The totally off-topic thread

[serfty]

I wonder what would happen if Australian public transport went to an open gate system very similar to many parts of Europe.
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Experienced the philosophy in Vienna and Prague in the last years.

In reality it's a bit like Greater Melbourne area trams and buses.

With MyKi, bus drivers no longer check tickets and the tram drivers have been isolated for years - although rorters do need to watch out for "Revenue Protection Officers" and their ilk.

 

[cove]

At our Docklands Light Rail (DLR) in London those ticket police hide just around the corner below so when you come down they are able to catch every fare evader. I feel zero sympathy for those who have not paid but I do wonder how savage the fine is in a place where they wheel clamp illegal car parking.

 

[Princess Fiona]

My girls have been delivered safe to their grandparents after our flight from MEL. They got a points upgrade from Y-J which I didn't tell them about until they got on the aircraft and saw the seats
A few questions were asked in DXB after they peeked into the F cabin whilst leaving with me.
I was able to assure them that I had selflessly given up my J seat to go downstairs so that they could both be moved up from Y

 

[Major]

Happy Birthday Leo Tolstoy...186 today

 

[anat0l]

My girls have been delivered safe to their grandparents after our flight from MEL. They got a points upgrade from Y-J which I didn't tell them about until they got on the aircraft and saw the seats
A few questions were asked in DXB after they peeked into the F cabin whilst leaving with me.
I was able to assure them that I had selflessly given up my J seat to go downstairs so that they could both be moved up from Y

Yes...if they find out you flew F and not them, you will be ruined.

Oh wait a minute.....


Ahoy there..!..from La Suisse, approx. 2 hours flight from London.

 

[Deleted member]

My girls have been delivered safe to their grandparents after our flight from MEL. They got a points upgrade from Y-J which I didn't tell them about until they got on the aircraft and saw the seats
A few questions were asked in DXB after they peeked into the F cabin whilst leaving with me.
I was able to assure them that I had selflessly given up my J seat to go downstairs so that they could both be moved up from Y

I suspect there are a few gift horses here that really don't require any dental examination.

 

[anat0l]

Ah yes, know the feeling - why is it never streamlined when starting a new role. You often end up sitting there for 2 weeks doing sod all!

Actually a funny thing I just thought is that some Australian organisations really take it upon themselves to have the full induction list ready to go from day 1. You may spend a good week doing nothing anyway, but that's because you're being trained, inducted etc. and all the other legal and procedural mumbo-jumbo, rather than getting it "just-in-time". Of course, at the end of the week, you're actually bombarded with a ton of information and you haven't even been briefed on your tasks at hand.

Speaking of, I have a 3 hour session of compulsory safety and procedural training as part of my joining the university. They scheduled me for a session next month......


I did get the document I wanted from the government office, especially interesting seeing as I could only rely on my pidgin French (I had two officers last week who could speak English, then I got one this afternoon that didn't speak any). Nothing comes for free from the government, so another CHF 20 for their time to produce a document certifying residency (or application for residency); at least this was produced straight away. Just what I needed to open a bank account - now I can be paid!

 

[SeatBackForward]

Happy Birthday Leo Tolstoy...186 today

Take note George R.R. Martin - Tolstoy determined to do W&P2

 

[markis10]

From the International New York Times by Chappatte

http://www.globecartoon.com

 

[ellen10]

Experienced the philosophy in Vienna and Prague in the last years.

In reality it's a bit like Greater Melbourne area trams and buses.

With MyKi, bus drivers no longer check tickets and the tram drivers have been isolated for years - although rorters do need to watch out for "Revenue Protection Officers" and their ilk.

Last year we were in Munich on a bus and stopped at a stop. and all of a sudden a dozen people ran up the front of the bus, and off. The reason?
Getting on at the back door was a ticket inspector. It was a funny sight!

 

[blackcat20]

Actually a funny thing I just thought is that some Australian organisations really take it upon themselves to have the full induction list ready to go from day 1. You may spend a good week doing nothing anyway, but that's because you're being trained, inducted etc. and all the other legal and procedural mumbo-jumbo, rather than getting it "just-in-time". Of course, at the end of the week, you're actually bombarded with a ton of information and you haven't even been briefed on your tasks at hand.

Speaking of, I have a 3 hour session of compulsory safety and procedural training as part of my joining the university. They scheduled me for a session next month......


I did get the document I wanted from the government office, especially interesting seeing as I could only rely on my pidgin French (I had two officers last week who could speak English, then I got one this afternoon that didn't speak any). Nothing comes for free from the government, so another CHF 20 for their time to produce a document certifying residency (or application for residency); at least this was produced straight away. Just what I needed to open a bank account - now I can be paid!

I spent one day being inducted, then spent three weeks waiting for computer/internet access....

 

[SeatBackForward]

I spent one day being inducted, then spent three weeks waiting for computer/internet access....

Ahhh my two favourite departments combining their talents together. One of those "sum of the whole is less than the sum of the parts" moments.

