112 warm days in a row
The other week it was noted that we’d gone 100 days of Melbourne’s maximum temperature being over 20 degrees. That was the first time in 150 years of recorded weather observations that it had happened.
By my count, we’re now at day 112. The last day of less than 20 degrees was 17.8 on the 8th of December.
[Source: Bureau of Meteorology]
And it shows no sign of ending yet; the forecast predicts tops mostly in the mid-20s for the next week.
Update 12/4/2010: The warm spell finished on the 10th of April, with the temperature only getting to 17.7 on the 11th, a final record of 123 consecutive days above 20 degrees.
Tags: weather
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Myki transaction update
Sometime in the last 24 hours, my Myki online topups finally got resolved, some 24 days after they got stuck.
Last week I used the web site feedback form to point out that the topup from 2/3/2010 had got stuck, and the one from 4/3/2010 was stuck behind it.
They unjammed it somehow, and by Saturday morning, the first had successfully completed and the second had been transmitted to my card. Confirmation that it got to the card was received back at the central servers sometime last night, some 24 days after the transaction was initiated.
Glad that it’s resolved, but not impressed.
I haven’t changed my thinking on this: avoid online topups.
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It’s Mario month!
Isaac noticed the Best Before date on our current jar of Vegemite is MAR10. That makes it Mario Month this month!
I think I’ll go play some more New Super Mario Brothers Wii.
Then maybe I’ll make a Vegemite sandwich. (Though it doesn’t strictly have to be used by the end of the month; note the difference between “best before” and “use by”.)
Tags: Mario Bros, Nintendo Wii, Vegemite
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This is the law
I’ve written about this before, but just so it’s absolutely clear, I’m going to include a picture
When turning left or right at any intersection (except a roundabout) you must give way to any pedestrians crossing the road you are turning into.
– source: VicRoads: Driving in Victoria — Rules and Responsibilities, pages 35 and 39.
I’m pretty narked off that a 4WD owner
I was in a hurry, and in no mood to give way to vehicles I was not obliged to, if I could possibly help it. I signalled him to stop, which he did. I then crossed in front of him, and since his window was down, told him he had to give way. When he claimed otherwise, I didn’t swear, but I did get a bit shouty, and told him to check his road rules. He drove off.
I hope he does check the laws and gets educated. It annoys me that some people are out there, driving around, ignorant of basic rules.
[1]The picture actually comes from a later section which talks about T-intersections, but appears to have been drawn to illustrate the point for other intersections as well.
[2]With a bullbar fitted. Because you really need them driving along Centre Road.
Update Sunday morning: Similar situation with a VW Golf driver yesterday afternoon.
Note that different rules apply to vehicles coming out of streets you’re crossing (peds should give way) and on roundabouts (peds should give way). On entrances/exits to private property, such as car parks and shopping centres, drivers should always give way.
Most importantly, always use your common sense — no matter what the law, if the other person is not going to stop, don’t put yourself or them in danger.
Tags: driving, pedestrians, road laws, VicRoads
28 comments
Why the crowding?
You want to know why Melbourne’s trains are so crowded?
Well, that might be because in the last decade, patronage has gone up 77%, but services have only increased by 17%.
And the trams too?
Patronage up 36%, services increased 5%.
Just for completeness, here’s a graph of all the patronage figures from 1999-2009.
Source: Victorian budget papers, 1999-2009. (The 2006-07 papers say the methodology for calculating metropolitan bus patronage was improved in that year, implying the figures for previous years were inaccurately high, rather than there being a sharp decline in passengers.)
100th birthday
Adrian and Peter turned 100 today.
To be precise, their birthdays are both today. Adrian (my sister’s husband) turned 38, and Peter (my step-father) turned 62.
To celebrate the occasion, they’re having a joint birthday party on Saturday.
So, happy 100th birthday, Adrian and Peter!
(I do have a great aunt who turned 100 last year — on her own, that is.)
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Where are the green men?
A number of traffic lights used for crossing the “little” streets in central Melbourne don’t have green/red men.
Some do, however, particularly along Swanston Street where there are heavy pedestrian flows and — I suspect — more people likely to be just following everyone else like sheep, and not looking for cars before they cross the road.
I had been assuming that if there was no green/red man, you could cross at any time if no cars were coming. Not so, says the VicRoads web site:
Fines apply to pedestrians who commit the following offences:
cross against an amber or red traffic light
…
Of course, it’s uncertain what is likely to happen if caught crossing on a red in a spot where you can’t physically see the light in question.
The power of marketing
I was in the supermarket with an unnamed person.
They spotted a packet near the cash register: Mentos, *Special edition*. Some weird-arse flavour not normally available.
Picked it up and appeared to seriously consider buying it. Not because it was Mentos, which they don’t normally buy, but because it was a *Special edition*.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of marketing.
Tags: advertising, Mentos, supermarket
8 comments
