Interesting factoid

[TimC]

According to the draft Melbourne transport strategy, page 38:
http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/PDFs/MelbourneTransportStrategy/MelbournesTransportTask.pdf,
cycling trips represent 1.5% of the number of trips made in the city,
yet 2.5% of the distance.

Recall that the average distance travelled by car in Australia is
about 2km, that means the average distance travelled by bike is ~5km
(that's to be expected -- you walk if you need to make a smaller
trip).

That means there are two populations of Melbournians. Lazy fat
*******s who even drive 200m down the road (hence lowering the average
trip length down to 2km), and the rest of us who cycle everywhere,
except if the distance is so short that you can afford to walk.


--
TimC
It's written GNU/Linux, and pronounced "Linux". Or, "Linux, with a
silent GNU/" -- Kubric on /.

[DD]

TimC wrote:

> That means there are two populations of Melbournians. Lazy fat
> *******s who even drive 200m down the road (hence lowering the average
> trip length down to 2km), and the rest of us who cycle everywhere,
> except if the distance is so short that you can afford to walk.
>
>

Others could point to the compulsory bike helmet laws as the influence
here, not fatty inclinations, as to why cars are more used for shorter
trips than bikes. Helmets are a hassle.

BTW I wear a good helmet and ride everywhere.

[cfsmtb]

DD Wrote:
> BTW I wear a good helmet and ride everywhere.

Phew! We might just avoid *that argument* with some luck. Ahh yes, Try
Mr. Barnard; room 12.


--
cfsmtb

[zog]

TimC wrote:
>
> That means there are two populations of Melbournians. Lazy fat
> *******s who even drive 200m down the road (hence lowering the average
> trip length down to 2km), and the rest of us who cycle everywhere,
> except if the distance is so short that you can afford to walk.
>
>

oh I can do better then that, I passed a fella empting his car boot of
vegetation waste for the council pickup, it looked bulky but not heavy,
so he drove his commodore sedan 30metres from his back yard to the
footpath in front of his house and by the look of it it was his second
trip, the driveway was straight with a bit of an incline.

and I have seen Sydney drivers do the same drive from their house to the
corner shop for milk or bread.

[TimC]

On 2005-10-23, zog (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> oh I can do better then that, I passed a fella empting his car boot of
> vegetation waste for the council pickup, it looked bulky but not heavy,
> so he drove his commodore sedan 30metres from his back yard to the
> footpath in front of his house and by the look of it it was his second
> trip, the driveway was straight with a bit of an incline.
>
> and I have seen Sydney drivers do the same drive from their house to the
> corner shop for milk or bread.

Complete with idling the car for 20 mins to warm it up, before
leaving?

I'm pretty sure that's what my next door neighbour used to do (before
I killed them), when they idled the car for 20 mins at 5:00am, and
then left, and came back 5 mins later.

Stupid feckers. So I killed them.

--
TimC
I read [.doc files] with "rm". All you lose is the microsoft-specific
font selections, the macro viruses and the luser babblings.
-- Gary "Wolf" Barnes

[dave]

TimC wrote:
> On 2005-10-23, zog (aka Bruce)
> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
>>oh I can do better then that, I passed a fella empting his car boot of
>>vegetation waste for the council pickup, it looked bulky but not heavy,
>>so he drove his commodore sedan 30metres from his back yard to the
>>footpath in front of his house and by the look of it it was his second
>>trip, the driveway was straight with a bit of an incline.
>>
>>and I have seen Sydney drivers do the same drive from their house to the
>>corner shop for milk or bread.
>
>
> Complete with idling the car for 20 mins to warm it up, before
> leaving?
>
> I'm pretty sure that's what my next door neighbour used to do (before
> I killed them), when they idled the car for 20 mins at 5:00am, and
> then left, and came back 5 mins later.
>
> Stupid feckers. So I killed them.
>


When the neighbours did it too me.. mothballs in the tank

Hell they even said how great it ran .. for a couple of days

A potato up the exhaust is a good one too.. just dont leave any prints
on it.


Dave

[TimC]

On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> TimC wrote:
>> I'm pretty sure that's what my next door neighbour used to do (before
>> I killed them), when they idled the car for 20 mins at 5:00am, and
>> then left, and came back 5 mins later.
>>
>> Stupid feckers. So I killed them.
>>
> When the neighbours did it too me.. mothballs in the tank
>
> Hell they even said how great it ran .. for a couple of days
>
> A potato up the exhaust is a good one too.. just dont leave any prints
> on it.

You can leave prints on a potato?


