Over the years I’ve tried to avoid being sucked into buying the latest and greatest technology just for the sake of it. But I must admit being keen to check out the new Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) and Google Nexus 5 phone. What would I need a new phone for? I could put Kit Kat ... [More]
Veteran road industry figure Max Lay made something of a startling admission last week in an opinion piece in The Age on the proposed East West Link: that the intent of major road projects isn’t to fix congestion: Opponents play the congestion card, arguing that previous projects have not eliminated congestion, forgetting that this was ... [More]
The PTV logo is gradually replacing the Metlink and Viclink logos across the public transport network. It’s just the latest rebranding — remember, some trains and stations have had up to seven different logos in the last 20 years… from the old The Met three-pronged logo, to the newer Met logos, to Hillside/Bayside trains, to ... [More]
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A look inside the new E-class trams
Melbourne’s first new trams in years — and the first Australian-built trams in about twenty years — were officially launched yesterday, after months of testing around the network. The first two “E-class” trams, numbered 6001 and 6002 started service. I managed to catch one for a ride at lunchtime. As you can see from the ... [More]
Speaking of sculpture, there’s a rather splendid new one at the corner of Spencer and Flinders Streets — a full-size replica of a W-class tram. Officially titled “Raising the Rattler Pole – The Last of the Connies”, it was installed last week, and when I went by a day or two later, appeared to be ... [More]
On the way up to Rutherglen for the wedding, we detoured past Nagambie on family business and to stop for lunch. Nagambie’s bypass opened earlier this year. Traffic between Melbourne and Shepparton therefore no longer goes via the town, and it’s obvious that they’ve been trying to work out how to ensure some people still ... [More]
I was 25 when I first had kids. One outcome of this is that my eldest son’s education is running 25 years after mine. The dates don’t match up completely — the main event, the English exam, for me was on 7th November 1988. For this year’s VCE, it’s today. Good luck Isaac, and all ... [More]
It was a glorious weekend in Rutherglen, where I had the privilege of attending a family wedding. Here’s one shot the official photographer didn’t get… Congratulations, Adrian and Donna.
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Herne the Hunter
Target’s window decorations are presumably meant to be about Christmas… …but for me they just remind me of Herne The Hunter in Robin of Sherwood.
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Your local bus company may have changed
Before you complain to the bus company that your bus is late/cancelled/crowded, you might want to check that they still run the service. In August, a whole bunch of routes (including most Smartbus routes) formerly run by Ventura and Melbourne Bus Link were taken over by Transdev. Other recent changes include Ventura taking over Grenda ... [More]
Travellers Aid do good work helping those who need a little extra assistance getting around. They have a fundraiser on at the moment: Myki card holders, for $2.50 postage and handling, and they invite you to add a donation (which I did). My sister loves the Keep Calm meme, so I got this one for ... [More]
Having spent all that money on GPS in the buses, transmitters and receivers to get the bus locations onto electronic signs, wouldn’t you think they’d think carefully about where those signs were located? Exhibit 1: Lonsdale Street, near Hardware Lane Exhibit 2: Dandenong Station (I’ve circled it in case it’s not obvious) To be fair, ... [More]
Some years ago I wrote about issues with the City of Melbourne policy of allowing motorbikes and scooters to park on footpaths, except in a few locations where it’s specifically banned. The problem is, most of the guidelines seem to be ignored. The guidelines Here are the guidelines (see also: PDF version): DO dismount and ... [More]
…documents obtained by the Greens through freedom of information reveal that the positive results did not include many trains that were affected by the knock-on effect of a cancelled or delayed service. Of the 437 trains surveyed, 113 were excluded. — The Age, Train overcrowding getting worse: Greens Here’s the thing. Load surveys aren’t measuring ... [More]
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A day at the races
Perhaps a day at the races with the right skills and knowledge could be quite profitable, but for me (first time in over a decade), it certainly wasn’t a money maker — it was about the company. Quite a glorious day, relaxing, standing in the sunshine, chatting to the blokes I was with, pondering horses ... [More]
15 years ago I got back from my first trip to Europe. Here, finally, are the video highlights. Daniel’s 1998 Europe trip highlights from Daniel Bowen on Vimeo. Includes England (south-east, London, and York), Scotland (Edinburgh, Inverness, Plockton), Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam. Worth noting… The blog posts written at the time are available here: Europe 1998. ... [More]