The other week I experienced a Myki triple-whammy. Three modes, three stuff-ups. Tram (one with all Metcard equipment removed) â at least one reader that was initially out of service… another was running, but was incredibly slow. Bus (ditto; no Metcard equipment on-board) â one reader near the back door not working or switched-off (display ... [More]
Author: Daniel Bowen
Transport blogger / campaigner and spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association / professional geek.
Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia.
Opinions on this blog are all mine.
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25 years on – school reunion
The weather on Friday night wasn’t favourable, but I think we all had a good time at the 25th school reunion in any case. Amusingly, it clashed with the year 9+10 social in the main building. When I first arrived (wearing a black suit) I was asked if I was with Security. It was a ... [More]
Tonight I’m going to a school reunion. Almost unbelievably, it’s 25 years since year 12 in 1988. To mark this occasion I’ve dug out something even older than that. Once upon a time, before Facebook and Twitter, we couldn’t write on each others’ Walls or send a Tweet. On occasion in class, we’d pass a ... [More]
I was pondering awareness of a couple of things, so decided to try a quick online survey. Over about 24 hours it got just over 100 responses… unfortunately unless I pay SurveyMonkey $19 per month, they’ll only tell me about the first 100. I think I’ll just go with those for now. (Some people didn’t ... [More]
So, following-up yesterday’s post. A little research on IDs for young adults (in particular to prove they are over 18) who don’t drive led me to two possibilities — assuming one doesn’t want to carry around a passport: Keypass — $55, and supposedly recognised nationwide. Proof Of Age card — $10, and also apparently recognised ... [More]
Isaac just turned 18. (Yeah, I know.) Anyway, I was talking to him about getting a photo ID that shows his age, so (if he should choose to) he can exercise his rights as an adult. Many his age would get a Learner’s permit as part of learning to drive. But he has zero interest ... [More]
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New toy: iPad Mini
I was amused when I posted last week about using credit card points to perhaps buy an iPad Mini, the Apple-haters jumped in. The post wasn’t really about technology; it was about credit card points! But this post is about tech. The choice of an iPad over an Android tablet was deliberate. Yeah yeah, I’ve ... [More]
Has anybody else had one of these, possibly dodgy, texts? This is the second one I’ve received now. After the first I replied “Wrong number” and got a “Sorry” back, but the guy is persistent. Something smells fishy. Note the supposed pick-up date, which is last Thursday, three days before the text was received. When ... [More]
The claims that the East-West link would somehow help the road network cope with yesterday’s horrible Citylink accident are truly mystifying. It really does appear as if the motorway boosters have tried to make use of this high-profile event to promote their cause in the hope that nobody thought too much about what they were ... [More]
Once upon a time, green bags weren’t actually green: Signage in High Street… not a great job done there with the relative placement of the No Left Turn and Tram Stop signs: The then-new multi-storey carpark at Elsternwick station: Who says you can’t take home bulky goods on public transport, if you have your friends ... [More]
There’s always something happening on the farm, and I suspect it’s the nature of these family-run farms that those that manage it need to be willing to take on a wide variety of tasks. On Sunday it was burning-off, and for a while, I was on fire-fighting duty. Not to stop the fire, but to ... [More]
Have you ever had the feeling you were being watched?