Station Street

I like streets that have descriptive names. Things like Station Street, Jetty Rd and Sydney Rd. They tell you what you can expect to find when you go down them. Some describe things that can be found in that street, others after other places the street leads to.

Every town has a Station Street, sometimes even when the railway line no longer exists. Wandin North is calls its Station Street, Rue de Gare, the gare is long gone but the rue remains. Station street could have multiple meanings, if both the police station and railway station are located along it. I'm not sure about the origin of Police Road though. Bridge road leads to a bridge. Daylesford has a Hospital Street, obviously that's where you go when you want a bit of medical attention. Bank Street I assume houses/housed a bank or two.

Why is it that St Kilda has a Fitzroy Street and Fitzroy a Brunswick Street, but Brunswick does not have a St Kilda Street? Strangely enough St Kilda Street is in St Kilda. None of those streets lead you to places they are named after, except Brunswick Street at least points in the right direction kind of...

Many towns in Victoria have a Melbourne Road which invariably points the way to Melbourne. Melbourne in turn has a lot of roads poking out radially that lead to far off places in the country (some are now suburbs) for which those roads are named. Sydney, Geelong, Ballarat, Dandenong, Point Nepean (now Nepean highway) Burwood, Toorak, Plenty and Williamstown. Although the latter no longer has a link to it's namesake, a long gone car ferry over the Saltwater River.

Maybe I'm stating the obvious but I like a road or street name with meaning, one where you look at the sign and think, wow that road could take me places.

Rail to Doncaster

In The Age today is an opinion piece written by Graeme Davison. He rightly asserts that the Doncaster rail line should have been built 40 years ago when the area began to be heavily developed, but is against the building of a line because of the issues involved with tunnelling and the fact it would travel along the Eastern Freeway away from where the potential passengers live:

Yet, for more than half its length, a Doncaster railway would run through the Yarra Bend National Park and across the parkland and golf courses of the Yarra River flats. Golfers and bushwalkers might welcome it, but it would generate next to no commuter traffic. At North Balwyn (Burke Road), passengers would alight about half a kilometre from the nearest houses, while on the north side of Bulleen station, students from Marcellin College are about the only prospective customers. The line would cross Doncaster Road about 1.5 kilometres from the main transport and shopping hub, Shoppingtown. You would either have to tunnel several kilometres under Shoppingtown to East Doncaster, extend the Doncaster tramway to Shoppingtown or rely on feeder buses to reach a station on Doncaster Road.

Davison claims that the railway would travel mostly through parkland and would not create patronage. He seems to conveniently forget that the freeway runs through there too, and does not gain much in the way of traffic from those areas either.

Davison also asserts that you would need to tunnel for kilometres under Doncaster Shoppingtown to East Doncaster. I don't know where he has been for the last 40 years, but a vast amount of tunnelling has always been on the agenda in the Doncaster area. This is not a new thing, and in fact it will help bring the line closer to where the people are, something he uses against the building of the line in the same paragraph.

Davison goes on to claim that:

Transport research shows the reluctance of commuters to put up with bad connections. Any break in transport mode — say, from bus to train — creates frustration, especially if the scheduled service doesn't come. If the Doncaster rail requires a network of feeder buses, the passengers might as well stay aboard the existing express bus services and ride down the freeway along a dedicated lane all the way to the city. Maybe that's why the Eddington report hasn't opted for a Doncaster railway but for a major upgrade of the existing DART (Doncaster Area Rapid Transit) bus service. You may be asking: but don't buses run on polluting and fast-depleting oil? Yes, but although trains run on clean and abundant electricity, that power is generated from the most polluting of all fossil fuels, brown coal. It's only when trains and trams are full that they come out ahead of cars. Railways and trams wear a halo of environmental respectability that is only half-deserved.

