Category: rant’n’rave

Don’t get me wrong – the RACV does a good job, I’ve been a member for over 25 years and have little cause for complaint, but the “A” in their name is really what they are about. It’s cars they care about, they do consider bicycles and motorcycles, but it’s patchy and somehow always dismissive. Take this month’s Royalauto magazine as an example.

The article asks: “Can two wheels be better than four?” and more or less concludes that fuel economy is the only advantage. Based on their flawed information, this is a reasonable conclusion, but they’ve chosen to ignore a number of important factors.

All through the article, it talks about ‘big bikes’ – the 900cc+ machines (A Ducati 916 is mentioned) with high price tags, expensive spares and fiddly maintenance. These bikes are the performance equivalents of Ferarris, but the article compares them with the ‘average family car’ (a Camry is mentioned). Sorry, did I miss something there? Hands up who thinks a Ducati 916 compares in any way with a Toyota Camry? What about comparing these bikes with their equivalents – top of the line sports cars – the sums might even out a little there.

That’s one myth exploded, but it’s only a minor one.

They talk about the time taken to ‘get your gear on’ as negating any advantage to the trip time. OK, it does contribute, but when I take my bike to work, I park outside the door, not a ten minute walk away. Oh, and I park for free. That’s right, it doesn’t cost me any money to park my motorbike. In time, I expect this will change for the really busy areas of the city, but by then car drivers will be paying a congestion tax… I look forward to it!

Here’s another one to really rile the poor old cage dwellers: Motorcycles pay no tolls. That’s right, at least for now, there is no satisfactory way to attach an eTag to a bike and the law does not require a font number plate, so it’s too hard to charge tolls. So, while an average trip on Citylink racks up a toll charge of at least $5 your average motorcyclist pays nuthin!

Finally, if we get real and start talking about a commuter bike like my dear little CB250, you would be amazed how the dollars vanish from the balance sheet. It cost me less than $2000 to buy in good nick (30,000k) second hand. It hasn’t been off the road once in 2 years. Because it’s a very basic bike, I service it myself for typically less than $50 parts + liquid. I put a new (top quality) battery in it the other day for just $50… and it takes just $12 to run it for over 300km! (yep, just over 3l./100km.)

So, let’s say I lived in Essendon, commuted to South Melbourne five days a week. If you just count the tolls, petrol and parking, I’m going to be something like $20 a day better off. Over a typical working year of 220 days I’ve saved $4,400!

Unfortunately, I don’t have the readership of the Royalauto, so I doubt the truth will leak out and convert many car drivers any time soon – especially in the depths of winter as we are! Maybe the ‘journalist‘, David Morley, will read this, realise his mistake and take appropriate steps to rectify it in the next issue… maybe!

Two items on tonight’s news got me annoyed for different reasons.

1. Politicians pay rises. No, I’m not against them getting a pay rise… lets face it, it’s a shit job!. No, the annoying thing was the smug way they say the raise was ‘fair‘ because it was awarded by an ‘independent judge’. That sounds alarmingly like the old Wage Tribunal process dismantled by this government in the process of setting up it’s current unfair system. In fact, isn’t it almost collective bargaining? I thought that had been outlawed? Truly, one law for them, another for all the rest of us.

2. Chris Hurley found not guilty of killing an Aboriginal man in custody. No, I’m not saying he’s guilty or any of that. Like anyone, he’s entitled to the benefit of the doubt, and there is room for doubt in the circumstances (it’s a squeeze, but it’s definitely there!). No, the really sad thing about this story is the perpetuation of mistrust and division, when 17 years ago a Royal Commission made recommendations that, if implemented, could possibly have avoided this terrible situation altogether. Another life lost and another ruined, arguably through government inaction.

It’s been a sad week or two for the people who want to see Burma become part of the modern world.

First, we had the story that Russia was to build a nuclear reactor in Burma. I suppose as long as there are controls, this is no worse an idea than lots of other places. It may also see the reliability of the electricity supply improve – at least for those in power, on the other hand, if you’re in an outlying town where there aren’t any important people, you probably won’t notice the difference.

Then we heard the unsurprising, but tragic news that the beautiful, regal, patient, Aung San Suu Kyi would have her detention extended another year. A tragedy that the superb, resilient, resourceful people of Burma would still not have a leader they can call their own. Even more amazing, her supporters put their lives on the line to protest in public. These are really brave people, the possibility that they will be imprisoned or even killed is very real. Could you do that?

Finally, a small sad story. These three women are walking along the main street of Nyaung Shwe, near Inle Lake. The town is high enough to get chilly in the mornings – it was about 12°C, enough to have the locals all wrapped up in gloves and beanies, but most charming was the way the women all wore woolen jackets. They also have the most beautiful, glossy long hair… many Burmese women do.

This hair is so beautiful that it is now the target of thieves. People snip the women’s hair without them knowing – in market places or on the street. It makes the thieves a fair bit of money in a country where most people barely scratch out a living. I find this the saddest bit of news, that these beautiful, smiling, open women were targeted by such an invasive and symbolically violent crime.

What a cynical, politically motivated dummy spit – gotta be some kind of a record.

Before you begin believing Sol and his mates and start to doubt the ACCC, ask yourself if you really want a company like Telstra to have undue influence over the future of broadband (and it’s pricing) in Australia. They can’t even deliver an equitable product to their current broadband customers – as a mac user with Telstra broadband cable, I can vouch for the fact that they don’t give a flying f*ck about minority user groups.

As soon as ADSL+2 is available at our exchange, I’m giving them the boot. If they want to invest their dollars overseas, let them! Someone will build a network here and then they can charge Telstra a ripe premium for the privilege of competing for our custom.