Spring has sprung. The weather’s getting nicer. My mind has turned to the cluster headaches that I got for the first time at this time last year. I haven’t had any again yet, but there’s something about the light which just hints that they might be on their way. Or maybe it’s just that my ... [More]
The kids and I set off for the Show on Tuesday morning. It had been about a decade since I’d been — ditto for Isaac, who went with a childcare group some years ago, and we’re not sure if Jeremy had ever been before. Tuesday turned out to be a good day to go. Despite ... [More]
Apparently Jay has a bowel movement. Not sure why he feels the need to immortalise it on his licence plate though. There can be few things less appetising in the supermarket than this: Ham & chicken flavoured knob. Grand Theft Panto? (Sorry, a little joke for the gunzels.) By the way, my old car finally ... [More]
I don’t claim to understand a great deal about the share market, and the current turmoil it’s enduring. I’ve heard the practice of short selling explained twice on the TV or radio in the last few days, and while I think I get how it works, I can’t understand why the owners of the shares ... [More]
The government backed down on one of the January fare changes — making Seniors Dailies only available in packs of 5. Not in a pack, really, but on a single ticket. Which meant a couple wanting that fare would have to cough up $33 in one hit. (Some might argue that Seniors shouldn’t get any ... [More]
MISCONDUCT IN FRANKSTON TRAIN Although there have been many convictions for rowdy conduct in the trains to Frankston at weekends, offences of this kind constantly occur. At the Malvern Court on Monday, before Mr. Cohen, P.M. and Messrs. Patterson, Hattam, and Carroll, J.P.’s, the Railway Department proceeded against Bernand Molloy, 214 George street, Fitzroy, and ... [More]
Recently they’ve done some work on the streetscape in my local shopping centre, Centre Road in Bentleigh. Now, I may not know much about road design, but I think this, at the taxi rank next to the station, is a bad layout. Why? Because when the front taxi gets a fare, the others in the ... [More]
The stations between Malvern and South Yarra are colloquially known as the MATHS stations. Malvern Armadale Toorak Hawksburn South Yarra The first four of them (that would be MATH) also match architecturally. I’m assuming they were all built around 1915 when the line was quadruplicated. I can’t think of any other station group names of ... [More]
I’m getting used to the “new” car. You know how it is when you switch, especially between manual cars, and you have to learn the feel of the accelerator and clutch for the new vehicle? Otherwise you either take off too fast, or stall it. Things I’ve noticed about the Astra which are different from ... [More]
Not for the first time, a blog post of mine has been adapted into a newspaper story. Today’s Sunday Age reports on “ghost trams”: On our tramway’s secret service. Interestingly, Yarra Trams uses the term “ghost tram” for something else already — a tram that’s out of radio contact. Last year The Age did a ... [More]
So much for Weekly/Monthly/Yearly tickets being valid in any zone on weekends. From January this benefit will be removed. You’d think they’d be trying not to discourage people from using these tickets, since they help cut down queues and encourage PT loyalty… but it looks like it’s a simplification of the rules to make implementation ... [More]
Leader Newspapers have joined ABC Local Radio in redesigning their web site into a hideous, difficult to navigate mess. For instance, the Caulfield Leader, at www.caulfieldgleneiraleader.com.au, with a page showing the same news stories as the printed version of the paper, plus a few other links, apparently wasn’t good enough. So now it’s the ... [More]
I thought the police were having issues with high petrol bills. Apparently not, as they’re going to patrol nightspots in Hummers. Maybe instead they should have gone for Police Priuses. They’d be distinctive. Did you know that a Prius actually has more legroom than a Hummer H3? Seriously, inspired by a comment from Tony H, ... [More]
Tony spotted a hot air balloon above his house this morning. I spotted one in Collins Street at about 9:15am: I wonder if it was the same one?
Have you seen the pictures of the Large Hadron Collider to be switched on today? Wow. It just looks so sci-fi, doesn’t it. I don’t think it’ll destroy the world, but it almost looks capable of it. (It wasn’t invented by Osterhagen, was it? Oh, whoops — spoilers!) PS. The kids are looking on the ... [More]
Sigh. In retrospect I probably should have shut my big mouth rather than comment on the upgrade to Hamer Hall. UNIONS and community groups have slammed a State Government plan to spend $129 million on an Arts Centre facelift. “Patrons of Hamer Hall are lucky they’re not seeing performances in the same conditions that public ... [More]