To that I say that if the rail frequency and feeder bus frequency are sufficiently high then issues of missed connections will not be a problem. If the rail frequencies on this line were near metro levels (and I would expect the Doncaster line to be part of a segregated network than an extension of the current system) of a train every 5 minutes in peak and every 10 minutes in off peak. Have the feeder buses run every 10 minutes on main roads intersecting the rail line throughout the day, which means the longest connection in the peak would be about 5 minutes and at most 10 minutes off peak. Overall this would equate to an average waiting time for the whole journey of 7.5 minutes peak and 10 minutes off peak. If the connections are good (and by current Melbourne standards these are very good), people will use them.

He does make a good point with the fact that we get our electricity from brown coal. Cleaner and more sustainable energy sources are something that we need to work on. However that does not diminish the fact that all forms of public transport whether powered by electricity generated by burning brown coal, or by burning diesel fuel in a combustion engine, are more efficient at moving large amounts of people than cars are.

This paragraph confuses me though:

The Melbourne 2030 plan was based on the shaky assumption that increasing residential densities around the main public transport system would improve the viability of public transport. But even when density increased, residents often continued to drive their cars. Now there is a swing in the other direction, towards the equally erroneous belief that if you provide the transport, the residential patterns will change and the passengers will come. The Doncaster railway dream is a perfect illustration of that belief.

If anything Davison appears to be having a punt each way in this paragraph. What little development that has occurred under the auspices of Melbourne 2030 has been stymied by contrary government policies and local interests. I would argue that because of this densities have not increased that much in the Melbourne 2030 transit cities. The reason the few new residents continued to drive is exactly as he states, the public transport improvements were not forthcoming, and while they are slowly happening are not happening fast enough. The government is to blame for not having enough will to back up it's own strategies. If anything you only need to look to Perth for examples of where this sort of strategy has been implemented successfully with the Northern Suburbs rail line. In comparison a rail line to Doncaster should be child's play.

In his final paragraph Davison is spot on by stating that public transport needs to be constructed at the time of development, and should have been the case at Doncaster. He is also right that the there needs to be a rail service along Wellington Rd to Monash University and Rowville where there is also a high demand for such services, but there is demand in Doncaster as well.

More Human Tetris

This one is different to the last though. It uses stop go animation and is more faithful to the video game. The sound effects and music are great.



Also in the series are Space Invaders, Pong and Poll Position.

Human Tetris

AKA Brain Wall. Someone was telling me about this a few weeks ago.



Apparently Channel 9 has the rights to a version of this show called Hole in the Wall coming to our screens soon.

The non Eddinton report post.

I was going to write a post on the Eddington Report but I have read so much about it I'm not sure what I think of it any more. Well, I think I'm against it, I'm just not sure why. Actually yes I do... (see what I mean)

I've read so many opinions on what needs to be done, I'm not sure what is original thought and what is not, I suspect I read most of this elsewhere. I'm just repackaging it. One of the best alternate proposals I've read so far is at Phin's blog, part one deals with the western side of the network while the future part two deals with the eastern side. So far so good, but from what I can see he is not totally dismissing the north-south tunnel , but sending it elsewhere.

What is my view on the Eddington report?

First of all I see public transport components of the report as nothing but a cover to get the road tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway and Citylink/Westgate Freeway/Western Ring Road approved. I imagine that as time goes along the public transport components will get scaled back piece by piece, just quietly drop off the agenda one by one until we are left with only minor changes to public transport. All the while the road project will bubble along nicely until completion. I hope that is not the case however and that the sensible suggestions go ahead (ie everything but the insane line from Werribee to Deer Park).

While thinking over the past few weeks I've come around to the view that we do need a sort of "clearways" project for Melbourne, the first steps of which are due to happen in the November timetable change with removal of Werribee trains from the loop in the peaks and the fixing of the direction of the Clifton Hill loop. I would like to see the Werribee line permanently out of the loop and the reaming loops to permanently travel in the same direction like the Clifton hill loop so that there are always two lines running in opposite directions. I suggest:

Clockwise- Clifton Hill and Burnley
Anti-clockwise - Northern and Caulfield

Most of the work needed to iron things out involve smaller, un-sexy projects that need doing to improve the flow of trains, these include things like building more flyovers at junctions, grade separation, re-signalling, extra platforms, new crossovers, straightening out junctions and old diversions of no longer existent infrastructure, as well as altering operational practices such as changing drivers at outer suburban termini instead of at Flinders Street, and cutting the dwell time at Flinders Street to that of a normal station. Then there is the complete rebuilding of major junctions and interchanges such as Caulfield and North Melbourne, which are more long term projects.

