Saturday, September 25, 2010

No matter Who takes the flag today the winner will be Beer

Sunday, September 19, 2010

And Four Years Ago It Was In Melbourne
Commonwealth Games Baton Relay Bay Street Brighton 2006

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Wheel That Never Was
Docklands Melbourne

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Its Not In Melbourne but it is in Sydney
Sydney Nova Scotia Canada 
Who Will Be There This Year
2009 AFL Grand Final Parade 

Friday, September 10, 2010

Oakeshott rejects offer of ministry

From The Age Melbourne
Federal Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has rejected an offer to be a minister in a Labor minority government.
The member for Lyne announced his decision after speaking with with Prime Minister Julia Gillard this afternoon.
Mr Oakeshott said both sides of politics had offered him a portfolio.
But he declined the offer of a regional affairs ministry after talking with family and friends.
a house that once was 
(a blast from the now defunct past)
It was my house, it is no more, it was a loverly house that I shared with possums, my brother Mark and 2 cats adoptively named  Casper and Tessa, a glorious time that is now only captured in my history and others memories. 
It's a Melbourne Tram but in San Francisco USA 

Thursday, September 09, 2010

What to Do With The Uninvited Guests 

I live in a leafy Melbourne suburb and I just recently evicted some long time borders from my property. I have lived in my current house for the last 13 years, it was built in the early 1930’s and is a comfortable 4 bedroom home just perfect for my wife, our cat Samantha as well as my needs, but it would appear a family of possums found it a desirable abode as well.

The possum according to Wikipedia is

“is any of about 69 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi (and introduced to New Zealand and China). The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas. The term "possum" is also used in North America as a short form of "Opossum".

I have nothing against possums at all, and apart from the previous few months cohabited with them, they never really worried me at all, they were uninvited guests, that for the most part were unobtrusive. I was not worried that possums habituated the roof space. Well not until l they started to act up, outstay their welcome, fight and run through out the ducting and vents of our heater and the finale act that lead to the need to evict they urinated and defecated though the ducts.

That was it they had to go, this was not the first run in we had with possums, they had always been part of our garden, we had cared for the sick amazed at their agility and even buried their dead in the past. We were not beyond leaving a spare apple out at night, but this was too much they had outstayed there’re welcome.

But how does one get rid of possums they are

“As a native species in Australia, possums are protected by Australian regulations, even when they reside in urban neighbourhoods, and cannot be baited. If captured, regulations stipulate that they must be released within a small radius of the capture site, as they are territorial creatures.”

Well preventative measures such preventing them entering the roof space such as blocking off their entrance points and building a possum nesting box are the only real alternatives. This is something that is beyond the ability of many of us myself included so I called for some help.

You can quickly search Google to find people in your area to assist with the removal of possums from your buildings. For my Melbourne readers, I recommend Paul Sturrock the Possum Whisperer, Paul has over 15 years experience in fixing possum problems in homes throughout Melbourne and surrounds.

Paul is a professional gentleman, that will promptly attend your property perform a free appraisal and provide a quote, he will then organise a time that suits you to begin, and before your know it your home will be possum free. You can contact Paul on 0408 308 036 or visit his is web page here.
http://www.vinylpusher.com.au/possumwhisperer.com.au/
Uninvited Guests hanging out in the most unexpected places  

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

You Too Can Try a Dr Pepper Down Under 



I have become infatuated with an old American Favourite Dr Pepper. I would love to tell you what it tastes like however you cannot tell anyone what Dr Pepper tastes like because it's so different. It's not an apple, it's not an orange, it's not a strawberry, it's not a root beer, and it’s not even a cola. It's a different kind of drink with a unique taste all its own.

Dr Pepper is a soft drink marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885.
Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Australia (as an imported drink) and South America.

In Australia you can order supplies from http://www.usafoods.com.au/
The Icehouse has arrived in Melbourne 
for the wheel my friends you'll have to wait
Melbourne has a new Icehouse, when I was mere boy a growing up in Melbourne Town in the seventies I remember this great band breaking into the music scene, the band Flowers and the debut album Icehouse. The band changed its name to Icehouse in 1981, and according to Wikipedia the name comes from an old, cold flat Iva Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.

I recommend that you check the band out but that not is what this post is about, now here we are in 2010 and Melbourne has a new Icehouse.

