Damn. After scouting around car insurance last week, and finding their premiums were all pretty similar, I went with AAMI, as they seem to have a good reputation, and they gave a grant to the PTUA a couple of years ago, so I know they’re (hopefully) good corporate citizens. But given I drive something like ... [More]
Most unexpected question from the media pack at 1 Treasury Place this morning: Should Premiers Lane have a possessive apostrophe? (That Brendan is a joker.) I gave a mock answer for that one, which wound up proceedings, and a quick discussion followed on the merits or otherwise of punctuation in street signs. As it turns ... [More]
Obviously I can’t predict any better than anybody else, otherwise I’d be rich, but I wonder if now might be a good time to put any Amazon orders in, before the dollar drops any further. (Source: Reserve Bank) PS. Cameron recently pointed out this company, which ships worldwide from the UK for free: The Book ... [More]
Yes, I’m selling the old beast. It’s a 1993 Mitsubishi Magna TR Executive sedan, dark grey, manual, 4 cylinder 2.6 litre, air-conditioned. Built in sunny Adelaide, it’s got about 215,000 kms on the clock. The tyres were replaced about 10,000kms ago. Rego is until late October, though obviously a Roadworthy Certificate needs to be obtained ... [More]
“I’m just going to Woolies.” “I need something from Woolworths.” Doesn’t quite sound right. But I guess I’ll get used to it, just as I did with Melbourne Central Station… and yes, I’m even getting there with Southern Cross Station (even though I still think that name change was silly). Age: Woolies shelves Safeway brand.
I almost did a double-take when I saw this on the news last night. Why? Because I recognised it as being this, snapped by me on my phone, and originally used on my blog: …plus a little bit of this, snapped by me and originally used on the PTUA web site… It looks like a ... [More]
My brother-in-law Adrian was telling me some amusing tales of recent trips to Ikea in Richmond. On one, he dared to go on a Sunday, but went early. He described it in surfing terms — moving through the one-way system ahead of the wave, which he could see developing behind him, trying to beat it. ... [More]
I’ve had something of a fascination with Ikea’s furniture ever since my teenage years when my friend Konrad moved to his new place in St Kilda and showed me the bedroom desk he’d got. It was a huge pine modular setup, full of useful drawers and shelves for his various gadgets and papers. Somewhere I ... [More]
The other week I wrote: Personally, Iâd rather eat than drive any day. Evidently not everybody agrees: Pensioner Josephine Simsa says she would rather not eat than give up her car and her treasured independence. She doesn’t mean it literally of course, but the article goes on to describe how she specifically shops for cheap ... [More]
I just bought a car. Well, subject to a mechanic giving it a going-over. Holden Astra CD TS, 2000 hatchback “Olympic edition”. Which means it’s from two Olympics ago, and that it has a few little extras like fog lights. Silver, electric windows, airbags, ABS, CD player, alloy wheels (like I care), remote locking. Perhaps ... [More]
Where is that damn train? Flinders Street Station, 1920s (or maybe 30s?) (From the Public Record Office Victoria) Flinders Street Station, 2007 Yeah the angles don’t match, but I reckon it’s not bad given that I took the new picture last year, before seeing the older one. AND it’s exactly the same platforms in shot. ... [More]
Race is a funny thing. I think gradually (at least in the bit of society I inhabit) attitudes are changing. It seems common for people of my parents’ generation to refer to someone’s race. It’s not necessarily anything negative, just a reference. That Jewish man. The Chinese doctor. The Indian lady. When I talk about ... [More]
Some things never change. Colliers International researchers found that in December last year, house prices for suburbs near trains and trams hit an average of $526,000 – with top rail suburb prices soaring by up to 57 per cent in the year. — Herald Sun, 24/7/2008 (See also a similar article on
I went to see the Art Deco exhibition at NGV International last Friday night. I would have gladly paid, but happily went when invited as part of a corporate thing, which was great, as there were no crowds. I’ve long liked art deco, and there’s some terrific pieces, highlighting that the style influenced not only ... [More]
A Herald Sun article last week quoted figures showing that ditching cars and switching to PT could save you between $4,000 and $10,000 per year. (Seriously, it’s not just fuel — if you take into account finance, rego, insurance and repairs, it adds up fast.) Problem is that somewhere in the sausage factory that is ... [More]
One of the things I do (inconsistently) when signing up for things online is to use an email alias specific to the customer I’m signing up to. The theory is that if that email address ever got leaked to spammers, I’d know who leaked it. If you own a domain name, it’s easy to do, ... [More]