I had a walk around Fed Square and Birrarung Marr on Friday. I was actually looking to get a pic of the Spamalot information booth, which had a big inflatable Monty Python foot on top of it. The kids could have had great fun animating it. Alas my plan went askew when I couldn’t find ... [More]
I’ve gone cold turkey on junk mail. The sticker went on last weekend, and there’s been nothing since. Of all the junk mail I used to get (the record being a phenominal 28 pieces in a single day, but more typical being 100 per month), I would only read a fraction of it: usually I’d ... [More]
And you thought I was a geek for knowing 75 digits of pi. Peter Thamm of Melbourne’s Viewbank Secondary College has memorised ten thousand digits. (There’s video available of some of it.) I suppose these days, people have spare number-remembering capacity in their brains, since virtually everyone has a phone (home or mobile) that stores ... [More]
Since I apparently know a bit more about it than the average person, and I keep getting asked about it, here’s what I know about Myki, which for out-of-towners, is the very silly name for the forthcoming public transport smartcard ticketing system, which $494 million of tax-payers money is being spent on, whether we like ... [More]
I’m really enjoying the SBS series Great Australian Albums on Saturday nights. It’s kind of an Aussie version of the British Classic Albums series — both take the artists back to the studios to play us snippets from the master tapes, while explaining how the albums came about: the context for the band, the writing, ... [More]
The APEC forum is coming up in Sydney in September, and they’re only shutting down half the city to accomodate them. But we all know what APEC really means… a big photo opp getting the leaders together in clothing that’s “traditional” in the host country — typically those colourful shirts. So, what’ll it be for ... [More]
(Is there anything more dull than people talking about house prices?) Age (last Saturday, I think — can’t find it online) reported on the latest annual rise in median house prices around Melbourne — up 11.7% overall. Of the suburbs rising, many are those close to the city and/or with good access to transport and ... [More]
Regarding the Haneef case… The SIM card. By my count, I have four first-cousins, and I don’t even know how many second-cousins. They all live overseas or interstate, so I don’t see them very often, but if they arrived on the doorstep, I’d welcome them, and if they were in need of a mobile phone ... [More]
I wonder if Jeremy might like to get into journalism? (Pics from Sunday. Thanks M and R.)
My sister looks a little more ethnic than me, and sometimes gets asked “Where are you from?” to which she replies “Melbourne”. This often doesn’t satisfy the interrogator, who will often be reluctant to say it, but really wants to know what the ethnic mix is. Maybe you blue-eyed blonds reading don’t realise this, but ... [More]
On Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago I was digging through the old video tapes and found the Bargearse compilation. (For non-gen-Xers and those outside Australia, Bargearse was a version of the 70s cop show “Bluey”, starring Leo “Lucky” Grills, dubbed-over in the early 90s by the D-Generation Late Show). I thought I’d give the ... [More]
Promotions at Parliament Station: 3. Monday: Free fortune cookie advertising Mt Franklin water’s “Well of Positivity“; Tuesday: free sample of Ocean Spray Cranberries; Wednesday: Amnesty International Beggars who have asked for money: 1 in Swanston Street who sounded very scripted “Excuse me sir, we are homeless for a few days”, and as soon as being ... [More]
The trains have problems, but at least most people can figure out where they go. (Uhh, well, apart from the whole City Loop reversal thing.) But try the buses. I reckon the 627 bus has Melbourne’s most confusing route. It goes from Elsternwick to East Brighton, but via Chadstone. (And if you don’t know your ... [More]
Trying to navigate school holidays and come up with affordable holidays in the wake of the monthly mortgage payments isn’t particularly easy. Last year was Hobart (piggybacking on Marita being there for a conference) and Sydney over the Cup Day weekend with the kids. The latter worked really well, so I’ve decided to do it ... [More]
Getting a haircut in the middle of winter is never a good idea (especially just before a snow trip), but it had to be done. The cold weather leaves me tempted to stay in bed all day, to not get up at all. But it had to be done. Oh well, it may not be ... [More]
The Mobile Blood Bank is back in my neck of the woods this week, and because it’s so inconvenient to get to their Southbank outlet (inlet?) I try to make a point of going as often as I can. So I planned to go along on this afternoon after picking up the kids from school ... [More]