The Wikipedia article on Australian licence plates highlights some special prefixes, but here’s a list I’ve tried to come up with that includes others they don’t show, from personal observations and gleaning information from the VicRoads web site. Some of them are clearly abbreviations for what they are… some not so much. AO (suffix) – ... [More]
Prior to the 1990s, suburban trains had two staff members: a driver and a guard. The purpose of the driver is obvious. The guard… less so. The primary role of the guard was similar to those still used on trains in Brisbane and Sydney: verify the train was safe to depart, and in the case ... [More]
If you improve a product, and want it to sell well, you need to make people aware of it. When they launched trains every 10 minutes between the City and Ringwood, Dandenong and Frankston last year on weekends, there was an initial bit of publicity via the media, but very little else. Metro did some ... [More]
Another Myki stuff-up has been found. Myki cards have a four year lifespan. With many cards bought in Geelong in late-2008 and early-2009 now expiring, a number of users are getting replacement cards. Some are going back to the original retail outlets, post offices in Geelong and Corio, and buying new cards (the cost of ... [More]
With most kids going back to school this week, Andrew was blogging about the first day of school. I don’t remember much about my first day either, though I do have a photo that I believe was snapped that morning: Long-haired hippy. It was the 70s though. And I was obviously in a good mood… ... [More]
Happy Australia Day. While I cringe at the “bogan display” in the supermarket selling Australian flag caps, t-shirts, capes, stubby-holders and so on, I quite like the (in comparison understated) flags that have appeared on the trams during the week. My recollection growing up is of small flags in this position on the W-class trams, ... [More]
PTV yesterday released the results of the October 2012 train load surveys. These are primarily to measure how crowded trains are, against the 798 benchmark (which is not a capacity figure). Overall most lines are improving or about the same, the exception being the Dandenong and Werribee lines, both of which are becoming more crowded. ... [More]
I’d normally post something like this over on geekrant.org, but it’s worth mentioning here. Java has suffered from a series of serious vulnerabilities, the most recent found just a couple of weeks ago. This article makes a good case for removing it completely from your computer: Is Java the root of all evil and can ... [More]
For those who missed seeing Jupiter and the Moon last night, here’s a picture: Sorry, it’s never going to be brilliant from a handheld camera. Shoulda grabbed my tripod — it worked quite well for the smiley in the sky a few years ago.
In discussion the other week, the topic of what they should fix with Myki came up. You know, ignoring the imagined problems. But first I want to mention the known bugs… that is, leaving aside “by-design” flaws and issues such as bus/tram incorrect zone detection hopefully likely to be resolved by the end of Myki’s ... [More]
Near Flinders Street Station, some tracks have been painted white. Looks odd, doesn’t it. Apparently it’s to reduce heat, and thus reduce the possibility of track buckling and other problems. Update: See this web page: Solacoat/Coolshield Reducing Temperature of Railway Tracks
Before you go looking for it, be sure to read the updates at the bottom. The gigantic transport mural was perhaps one of the best features of the old Spencer Street station. By Harold Freedman, it depicts the first century of Victoria’s transport — from 1835 to 1935. It was commissioned by the state government ... [More]