The Icehouse is Australia’s new, world-class ice sports and entertainment venue. The venue contains two Olympic sized ice rinks, state-of-the-art sound and light systems, stadium seating for up to 1,000 people, specialist winter sports gym and a café, bar and function rooms.

I was lucky enough to check it out last Monday and I will be learning curling there in the not too distant future. The Icehouse is conveniently located in the heart of Melbourne’s Waterfront City at Docklands; the Icehouse is easily accessible by car and public transport. Directly  over the road from where the Melbourne's Southern Star should be located and I suppose as the following photo illustrates still is.

I find it kind of ironic that the inspiration of a name of an album all those year ago could link a new Icehouse with a wheel that should be populated by people enjoying the spectacular views of Melbourne but alas there are not even itinerant people here as sadly the Southern Star wheel has closed indefinitely resulting from damage incurred by Melbourne's record-breaking 2009 January heat wave. The extreme conditions caused the giant wheel to buckle and crack. The owners sought international advice on how to best repair the wheel and rest assured that is being repaired and it will be one day again be fully operational.
This whole precinct is a lovely additional to Melbourne Docklands community and also houses a shopping district called Harbour Town, that looks like it is doing OK since the premature demise of  the Southern Star wheel, so I hope that the addition of the Icehouse brings the much-needed foot traffic and shoppers until the wheels eventual return.
Titanic the Artifact Exhibition
I have had a fascination with the White Star Lines most famous/infamous ocean liner the Titanic for many many years as no doubt have had so many others people around the world. I have been fortunate enough to have visited Halifax in Nova Scotia Canada, the  closest major port to the 1912 sinking and where all of the recovered bodies were brought to. I have visited The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic which has what is generally recognized as the world's finest collection of wooden artifacts from Titanic. I also recently attended the Melbourne Exhibition of the Titanic Artefacts, one of many such exhibitions being staged at numerous venues worldwide.

And it was the most recent reminder of this great and most unlucky of ocean cruise liners that has prompted me to put together a brief smattering of Titanic postings as a way to encourage people to find out more about this most tragic ship of history.   

I found this video on You Tube that provides an excellent run down of what you would expect to see at the Titanic Expo in Melbourne, this is taken from the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts exhibition but the basic premise is the same.
Journey back to 1912 and experienceTitanic's maiden voyage.
Explore detailed reconstructions of the ship’s interior including the Grand Staircase and First and Third Class cabins. Discover how the ‘unsinkable’ ship met its fate and connect with the personal stories of people onboard as you view artefacts recovered from the ocean floor.

On the fateful night of April 15, 1912, Titanic, the world’s largest ship, sank after colliding with an iceberg on her maiden voyage bound for New York. The disaster claimed more than 1,500 lives and subsequently altered the world’s confidence in modern technology. Nearly 98 years later, See treasures never before presented in Australia in this Melbourne-only showing at the The Melbourne Museum.


I also have found this fantastic photo gallery at the Dublin website for the Titanic Exhibition
Titanic Exhibition Photo Gallery  

and finally a You Tube Video presentation of various photos and drawings of the great ship.



a friend I used to know 
boat houses Brighton Beach Victoria 

Tuesday, September 07, 2010


table service Melbourne style

have an egg flip big M @ your sella fella now 

It's back for all to enjoy, you can now all pick up an egg flip Big M at your local sella fella but only for a limited time. I enthusiastically wrote of Big M a few weeks ago and how Big M is a popular brand of flavored milk that was first established here in Victoria in 1978. It quickly expanded its distribution  into the states of New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. 

I first remember when Big M first arrived on the scene, suddenly we did not have to reach for the Quik (NESQUIK®) anymore to have flavored milk , it was a brilliant marketing strategy that aimed to increase milk sales and since the humble beginnings we have seen BIG M become a staple in Australian dairy cabinets and fridges everywhere for the past 32 years, It brings back glorious memories of summers past.
So it was with delight that I realized that they had a competition to bring back one of the flavors past, special edition flavors that ran for only a limited time. the choice included the following
The Choice was between
  • Choc Berry
  • Choc Jaffa
  • Pine Lime
  • Egg Flip
  • Honeycomb
  • Blue Heaven
well now its official Egg Fliphas been crowned the winner and will  be joining the following range in dairy cabinets and fridges everywhere on the 30th of August . I however wont be around for long as it is for a limited time only, so make sure you get out and taste it .
 What do you think will you be rushing out to purchase Egg Flip Big M? I know I will be.
a family of magpies Ringwood Victoria