My dad was always proud to tell the story of how he put a potato in
the exhaust of the teacher's mini, and it fired up, and did a couple
of revs, and then the potato shot out the back, through the
principal's office window.

The principal came out furious, and asked what it was. Dad explained,
and the principal laughed and said "don't you ever do that again. He
he.".

--
TimC
When some other esteemed editor reposts this, it'll be the Periodic
Periodic Table Table story, and I will be even happier. ;^)
-- Emil Brink on /., about the periodic table table.

[Liz]

"zog" > wrote in message
u...
> TimC wrote:
>>
>> That means there are two populations of Melbournians. Lazy fat
>> *******s who even drive 200m down the road (hence lowering the average
>> trip length down to 2km), and the rest of us who cycle everywhere,
>> except if the distance is so short that you can afford to walk.
>>
>>
>
> oh I can do better then that, I passed a fella empting his car boot of
> vegetation waste for the council pickup, it looked bulky but not heavy, so
> he drove his commodore sedan 30metres from his back yard to the footpath
> in front of his house and by the look of it it was his second trip, the
> driveway was straight with a bit of an incline.
>
> and I have seen Sydney drivers do the same drive from their house to the
> corner shop for milk or bread.

My Dad remembers, from when he was a kid (so presumably in the 40s or 50s,
in Rockhampton) a neighbour who lived on the opposite corner to the corner
store, and would always drive... So nothing new there.
Liz

[dave]

TimC wrote:
> On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
>>TimC wrote:
>>
>>>I'm pretty sure that's what my next door neighbour used to do (before
>>>I killed them), when they idled the car for 20 mins at 5:00am, and
>>>then left, and came back 5 mins later.
>>>
>>>Stupid feckers. So I killed them.
>>>
>>
>>When the neighbours did it too me.. mothballs in the tank
>>
>>Hell they even said how great it ran .. for a couple of days
>>
>>A potato up the exhaust is a good one too.. just dont leave any prints
>>on it.
>
>
> You can leave prints on a potato?
>
>
> My dad was always proud to tell the story of how he put a potato in
> the exhaust of the teacher's mini, and it fired up, and did a couple
> of revs, and then the potato shot out the back, through the
> principal's office window.
>
> The principal came out furious, and asked what it was. Dad explained,
> and the principal laughed and said "don't you ever do that again. He
> he.".
>


You can leave prints on almost anything. Even the inside of a leather
glove.

Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.

Dave

[TimC]

On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> TimC wrote:
>> On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
>> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>> The principal came out furious, and asked what it was. Dad explained,
>> and the principal laughed and said "don't you ever do that again. He
>> he.".
>
> You can leave prints on almost anything. Even the inside of a leather
> glove.
>
> Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.

That's useful to know.

Today has been interesting. Some yobs spinning their tires for about
100m in front of my house, all the while hollering out.

And now next door have their subwoofer going in their car, for the
past couple of hours, listening to mundane dance muzak (probably spent
too much money on the bomb of a car, and couldn't afford to put a
stereo system in their house).

At least I got one moron out of my life. He's moved out, and left a
filthy mess in his room and under his desk. He did not once touch the
vacuum cleaner in the past year. Same moron who bought a bike, then a
car, then left the bike. Flat (and UV degraded) tires now, chain a
rusted mess, but he neverthless, took it with him.

He's discarded a soldering station and a whole bunch of electronics,
and all sorts of other interesting things.

--
TimC
Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives.

[cfsmtb]

dave Wrote:
>
> Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.
>
> Dave


Nah, MythBusters put paid to that one. Try expanding cavity foam.


--
cfsmtb

[dave]

TimC wrote:
> On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
>>TimC wrote:
>>
>>>On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
>>> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>>>The principal came out furious, and asked what it was. Dad explained,
>>>and the principal laughed and said "don't you ever do that again. He
>>>he.".
>>
>>You can leave prints on almost anything. Even the inside of a leather
>>glove.
>>
>>Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.
>
>
> That's useful to know.
>
> Today has been interesting. Some yobs spinning their tires for about
> 100m in front of my house, all the while hollering out.
>
> And now next door have their subwoofer going in their car, for the
> past couple of hours, listening to mundane dance muzak (probably spent
> too much money on the bomb of a car, and couldn't afford to put a
> stereo system in their house).
>
> At least I got one moron out of my life. He's moved out, and left a
> filthy mess in his room and under his desk. He did not once touch the
> vacuum cleaner in the past year. Same moron who bought a bike, then a
> car, then left the bike. Flat (and UV degraded) tires now, chain a
> rusted mess, but he neverthless, took it with him.
>
> He's discarded a soldering station and a whole bunch of electronics,
> and all sorts of other interesting things.
>

