So if it’s not actually soup, what is it? See also: The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks.
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Freeways, freeways, everywhere
Via Google’s archive of The Age, I found this, the 1969 freeway plan for Melbourne, with 1974 modifications (including a number of cuts). It’s a little bit stylised, but according to the article, the plan was deliberately vague about which inner-suburban areas were to be demolished. A monstrous plan, you might think. Freeways everywhere! But ... [More]
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On the road
What do you think of this double-sized tram shelter? Top of William Street, near the market. Pretty good hey? Particularly for a spot which isn’t actually a tram stop. No trams are regularly scheduled to stop there. Occasionally some will get diverted off Swanston Street onto William, and terminate in the shunt here, but otherwise, ... [More]
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A parting gift
Metro Trains CEO Andrew Lezala addressed the Melbourne Press Club today. I was amused to see they presented him with a framed print of a cartoon from the Herald Sun. Video of the event should be online later. Disclosure — I attended the lunch as a guest of Metro, to lobby on behalf of PTUA ... [More]
Things I discovered when picking up my father’s ashes from the crematorium: 1. At Fawkner, you pick them up from the office, not the crematorium itself. If you catch the train there, the office is in a non-intuitive location, back towards Sydney Road. 2. Make sure you have photo ID. I guess they don’t want ... [More]
I was curious to see how many times in the last year that trucks have missed the “Low clearance 4.0” (metres) height warning and crashed into the guard rail for the rail bridge at Spencer and Flinders Streets, before rolling-over and blocking the intersection. (Or look on: Google Streetview) Answer via Google News archive search: ... [More]
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Car parks full, bus terminal empty
At most suburban shopping centres, Southland included, Sunday is the second-busiest day, closely following Saturday. As you can see from this photo, at 3:30pm, while the carparks were full, the bus terminal was empty of buses. While some parts of the city get trams, trains and buses every 10-15 minutes, 7 days-a-week (the 19 tram ... [More]
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Magpies causing trouble
No sooner had the Magpies won yesterday than they were out causing trouble in Footscray, swooping the dog. Mind you the dog didn’t seem to mind.
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Super Mario tram
Also last night, how’s this for combining my interests of transport and classic video gaming? The Super Mario tram — celebrating 25 years of Mario games.
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What ever happened to…?
Last night’s talk between Paul Kelly and Robert Forster appeared to be a sell-out. (Marita managed to get last minute tickets.) They chatted for quite a while about Paul’s new book, he sang a couple of songs (Sweet Guy, and You Broke A Beautiful Thing), and answered questions. The best question: What ever happened to ... [More]
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New train timetables next month
Tomorrow it’ll be known if Metro has met their monthly punctuality target for the first time. As-of yesterday the daily update on the Metro web site was sitting on 88.7% (last updated 28/9), clear of the 88% cut-off. (That’s 88% of trains less than 5 minutes late.) For the first time in many moons, you ... [More]
I hope my kids don’t feel offended when I point out good etiquette to them. I think they probably know it all by now, but sometimes I’ll point it out just to remind them, and sometimes I’ll point it out/affirm their actions a little louder than usual so that others in the vicinity can get ... [More]
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The hunt for Big M egg flip
Billboards for Big M’s limited edition Egg Flip flavour are popping up all over the place. I had a hankering to try it, to see if it was good if I remembered. So the kids and I went looking, in all the places that usually sell Big M (aka “Big M seller fellers”). Safeway? Nope. ... [More]
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Spring is here
To me, Sunday seemed like the first genuine day of spring. Warm enough to ditch the jumper and walk around in a t-shirt most of the day. No hint of rain. The sun streaming (on and off) through the window. (So much so that I do believe I may even have a slight sunburn on ... [More]
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Not the Rome Metro
You’re going to have to trust me on this because it doesn’t show up well in the picture, but this train seen this morning said “ROME” on the back, instead of “METRO”. Evidently someone had been re-arranging some of the letters By some freak occurrence, last week I found myself travelling on the Upfield line ... [More]
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The New Delhi games mess
I’m finding the situation in New Delhi fascinating. For those outside the Commonwealth and/or who haven’t heard, the city is having enormous problems getting ready for the Commonwealth Games. Sure, there are always stories like this ahead of big events, but in this case, there’s been an apparent terrorist attack (several tourists injured in a ... [More]