PS. See also: The machines will win II 28/5/2011: Pictures tweaked.
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Up up and away
April 2005: September 2005: May 2008: June 2008: Richard Heinberg: “I think what the oil consuming nations really need to understand is that this is not a temporary blip in the oil market. What we’re seeing is a fundamental and permanent change in the global energy economy. We will be dealing with the fallout of ... [More]
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Faine unplugged
Jon Faine, when he’s in the studio, is like an orchestra conductor. You don’t obviously see it when listening to the radio, but he waves his arms around to silently signal to his producer to keep the caller on-air, or mute them. It must be an effort to keep talking informatively, encourage the callers’ thoughts ... [More]
Fifteen years ago I wore a Seiko wristwatch. It was given to me by my legendary Uncle Kevin (UK in the UK), about a decade before. Fifteen years ago I didn’t carry a camera routinely. I had a 35mm Kodak one that my mum had given to me. I It was heavy, had no zoom, ... [More]
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Bellybutton fluff
How does bellybutton fluff work? Where on earth does it come from? There seems to be never-ending bits of it coming from my bellybutton. Every time I check there’s another bit. Can it be harnessed somehow? I wonder if it generates emissions when burnt. If not, it could almost be a limitless source of power.
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Stephen Fry, on the Doctor
The week before we moved, the BBC started a new drama, starring William Hartnell. An old man, whose name appeared to be Grandfather or the Doctor, had a police phone box of the kind we saw in the street all the time in those days. It turned out to be a magical and unimaginably wonderful ... [More]
(Move your mouse over the vehicles) In reporting a proposed congestion charge in Manchester, UK, some of the international media seem to have got a bit confused. The Daily Mirror says: There are now also congestion charges in Stockholm, Melbourne and Toronto. CNN reports: Melbourne, Australia, has imposed a charge for downtown driving since 2000. ... [More]
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Keep your wheels straight
Jeez, at this rate, most posts this week might be transport-related. (See the cover of the Age this morning?) Back when I was learning to drive, one of the things that stuck in my head (thanks to Andre the driving instructor) was that when turning right, one should keep the steering wheel in the forward ... [More]
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You heard it hear here first
I liked the vehicle emissions chart I posted here last week that I included it in Sunday’s presentation. A journo at the presentation liked it so much he wrote it up for this morning’s Age. The graph has been published again in full here (it doesn’t have my old Magna, and includes some extra cars) ... [More]
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The cultural aspects of traffic lights
Another post about traffic lights… Apart from the CBD, it seems there are some other places where you don’t need to press the button to get a green man. From what I can tell, this includes a number of intersections in the Caulfield area, such as along Glen Eira Road, on Friday nights and Saturdays. ... [More]
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Chic, not geek
I find it amusing when there’s a mismatch between things that are apparently hip and modern and up to date, and things that definitely aren’t. Take this shop for example: Cool laneway location Grungy warehouse basement position Daggy antique 80’s blue-screen DOS-based Point Of Sale system (on a flat screen)! My fellow geeks are probably ... [More]
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RACV heading down the wrong road
I just about punched the air when I read Elliot Fishman’s great opinion piece in today’s Age: RACV heading down the wrong road. Elliot highlights some of the things I’ve pondered recently, such as the RACV’s 2004 spectacularly wrong guess on oil prices, as well as pointing out the flaws in their calls for lower ... [More]
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Glad it wasn’t me
Glad it wasn’t me that this happened to. One can understand the frustration which gets people taking flying kicks at the machine, trying to rock it on its base to get the purchase out.
On Thursday some school books were lost by Son The Elder. On Friday he checked with his home group teacher. He checked with the year level co-ordinator and the office. Following the long weekend, he checked again on Tuesday after school. Nothing had turned up. He seemed worried about the missing books, so I moved ... [More]
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Hybrids and emissions
While one can see that developing hybrid Camrys is going to be of some benefit, with reduced petrol consumption and therefore reduced emissions, I think we need to get a little perspective here. What they’re saying is that the hybrid Camry will reduce consumption by about a third. That’s certainly a start, putting it below ... [More]
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Walk, or don’t walk
Brian K posted about different types of people and their behaviour at pedestrian lights: those who don’t press it, then look confused when nothing happens; those who press it once; those who rapid-fire press it dozens of times, in the mistaken belief that it makes the lights change quicker. (Ah. It seems I’ve written about ... [More]