Morning radio can be very fast-paced. In the case of yesterday morning’s two-and-a-half minutes on Jon Faine’s programme, about railway security, I’d been dashing around, and only had a couple of minutes between hearing their voicemail and being on-air. Maybe that’s why they call it the “hectic half-hour“. Not sure it excuses me being unable ... [More]
A few weeks ago we watched Buster Keaton’s The General the other day. It’s public domain, a free download from the Internet Archive. Very funny stuff, and some quite remarkable stunts considering they had so few safety precautions compared to nowadays. I had been pondering if it was rude to talk during a silent movie. ... [More]
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Driving school FAIL
Dear “Number One Driving School”, You may not be Number One for long if you keep teaching your learner drivers to park in bus zones, then sit there for 5+ minutes. This pic was taken a couple of weeks ago, and was separate to another noted yesterday via Twitter: You parked in a bus zone ... [More]
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End of week shorties
Had to laugh at the Indian protestor talking to Jon Faine on Monday who appeared to inadvertantly use the phrase “Too many chiefs, not enough Indians” (at about the 20:45 minute mark, using the ABC media player’s weird countdown system.) I haven’t actually seen this week’s controversial Chaser episode yet. But judging from last week’s ... [More]
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Metcard II: Rise of the Myki
Just as news breaks that the Myki system overcharges when bus drivers change shifts and reboot the bus, we in Melbourne are starting to see something more than mounting points and black and yellow striped boxes for our $1.3 billion. This one is at Footscray station. I’d have to assume at some stage they’ll get ... [More]
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McGills to close
Along with the now-closed Technical Bookshop, McGills was a regular geek destination when I was growing up, somewhere I could browse and purchase material for the two geeky pursuits of mine: technology and transport. I held onto my 8-bit BBC Micro for longer than most people, and it was never the most popular platform, so ... [More]
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So is it flexible, or not?
I’m sorry, I know I’m being terribly dim here, but these adverts: Can someone explain what it means? I appreciate that a physical printed bus timetable is generally made out of paper, and is therefore flexible. But what with online timetables and journey planners, a lot of people never use a paper timetable anymore. Especially, ... [More]
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Some thoughts on swine flu
I’m not panicking about swine flu. From the cases in Australia so far, it appears to be reasonably easily treated, with minimal effects for those who catch it. Quarantine? Well I don’t think I’d enjoy it much, but I guess I’d get a bunch of tidying and video-game-playing and DVD-watching done. I’d certainly try out ... [More]
Oh great, I just got my first international phone SMS scam spam. I’ve had the odd domestic SMS spam before, but this is the first like this. I hope it’s not the start of a flood. It has a couple of hints that it’s probably a variation on the old Advance-fee/419/Nigerian scam — the claim ... [More]
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Common decency
I was saddened to see the damage to the Flinders Street Station stained-glass windows on the news, from the protests by Indian students today, but I think it probably shows just how angry they are about the crimes against them. I’d be angry too. Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said there was a perception that Indian ... [More]
Dear London Daily News, that photo you’ve used was taken by me for use by the PTUA. I don’t recall providing permission for you to use it, and I don’t see any attribution on it. I wonder if anybody clicked through to look at the detail in the picture and wondered whereabouts Caulfield station is ... [More]
As part of my conversion to a cheapskate, I was comparing low-fat milks. For a while I’d been buying Pura Light Start or Rev. The supermarket brands are a lot cheaper, and maybe my taste buds are AWOL, but I can’t really detect a huge difference in taste. But how do they stackup on nutrition? ... [More]
I found the video below on the Walkscore.com blog. Amusing, and quite thought-provoking (if a little preachy). On this topic, I’m not quite sure why, but I had noticed there’s an enormous variety of places of worship in my suburb. Seems whatever your faith, there’s probably a local place for you. Seriously, within about fifteen ... [More]
Level crossings like the one at Glen Huntly slow down trams, cars, pedestrians and trains alike… in fact due to the tram/train crossing (one of four in Melbourne), trains have to slow down to 15 km/h. And the confined pedestrian
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Clare the bogan
One commentator says Claire Werbeloff (the “fully sick” “Chk Chk Boom” Kings Cross bogan hoaxer) is this year’s Corey Worthington. Uh huh. Well it might be worth pointing out that last year’s Corey Worthington is now an unemployed nobody looking for a labouring job. Perhaps the best Claire Werbeloff commentary came from the victim of ... [More]
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I don’t understand
This is the corner of Whitehall and Wingfield Streets in Footscray. (Aerial view in Google Maps) The traffic lights closest to the camera in these photos are basically for the pedestrian crossing, on the northern side of the intersection. But the southern side of the intersection includes a stop line, so that’s where the cars ... [More]