I was helping on a PTUA stall back in January, at the Sustainable Living Festival. It was interesting to talk to the different people coming by. One guy expressed disappointment about car pollution. He said some people would never want to part with their cars. This is not an opinion I entirely agree with. People ... [More]
I’m a St George Bank customer. Given the proposed merger, it seems that soon I’ll be a Westpac customer, despite what Westpac management are saying. During yesterday’s briefing, Ms Kelly was adamant the branch network would be maintained, saying even when a St George branch and a Westpac branch were side by side in the ... [More]
On the grade 5 class contact list, there are 19 kids. Of those 3 (including mine) have two home phone numbers.
Doctor Who fans, rejoice. Acclaimed writer Steven Moffat, who wrote some of the most memorable (and Hugo-award-winning) recent stories such as Blink and The Empty Child, has been appointed the next Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the show, taking over from sometimes-loved, sometimes-loathed Russell T Davies. “My entire career has been a Secret Plan ... [More]
Is the fact that your car is not in your driveway an advertisement to potential burglars that you’re not home? A lot of people drive every day. So if the car isn’t there, it may be a good sign that nobody’s there. One exception might be in a one-car family where there are often people ... [More]
It would seem that big chunky cars are a symbol of luxury in automative design. Like that new big chunky Chrysler 300C that they keep advertising on SBS on Saturday nights — a snip at $54K for the base model — it might just beat the luxury car tax. It looks like a big fat ... [More]
It apparently happened about 8:30am overnight, but was only noticed at 8:30am. A 20 year old man decided to do a bit of “train surfing”. He touched the wires. Zap. Dead. By the time I went through at about 9:30, they were cleaning up the scene. Not that you could see anything; bystanders were kept ... [More]
Complete strangers say odd things to me sometimes. And it’s not just asking for directions. Middle-aged tipsy lady on the way to the football one Friday night: It’s that man off the TV! Me: [non-committal] Lady: Yes, you are… who are you… the opposition health spokesman or something? Me: Umm no, I’m a public transport ... [More]
It’s that one day of the year… when the 7:30 Report isn’t on at 7:30. Other than that, today… I’m tired. Both kids were home sick today, coughing their guts up. Wears you out. (Maybe I’m not feeling 100% myself.) Bank account almost drained for the month. My eldest son Isaac officially became a teenager. ... [More]
You wouldn’t read my blog for any kind of comprehensive analysis of course, but here are my initial impressions: Means tested baby bonus for incomes over $150K; extra tax on cars more than $57K? Excellent! Dunno why some are complaining about hitting the rich. The rich can afford it. Welfare should be reserved for those ... [More]
I’d generally consider myself a patient man, but one of the things that makes me cranky is customer service that doesn’t live up to expectations. I don’t expect shopkeepers to grovel to me or anything, but I do expect them to at least attempt to make my shopping experience as smooth as possible — or ... [More]
My street is a leafy side-street, well away from industrial land. We see the supermarket trucks rolling through our suburb, but other than that, few big freight vehicles are seen. In fact a bigger volume of freight probably goes through Bentleigh on the steel trains from Hastings than on trucks on the streets. Not so ... [More]
Why do some people quote their phone numbers in funny ways on voice mails? Most Australian phone numbers come in two varieties: A local number, eg 7010 5105. (Let’s ignore the two digit area code for now; it’s not usually relevant in voice mails). Or a mobile number, eg 0491 570 156. How I’ve written ... [More]
I love the concept of commuter cycling. While my trip to work is a little too far, I love the idea of riding to places like my sister’s house or my mum’s house or my dad’s place (all just a few km away) on the bike. I love the idea of taking the whole family ... [More]
Last week I gave $100 to my old school’s building fund. I figure I can give at least double that to Burma cyclone disaster relief. Donations in Australia can be made through: Care Australia Red Cross Save The Children Caritas There’s probably others; these are the first four I found. For those overseas, Google has ... [More]
Apparently the Footscray McDonalds was in a state of MacMourning: Meanwhile, check this restaurant in North Richmond. I’ll have to try eating there the next time I want some Aussie-Indian-Chinese. It’s trendy, yet traditional.