| Because trams are cool. Really, really cool! |
[9 January 2008|09:04 pm] |
Yes, this entry is really just to satisfy myself. Will anybody else look? Knowing the Internet, probably. Will anybody else actually be interested though? Highly doubtful. But hey, I went ghost tramway hunting and I thought I'd share my results because it was fun!
Yesterday, when I went tram photographing, I had a bit more of a mission than simply taking shots of whatever trams went by. In the second half of last year, some "upgrades" (I'm not convinced, especially on the matter of passenger shelters) were made to the tram stops on the route 55 through Royal Park. Firstly, the southbound Park Street stop was moved to a previously disused ground-level platform on the same side of the street as the northbound stop, I think in August or so. This violates standard Melbourne practice, where a tram stop is located on the side of an intersection reached first (i.e. prior to crossing), but conforms with the other three Royal Park stops beside roads, where the platforms for both directions of travel are on the same side. Secondly, in October/November, most of the Royal Park stops were converted to raised platforms; they were formerly essentially just slabs of concrete at ground-level, with a white line to mark where passengers should stay behind when a tram is approaching. Some of them had edging and this gave them pretensions of being a platform; this style remains at Park Street and the stop that I term "almost a ghost". The true ground-level stop, where the surface in which the track is embedded blurs into the surface of the stop remains at Abbotsford Road Interchange, which I will depict in a later entry (yes, there's more to come).
So in the wake of these changes, the tram line in the park is lined with the remnants of old stops. Accordingly, I figured that while these stops are still relatively apparent, I would go out and photographically record them for posterity before their traces become faint and indistinguishable. I did Park Street and Royal Park Railway Station/Poplar Road yesterday, and because today was another gorgeous day and not too hot, I went out and did the rest of the park. Ghost tramway hunting is rather fun really, and there were precious few people around on foot so I could conduct my nerdishness in relative privacy. I'd like to photograph some stuff in the CBD, but with the throngs of people there, I'm not sure I really want to. But anyway, on with the photos!
( Come on, let's go ghost hunting! )
Well, in any case, that was very entertaining and interesting for me. How about you? Later this week, I'll share some more of my photos - ones that actually have trams in them! |
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| Because trams are cool. Cool, I tell you! |
[8 January 2008|11:57 pm] |
I am a railfan. I am proud of it. I think it's a fantastic and very fulfilling hobby, and one that can be used for social benefit too.
But I still feel like a bit of a weirdo when I'm out taking photos.
Today was such a lovely day that I really couldn't help myself. I was catching up with a friend for bookshop browsing and dinner, so I left a bit early and spent some time in Royal Park photographing trams on route 55. Unfortunately, while I was there, no trains made an appearance on the Upfield line. Despite feeling a bit out of place, and wondering what people thought of a guy taking photos of seemingly unextraordinary tram-related things, I had a pretty good time and I'll have to head back to complete the park soon. Perhaps not straight away, as the next three days are forecast to be stiflingly hot. Maybe tomorrow morning, if it's cooler then. We'll see.
( For now, some of today's photos! )
I really, really love Melbourne's trams. They're fantastic, both from the perspective of an enthusiast and from someone who is prohibited from driving and thus finds them to provide a welcome and unparalleled sense of independence. I can't say I ever really want to live in a city without trams. |
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[18 June 2007|08:07 pm] |
Well, I must say that it's a touch unnerving that today's shooting in central Melbourne of three people (one fatally) occurred on an intersection I travel through extremely frequently when Kate's in the country. When I'm riding the tram back home by myself, that intersection is a bit of a landmark. From where I board to there, the traffic's light enough that I can safely spread out a bit - perhaps sit my bag on the seat beside me or put my feet up. But when we're about to turn off Flinders Lane onto William Street, I know we're about to reach some of the line's busiest stops, so I make sure I'm not taking up any more room than I need to. The corner will still be a landmark in my mind, but now for all the wrong reasons. I think this is the first time any sort of major crime has ever occurred anywhere that I visit frequently. I can't help but feel a little creeped out by this turn of events.
In other news, in two days' time from this post, I will have finished my first semester of university in Melbourne. I have two exams to go, one tomorrow and one the next day. I must admit that I'm pretty screwed. I haven't studied enough, especially not for the second one, but I feel much of the study I have done is pretty useless stuff anyway. The exams are of the "here's ~10 topics; write essays on two of them" variety, so as long as I can come up with enough material, I can hopefully bluff my way through them successfully. I'll pull out all the usual tactics: name-drop famous writers and theorists a lot, do bullshit theoretical analyses, draw on random general knowledge buried in the deep recesses of my brain, and generally hope that I come across as if I know precisely what I am talking about, even though I'm really making it all up as I go. It works in debates!
