Lifehacker on signing-off emails: The Yanks might think “Cheers” is too “mock-Brit”, but Australians are comfortable with it. Personally I use Cheers on most. Regards on formal stuff. Or nothing when I’m talking to a regular correspondent and am in a hurry and/or on a mobile. An older Lifehacker article noted “Best” was awkward. I ... [More]
Lights again. I seem to have reached the point where the first of my compact fluorescent light globes are starting to be replaced. Many of them I installed about two years ago, and most in the house are still going strong. The three that have expired get switched on generally for only short periods of ... [More]
If you’ve wondered about the LEDs being increasingly used for traffic lights, apparently they use 60% less energy. They also last about ten times longer than conventional bulbs. I assume the design, which includes a whole bunch of individual LEDs, also allows for some redundancy, so some can fail but the entire light doesn’t stop ... [More]
Melbourne’s tram operator also set a target of catching more than 60,000 commuters over a nine-month period. — Herald Sun, 11/9/2009, “Tram inspectors pushed to meet their quotas“ See, after all these years, they’re still going about it the wrong way. I don’t think the deterrent of fines is really working. The measure of success ... [More]
Always interesting to hear the view from an outsider. Melbourne: A Pedestrian Paradise from STREETFILMS on Vimeo. I don’t think I disagree with any of the praises given, and there’s some interesting comments from Robert Adams and others about some fairly subtle design features that have gone into the streetscapes, such as the City Council ... [More]
I’ve previously joked to my architect brother-in-law that given the relative space in my front garden (larger, somewhat wasted space) and back (smallish) garden, I should organise to have the house moved forward by 2-3 metres. We laughed it off, but by chance I found there are companies that move houses from anywhere to anywhere, ... [More]
Today’s release of The Beatles Rock Band video-game and the remastered CDs is enough to get me excited about the band all over again. Not that I’ll rush out and replace my collection of CDs with these new ones, but it’s sorely tempting to buy my the new versions of a few favourites, such as ... [More]
I’m a bit of a Melways nerd. I got a new (2010) edition for my birthday. They’re no fools, the people at Ausway, putting the new edition out in time for Father’s Day (which in Australia is the first Sunday in September). My 2006 edition will go into the car (where it may get a ... [More]
Very cool. It’s like the Cadillac of bikes. Just the thing for a spin down to the beach.
Back to the future? New ticketing system with a distinctive new name and look to start… in late-1994!
The saying used to go: You’ve got two chances — Buckley’s and None. I was always told it was based on the homophone department store Buckley and Nunn, combined with the older expression Buckley’s chance, which was probably from William Buckley, convict who escaped into the bush and was said to have had little chance ... [More]
Strange dream last night, with a surprising amount of detail. Marita and I were travelling in Scotland. After visiting a remote village, we had to climb by a kind of rope-ladder thing back up to the railway station (which was on a very high metal bridge). After getting on the train, it continued towards the ... [More]
As the city develops, we’re in danger of losing landmarks which are no longer deemed valuable by those in power. Lonsdale House is a recent example, though it’s not gone yet. This is Olympic Doughnuts, outside Footscray Station, pictured in 2007. Since then, most of the surrounding shops have been demolished as part of the ... [More]
A fire in Springvale, to which the CFA responds. C’mon, Springvale. What is this, 1960? East of Westall Road isn’t paddocks anymore. Surely it’s time to re-draw the MFB/CFA boundaries? The metro/country taxi boundaries are similar, aren’t they? Time for an update. Odd. I found a quarterly magazine that retails for $7, but is $44 ... [More]
Gosh, how exciting. We’re getting a Metro. Well, that is, we’re getting something called a Metro. …and a new logo on the trams! Wow! Animation! Motherhood statements! Trams that look like Melbourne Citadis trams, but can’t be because they have more doors! Trains that don’t stop anywhere, but must be real because they make the ... [More]
Just because you can edit Wikipedia doesn’t mean you should. I’ve merely dabbled. Added references to things where I knew of them, mostly. Added text on things where I knew for definite that relevant information was missing, and where I could cite a source. A couple of times I’ve added photos of a subject that ... [More]