Heard: I don’t recall noticing it this time last year, but with Passover in full swing, the last few nights there has been some quite haunting singing heard from the nearby synagogue. It makes a pleasant change from the normal dull roar of distant traffic and toots from trains. Seen: A lady walking along the ... [More]
On Good Friday, it’s traditional for people of a Christian background to eat fish, rather than meat. So, with 68% of the country identifying with Christianity on the census, naturally last night it was pretty damn crowded in the fish’n’chip shop. A 40 minute wait, in fact, even with about ten people working behind the ... [More]
10th of February to 5th of April. That’s how long the bug bombs lasted. 54 days. Last night I found two cockroaches, alive and kicking. Not sure how they made their way back into the house, but there they were — one in the livingroom, one in the main bedroom. Yeuchhh. And I’d found a ... [More]
With Easter almost upon us, the usual people are complaining in advance about how the price of petrol will shoot up when hordes of people take to the roads for the long weekend, with the oil companies mysteriously wanting to cash-in. Well, duh. What do you expect? This is how the free-market economy works. And ... [More]
(On King Street, near Collins Street.) I wonder what ever came of the Melbourne Steamship Company? Hmm, Google found there’s a model of their boat the Duntroon.
Marita and Justine are using the Footscray (Ballarat Road) McDonalds during their renovating, for quick snacks and tea (awful though it is) and access to a working, clean toilet. I hear tell the service there is pretty poor: incredibly slow (come to think of it I’ve seen it myself, on occasion), with often only one ... [More]
When will I learn? Last week someone at work had fundraiser chocolate for sale. Two bars and $4 later… This week? Pimples. I seem to be getting a pot belly, too. Well, a little bit. No danger of going up to the next trouser size… yet. Need to keep decreasing the inputs (better diet) and ... [More]
My grandmother died on Friday night. I didn’t know her well, and hadn’t seen her since 1999. She’d been unwell for some years, but all the same, it was sad news — perhaps because like the rest of my grandparents, I grew up distant from them — either in miles or in years. Unavoidable, but ... [More]
I have to admit, when I was growing up, Doctor Who was never really one of the cool kid shows. Scifi generally probably wasn’t something the cool kids watched. But now, on the eve of the third series (starts Saturday night in the UK; who knows when we’ll see it in Australia), David Tennant’s Doctor ... [More]
My garden (apart from the grass) is thriving, despite the drought. Evidently it’s almost all native plants, which survive fine even with a lack of water. Indeed, one of the hedges has grown so much I had to trim it back so I can see into the mailbox without bumping my head on it. But ... [More]
I’ve heard from two completely independent sources of Pastafarianism in the past week. Could it be that the age of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is upon us? RAmen. Anyway, here’s some quick reviews. Michael Palin’s diaries 1969-1979 — Very interesting, especially for a Python fan like me, giving the background story behind the group coming ... [More]
Things I like about Captain Vegetable (from Sesame Street): 1. I don’t remember this song from when I was a kid. I discovered it when my kids watched Sesame Street. 2. The message! Yeah I’m getting health conscious. Not that it was ever likely to convince any kids. 3. The dodgy rhyming. “My name is ... [More]
My waterproof jacket self-destructed late last year, and while Melbourne hasn’t been over-endowed with rain recently, part of my plan to become a dedicated pedestrian includes having the appropriate gear to stroll down the street no matter what the weather, so I’d been meaning to buy a new one. Last week via some junk mail ... [More]
Brrr. Winter time. Wintertime. How is it that Mother Nature knows to make it cold as soon as we go off summer time? Saturday was wet in Melbourne (much-needed rain), but at least it wasn’t cold. Sunday… dry but cool and windy. The moment the sun went down, cold. I felt the need to wear ... [More]
So today we’ve had the Citylink tunnels closed due to a fatal crash, a gas leak in Malvern causing the suspension of Frankston and Dandenong trains, a big grass fire in Sunshine, and vomit-inducing fumes last night at a restaurant in Doncaster. And I heard a truckload of (non-flammable, apparently) orange bottles spilled all over ... [More]
Marita & Justine’s dog Maisie will occasionally get it into her head that she knows a complete stranger. “I know you!” she’ll think, and barrel up to them, tail wagging. “I like you! I know you! I do!” But she doesn’t. I got a similar feeling yesterday, queuing up to buy some lunch. A man ... [More]