Thursday, 12 December 2002

The Same Thing in The Richer Suburbs. I remember a co-worker telling me he had the same problems, although not as bad, when he lived in the well-off North Shore suburb of Armadale. It too is in a public transport dead zone.       Armadale is primarily residential, but there are some important businesses located there such as AtLab. It is very difficult to get there at any time day or night other than by car. Yet the surrounding suburbs are very well catered for. 10:38:14 AM    Add a comment.

Sydney and Its Transport. The planner said that Sydney’s public transport system is the envy of many an American city. That is all very well, but it is not saying a great deal. The rail system contains big dead zones north and south, stations or groups of stations in the near west where trains rarely stop and the buses are also very bad.       I stayed in one of those dead zones for a while, and I would often get home at midnight each day after waiting on a cold draughty platform in the middle of nowhere for 2 or 3 hours, followed by a long long walk through pitch black and unlit streets. The trains to the outer west were expresses that zoomed past without stopping. They ran reasonably frequently compared to the ones that actually stopped in any of the three adjacent stations in the dead zone.       Bus, train, another train, often yet another train again, wait for hours, and then walk. All to get to a spot just outside Parramatta, in the geographic centre of Sydney. 10:35:56 AM    Add a comment.

Back To The Presentations. Uncovered some bugs in the presentation that I am carrying around to show people. Have to fix them immediately. Working on some more self-marketing material too. 10:25:32 AM    Add a comment.

Sydney To Be Six Separate Cities? A planner in a major Sydney architectural firm was on the radio this morning, talking about how he recommends that Sydney reconstitutes itself as 6 independent cities rather than one huge one, following the model established by the Midlands in Britain.       Sydney’s population continues to grow by about 50,000 people each year, he says. 10:22:31 AM    Add a comment.

Very Hot, No Airconditioner Still. The guys here at the office in East Perth were apparently promised airconditioning by the real estate agent. No sign of it still, and the agent seems to be avoiding them now. There is talk of issuing an ultimatum, before looking for alternative accommodation.       I’d hate to not work out of my beloved East Perth, but as the uninsulated end office of this whole building it is insanely hot in here. 10:18:06 AM    Add a comment.

More on the Catalog. Oddly enough, there is no email address or website URL on the catalog. You have to phone them or fax in order to place an order with them. Very old world. 10:16:11 AM    Add a comment.

Pen Retail Catalog Appears. A copy of a pen retailer’s catalog appeared in the weekend issue of The Australian. It is produced by a shop in Adelaide called Pencraft, in Adelaide Arcade.       I remember the store from years ago, when I last passed through that odd little city. Tiny store, huge collection of stock, all pens and pen-related, back then, and by the evidence in the catalog still packed full, including lots of fountain pens of all brands and prices. The catalog has every major brand and lots of wonderful things by each maker. There is even a shot of a bottle of Sheaffer Skrip ink, in the latest version made in Slovenia.       There is a little corner store in Perth that sells pens, but it is really an old-style tobacconist that has a handful of pens on the side. 10:11:24 AM    Add a comment.

Internet Access Desperately Slow Today. It is just millimetering along. It is not even inching. Can’t collect email successfully, can’t read the usual morning slew of web sites. The office ISP is iinet, a firm that is always having technical problems it seems. 10:05:24 AM    Add a comment.