Barack Obama's Victory Speech

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our Founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

Amazing speech writing, and a very impressive campaign. Welcome to the new world.

[smh] Australia - world's cheapest place to buy an iPod

"The CommSec iPod index shows that Australia is the cheapest place among 62 countries to buy an Apple iPod 8gb nano music player. It ranked as the 14th cheapest in July."

[nytimes] Following the Script: Obama, McCain and ‘The West Wing’

Burn After Reading

7/10

Heaps of new photo sets on Flickr

• Backpacking trip in the USA, 2000
• Christmas Day in the snow in Central Park in New York, 2002
• Queenstown, Routeburn Track, and Milford Sound in NZ, 2006
• Uluru and Kata Tjuta weekend, 2006
• Death Valley roadtrip, 2006
• Venice weekend, 2007
• Urban photos of Bondi Junction, 2008
  

[smh] Rail links 'shelved'

"The Rees Government will shelve construction of the south-west rail link in addition to axing the North-West Metro as it grapples with a budget crisis.

To provide the public transport system with additional capacity, the Government plans to buy an additional 300 buses, at a cost of $150 million, and will allocate 100 of them to the north-west of the city.

The first of the new buses is not expected to be delivered until the end of 2009."

Jeez. Early election please. Bring in someone who knows how to balance a budget AND lobby properly for federal infrastructure funding.

Sculpture by the Sea

Sculpture by the Sea #15
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Brilliant...... but perhaps a little crowded.

• Full set of photos on Flickr
  

Hurricane's Grill & Bar, Bondi Beach

Volatile times

• ASX 200 up 9% in 2 days
• Nikkei up 14%
• DJIA up 11%

I guess I'm supposed to do my bit for the global economy and buy my first home now.

It's time to overhaul Sydney's public rail infrastructure

While we're in the mood for federal bailouts and nation building infrastructure projects can I suggest a major capital injection to overhaul the public rail infrastructure and ticketing system in the greater Sydney area?

• Electronic ticketing with online account top-up. Yes please.
• Extending the Eastern Suburbs line through Randwick, Charing Cross, Randwick, Maroubra Junction, and Malabar. Yes please.
• Wi-Fi enabled carriages. Yes please.
• Build a second rail line under Sydney Harbour to reduce congestion on the North Shore lin (and allow Eastern Suburbs passengers to bypass Town Hall station when transferring to the North Shore). Yes please.
• Major expansion of Town Hall station to cater for the ever increasing passenger numbers and overcrowded platforms during morning and afternoon peak. Yes please.
  
• Add two carriages of luggage-friendly dedicated rolling stock to the Airport/East Hills line and install escalators on the Airport/East Hills line platform at Central Station. Yes please.
• Build a decent rail line to service the North Ryde business parks and commuters from the Hills District rather than the ever expanding list of bus routes and toll roads in the north-west. Yes please.