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Showing posts from January, 2011

Review of "Where to Ride in Melbourne: the map"

(Disclaimer: they sent me a free copy of the map.) Why do you need a map? Ever tried to look at maps on your iphone in the rain? In bright sunshine? No bike path information either. Maps are fast, don’t need phone coverage and can be read quickly in any weather. I learned that the hard way last time I went bike touring: very embarrassing - I had to wave down a car to ask the way in the rain. This is a map of most of inner Melbourne: out to Brighton in the south, Oakleigh in the East. North to Fitzroy. It’s plastic coated. It is a real map. All of the details of the Melway maps are there, but with the bicycle information overlaid. In the spirit of “where to ride” it has bright red suggested routes, that combine bike paths and quiet roads. If you are a recreational rider that likes to get away from the traffic but you are not averse to a quiet road or two, then the paths suggested are very good. For example, going north-south it features the outer circle railway path: one of my fav

Climate change: why Bjork explains that Clive Hamilton is wrong.

So let's begin with an extract from Bjork's great song "Human Behaviour": "If you ever get close to a human and human behaviour be ready to get confused there's definitely no logic to human behaviour but yet so irresistible there is no map to human behaviour" Then let's continue with a couple of questions: In the Gaia theory of James Lovelock, which characterizes the planet earth as a giant intelligent organism, is the species known as human included as part of this organism, or does it stand apart somehow? Is human behaviour capable of modifying the macro environment of the planet ? In modelling the 100 year future of the planet, how should we model the influence of humans on that environment ? I really like that question about Gaia. I watched Virginia Trioli try to put that question to Tim Flannery at a public event. The question went straight past him. Hey Tim, wake up, it is the central question. This is not a book review of Jam