Transport blogger / campaigner and spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association / professional geek.
Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia.
Opinions on this blog are all mine.
Why do some people quote their phone numbers in funny ways on voice mails? Most Australian phone numbers come in two varieties: A local number, eg 7010 5105. (Let’s ignore the two digit area code for now; it’s not usually relevant in voice mails). Or a mobile number, eg 0491 570 156. How I’ve written ... [More]
I love the concept of commuter cycling. While my trip to work is a little too far, I love the idea of riding to places like my sister’s house or my mum’s house or my dad’s place (all just a few km away) on the bike. I love the idea of taking the whole family ... [More]
Last week I gave $100 to my old school’s building fund. I figure I can give at least double that to Burma cyclone disaster relief. Donations in Australia can be made through: Care Australia Red Cross Save The Children Caritas There’s probably others; these are the first four I found. For those overseas, Google has ... [More]
Apparently the Footscray McDonalds was in a state of MacMourning: Meanwhile, check this restaurant in North Richmond. I’ll have to try eating there the next time I want some Aussie-Indian-Chinese. It’s trendy, yet traditional.
It really is as easy as Tony H said to switch to 100% Green Power. A quick phone call to Origin, which took under five minutes (I was already a customer). As of now my house is no longer responsible for emissions from brown coal. Which is good, ‘cos I’m afraid I’m a little cynical ... [More]
Friday night’s 20 year school reunion had all the standard components: old mates chatting; drinking; fairly raucous singing old the school song; a meal; more drinking; a few speeches, that kind of thing. And a school tour. If my kids had been there, I’m sure they would have thought it was very Harry Potter, especially ... [More]
Last night while giving blood, they gave me a nice Red Cross O+ key ring, which can replace my RACV one now that I’m no longer a member. (Mind you, so far they’re still sending me newsletters and the occasional “Maybe you’ve forgotten to pay?” letter.) They also let me know my vital blood statistics. ... [More]
Perhaps sometimes it’s a disadvantage knowing too much about all the transport options. When mild interruptions occur, it might make one more inclined to take the alternatives, even when ultimately it doesn’t really save any time. Take, for example, Tuesday morning’s commute. It started with two SMSs. The 8:36 and the 8:52 from Glenhuntly to ... [More]
It was easy to find a taxi this morning in the city, but more difficult to find a driver — or at least one who would take you anywhere. Taxi drivers were protesting about driver safety, blocking the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets. Quite a few empty cabs were parked nearby. Despite claims of ... [More]
The Age yesterday ran a report on the PTUA’s submission to the Garnaut inquiry on climate change, with the headline being “Ban new freeways: transport group” — above another rather good article about cars not being on average any more efficient than 40 years ago. It didn’t take long for the rev heads to spot ... [More]
Lines? What lines? (Outside Officeworks, Highett) No time to park properly! Emergency stove purchase! (Outside Clive Peeters, Braybrook)
Tomorrow is ANZAC Day. Obviously up until now I haven’t really been paying attention, because this week I’ve read things I didn’t know about it until now: Four days before ANZAC Day 1918, Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, was shot down over France, probably by Australian anti-aircraft gunners. (Thanks Jayne) On ANZAC Day ... [More]
Went to the dentist last weekend for the not-quite-six-monthly-more-like-nine-monthly checkup. They reckoned my brushing is going well. I didn’t tell him I only floss every couple of weeks… I brush my teeth two or three times a day. When the kids are around, it’s the latter, as I brush with them at their bedtime, then ... [More]
Safeway and Coles are going to put self-serve checkouts into their supermarkets, starting with newly refurbished locations. I’ve used these for a couple of years at Big W at Southland and QV. You scan each item, then put it in a bag in a tray of the checkout, and it appears to weigh the items ... [More]
I know 774’s traffic and train updates are done directly in the studio (I saw it happen when I was in there the other week). Channel 10’s are done from a helicopter — you get to see the lady in it as she talks. What about the other radio stations? Many of them make it ... [More]
1. Contrary to this report in the Geelong Advertiser, the term “bustitution” has been around for years. I don’t know who first coined it. A number of regular services to and from Geelong have been replaced by coaches through April, giving rise to a new term being coined by the Public Transport Users’ Association – ... [More]