 

[TomVexille]

New low for Adelaide drivers. Road raged at 4:20am when there were 3 other cars on the road. Why? Instead of lining up behind 2 cars, at a set of lights where slow starters have seen me miss the light during the wee small hours, I used the completely empty right hand lane. Older gentleman in a pullover with grey beard. Apparently no one is allowed to use the other bits of the road.

Of course not. You have to travel behind him at 20km/h under the speed limit... Oh wait that's Melbourne

 

[Cossie]

The ABC is seen as a generally accurate and fair broadcaster which provides regional news as well as Australian content. Every country that wants to be seen as participating and influential in its local area has a responsibility to be an honest broker and provide a media service.

Australian national radio was sold off by the previous Liberal government and now the frequency spouts hard core Christian religious propaganda. We lost a valuable resource and heaps of credibility when that news service was ceased. No lessons learnt at all.

Exactly, Radio Australia on short wave was highly regarded in Asia as very fair and balanced and was aimed primarily at local populations and not expats.
It was also used as a way of getting exposure of Australian products and services into populations that are were increasing in size and also becoming more middle class.

 

[markis10]

Exactly, Radio Australia on short wave was highly regarded in Asia as very fair and balanced and was aimed primarily at local populations and not expats.

Dont you mean is highly regarded, given it still broadcasts on shortwave and is still an ongoing ABC operation

 

[Cossie]

I know the feeling - It's up there with "Working Families"

I agree with that and I also still get annoyed when I hear "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and "life wasn't meant to be easy", however I cringe when I hear "baddies versus baddies" or any other such drivel.

 

[Cossie]

New low for Adelaide drivers. Road raged at 4:20am when there were 3 other cars on the road. Why? Instead of lining up behind 2 cars, at a set of lights where slow starters have seen me miss the light during the wee small hours, I used the completely empty right hand lane. Older gentleman in a pullover with grey beard. Apparently no one is allowed to use the other bits of the road.

Was he driving a white Camry?

 

[Cossie]

Dont you mean is highly regarded, given it still broadcasts on shortwave and is still an ongoing ABC operation

Not to the same extent as it did previously, it could be heard all round the world. I had an interest in DXing in my younger days, I always carried a short wave radio and still have QSL cards from when I sent reception reports to Radio Australia during my travels.

 

[markis10]

Not to the same extent as it did previously, it could be heard all round the world. I had an interest in DXing in my younger days, I always carried a short wave radio and still have QSL cards from when I sent reception reports to Radio Australia during my travels.

It can still be heard anywhere, it's just that the medium has changed to reflect today's society, aka the net.
Havn't heard the term QSL for awhile.

73's

 

[medhead]

I wonder what would happen if Australian public transport went to an open gate system very similar to many parts of Europe.

In such systems, there are hardly any fare gates (if at all). It is your responsibility to obtain a ticket before boarding transport. In many cases, you buy the ticket from a ticket machine and then you validate it by putting it in a separate machine, usually close to the bus stop / train platform (this stamps the generic ticket with the date and time, so you can't just reuse the same generic ticket). Naturally, there are seasonal tickets for those who use the system more often than tourists who would use the system sparingly.

There are stiff fines (well, relatively stiff anyway, e.g. EUR 80) for being caught taking transport without a valid ticket (i.e. without a ticket at all, or with a ticket which hasn't been stamped by the validating machine).

Overall the system relies quite a lot on honesty (it is possible to "ride the transport system for free" as long as you can evade being caught without a valid ticket), but IMO it also results in a relatively quicker system for boarding as less time is spent on boarding for people to validate their ride - instead, here they just simply hop on. Probably a minimal effect for trains (as trains you traditionally need to buy a ticket in advance anyway - the major advantage would be no ticket barriers required at stations, so improved traffic flow) compared to a greater effect on buses. I can see that a lot of people right now would say that it makes fare evasion (particularly by students) far too easy..... so I wonder how the jurisdictions that have such a system deal with such an issue.

Agreed excellent system. It can be scammed by "accident", with the same ticket being validated upto 4 times (at least on the Munich system). Of course explaining validation on the 2nd and 3rd go would be hard. But the first one would be easy - "whoops, sorry validated the wrong side by mistake". The fourth validation in the correct spot shouldn't lead to further investigation.

Also of interest is that Munich ticket inspectors can be that little old lady doing her knitting on the tram.

Thank goodness it's just an editorial, because it's a damn overreaction IMO.

Most of the content you can get online now, so it is really only a problem for areas where internet connection is a problem or a premium; for many Aussie expats, I can't imagine that is a huge issue. As for the kid's shows, I thought you can usually get a lot of that for free online now (no, I am not referring to downloading off those file sharing sites).

ABC official channels for accessing content, i.e. iview, are not accessible from a non Australian IP address. I have enjoyed Australia network on a number of Asian holidays. Sure beats cnn and Fox News services. Unbelievable that this government is going to feed out mini me fox America to represent Australia. Talk about political ideology getting in the way of a proper service.