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]
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How much has really changed?
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]
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You’re invited — bring a slave
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]
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No more cigarettes
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]
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Why yes, I have done that
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]
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This blog is sponsored by…
If you’re wondering, yes, the Lasoo.com.au banner advert is due to a sponsorship deal. I was quite pleased to see they produced a graphic that fits in well with the blog — in a similar vein to my post last week on contextual advertising. Lasoo is a web site that compiles and indexes retail catalogues ... [More]
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No more flavoured instant noodles
Us Bowens occasionally get an upset stomach, something we have dubbed Bowen Belly. Recently it’s been less frequent for me, thankfully. But on Monday I was foolish. I was passing through the supermarket and bought one of those instant noodle meals. I wanted a quick cheap easy meal. I must have temporarily forgotten about “tasty” ... [More]
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How many places have you lived?
Here’s a list of all the places I’ve lived. Some of the info from my early years is a bit vague. I suppose I could ask my mum for more details, but I’m not sure it’s that critical. 1970: A flat somewhere in Sydney — for a short time after my birth 1971ish: A flat ... [More]
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Non-identical twins
These two are dizygotic twins. That is, non-identical. They used to be identical. How did it happen? Here’s the potted history. These Comeng trains were built during the 80s. As part of privatisation, the then-two operators M>Train and Connex took half each, and refurbished them (via EDI and Alstom, respectively). Added CCTV, automated announcements and ... [More]
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The half-house
Around the inner and middle suburbs, there are plenty of semi-detached houses, many in pairs, I’m guessing built around the 1920s and 30s. They look like a single big house if you don’t look too closely, but have two front doors and so on, and a thick dividing wall down the middle. I actually tried ... [More]