Now don’t get me wrong — street violence is a terrible thing. And legendary footy coach Ron Barassi has to be commended for putting himself at risk on New Year’s Eve to come to the aid of someone being attacked. The whole thing is symptomatic of some of the worst ills of society. But really, ... [More]
Haven’t blogged for a bit, so here’s a brief catch-up. I helped Tony and Rae and family move last week. The inevitable comment that pops up when geeks move house: packing the moving van is like Tetris. Of course, when you get a full row of boxes, they don’t disappear and make more space… The ... [More]
I’ve wanted a hammock for ages — ever since I moved in and found hammock hooks fitted to the back veranda. And finally this Christmas I got one, thanks to Marita. Alas it didn’t quite fit the hooks, so I trotted off to Hammock HQ today at the Victoria Market to get the requisite extension ... [More]
Attributed to a government spokeswoman: as part of the Victorian Transport Plan, 38 new trains would be put into the system in 2009, increasing the train fleet by 40 per cent. — The Age: One in 10 trains either cancelled or delayed WRONG. We already have: 95 Comengs, 7 Hitachis, 36 Siemens, 29 X’Trapolis = ... [More]
Happy Boxing Day. Well, we had a pretty good Christmas. The haul’s headliner was a Nintendo Wii — actually bought for the kids (to their surprise and delight), but which has already proven itself to be a helluva lot of fun for me too. A bunch of smaller presents too, and not a dud among ... [More]
When I moved, I figured that for once I intended to stay put for a long time, so I might as well do the neighbourly thing and get to know my neighbours. Not that I’d been unfriendly to previous neighbours. Well okay, maybe if they deserved it. But neither had I gone out of my ... [More]
Letter of note in yesterday’s Age: IT IS interesting to note the objections and opposition to the Government’s climate plan, particularly from more affluent groups and individuals. They see it as up to industry, particularly the power industry, to lower consumption of energy and reduce emissions. What effort are these people prepared to make to ... [More]
Tramcar of the Beast… The next station is Connex… I don’t think I’ve ever been there.
Unlike the last one, I can’t claim a role in this: a hilarious video parodying the Victorian Transport Plan TV commercials. Meanwhile, over at the Sunday Herald Sun, they’re running an online survey on peoples views of PT. Click through and have your say. Finally, answer me this: if Sir Rod Eddington was very specific ... [More]
I got the socks I always wanted at K-Mart the other day.
Time for one of those quick boring domestic posts: Recycled tissues. I’m almost out. I can’t find any in the local Safeways, Coleses or IGAs, or anywhere else. Anybody seen them recently, or do I have to resort to using recycled paper towels as tissues? (Well, and handkerchiefs, of course.)
One day in 1992, I had a joyous moment when I walked most of the length of Swanston Street — in the former traffic lanes — for the first time. It was a wondrous thing, and while Swanston Street still sees delivery vehicles, taxis and the odd errant car, with the wider footpaths and cyclists ... [More]
On the subject of mobile phones, it’s astounding after all these years how many people look surprised when their phones (on any network) drop out in the City Loop. Perhaps half of people, including myself, know this’ll happen. If I’m on the phone going into the tunnel, I’ll tell the other party I’m about to ... [More]
The bad news is that as expected Metcard prices will jump by 5% from January 1st. Stock up now! It’s a curious thing. If you have to increase fares, CPI rises are probably the most logical way to do it. But this time around, the September quarter CPI figures were heavily influenced by petrol price ... [More]
1. Dear driver of EML 925, How about you get off the phone? Then you might be paying enough attention to remember to indicate when you turn. 2. Good on you for driving a Prius. But parking in a Bus Zone? Not so good. Oh, unless… I don’t suppose you’re a substitute service for the ... [More]
I’ve been looking for this video for ages: why Alanis Morrisette doesn’t understand “ironic”. I couldn’t find it because I thought I needed to find Sean Hughes, but it’s actually Ed Byrne.