Once I'm on holidays, I aim to do a lot of writing. It's not as if I have anything else to do. I have a lot of thoughts on political and theological topics storming inside my head at the moment, so hopefully that will translate into LiveJournal posts. Have a good one, folks. |
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[4 May 2007|11:58 pm] |
I have been converted.
As of today, I am farewelling Windows as an operating system and have made the switch to Mac OS X. You would too if your university were selling surplus Macs in near-new condition for a ridiculously cheap price. I'm already quite taken by some qualities, especially the lovely new screen that makes my old one - which was a very good quality one too! - look a bit poor. Some other features may take some getting used to, though. In any case, though I will likely keep using my old Windows machine for some time yet (I can see myself running both machines; the Mac for work and the Windows for procrastination), it's going to take something very special from Windows to win me back and ever get a new one. Vista looks thoroughly awful. I'm at a loss as to why anyone would willingly subject themselves to that.
Getting the new computer was pretty much today's defining event and there isn't much else to really tell except for more of my tram tales. This evening, I encountered yet more interesting people on the trams. Specifically, this was the first time I have come face-to-face with a real life Trekkie, Spock in this case, and I also encountered the Aussie bogan equivalent of the gay thugs from Seinfeld, though they were arguing with each other rather than anyone else on the tram. That was kind of bizarre.
In any case, it's late and I don't really have time to write much more. Tomorrow I might get down to business and write one of my more serious or reflective entries. Have a good one, folks. |
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[1 May 2007|04:08 pm] |
Over the last week, I've certainly come to realise how much I love living in Melbourne. Right now, I'm happier here than I was in Brisbane, despite some of the conveniences I had there that I don't have here - especially that in Brisbane, university was a ten minute walk away, whereas here, I have to leave about 30-40 minutes beforehand to arrive on time to class. That factor aside, I am well and truly taken by the trams. I have never felt so independent in my life - I rarely even have to worry about how I'm meant to get somewhere. Plus, the interesting people and experiences I sometimes have on there tend to make commuting just that little bit more interesting.
( More reasons why Melbourne rocks. ) |
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[14 April 2007|08:05 pm] |
So, an update on life and things is in order.
At the moment, I'm trying to decide whether to resubscribe to LJ. My paid account ran out yesterday and I'm not sure if it's worth forking over the money to get another year. I like having a paid account, but I don't use LJ like I used to. I keep meaning to update more, but I find myself overthinking things and deleting entries, or in the last couple of months, I've just been too busy. I'd have swiftly resubscribed if I still used the site like I did, but at the moment, I think my meagre monetary resources might be better spent elsewhere. Damn you, textbooks.
University's kept me busy all Easter break with assignments. My essays on the US Electoral College and the eighteenth century partitions of Poland have been pretty interesting, but nothing can make European Union policymaking interesting, not even the fact I was writing about the railways. I truly wish I hadn't done my EU course. It's so mindnumbingly dull, and it's too late to change. Blah. This essay is truly the worst I've ever written and I'm afraid of what mark I'm going to get.
University here is better than in Queensland, though. I'm definitely enjoying myself more and the library is superior. In fact, in general, I love living here. The city is so much more cultural and diverse - I found Queensland painfully monocultural. The climate is absolutely wonderful; it's nice to have days where the maximum temperature is actually below 20! We seriously didn't have a single day in Queensland last year that failed to hit 20. And, well, we all know how much I am in love with the trams. The Z3s in particular, which are the oldest ones apart from the various W class heritage trams. I'm going to have to make an entry dedicated to the trams one day soon.
The Cricket World Cup is consistently keeping me up late at night. Damn you, ICC, for holding it in the West Indies! The Black Caps have been going nicely, though that stumble against Sri Lanka was unpleasant. I'm hoping for a good victory over the South Africans tonight. Hey, if Bangladesh can beat them, why can't we? I'm still feeling confident that we will make the semi-finals, but I do not believe any Kiwi team will ever get beyond that stage. Maybe we'll creep into the final. But I doubt we will ever lift the Cup. This year's the year to do it though. It would be nice if, at the end of this year, we held the Cricket World Cup, the America's Cup, and the Rugby World Cup, and at the moment, we have a pretty solid cricket team, a good yacht and more than just half a chance of getting out hands back on the America's Cup, and probably the most dominant rugby side we've been able to field in a long time. The All Blacks are looking so good it's scary, and I cannot quite put into words my pleasure at seeing the Australian Super 14 teams wilt and die this season.
And that's about it for now. Have a good one, folks. |
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geeky
somewhat on the stressed side
good