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]
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]
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]
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
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]
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]
I’ve been using Glenhuntly Station for about fifteen years, since when I first moved to the suburb. I still go there even though I live in Bentleigh, on days when I’ve dropped off the kids at school. In that time, about the only thing that’s changed is that there used to be a booking office ... [More]
I wrote about this ages ago, but it hasn’t changed, as it still works the same way on my newish Nokia N95 phone: The predictive text, which usually works really well, reckons if you press 752737, the most likely word you want is slaves. I always want plates. So if I’m not careful to change ... [More]
I was in the barber shop last week getting a hair cut. I’ve been going there for something like fifteen years, and things have changed little over that time. One thing that used to be different is they had ash-trays in the waiting area to accomodate smokers. Those disappeared some years ago. But now for ... [More]
Pre-state budget, there were strategic leaks of various initiatives. One that got a lot of press is the bike hire scheme. It’s a $5 million dollar scheme to have a bunch of inner-city bike stations where people can hire a bike. Obviously there’s some detail to come out here. Where will they put them? How ... [More]
Ever tried to do a press conference at Southern Cross station and compete with a locomotive for the microphone? Don’t try. Locos 1. Me 0. — Kevin Rudd PM on Twitter Amusing. It occurred to me that there’s not very many people who would be qualified to reply in the affirmative to that, so even ... [More]