Does anybody know why, at intersections already controlled by traffic lights, there are push buttons for the pedestrian lights? Near me there's an intersection for which some cars get a right turning arrow. This means that when the forward traffic light is green, a pedestrian light will be red if either (a) the turning arrow is green, or (b) nobody has pressed the pedestrian button. Given this opportunity for confusion, I would have thought it to be much more simple and error-free simply to have automatic pedestrian lights and do away with the buttons completely. Why are they there at all?

#traffic #pedestrian

When it comes to climate change and making a difference - what are you prepared to give up? I was thinking about this the other day - some things that are "give-up-able", at least for some people, include: meat and dairy; all non-local produce and goods; long-distance travel; car ownership; long luxurious showers ... But this is very hard. We live in a global world, and we use resources profligately. And who's to say you can't take that long-awaited overseas holiday? Maybe we all need to start tightening our belts, metaphorically speaking, and reducing our carbon footprints. But nobody wants to hear this. Nobody wants to give up what they have, or what they think they ought to have. I have given up meat and dairy, but I'm hanging on to my (non-electric!) car. In fact I don't know what's reasonable.

#climatechange #vegan #carbonfootprint

I'm currently reading "1788", Tim Flannery's edition of the two journals of the earliest days of white settlement in Australia by Watkin Tench, a captain of the marines.

What's remarkable - given the European mind-set at the time - is Tench's open-mindedness and willingness to listen and learn. At first he sees the local Aboriginal peoples around the Sydney area as "savages"; then he gets to know them personally, takes the trouble to learn their language, and so sees them as individual people who he comes to greatly admire and respect.

We have gone backwards in huge leaps since then. And the biggest thing we've lost, it seems to me, is the ability to listen and learn. If we kept our mouths shut and our ears and minds open we may do a lot better.

#Australia #history #firstfleet #aboriginal #colonialism

A curiosity of delivery.

Recently I bought (from Myer) a cast-iron Dutch oven with matching trivet - the trivet being an optional extra. Both made by the same company, in the same style and colour. I wasn't home for the deliveries so they were taken off until they could be collected. Well, the Dutch oven was delivered by AusPost so I collected it from a local PO. The matching trivet was packaged separately, and delivered by courier, and ended up at a completely different place. Given that I ordered them together, I have no idea why they couldn't have been packaged together. The trivet, which comes in a small flattish box, was packaged into a large box, most of the interior of which was filled with those inflatable plastic fillers. 'Strordinary.

Listening on Radio National this morning to some Liberal Party apparatchiks (including ex-PM Turnbull) discussing the "direction" the party should take after its loss in the Aston by-election. Quite frankly the best thing they could do is all die quietly. We don't need their type here. The ALP has many faults indeed, but as bad as they can be, the Libs can always out-do them in sheer nastiness. Not to mention their most blatant and disgraceful economic mis-management.

#auspol #aston

From the BBC website, about the people of a small Welsh town standing up to some odious far-right anti-immigration thugs called The Patriotic Alternative: "So if you meet a far-right, neo-fascist bonehead who looks out of place here, the critical question you must ask that person is: 'Would you like a Welsh cake?' "

Fighting racism with cakes! Nothing not to love about that.

Full article at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65057093

On Thursday and Friday I saw Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI (well, the viols contingent, plus lutenist and percussionist) playing music mainly from the early 17th century. Aside from some issues with the aural balance in the Melbourne Recital Centre, these were - as you'd imagine - utterly superb concerts. Each one ended with a standing ovation. I've been a fan of Savall's superb playing for about 40 years, but every time I hear him or one of his ensembles again my admiration for him rises yet higher. Truly one of today's supreme musicians, and musical communicators.

#earlymusic #jordisavall #hesperionxxi

I am currently living a cardless, cash-only existence as my card has been stopped because of a fraudulent attempt to access it; I'm waiting to be issued a new one. But it's a curious world, that of cash these days. Some places are completely cashless, I've discovered. I'll have to be more careful with my new card.

#banking #creditcard #cash