A cheap and cheerful short term fix is the addition of extra grab handles and bars to existing rollingstock. That would be most welcome. Other changes could be fitting lateral flip up seating at each end of each car to provide more standing room, such as that found at the driving ends of Siemens motor cars. I may be selfish, but I like having somewhere comfy to sit on the train, so I think this is a good compromise.

Longer term I think there should be a two tier service on all lines with inner suburban all stations trains and outer suburban expresses. This however relies on sorting out the other stuff first. Coupled with this I think through routing the outer suburban expresses through Flinders Street to the opposite side of the city (anyone remember the proposed "Flyer Trains" at the time of privatisation) would be a good move.

Game On

Yesterday I went to Game On at ACMI (for some reason I wrote ACME the first time...). It was fantastic. I saw a lot of games I haven't seen for years, and lots of others that I've never seen first hand like Nintendo's epic failure, the Virtual Boy. Most landmark games were included, but of course there were a lot that could have been included but weren't because there is simply not enough room. As the person I went with remarked, "where is World of Warcraft?", which is probably one of the most iconic current games.

The best part is the fact that almost everything is playable, from the early arcade game Space Wars, classics like Pac Man, Donkey Kong and Galaga, the glory days of the 8 bit consoles and PC's in the '80s, through to the Nintendo Wii. I would have liked to have tried out the PC game Portal (which is included in the "Orange Box" I talked about a few posts ago), but it was being hogged by a hooded figure who was playing for at least an hour while we were there. Definitely not in the spirit of the game.

While not for everyone, I think most people could appreciate the exhibition. It could even change the perception that video and computer games are just for kids. Having said that I want to take my neice and nephew, as I think they'd love it. Especially after showing them my Gameboy Pocket a few weeks ago. I got them to turn it on, and after about 10 seconds one of them asked "when does the light come on?". They were a bit perturbed when I told them it doesn't have a light in it and that you need to play in a bright part of the room. They are used to their modern Nintendo DS with backlit dual screens. I think I could show them a thing or two at Game On.

My advice is if you are thinking of going, go early, especially on weekends. We got there just after opening at 10, but by the time we left at 12 it was really packed.

Regional non-fast rail - Part 2

VLocity unit 15 has completed platform duties,
is closing the doors and is nearly ready to go.

VL 15 heads off around the bend, next station Heathcote Junction.

Track machines in the Standard gauge siding at the Melbourne end of Wallan loop.

This photo was taken at the Hobsons Bay Model Railway Club's Exhibition of Australian Model Railways that is held over the Easter weekend each year. Shown is an N scale model railway layout based on Wallan back when it was a more substantial station (compare now (sort of) and then). In the front are the broad gauge running lines, then the large broad gauge yard, while at the rear is the standard gauge line with two trains crossing in the loop. The track machines in the photo above this one are parked in a small siding that is not depicted, that runs off the start of the loop, and would be parked just behind where the blue and red locomotives are (these are NR class locomotives in Indian Pacific and The Ghan colour schemes BTW). Most crossing loops on the north east standard gauge have at least one such siding for the storage of track machines or broken down locomotives and rolling stock. This layout is owned by the Victorian N Scale Collective.

Regional non-fast rail - Part 1

Went for a drive today up to Bradford and back home again via Wallan. I decided to stop in at the stations of both these towns and was rewarded at each by a train within 10 minutes of arrival. It was interesting to note that V/Line is using the latest VLocity railcars on this line at weekends despite the fact that this line was not part of the regional fast rail project. During the week it is a mix of older Sprinter railmotors (railcars) and locomotive hauled carriages. Anyway at Broadford I took some photos of this Melbourne bound train, it appeared to have a full seated load which surely is a good sign.

VLocity 1131-1231 approaching Broadford station while on
route from Seymour to Melbourne Southern Cross.

