I know I’m not the only one who’s breathing a little sigh of relief when the Reserve Bank announced an interest rate cut at 3.00PM yesterday - the first time in seven years. I was sitting at my desk refreshing the business page every few minutes as most industry experts were predicting an interest rate cut and news would filter through by 2.30PM. So much for working!

I think young couples with recently bought homes stand to gain the most in the short term. I wince every fortnight when I’m copping almost $2K a month in mortgage repayments, but I shudder to think how other Melburnians are able to afford their palatial homes in their ‘desired’ suburbs. Even with a dual income, I’d be hard pressed to find a young couple forking out payments for a $450,000 house, which by Melburnian standards is pretty average. *gasp* How on earth do these people survive? Stuff the price of petrol, look at the price of milk! $6 for 3 liters. Ridiculous!

Here’s hoping our reprieve, however short, continues. It’s good to have that extra $44/month in your pocket.

Image from ABC News

So how did we do in that Nike Race?

Melbourne was placed ninth overall, with an average running time (for 10km) of 58″58′. London, topped out at number two with 57″47′. Alright, alright. So they win this round.

Well, at least we don’t have a goofy portly mayor who’s the butt of many jokes. Oh, wait.

For all the results and more, click here.

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Our favourite 5000m Victorian track-star Craig “Buster” Mottram was there too! Probably out of contractual obligation because he likes running!

But since he was so good, he gave all the fast runners a 10-minute head start. Not that it mattered at all, since he finished in the top ten anyway.

buster

Craig reckons he runs an average of 190km per week. Per Week! That’s like 4 and a half marathons! One every other day! Just thinking about it makes me so tired!

I wonder how much he eats daily to power all that running…

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Speaking of eating, to all our Muslim readers (all three of you), we wish you happy fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.*

For everyone else, here’s a cheat sheet of what Ramadan’s all about.

*- According to the Islamic Council of Victoria, the month of Ramadan coincided with the 1st of Sept.

Today marks the end of one of the worst policies trialled on Melbourne.  No longer do patrons have to suffer confusion over which venues have lockouts. No longer will the streets be flooded with people “locked out” of venues. What have we learned from the lock out? Nothing it seems. Crime has increased, there’s still not enough police on the streets, and people are still fighting IN THE STREETS not in the venues.  Good old John investigated the situation over the weekend, something he perhaps could have done before the lockout.

At least footy players will have an easier time celebrating Mad Monday tonight.

Links:

Herald Sun: Violence soars in CBD fringes as revellers move out of inner city

Another event to add to the list of activities that are occuring around the city this weekend is the Melbourne at Home exhibition at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. If you are looking to renovate or build a home, it might be a good idea to check out the latest trend and technology.

Check out on the latest green products, home security systems or the latest surround sound systems (which isn’t going to be carbon friendly).

The show will run til 31st August, between 10 am and 9 pm on Saturday and til 7 pm on Sunday. Buy your tickets to save a couple of dollars. Ticket at the door is $18 per adult.

You shouldn’t miss out on this infamous speech made by London Mayor Boris Johnson at the London 2012 Hand-Over party after the end of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It’s incredibly funny, and made me wonder why Melbourne doesn’t have a Mayor Johnson-equivalent. Our bro John So’s alright, but let’s face it he probably needs a translator for us to understand him haha!

Melburnians take note: London is the Sporting Capital of the World. Or so says Mayor Johnson. What do you think?

And for all those who don’t get the ‘XXX is coming home’ bit, it’s a take on England’s ‘Football’s Coming Home’ song. The English football team is crap, yet we hear it every time England plays.

While perusing the Docklands website for a great place to eat, I chanced upon a great urban competition that will appeal to the adventurers-at-heart. Called the Rat Race, it’s the first time the race has left Britain and competitors wil, over two days, challenge themselves both physically and mentally. As a thrill-seeker and and outdoor junkie myself, I was thrilled. From the website:

Coming to Australia for the first time, the Rat Race sees competitors running, biking, climbing, kayaking, abseiling and navigating their way around the city in a course that is only revealed hours before they begin. Previous events have taken place in London, Manchester, Belfast and Edinburgh, and 2008 sees the inaugural Melbourne event.

