I had a reasonably bad cold last week, and I’m still periodically coughing yeuchhy stuff up very noisily. At its worst, I worked from home, which was actually pretty good — I reckon I got more done at home than I would have done at work, thanks to the tranquility. Thanks to a contact in ... [More]
Category: Melbourne
Melbourne stuff
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I’ll put a girdle round about the Earth
Tony’s posted some terrific pictures of buildings with old signs recently. Here’s one I really like, in Collins Street, near where I work. Look above the rather tackily-named House Of Cashmere, and you’ll see Newspaper House, and a terrific mosaic. The saying is from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, and was popular in the days when ... [More]
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Visitors and cameras
The Rugby State of Origin game was last night. You can tell the tourists are in town, from the number of cars with interstate numberplates rolling unwittingly down Swanston Street Walk, and the confused questions on the tram about using the ticket machines, and getting to St Kilda Beach. Oh yeah, I just got a ... [More]
(This is a second go at this picture, which didn’t quite get the long row of cabs I’d been hoping for. I can probably find longer if I try.) PS. Maybe I have a fascination for pictures of rows of things. Like garbage bins.
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Winter solstice
It was the winter solstice on Wednesday, and there’s been cold weather to match it this week. In Australia, we claim winter starts on the 1st of June. In many other countries, they say it starts on the solstice. By my reckoning, being the shortest day, it should actually be the middle of winter. I ... [More]
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Need any clay?
While I was waiting for a train at Brighton Beach yesterday morning, there was a bulldozer doing its thing nearby. I stood there watching it ferrying loads of dirt from one pile to the other. I was pondering if someone could make a mint of money by setting up a quarry somewhere, and letting blokes ... [More]
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When is a shuttle not a shuttle?
Thoughts on the free Melbourne Tourist Shuttle bus service: Despite the name, it’s not a shuttle, it’s quite clearly a loop. I was going to say that unlike the (also free) City Circle tram, every bus I see go past is empty. But it’s not true: I saw one last week that had about 10 ... [More]
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The drought in urban areas
I’m guessing the drought is still on, because there doesn’t seem to have been much rain recently. (Today being an exception.) Obviously the impact in rural areas is a big problem, but what does it mean in urban areas? Water restrictions will keep going. No bad thing. I can’t believe until recently people used to ... [More]
Just before the Games, the powers-that-be replaced rubbish bins at the city loop underground stations plus Flinders Street, Richmond and North Melbourne, with big plastic transparent things. For security, y’know. So you can see any suspicious packages that get dropped in, and panic appropriately. But at nearby South Yarra station, which is probably busier than ... [More]
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The man I couldn’t help
He was standing by the payphone outside Bentleigh Post Office, as I checked my post box about 45 minutes ago. He might still be there now. Asking passers-by for money to make a long-distance call, regarding his father, who had passed away. Was he telling the truth? I don’t know. I told him I had ... [More]
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The Nicholas Building
At the moment I’m reading a book about Melbourne’s architecture, told through the story of Whelan The Wrecker. The Nicholas Building (corner of Swanston St and Flinders Lane) went up in 1925. I think it’s a pretty impressive sight. It was designed by Harry Norris, who also designed the equally impressive Majorca Building around the ... [More]
135 metres to Parliament Station In the City Loop, there are signs at odd intervals, saying things like “Parliament station 135 metres”. They’re placed under every third light. The lights are at 15 metre intervals, the signs at 45 metre intervals. This is because the loop was designed before the switch to metric in the ... [More]
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3AW’s switch
It must be a logistical nightmare to change the frequency of a well-established radio station. 3AW changed this morning, from where they’d been (more or less) since 1935. They say they’re doing it so they can provide better reception across Melbourne. I did actually tune-in to 3AW this morning for the changeover. It consisted of ... [More]
Spotted last Friday night: Well, it’s one way through the traffic. He got up to a fair speed zooming down Elizabeth Street, too.
Okay okay, it hasn’t really been that bad. But I had to laugh when seeing about five of these signs in a row going up St Kilda Road the other week. One really did say “Avoid inner suburbs.” See also: Blame the Games A day at the athletics (Note March 2016: originally this was a ... [More]
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Got some change?
It must be the 21st century. On Friday I got asked by a guy on the street for spare change. He said he was 85 cents short of the money for a Boost Juice.