An unusual sight: this visitor on the back door this morning. Not sure where he thought he was going, but hope he got there okay.
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When the Hitachi trains were built in the early 70s, it was before the days of dot matrix displays. Destination rolls weren’t easily changed, so they included a few places they thought that might one day get rail services. Forward planning, much of it in line with the stated rail extensions in the 1969 transport ... [More]
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Stupid giant bus idea
(I’m playing catch up here; this was from about a month ago.) How has a stupid idea like this giant bus on rails got so much attention? It’s never going to work. What speed could a thing like that run at without coming off its rails? What happens when a car or the “bus” turns ... [More]
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Computer brain surgery
A few weeks ago I did brain surgery on my computer. My PC (named “Tintin”) finally got a CPU upgrade — which I needed to move off Windows XP onto Windows 7. It’s quite incredible how much dust was inside it. Just obtaining the faster CPU wasn’t straightforward, as sometime in the last couple of ... [More]
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What if petrol prices doubled?
I’ve written before about peak oil, when oil production peaks and then starts to decline, getting more and more expensive. There are various predictions around the place, but many seem to agree it’s going to hit this decade. Some argue it’s already hit, and only the Global Financial Crisis dampening demand has masked it. What ... [More]
Cattle class, anybody? The picture is from a Friends of the Earth stunt in London, protesting against factory farming, and their link to rainforest destruction. There’s some great images of cows on the streets and on the Tube.
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Spotted
Spotted (by Marita, actually), this amusing van: Meanwhile on the corner of Latrobe and William Streets, they’ve painted arrows and lines to help show drivers where to wait to make their hook turns: PS. There are also animated/flashing signs signalling for right-turning drivers to wait. Will see if I can snap a pic of one. ... [More]
These songs are on one of my iPod playlists. Can you figure out what distinguishes them? Del Amitri — Be My Downfall Jellyfish — I Wanna Stay Home Weddings Parties Anything — Roaring Days Ocean Colour Scene — Mechanical Wonder Paul Kelly — Love Never Runs On Time Corduroy — Mini Loudon Wainwright III — ... [More]
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Flashback: Bus 627
Melbourne’s most confusing bus route to be fixed
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Who should go to a funeral?
Here’s something I’ve been pondering in light of recent events; not just my Dad’s funeral, but another that I heard about. I’ll put my view, how I feel about it, then you discuss. Agree or disagree. Like always. There’s no manual for this, and every situation is different, of course, so inevitably this will be ... [More]
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Some further thoughts on Digital TV
High Definition-only channels ABC News 24 was the first HD-only channel. There’s more on the way: Channel 7’s offering aimed at the male demographic “7-Mate” will also be HD-only. Channel 10’s new “Eleven” will be SD, but it will replace the SD version of their sports channel “One”. There are rumours Channel 9 will launch ... [More]
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The broken dishwasher
Oh great. The other day while opening the dishwasher, a “sproing” sound was heard, and now the door’s springy thing doesn’t work — that is, once open, it just drops down to horizontal with gravity, rather than a gentle drop or springing back towards closed like it was before. And it triggered an F1 alarm, ... [More]
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Forty
Me at forty. (Well, 39 and 364 days, yesterday. I had this idea of taking my own picture. It’s startlingly difficult to get a half-decent shot, as you can see. Even the one I used shows something between my teeth — and a tree apparently growing out of the top of my head, though I’ve ... [More]
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Bottom of the foodchain
I’ve been sitting on this blog post for a while now. Haven’t had time to refine it as much as I’d like, but it’s time to just get it out. We probably don’t need footpath reports on the radio… …but we do need more consideration of pedestrians. I think people would jaywalk less, and I ... [More]
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On the television
Sometimes there’s just doom and gloom on the television. Previous post noting the number of CRT televisions showing up on the streets Of course, it’d be better if working televisions were put on FreeCycle (so someone can use them, rather than them just getting damaged by rain).
Fifteen years ago today, Windows 95 was released. (Who’s feeling old now?) Many would remember the adverts, which hit TV screens around the world, to the tune of the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up”. It was arguably the first modern version of Windows (despite it still apparently having DOS under the hood), and arrived just ... [More]