New East Brighton bus route sparks protest

From 


BRIGHTON East residents are furious a new bus route will send nearly 360 buses a week through their streets. Route 626, to start on September 27, will wind through back streets between Nepean Highway and Hawthorn Rd seven days a week. Buses will run every 30 minutes on weekdays between 6am and 9pm, hourly on Saturday between 7am and 9pm and Sunday between 8am and 9pm. But residents said they were not consulted about the new route, and want the Department of Transport (DOT) to change it.
the first Australian Gap Store Chadstone

South Melbourne - looking out from Crown Casino



all aboard Southern Cross Station

the vista over the bay to the city of Melbourne


Sunday, September 05, 2010

Floods, landslides, chaos across state

Gary Tippet, Maris Beck Mark Russell, Natalie Craig
VICTORIA, soaked to the brim by its heaviest winter rains in years, was overflowing yesterday.
The floods, the worst in 15 years, caused landslides, flash-flooding and evacuations as residents sought refuge in local high schools and shelters. Hundreds of skiers were stranded at Mount Buller after landslides swept through carparks.
By last night at least 200 residents had been evacuated from the worst-hit areas, including Creswick and Clunes, in the central highlands, after rivers broke their banks, including the Yarrowee at Ballarat, and Creswick creek.

Full story here

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Docklands Melbourne

.

catching the train,the shine is a little tarnished

JULY 3, 2010

by rorybaust


This article is a Melbourne centric look at the problems with a privatised public transport network and why I think it has not provided any benefits since its adoption by Victoria over 10 years ago and worse why it has instead added additional costs to an already strained and decaying service. The privatisation of the Melbourne Public Transport Network has not worked and is in this public transport user and observer’s opinion an abject failure; in particular I am referring to the Melbourne municipal railway network. The for profit mentality is no more able to run a modern reliable and efficient train network than the state funded public servants that had attempted to do so before them. Actually I would argue that this model is the least efficient and economically viable of all options that the government could have attempted or implemented.

Public transport has always been subsidised by the state government, in so much as the revenue from ticket sales does not cover the operating costs to maintain and run the network and this shortfall in revenue or more correctly the operating loss is covered for by the public purse. This situation is not unique to Victoria and is pretty much the standard practice around the world with the vast majority of public transport networks some what subsidised by governments. The basic fact is that the majority of public networks would not even be run if the only justification for them to continue to operate was that if they at the least cover their operating costs and break even. Governments don’t run these networks for profit but as a service to the public. The imperative to have a cheap and efficient transport network out weighs the economic imperative to make a profit. It is similar to a multitude of other services that governments subsidise for the public good, and fortunately there are other many other criteria and reasons used in allocating scarce resources apart from just making a return on capital.

This is not intended to be a political discussion as in Victoria both sides of the political divide is tarnished in their handling of this issue, it was the Liberal party that first implemented this farcical situation but successive Labor administrations have failed to end the farce and the status quo has remained, and even when presented with the perfect opportunity last year to end this failed experiment they instead just installed another operator. This misguided belief that some how Metro could do a better job than Connex in running the train system fails to address the underlying problems let alone fix them.


The privatisation model used in this case is both unique and novel, due to the nature of the asset and the lack of revenue to cover all of the outgoing costs. Metro are contracted to operate the network, they do not own any of the assets associated with the network such as tracks, stations and rolling stock, they however are responsible for revenue collection and are paid a monthly fee to cover the running of the system, this is a variable amount as fines are levelled by the government for non attainment of operating benchmarks such as punctuality and frequency of services. I am obviously not privy to the contract details as no doubt they are “commercial in confidence” a handy way for governments to hide embarrassing details they don’t want the public to know and securitise.

Another thing that confuses the situation is that anther government body called they are responsible for aligning all the operators of the public transport network from the bus, tram, municipal train train services into a coherent working body. The ticketing system used is the same for all the operators of these services and revenue is shared between all operators based on ticketing data obtained from the ageing but perfectly fine met card system. We however are also lucky enough to have a new world class ticketing called Myki that is in the process of being implemented but that is a story for another day. I did however write an early article that referenced the problems that I felt Myki has brought to the table that I recommend that you read if at all interested the link; Public Transport it does not need to be hi tech.

