Twitter allows one to search, and provides RSS for search results, so you can feed it into RSS readers like Google Reader to keep track of Twitter references to your preferred keyword. So I thought I’d set up one for Bentleigh, which tells me what’s going on in my neighbourhood. Happily I don’t live in ... [More]
Was having a chat to somebody the other week when Liz, a fellow Bentleigh resident and fellow troublemaker, wandered past and said hello. Liz has got active in the debate over social housing, following the furore over a proposed development in the very SE-corner of Bentleigh to accomodate disadvantaged women. (In my book given it’s ... [More]
I’m ISP shopping. I’d been considering it anyway, as I’m still using ye olde ADSL1, and in the past couple of years, ADSL2+ has become available in my neck of the woods. I’ve been using my current ISP, Netspace, for about 7 years, I think. Over that time they’ve been pretty reliable, but not without ... [More]
I found this Lego set on Amazon UK. It’s actually way more elaborate (and expensive) than any I remember seeing in the Australian catalogues, but what I thought was really funny was that Amazon has attached a legal-sounding age restriction to it, as if it was an adult video game or DVD, or alcohol. “Not ... [More]
I noticed the other day that the ABC Local web sites were down for maintenance. They got a revamp in mid-2008 that left it incredibly messy. Apart from the garish green and black colours, it was impossible to find things. It’s like they forgot that they’re most often promoted via the ABC Local Radio stations; ... [More]
“Food”? What, it’s not really food? (Frankston) Could this be a conduit to the future? (Northcote Station) Road sign that actually goes around a corner (Wonthaggi)
Sydney’s introducing a new public transport fare system called “MyZone”, from April. At first I pretty much believed the name and the colourful graphics on the web site, which implied that it’s a Melbourne-like multi-modal zone fare system, working on every train, bus, tram and ferry. But it isn’t. It’s mostly still paying by distance ... [More]
On AM on Thursday they noted research which shows four in ten people use credit for basic purchases such as groceries, the implication being that many of those are doing so because they can’t use cash as they need to defer that spending to stay afloat. PETER RYAN: So credit cards being used for entertainment ... [More]
COMMUTERS are ignoring Government advice and are using myki cards on trams as well as trains. … (Jean Ker Walsh said) ”Myki equipment on trams is turned on for use by testers and system auditors,” she said. ”Everyone else on the tram should have a valid Metcard.” — The Age, Caution urged for travellers who ... [More]
Was watching an email list discussion about imperial vs metric. I’m young enough that all I learnt at school was metric, but most of the adults around me (such as my parents) were more familiar with imperial, and some of it rubbed off and entered my knowledge and vocabulary. So I do know that an ... [More]
At work I have a “Loud” play list, for when things are noisy in the office and I need to concentrate on something. Loudness helps, but an all-encompassing sound is even better for when I need to drown out other noise. Most artists in my collection have at least a few loud songs, but some ... [More]
See also: 2015 update Just so we’re clear here about which type of train is which, here’s a quick guide… Firstly, this is the train that’s in the news today: the Siemens. Their brakes have problems. (Update 2012: The brake problems have apparently been fixed.) Whereas this is the Comeng. Their air-conditioners tend to konk ... [More]
The current Flinders Street Station is 100 years old today. There’s a newish book on the history of Flinders Street Station called Beyond the Facade by Jenny Davies. Recently I was walking through the Degraves Street subway and noticed a display for the book. Then something in one of the windows caught my eye; amongst ... [More]
Was chatting a while back to a colleague about his kids in high school. One of them ends up carrying an enormous amount of stuff to and from school, including books and sports equipment, but also a notebook (laptop) computer costing a couple of thousand dollars. Giving students laptops makes no sense to me. Compared ... [More]
Work has moved me to the west end of the city, and apart from needing to figure out where there’s a decent newsagency and ATM, I’m also figuring out the transport links. Flagstaff station is the closest. Easy. Well, until they go ahead with that plan to move Frankston trains out of the loop, which ... [More]
The horrific car accident on Sunday morning that left 5 teenagers dead reminds me of some very stupid driving I saw from people on the trip down to Inverloch and back. On the way down I saw a motorcyclist come up behind me on a stretch of single lane road. I was doing about the ... [More]