Categories
Friends and loved ones

My cousin’s in town (and a proverb updated for the 21st century)

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]

Categories
Doctor Who Food'n'drink Friends and loved ones

My super-talented sister excels herself again

This creation by my super-talented sister, for Isaac’s birthday.

Categories
Home life

The noise

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]

Categories
Health

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]

Categories
Melbourne transport

1929 metropolitan plan: “the tramcar is the most efficient user of street space”

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]

Categories
transport

Myki myths 3: credit expires after 90 days – no it doesn’t

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]

Categories
Retrospectives transport

The view out the front window

When I was a kid, I liked to kneel on the front seat of the (W-class) tram, looking out the front, and watching the driver, trying to figure out how it all worked. I reckon the front still gives you the best views. Back in the day I recall a control to apply the power,  ... [More]

Categories
Politics and activism

Would you like a jellybaby? (Making of a visual stunt)

The first Tuesday of May is Victorian State Budget day. On Budget day, journalists and some interest groups (well, those that have the resources) attend the Budget Lockup, where from about midday to the 3pm public release, they get to peruse the budget papers, but can’t communicate what they find with the outside world. They  ... [More]

Categories
Friends and loved ones transport

Tullamarine terminal 4 arrivals. What a dump.

So this is Terminal 4 Arrivals — where you greet passengers arriving in Melbourne on Tiger Airways: You can’t go in, they can only come out. There’s no shelter to speak of — if it rains, you’d better wait in your car (if you brought one). Inside there’s just luggage collection. No trolley until you  ... [More]