I also want to make it quite clear that I do not see Metro the current operators of the Victorian municipal train service as the villains in this mess. Metro has an excellent track record when it comes to operating complex transport networks world wide, there is nothing to suggest that if the appropriate resources were allocated to this network the outcomes would not be vastly different. No I think that blame clearing lays at the feet of the current and previous governments of all political persuasions. Public Transport is treated as a joke in Melbourne and the current state of the Melbourne train network is testament to the years of under resourcing, neglect and mismanagement by our elected representatives. It is an ugly blight on Melbourne’s landscape and unless urgent attention is applied to the network it will continue to decay and eventually may grind to a halt.

I remember when Melbourne hosted the Commonwealth Games recently and how ashamed I felt that visitors to this great city would have to avail them selves of the joke that is the railway network. I am sure that Melbourne is not alone and that nightmare stories of neglect and mismanagement abound in cities all around the world, and it is a travesty of justice for those cities as it is for mine.

The following is my list of why I think that privatisation of the railway networks has resulted in failure. This list is not exhaustive and is my interpretation of what I see is wrong with the system; conversely I would have loved to also provide a list of positive outcomes that privatisation has brought the Melbourne train network but the cupboard is so bare my friends that even old Mother Hubbard would blush with embarrassment.
The State Government uses it’s supposed non ownership as a way to deflect blame, if the trains are not running on time or any other problem it’s the operators fault. There is also no singular body responsibility for coordinating the whole system and because of that it is easy for blame to be shifted. It would appear that even the government minister that should be responsible takes a hands off approach or simply ignores the problems.
The system is poorly resourced, the network is old and degrading and the funding required to maintain let alone improve the service is sadly lacking.
By contracting a private commercial operator to run the service it just adds another layer of costs to the equation further lowering any possible reinvestment in the system.
Networks need to be planned and managed, by separating the ownership of assets away from the operator reduces an incentive to manage and improve those assets. This is a network whose foundation was laid over 100 years ago, and is in constant need of maintenance, the bare minimum is not enough.
Fining the operator for poor performance that is so well out side of their scope to fix serves no other gaol that to look like you are doing something. It’s a stick approach that has failed to work repeatedly and that maybe it is time to try the carrot. If an operator can’t obtain the desired standards either the standards are too high or there are other issues hindering that outcome that first need to be addressed.
Every time we change an operator and so far I can count 4 times already why is a rebranding of the trains, stations and uniforms worn by the staff required? I can imagine that this is a huge costly exercise that redirects scare resources that could be used to improve the network to a futile PR exercise. Why could we not just name the train network independently of the operator that runs it? and thus avoid this costly and often repeated waste.
If the new operator is really just a new management team with exactly the same employees and resources available as the previous operator why should we expect to see any tangible improvement if no other variables has changed. Worse still is that Metro has since taking over the network has consistently performed worse than their predecessors Connex. Expecting a different outcome when the same resources are at play is patently absurd.

I feel that if we want improved train services in Melbourne that we need to lobby our politicians and let them know that this is a matter of huge concern. I find it reprehensible that in this day and age that with the focus so much on reducing carbon emissions and that motor vehicles being a large contributor to this problem that there is still no renewed focus to not only improve but also to expand the train network. If the government is serious about public transport and I guess you would say that I am not at all convinced of that prospect, then they need to firstly acknowledge that there is a problem and secondly apply the appropriate resources the network so badly needs.

What do you think? Do you have an efficient, reliable and adequately resourced train network where you live? Please leave me a comment I would love to hear what you have got to say, thanks.

Victoria braces for wild weather

By Thomas Hunter
 
RESCUE boats are on standby in inland Victoria, with damaging winds, torrential rain and flooding expected to strike.
State Emergency Services Regional Duty Officer Tony Grimme said last night inflatable boats had been prepared for rescue operations in areas around Benalla and Wangaratta.
''Probably the biggest threat is flash-flooding in urban areas,'' he said.
''Over the weekend, it's the urban areas that are going to cop it the most, and next week it will move into Riverine and low-lying land with livestock.''

Bayside Melbourne

Luna Park Just For Fun