Just a quick quip (and maybe an edit later) before I head off to work - what is up with the gun activity of late?

Did ’someone’ not mention that, in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootout, gun-control legislation in Australia were strict, and so prevents similar incidents in our colleges?

South Melbourne this Morning: Man dies in shoot-out with police (The Age)

Greeeeeeeat. Now that the free Early Bird ticket has been extended to all train lines throughout metropolitan Melbourne, why can’t they include the bus fleets in the system as well? It simply makes no sense. A normal ticket allows you to travel on all trains, buses and trams in Melbourne, but an Early Bird ticket doesn’t?

It’s shit coz right now I travel for free to Footscray station, but end up having to use a Zone one ticket to pay for my ride to Altona North. Absolutely ridiculous coz I get off at Altona North just a tad before 7AM. A call to Connex puts me on the phone with a pleasant sounding bloke who doesn’t have the slightest clue why buses aren’t included in the Early Bird rides as well.

Hear me roar.

Image from istockphoto.com

So, the petrol prices has been skyrocketing and you are finding your funds vaporising (pun-intended) from your bank account. Have a read of this e-mail that just dropped in this morning (validity up to reader’s discretion):

One of the plus sides of having several jobs is the flexibility and change of locale you find yourself in several times a week. One of my new jobs takes me to Grieve Parade in Altona North, where I catch the 6.32AM bus 414 from Footscray.

After my shift in the arvo, I was waiting for the bus to take me back to Footscray. That area’s a very industrial area, so large trucks ferrying containers and the likes kick up a dust storm every other minute. So there I was, sitting there in my work clothes, looking really out of the place. And then it happened. I realised that every truckie who drove their Optimus Primes past me looked at me, and did one or more of the following:

1) Smiled
2) Gave me a thumbs up
3) Blasted the horn
4) Waved
5) Kept their eyes on me for as long as they could safely do so

I was sitting there for over 20 minutes, so it wasn’t a one-off. And no other drivers of other modes of transportation attempted 1-5. How weird!

Seriously, wtf? Anyone drives trucks here? Perhaps let us in on your culture?

Early morning commuting. Peak hour traffic. The Sydenham train to the city decides to stuff up at North Melbourne. Train stalled for ten minutes. People standing the cars start getting uncomfortable. Fidgety and such. Peeked out and I saw the train driver walking into each car informing them of the bad news. I’m left stranded, along with hundreds of other commuters. I’m late for work. So are they. All in a day’s work I must say. No love lost for Connex there.

On my way to work in Doncaster yesterday morning, the bus I was in got caught in a traffic stand still. Frustrated (as I was late for work), I wondered what the commotion was. Glancing ahead, I noticed a steady stream of cars filtering into the servo along Doncaster Road. With petrol prices averaging $1.50/L lately, disgruntled drivers are always on the look out for good deals.

Turns out, the servo had an offer going on. Holy shit, but am I right to assume $1.3950/L’s cheap in this dark petrol days? That’s the offer the servo had; the price was in neon colours. Hard to miss really.

What’s the best price you’ve seen while driving lately? I don’t drive (as I don’t own a car), so I won’t be the best judge. But I reckon $1.3950’s pretty darn cheap!

PS: In case you guys haven’t been paying attention to the news lately, the 4 cents you save on petrol when you present your docket from Coles isn’t saving you any money. In fact, you’re still paying more than the industry rates. Read here for more details.

Image from news.com.au

Roving police patrols at night targeting violent hotspots was a great idea but Premier John Brumby’s 2AM lockout is just ridiculous. Last week, Brumby announced a trial starting on June 3, that imposes a 2AM lockout in areas in and around Melbourne. Some areas affected include Fitzroy (i.e. Brunswick St.), the CBD, St. Kilda, and Prahran. Once you step out of a venue and its after 2AM, you will not be allowed back in. This is supposed to curb increasing violence in Melbourne. Licencees who breach this lockout will be face fines up to $6800. The only exception to the ban unsurprisingly is the government revenue maker, Crown Casino.

