So, both Connex and TransdevTSL (operating as Yarra Trams) are being shown into the departure lounge, with MTM (MTR) and Keolis to replace them. I don’t think the former is a surprise, though the latter is. Some are celebrating. I know this for a fact, as yesterday morning at the station I heard one man ... [More]
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Who will it be?
The big announcement may well come in the next few days: who will take over running Melbourne’s trams and trains from November? Anybody want to put their predictions on the table? Leave a comment! Your choices: Trains: Connex (Veolia, incumbent) or MTM (Hong Kong MTR consortium) or Keolis Trams: Yarra Trams (TransdevTSL, incumbent) or Keolis ... [More]
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Doctor Where?
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer is Doctor John Carnie. So I’m wondering… Where is he? I’m sure acting CHO Rosemary Lester is doing a fabbo job, but if the state has a WHO-recognised pandemic on its hands, shouldn’t the actual CHO turn up? Shouldn’t it be all hands on deck?
The other week, in one night, I had a trio of ridiculous dreams. So ridiculous that you half know it’s a dream, and it’s a ridiculous situation, but you keep on dreaming it anyway. I’ve forgotten the first. In the second, someone was knocking at my front door and trying to look through the frosted ... [More]
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Geek Idol
I’ve had few real idols; people of whom I could genuinely say “I want to be like them.” In my early-to-mid 20s, Ben Elton was one of them. Amazingly funny, both on stage and in his writing. I wanted to write stuff that was half as good as his books, but never quite managed to ... [More]
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Phoenix changing
When I visited Phoenix, Arizona in 1996, it appeared to be the archetypal car-dominated city. I was told pretty much the only PT was buses once an hour. The freeways were packed at rush hour. Nobody walked anywhere. The downtown area was (especially on weekends) so deserted that they had to have signs saying “Welcome ... [More]
Was just watching the footy and noticed that the Sydney Swans have the initials of their old name — SMFC — on their jumpers near the back of the neck. Had previously noticed that the Bulldogs also have this — FFC. Collingwood doesn’t seem to have it. How many other teams do? Is it a ... [More]
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Attn: Melbourne City Council
On Thursday I noticed a Melbourne City Council City Of Melbourne worker wandering around Collins Street with a street sign under his arm, apparently puzzled as to where to put it up. Today I noticed it had gone up. In the wrong place. There is no way through to Howey Place there. If you follow ... [More]
The most efficient way of moving people is using their own two feet. Here’s the statistical measure: (Graph from Teufel, D, 1989, âDie Zukunft des Autoverkehrsâ (The future of car traffic), Umwelt und Prognose Institut, Heidelberg — and used more recently in PTUA’s Response to Australiaâs Future Tax System Consultation Paper. Here’s another representation of ... [More]
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I am danielbowen. danielbowen I am.
Every so often, some new online service will present itself. Some turn out to be duds, but some turn out to be pretty compelling. As most of them are free, it’s often handy to grab your name early on while it’s available, in case it becomes useful later. In the prehistoric days of the net, ... [More]
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Quick things
Why is Westpac bank turning into my mother? Do they really expect to get more customers like this? Great quote: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” — Robert J. Hanlon Star Trek: all creeds and colours of humanity, in a spirit of co-operation and harmony, working together at hating the ... [More]
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Collins Street, 9am
I was hoping to find a decent JPG copy of that modified John Brack Collins Street 5pm that was in The Age a few weeks ago — the one where everybody’s wearing iPods — but haven’t seen it online, and I’m not sure I can get a good scan from the paper copy I have. ... [More]
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Making tracks
UPDATE: See info at bottom of post Why does Australia have problems with multiple rail gauges? In summary, it seems to have gone like this: 1848: Everyone agreed to use standard gauge (4 ft 8.5 in). 1851: The Sydney Railway Company had a chief engineer who preferred broad gauge (5 ft 3 in), and convinced ... [More]
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The Kerang verdict
Just over two years after the accident, the verdict in the Kerang disaster case was returned yesterday. The truck driver was acquitted. There’s no question over the fact that he was at the wheel, or what happened after impact. And we know that the crossings lights and bells worked, because the traffic coming the other ... [More]
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Life is high resolution
You know you’ve been watching too many online videos when you look at something in real life and think “Wow that’s high resolution… and the motion is so smooth…”
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Alphabetical music meme
For those so inclined, here’s a music meme. Take your iPod, or alternative daggy unfashionable non-Apple MP3 player, or even your music collection on your computer. Pick a song, maybe one you like at the moment, doesn’t really matter which one. Using the alphabetic list of songs in your iPod/player/computer, list that song and the ... [More]