Back at uni, in one of my subjects we read a great book called The Design Of Everyday Things. In it, author Donald Norman highlights bad designs, often noting: “It probably won a prize”. One of the hallmarks of good design at railway stations is being able to see the information that you need to ... [More]
Category: Toxic Custard newsletter
Appears in the weekly Toxic Custard newsletter
Just on five years ago my dishwasher door spring broke. In that instance a secondary fault also affected the actual washing of dishes. Now another door spring has broken. It hasn’t affected the washing – it’s just the door is heavy, and needs to be opened very carefully. Repair from Fisher And Paykel is expected ... [More]
Categories
Investments
Sorry, few updates this week due to general busy-ness and a web hosting issue that prevented posting. Last year I dipped my toe in the sharemarket: I bought shares in Xero, the cloud accounting service. They were about $25 at the time. Since then they have dropped in price by about half. If only I’d ... [More]
I for one welcome our new public-transport-loving overlord. As recently as Friday, new Prime Minister-designate Malcolm Turnbull was riding trams in Melbourne: And here comes today's tram – the number 70 to take us to Hawthorn and a morning with @JoshFrydenberg pic.twitter.com/zeGCmct6nj — Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) September 10, 2015 It’s great that — unlike Tony ... [More]
Categories
It’s okay
I don’t know if anybody’s done this before, but… It’s from The West Wing, the finale of season 1, a signal the staff work out to indicate that the Space Shuttle has resolved an issue while on a mission. The show is known for infusing humour into the drama — in this case, the Shuttle ... [More]
Grade separating level crossings has numerous benefits: it allows more trains to run without impacting on others, it cuts delays to motorists, bus/tram passengers, pedestrians (including train users) and cyclists. And emergency services. Clayton is particularly bad for this, because it’s so close to Monash Medical Centre, but it’s not uncommon to see ambulances or ... [More]
I’m all for al fresco dining. It can be lovely sitting in the sun on the street enjoying food and drink — and will be doubly so once the smoking ban comes in, in 2017. And it helps make our streets more interesting and interactive. But getting off a bus in Brighton the other day, ... [More]
As someone who can do a lot of my travel by foot or on public transport, I drive fewer kilometres than the average. But sometimes I have to drive. I was thinking about the things one can do to be a considerate driver with regard to more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, ... [More]
If you haven’t heard about Friday’s Australian Border Force debacle in Melbourne, here’s the background: Timeline: How Operation Fortitude unravelled It started with their Friday morning statement, which said, among other things: “ABF officers will be positioned at various locations around the CBD speaking with any individual we cross paths with.” The media dutifully reported ... [More]
If you haven’t heard, the train and tram stoppages for Friday have been cancelled. Say you know which line you want, you’ve found the correct platform, but a train comes in with some obscure station on the destination sign — how do you know if you can catch it? You might have only a few ... [More]
Nothing makes public transport more usable than frequent services, where you don’t need a timetable, you just “turn up and go” — in transport planning circles this is actually known by the TUAG acronym. Regular readers might know: the Frankston and Dandenong lines now have TUAG trains every ten minutes every day for much of ... [More]
It’s the end of the phone call that I remember the most. Before she hung up, she said: “Drive safely”. I’m sure it was a standard line, but I’m equally sure she meant it. She was a nurse; the last thing she’d want having communicated the bad news would be the recipient having a crash ... [More]