Sometimes I despair of the human race. Yesterday morning I was lazing in bed when I noted an advertising supplement that came with the newspaper, called something like Christmas Essentials — 64 pages of totally stupid gift ideas. Admittedly some of the featured items were okay, but it also included some of the most useless, ... [More]
One of the better sides of globalisation is the huge range of literature of all types is available anywhere in the western world. Amazon and their ilk have meant I can (for example) order that obscure Beowulf graphic novel my sister craves for her birthday — even if the result is that Amazon now believes ... [More]
At some point after the mouse in the garden incident and a notable increase in rodent activity around the house (twice I saw them scurrying around the laundry) I put down some rat/mouse poison a few weeks ago. What I found several days later was a huge, dead rat next to the side gate. ‘Orrible, ... [More]
As I think I mentioned once before, TV news often record a “walking shot” to use for editing purposes. They’ll get you to back away from the camera 10-20 metres, then walk past it, without looking at the camera, and hoping no huge swarm of people comes around the corner and walks in front of ... [More]
So I was waiting for a train, while reading the geek history “On The Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore” (which — in my humble geeky opinion — really is excellent). The station host lady looked at it, and (given its lovely hardback binding and olde booke looke when it’s out of its ... [More]
I’ve lived in my suburb just over a year now, long enough that I’m getting to know the local Bentleigh shops a bit more now, and a few of the shopkeepers know me. For instance, the drycleaner lady recognises me, though like a TV news captioner, she misspells my name, and I can’t be bothered ... [More]
Another odd dream last night: A knock at the door in the morning. Four policemen, who seemed very tall, and seemed to have been drenched in the rain outside. I wondered why four of them — it must be serious! They told me they were part of a fraud investigation, and that they couldn’t tell ... [More]
The great thing about election day is you can exercise your right to democracy, and have a sausage too. Daniel’s election day sausage tally: 2. PS. Sunday night. Result probably what most people expected. Interesting to see that the ALP misinformation worked — some people were asking Greens helpers if they were preferencing Libs. (They ... [More]
Last week I filled up my car for just over $1 per litre. It was $1.609 $1.069, and I had some freaky discount offer that gave me 6 cents off, instead of the usual 4. But just seeing the humungous tank-like 4WDs rolling around the streets, and the resistance from government to improve PT makes ... [More]
A little kid (maybe 3 or 4) had come off his scooter, in the school playground. He was sprawled on the ground, crying. Somewhere, his parent was seeing off an older sibling. I looked around, but couldn’t see an obvious candidate. Before I could see if he was okay, a bigger kid with a Grade ... [More]
What I’m pondering for this Saturday’s state election is who am I going to put last? It’s not like a Federal byelection, when every man and his dog decides to run. No, in my district there isn’t a huge assortment of weird and wacky parties, nor are there any independents. All you’ve got are ALP ... [More]
The streets were closed to traffic, the barricades went up. Yes, the Bentleigh festival was on again. But 15km away from the sausage sizzles, roaming families, showbags and Humphrey B Bear, some streets in central Melbourne were blocked-off for the third day, for the G20 meeting. Hearing about the violence in Collins Street on Saturday, ... [More]
Although I and a few others at work wear ties most days, the bulk of the men (and of course all of the women) don’t. Ties are a purely decorative item, and sometimes they’re expected, sometimes not. Lately I’ve been pondering if I should buy some new shirts. I don’t know if my neck is ... [More]
About once a month I go into the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) at 21 Swanston Street, fill in one of those quick deposit envelopes, and shove it with a cheque through the slot, in order to push money into one of my only remaining CBA accounts. That branch has been there for decades. It’s where I ... [More]
Ever noticed how crowded the trains are on the weekend on the busy lines since the footy finished? I don’t mean on race days, I mean on “normal” weekends. People are not just having to stand, but sometimes it’s a struggle to fit aboard, because they’re running short 3-carriage trains. It’s not a new thing; ... [More]
A few times a week I make a left hand turn out of a side-street into a divided road. Frequently there is someone in the divided road doing a U-turn against me. And an alarming amount of the time, they fail to give way. I’ve got deliberately cautious now, it happens so much, seemingly particularly ... [More]