The law says that motorists turning into a street must give way to pedestrians crossing that street. The law also says that motorists turning in or out of a private property (such as a carpark) must give way to pedestrians. So why does the signage always imply it’s the pedestrian that should be the one ... [More]
This billboard is still on display up high above Flinders Street, opposite the station, roughly across from the centre entrance*. It seems to refer to the 20% emissions reduction by 2020 pledged last year by Labor, and matched by the Coalition, though some say there are indications the Coalition will drop the target. Perhaps it’s ... [More]
Church Street doesn’t have a church in it any more. Nearby Synagogue Lane doesn’t have a synagogue in it anymore. I got curious: How come only one of them got to keep its name? Despite what appears to be a sign that is not particularly ancient, evidently the name change was some time ago — ... [More]
9/11. Is there any other one-off event that is known throughout the western world by its date? Of course, if it had happened anywhere else, it would have been called 11/9. But it didn’t happen anywhere else. Only the USA is big, brave, brash, bold and independent enough that it would buck the trend and ... [More]
Oh joy. My cluster headaches are back for spring. In fact they returned on the 1st of September, which Australians consider to be the first day of spring. Boom, just like that. (Previous posts. Doesn’t everybody use blog posts to track their personal health history? I know I do.) To recap Cluster headaches are, as ... [More]
Picture from Channel 7’s Sunday Night story about the Suruwaha tribe of Brazil. Anybody got any better caption ideas?
Excellent. Smoking rates are continuing to drop, from 21.2% in 1998 down to 15.3% now. So, how about the next step, government? Now that smoking is almost entirely banned indoors, what about extending smoking bans to include all undercover areas — I’m thinking particularly of under shop awnings. (If I ran the world, I’d be ... [More]
I wonder if accepting these ads (seen on the walls of retail buildings around Bentleigh) the owners are killing the goose that laid the golden egg? “Brand new items. Huge retail markups and pushy salespeople not included.” “Buy new. Buy eBay. Bye retail.”
I’ve already posted about the mess that may ensue if once Myki is fully rolled-out, there is no option of a single-use ticket. Today it’s been confirmed flagged as probable that some 50 million of the unused Short Term Tickets will be pulped, and also that almost 500 vending machines originally intended for trams are ... [More]
Happy Fathers Day. As I recall it, there’s a scene in one episode of Frontline where Mike Moore is driving along listening happily to the radio, singing along to “We Built This City”. When the DJ comes on he derides it as “one for the oldies” and then throws to something newer, a heavy rock ... [More]
Melbourne came up tops in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest liveability survey (97.5 points) just beating Vienna (97.4) and Vancouver (97.3). A colleague of mine was incredulous, noting that the trains are packed, there’s litter and graffiti, she’s seen a fight in the street, and rents are stratospheric. My light-hearted reposte, at least to the ... [More]
I was looking at what DVD/Blu-Ray 5.1 systems I can get on my credit card points (because this is not something I want to or can afford to spend Real Money on). Some options include (eg the highest-specced ones I have enough points for): Samsung HTD5300 5.1CH 3D Blu-Ray Home Theatre System — which gives ... [More]
I was thinking that for news junkies like me, it’d be nice to have a quick reference to when it’s possible to tune into a news bulletin on free-to-air television. With ABC News 24, this is easier than ever before, but in fact there are numerous times when other channels air substantial (10+ minutes) bulletins ... [More]
It was actually a present from my last birthday: a lunch on the Restaurant Tram. Boarding was at 1pm sharp near the casino. Presumably they don’t like to hold up service trams coming from St Kilda or Port Melbourne. It was a fleet of three out for lunch, and we were told to board the ... [More]
Here’s something to ponder… If Melbourne didn’t have trams anymore, would every CBD street look like Lonsdale Street? (Seen on Twitter recently: “Lonsdale St is the scariest, least bike friendly St in CBD. Discuss.”) PS. Lunchtime: I’d just note that I deliberately chose Lonsdale Street over the (arguably more attractive) Exhibition or Queen Streets because ... [More]