This section of track between Craigieburn and Seymour is notable in that it is the last remaining section of double line block safe working in Victoria (if not in Australia). What this means is that the line is divided into sections or blocks. In total there are 5* blocks, these being:

• Craigieburn - Donnybrook*
  
• Donnybrook - Wallan
• Wallan - Kilmore East
• Kilmore East - Broadford
• Broadford - Seymour

* Until the extension of suburban trains to Craigieburn last year there was a block between Broadmeadows and Somerton and another between Somerton and Donnybrook. When the suburban extension to Craigieburn opened the block instruments from Somerton were moved to Craigieburn.

At each station mentioned above there are machines known as Winter's Block Instruments (Winter being the inventor), one for each section of each line. These allow the signaller to communicate with the signaller at the next or previous station using bell codes and indicator needles to negotiate the progress of a train along the line. The signals are sent along the telegraph wires or other communications lines beside the railway. The system is explained in much better detail at Vicsig.

VLocity 1131-1231 loading/unloading passengers at Broadford.

Anyway the point is that the infrastructure required for Double Line Block can be seen in the photo above. There is the signal box on the right which houses the signaller, signal levers and block instruments. Further down the line you can see the down starting signal in front of the train, which allows a train into the next block. On the right of the other line is the down home signal which accepts trains in to the station. These arrangements are reversed at the other end of the station (somewhat visible in the first photo). These are both lower quadrant semaphore signals. There is also a crossover which at a guess is only used in case of emergency under special instructions from the signaller and train control (Centrol) in Melbourne.

I should also mention Double Line Block allows stations to be "switched in" and "switched out" as needed. So for busy times all the stations can be switched in to allow a maximum number of trains through, while at quieter times some of the stations can be "switched out" . Today was one of those quieter times, and I believe it was operating as a single block from Craigieburn to Seymour.

VLocity 1131-1231 disappearing towards Melbourne.

In this final photo you can clearly see the standard gauge line from Melbourne to Albury to the left of the double track broad gauge line. This line has recently been re-laid with concrete sleepers for it's length and longer passing loops known as passing lanes are under construction. The concrete sleepers allow for higher speeds, particularly on curves, and have a longer life span that wooden sleepers (not to mention that we are running out of good quality red gum that is needed for environmental reasons to remain as trees). The existing passing loops are about 2 km at most, which defines the maximum length of the trains that can run on this line (to I believe about 1.8 km), and require many trains to be "put away" or stopped in the loops in order to cross (rail term for trains passing each other in opposite directions) a train in the opposing direction or be overtaken by a faster train . The new passing lanes in contrast will be many kilometres in length (perhaps 5 to 10 I'm not sure on the specifics) which will allow trains to simply pass each other while moving, which make for even faster travel times. All this work is being undertaken by the ARTC (Australian Rail Track Corporation) a federally funded corporation which manages the interstate standard gauge rail network.

Earth Hour

Last night people flocked to cities around the world to see them in darkness. This is what they saw.

The day before, in Melbourne

For some reason whenever I go to Sydney I come home and can't help but notice how run down Melbourne looks in comparison. (I'm sorry but it does!) This time it appears that they had started to dismantle it the day before.



In reality they were laying new tram track for the new island platform tram stop in Flinders Street. This involved replacing the crossing (the bit that looks like a #) with Swanston Street and the track for a whole block between there and Elizabeth Street. I'm not sure that an island is the best way to go,as trams are set up for left hand loading (although it inevitably happens at the end of every tram line), but one good thing to come out of it is a much needed set of mid block pedestrian lights. These are particularly needed on weekends and late at night when the Degraves Street subway is closed. I rugularly jay walk there on weekends.

Incidentaly they broke through the roof of the Degraves street Subway during the demolition of the tram line, and as of Tuesday it was still closed. There are a number of business' in the subway who no doubt will be seeking compensation for loss of trade. From memory there is a newsagent, a number of small boutiques, a barber and an internet cafe.

Sydney for a day

A few weeks ago when I was home sick from work (bad sun burn) I heard an ad on the radio for charity mystery flights for the Good Friday appeal. So after asking mum if she wanted to go I rang up and booked. 3 hours latter I checked my email and found out we were going to Sydney. Mystery solved.