Hmmm I could use a better soldering station.... Morons are best
gone. :)

[dave]

TimC wrote:
> On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
>>TimC wrote:
>>
>>>On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
>>> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>>>The principal came out furious, and asked what it was. Dad explained,
>>>and the principal laughed and said "don't you ever do that again. He
>>>he.".
>>
>>You can leave prints on almost anything. Even the inside of a leather
>>glove.
>>
>>Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.
>
>
> That's useful to know.
>
> Today has been interesting. Some yobs spinning their tires for about
> 100m in front of my house, all the while hollering out.
>
> And now next door have their subwoofer going in their car, for the
> past couple of hours, listening to mundane dance muzak (probably spent
> too much money on the bomb of a car, and couldn't afford to put a
> stereo system in their house).
>
> At least I got one moron out of my life. He's moved out, and left a
> filthy mess in his room and under his desk. He did not once touch the
> vacuum cleaner in the past year. Same moron who bought a bike, then a
> car, then left the bike. Flat (and UV degraded) tires now, chain a
> rusted mess, but he neverthless, took it with him.
>
> He's discarded a soldering station and a whole bunch of electronics,
> and all sorts of other interesting things.
>

Btw Tim r u a wallace & grommit fan?

[dave]

cfsmtb wrote:
> dave Wrote:
>
>>Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.
>>
>>Dave
>
>
>
> Nah, MythBusters put paid to that one. Try expanding cavity foam.
>
>

They did? It worked for me. Mind you I think it might not work with a
big engine.. sheer volume of gas in a bigger exhaust. But its just
blocking the exhaust I put a rag in then the potatoe.. Since the
exhaust gas is physically blocked it doesnt scavange from the
combustion chamber. THe engine rattles.. and tries to run backwards
same as it will if you stuff the exhaust with rags or bang it shut.
What did mythbusters di exactly? I mean I cant as a rule fault the
science in that show.,. but blocking the exhaust will work.. I mean
thats why we have an exhaust.


Sure cavity foam might work fine.. Would probably depend on how temp
resistant the stuff is.. and how hot the exhaust gas ie in that
particular instance. Muffler putty ... the setting type would probably
work best of all.. might even physicaly break some engines tho my money
would be on the exhaust exploding. Fun anyway

Dave

[TimC]

On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> TimC wrote:
>> He's discarded a soldering station and a whole bunch of electronics,
>> and all sorts of other interesting things.
>>
>
> Btw Tim r u a wallace & grommit fan?

Can't say I am.

And of course, not having seen it before, I cannot see the connection :)

--
TimC
Memory fault -- core...uh...um...core... Oh dammit, I forget!

[dave]

TimC wrote:
> On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
>>TimC wrote:
>>
>>>He's discarded a soldering station and a whole bunch of electronics,
>>>and all sorts of other interesting things.
>>>
>>
>>Btw Tim r u a wallace & grommit fan?
>
>
> Can't say I am.
>
> And of course, not having seen it before, I cannot see the connection :)
>

There aint no connection. Kath was talking about wanting to see it.. out
your way. Thats it. Its a stand alone.

[dave]

dave wrote:
> TimC wrote:
>
>> On 2005-10-23, dave (aka Bruce)
>> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>>
>>> TimC wrote:
>>>
>>>> He's discarded a soldering station and a whole bunch of electronics,
>>>> and all sorts of other interesting things.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Btw Tim r u a wallace & grommit fan?
>>
>>
>>
>> Can't say I am.
>>
>> And of course, not having seen it before, I cannot see the connection :)
>>
>
> There aint no connection. Kath was talking about wanting to see it.. out
> your way. Thats it. Its a stand alone.
>

Without meeting em I wouldnt call your housemates grommits or landfill :)

[Resound]

"dave" > wrote in message
. ..
> cfsmtb wrote:
>> dave Wrote:
>>>Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.
>>>
>>>Dave
>>
>>
>>
>> Nah, MythBusters put paid to that one. Try expanding cavity foam.
>>
>>
>
> They did? It worked for me. Mind you I think it might not work with a
> big engine.. sheer volume of gas in a bigger exhaust. But its just
> blocking the exhaust I put a rag in then the potatoe.. Since the
> exhaust gas is physically blocked it doesnt scavange from the combustion
> chamber. THe engine rattles.. and tries to run backwards same as it will
> if you stuff the exhaust with rags or bang it shut. What did mythbusters
> di exactly? I mean I cant as a rule fault the science in that show.,. but
> blocking the exhaust will work.. I mean thats why we have an exhaust.
>
>
> Sure cavity foam might work fine.. Would probably depend on how temp
> resistant the stuff is.. and how hot the exhaust gas ie in that particular
> instance. Muffler putty ... the setting type would probably work best of
> all.. might even physicaly break some engines tho my money would be on the
> exhaust exploding. Fun anyway
>
> Dave

