Categories
driving Morons on the road

Pics from the road

This guy must be a Top Gear fan… notably a few minutes later he was seen careering across two lanes, at about 20 kmh over the speed limit. Do drivers of the BMW 320d realise that it says “pose” upside-down? (Well okay, POZE.) It just staggers me that people still do stupid stuff like queue  ... [More]

Categories
Home life

New toy: hedgetrimmer

A cheap and cheerful hedgetrimmer, $50 at Bunnings. To be used for occasional trimming of hedges (well duh) in between visits from Andy, my trusty gardener… specifically around the back of the house, where sometimes the hedges grow so fast it feels like the open space in the garden is getting a little smaller everyday.  ... [More]

Categories
Melbourne music TV

Sights of Old Melbourne Town – as seen in music videos

Dragon: Are You Old Enough (1978) — around Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, including the now-gone behaviour of riding the running board on a tram, and a Silvertop taxi back when they really did have a silver top. John Paul Young: Yesterday’s Hero (1975) — around Swanston Street Paul Kelly: Leaps and Bounds — mostly the Nylex  ... [More]

Categories
transport

PSOs to check tickets, but won’t have #Myki readers? That won’t work.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay, talking about deployment of Protective Service Officers on stations: “From time to time they will check tickets. When these PSOs see a group of young people that they believe are up to no good on a railway station a really helpful tool is to say, ‘Show me your ticket’.  ... [More]

Categories
Friends and loved ones transport

The train network from a new user’s perspective

My cousin Justin’s move to Melbourne gives me an opportunity to see the public transport network from the perspective of a brand new user. He’s pretty well travelled, having spent extensive time in Europe recently, mostly based in London, but with plenty of travel to other cities. So he’s used PT systems in many other  ... [More]

Categories
Friends and loved ones

My cousin’s in town (and a proverb updated for the 21st century)

I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to have my cousin Justin in town. He grew up in Brisbane, then Newcastle, before moving to Perth, so we barely saw him when growing up. He moved to Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, and is now settling into his new flat and job here.  ... [More]

Categories
Doctor Who Food'n'drink Friends and loved ones

My super-talented sister excels herself again

This creation by my super-talented sister, for Isaac’s birthday.

Categories
Home life

The noise

Two mysterious noises have become apparent in the last few months. Both are virtually imperceptable in the daytime, but at night, in my quiet street, I can hear them from my bedroom. First there was the humming. It started sometime last year. It doesn’t seem to be in the house anywhere – I tried turning  ... [More]

Categories
Health

Hand washing

Sometimes amongst the bum jokes you’ll learn something really Quite Interesting on QI. Last week I learnt that when washing hands, how clean you get them is not about the heat of the water, which can’t possibly be warm enough to kill off bacteria and escape without serious burns. Rather, it’s about how vigorously you  ... [More]

Categories
Melbourne transport

1929 metropolitan plan: “the tramcar is the most efficient user of street space”

From page 54 (Chapter 2, part 1) of the 1929 Melbourne Plan for General Development, commissioned by the Metropolitan Town Planning Commission. Other highlights include Chapter 2, part 7, which has a bunch of stuff about railways, including a discussion of a railway to Doncaster (page 132) and a strong argument for a combined transport  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Myki myths 3: credit expires after 90 days – no it doesn’t

The short version Myki credit, once on your card, does not expire after 90 days of not getting used. Nor does your card expire after 90 days of not getting used. If you top-up your Myki via online or phone (NOT over-the-counter or at a vending machine) but then you don’t use the card within  ... [More]

Categories
Retrospectives transport

The view out the front window

When I was a kid, I liked to kneel on the front seat of the (W-class) tram, looking out the front, and watching the driver, trying to figure out how it all worked. I reckon the front still gives you the best views. Back in the day I recall a control to apply the power,  ... [More]