One of today’s most read articles on The Age today is one about how tram conductors are better than tram inspectors. Besides the fact that the author refers erroneously to Tram 15 (non-existent since 1995), she makes a good point. Tram conductors are a cheaper and better way of 1) providing some security in the tram, 2) making sure that everyone rides with a ticket, and 3) having someone who you can ask questions to (eg. tourists). Well, we will never go back to having tram conductors but here’s a idea. Pub Tram.

Helsinki, Finland is home to the pub tram called the Spårakoff . Yes, we do have the restaurant trams which are pretty cool but unless you are willing to part with lots of money for mediocre food, then we need a pub tram. OK, it won’t solve any of the tram problems, in fact it probably will cause more, but imagine those hot summer afternoons catching a tram home from work. Imagine having a nice cold beer on the ride home. Forget Myki, bring on Spårakoff .

Links:

Wikipedia: Spårakoff

The Age: Melbourne’s trams are a hostile place

Photo by matz-o-man [via Melbourne Maniac]

Australia’s favourite Dutch tattoo dame is exhibiting in our shores again. Angelique Houtkamp’s second Melbourne exhibition opened last week and reflects her interest in watercolour painting. The exhibition, Till Death Do Us Part, showcases paintings with melancholic dames, nostalgic old-time tattoo imagery and half-female, half animal creatures. With artistic influences from advertising, fashion, cinema, illustraion and photography from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, the exhibition will interest tattoo purists, art enthusiasts and curious visitors alike.

Till Death Do Us Part, a showcase of original art and new prints by Angelique Houtkamp, is on show at Outre Gallery, 249 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

Thanks to Marion Joseph

Link: Outre Gallery

“Not everyone has warm feelings for the trams - for example. motorists may view them with impatience,” explains the introduction.

While some Melburnians will agree with that statement, most will appreciate the beauty and charm of our iconic box on wheels.

The 80-page paperback is largely a pictorial essay but also has a couple of history lessons. There is even a chapter called “What tram is that?” - so if you have ever wanted to know how the control panels of a W-series and a C-class (we’re entering serious tram enthuasiasts kingdom here), this is the book for you.

More than 40 photographers and artists have contributed tram-related pics to the book, and it’s fair to say that if you are a fan of the City Circle, you’ll be in rusty tram track heaven.

The Melbourne Tram Book is out now.

Here’s a scene we see so very often in Melbourne: coked-up addicts in trains. Or something along those lines. This bloke held up an entire train, which was forced to stop at St Albans station. The driver failed to rouse him from his stupor. Passengers were asked to leave the train and board the next train while paramedics took their own sweet time to arrive.

Connex staff told me to fuck off before I could take the picture from another angle. Oh well. At least I got the picture :O

I really thought this was going to be a hard one. I mean it was just a picture of a wall. Jopas figured it out within an hour of the posting. Good job.

The Night Cat is one of the best venues in Fitzroy for live acts and dancing. Nope, not your usual Billy Joel cover songs but all kinds of music like jazz and salsa. Unlike most other venues, The Night Cat has loads of room to spread out, so there’s little chance of absorbing other people’s sweat (unless that’s your thing). On certain nights of the week, they teach various dance styles such as the Salsa. If you really want to hear the 80’s cover songs, then don’t fret, 120 Bar across the street plays 80’s music all night. Note: Both venues enforce the 2AM Lockout.

Links:

The Night Cat

120 Bar

Picture by yuu.tokunaga

Tramroute.com shows the estimated positions of trams in Melbourne. You just pick the route and watch the tram dots slowly move along the roads. The site also features interactive timetables so you can plan your trip accordingly. The one thing that is missing is real time tram information, something I don’t think Yarra Trams would be keen to release as they have their own revenue stream through their TramTracker product. It would be interested to see how the real time map would look compared to this one. Most likely all the dots would be clumped in one section and then a big space between the next closest dot.

Links:

Tramroute.com [via Digg]

TramTracker

You can name what’s in the building or name of the street. It’s one of my favourite places in Melbourne (although not located in the CBD) to go on the weekends. Where Art Thou? Put your guesses in the comments. Answers on Friday.

Visit the Melbourne Aquarium to see the latest residents in action. My favourite is the puffer fish, one of the most poisonous fish in the world. It will puff itself up to the shape of a balloon to scare off predators. Too bad they don’t cook them in the cafe, it will be interesting to find out what they taste like.

Other interesting animals include the stringrays, (have you ever sampled one?), sharks and tiny but poisonous frogs. These are some of the newest but deadly residents at the Melbourne Aquarium. They are part of the Extreme Fun exhibition coinciding with the school holidays.

Ticket info
———-
Adult: $26.50
Child (3-15yrs): $16.00
Concession: $18.00

Family (2 adults & up to 3 children): $75.00
Single Family
(1 adult & up to 3 children): $55.00
Additional Children: $11.50

The aquarium is open daily from 9.30 am to 6 pm. Last admission is at 5 pm or 1 hour before closing time.

At a friend’s engagement just last week, I made friends with one of the blokes. Turns out, he’s a private investigator who works for himself. It’s not a hard job, but long hours (mostly waiting and observing in his car) and peeing into a 1.5L plastic bottle does dull one’s senses after awhile.

We were exchanging views on the more ‘dangerous’ suburbs in West Melbourne as our conversation focused on housing prices and affordable suburbs. I couldn’t quite believe my ears when he mentioned the new suburb of Cairnlea is one of the most ‘dangerous’ suburb to live in right now. Yes, this is the same Cairnlea with the huge sprawling houses, massive plots of land and vibrant community. Most importantly, it’s mostly young couples with a good mix of races and nationalities.

“But,” my new friend said, “that’s exactly what the burglars are into. New homes, with young couples. They strike these homes as the couple mostly works in the day. It’s an easy target.”

I’ve been to Cairnlea. A lot. Many of my friends live there. If anything, I think the suburb is really peaceful and a great place for your kids to grow up in as the demographic is just right. I found it hard to believe my new friend, but coming from an expert’s point of view, I found it hard to reject his opinion as well.

What do you readers think? Any of you live in a new estate/suburb? Hot tips on keeping the house safe?

I was thinking the other day of how long it would take someone to ride each tram route from source to destination. Would it be possible to do it a day? Sure I guess if “nothing” went wrong but who would willingly want to stay on a tram for that long. Well, a guy called Heath Tully has set out on a similar mission to ride the entire train network of Melbourne.

Telstra and Connex have joined forces in this odd mission and he is providing instant updates via his phone/computer. I think more commendable is the overall prowess of completing 183 completely random goals before he is 30. Some of them are fairly easy “38. Do the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk” and some could be quite difficult such as “18. Meet Sir Richard Branson”. Good luck on completing 141.

Nowwearetalking- Ride all the trains in Melbourne

via [Digg]

Project 183