I recently had a bunch of blood tests done, a kind of overall health check thingy. It was quite funny actually. M coincidentally went in as well for something, and while waiting in the Pathology place we observed what looked at first glance to be the most unhelpful receptionist ever known to mankind. A lady ... [More]
One of the fun things with the Wii is creating your “Mii” — that is, an avatar used in some of the games. While the kids got busy creating some favourite fictional characters, my avatar looks like me. Here’s mine, seen in Wii Sports Resort, playing table tennis. Guitar Hero doesn’t use the standard, cartoon-like ... [More]
Free CBD PT? DUMB IDEA. That would benefit those who drive in, to the detriment of the rest of us.
If your team is out, who are you going for? First. I’m a Geelong fan, so I’m going for them, of course. Go Cats! What of the others? Equal second. I’d have rated the Dogs or the Saints equally. Both underdogs. I have a girlfriend who lives in Footscray, and a good friend who is ... [More]
My old school friend Raoul used to say he went into Brashs in Elizabeth Street sometime in the 80s and asked for Abbey Road and was told they didn’t stock reggae. I asked Raoul last week about the new remixed Beatles CDs, and he reckoned don’t bother unless you have a high-end stereo system — ... [More]
While I realise the shutdown of the M1 eastbound on Tuesday was probably misery for those caught up in it, the lengthy article on it in yesterday’s Age I think vastly overstates the impact. The article basically has the road lobby saying that the whole thing doesn’t work (and the $1.4 billion of improvements won’t ... [More]
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!