Those of you who read the blog regularly might know that it started in my university days in 1990, with a twice-weekly email called the “Toxic Custard Workshop Files“. You can still subscribe to it, via YahooGroups — it’s got about 650 members. I never quite imagined when I sent the first edition that it ... [More]
I didn’t know him — I think I only met once, when we were kids — but know his brother and mother quite well. I was greatly saddened to hear that this week we lost my cousin to depression. RIP Derek, 1980-2014. Lifeline: 13 11 14. Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636.
I have an electric kettle. It’s pretty fast to boil water, but wow, does it burn up electricity. Here you can see our live electricity meter thingy on the fridge. On the left, a couple of lights are on, as well as the fridge and I think a computer was on as well. On the ... [More]
I was chatting on Friday to a colleague who has just bought a house with her husband. They ended up in an area they are familiar with and like, and as a bonus, she said, it’s in zone 1. I was the same when I bought my house back in 2005 — it wasn’t necessarily ... [More]
As an occasional cyclist, nothing puts me off like feeling unsafe. Bike lanes help me feel safer, but tend to fizzle out before intersections — just where many cyclists would consider that you need them the most. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s a real life example of continuous bike lanes: the corner ... [More]
BBC: Rik Mayall, star of The Young Ones, dies aged 56 I’m quite upset by this news. As a teenager, I grew up with – and adored – the shows he was in… The Young Ones of course, but I went hunting for those that people may have since forgotten (or never seen, because they ... [More]
One of the great things about Melbourne’s CBD (the Hoddle Grid) is that it’s so easily navigable. There are lots of parallel streets and laneways, so when walking around it’s pretty easy to take an alternative route, and still not get lost. You can use this to avoid Chuggers. Charity Muggers are notorious for getting ... [More]
I finally got around to going to look at the new Myki gates at Springvale station the other day. They’ve also been installed at Mitcham, and will be put in at Richmond soon. From what I’d heard, they are faster than the existing older Myki gates installed in 2012-13. The stories were true. They are ... [More]
Yep, it’s June, so time again for another batch of my old photos from ten years ago. It seems that for some reason I didn’t take very many photos in June 2004. A Hitachi train pulls out of Richmond station. Note the markings of the then five-years defunct PTC on the shelter glass. Other than ... [More]
You might have seen media coverage (Age / Herald Sun) of the new City of Melbourne Draft Walking Plan. There’s lots of interesting stuff in the document (PDF, 35Mb). Below are some notes from a skim through. (Page references refer to those at the top of the page, eg numbered from the start of the ... [More]
I was pleased to see a couple of articles on page 5 of the May 2014 City of Glen Eira council newsletter, about the rights of pedestrians on footpaths. The first notes the rules around keeping footpaths clear: Clearing the way for walking During community consultation for Glen Eira City Council’s Walking Strategy, various concerns ... [More]
In this blog post I hope to address a few myths around Melbourne’s rail system that I’m seeing floating around. The Loop tunnels have hardly any trains! I’ve heard from a couple of sources in the past week (one on mainstream radio) the claim that nothing needs to be done about rail capacity in the ... [More]