Read more

Even Mr Monopoly Man has problems figuring out where Melbourne is

Here’s one for Sydneysiders to cheer about. For once, Melbourne was beaten by our ‘auld enemy’ to the final 22 cities set to appear in Monopoly’s latest take on their famous board game. The harbour city appears on the game’s Red strip (The Strand, Trafalgar Square and Fleet Street) in good company, alongside international powerhouses New York and London. Sydney occupies the position occupied by The Strand. Not bad at all.

Yet it’s not surprising to find out that more Australians voted for Melbourne. The cultural, arts, fashion and coffee capital of Australia is a favourite with Australians who visit Melbourne for the vibrant city life, sports scene and wadya know, perhaps a trip on Melbourne’s infamous public transport system *cough* Lynne Kosky out! *cough*

I can only speculate, but I daresay Melbourne was beaten by our lesser cousin due to Sydney’s more international profile. In fact, when asked what the capital of Australia is many people around the world mention ‘Sydney’. Sydney is also the first city most non-Australians think of, and Sydney is also the only city most non-Australians know of. Of course, Aussies know that our capital Canberra is halfway between Sydney and Melbourne so the conflict and dispute would stop. Which also explains why the Australian Capital Territory (where Canberra resides) exists so it would not belong to either New South Wales or Victoria. Ha! That’s a bit of history there. Read more

Located in Waterfront City, Docklands and measuring 11m long, the stunning mosaic mural is a tribute to the greatest Australian entertainers. Created by renowned mosaic artist David Jack and based on an original artwork by Jamie Cooper, the mural captures each of the 100 entertainers in their hey day in a unique tribute.

In fact, the mural is soooooo long, I had to take several steps back just to catch the entire mural in its entirety. Here’s how it looks in its full glory.

Since no one else attempted to answer it, full points to decryption for answering half the question. Good job!

International students (from left) Seonah Kim, Lee Hee Jin, Lee Naree and Moustafa Ibrahim, outside Hawthorn-Melbourne College, are unhappy with the way they have been treated

I pity these kids. They, along with 194 other fellow students from various part of the world, have become victims of a university scandal. Actually, I’ll call it whatever I like. Myopic Australian University Bureaucracy. Let’s Keep Hush ‘Coz They Don’t Speak English Anyway. Let’s Fuck With These Kids ‘Coz If They’re Rich Enough To Study Here, They Are Rich Enough To Fly Home.

It’s not the first time International Students have been fucked in the ass blindside and not given a sympathy kleenex to clean up. Australian universities market their education really differently from most internationally-recognized institutions. There’s a great disparity in marketing tactics between North American and Australian universities. While an average North American college markets herself based on the strength of their education (with no hidden agendas), their antipodean neighbours come with sharpened knives with dollar signs in their eyes.

In Asia, where Australian universities have a huge presence, there’s an untapped minefield of cash cows just waiting to be milked. In Singapore alone, there are at least three ‘international studying’ fairs a year, and Australian universities take up 85% of the shelf space. The figures vary for different universities, but an average of 20% of an Australian university’s funding is kept afloat by ‘off-shore’ money.

Read more

After riding into the city with a valid ticket this morning, I felt a little uncomfortable to be yet again confronted by the trench-coated Connex “heavies” standing over every turnstile to make sure we’re all doing the right thing.

I understand that Connex is losing money by the bus load every week to fare evasion, but I think it’s well time they took a moment to see why people aren’t buying tickets - the system is cramped, dirty, unreliable and overpriced.

Most of our train stations are unstaffed and the ticket pricing system doesn’t make sense. I don’t see why I should have to pay for a two hour ticket if I only want to travel two or three stops.

Time after time we see politicians and representatives from our public transport providers heading off on junkets to see how transport works better in other countries, but they never improve anything when they get back. Maybe it’s because these are people who don’t actually use the system.

I guess we’ll have to wait two years to see if the Myki system will change anything. Considering the time and money already wasted on this system, and the fact our government insists on pursuing it (hmm…can I smell dodgy deal or incompetence cover up?), I’ll try not to get too excited.

Our system is fixable, and in a way that would provide a better system for its users, and make more money for the providers. As money doesn’t seem to be an object for Connex, I can’t see why this problem can’t be resolved.

Charging the dwindling amount of people who actually pay for the system more, while providing an increasingly ineffective and unpleasant system is not the answer - quite the opposite, it’s why people give up and stop paying.