View of Sydney across the harbour from Watsons Bay.

Last Sunday was the day and we had a good one. Before we left we decided to go to Watsons Bay for Doyles Fish and chips, but we also managed to squeeze in a train ride across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a ferry ride to Darling harbour via Balmain and Birchgrove.

Cliffs at The Gap

At Watson's bay I showed mum "The Gap" and the view across the Sydney Heads. Mum said she had no idea there would be so many people here, thinking we would be the only one's on the ferry. As to the fish and chips, I think they are some of the best fish and chips I've ever had, and one of the reasons I was keen to go back.

Watsons Bay Ferry

I dunno how but all our public transport connections worked pretty well, the longest we had to wait all day was about 20 minutes for our Watsons bay Ferry from Circular Quay. It was quite expensive though, but still good value. I was prepared for $16 day tripper ticket, but a return gate pass for the airport station alone cost me $14. Mum being a pensioner got away with the $10 pensioner special (normally costs $2.50 without the airport included).

Luna Park in Sydney

One other observation was the verdant green grass everywhere, something not seen in Melbourne (except the Fitzroy Gardens which come close). It's amazing what a bit(lot) of rain does.

I don't need to tell you what's in this photo.

It was a big day for different modes of transport, in all we caught 4 trains, 3 ferries and 2 planes, and drove 1 car. Speaking of planes, I just can't express how much better Qantas is than Virgin Blue. In most cases it's marginally more expensive, but that is made up for in better aircraft, better comfort, better service (had a really nice Japanese flight attendant on the way up, she went out of her way to make small talk with the passengers) and better food. Fly QANTAS.

On the way home

The Edge

A few weeks ago (actually about 6 now) my weekend wanderings took me down City Rd to photograph this phenomena. I think people were wondering what I was looking at.

Edge goes out.

Edge goes in.

This is full size un-rotated crop of "Edge goes out", if I'm not mistaken that is a star right there in the middle. There are one or two more visible in this photo, and in "Edge goes in" as well, but in the latter they are quite faint. Not bad for 2-3 pm in the afternoon.

Also if you look closely you can see right up that girls skirt...

You Tube - Tourism

Lately I think I've nearly been watching more You Tube videos than TV. Today I happened across quite a few interesting short films. One film of these that I watched was Misguided Tour.



Misguided Tour led me on to some legitimate tourism ads for Melbourne, such as, Run Rabbit Run for the Yarra Valley, the ball of string one, and what passed for a tourism ad in 1985. The last one shows just how far we have come in the last 20 odd years, replacing sport (it's nearly all sport) and nubile young young women with more abstract concepts of what Melbourne has to offer the potential tourist. Was greyhound racing at Olympic Park really a tourist attraction in 1985?

Then again who knows what people will think of the ball of string in 20 years time?

Librarial and other matters

Today I thought I'd go and have a nose around the City Library after work. After turning the corner from Degraves Street into Flinders Lane I was greeted by a sea of people and some flashing blue and red lights. Turns out the police were arresting a couple of drunk and disorderly types, there was a lot of arm twisting going on. I was surprised at the number of people just standing there watching. I didn't stop to watch though, I just kept going in to the library.

Once I was up the stairs and in the Library I turned right towards the catalogue computers only to find they had vanished. There was a paper sign stuck to the wall saying they had moved them to the pillars next to the stairs in the foyer. Sure enough they were there. What a bad idea though, talk about un-ergonomic. Although the screens swivel up and down to adjust for height, I would imagine these computers are pretty uncomfortable for anyone other than average height like myself to use. Not only that but the network in there is so slow, it took minutes to load up the page after hitting search, or clicking on a selection (couldn't help but notice that they had upgraded to Internet Explorer 7). I just gave up and went searching manually for what I wanted.

This led to my second qualm, which was the fact that there seemed to be more books sitting around on trolleys waiting to be put on the shelves than there were books on the shelves. This made finding what I wanted extra difficult, as if they were sorted in some sort of order, someone else like myself had come along looking for something and mixed them all up. I just gave up on the whole library thing at that point.

