As already noted, it’s council voting time. In some council areas, including here in Glen Eira, council candidates aren’t overtly aligned with political parties. But a number of candidates have affiliations. You just have to look for clues. Look for photos of candidates with state or federal MPs, ministers and leaders, particularly at events not ... [More]
Sometimes travelling by train at night you’ll see PSOs out on the platforms and station concourses. Sometimes they’re not in sight… they might be in their pod, or elsewhere. Given the high-profile rollout of PSOs onto every station a signature policy of the 2010-2014 Ballieu Coalition government, carried over by the Andrews Labor government, you’d ... [More]
I’ve been listening to a lot of transport-related podcasts recently. Almost all of them are from outside Australia. (Here is a list of some from November 2015; I mean to post another list at some stage soon.) Every time I listen to one of the overseas podcasts, I ponder what someone from Melbourne would say ... [More]
Every so often I’ll splash out on a new toy for myself. Last year it was a new camera. The year before was a hifi. The year before (just over two years ago in fact) that was an iPad Mini. Those paying attention will know that I had considered adding a multi-room music setup to ... [More]
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Charity and money
Years ago I decided I wanted to donate at least 0.7% of my income towards charity. Over the weekend I was doing my tax, and calculated it: for 2015-16 it’s 1.32%. Cool. About half the annual total is Oxfam. Other regulars include Greenpeace, The Salvos (though I mean to check their latest position on homosexuality, ... [More]
One of the things you start noticing a lot more when you have two tertiary-level film and television students in the house is aspect ratio. Local council elections are in October, and posters have started going up for candidates. In some wards you see full-sized billboards, but in ours — so far — the most ... [More]
24-hour time is common in Europe, and in the airline industry, and the military. Internally, many industries use 24-hour time, but publicly 12-hour time is dominant in Australia. I have seen 24-hour time used at cafes. Perhaps they were run by Europeans; perhaps it was an attempt to seem more European. V/Line uses 24-hour time ... [More]
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You can judge a station by its cover
Yesterday’s horrific accident at Surrey Hills is a reminder of the many benefits of level crossing removal (though that one is not on the list). With our local crossing at Bentleigh gone, it’s rather wonderful that the angst of further accidents is gone, and crowds no longer get stuck at the railway gates every second ... [More]
Another in my series of ten year old photos… September 2006. Most of my photos this month were snapped with my phone camera of the time, the Nokia 6230i. Not bad for 2006, but a bit grainy by today’s standards. Richmond station, before we got the all-over platform cover. Other than that in some ways ... [More]
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Roller coaster rail?
On Tuesday the Level Crossing Removal Authority put out a whole raft of information on options for removal of crossings on the southern end of the Frankston line. If you have any interest at all, particularly if you’re a local, they’re definitely worth a look. The Opposition’s withering response: “The controversial ‘Sky Rail’ monstrosity on ... [More]
Many around Australia would know of the Gosford Anglican Church, thanks to Father Rod Bower and his famous signs. A couple of weeks ago this sign appeared at the Bentleigh Uniting Church. It now seems to have disappeared in favour their more usual list of events. It pleases me to see messages like this. Immigration, ... [More]
Excuse the radio silence. I’ve had a really bad cold this week. In our last exciting installment of my quest for a durable, reliable, compact umbrella, I was on my third Senz Mini. The first had been replaced under warranty, the second lost, and the third… sadly, it has started to fail me. As did ... [More]
I was pondering what benefit would the 67 tram gain from the Glenhuntly level crossing being removed? Well thanks to the 37 day rail shutdown in July, we know. Looking at punctuality figures for the last 12 months, this tram route achieved its highest figures for the year in July — in fact my little ... [More]
Months after closing for level crossing works, the shiny new Bentleigh and Ormond stations have opened today. (McKinnon opened a few weeks ago.) At Bentleigh yesterday, it was still a construction site. But today the concourse was awash with officials handing out cupcakes, a choir from Sing Australia, train spotters snapping photos, and passengers relieved ... [More]
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I need a new phone
On Thursday night my phone, a Nexus 5 that I got about three years ago, finally started playing up. It would continually boot, with a buzz, and a proclamation on the screen of “Google”! Then repeat. Bzzt… Google! Over and over. Scouring online, I discovered this is a reasonably rare, but not unique, situation. The ... [More]
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The four circles of bustitution
Good news! The shiny new Bentleigh and Ormond stations open on Monday. This means after three and six months respectively of bus replacements, we can — if you’ll excuse the phrase — see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m hoping lessons and experience have been gained through the level crossing removal project ... [More]