No, I don’t mean that at all really. It is about bloody time you are forced to take responsibility for your actions.
Continue reading Apologies to the “we’re cyclists, the rules shouldn’t apply to us” crowd
Month: May 2010
National Broadband needlessness.
I’ve already unleashed a lot of emotive language on the National Broadband Network. Here’s why: Continue reading National Broadband needlessness.
Baking the dough of debt into the bread of financial crisis.
Debt seems to be a necessary trigger condition for global economic disasters.
Doesn’t matter if its private (subprime mortgages) or Government (Greek debt).
But Japan shows debt is not a sufficient condition for a meltdown. (Government debt = nearly 200 percent of GDP)
So what is the extra ingredient that turns the dough of debt into the crusty baguette of financial crisis? Continue reading Baking the dough of debt into the bread of financial crisis.
Cycling, not so dopey?
Ivan Basso won Sunday’s Giro d’Italia stage which finished with a climb up the hugely steep Monte Zoncolan.
Basso’s time for the 10.1 kilometer climb was 1 minute and 45 seconds slower than the previous occasion it was climbed in the Giro. The winner of that stage (in 2007) was Gilberto Simoni from Saunier Duval, a team with a history of doping its riders up to the eyeballs.
Sounds like an improvement to me.
The hardest thing you can do on a bike
Shàngshān róngyì xiàshān nán.
This is a Chinese proverb that means “going uphill is easy, going downhill is hard”. To all the cyclists out there that like to coast the downhills, this will probably come as a surprise. Racing flat-out down a technical descent is the hardest thing you can do on a bike.
Continue reading The hardest thing you can do on a bike
America + Football = Progress?
I’ve just found out about this: American Footy Star! It’s a genuine talent search wrapped up in a shiny reality TV show, and I love it. Putting NBA basketballers in the AFL was once purely hypothetical but now may be a reality.
It will increase the chance of recruiting dextrous, strong, tall ball players who can’t quite make the NFL / NBA. It will also take another tiny step to building a global appreciation for AFL. Continue reading America + Football = Progress?
Car Future Part V – Share the road, share the load
Thanks for reading Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV of this series exploring the future of personal transport. This is the concluding part.
I love a logical argument, and I have a feeling this series is leading us towards a big conclusion: The future, it’s already here.
The recipe for the future will have the same ingredients, but the ratios will be changed. Continue reading Car Future Part V – Share the road, share the load
Cadel Winner! And Salute Style Update
TTTE EXCLUSIVE: Cadel Evans wins filthy stage seven of the Giro and improves salute!
He is still persevering with the pointing, but at least both hands are in the air at the same time!
From the Astro-something Department
Jupiter has re-appeared from behind the sun, where it’s been hiding since late last year…
Crikey! One of the bands has disappeared! This can only mean one thing… Continue reading From the Astro-something Department
My Foolproof Diet Trick – WWBD?
As you may be aware, my fellow locomotive engineer has recently admitted to driving the morning express to Fattytown.
Since excessive weight gain is not conducive to the raison d’etre of this blog, which of course is to get girls, I feel compelled to lend a hand by offering my foolproof (or fool-something) diet trick.
WWBD?
This is Bjarne Riis. He won Le Tour in 1996. As you can see by the photo, he was seriously skinny in those days. If you ride 50,000km each year, you can eat whatever you please.
He was also seriously full of red blood cells.
Can you spell E-R-Y-T-H-R-O-P-O-I-E-T-I-N?
Post retirement from professional racing, Bjarne started managing a cycling team. He spent most days hanging around with people who eat a lot.
“Bjarne, would you like another pastry?” 
“Don’t mind if I do!”
Bjarne stacked on a few kilograms.
In the photo on the right, a concerned Frank Schleck looks on as Bjarne behaves like a jolly fat man. Continue reading My Foolproof Diet Trick – WWBD?
National Broadband Nuff-Nuffs
Now, I flipping LOVE the internet, so don’t get me wrong. But $43 billion for a national broadband network works out at $2000 for every Australian.
Please sir, can I have some more?
Tell me what you think about what I ate this week. I aspire to perfect nutritional harmony, 3 serves of fruit and 5 of vegetables, raw food and ethical choices. As you’ll see I have an aspiration-consumption dichotomy (ACD).
But I swear it’s not a standard week. I boozed more than normal, and the impetus for starting to record everything was eating so much on Monday night that I felt ill. On the other hand there’s some evidence the process might have kept snacking in check…
Continue reading Please sir, can I have some more?
Captain Frugal Versus Laundry… Fight!
In the basement of Casa de TTE, there are four washing machines.
Over the weekend, one of the washing machines went on the blink. Then on Monday, the company that owns the machines replaced the broken one. But there’s a catch. The new machine costs $0.25 cents more per load!
I can tell you I have no intention of paying $1.50 for a load of washing. But what about my cohabitants?
Car Future Part IV – Big project failure
Thanks for reading Part I, Part II and Part III of this series exploring the future of personal transport. Part IV considers whether we’re likely to see cars go out with a bang or a whimper.
There’s a temptation to think that the problems of our car culture can be solved with one big heave-ho, if we all pull together. But big projects, even when they look simple, are doomed, ahem, prone to failure. Consider Myki, a project to get a transit smart card for Melbourne. Continue reading Car Future Part IV – Big project failure
I heart tax reform.
A big review whets people’s appetite for change. If taking a super-sized bite out of mining company profits with a resource rent tax is suddenly regarded as “underwhelming”, “safe” or “pragmatic”, it is only because the media have seen some of the fancier items on the Henry tax review menu.
Swapping metaphors now… Continue reading I heart tax reform.
Car Future Part III – Personal Rapid Transit
Thanks for reading Part I and Part II of this series exploring the future of personal transport.
Personal Rapid Transit is another concept proclaimed as the future of our cities.
It’s little driverless cabins running on a dedicated right of way. You get in, plug in your destination and are taken directly there. There may be up to four seats in the cabin, but you (plus any travelling companions) get the thing to yourself. The stations in the network are designed so the cabins pull off the track to stop. This means everyone gets an uniterrupted journey to their destination. Expected waiting times are under a minute. Continue reading Car Future Part III – Personal Rapid Transit
Thomas the Think Engine 