In the swim
Posted by cacophony in : Local services , 5 commentsYes, there is a drought but do councils have the right to close our beloved pools?
Flying high
Posted by cacophony in : Local services , 3 commentsMelbourne Airport
Congratulations to the Melbourne Airport for fixing its long term car park pick up situation. It used to have a handful of vans hauling luggage carts chugging around the car park: one picking up and one dropping off. More than once, I have missed a flight while waiting for the shuttle bus to the terminal (or more accurately, waiting for one that wasn’t full of people already). The check-in staff tell me I’m not the only one swallowed by the Long Term Car Park Monster.
But the powers that be have reconfigured the sprawling parking lot and introduced big buses that pick up and drop off passengers at the same time. It’s much quicker and much more efficient.
If you’re going for more than a couple of days, though, make sure you write down where you left your car or, like me, you’ll spend ninety minutes meandering through the parks looking for your beastie.
Location:
Locked Bag 16
Tullamarine, VIC 3043
Australia
(03) 9297 1600
A little change will do you good
Posted by cacophony in : Local services , 4 comments
Language experts and pedants have long lamented spellcheckers for destroying our ability to spell. They may be right but I think schools and the individual should take some of the blame.
But the naysayers seem to have ignored a more insidious education failure: our inability to count.
I bought lunch today in a cafeteria and the total was $7.65. The girl behind the counter, who seemed smart enough, took my $20 note and rang it up on the cash register. Then I discovered some change in my bag and handed her a $2 coin and 70c in coins. She stared at them like she expected them to grow wings and fly away. Twice, she went to put them in the cash drawer and stopped herself, second-guessing her arithmetic. Eventually, I had to tell her to give me $15 and 5c change.
Maths was never my strong suit in school or since and percentages still floor me but I have enough faith in my subtraction skills to feel confident with most transactions. I wonder if in an age when schools have moved away from rote learning and focus instead on how things work, whether we’re losing skills like counting backwards from 10.
In the age of computer calculators and cash registers, have we forgotten how to count?
