Passed the scene of a scaffolding collapse on Thursday afternoon on Collins Street. Apparently nobody was hurt. But it all fell onto a 4WD. See what you get for driving your Toorak Tractor into the city?* On Friday morning I found this giant Christmas tree being assembled by Santa’s helpers disguised as construction workers… seems ... [More]
In case you hadn’t heard, there’s an election on. From yesterday’s Sunday Age “Heckler” page: THE DIRT: Politicians are trying to stack the outspoken Public Transport Users Association. The association is facing elections and there has been a flurry of nominations by Labor and even Liberal political staffers. What happens if Team Brumby takes over ... [More]
I was tagged by Clay for an animal meme. Though I suspect these answers won’t be terribly interesting. An interesting animal I had… I don’t currently have any pets. In the past it was goldfish and cats, and when I was very young, budgies. The one I had the longest was Sooty the cat, who ... [More]
I must be getting more domesticated… I look outside and see it’s a warm and windy day and think “wow, what a great day for washing.”
I was quite fascinated to listen to the start of The Conversation Hour on 774 Melbourne last Friday (MP3 available). Co-host Waleed Aly is very witty, and has a gift of being able to explain his Muslim beliefs and practices in terms that even the most ocker Aussies can understand. (01:15) Jon Faine: Is it ... [More]
Monday Perhaps ironically given a story in yesterday’s Herald-Sun about public transport causing stress, I got a bit narky on the train yesterday morning when a gaggle of De La Salle boys started mucking about with the train doors at Caulfield. With apparently no consideration for the other thousand people on the train, they blocked ... [More]
A Greenpeace report report commissioned by Greenpeace that came out last week says, among other things, that eating more kangaroos is better for the environment than eating beef, on the basis that less land clearing is required, and kangaroos don’t produce the methane gas released by cattle and sheep. I assume they’d also consume less ... [More]
For his birthday, Andrew asked for a few bloggers to post something on a topic of his choosing. He asked me for: The time you had such a bad experience on public transport that you rang the minister or one of his minions, or similar. I had a think about this, and I don’t think ... [More]
For all the problems you see around the world, Melbourne has, I think, been generally peaceful when it comes to race relations. Indeed, there are plans afoot to permanently implant some cultures’ businesses into particular city streets — an extension of the concept already used in Chinatown that would spread to the Greek precinct, the ... [More]
In what might become a tradition (by my count this makes the fourth time in the last few months) Premier Brumby and Public Transport Minister Kosky took a train ride yesterday to make an announcement, this time at Jolimont, then caught a train to Parliament. (You could tell Brumby doesn’t catch the train much; the ... [More]
With the Aussie dollar at a 20-year high, I’m sure I’m not the only one considering splashing out buying stuff from Amazon or other offshore etailers. I’ve already got some DVDs on the way (The Goodies LWT and Spaced; neither of which are available in Australia) and am considering a few books and things as ... [More]
I could grumble about the trains yesterday, and the apparent lack of security on the last weekend of the school holidays that allowed 16 trains to be vandalised, but I won’t, since I already did that on Twitter (live from the scene, as it were). People complain about railway station car parking. That there’s never ... [More]
Interesting article about the vagaries of “secret” suburb names. It reminds me of the time a colleague told me he was buying a house in Travancore. I had no idea where it was. It turns out to be a pocket of Ascot Vale, but the name is one that I’d suspect is rarely seen outside ... [More]
People must think I look like I know where I’m going. I seem to frequently get asked for directions. And maybe they’re right, as it seems like I’m usually able to help them. The bloke on Centre Road, wanting to get to Chadstone? By car? Okay, go straight down Centre Road, left at Warragul Road, ... [More]
Whoops. How could I forget, it was our fourth anniversary today. A speedily organised lunch and a bunch of flowers later, I think I got away with it. Must remember next year. If we were married, it’d be Fruit and Flowers this year. Though there are claims the modern gift equivalent for four years is ... [More]
There were a lot of families on the trains last week. Many off to the Show, or the Fed Square Pixar exhibit, or the Thomas Live shows at the Tennis Centre. There’s something that’s pleasing about seeing a bustling busy city railway station (provided there’s plenty of space and it’s not too packed). Be it ... [More]