For the first time in my life I felt like I had to complain about something, so I went and found the suggestions box and sheets (at least I could find them) and spent a good 10 minutes writing out my complaints (in doing so I used the desk that used to house the catalogue PCs).

On my way out it seemed the police were still there, although there is a police station right opposite where the arrests were happening so I guess that is natural. I then took a tram up Collins Street to Spring Street where I was going to change to a train at Parliament, but decided instead to walk across the Treasury and Fitzroy gardens to Jolimont Station.

On the way I noticed how much cooler it was in the gardens. It was almost as if the coolness was radiating off the nice green lawns. This reminded me about something I was reading a few weeks ago about green roofs in cities and how they help to keep temperatures down. On a day like today at 39-40 degrees outside any relief would be welcome, not to mention the benefit of somewhat cleaner air and more public open space the rest of the year.

Greener pastures

I know how boring, another computer post. I promise this is the last computer post I will make for a long time (unless something goes horribly wrong).

I have given up on the 8800 GT dream, I have since found out that there are ways to make it work, but I can't be bothered any more. So today I went and bought a cheap little 256 MB nvidia 8400 GS from ASUS for $52 (in case you were wondering that's a photo of it at the top of this post). Maybe I am easily pleased, but I'm impressed with it. I tried it out on MSTS, and I can now run it at full detail levels for the first time ever. I tried out Far Cry too, which runs pretty well at moderate resolution and detail. It certainly beats the integrated graphics I've been used to until now.

As you can see by the games I've tested so far I'm not much of a gamer, which is why I think this card will do fine. One other game I am interested in is the oddly named (yet totally obvious when you see it on the shelf in the shop) The Orange Box, which is really a compilation of games. I have heard good things about it, and know a few people who have it, so I want to play too. This card will run it fine.

I would never have thought such a cheap video card could perform so well if it weren't for the videos I found on You Tube. Most of the videos were of people playing games supposedly running on this card, I believed them, and I think it paid off. I have come to realise that You Tube could be a big help in purchasing decisions from now on. Of course some of the videos were a bit painful to sit through, but I usually go to another when boredom starts to kick in. I'm starting to really like You Tube actually

Roadblocked on the Boulevard of Crappy Motherboards and Incompatible Video Cards

So I fronted up to MSY on Friday after work and bought a generic (actually xpert vision) branded 512mb nvidia 8800gt for the low low price of $240. When I got home I realised that the 350 watt power supply in my computer wouldn't cut it. So on Saturday I went to CPL to pick up a nice new Coolermaster extreme 500 watt power supply.

When I got home I installed the power supply and tested it, everything worked fine. Then I installed the video card and changed the BIOS to use the PCIe slot instead of the onboard video card. When I powered it up I got nothing. I checked the BIOS settings and again nothing.

After checking the internet my worst fears were realised, my crappy motherboard does not support the latest video cards. The question is what to do now. Do I replace the motherboard or just buy a cheaper, older video card?

At this stage I am leaning towards the later, as I don't really feel like ripping the guts out of my computer. I would be willing to spend up to about $100 on a cheaper video card, something like a Radeon 2400 or 2600, I'm not sure about the nvidia 8600, or the 9600 in terms of compatibility I doubt it. Actually thinking about it, if I could sell the 8800 I could buy a new motherboard and cheaper video card with the proceeds and not be out of pocket at all (much).

Anyone want to buy a new in opened box xpert vision 8800GT 512 MB video card? $200 sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Bloggers block

I just wrote two posts they make no sense at all. Saved as drafts and filed away forever. hopefully I'll come up something meaningful this month.

The time is nigh

...for a new video card.

When I got my new computer I mentioned getting a video card to replace the not so good graphics it came with. Until today I thought I would get an Nvidia 8800GT when the prices get pretty reasonable.

