The first Protective Service Officers started duty tonight at Flinders Street and Southern Cross Stations. They may not be the best solution to public transport security, but I’m sure passengers will welcome them, and wish them luck. Yes, PSOs get less training than police. That’s because they have more restricted powers (limited to railway stations ... [More]
Year: 2012
I feel a bit guilty about this: I re-used a costume party costume. See, I was invited to an 80s Movie/Music/Pop-Culture party, and then a Dead Celebrities a couple of weeks later. Given time constraints and the likelihood of few party guests overlapping, I reasoned that I could knock off both with one costume. Someone ... [More]
On the way back from Walhalla, we decided (at Peter’s suggestion) to go via Yallourn. He said there was a lookout with a good view over the Latrobe Valley, and the power plants, and the road through Yallourn was very close to one of them.. We started off by diverting off the road to a ... [More]
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A weekend camping
It was the culmination of many trips to Aussie Disposals: over the weekend we went camping to Walhalla – just for one night – at my stepfather Peter’s suggestion. I haven’t been properly camping for almost ten years, and had had to stock up: some more sleeping bags, air-mattresses, a pump, a tent, portable chairs, ... [More]
MX got to this before I blogged it. This issue is around Myki Pass (the equivalent fare to a Metcard Monthly/Yearly, but available for any number from 28 to 365 days). To calculate the Pass cost, you take the Myki Pass per day rate (eg zone 1 $4.02) and multiply by the number of days ... [More]
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Drink-driving, anyone?
Perhaps the smallprint says “Do not use the fuel and the alcohol simultaneously.”
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The Metro emergency gate that wasn’t
I noted this about a month ago. The idea of an emergency gate in the Elizabeth Street subway at Flinders Street Station seemed like a good one, but it seemed doubtful that the automatic release would include the padlock. So I tweeted: Ok. I have my doubts that this emergency exit *padlock* is automatic, @MetroTrains ... [More]
There’s often some interesting pictures to be had from the sixth floor of the renovated Myer store. I snapped these the other day.
Myki has well-known problems. It’s been an incredibly long saga to get it running, and to the point now where it’s pretty reliable and the government is confident enough to push ahead with phasing-out Metcard. The cost to taxpayers has been huge. Touching on and off can be fiddly, particularly in a crowd and particularly ... [More]
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Christmas present: a punching ball.
In my family we do a non-anonymous Kris Kringle for the adults. This fell into the category of a specific request. Keen to avoid the all-too-common strategy of asking for a gift voucher (if this pattern goes on, we’ll end up just exchanging direct debits via net bank) I thought I’d throw the punching ball ... [More]
Spotted on Saturday after the Doctor Who/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Symphonic Spectacular: Reports from the UK suggest Doctor Who has prompted more people to wear bow ties. I don’t know if that’s rubbed off in Australia, but there were certainly more bow ties and fezzes than I’ve ever seen around Melbourne yesterday, both at the venue ... [More]
These anonymous flyers appear to have popped up overnight (at least I didn’t spot them yesterday) around Bentleigh station. (Note another similar pink one in the background on the small pole opposite.) I might note that since the 2010 timetable was introduced (and the tweaks in 2011), the morning commute is slower, but I for ... [More]