• Most of the late night violence has been occurring outside venues on the streets. By locking out patrons, this will just be putting more people onto the streets. More people means more fights.
• Want to go out for a smoke? Sorry, can’t come back in. Phone call? Nope. Designated driver? No way. Sorry, I lost my girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/sister etc. Sorry, can’t come in.
• First Floor, Bubble, and The Exford are three places that thrive in the late night. Take First Floor (Brunswick St., Fitzroy) as an example. It is open until the early hours of the morning but it only starts to get packed when most of the bars close on Brunswick Street. The 2AM lockout is thus removing late night licences.
• The city of Yarra consists of a large area including Collingwood, Fitzroy, and Richmond. Public drinking IS allowed. Yes, you heard that right. What do you think people will be doing on the street when they cannot get into a venue? Get ready for parks and street corners to be the new hot venue of choice.

You really have to wonder how our Victorian government comes to conclusions without any notice and without consulting with venues, patrons or generally reading any history on the issue. Only a couple of years ago, England repealed it’s 11PM closing law in order to STOP violence. It’s not just the lockout, only yesterday , the Brumby government announced that it was making certain roads in an around Melbourne, clearways during peak hour WITHOUT even consulting councils. I know the Beijing Olympics are coming up but I was pretty sure we are not living in a dictatorship government. I highly suspect that after the three month trial of this lockout, the government will come out with some skewed figures showing success and proposing that the lockout be extended permanently.

Have your say! Join the protest May 30th at Parliament House (5PM-7PM and 11PM-Midnight). Please don’t show up drunk or being an idiot.

Links:

2AM Lockout Website (an “impartial” site created by those great guys from Melbournepubs.coms )

Melbourne Locked Out (The official protest site)

Facebook Group

Facebook Event

Herald Sun: Protestors fight for their right to Party

…even the mailbox in Moonee Ponds. Where’s the tomato sauce?

I made this entry over fifteen months ago and my stance still remains the same: Give me a large cold glass of shit water anyday, mate.

A year has passed, and seems like the Government’s attempt to convince Melburnians to consume shit water has fallen shit short of their expectations.

Nothing seems to have changed. The Bracks Government were ridiculed back then, the Brumby Government ain’t faring any better. I think they really need to rethink their strategy if they wish to pursue this important matter. Whether it leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth (pun intended) is another thing altogether, but perhaps it’s time for Brumby and Co. to give the Victorian media another water cooler topic. They’re having so much airtime with their public transport debacle and terrorist bullshit, no thought is given to something that’s very close to all Australians.

Don’t get me wrong. I like to arrive on time in a non-crowded train and not be subjected to retinal checks when I’m at the airport. I don’t start doubting the Muslim’s intentions just because he prays seven times a day or his wife wears a hijab. Hell I’m sure terrorists exist in other religious denominations as well. The bottom line is, who needs a world class transport system and a terrorist-free country if there’s no water for consumption in the long run. We need to think long term. I’d rather be stuck in a hot, humid train, pressed against other sardines and am thirty minutes late. At least I have my delish cold bottle of shit water in my bag and not be worrying what my children will be drinking 30 years from now.

Following Adrock’s post on Melbourne’s railway overhauls, I caught the the new Connex advertisement on TV one evening and it rocks my socks. Of course, everyone still hates Connex anyway.

It’s a great PR campaign for a network that is constantly failing, though - just blame the city that is growing exponentially.

Imagine if tomorrow you had to move a city,
Take nurses to hospitals, school kids to schools,
Futures analysts to, well… wherever it is futures analysts go.

Imagine getting all these people,
Hundreds and thousands of them to where they needed to be.
That’s what Connex does everyday.

It’s a big job, and as Melbourne grows it’s getting bigger.
Which is why we’re making changes to the network,
Adding more carriages, more staff and more services.
You can see our new plan at connexmelbourne.com.au

Connex - We’re moving more people everyday.

And the score that plays throughout the advertisement reminds me of the theme from Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Though, when the tractor in the advertisement stopped at the intersection (when everyone turned to stare in awe at the speeding Connex train), I was half-expecting a semi-trailer to come running into it and turn it into an advertisement for safe driving.

See the advertisement on Connex’s site here: http://www.connexmelbourne.com.au/index.php?id=204