Well, today I did my weekly check of prices at MSY (the website is really crap but this is the place to go to get computer hardware, plus it's around the corner from work) to find that you can get a generic branded 8800 card for about $260 and a Gigabyte branded one for $290, which to me is pretty reasonable. What I also discovered was that the new 9600GT has been introduced. Going by price (about $240) it would sits between the 8600 (which it is a direct replacement of) and the 8800. Reading a review it would seem to be right in the sweet spot for me. The 9600 is based on the 8800s technology, but has some features and processing power missing, but it's cheaper, and better than an 8600. Sounds good to me.

Whether I get one or not is another issue. Thinking about going on Monday after work if I can wait, otherwise it's off to a swapmeet this weekend.

No idea

Can't think of anything else to blog about

Ooh just got distracted for several minutes by the fireworks out the back... The finale of a Defence force school of music concert. You should hear it when they do the 1810 overture...

Patriotism

Ah yes. I happened to read a certain blog on The Age website today at work. It is about flag-cape wearing yobs using patriotism as an excuse to be rude and obnoxious those they deem as "un-Australian". The writer of the original blog post was over generalising (again), but I guess that is his job in order to create a discussion. I dislike the racist under(0ver)tones. I've seen a few of the "Lovie it or leave it" stickers on cars, usually a hotted up Toyota Hilux with a massive bullbar, 400 gigawatts of lighting, a Conargo pub sticker, and some other sticker about pig shooting.

I guess some of the comments were correct in that harmless symbols become associated with certain groups over time that everyone else tries to disassociate themselves from. The example of the man who had a swastika tattoo before the Nazi's adopted it as a symbol was a good one. I quite literally cringe very time I see a youth (I feel old now, but it's apt description) with a flag as a cape. Like tonight on the way through Richmond station, they were everywhere.

On the topic of the flag itself, I don't really care about it. I don't mind the one we have, and I understand the meaning behind the parts of it. If it were to change , it would have to be a good design, so far I haven't really liked any of the proposals over the years. I guess I could get used to it if it were to change, I'm not a total stick in the mud.

Sunburn: The Saga Continues

In other news, my face has just about stopped falling off after Sunday's major sunburn incident. I think I've gained some insight into why it's rude to stare at people who don't quite look "normal". It may be that I'm a bit sensitive or delusional, but it's damn annoying having people looking at you all the time. I feel like telling them it's highly contagious.

The two days I took off work earlier this week did me some good though. And I know sunburn sounds like a weak excuse, but on Monday I think I would have struggled more than usual for a Monday, I was quite sore. Tuesday I was less sore but all the same, felt it best to rest. I did end up playing some backyard cricket with my nephew though, first ball and he belts it over the fence. The neighbours have given up and just allow him to go in and out of the back yard at will, and leave the ladder permanently up against the house for when a ball goes on the roof.

On Wednesday I thought I'd better go to work. after 5 minutes in the dry air conditioned air on the train my face started cracking up and flaking everywhere, and continued for the rest of the day in the air conditioning at work. I did take my Aloe Vera, which did help, but only lasted for a about an hour after I put it on before it started again. Thankfully on Thursday it stopped hurting so much, but I had a major "face-dandruff" problem. This morning most of the redness went away, but the shedding continues. My forehead, nose and chin are clear now but my right cheek (face!), ear and neck are having a go now. In general though, I feel a lot better.

Like a beetroot

Yesterday I went to the Point Cook air pageant. It wasn't a hot day at all, it was quite cloudy for most of the time. I had a jumper on all day, there was a lot of sun glare though. Lucky for me I had my sun glasses. On the way home I could tell my face was sun burnt, but it didn't feel too bad. I get home and look in the mirror and my face is beetroot red, the rest of my body is white, including the area shaded by my sunglasses. I treated it with ice and aloe vera, it still hurt. I wake up this morning feeling sorry for myself, and decide to take the day off work. My face is still red and sore. I'm not very happy with myself.

Why didn't I even consider putting sun screen on?! The thought didn't even cross my mind before I left home. At the air show I thought about it but dismissed it, it was cool and cloudy, I wouldn't get burnt. I feel so stupid.

I don't know if I can show my face at work tomorrow either. I think I'll lay low until it goes away. My new mantra is to just put on sunscreen before leaving the house, saves a lot of bother that way...