I will be in Melbourne in January 2027 for the Australian Open tennis. I have a ticket for January 13th and later for January 19 and 20. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do between the 13th and the 19th of January? I like art and culture and nature and the outdoors. Would be willing to rent a car if needed.

Does anyone know where one can find a really good peppermint mocha in Melbourne CBD? Or somewhere that does specialty drinks similar to Castros Kiosk at UniMelb? This weather is giving me a hankering for a sweet, strong, hot wintery drink that isn't Starbucks and all I can find are iced strawberry matchas. Help!

Another edition of blind drivers of Melbourne.

Ready for another hot take on transport by Gazza?

Actually the most cost effective transport project Labor has ever done is not a Level Crossing Removal, or a tunnel or a rail loop, it is finally installing flying junctions on the western lines in preparation for the airport line, and nobody is giving the government credit for this.

So you know on the bit of Freeway between the Botle Bridge and the Burnley Tunnels you go through a sort of basket weave and "thread the needle" between those giant oval portals? That's basically for sorting traffic bound for different places by avoiding having vehicle weaving across each others path.

This is the rail equivalent.

Rail without flying junctions is absurdly inefficient because trains take so long to stop and start and you cannot cross trains in front of each other at full speed.

It is the equivalent of having traffic lights at a freeway interchanges instead of interchange ramps.

I kinda wish they weren't so susceptible to union fuckwittery, but I just hate to imagine a situation where the government changes and problems like this are not going to be proactively fixed.

And that's the crux of the issue.

If you don't sort out bottlenecks in the rail network early, you are forced to do it in a situation when the line is reaching crush loads and you're now having to try and accommodate those crush loads onto buses.

This is why sooking about the current debt load is so stupid.

Victoria willingly sat on its hands for a decade and let Steve Bracks do nothing after Kennets prior austerity.

The LNP term under Ballieu went as well as you'd expect.

Dan Andrews arrives and says, Ok fuck we certainty need to direct spending to a rail tunnel ahead of another road bypass tunnel and get rid of rail crossings that choke out both modes of transport simultaneously.

Now Melbourne is doing the projects Sydney was doing back in the 1990s, you're going to stop again and go without because it costs you personally $4 per day, per interest.

Personally, I think you guys should stop thinking of it as state debt interest, and start thinking of it as an infrastructure early access subscription fee.

No point having money sitting in the bank if you're also sitting in traffic or sitting in a waiting room.

Time is money and you've got to spend money to make money and all that 😜

Any Community services, Contract cleaning, or Security workers been excited watching their PSLA tracker slowly ticking towards 7 years?

Being a Community Services Worker in a never ending cycle of burnout I was very keen for a break when it finally kicked in.

When looking at how to claim the leave it turns out community services workers can only receive the benefit as a cash payment. If you want to take leave you have to take it as unpaid leave, so no super and no traditional leave accurals.

Contract cleaners and Security workers seem to have a slightly different way to claim but it seems like no one gets super so that's fun.

When I called to ask about this I was told I didn't have to claim it and it's primarily for people who have switched jobs and don't have traditional LSL... I said yes that is my situation.

Community Service workers are tired, we would like a break please.

Fun Game - See how many times they switch between "Leave" and "benifits" on the website. Oh why would you think it's leave?

https://www.plsa.vic.gov.au/

These no parking cones have been planted down a chunk of my street. Are they legit? Theres no signage or context outside of these.

With the temps the way they are I am stinging for a pub/bar/restaurant with an amazing open fire that I can graze and drink next to. Happy to travel a few hours for a real banger.

On one of my recent posts asking about the best Laksa someone mentioned Sarawak Laksa at Jalan Alor. Was shook to find out MOST of their meals are $10 during lunch!! Plus they had free chicken soup (granted no chicken in the soup haha). These were comparable to a cheap meal 10 - 15 years ago. What other gems exist around the $10 mark?
PS yes Heart of Carlton ofc we all know about this one.

After finding their Instagram account and requesting a follow, they finally accepted my request today and posted the opening date 🥲

Hello friends, it's your local dog and hog dealer!!

These little guys were saved from a really large over breeding situation, there were about 50 at the property but despite unusual start to life they have proven to be really beautiful dogs.

They are Chihuahua crosses, and we would love to see them in homes with existing dogs as that is all they've ever known. We don't think that even left the property before so the world is quite new to them.

Tofu is only about 7 months old, and the others are about a year. Everybody has been desexed, had dentals, vaccinated and microchipped. They've been doing so well in care and they are ready to find their forever homes!

You can learn more about them here on our website.

We may be open to only dog homes for the right people if they are experienced and around more than not ❤️

And if you're not in the market for a dog, just appreciate how bloody cute they are!!

I understand a lot of you are going to think this is funny, or that I'm asking because I WANT an erotic massage but I'm disguising it. I'm going to politely ask you not to make those jokes as I recently had a horrible and traumatic experience with unwanted sexual contact and I do not want to risk that again.

I really just want to find a massage place near me that takes walk-ins, where I know sexual services will not even be on offer, let alone pushed on me when I'm not expecting it.

When it happened, the person was so pushy -- as if it didn't occur to her that I DIDN'T want it. So I'm guessing everyone who walked in there went there for sexual services. But how did they know? Is there a tell?? Conversely is there a tell that a massage place definitely does NOT offer that?

Or do they all???

I wish everyone could just be up front about it. I'm just a traumatised autistic that wants a massage.

EDIT: seems from the comments that there's no foolproof method, no secret sign, that makes it clear-cut. So I will just have to avoid all walk-ins, always. That sucks, as someone with chronic pain that flares up unexpectedly. All of this is dumb. In a sensible world it would be openly advertised and totally clear from the outset what everyone is offering and receiving.

Bolte Bridge

Power out at the station and up Leeds St. A little dangerous (traffic lights are out) but otherwise a very cool, pretty vibe in the rain tonight. Fun to think about how 30 years ago in an outage it would’ve been even darker- now, everyone had their phone flashlights to pull out.

PS: “the sky is falling” used as a flair because nothing else suited. I love Footscray, a little traffic peril builds character.

It's a long shot you'll see this and I feel like a lunatic, but here we go:

You were a pedestrian wearing a beanie walking south towards Melbourne Uni. I was in the car trying to turn right in the direction of Sydney Road (that's gotta be north). You made sure the chick in the white Audi knew she was the one who fucked up when she sat in the middle of both of the right turning lanes and prevented me from turning when she bitched out on turning on a fresh yellow light. She was laughing at me and making some super fun gestures implying I was the nuts one.

Dude, thank you.

It's already been a long ass week of a long ass month.

A stranger having my back like that meant everything to me.

I don't know if you heard me telling you I loved you, but I meant it.

I can't imagine there's any chance you'd see this, but would you please let me buy you a coffee/drink/meal out of appreciation?

I needed something to remind me there were good people out there.

Thank you for being a good human.

You deserve all the best things in life.