Appears in the weekly Toxic Custard newsletter
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. This is especially so for school reunions. My eldest son is pondering whether to even go to his – the people he wants to stay in touch with, he does via Facebook. Fair enough. I however do go to my school reunions. Melbourne High School has an active ... [More]
Here’s my monthly post of photos from ten years ago. For a while I was waging war on ghost tram route numbers via this blog post and then this Age article. Numbers like 7 and 9 were pointless because nobody outside a few gunzels knew them. This was tram route 7 to Malvern Depot. In ... [More]
On Sunday I went out to see the Mernda rail extension. The Level Crossing Removal Authority, who built it (well, it does involve new stations and grade separation of an existing disused rail corridor, so it kinda makes sense) ran a community open day, with free shuttle trains between South Morang and Mernda. After catching ... [More]
I was looking through some old photos, and found these from November 1996. I’ve scanned them from the negatives. As you can see, they provide some good advice… (Click on either photo to view it larger in Flickr) Things to note here: “Don’t be a jerk” is a work by Barbara Kruger, originally from 1984 ... [More]
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]