Footy’s gambling addiction

NRL and AFL – shame on you for sticking up for the clubs/hotels rapacious desire to exploit problem gamblers through poker machines.

Eddie Maguire’s comment that the government’s proposal to introduce precommitment on pokies is a “footy tax” – in response to that I’m forced to use a word I studiously teach my kids not to use… and that word is STUPID.

[This content was originally posted to Google Buzz, #177]

Google + or –

Had a look at Google+. I’m giving it a Google- and I’m deleting my Google+ profile.

It was all too much like going into one of those fancy department stores. I wandered around, lost and confused, didn’t see anything that interested me, then found it hard to find the exit.

Update 20 Feb 2015: Its interesting that my initial negative impression of Google Buzz got turned around and I ended up quite liking it, but my initial negative impression of Google+ never changed much.

[This content was originally posted to Google Buzz, #176]

Word tease

I discovered a new immensely useful word last night (thanks to Late Night Live) – “persiflage” which means “light teasing” or “frivolous style of treating a subject”.

Everybody does it. Now I now what it’s called.

[This content was originally posted to Google Buzz, #175]

How big is a family?

How big is a family when you’re on a family holiday?

Almost universally, at any tourist attraction, accommodation or transport option, a “family” ticket means 2 adults and 2 children. I’m often tempted to say “Hello, can I have a family ticket and leave my bored and hyperactive 3rd child (who misses out on being in the “family”) to roam your gift shop unattended for the next 2 hours.

In a sad attempt to get around the definitional problem of “family”, the Scitech museum in Perth doesn’t have family tickets – they have “mini-group” tickets – still only 2 adults/2 children though.

All in all, thinking about this too much is putting a bit of a downer on our “mini-group plus additional child” holiday.

[This content was originally posted to Google Buzz, #173]

Transperth website report card

C – for “Could do better”

  1. They advertise the timetables for your iPod, but you can’t get them on to your iPod/iPhone without using a computer. Um, I left my computer at home 4000km away.
  2. From their full website they advertise their 136213.mobi mobile site, and then give instructions on how to enter the website address into your mobiles browser! Haven’t they heard of hyperlinks?
  3. I finally decided to download the PDF versions of the timetable into iBooks. This worked fine except that instead of meaningful filenames like “Fremantle line” the PDF has a gibberish alphanumeric name which means that if you download more than one timetable you can’t tell which is which without opening the file.

On reflection the score is more of a D- for “Did not bother doing it right”

[This content was originally posted to Google Buzz, #172]

Coffee underpass

Kent St Bakery at Busselton, you’re now officially off the hook for WA’s worst cappuccino, having been resoundingly surpassed (underpassed?) by Janice’s Cafe Pot in Mandurah, with a copious concoction of hellishly hot bland brown fluid with the flimsiest film of foam with the far fetched price of $4.50 !!!

In a disturbing and unexpected trend on this trip the quality of coffee is in inverse proportion to the price. Is this other people’s experience?

[This content was originally posted to Google Buzz, #170]