Disaster! No internet at home. Yesterday iiNet/Netspace had major outage in Victoria. It was eventually fixed, but even after a modem reboot we couldn’t get back online. Then I noticed the home phone (yes, I still have one of those) was getting no dial tone. My assumption initially was that this was just an unhappy ... [More]
The Herald Sun reports today that Metro punctuality figures have improved markedly in the last 12 months, including the figure on the Frankston line jumping from 68.4% to 87.1%. Certainly this is due to some changes in the way the trains are run. The question is, are these changes good, or bad? Good: Departing platform ... [More]
Someone was handing these out at Flagstaff station the other day. The bloke was in the exit area at ground-level, and was not on the public footpath. If it were Southern Cross station, where the security guards are super-vigilant about this kind of thing, he’d have been moved on unless he had a commercial arrangement ... [More]
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Myki cards can (sometimes) be shared
With little fanfare, there was a change last year to the ticketing rules that appear to allow Myki cards to be shared, so that for instance you can keep one at home to lend to visitors from interstate or overseas, or a company office can keep one handy to lend to employees who don’t use ... [More]
This interesting article about data mining shows just how devious they can be. For example, a casino: The system collects data each time a gambler uses their casino loyalty card – be it for gambling, purchasing food in the restaurant or paying for snacks from their room minibar – to create a pattern of their ... [More]
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Pics from the road
This guy must be a Top Gear fan… notably a few minutes later he was seen careering across two lanes, at about 20 kmh over the speed limit. Do drivers of the BMW 320d realise that it says “pose” upside-down? (Well okay, POZE.) It just staggers me that people still do stupid stuff like queue ... [More]
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New toy: hedgetrimmer
A cheap and cheerful hedgetrimmer, $50 at Bunnings. To be used for occasional trimming of hedges (well duh) in between visits from Andy, my trusty gardener… specifically around the back of the house, where sometimes the hedges grow so fast it feels like the open space in the garden is getting a little smaller everyday. ... [More]
Dragon: Are You Old Enough (1978) — around Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, including the now-gone behaviour of riding the running board on a tram, and a Silvertop taxi back when they really did have a silver top. John Paul Young: Yesterday’s Hero (1975) — around Swanston Street Paul Kelly: Leaps and Bounds — mostly the Nylex ... [More]
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay, talking about deployment of Protective Service Officers on stations: âFrom time to time they will check tickets. When these PSOs see a group of young people that they believe are up to no good on a railway station a really helpful tool is to say, ‘Show me your ticket’. ... [More]
My cousin Justin’s move to Melbourne gives me an opportunity to see the public transport network from the perspective of a brand new user. He’s pretty well travelled, having spent extensive time in Europe recently, mostly based in London, but with plenty of travel to other cities. So he’s used PT systems in many other ... [More]
I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to have my cousin Justin in town. He grew up in Brisbane, then Newcastle, before moving to Perth, so we barely saw him when growing up. He moved to Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, and is now settling into his new flat and job here. ... [More]
This creation by my super-talented sister, for Isaac’s birthday.
Two mysterious noises have become apparent in the last few months. Both are virtually imperceptable in the daytime, but at night, in my quiet street, I can hear them from my bedroom. First there was the humming. It started sometime last year. It doesn’t seem to be in the house anywhere – I tried turning ... [More]
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Hand washing
Sometimes amongst the bum jokes you’ll learn something really Quite Interesting on QI. Last week I learnt that when washing hands, how clean you get them is not about the heat of the water, which can’t possibly be warm enough to kill off bacteria and escape without serious burns. Rather, it’s about how vigorously you ... [More]
From page 54 (Chapter 2, part 1) of the 1929 Melbourne Plan for General Development, commissioned by the Metropolitan Town Planning Commission. Other highlights include Chapter 2, part 7, which has a bunch of stuff about railways, including a discussion of a railway to Doncaster (page 132) and a strong argument for a combined transport ... [More]
The short version Myki credit, once on your card, does not expire after 90 days of not getting used. Nor does your card expire after 90 days of not getting used. If you top-up your Myki via online or phone (NOT over-the-counter or at a vending machine) but then you don’t use the card within ... [More]