a positive productivity trade off), a ban on using company cars or travelling overnight.

One other proposal caught CBD's eye. The union has signalled it wants to use the BOM's social media channels to spread its message via every post its staff put up.

Consider then that the BOM's official facebook page has 750,000 likes while on Twitter its national (85,000 followers), Victorian (100,000) and NSW (70,000) accounts all have significant traction.

Time for some blue sky thinking?

Westies rule

Showing that he truly is a Westie, property developer and owner of many Kokomo boats and an island in Fiji - also called Kokomo, Lang Walker, is throwing his support behind the bid for the United for Macarthur A-League bid.

As an ambassador for the bid, Walker says if successful it will see a new A-league football team created to compete at national level. Something that will warm the heart of Football Federation Australia's chairman Steven Lowy.

The campaign to win the bid known as “United for Macarthur”, led by Campbelltown City Council on behalf of the Macarthur Region, has won the support of major industry, sport, political and community figures, with strong expectations for success.

Of course, Walker Corp is a big developer in Sydney's west, but he is also a sports lover, having flung a rugby (union) ball about in his youth.

“As a member of the Macarthur community – having operated in the region for many years, we were excited by the Macarthur’s bid for an A-League team and opportunity to show our support. The Macarthur bid has the legs to win with the Campbelltown Sports Stadium in place and ready to go, waiting for the new A-league team,'' the big fella opined.

Turtlenecks and lotto tickets

It would seem the founder of the online betting group Lottoland, the Gibraltar-based German entrepreneur, David von Rosen, is stylish man, who once supplied skivvies to the late Steve Jobs, for a reported $US616.

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Born in 1976, the youthful von Rosen considers a cashmere cardigan a “must-have” for men.

And given he is the founder and CEO of VonRosen, a Berlin-based by-invitation-only luxury fashion label, he knows his stuff.

Von Rosen told the New York Times in 2009, regarding his invitation-only business model that ''it’s so obvious it’s all about money''.

“The luxury brands try to squeeze every last penny from customers.”

Regarding omnipresent fashion retailers, von Rosen said, “we are striving for diversity in our customer base. And I think you cannot achieve that if the price is the only hurdle. I am convinced that there are many people out there who don’t want to carry a handbag from a luxury brand that you see on any corner on almost anybody”.

Regarding exclusivity, von Rosen added: ''the concept of exclusivity literally states that it is not for everybody. But then, in fashion, there are always different tastes. We certainly lose some customers due to our exclusive high-end approach, but VonRosen does not want to be for everybody. To me, the concept fits our modern times. It is about individuality”.