Today the Kyoto protocol comes into effect, at least in the countries that have signed up to it. Of which ours isn’t one, so unlike most industrialised countries, we (along with the US and China) can blissfully keep pumping CO2 into the air, with no legal consequences. A lot of the contributions to emissions come ... [More]
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Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day. I had a good one, hope you did too. And if you were studiously trying to ignore it, oops sorry!
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Here is my toaster
And now for a toast. (Tony and Rae are certainly deserving of one, this weekend.) This is my Sunbeam toaster, still going strong after over a decade of toastie goodness. Happily handles crumpets and those big slices of bread from the delicious Vienna loaves I sometimes get at the bakery down the road. Yum. Feel ... [More]
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In the street
(The counter-post to On The Train.) Friday lunchtime, Bourke Street. A car, let’s call it car A, waits in the tram lane to turn right. There’s no traffic coming the other way, but he sits there, for no apparent reason. A tram comes up behind, with perhaps 100 people on it. On their behalf, the ... [More]
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The plural of huntsman is huntsmans
The subject of huntsmans or huntsmen spiders came up recently on Trish’s blog (see comments). Well for a definitive answer, I asked my sister about it the other day. Not just ‘cos she’s a smart cookie or I was trying to make conversation, but because she studied linguistics at uni. And she was able to ... [More]
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On the train
Seen on the train yesterday morning: Bloke in a long leather raincoat and sunglasses, evidently trying to do a Neo impression. It wasn’t a cold day; he must have been boiling. Guy off to uni in Footscray, telling a girl that over there “there’s loads of Africans and Asians” and how he felt a little ... [More]
Rushmore. It bugs me that this reminded me of some movie or TV show or something where a student is just about running the place, but I can’t remember what it is. Ferris Bueller? Simpsons “Separate Vocations” ? No matter, this was a very enjoyable film, full of great lines and moments. And a great ... [More]
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Clothing adverts
We’ve got used to seeing advertising everywhere, but I must say the idea of advertising on clothes doesn’t quite sit right with me. Obviously if you’re paying for clothing promoting something because you’re a fan, that’s fair enough. Your favourite band or TV show or footy team. But have clothing companies earned the right to ... [More]
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Here is my kitchen clock
Two days late, but I thought I could knock off two birds with one stone. Tony posted an artefact from the defunct Daimaru, and issued a challenge: find something from a now-gone department store. Well, here is my kitchen clock. It came from a shop that was somewhere inside the beautiful art deco Capitol building ... [More]
Things I did on the weekend: Tried out my sister’s new couch, which was altogether way too comfy. Recorded my recitation of 75 digits of pi to share with the world. Observed a truck pulling a trailer along the road with its indicators wired up wrong. The truck would indicate left as its trailer would ... [More]
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Dream: the table
I was with Rae, helping a work colleague of mine to move a table. A big dinner table, which for some reason was located in a market in a formerly disused railway goods shed somewhere near Flinders Street. The table needed to be moved to a furniture polishing shop elsewhere in the Melbourne CBD, and ... [More]
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Little Collins Street, 6pm Thursday
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Lemon scented
Last week I ran out of garbage bin liners, so I went to buy some more at the supermarket. When I got there I discovered the only ones in the correct size (34 litres) are scented. Mint scented, pine scented, lemon scented, something like that. I decided on the lemon. So now my rubbish bin ... [More]
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Magical Mystery Tour
A somewhat circuitous commute this morning. 9:05. Get to Glenhuntly station. Note large crowd on platform — never a good sign that late in the morning. 9:10. Connex lady is leaving for the day, but mumbles something about problems. Green button for latest info refuses to talk to me. I hang about at the front ... [More]
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I Can’t Believe It’s Not Winter!
36 hours or so of constant rain. (Ah, stopped at last). Cold last night. I lit the pilot light and turned the heater on for a while. In February. I noticed the kitchen ceiling is leaking. Surely that can’t be good. Thankfully it’s only minor, at least so far. One of the fences is leaning ... [More]
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The Office USA
Hmmmmmm. NBC is re-making the seminal Britcom The Office, and they’ve just put a preview on their web site. You can certainly tell it’s The Office, and I don’t think anybody who’s ever seen the original would look upon it favourably. But who knows, there could be a huge potential audience out there who haven’t ... [More]