Apparently an evil one is a substantial squirt of diesel up the exhaust. It
settles in the muffler and doesn't actually catch fire, but smokes like
crazy. They then spend big dollars at the mechanic trying to fix it and/or
get nabbed for an unroadworthily smoky car.

[dave]

Resound wrote:
> "dave" > wrote in message
> . ..
>
>>cfsmtb wrote:
>>
>>>dave Wrote:
>>>
>>>>Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.
>>>>
>>>>Dave
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Nah, MythBusters put paid to that one. Try expanding cavity foam.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>They did? It worked for me. Mind you I think it might not work with a
>>big engine.. sheer volume of gas in a bigger exhaust. But its just
>>blocking the exhaust I put a rag in then the potatoe.. Since the
>>exhaust gas is physically blocked it doesnt scavange from the combustion
>>chamber. THe engine rattles.. and tries to run backwards same as it will
>>if you stuff the exhaust with rags or bang it shut. What did mythbusters
>>di exactly? I mean I cant as a rule fault the science in that show.,. but
>>blocking the exhaust will work.. I mean thats why we have an exhaust.
>>
>>
>>Sure cavity foam might work fine.. Would probably depend on how temp
>>resistant the stuff is.. and how hot the exhaust gas ie in that particular
>>instance. Muffler putty ... the setting type would probably work best of
>>all.. might even physicaly break some engines tho my money would be on the
>>exhaust exploding. Fun anyway
>>
>>Dave
>
>
> Apparently an evil one is a substantial squirt of diesel up the exhaust. It
> settles in the muffler and doesn't actually catch fire, but smokes like
> crazy. They then spend big dollars at the mechanic trying to fix it and/or
> get nabbed for an unroadworthily smoky car.
>
>

one of the less eco frendly things I do is chuck 100 ml of oil down the
exhaust on the motorcycle every year or so. Never had one rust out yet
(touch wood)

[Duncan]

Errmmmm.. I think they may have included pedestrian trips in those
stats.. which pretty much explains the cycling results.

More concerning is the accident stats on pp39, cyclists account for 9%
of casualties in the Melb CBD.

[Bleve]

dave wrote:

> You can leave prints on almost anything. Even the inside of a leather
> glove.
>
> Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.

You'd get a toe print on it ....

"potato"

[Bleve]

TimC wrote:
> According to the draft Melbourne transport strategy, page 38:
> http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/PDFs/MelbourneTransportStrategy/MelbournesTransportTask.pdf,
> cycling trips represent 1.5% of the number of trips made in the city,
> yet 2.5% of the distance.
>
> Recall that the average distance travelled by car in Australia is
> about 2km, that means the average distance travelled by bike is ~5km
> (that's to be expected -- you walk if you need to make a smaller
> trip).
>
> That means there are two populations of Melbournians. Lazy fat
> *******s who even drive 200m down the road (hence lowering the average
> trip length down to 2km), and the rest of us who cycle everywhere,
> except if the distance is so short that you can afford to walk.

My workplace (one of the IT jobs, not the bike shop or the coaching!)
today has 6 bikes parked inside. There's about 10 people working
here. 60% ... not bad!

[EuanB]

Duncan Wrote:
> Errmmmm.. I think they may have included pedestrian trips in those
> stats.. which pretty much explains the cycling results.
>
> More concerning is the accident stats on pp39, cyclists account for 9%
> of casualties in the Melb CBD.

I don't think that's particularly concerning. I see a hell of a lot
more cyclists than motorcyclists in the city and the motorcyclists
account for 11% of road casualties.

Granted there are a lot more pedestrians than cyclists but even so,
27% of casualties being pedestrians is still pretty bad.


--
EuanB

[dave]

Bleve wrote:
> dave wrote:
>
>
>>You can leave prints on almost anything. Even the inside of a leather
>>glove.
>>
>>Put the potatoe in with a rubber mallet.
>
>
> You'd get a toe print on it ....
>
> "potato"
>

Ohhh my god

That is soooooo bad