Random Rants
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I've got a hangover, the crotch has blown out on my DWC jeans, I'm resisting the urge to punch another parent from Tommy's football team and I'm still getting over man flu. Apart from that, can't complain.
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A brand new deadstock Levi's from 1897 found. I wonder if it's legit:
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They almost look too good to be true. @den213
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shibuya grandbell hotel is up the hill. clearly they should've put it in their hotel description. it's not fun lugging heavy luggages up uneven roads.
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fuck you allergies! and those that deem it necessary to wear a gallon of perfume/cologne as well!
and now, for a 3 day benedryl induced coma.
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Ouch! What happened?
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Just great. I got an evening off from wife and kids, went to my favorite place to eat a steak, smoke a cigar and spend some time reading just to discover that the e-readers battery is depleted.
Of course I discovered that after I ordered my steak and lit the cigar.
That's what you get if you give in to technology instead of sticking to old-school books made out of real paper. Damit!
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Australian couriers again.
I missed a delivery on Wednesday because the tracker didn't show it going out until after I'd left for work. So I arranged for it to be sent out today, and worked from home.
I periodically checked the web page through the day, and just before 1 pm it showed up a failed delivery. I go downstairs and find a card slipped under the entrance to the door. I'm sitting a few metres from the intercom in my apartment, and I didn't hear it go off.
So try again…
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@Graeme I have had the same thing happen to me on more than one occasion. I'm convinced some postal workers/UPS drivers try to avoid human interaction so they leave the slip no matter what. I have even left a note on the slip they left the previous day on my door saying, "I am home. Please knock and I will sign for package." At around 3 o'clock I open the door to take the dog out…. The postal worker took the old note and left a new one!
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Couriers seem the same the world over.
Today's ire is split amongst various groups.
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Project managers who don't get that software development is very difficult without a specification, and don't supply all the information that they have.
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The policeman who gave me trouble for jaywalking when the lane I crossed was blocked by a breakdown truck loading a damaged car. Look, I appreciate that I was theoretically in the wrong, but coming down aggressively could have escalated the situation.
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Property developers in Melbourne. A lovely mid-century house that sold last year was about to be demolished when I walked past this morning. It's likely to be replaced by something that's very footballers' wives.
Here's a before.
And this morning.
I'm guessing this is the sort of thing that will take its place.
I suspect part of what's driving it is Chinese money and real estate rules in Australia.
The Chinese, as a rule, aren't a big fan of old buildings, preferring new builds. There's also a lot of money flowing from China into the high end of the Melbourne and Sydney property markets. Toorak, where all the above are, is the most expensive part of town.
If you're not a permanent resident of Australia then you're restricted to buying new properties. This is meant to be an incentive to increase housing stock. So by flattening, rather than restoring, a place you're widening your market somewhat.
Plus the Aussies don't seem to have much of an attachment to heritage either, and it's cheaper to flatten and start again. Shame, really, as I think that you could have done something fantastic with the now demolished place.
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Plus the Aussies don't seem to have much of an attachment to heritage either, and it's cheaper to flatten and start again. Shame, really, as I think that you could have done something fantastic with the now demolished place.@Graeme, Australia has great sentiment towards its heritage homes and landmarks so much so that there are strict guidelines in place when it comes to classifying, maintaining, restoring and (if needed) demolishing them… And yes, all of this comes at a high cost.
When heritage homes (classified by the Australian Heritage Council) are demolished, in most cases, are done without council consent or permit and result in a rather sizable penalty.
It's a shame that the building was demolished but did you need to make such a judgemental assumption of 'Aussies'...
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Sorry @dylantbmayes, I was generalising from developers to the wider population.
I think that the problem is that heritage listings are often only applied older buildings, and so postwar architecture is often vulnerable. Add in the fact that it's often cheaper to rebuild than restore, there's been an uninterrupted property boom for the last fifteen or more years, and the whole notion of making money off houses is more widespread, and it's not good for preserving what's good.
I'm not averse to replacing buildings. And who knows, maybe my much maligned developer will produce something of quality. I'm not holding my breath though.
Still, I'm going to leave it with this architect's sketch. The garden wasn't actually laid out this way, unfortunately.
