Victorian Public Transport
Public transport is in a state of disarray in Victoria. We have seen three different companies tackle the management of our trains over the last decade. The current punter being Metro, a company 60% owned by a Hong Kong based MTR. They have done what others have done before them, changed the train livery, swapped out uniforms and punched out some tv and radio ads. But they have also continued the late arrival times and overcrowded carriages that we have been seeing day in day out for years. MTR run an extremely tight system in HK, but they overestimated the poor system we have in place. Firstly it's above ground, second our tracks are built to withstand opposite extreme temperatures. Which like all things made to a diverse range of operating difference, they don't work.
Our previous state government also buried us into a $1Billion+ mess that is Myki. A ticketing system created from scratch when systems elsewhere in Australia and even more successful ones overseas were already operating and cost a mere couple of hundred million.
I refuse to use public transport were possible. I'd rather drive into the city and pay for parking than to catch a train.
(TO BE CONTINUED...)
American Airlines
Hope you have never had the unfortunate experience of flying with American Airlines. Because if you have than I'm sure my words will ring true.
I flew with AA over 10 years ago but still to this day remember just how much it felt like the last flight of my life. Looking out to the plane from the terminal window at LAX was harrowing to start. I was blankly looking at a tin can with wings. Shiny silver skin with the AA logo slapped on the side. I became concerned from this point on.
We boarded the plane and found our seats which apparently were of normal dimensions, however I was 12 at the time and not a fat kid, yet leg room and width were an issue. Then we heard entertainment would be available on the flight for $5. I thought that would be great, movies? Video games? No. They were selling 80's style headphones for the arm rest radios and only four channels were available. Being in America meant one was bound to be country, another Christian rock and gospel, so the other two left me with a 50/50 chance I might get some 'entertainment' for my $5. Not worth the risk I thought, so I denied the hostess of the sale. How tough a customer I was.
The plane did a maneuver that other airline pilots call 'take off'. Yet I distinctly remember our take off resembling a bank robbery style getaway, complete with swaying and erratic speed changes, maybe a ramp eventually helped propel us skyward, who knows how we got up.
The plane had the acoustic deadening of a tin shed in a hurricane, I think the aluminum shell was buckling by the sound of it. The chairs as mentioned earlier were small, but to add to that mine was loose or at least very bendy. I could recline without the aid of the recline button, a truly marvelous automated feature.
Meanwhile back home in Australia, budget 'do it yourself' airlines were un-heard of, so I didn't know about paying for food and drinks on board. But I found out quickly when I asked for a coke and peanuts without looking at the menu and then had to ask dad for money, all $6 of it. Which for a small bag of peanuts and those miniature cokes in 1997 was more than outrageous.
I remember landing at JFK in New York and thinking how amazing it was to be alive and my next mission was to get some decently priced food and relax. AA probably stands for 'An Attempt', which would describe their efforts at being an airline you can depend on. If you search AA flight incidents, it's catagorised into decades. There is that many that it's easier to ask what decade you are interested in. Qantas on the other hand is relatively trouble free, you get leg room, food and free entertainment. Plus a pilot who understands the physics of taking off. A real plus for a pilot.
Penny Pinchers at the Pump
I drove past a petrol station last night and almost ran into the back of a car because it was parked in the left lane out front. Reasons being, the petrol was discounted to 119.9 cents from the Melbourne average of 124.9 cents per litre. These people were lining up out the driveway in search of cheap petrol. So let me break down the maths for you to see if it was worth the time wasted. Buying a full tank of fuel for a typical 70 litre capacity family car at yesterdays average of 124.9 cents per litre would set you back $87.43. If you were to get the cheaper 119.9 cents it would cost $83.93. This is a saving of $3.50 or maybe a 600ml coke in store at the service station. So if you go inside and buy a coke that you really don't need, then you've lost your saving. On the other hand, what is your time worth to you? Personally, if I have to sit in my car for 20 minutes, then I'd consider the saving too little to warrant the wait. My time is worth more to me than $3.50. It gets even worse when people drive to another suburb to get that cheap fuel, so then you get to add wasting fuel to the equation.
I once said to my dad, I would pay him the potential saving if he just avoided the waiting line and travel distance. If the $3.50 means so much to your budget then your in trouble and saving at the pump isn't going to save you, it will only delay your demise, enjoy.