Peter Martin in The Age yesterday, on driverless cars: Imagine studying, reading books, watching TV, sleeping or (legally) playing with your mobile phone on the way to work. Whichever way you look at it, the freed-up time will boost productivity. Sounds great! Wait a minute, thousands of us do that stuff every day by catching ... [More]
About a year ago, a group of us from the PTUA went on a tour of the Regional Rail Link, a massive 50 kilometre-long rail project providing new tracks from Southern Cross, via Footscray and Sunshine, then along a new corridor through Melbourne’s new outer-western suburbs to West Werribee. The project will provide extra track ... [More]
What’s with the bling on the carriages these days? (This is a phone pic, so it’s blurred a bit; it’s actually a row of LEDs.) I’m guessing it’s some kind of safety regulation to ensure they’re visible at night?
Somewhat to my surprise, I’ve now had my car for almost three years. This means the dealer warranty that came with it is just about to run out, which in turn means I don’t have to keep driving it across town to Alan Mance to keep it current. Good. I’ve only made use of that ... [More]
Every time your train is stuck inexplicably in a tunnel, every time a service is cancelled, the experience is not just eroding your quality of life. It is eating away at our cityâs global competitiveness. — Boris Johnson, Mayor of London in the London Evening Standard, 15/10/2009 A power problem at Southern Cross Station has ... [More]
Remember the mess the trains were last summer? Well, the Comeng trains, which are prone to air-conditioner failures above 34.5 degrees, haven’t been fixed, and there’s still plenty of track waiting for upgrades to prevent buckling. But that doesn’t mean you should worry about a repeat performance this coming summer. Mr Brumby says it won’t ... [More]
Despite the cold, there’s a surprising number of people on the Sunday morning 9:58 to Frankston. Two uniformed sailors heading perhaps to the naval base at Crib Point after a night out (this train connects with the Stony Point train); a lady who insists on standing all the way to McKinnon, papers in her hand, ... [More]
Promotions at Parliament Station: 3. Monday: Free fortune cookie advertising Mt Franklin water’s “Well of Positivity“; Tuesday: free sample of Ocean Spray Cranberries; Wednesday: Amnesty International Beggars who have asked for money: 1 in Swanston Street who sounded very scripted “Excuse me sir, we are homeless for a few days”, and as soon as being ... [More]
The trains have problems, but at least most people can figure out where they go. (Uhh, well, apart from the whole City Loop reversal thing.) But try the buses. I reckon the 627 bus has Melbourne’s most confusing route. It goes from Elsternwick to East Brighton, but via Chadstone. (And if you don’t know your ... [More]
Yesterday morning I had a blood nose in the shower. Very Psycho, I must say. My left side is clearly my best. My right side is… well, a bit defective. My right nostril is always the one that gets the blood. Semi-regularly in fact, particularly in high summer or when I’m blowing my nose a ... [More]
My Lego creation from yesterday: (Captain) Jack Stone aboard the StrangeMobile. It’s got a battery pack and motor, and yes, it really moves.
Around the city, mostly in parks, automated public toilets have been popping up in the last few years. Unlike the loos of old, they have self-cleaning mechanisms, so in theory they should be clean — or at least minimally unpleasant. But distrust of the automatic door (and its ten minute timeout) is rife among users, ... [More]