As reported in The Age, the US Health Effects Institute recently published a report on the effects of living near busy roads. Its conclusion was that: …there is sufficient evidence that exposures to traffic-related air pollution cause asthma exacerbation in children and suggestive evidence that they might cause other health effects. …the zones most impacted ... [More]
Month: June 2010
I’m probably reading too much into this, but here’s a PT stereotype: Lego’s Duplo bus. It appears that in the view of whoever designed this set, only old people and kids ride the bus. Okay, okay, we all know that in some cases this is probably very realistic. Many services simply aren’t good enough to ... [More]
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Coupons
I’ve mentioned it before, but Joel Spolsky wrote a great article a few years ago about pricing, and noted that companies would ideally like everybody to pay as much as they are willing to for their products. In economist jargon, capitalists want to capture the consumer surplus. Let’s do this. Instead of charging $220, let’s ... [More]
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Bentleigh station looking grey
Metro must have been buying a lot of grey paint. All of the graffiti on the retaining wall opposite platform one at Bentleigh has been painted over, as have the sides of the platforms. There’s been a similar frenzy of painting grey on the walls in the cuttings around South Yarra. I wonder if people ... [More]
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When You Walk In The Room
Some songs evoke a particular memory, of either a specific event or a period of my life. So it is with Paul Carrack’s version of Jackie DeShannon’s “When You Walk In The Room“, from 1987. I bought the 45 (rpm, single) of it, primarily because the (quite amusing) video clip included all of the cast ... [More]
I for one would like to welcome our new red-headed overlord. One of the things about the Westminster system is that if the ruling party loses confidence in the leader, they can replace him. And for those of you watching from overseas, that’s what happened this morning: Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister since the 2007 election, ... [More]
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Poor advert placement?
Not sure this advert placement is a good idea: Not that the exhaust actually comes out of that grill, of course. And one should not overstate the pollution caused by buses. Measuring just the CO2 emissions, a diesel bus emits about 1800 grams per kilometre. By comparison a diesel Landrover emits 295 grams per kilometre. ... [More]
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The secret door
I only go into the post office for three reasons. 1. To buy postage (either stamps, or to send packages). 2. To pick up parcels. 3. To renew my post office box. (And in fact I think you can pay that online these days.) I don’t understand the people that go to pay endless numbers ... [More]
And now for something completely different. Glasses. I’ve got a few different types of glasses in my kitchen, many of them remnants from previous collections. From left to right: (1) These used to come as IXL jam jars. You’d use up the jam, dispose of the label and the lid, and get to keep the ... [More]
Love a bit of cultural satire. Via Nathan I found the article Stuff Melbourne white people like. Some funny stuff, and since I’m a bit light-on for writing my own blog content this week, here are some excerpts: The Monthly: Buying a subscription to The Monthly for the object of your affections is tantamount to ... [More]
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Myki touch-off on trams scrapped
Herald Sun: EXCLUSIVE: THOUSANDS of city commuters will be hit with big fare increases to pave the way for the myki smartcard. … The decision to dump city saver fares will mean most myki tram users only have to swipe the card once – when they enter a tram. Hallelujah! Touch-off on trams was never ... [More]
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Retro trains
Melbourne’s Comeng trains date back to the early 1980s, about the same time us Gen-Xers were cutting our video game teeth with Donkey Kong and Space Invaders. (Original unmodified pic) There’s certainly other things of the 80s around the place on the train network, for instance this sign on a now unused gate at Caulfield ... [More]