Appears in the weekly Toxic Custard newsletter
The Magic Laptop One evening many years ago some PTUA bods and I were meeting with a Vicroads bloke about traffic light priority and other related issues. He had a laptop with him, and it displayed a diagram of a major intersection; I think it was somewhere out on Burwood Highway. While pondering topics such ... [More]
Just a quick few points while I work on a more complicated post that’s (inevitably) transport related… Shopping bags Many major retailers are phasing out single-use plastic bags. Or to be precise, they’re phasing-out free bags. Woolworths: 20/6/2018 Coles, Target, Big W: 1/7/2018 Aldi never gave away bags. K-Mart is phasing out free bags during ... [More]
Although it doesn’t involve removing level crossings, the Mernda rail extension is being built by the Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA). This LXRA tweet last week got some attention, and not just from those who have been long awaiting the project’s completion: A sign of things to come #Mernda đđđ #transformingMelbourne pic.twitter.com/nUc8lt4ZiF â Level Crossings ... [More]
Apologies for the following long ramble about buying a car. The costs of cars (Do I even need one?) My prolonged hunt for a new (used) car got me thinking about how much they have cost me… and how long I’ve kept them. My first car was a 1993 Mitsubishi Magna (pictured above), which I ... [More]
I found SBS’s “Where Are You Really From” to be compelling viewing. If you don’t look ethnic, you won’t know the experience of people asking where you’re from — and not taking “Sydney” for an answer. They don’t want to know where you’re from. They want to know where your family originated. The whole series ... [More]
For the proposals in City of Melbourne’s discussion papers to be described as “radical” and “ridiculous” just shows how far we haven’t come in transport planning in this state. Perhaps it’s no surprise given that in the forthcoming election, if choosing a major party, we vote for either the mob who wants to build two ... [More]
Here’s another in my series of old photos from ten years ago… this time, June 2008. You might remember that Frank Woodley did TV ads for Metlink, to encourage bus usage. Here’s the cartoon version, on a bus stop. Speaking of advertising, I quite liked this ad for the Get Smart movie (originally posted here). ... [More]
Lots of people usually alight at my station, even late at night. But as we all exit and walk off in different directions, the streets, especially at night, can get pretty quiet very fast. The awful murder of Eurydice Dixon has got us as a society once again talking about personal safety issues. While it’s ... [More]
To my surprise, Google has stored dozens of voice recordings of mine, going back about 18 months.
Another in my series of old photos from ten years ago, this time from May 2008… Petrol prices shot up this month. This would be about $2.06 in today’s dollars. More amazing is that just four years earlier, the RACV had predicted prices wouldn’t go above about $1.08. ACMI has put on a lot of ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 26/5/2018 Last morning in Sydney; almost time to go home. After checking out of the hotel, we headed back to the gallery to see if Sunday morning was a better option for looking at the Archibald Prize finalists than Friday had been. On the walk, the last of the half-marathon runners were coming ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 24/5/2018 Sydney getaway continued. First stop: a bakery in the Queen Victoria Building, the spectacular 19th century shopping arcade, where we grabbed some croissants for breakfast. Then to Town Hall Station to hop on a train to inner-city Redfern. A short walk from Redfern Station is Carriageworks, a former… well, railway carriage workshop, ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 23/5/2018 Hotel buffet breakfast at the Sheraton is an eye-popping $44 per person. This is no big surprise – hotel breakfasts are always expensive. But they’d said at check-in that we had a $50 credit, so that took the cost down to $38 for the two of us, which is probably cheaper than ... [More]
Post backdated. Published 21/5/2018. M wanted to see the Lady And The Unicorn tapestries before they head home to France from their exhibit at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. No big holiday likely this year, so how about we do a short break in Sydney? Booking the flights After looking at frequent flyer ... [More]
There are warnings of fake Telstra bills being sent by email. They look like the real thing. The only clue that they’re not is that the View/Pay Bill button goes to a non-Telstra web site. The lesson here is: check where the link goes. If it doesn’t go to an address that is clearly on ... [More]
We all like some greenery in our neighbourhoods. But as I noted in this rant blog post, one bane of pedestrians is bushes and trees overhanging footpaths. They’re not really obvious unless you’re walking, but bushes and trees like this are everywhere. I’m sick of having to duck out of their way. This is especially ... [More]