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]
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Travelling dream
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]
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Good news!
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]
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Gosh, how exciting
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]
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Just don’t, okay?
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]
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They can’t perform miracles
Contrary to what some people seem to think, in December when Connex are gone and the new operator starts, miracles will not occur. Girl to friend on train: “I can’t wait till the Japanese take over Connex. We can then get to Frankston from the city in, like, five minutes in the bullet train. It’ll ... [More]
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Sign of the times
Spot the difference between these two signs warning of window washers at work above the footpaths in the city… Exhibit A, Manchester Lane: Exhibit B, Collins Street: The second crew actually did have a woman in their number. I wonder if eventually all companies will phase out the former version in favour of the latter.
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I know you, but I don’t know from where
It seems to happen in degrees. Case one: At lunchtime yesterday I passed one guy in the street who I knew I knew, but couldn’t quite place. He knew me too; we exchanged grins. Thinking about it later, I’m pretty sure I’ve worked out where he’s from. Case two: Then on the way back I ... [More]
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Someone broke The Age
Either someone broke The Age’s web site, or there’s just no news worth reporting. Or maybe it’s a Fairfax cut-back? (Oh, it’s back now.)
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Happy birthday to me
Last year of my 30s starts today. While I’d love to have a lazy day at home and a big party, I haven’t been organised enough, so neither will happen. Instead it’ll be a work day, punctuated by breakfast with my boys, lunch with my girl, and dinner with my Posse of TroUblemAkers — family ... [More]
I’d completely forgotten about this until M reminded me of it last week. For some reason I didn’t blog about it at the time. Better late than never. A couple of years ago (actually, 2006, when the kids looked much younger than they do now) Flat Stanley (this one from friends in the USA) came ... [More]
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Shuffling the dishes
One of the things I sometimes do is put the iPod on random play shuffle while I do the dishes (that is, the dishes that can’t be efficiently washed in the dishwasher). I find that because I can’t readily skip to the next track, I end up hearing stuff from my music collection that I’d ... [More]
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Two urns lost
Overnight Australia lost the Ashes, after losing to England by 197 runs. You can hear the joy in Stephen Fry’s voice in this short audio post on the subject: Listen! And this weekend my footy tips tanked with just 4 out of 8. With only one more round to go, I now have no chance ... [More]
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Spot the odd one out
The Saturday Age’s property section has a bit on pages 2-3 called Private Property, where they highlight various homes for sale, and note who is selling them, and their claim to fame, such that it is. Spot the odd one out from yesterday’s edition: Frankston car dealer and philanthropist Gary Lechte Maryann Jesudason and her ... [More]
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One artist challenge
I’m only doing this ‘cos (a) Rae tagged me (a while back) and (b) I had a smartarse answer for the first question. The ONE ARTIST Challenge ! Choosing only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can’t use the band ... [More]